Walking down the path, Chu Xiaoxiao thought back to when she and An Xin had parted on bad terms, with An Xin saying she needed to go back and work on her illustrations.
A thought suddenly surfaced in her mind. If she turned around and went back now, wouldn’t this be the perfect chance to bond with Ling Chen? Without An Xin interrupting, she could definitely rack up好感度 and make him change his mind.
Thinking about all the scenes where she and Ling Chen might grow closer this afternoon—like having dinner together, going on a date to watch a movie, and so on—
Chu Xiaoxiao’s originally cold, icy face flushed with a hint of red.
She stopped in her tracks, made a U-turn, and planned to head back to the recording studio.
Just as she was about to reach the activity room, Chu Xiaoxiao suddenly heard someone call her name.
And it was the voice she least wanted to hear—An Xin.
“Chu Xiaoxiao, didn’t you say you had a seminar this afternoon? Why are you back?”
Chu Xiaoxiao froze on the spot, like a kid caught red-handed doing something wrong. Awkward and at a loss, she could only steel herself and reply, “Yeah, what a coincidence.”
But the next second, she came to her senses. Didn’t An Xin just say she was busy too? Why was she back?
“An Xin, weren’t you going back to work on your illustrations? You…”
An Xin was equally stunned. She had thought that since Chu Xiaoxiao had plans in the afternoon, she could return to Ling Chen’s side and grow closer to him.
She had even brought the drink laced with sleeping pills, waiting for the afternoon when Ling Chen would be alone so she could slip it to him.
Then she could have some intimate interactions with him on campus.
But the two of them had collided with the exact same idea…
The air instantly solidified. The awkwardness was so thick it felt like “The Scholar’s Serenade” should start playing automatically.
“Beyond romance, I write the preface waiting for you to return~”
…
“What are you two doing standing at the door?” Ling Chen, having finished his lunch, was holding a Mixue Bingcheng ice cream cone and looking at the two girls with surprise.
Since those two male students had been quite cooperative, and there weren’t many background voice lines to begin with, they had finished everything in less than an hour.
After settling the payment with them, Ling Chen had gone out to grab a quick bowl of noodles and planned to come back to organize the audio files.
“A Chen, I was worried you hadn’t eaten, so I came to check on you.” An Xin actively moved closer to Ling Chen.
‘What a piece of work,’ Chu Xiaoxiao cursed inwardly.
“Thanks, An Xin. I’ve already eaten.” Ling Chen pushed open the activity room door. “Just in time, those two male students’ voice acting is done. Chu Xiaoxiao, you can get ready for the second volume’s recording.”
“Okay, I’m totally ready.” Seeing that Ling Chen needed her, Chu Xiaoxiao’s originally icy face instantly softened.
Just as Ling Chen was organizing the voice acting documents, An Xin, who had been watching from the side, suddenly spoke up. “A Chen, the first volume’s recording isn’t finished yet, right? Doesn’t the female lead still have that一段 ambiguous performance?”
“That’s right, I haven’t forgotten. But Chu Xiaoxiao isn’t really into recording that kind of stuff. I was planning to look for a professional voice actor online who can imitate voices.”
Perhaps because the posting time was too short, Ling Chen hadn’t found any voice actors yet.
“Then why not let me give it a try, A Chen?” An Xin’s eyes lit up. “If I can do it, it’ll save some budget.”
“It really would save on the budget. And I haven’t found a suitable voice actor online yet. If you can handle it, An Xin, that would be a huge help.”
Ling Chen quickly agreed to the idea. After all, it would greatly improve the efficiency of making the game.
“Then let’s start right now, A Chen.” An Xin turned to Chu Xiaoxiao. “Xiaoxiao~ could you go rest in the next room for a bit? I’ll be too embarrassed to perform with you here.”
Chu Xiaoxiao looked at An Xin’s smug, triumphant expression and felt like her veins were about to pop on her forehead.
She was silent for a moment, then walked wordlessly into the next room.
After Chu Xiaoxiao left, An Xin cleared her throat and began the risque audition.
“XX-kun, this is my first time. Please be gentle.”
“I-I’m sorry, did I hurt you?”
“It’s okay, XX-kun, please continue~”
…
Even from the next room, the soundproofing wasn’t complete. Chu Xiaoxiao listened to the blushing audition.
She suddenly felt like a powerless husband—no, a powerless wife.
Her vivid imagination had already conjured up images of An Xin and Ling Chen doing that, while she could only stand guard at the door, crying.
And now they were alone together in a room, recording something so explicit. What if, what if they actually…
“No! I absolutely cannot allow this to happen.” Chu Xiaoxiao resolutely pushed open the door.
“Um, if An Xin is going to voice it, there will be a difference in her voice, right? Let me give it a try instead.” Chu Xiaoxiao’s face was bright red, and she was stuttering a little.
But her tone was unusually firm, as if she were declaring her sovereignty.
“Sure.” For Ling Chen, having Chu Xiaoxiao record it would naturally be even better.
After all, he and An Xin had only been testing the waters to see if she could handle it.
Seeing that the two of them weren’t huddled together, that nothing she had imagined was happening, Chu Xiaoxiao let out a sigh of relief.
But the thought of the guy she liked recording this kind of thing with another cute girl… she absolutely couldn’t stand it.
She absolutely couldn’t let Ling Chen go, especially not to that An Xin.
Chu Xiaoxiao’s recording began. The initial dialogue went fine every time.
But as soon as they reached parts like “Oooooh hoo hoo hoo~”, Chu Xiaoxiao would become too shy to open her mouth.
‘Recording this kind of thing with Ling Chen, and then having it made into a game for everyone to hear… Isn’t that just like me and Ling Chen doing it and telling everyone about it?’
Every time she thought about it, Chu Xiaoxiao’s brain would overload, and she couldn’t bring herself to speak.
But seeing An Xin watching from the side, Chu Xiaoxiao grew increasingly anxious.
She didn’t want An Xin to get close to Ling Chen. She didn’t want An Xin to be that intimate with him.
After repeated failures, Chu Xiaoxiao was so frustrated she was about to cry.
Seeing Chu Xiaoxiao like this, Ling Chen immediately understood her “feelings.”
‘Chu Xiaoxiao really has incredible professional integrity. She truly loves this voice acting job.’
‘Even without any foundation, she not only practices the basic content repeatedly but also wants to break into areas she’s not good at?’
He had originally thought she was just there to play around. A sense of guilt rose in his heart.
Just as Ling Chen was about to comfort her and suggest a different approach—
Chu Xiaoxiao let out a cute scream. “Eeeek!”
A huge hornet had landed on her shoulder.
Having been stung by a hornet when she was little, Chu Xiaoxiao shrieked in fright.
And that soft, squeaky scream instantly sparked an idea in Ling Chen. Could he try post-production audio editing to achieve the effect?
He could use techniques like lowering the frequency, adding slight reverb, and controlling breathing sounds to transform normal exhales and screams into that kind of ambiguous, seductive sound.
“Chu Xiaoxiao, you don’t need to record this kind of sound anymore. I’ve got an idea.”
“Huh?!”