I Fell in Love With My Cold-Hearted, Flirtatious Roommate (GL) - Chapter 14

On the morning of the event, when Ran Jiu got up at 6 AM, the door to Rong Ting’s room was still tightly closed. She pressed the ticket under the mask box on the shoe cabinet.

In the afternoon, they put on light makeup and took a special car to U University’s gymnasium.

The front area was crowded with people; they prepared backstage.

This event required a live broadcast, so they could choose to show their faces or not. Since the voice acting career is mainly behind-the-scenes, and it didn’t affect the media company sponsors at the venue from selecting good voices, the voice actors were all backstage familiarizing themselves with the scripts, testing the equipment, and warming up their voices.

Ran Jiu sat there like a statue, occasionally checking her watch, wondering if the “rabbit” had seen the ticket she left on the table and if she would come.

Wei Feng handed her a bottle of room-temperature water, “Why do I feel like you’ve gone arrogant?”

Ran Jiu raised an eyebrow at him.

“You’re not even memorizing the lines.”

Ran Jiu: “I’ve memorized them.”

Wei Feng was speechless in his heart.

Ran Jiu continued to explain: “I trained it when I used to memorize legal codes.”

The explanation seemed to explain nothing, yet profoundly demonstrated what humblebragging was.

Wei Feng: If you keep talking like that, I strongly suspect you dropped out of school just to avoid memorizing books.

Just as he hesitated and wanted to ask something else, the front desk came to inform them that they were the next group and needed to prepare quickly.

Ran Jiu put on her mask and walked out from the dark backstage. In front of her was a blaze of stage light.

Rong Ting’s ticket only allowed her to stand on the periphery, listening to the host’s voice from inside. Due to the large size of the venue, all she heard was the noise of the crowd and the echo from the speakers. It was hard to hear the front clearly.

Only three of the five people in their class who got tickets came. The other two had sudden matters and resold their tickets at a low price.

Zhang Ling, one of the people who snagged a ticket, was standing next to her, chattering incessantly: “Junior Sister, you’re also involved in the voice acting circle? My Lord Ting’s voice is truly beautiful. Do you know, every time he speaks, I want to record it and listen to it a few times in bed at night.”

“Do you see the girl with pink hair? That’s Wen Zi Miao. She started playing with cartoon voiceovers a long time ago. She uploaded an electronic voice for a passionate anime on 5sing before. It’s really super explosive, okay? Hey, hey, look, she’s about to speak. It sounds good!”

“Wow, and the one wearing the skull hat, I didn’t even recognize him at first. He’s the voice of the male lead in that very popular drama Yun Jing recently. Have you heard his vocal fry? It’s simply amazing.”

Zhang Ling was indeed a veteran fan. She could point out something about everyone she saw. She thoroughly exposed those who showed their faces and could even recognize those wearing masks by their voices.

Rong Ting listened to her with a constant smile, but she didn’t see the person she wanted to see appear on stage.

At this time, there was a short intermission. Zhang Ling said that the next groups to appear might be the new studios that were being promoted this year. Rong Ting’s gaze subconsciously fell on the stage.

After the warm-up ended, it was time for Ran Jiu’s group to perform. Ran Jiu chose a black butterfly mask. She was dressed neatly—a black and white base, gray sheer T-shirt underneath, and still wearing a black jacket outside. However, her appearance immediately drew gasps from the fans below.

“Legs!”

“Aah! Those endless long legs!”

“It turns out I’m not just greedy for Jiu Tu’s voice; I’m greedy for her legs too!”

“Sister’s legs are lodged right in my heart.”

Within a minute, waves of shouts had passed. When Ran Jiu picked up the microphone, the entire venue fell silent.

Rong Ting saw the person on the stage, her roommate who was close to her every day, but suddenly felt that the person enveloped by the applause was somewhat distant.

The newcomer from their studio, Li Wei Lin, went on stage with Ran Jiu. The two collaborated on a segment from a foreign Baihe (Yuri) drama, which told a story of love and abandonment. The receiver, who suffered from emotional deficiency, became paranoid and hysterical after multiple arguments with the giver. The giver remained faithful and eventually led the receiver toward healing.

