Chapter 53
Act VII: Fan Letter (5)
----------
In the blink of an eye, it was the weekend of a new week.
Sound in the Ear was a fun dubbing competition program launched by Huacheng TV Station. Each issue of ten guests was divided into five groups. They competed on the same stage with their script and dubbing skills.
Of the ten guests, some were senior opera singers, and some were fresh meat stars. Occasionally, professional voice actors would be invited to kick off in the studio.
[T/N: I’m not absolutely sure, but this may mean that the voice actors are invited as guests to kick out some competitors.]
Xiang Cai arrived outside the recording studio two hours early and was surrounded by young fans. They held their own idol’s slogans in their hands, and were sharing gossip of the entertainment circle.
Xiang Cai listened to it. It was nothing more than ‘inharmonious relationship between this star and that star’, ‘the little flower is playing a big name’, ‘the movie king and his wife are inseparable’...
At this point, Xiang Cai had a strong sense of disenchantment—obviously, he could also be considered a half-step in the entertainment circle, but the real entertainment circle was too far away from him.
After a while, the takeaway delivery person hurriedly arrived.
"Is this Mr. Xiang?" The delivery person opened the trunk and took out drinks with ice cubes. "Please sign for the ten glasses of drinks you've ordered."
Xiang Cai gave a good rating on the app, then carried away the two sacks of drinks. He pulled out his work permit under the envious eyes of all the fans, and stepped into the studio.
Xiang Cai’s work permit was given by Chen Ziran; the two of them continued to be friends with each other. Xiang Cai still remembered that when he had just changed from ballet to dance departments, Chen Ziran had looked at him scornfully and provocatively. How could he think that, after many years had gone, the friendship between the two had actually flourished to this day.
Backstage, it was extremely busy, and Xiang Cai was familiar with it and knew the way to the largest and most luxurious lounge.
Chen Ziran participated in a draft show after graduating from high school. He made a high-level debut, and was now as the industry’s best 1.5-tier fresh meat—a distance from the top, but enough to put the second tier behind him.
It was said that it was extremely cold at the top. Chen Ziran mocked towards himself that, before climbing halfway, there were no people around him to talk to. It was precisely because of this that he especially cherished his friendship with Xiang Cai.
"Why did you come alone?" In the lounge, Chen Ziran, who was currently having his hair styled, noticed the lone Xiang Cai’s reflection in the mirror. "Weren’t you going to bring your boyfriend to introduce to me?"
"What ‘bring him over’? You are not tall and not as in-good-shape as he is. I'm afraid you will feel inferior when you see him." Xiang Cai smiled, put the drinks in his hand on the table, and invited the staff in the room to drink.
But no one moved.
The agent put on a false face, and said without a smile: "Ziran has been losing weight recently, and cannot touch such sugary drinks."
For a moment, the atmosphere in the dressing room cooled down.
Xiang Cai naturally understood the reason—Chen Ziran was now the company's cash cow. Who knew how many eyes were assessing him. The company controlled every aspect of him, even intervening with his friends.
Chen Ziran once wanted to sign Xiang Cai into his own company. He thought very simply. He felt that since they were good brothers, they could work in the same company in the future and cooperate. The agent was also very satisfied with Xiang Cai’s appearance, and had a chat with Xiang Cai privately. It turned out that such a beautiful jade actually had a stubborn stone heart. He didn't want to be a star or want to make big money. He just wanted to stay on that small stage instead of earning an appearance fee of two thousand a month—ridiculous!
After Xiang Cai started dating a boyfriend, Chen Ziran's agent changed his face into a vicious stepmother’s. He feared of Xiang Cai taking his own golden cricket, and feared even more that someone would catch wind and catch a shadow of some unclear male-male scandal between Xiang Cai and Cheng Ziran.
Chen Ziran did not notice this hidden, surging, undercurrent.
He motioned Xiang Cai to sit down beside him, and chatted with Xiang Cai while closing his eyes for makeup.
