Chapter 46

Act VI: The Little Prince (8)

----------

Tan Yiming quickly plunged into the intense work.

One of the drawbacks of the games made by Blizzard Entertainment was that they were very, very slow to publish. For each game they developed, the production time was very long; from the project establishment to the demo, to the promotional period, and finally to the game launch. The longest time it took was a full ten years.

The games on the market were mixed, and there were fewer and fewer good-quality products. There were almost no remarkable nor memorable plots and people. As a result, Blizzard who steadily made games by working methodically and carefully, had gained more and more respect in the minds of players, almost becoming the legend of the gaming industry.

... Of course, if they didn’t always delay game releases, it would be even better :)

The "q" project was expected to be launched next summer.

Like their other masterpieces, the promotional period would last to one year. The first stage of publicity would start with the character demo. Starting on May 1st, a character demo would be released every half month.

Each demo was about 60 seconds; half were animated CG and half were character skill displays.

According to the internal communication of the project team, the role of the Chinese astronaut Wang Qiang would be the first to be promoted.

In other words...in half a month, Tan Yiming’s voice would reach the ears of millions of players around the world via this platform.

This was an unimaginably huge audience.

Tan Yiming had dubbed so many radio dramas, and also gave voices to small characters in many movies. However, those listeners added up to less than ten million in total.

On the day of the recording, a small audience crowed outside the recording studio. The sound engineer, other voice actors who came to watch, the project team's chief strategist, the game screenwriter, the chief audio designer Jonah Brown ... even the head of the animation department, Ms. Ikeda, was there.

Looking around, all shades of skin and all colors of hair were there to share the excitement. Fortunately, Tan Yiming's psychological quality was good and he had no stage fright.

Wang Qiang's personal demo was not long and he only had a few character lines that needed to be recited. It sounded like a small amount of work, but it took more than an hour from the time Tan Yiming entering to leaving the studio.

Each sentence must be recorded more than a dozen times using many different tones and with varying emotions, and then the most suitable composition was selected and put into the video.

It was challenging, but fun at the same time.

After all, it is fun to do the work you love, no matter how hard it is.

When he finished recording the last line, took off his headphones, and walked out of the soundproof door, there was a round of applause.

"Bravo!" Someone shouted.

As the "initiator", he accomplished his job brilliantly and successfully harvested the admiration of other voice actors.

"Tan, I won't be worse than you!" Fernando was the second person to step into the recording studio. He would give his voice to the Spanish mechanic in the game, and Tan Yiming's performance inspired his excitement to win.

However, he had an abnormality when dubbing—only wearing loose boxer briefs - so they saw him take off his shirt, kick off his flip-flops, and even take off his jeans before he walked in the room.

"Let me fly free! No barriers!" This was Fernando's motto. When they saw such a quirk when he auditioned, the sound engineer was scared and thought he wanted the unspoken rules.

In view of his image being too "rude to be seen," the main strategist had to clear the field.

After leaving the studio, Tan Yiming did not return directly to the hotel, but stood quietly to enjoy the scenery in the corridor.

The atrium was shaded by the green trees and the sky was bright, it was the most beautiful time of the year.

Tan Yiming had actually won the role and finished the demo smoothly, but even so, he still felt like he was dreaming.

This feeling was even more exciting than the first time he completed a tens of millions dollar worth project!

… Of course, it would be nice if the pay of the voice actors was equal to the bonus of the investment bank.

There was a sound of footsteps behind him.

Tan Yiming looked back and found that the person behind him was Ms. Ikeda. She was the person in charge of the animation department, and the CG part of the promotion demo was done by the entire group under her guidance.

Tan Yiming hurriedly said hello.

The fact that he was standing here today was inseparable from Ikeda's help. He had never found the opportunity to thank her in person, but now that they've met, it was natural for Tan Yiming to express his gratitude out loud.

"Professor Ikeda." He asked politely, "Do you have time soon? If it is convenient, I would like to invite you to have a meal and to express my gratitude."

Ikeda was in a good mood when seeing that the person she recommended could finally stay..

She brought up her cell phone’s calendar, looked it over, and quickly answered, "I only have time free tomorrow night and the following night. You can ask Jonah which day is more convenient between these two times."

Tan Yiming said slightly: "... Jonah?"

"Jonah Brown." Ms. Ikeda looked at him suspiciously. "He was in the studio just now. Didn't you see him?"

"Yes ... yes, of course I saw him." Tan Yiming still didn't understand, "but why should I call him?"

Professor Ikeda suddenly responded: "... Wait, don’t you know? He also wrote a letter of recommendation for you!"

Tan Yiming's pupils shrank, and the expression on his face froze.

Unexpectedly seeing him surprised, Ikeda told him everything she knew: "After I sent the recommendation letter to the project team, the project team told me that Jonah had recommended you a few weeks earlier. I was a little angry at first, and didn’t understand why you lied to get my trust. After all, you could get a place even without my recommendation. "

"But ..." Tan Yiming was haunted by this complicated revelation. Jonah Brown? He swore that the first time he heard this name was after coming to the company. "I didn't know him prior to coming to Blizzard at all ... Wait!"

A forgotten figure suddenly appeared in his mind.

— Jonah Brown was the director of the audio department.

—Jonah Brown wrote a recommendation letter without knowing him.

—Tan Yiming happened to know a person who had a very wide network of contacts. He once used said recommendation letter as a temptation, baiting Tan Yiming to accept his romantic pursuit.

... All the clues joined together and pointed to the one name.

