CH 18

After listening for a while, Yu Zhou wanted to go to the bathroom. In the spirit of sacrificing herself with a time bomb, she dragged Xiang Wan along.

From one end of the corridor to the other, stopping in front of the “Kung Fu Panda” poster, she called out to Xiang Wan: “Xiang Wan, I found out that you are really quite bad.”

This was the second time she said this, with more experience.

Xiang Wan looked at her innocently, not understanding what she was talking about.

“Pretending to be ignorant again,” Yu Zhou gritted her teeth, “Miss Xiang, shouldn’t the words you’re best at saying be ‘I don’t know if it’s appropriate to speak or not’?”

How could she blurt it out without any incantations?

Xiang Wan carefully recalled and cautiously confirmed: “You said before that your past with Miss Su is not suitable to talk about when we first met, and that it is a principle.”

“Yes.” It seems like you understand.

“But that’s hindsight.”

“What do you mean?”

Xiang Wan said slowly, “The fact that Miss Su is your ex-girlfriend was mentioned when we just met. Therefore, it is something that can be said when we first meet.”

Damn. Yu Zhou almost burst into laughter.

“Okay! Well done!” She pointed her finger in the air at Xiang Wan, like a hollow threat, and then turned to leave.

Xiang Wan followed her: “So, is the ex-girlfriend thing true?”

“What do you think?” Yu Zhou stifled her voice hopelessly.

“It doesn’t seem like it.” Xiang Wan pondered.

“Why, do we not match?”

Xiang Wan found it strange that she asked this question, shaking her head: “It’s just that you tried so hard to hide it, and Miss Su seemed indifferent, as if you two were not very close.”

“What do you know,” Yu Zhou didn’t want to deal with her, “You’re too young, you’ll understand when you’ve been in love.”

Avoiding ex-love is the hardest thing in the world.

“I have indeed never experienced mutual love. To this day, only you have called me wife.” Xiang Wan smiled with pursed lips.

“It was laopo.”

“There’s no significant difference.”

“There is.”

“No.”

“……”

The two chatted idly as they came out of the bathroom. Glancing at the big clock in the break room, it was already five o’clock. As expected, the teachers would come out to eat in a while.

So they didn’t go back in, but sat in the break room waiting for the others to take a break during the recording.

Footsteps came from the hallway, several people emerged in groups of twos or threes. Peng Xiangzhi walked in front, swinging her little skirt gracefully, “Come on, let’s order some food~”

She seemed very excited, as if she had been waiting for this meal for a long time.

Yu Zhou noticed that only Peng Xiangzhi and Dian Dian were seated, so she asked, “Where are Ms.Zhou and Ms.Qi?”

“They’re not hungry, so they told us to eat first.” Peng Xiangzhi opened the takeout app, “Why don’t you ask about your ex-girlfriend?”

Her tone was joking and relaxed, but it still made Yu Zhou flinch: “Huh?”

“Hahahaha, your Ms.Su. Don’t be nervous, this kind of thing is very common. Many, what’s it called, fans, react like this when they see her, calling her their wife, their husband.” Peng Xiangzhi laughed happily.

“Ah, who can blame her for being so good-looking?” She lamented sarcastically, “There are just four of us, so how about some milk tea and small cakes? Later, when the recording ends, I’ll treat you all to some crawfish.”

She decided on her own and continued the topic from before.

“You’ve heard her voice acting, right? It’s just so-so. Compared to me, she’s still a bit worse.” She shook her head, poking fun at Su Chang, which seemed to make her quite happy.

Seeing her act so self-satisfied, Yu Zhou couldn’t help but laugh along.

Peng Xiangzhi raised an eyebrow with a smile, “Don’t spread this, okay? If it gets out, her fans will kill me.”

Dian Dian said, “You have quite a few fans too.”

Peng Xiangzhi pouted, “Not as many as her. Let me tell you, she has a lot of fans now, all kinds of them. There are mom fans, career fans, girlfriend fans, and oh, the most outrageous ones are the CP fans. There are even fans for her and me as a couple.”

She laughed heartily, clearly finding it ridiculous.

Yu Zhou pulled at the table napkin holder, “CP fans?”

“Yeah, and she’s the top, can you believe it? It’s surprising how she can dominate me with such an appearance.”

Seeing her relaxed demeanor, Yu Zhou thought for a moment before asking, “You don’t mind?”

“Why would I mind? It’s all for fun. The audience likes you, that’s why they become your fans. Who cares what kind of fans they are, as long as they don’t confront me in person.” Peng Xiangzhi seemed quite open-minded about it.

“Then, your…” Yu Zhou wanted to ask if her partner didn’t mind either, but she felt it might be too offensive.

Peng Xiangzhi chuckled, understanding the implication of her words, “It’s not that they don’t mind, it’s that I don’t have one. I’m single.”

“You…”

“Don’t ask me about my sexual orientation, okay? I only have one kind of orientation, that’s my ‘Earthly Thoughts’~”

“Ha ha ha ha.”

“Don’t laugh awkwardly. This isn’t some corny joke; I’m advertising my representative work.”

Yu Zhou finally realized she was referring to the classic audio drama she had directed before, “Earthly Thoughts.”

This time, she genuinely laughed.

