CH 59

After the streaming ended, the group chat named “Spring All Year Round” popped up a WeChat message.

“Spring All Year Round” was previously known as the group chat “Congratulations for Fortune”, but Yu Zhou changed the name with optimistic expectations after the weather turned cold.

Peng Xiangzhi: “Anyone wants to tell me what happened?”

She made the text carry with a tone.

No one responded.

Peng Xiangzhi: “@Su Chang.”

Still, no response.

“Peng Xiangzhi nudged Su Chang.”[1]

Su Chang: “It’s not me.”

“Peng Xiangzhi nudged Yu Zhou.”

Yu Zhou: “It’s me.”

Peng Xiangzhi sent a voice message: “Hahaha, how could I not know? I just wanted to test if you two had modified the “nudge” message. You guys are so boring, leaving it as default.”

Yu Zhou remained silent.

Su Chang also looked nonchalant so Peng Xiangzhi was bored.

When bored, she liked to provoke Su Chang.

“Wow, you two are glued together like honey. You even would like to divide a peach to eat it. And you asked in a ‘virtuous wife and good mother’ tone in the middle of the night? There you go, a big mess.”

Yu Zhou sent an ellipsis.

Su Chang remained silent but Peng Xiangzhi thought she must be pissed off right now.

Oh well, imagining things is always fun.

Peng Xiangzhi: “@Su Chang, what do you think of Gu Qi’an being the most surprising actor to the author?”

“Peng Xiangzhi nudged Su Chang.”

“Peng Xiangzhi nudged Su Chang.”

“Su Chang patted Peng Xiangzhi’s little face and said what a wonderful beauty.”

……

Yu Zhou laughed out loud. That “nudge” message was so amusing.

Peng Xiangzhi’s voice message came with an unfinished laugh: “Okay I’ll stop playing you around. Meet me tomorrow at twelve noon, same place as always. We only rented the studio in Three Sounds Studio for two days because it’s almost the end of the year and they’re all occupied. We’ll be using the Lingyue recording studio in the Jinpeng International building for the next five days. Zhouzhou, if you have time, come and listen. I’ll send you the address of the new recording studio later.”

“Hey, Chang, did you finish setting up your studio? If it’s done, we won’t have to rent others’.”

“Not yet,” Su Chang replied via voice message.

“But almost,” she added.

“Why is it taking so long? You’ve been working on it for quite a while, right?”

“The speakers I ordered haven’t arrived yet,” Su Chang explained.

“Wait, don’t you use the Genelec speakers?”

“I do. But I replaced the 12-inch sub-low driver with a dual 18-inch one, redesigned the observation window and also adjusted the monitoring system in the audio control room.”

“Sounds good,” Peng Xiangzhi was a bit pleased. “Can I just use it for free in the future?”

Su Chang laughed. “Of course.”

Peng Xiangzhi felt at ease and asked Xiang Wan, “@Xiang Wan, are you interested in joining us for the second season?”

Yu Zhou called out to Xiang Wan, who was collecting clothes from the balcony.

Xiang Wan came over with her clothes and replied after hearing it from Yu Zhou, “Of course, I am interested.”

“If you are free tomorrow, why don’t you come with us? I will record your lines for the role of the little princess. Your character has quite a few lines. I can have Yu Zhou go over the details with you,” said Peng Xiangzhi.

Xiang Wan and Yu Zhou exchanged a look, seeing Xiang Wan nod, Yu Zhou replied, “She is free tomorrow.”

“Then come earlier at 11:40 am, warm up your voice well and make sure you’re not hoarse,” said Peng Xiangzhi.

“Sure.”

They made a simple agreement. Just as the conversation was about to end, Peng Xiangzhi returned to the group chat.

Peng Xiangzhi asked, “@Su Chang @Xiang Wan, I suddenly realized that your characters have a rivalry and must act together in three or four scenes. Do you need to avoid such rivalry?”

Xiang Wan replied, “It’s not necessary.”

“Peng Xiangzhi nudged Su Chang.”

“Peng Xiangzhi nudged Su Chang.”

“Peng Xiangzhi patted Su Chang and heard she said no need.”

Peng Xiangzhi laughed out loud, “What’s wrong with you? hahaha!” You would rather bother to change the setting, are you going to die if you just simply reply?

Yu Zhou closed the group chat before she found the script in the folder and sent it to Xiang Wan. She then explained the character design and story concepts based on the original work and the screenwriters’ input.

Xiang Wan listened carefully and nodded occasionally.

The next day, both of them arrived quite early at 11:20 am. The long-lost Three Sounds Studio was still bright and spotless as ever.

They sat in the resting room for a while, before greeting Peng Xiangzhi and Su Chang, who arrived punctually. They have all started wearing autumn clothes. Peng Xiangzhi has given up her summer skirts and now wears high heels with a suit. Although she has lost some charm, she has become much more capable and professional.

Su Chang’s clothes seem to be the same throughout the four seasons, perfectly matching their group chat name “Spring All Year Round.”

Xiang Wan always dresses in a student-like manner. Compared to summer, she simply switched from short denim shorts to long jeans that fit snugly around her straight legs. With her naturally clean face, she looked extremely neat without even using perfume. The only faint scent coming from her was the fragrance of her shampoo.