Xiang Cai shared with Chen Ziran some interesting facts about Cen Manchuan that he recently found out. As for things like "abnormal", "odd interests" and other things, he did not mention a word.
Chen Ziran said enviously: "It's good ... Only when chatting with you do I remember that I am only 22 years old."
If he could, he really didn't want to mix in the intrigue and rubbish of the entertainment industry. When he first stepped into this circle, he saw only the bright side, but never thought of how much he would sacrifice.
He murmured again: "Should I also fall in love?"
His voice was not loud, but in an instant, everyone in the dressing room looked up.
The agent, executive agents, propaganda, assistants, stylists, bodyguards ... Everyone's eyes fell on Chen Ziran like a searchlight.
Seeing that his agent's face had changed greatly, Chen Ziran hurriedly added: "Talking with girls, talking with girls ..."
Agent: "I control your conversation with men and women. In short, you are not allowed to privately affiliate with anyone during the contract period!" She was extremely ruthless. "Do I still need to remind you of the two words: idol failure?"
For a moment the atmosphere was rigid. The agent gave the assistant a look, and the assistant immediately stepped forward and politely asked Xiang Cai out of the lounge.
When the door was almost shut behind him, the war had begun.
The agent's roar came from the door gap: "Chen Ziran, how many times have I said, don't give your work permit to this messy poor friend. Who knows what he will do in the background."
Xiang Cai shook his head helplessly, thinking, if this was the price of fame, he would always rather be a poor but free stage actor.
After leaving backstage, Xiang Cai went directly into the auditorium and found a seat.
For programs like this that were recorded and broadcast in the studio, the program group would give some tickets in advance to the celebrity support clubs. They’d set up some random tickets to audience members through activities.
Squeezing around the little girls who didn't seem to be with a support team, he simply picked a back position and sat with the loose powder [T/N: fans].
No matter whether they were a male star or a female star, the fan seats were full of girls. Xiang Cai sat alone in the group of girls, and provoked everyone around to secretly look at him.
He was fair and delicate, and his every gesture was filled with charm. This was the temperament that could only be obtained after being immersed in the art field for a long time.
The girl sitting next to him gathered her courage to ask, blushing, "You ... who are you a fan of?"
Although Xiang Cai was gay, he could also appreciate the beauty of girls. He replied gently: "I'm a fan of Chen Ziran." He asked in reply, "What about you?"
The girl took her best friend’s hand, and showed him their matching canvas support bags: "We are fans of the kick-off guests!"
Xiang Cai’s pupils shrank. Even if it was only a glimpse, it let him see the logo on the canvas bag—that was the logo of "Blockbuster Studio".
Xiang Cai didn't expect that having tried his best to avoid that name and not recall the bits and pieces after the reunion that night, fate was still inevitable like this.
※
The quarrel in the dressing room did not escalate, but fell into a cold war with Chen Ziran's silence.
The agent was so annoyed that he pointed to the cups of takeaway drinks on the table and told his assistant: "Take care of these."
The assistant said stupidly: "How do I take care of it?"
"There are so many other people in the back stage, just find someone to give it away to. No one wants to throw it in the trash!" The agent was furious. "I still need to teach you?"
The assistant quickly took the two bags of drinks and ran away with the soles of his feet skidding.
For these few drinks, it was definitely not enough to send to the staff; it was better to send it to the other artist teams for a smooth cooperation.
In the several dressing rooms backstage, the little assistant asked one by one. As a result, the little flower said that she was quitting sugar. The old opera singer said that she only drank wolfberry soaked in water. The remaining two artists sneered, saying that it would be troublesome.
When the little assistant knocked on the door of the last dressing room, she almost couldn’t keep the smile on her face.
"Who is it?" The door to the dressing room was opened, and a well-dressed woman in her thirties appeared behind the door.
A sign was affixed to the door of the dressing room—’This is the rest room for the voice-acting kick-off guests "Blockbuster Commercial Dubbing Studio"’.
The little assistant stretched her neck and glanced, and found that this small room was not half the size of her master’s. There was a crowd of people in the room, and none of them had an idol’s condescendence.