Tan Yiming didn't expect at all that even after refusing Yao Yin mercilessly, that person would still help him.

He was both moved and confused.

He opened WeChat and brought up their chat record—his last conversation with Yao Yin was two months ago, and since the day they parted in the cafe, they hadn’t had any contact.

Tan Yiming didn't want to give him any unnecessary hope, so he never contacted Yao Yin in private. Sometimes they'd met at work, but the two didn’t say much.

After thinking about it, Tan Yiming still opened the input box and typed two words solemnly.

Yiming Qingyun: Thank you.

However, a prominent red exclamation mark from the system popped up to remind him, ‘You and melodyY are not friends | You cannot send him a message’.

Tan Yiming: "..."

Was he blocked?

...

After returning to the hotel, Tan Yiming talked to second son, the only one who knew the whole story.

Tan Yiming asked inexplicably, "So, why did he seek a recommendation letter for me after he blocked me?"

The second son slapped her thigh again and again cutely: "Ri, such an abusive stalk has fallen into the hands of our CP circle, at least it is another SM work!!!"

"..." Tan Yiming began to regret discussing the matter with her.

The second son said, "In fact, I quite admire him. The fact that he was confident enough to chase another guy is good enough." She said sadly, "Unfortunately, he met you and was doomed to failure."

She asked in a gossipy manner: "So who do you prefer? Men or women? You always need a goal to find someone."

Tan Yiming pondered for a while, but there was no suitable reference around him, he didn’t even like any of the male celebrities.

"What about netizens?" The second son didn't want to let him go so easily, "Do you like Gu Yan?"

"... Gu Yan’s child is two years old."

"Just as a reference!" Said the second son. "You have a boring personality and Gu Yan has a lively personality. I think Gu Yan complements your personality.”

"No, I don't like anyone too noisy." Tan Yiming fantasized about the presence of a chirping sparrow beside him, and his head suddenly hurt. "I like shy ones."

He didn't know his own sexual orientation and going forward, he had to consider this issue. He liked ladies with good temperament, and now that the gender was changed to a man, his good temperament preferences had not changed.

"Temperament" was a very mysterious thing.

For example, teachers were very temperamental, as well as doctors, writers, and editors.

Or ... a dancer?

Suddenly, a little swan appeared in Tan Yiming's mind.

His consciousness quickly dissipated—guess learned ballet. The two of them had a common language. If he had to choose the ideal type from the people around him, in fact, guess was in line with his requirements.

... But within three seconds, [Mighty Goose Opens Beak] [Mighty Goose Spreads Wings] [Mighty Goose Weeps] [Tender Goose] [Black Swan Question Mark Face] and other emoticons.filled his mind. Those little thoughts that hadn't had time to expand were all completely blocked.

Tan Yiming: "... Pfft."

The second son asked suspiciously, "Why did you suddenly laugh so strangely?"

"No reason." Tan Yiming suppressed his smile, "I just thought of someone quite interesting."

"Okay!" Said the second son, "Laoniang is trying so hard to introduce someone to you, but you are thinking about other things!"

Tan Yiming hurriedly said: "No, no, no I don't want to consider emotional issues now. My work has just started to improve, and I still want to focus on voice acting."

He quit his job in investment banking suddenly before he could tell his family. His family conditions were very ordinary, and half the money for studying abroad relied on scholarships and half on loans. When he got the internship offer from the investment bank, his parents were so happy that they praised his success during their video call with red eyes.

But even now, he hadn't told his parents that he gave up the major he had studied for six years, gave up his investment banking job, gave up staying in the United States ... but instead chose another path that was destined for hardship and with very little "money" prospects.

When thinking of the upcoming scolding, Tan Yiming's head hurt.

At this stage, he was not suitable for dating at all. He had neither energy nor time.

Before considering relationships, he would consider how to make some achievements in the voice acting field and let his parents accept his career change.

The second son expressed understanding.

"That said, you will completely switch to commercial dubbing in the future, and never connect to Internet dubbing again?"

"Well, I really don't have enough energy," Tan Yiming replied. "Actually, I haven't taken on any more works in recent months. The dramas published with me now were all delayed."

This idea was born as early as the Spring Festival. It was just because his three-dimensional life was too busy, he dragged it on and on. Until now, he had not found a suitable opportunity to tell the fans about it.

He knew that they would be very reluctant, but there were many newcomers in the online dubbing circle, and he believed that younger and better juniors would grow up and bring them happiness with their voices.

"Actually, I want to have a farewell song festival in yy." Tan Yiming whispered, "I want to tell them my decision personally, and thank them for their support over the years."

"Okay." The second son picked up the calendar next to her and flipped it open. "How about May Day. And didn’t you say that Blizzard Entertainment will release a trailer on that day? The timing is right. Exit gorgeously and turn to enter commercial dubbing, how memorable! "

Tan Yiming agreed.

The second child resolutely said: "Alright, you go back and give me the guest list. I will let people do the poster for the concert."

"Okay, you’ve worked hard."

"You don't need to be polite between us!" The second son asked, "But speaking of it, have you told guess yet that you are withdrawing from the online dubbing circle."

"..." Tan Yiming grimaced, "I haven't said it yet, I don't know how to say it."

"Don't hesitate anymore. He worships you so much. If you drag him to the concert to let him know the truth, he will be particularly sad."

"Well, I know ..." Tan Yiming sighed, "... It's time to say goodbye."

----------

The author has something to say: The third to last chapter before the end of the first part.

It's time to say goodbye.

***

Back    ToC    Next