Peng Xiangzhi sighed with a smile, her tone changing a bit, “When people talk about this issue, they seem to think that since I’ve done lesbian audio dramas, I must be somewhat gay. I really want to retort that I’ve also done romance dramas, and BL dramas, so does that mean my sexual orientation is like a spinning top, going round and round all the time? Oh, I’ve even voiced horses in animated films.”

“In fact, for us, it’s just work.”

“Right.” Yu Zhou understood her point.

“Oh my.” Peng Xiangzhi sighed. She had said so much; others might find her difficult to approach, but once she started gossiping, she couldn’t stop.

The table quieted down again. Peng Xiangzhi looked up and saw Xiang Wan sitting in her seat, suddenly finding it a bit funny. She wondered how Xiang Wan could sit like a lucky cat.

So she asked Yu Zhou, “What does your friend do? No classes today? Not working?”

Xiang Wan replied, “I am a Ci-Wei.”

“Ci…” Peng Xiangzhi blinked.

Yu Zhou was dumbfounded, unable to stop Xiang Wan in time. Now she felt extremely embarrassed. It was like showing off one’s swordsmanship in front of Guan Yu [1]. She didn’t think that she and Xiang Wan, as a team that hadn’t even successfully landed a minor order, could confidently declare themselves as voice actors in front of Peng Xiangzhi.

But Xiang Wan was just that confident.

“Just like what you guys were doing earlier,” Xiang Wan said.

“Oh, oh, oh… CV?”

“Yes.”

Peng Xiangzhi laughed a couple of times, her eyes lighting up, “Why didn’t you say so earlier? No wonder you came to the recording studio. Your voice is indeed pretty good. Have you recorded any works? Do you usually do games or film and TV?”

Xiang Wan was about to reveal everything, but Yu Zhou jumped in first, “She, she’s just starting out and doesn’t know much yet. I brought her here today to gain some experience.”

“Right.” Xiang Wan nodded.

Peng Xiangzhi looked at her for a moment before she stood up, “Come on, let me hear you record a few lines. Your voice is very unique, and it should stand out.”

“Let’s go, Dian Dian.” She took Xiang Wan by the hand and Dian Dian with another, leading them toward the recording studio.

“Author sama, help us keep an eye on the takeout, okay?”

“I see.” Yu Zhou was about to stand up but sat back down at Peng Xiangzhi’s words.

Bored while waiting for the takeout, Yu Zhou idly browsed Weibo.

When she couldn’t scroll out anything any further, someone sat down across from her, bringing with them the woody scent of LE LABO Santal 33.

Su Chang always liked to wear this kind of distant and detached perfume, especially the woody scents that didn’t reveal any hint of passion but were still gentle.

Yu Zhou looked up to greet her, “You’re out?”

“Yeah. Waiting for takeout?”

“Yes, waiting for our milk tea and cakes.” She thought for a moment and then joked, “Those who weren’t here earlier are miss out.”

Su Chang smiled and placed her phone on the table, not responding to the comment.

The two sat in silence for about half a minute before Su Chang was the first to speak.

She asked, “Can you explain to me?”

This statement sounds strange because of the standpoint. Although the behavior of asking for an explanation clearly shows possessiveness, the phrasing “Can you” seemed as if she was seeking Yu Zhou’s opinion.

It was something only Su Chang would say.

Swallowing, Yu Zhou looked at her and blurted, “She’s straight.”

Too directly, Su Chang stared for a moment before a hint of amusement appeared in her eyes. She said, “I meant the fact that you’ve liked a lot of voice actors.”

Damn, Yu Zhou was so embarrassed.

Her reaction brought an indescribable sense of pleasure to Su Chang, so she gently asked, “And the other thing, is it true?”

“Which one?”

“The one that you call me your wife all the time at home.”

Damn. Yu Zhou felt her ears heat up again. Su Chang clearly knew it’s just an excuse but insisted on asking, as if to tease her.

Fortunately, Su Chang didn’t press the issue and seemed to treat it as a small joke. She quickly changed the subject, “How come I’ve never heard you mention her before?”

Yu Zhou was prepared for this question, having made up a story earlier, “She’s my high school classmate’s younger sister. We used to play games together, and she calls me her older sister.”

“Why is she wearing your clothes?”

Facing Su Chang, Yu Zhou felt somewhat helpless so decided to come clean, “She’s been staying at my place these past few days.”

“She just moved to the city. Her parents favor boys over girls so wanted to sell her off so her brother could get married. She had no choice but to escape and find work.”

Su Chang furrowed her brows slightly, “And your high school classmate?”

“Dead.” Yu Zhou looked at her and said.

Su Chang’s gaze turned questioning.

Yu Zhou thought to herself, ‘Please stop looking at me like that; I really can’t come up with a story about a living person.’

“Your high school classmate, was he a boy or a girl?”

“A boy.” She didn’t want to make up a story about a girl dying; even when writing, she couldn’t bear to do so. Although, making up a story about a boy dying wasn’t very ethical either.

Su Chang raised her eyebrows subtly. The girl’s parents favored boys over girls and wanted to sell her off to get dowry money, but the family’s son was dead?

She sighed.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Su Chang’s breath shifted slightly, and she smiled, “Author-sama.”