The assistant said, "I'm Ziran's assistant. It's hot today, so I brought you a few drinks."
The woman who opened the door was Ye Ye—their company didn't have an assistant who ran after them, it was only her, the hard-working commercial director, who had to be both the father and the mother.
As soon as Ye Ye heard that these drinks were actually sent by Chen Ziran's team, her hands froze in midair.
Not long ago, they broke up with Chen Ziran's agent in the recording studio, and the two sides blocked each other. However, they didn’t expect that they would participate in the same program today.
Looking at the drinks in front of her, Ye Ye was worried that they were poisoned.
She was about to refuse, when a voice suddenly sounded behind her.
"Are you Chen Ziran's assistant?" Tan Yiming sat on the sofa reading a book. Hearing the noise, he got up and came over. He had a gentle tone, with a faint smile hanging on his lips; he was very graceful.
The little assistant's eyes brightened. She hadn't noticed that there was still such a handsome man in the corner. He was handsome with tall legs, not to mention had a good and intoxicating voice. When his voice was lowered, it was like piano keys echoing in her ears.
"Yes ... yes." The assistant blushed, and hurriedly passed the drinks to his hands.
When the door closed slowly in front of her, she was still drunk on the male voice, and could not steady herself.
Oh my god, was this the charm of professional voice actors? Later on, when they went on stage, should she secretly cheer him on? ...
Inside the room, Tan Yiming divided the drinks.
This time on the show, he brought two male voice actors and two female voice actors. They were both very young, at the age of sugar addiction.
Ye Ye reminded: "You’ll be going on the stage soon. Don't drink too much sugar, your throat might hurt later."
She turned to Tan Yiming again and asked, "Master, do you know Chen Ziran?"
Tan Yiming said: "Of course I do." He picked up the mobile phone and shook it. "It is him who I see on my Weibo screen and Taobao advertisements. Even the mobile games I play are endorsed by him."
Ye Ye looked at him suspiciously.
It was impossible for Tan Yiming to tell the truth—the reason why he appeared on this show and took these drinks, was simply because he wanted to get closer to Xiang Cai.
He had thousands of ways to get Xiang Cai’s contact information—the simplest was: he could interact with him on Weibo, send him a private message, and say plainly, ‘That day was too rushed, I forgot to ask for your WeChat code’.
But Tan Yiming didn't.
Tan Yiming drew a line for himself and erected a glass wall. He didn't know what he was blocking, but that's where he stood, honestly outside the line and inside the wall, watching the boy's every move in quiet secret.
He ... didn't want to disturb him. After all, Xiang Cai had already embraced summer and had a new life.
But he also wanted to be near him.
This was an extremely difficult line to grasp. Tan Yiming carefully grasped the scale, afraid to destroy this hard-won balance.
While thinking of this, Tan Yiming's mouth suddenly became bitter.
He never liked drinks, but he took a glass of the iced drink, inserted a straw, and took a sip.
The ice cubes collided in the glass, and the refreshing lemon juice and mint flavors mixed, swallowed down into the throat. It gradually returned to sweetness.
Tan Yiming was shocked by this unexpected taste. He looked curiously at the label on the bottle and wanted to remember the name of the drink, but unexpectedly saw another string of characters.
Mint lemon tea (10 cups) (low sugar) (normal ice)
Mr. Xiang
133xxxxxxxx
"Mr. Xiang ...?"
Tan Yiming murmured.
...Had Xiang Cai also come to the scene?
----------
The author has something to say: I am happy, there are actually 10,000 collections!!!
[T/N: Where it was originally published.]
At the beginning of this novel, because both musical theatre and commercial dubbing are considered niche themes, I thought at the time, as long as there are five thousand collections, it’s good.
I didn't expect to be able to break thousands, it is really a surprise.
Thank you all for your love.
Thank you all for your trust.
The story is not over, the growth is not over.
----------
In the blink of an eye, it was the weekend of a new week.
