“This should be the place, Senior Lin Chen’s Game Production Club.”
After finishing her afternoon classes, Hua Manyue, wearing a white blouse and pleated skirt, arrived outside the unusually remote club activity room.
While in class, she had received an invitation from Senior Lin Chen.
When she first got the private message from Senior Lin Chen, Hua Manyue’s heart was pounding. Being invited by him of his own accord was simply wonderful.
Just as Hua Manyue was about to knock on the door, she heard screams coming from the activity room.
“Ahhh!!!”
Hua Manyue’s hand, which had been reaching for the door, froze mid-air.
‘I definitely didn’t get the wrong place, right? Why are there screams? Is Senior in danger? No, I have to protect Senior Lin Chen!’
Hua Manyue kicked open the door of the activity room. “Senior, don’t be afraid! I’m here to protect you!”
“Huh?” The three people inside the activity room turned their heads simultaneously to look at Hua Manyue.
She saw that everything in the club was perfectly normal. Senior Chu Xiaoxiao was recording, Senior An Xin was drawing (actually slacking off, sneaking glances at Lin Chen from the corner of her eye), and Senior Lin Chen was playtesting the first part of the content.
She instantly felt like an idiot, especially making such a fool of herself in front of her idol, Senior Lin Chen. She was so embarrassed she wanted to drop out of school on the spot.
She turned into a full-on Steam Princess, her face so red it heated the surrounding air, steam practically rising from the top of her head.
“Manyue is so energetic and cute.” It was An Xin who spoke first, breaking the awkward silence.
“Yeah, we’ve been busy for so long, I was feeling pretty tired. You made a joke, junior, and the atmosphere instantly relaxed.” Lin Chen quickly chimed in.
Of course, from Lin Chen’s perspective, he just thought Hua Manyue had a sudden chuunibyou outburst. After all, he went through that phase himself back in middle school.
“Thank you, Senior An Xin! You’re really too kind!” Looking at An Xin, who had helped her out of the awkward situation, Hua Manyue was almost moved to tears.
“It’s okay, it’s okay, there’s nothing to worry about. Good girl, good girl~” An Xin hugged Hua Manyue affectionately, pulling her into her arms and gently stroking her head.
Hua Manyue was like a docile kitten, allowing An Xin to pet her.
The two of them instantly became close.
Chu Xiaoxiao watched this heartwarming scene and couldn’t help sighing inwardly. ‘Senior An Xin is really too gentle… yeah, right! That Tea Art Master is definitely plotting something, isn’t she?’
When An Xin looked up at Chu Xiaoxiao, she didn’t bother hiding her smug smile.
It made Chu Xiaoxiao furious. She repeatedly told herself to calm down, or she would really rush over and beat the hell out of An Xin.
For An Xin, of course, there was a reason for doing this.
Since Chu Xiaoxiao thought she was good at voice acting, then An Xin would use Hua Manyue to compare them.
Then she would prove that Chu Xiaoxiao was inferior to Hua Manyue. After that, she could see if someone so arrogant would still have the nerve to stay here.
At noon, when An Xin saw how effortlessly Hua Manyue handled herself, she was sure that Hua Manyue was definitely no worse than Chu Xiaoxiao, and might even be better.
After all, compared to Chu Xiaoxiao, who had been dragging things out with Lin Chen for three months, it was better to have a junior like Hua Manyue, who barely knew Lin Chen, around.
And Hua Manyue’s silly behavior earlier also made An Xin think she would be easier to manipulate.
“But since nothing happened in the activity room, why did I hear Senior Chu Xiaoxiao scream just now?”
After lying in An Xin’s soft embrace for a few minutes, Hua Manyue gradually recovered.
“Oh, that. Actually, it’s because…” Lin Chen patiently explained.
Even though she was hearing it for the second time, Chu Xiaoxiao couldn’t help smiling as she listened.
Because doing this would add a lot of work for Lin Chen. The thought that he would go through so much trouble for her…
‘Lin Chen still likes me that much, doesn’t he?’
“I see. It seems I misunderstood… Sorry.” Hua Manyue clasped her hands together, silently praying that Senior Lin Chen wouldn’t think less of her.
“It’s fine, junior. First, take a look at your script portion. Chu Xiaoxiao still has a part to finish recording.”
Seeing Lin Chen’s gentle smile, Hua Manyue relaxed. “Okay, Senior~”
Chu Xiaoxiao was recording the final confession scene. Just as her emotions were running high, An Xin suddenly interrupted.
“Xiaoxiao~ Your tone should be a little softer. The love for this character shouldn’t be like that, should it?”
“Huh? How is that possible? At this point, the female lead’s emotions have to be that intense, right?!” Chu Xiaoxiao didn’t want to give an inch to An Xin.
Besides, in Chu Xiaoxiao’s eyes, this character was clearly based on her by Lin Chen. So her understanding of the role had to be the correct one.
“Well then… let Manyue try that line. We’ll be able to tell right away.” An Xin hugged Hua Manyue, who was earnestly reading the script.
“Ah!” Caught off guard and suddenly hugged by An Xin, Hua Manyue let out a cute sound.
“Me?” Hua Manyue wanted to refuse, but remembering that Senior An Xin had helped her out earlier, she decided not to decline.
Hua Manyue glanced at the preceding text, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. Inside, she slowly asked herself: ‘If it were Senior, how would he play this…’
“[Name]-kun, I like you. I like you so much~ This feeling has been hidden in my heart, making my heart feel like it’s about to burst. Why? Why won’t you respond to me?!” After imagining it, Hua Manyue instantly entered character, one second and she was in the zone.
While clutching her chest, she wrapped the words in surging emotions, perfectly etching the line into everyone’s minds.
When the entire test recording was over, the corners of Hua Manyue’s eyes were faintly glistening with tears.
“Hah… Senior, was my performance okay?” Hua Manyue looked at Lin Chen with a hint of shyness.
“That was amazing.” The first to respond was not Lin Chen, but Chu Xiaoxiao.
It was at this moment that Chu Xiaoxiao truly recognized the gap between them—a huge gap in talent.
Why was it that someone who had only looked at the script for two minutes could conjure emotions that far surpassed what she had practiced for hours?
In terms of contributing to the production, maybe she was dispensable. Even though it was frustrating, Chu Xiaoxiao had to admit she didn’t have as much talent as she thought.
“Junior did perform really well. It was a perfect performance. But for this character, the way Chu Xiaoxiao performed it is also really great. It feels more positive and confident, which is also super good!”
Lin Chen saw Chu Xiaoxiao looking a bit dejected. Remembering how hard she had worked on the recording today, he couldn’t bear to let her continue feeling sad.
Hearing this, Chu Xiaoxiao’s nose tingled. She hated this feeling of hiding behind others, being weak and powerless.
It reminded her of the weak and hopeless person she used to be.
But now Lin Chen had helped her through it, and that made Chu Xiaoxiao’s heart leap with joy.
Chu Xiaoxiao couldn’t help thinking that maybe she was dispensable in the game-making aspect, but in Lin Chen’s heart, she was definitely irreplaceable.
‘Should I try asking Lin Chen out this weekend?’
Seeing Lin Chen intervene, An Xin didn’t press further.
She looked at Chu Xiaoxiao, whose icy exterior was now beginning to crack. Her goal had been achieved.