They walked towards A8 together, when Yu Zhou gazed at Su Chang and Xiang Wan’s figures, she couldn’t help but feel that something was off.

They walked towards A8 together, when Yu Zhou gazed at Su Chang and Xiang Wan’s figures, she couldn’t help but feel that something was off.

The fanfiction had left a significant impact on her, making her uncomfortable for a long time.

Listening to the recordings was no longer a novelty, so Yu Zhou was not as engrossed as she was in the first season, staring at the actors and teachers inside the sound booth.

She had learned to listen with only her ears, a skill she had honed on her own. Because audio drama was an art form of sound, forgetting the expressions and physical movements of the voice actors in front of her perhaps made it easier to feel the pure emotions conveyed by the sound.

While looking at the script and checking the lines, she occasionally took breaks to reply to messages from her editor at the publishing house.

She had never known that publishing was such a hassle. Everything from the standards of censorship and adaptation content, to cover design and internal illustrations had to be verified and finalized.

But she felt a little more presentable now.

It seemed like she was becoming a woman with a career.

Before the tea break, she went out to the hallway to call the editor from the publishing house to discuss adaptation issues that couldn’t be explained clearly in text messages.

Xiang Wan, who had finished her scenes, also sat in the restroom, waiting for Yu Zhou to finish her call.

The light shadows softly covered the tabletop as Su Chang sat in front of Xiang Wan.

She said, “Is it convenient? I’d like to talk to you.”

Xiang Wan was a little surprised. “Miss Su?”

“It’s alright.”

Su Chang smiled lightly before getting straight to the point, “You’re already in the industry. Have you considered signing a contract?”

“A contract? With who?”

“SC Studio, my studio. I want to sign you.”

Xiang Wan raised her eyebrows in surprise before she confirmed carefully, “Me?”

“Yes.”

But Xiang Wan fell silent.

Su Chang said, “The reason is, you performed really well in class and I listened to your new drama.”

“No other reason.” Su Chang added.

“Oh,” Su Chang smiled wryly, tilting her head slightly, “maybe just one more reason. If I sign you now, you shouldn’t be too expensive.”

Xiang Wan smiled slightly, pursed her lips and said, “But Miss Su said before that the academic background also matters.”

“My studio, I call the shots.”

Su Chang explained, “Signing a contract won’t put too much pressure on you. We may screen the script for you, but ultimately, we follow your wishes. The split is based on the market price and we won’t pressure you to lower it. And if you don’t want to, you don’t have to make it public on the internet.”

It sounded great and Xiang Wan was a little tempted.

She indeed felt that she couldn’t do everything alone. The connections within a studio were more closely knit than those within a club. She didn’t like talking to people, so sometimes she might not be considered even when there were projects.

There were no regular training sessions or systematic guidance. Everyone was very busy and many were “all-in-one” jacks-of-all-trades, with no time to spare to mentor newbies.

Xiang Wan thought for a moment before asking, “How many people have Miss Su signed?”

“At the moment, I don’t plan on signing too many people, including you, I should have about three or four,” Su Chang said.

“Are they all from the training class?” Xiang Wan asked.

“No, only you,” Su Chang replied.

All the promising talents from the training class were signed by other studios already, only Xiang Wan was left over because of her lackluster resume.

“I agree,” Xiang Wan nodded, her voice clear and melodious.

“Are we not going to talk about the price?” Su Chang raised an eyebrow.

Only then did Xiang Wan remember, but she didn’t know how to negotiate the price so she felt a bit awkward.

“Where are you looking?” Su Chang lightly hooked the corner of her mouth as she glanced towards the hallway, “Waiting for your agent?”

Agent Yu Zhou, who was still on the phone.

Xiang Wan hid her smile; she understood what ‘agent’ meant, Yu Zhou had mentioned it before.

Su Chang quickly typed a few numbers on her phone before sending them to Xiang Wan via WeChat. She then put her phone down and said, “Well, I may not have given you a lot, this is the percentage I can offer.”

“Then, I will also arrange for private tutoring for you. Besides voice acting, you’ll need to prepare for the adult college entrance examination,” Su Chang continued.

Xiang Wan fell silent again as she stared at her phone. She then lifted her gaze to meet Su Chang’s.

“A studio doesn’t need to go this far just for signing a new voice actor,” she said.

“Well, this step is planned as a teacher and a friend,” Su Chang explained.

“But it’s also for your long-term development. After all, the contract I’ve prepared is for eight years.”

Eight years… it was a long time, considering Xiang Wan had only been here for less than eight months.

“It’s not a slave contract. The termination clause isn’t strict. Take a look at the contract after you receive it and think it over,” Su Chang reassured her.

Xiang Wan heard Yu Zhou’s footsteps approaching after finishing her call. She instinctively looked in Yu Zhou’s direction.

Her eyes twinkled as she blinked her eyelashes before looking back at Su Chang, she said after taking a small breath, “I…”

“I know it,” Su Chang interrupted her gently.

Then she leaned back on the chair and said, “But what I talked to you about today is not related to that.”

“Understood,” Xiang Wan smiled as she nodded her head slightly.