Sound in the Ear was a fun dubbing competition program launched by Huacheng TV Station. Each issue of ten guests was divided into five groups. They competed on the same stage with their script and dubbing skills.
Of the ten guests, some were senior opera singers, and some were fresh meat stars. Occasionally, professional voice actors would be invited to kick off in the studio.
[T/N: I’m not absolutely sure, but this may mean that the voice actors are invited as guests to kick out some competitors.]
Xiang Cai arrived outside the recording studio two hours early and was surrounded by young fans. They held their own idol’s slogans in their hands, and were sharing gossip of the entertainment circle.
Xiang Cai listened to it. It was nothing more than ‘inharmonious relationship between this star and that star’, ‘the little flower is playing a big name’, ‘the movie king and his wife are inseparable’...
At this point, Xiang Cai had a strong sense of disenchantment—obviously, he could also be considered a half-step in the entertainment circle, but the real entertainment circle was too far away from him.
After a while, the takeaway delivery person hurriedly arrived.
"Is this Mr. Xiang?" The delivery person opened the trunk and took out drinks with ice cubes. "Please sign for the ten glasses of drinks you've ordered."
Xiang Cai gave a good rating on the app, then carried away the two sacks of drinks. He pulled out his work permit under the envious eyes of all the fans, and stepped into the studio.
Xiang Cai’s work permit was given by Chen Ziran; the two of them continued to be friends with each other. Xiang Cai still remembered that when he had just changed from ballet to dance departments, Chen Ziran had looked at him scornfully and provocatively. How could he think that, after many years had gone, the friendship between the two had actually flourished to this day.
Backstage, it was extremely busy, and Xiang Cai was familiar with it and knew the way to the largest and most luxurious lounge.
Chen Ziran participated in a draft show after graduating from high school. He made a high-level debut, and was now as the industry’s best 1.5-tier fresh meat—a distance from the top, but enough to put the second tier behind him.
It was said that it was extremely cold at the top. Chen Ziran mocked towards himself that, before climbing halfway, there were no people around him to talk to. It was precisely because of this that he especially cherished his friendship with Xiang Cai.
"Why did you come alone?" In the lounge, Chen Ziran, who was currently having his hair styled, noticed the lone Xiang Cai’s reflection in the mirror. "Weren’t you going to bring your boyfriend to introduce to me?"
"What ‘bring him over’? You are not tall and not as in-good-shape as he is. I'm afraid you will feel inferior when you see him." Xiang Cai smiled, put the drinks in his hand on the table, and invited the staff in the room to drink.
But no one moved.
The agent put on a false face, and said without a smile: "Ziran has been losing weight recently, and cannot touch such sugary drinks."
For a moment, the atmosphere in the dressing room cooled down.
Xiang Cai naturally understood the reason—Chen Ziran was now the company's cash cow. Who knew how many eyes were assessing him. The company controlled every aspect of him, even intervening with his friends.
Chen Ziran once wanted to sign Xiang Cai into his own company. He thought very simply. He felt that since they were good brothers, they could work in the same company in the future and cooperate. The agent was also very satisfied with Xiang Cai’s appearance, and had a chat with Xiang Cai privately. It turned out that such a beautiful jade actually had a stubborn stone heart. He didn't want to be a star or want to make big money. He just wanted to stay on that small stage instead of earning an appearance fee of two thousand a month—ridiculous!
After Xiang Cai started dating a boyfriend, Chen Ziran's agent changed his face into a vicious stepmother’s. He feared of Xiang Cai taking his own golden cricket, and feared even more that someone would catch wind and catch a shadow of some unclear male-male scandal between Xiang Cai and Cheng Ziran.
Chen Ziran did not notice this hidden, surging, undercurrent.
He motioned Xiang Cai to sit down beside him, and chatted with Xiang Cai while closing his eyes for makeup.
Xiang Cai shared with Chen Ziran some interesting facts about Cen Manchuan that he recently found out. As for things like "abnormal", "odd interests" and other things, he did not mention a word.
Chen Ziran said enviously: "It's good ... Only when chatting with you do I remember that I am only 22 years old."
If he could, he really didn't want to mix in the intrigue and rubbish of the entertainment industry. When he first stepped into this circle, he saw only the bright side, but never thought of how much he would sacrifice.
He murmured again: "Should I also fall in love?"
His voice was not loud, but in an instant, everyone in the dressing room looked up.
The agent, executive agents, propaganda, assistants, stylists, bodyguards ... Everyone's eyes fell on Chen Ziran like a searchlight.
Seeing that his agent's face had changed greatly, Chen Ziran hurriedly added: "Talking with girls, talking with girls ..."
Agent: "I control your conversation with men and women. In short, you are not allowed to privately affiliate with anyone during the contract period!" She was extremely ruthless. "Do I still need to remind you of the two words: idol failure?"
For a moment the atmosphere was rigid. The agent gave the assistant a look, and the assistant immediately stepped forward and politely asked Xiang Cai out of the lounge.
When the door was almost shut behind him, the war had begun.
The agent's roar came from the door gap: "Chen Ziran, how many times have I said, don't give your work permit to this messy poor friend. Who knows what he will do in the background."
Xiang Cai shook his head helplessly, thinking, if this was the price of fame, he would always rather be a poor but free stage actor.
After leaving backstage, Xiang Cai went directly into the auditorium and found a seat.
For programs like this that were recorded and broadcast in the studio, the program group would give some tickets in advance to the celebrity support clubs. They’d set up some random tickets to audience members through activities.
Squeezing around the little girls who didn't seem to be with a support team, he simply picked a back position and sat with the loose powder [T/N: fans].
No matter whether they were a male star or a female star, the fan seats were full of girls. Xiang Cai sat alone in the group of girls, and provoked everyone around to secretly look at him.
He was fair and delicate, and his every gesture was filled with charm. This was the temperament that could only be obtained after being immersed in the art field for a long time.
The girl sitting next to him gathered her courage to ask, blushing, "You ... who are you a fan of?"
Although Xiang Cai was gay, he could also appreciate the beauty of girls. He replied gently: "I'm a fan of Chen Ziran." He asked in reply, "What about you?"
The girl took her best friend’s hand, and showed him their matching canvas support bags: "We are fans of the kick-off guests!"
Xiang Cai’s pupils shrank. Even if it was only a glimpse, it let him see the logo on the canvas bag—that was the logo of "Blockbuster Studio".
Xiang Cai didn't expect that having tried his best to avoid that name and not recall the bits and pieces after the reunion that night, fate was still inevitable like this.
※
The quarrel in the dressing room did not escalate, but fell into a cold war with Chen Ziran's silence.
The agent was so annoyed that he pointed to the cups of takeaway drinks on the table and told his assistant: "Take care of these."
The assistant said stupidly: "How do I take care of it?"
"There are so many other people in the back stage, just find someone to give it away to. No one wants to throw it in the trash!" The agent was furious. "I still need to teach you?"
The assistant quickly took the two bags of drinks and ran away with the soles of his feet skidding.
For these few drinks, it was definitely not enough to send to the staff; it was better to send it to the other artist teams for a smooth cooperation.
In the several dressing rooms backstage, the little assistant asked one by one. As a result, the little flower said that she was quitting sugar. The old opera singer said that she only drank wolfberry soaked in water. The remaining two artists sneered, saying that it would be troublesome.
When the little assistant knocked on the door of the last dressing room, she almost couldn’t keep the smile on her face.
"Who is it?" The door to the dressing room was opened, and a well-dressed woman in her thirties appeared behind the door.
A sign was affixed to the door of the dressing room—’This is the rest room for the voice-acting kick-off guests "Blockbuster Commercial Dubbing Studio"’.
The little assistant stretched her neck and glanced, and found that this small room was not half the size of her master’s. There was a crowd of people in the room, and none of them had an idol’s condescendence.
The assistant said, "I'm Ziran's assistant. It's hot today, so I brought you a few drinks."
The woman who opened the door was Ye Ye—their company didn't have an assistant who ran after them, it was only her, the hard-working commercial director, who had to be both the father and the mother.
As soon as Ye Ye heard that these drinks were actually sent by Chen Ziran's team, her hands froze in midair.
Not long ago, they broke up with Chen Ziran's agent in the recording studio, and the two sides blocked each other. However, they didn’t expect that they would participate in the same program today.
Looking at the drinks in front of her, Ye Ye was worried that they were poisoned.
She was about to refuse, when a voice suddenly sounded behind her.
"Are you Chen Ziran's assistant?" Tan Yiming sat on the sofa reading a book. Hearing the noise, he got up and came over. He had a gentle tone, with a faint smile hanging on his lips; he was very graceful.
The little assistant's eyes brightened. She hadn't noticed that there was still such a handsome man in the corner. He was handsome with tall legs, not to mention had a good and intoxicating voice. When his voice was lowered, it was like piano keys echoing in her ears.
"Yes ... yes." The assistant blushed, and hurriedly passed the drinks to his hands.
When the door closed slowly in front of her, she was still drunk on the male voice, and could not steady herself.
Oh my god, was this the charm of professional voice actors? Later on, when they went on stage, should she secretly cheer him on? ...
Inside the room, Tan Yiming divided the drinks.
This time on the show, he brought two male voice actors and two female voice actors. They were both very young, at the age of sugar addiction.
Ye Ye reminded: "You’ll be going on the stage soon. Don't drink too much sugar, your throat might hurt later."
She turned to Tan Yiming again and asked, "Master, do you know Chen Ziran?"
Tan Yiming said: "Of course I do." He picked up the mobile phone and shook it. "It is him who I see on my Weibo screen and Taobao advertisements. Even the mobile games I play are endorsed by him."
Ye Ye looked at him suspiciously.
It was impossible for Tan Yiming to tell the truth—the reason why he appeared on this show and took these drinks, was simply because he wanted to get closer to Xiang Cai.
He had thousands of ways to get Xiang Cai’s contact information—the simplest was: he could interact with him on Weibo, send him a private message, and say plainly, ‘That day was too rushed, I forgot to ask for your WeChat code’.
But Tan Yiming didn't.
Tan Yiming drew a line for himself and erected a glass wall. He didn't know what he was blocking, but that's where he stood, honestly outside the line and inside the wall, watching the boy's every move in quiet secret.
He ... didn't want to disturb him. After all, Xiang Cai had already embraced summer and had a new life.
But he also wanted to be near him.
This was an extremely difficult line to grasp. Tan Yiming carefully grasped the scale, afraid to destroy this hard-won balance.
While thinking of this, Tan Yiming's mouth suddenly became bitter.
He never liked drinks, but he took a glass of the iced drink, inserted a straw, and took a sip.
The ice cubes collided in the glass, and the refreshing lemon juice and mint flavors mixed, swallowed down into the throat. It gradually returned to sweetness.
Tan Yiming was shocked by this unexpected taste. He looked curiously at the label on the bottle and wanted to remember the name of the drink, but unexpectedly saw another string of characters.
Mint lemon tea (10 cups) (low sugar) (normal ice)
Mr. Xiang
133xxxxxxxx
"Mr. Xiang ...?"
Tan Yiming murmured.
...Had Xiang Cai also come to the scene?
----------
The author has something to say: I am happy, there are actually 10,000 collections!!!
[T/N: Where it was originally published.]
At the beginning of this novel, because both musical theatre and commercial dubbing are considered niche themes, I thought at the time, as long as there are five thousand collections, it’s good.
I didn't expect to be able to break thousands, it is really a surprise.
Thank you all for your love.
Thank you all for your trust.
The story is not over, the growth is not over.
***
'Kick off' sounds like 'start the show.'
ReplyDeleteOh, oh, what will happen? ﾄﾞｷ(˚ᗜ˚*)(*ﾟᗜ˚)ﾄﾞｷ