As the biggest twist of the script concluded, Ran Jiu’s character, Una, weakly called out Rein’s name in the darkness, unable to move. The accumulated emotion was like a time bomb, firmly pinning the audience in place, making it impossible to breathe.

Ran Jiu was quietly shrouded in the shadows of the stage. There was no fluctuation in her facial expression; she almost blended in with the background.

It had to be said that even without the presence of a live performance, this was an auditory feast.

Zhang Ling next to her was nearly hysterical: “Damn, are the new generation of voice actors this amazing now? That girl on stage is so cool! If I remember correctly, several unpopular Baihe dramas only became popular after she voiced them. Have you heard of a beautiful female dominant voice? I’m talking about Jiu Tu!”

Rong Ting looked at the stage without blinking, giving a perfunctory “Mmm.”

“Jiu Tu’s studio isn’t big, and the people inside are all newcomers. But her momentum has been very strong these past two years. Except for the first year’s low point, the subsequent output has been very powerful, with many media companies sponsoring her works.”

Rong Ting frowned again: “Mmm.”

Zhang Ling clearly didn’t realize her chattiness and continued talking incessantly: “Junior Sister, do you ship couples? I think she and the girl next to her are a perfect match.”

This sentence seemed to suddenly stab Rong Ting, causing her a moment of distraction. Then, she looked up at the stage. Ran Jiu, when outside, was the cool and aloof type. Her two long legs were clad in leather boots. Her figure was slender yet carried a sense of sharpness, a striking beauty that was noticeable even with a mask on.

The girl next to her wore a cat mask. Her eyes occasionally fell on Ran Jiu, filled with sweet affection, subtly hinting at a promise and attachment. Ran Jiu seemed to notice the other person’s gaze too, responding with a smile from time to time.

That smile was a little helpless but also carried a sense of indulgence, prompting Zhang Ling to ship the couple even harder: “Pink and green seem to make couples easily too. Jiu Tu has that cool, mature woman style, but she has a great figure and is so thin. The girl next to her looks like a cute Luo Li type. Their collaboration just now was truly harmonious. They are absolutely a perfect match…”

It wasn’t just Zhang Ling; a few other girls nearby also started whispering about them. Occasionally, Zhang Ling heard and agreed.

Rong Ting suddenly felt a bit lost. She told Zhang Ling with some fatigue that she should continue watching, as she wanted to go back and catch up on sleep.

Zhang Ling was even a little shocked: “Junior Sister, you managed to get a ticket! What if you also join the circle? It’s good to claim a spot! Opportunities like this are rare, hey!”

Putting aside the future, Rong Ting clutched the two damp tickets in her pocket and felt that the two people on stage were too dazzling.

She quietly retreated. The following segment reached a climax.

The organizer heavily promoted the newcomer studio, so the next part was a Q&A session. Fans threw questions at Ran Jiu like crazy. The questions were randomly selected on the screen, and the first few were relatively normal.

Q: [How did Lord Jiu’s stage name come about?]

Ran Jiu: “It’s related to my name and also because I like trying various kinds of alcohol.”

The people present took the opportunity to ask if her name contained the character Jiu. Ran Jiu nodded, saying nothing more.

Then the screen displayed the second question. Q: [Lord Jiu’s voice is clear with a sense of coldness. Was it always like this, or did you develop it through long-term practice?]

Ran Jiu picked up the microphone, opened her mouth, but said nothing.

Wei Feng, acting as the temporary PR, quickly tried to smooth things over: “You all say she has a cool, female dominant voice. It must be developed through long-term practice. Initially, our studio couldn’t take any orders. The only things we took were 18th-tier supporting roles or small advertisements. Thanks to Xiao Jiu’s voice being quite ‘expensive,’ otherwise we’d only be able to take cheap ones.”

People finally let go of the question. The screen displayed the third Q: [Lord Jiu recorded a recipe reading before. So, where is Lord Jiu’s hometown, and does she recommend any local cuisine?]

Ran Jiu pondered for a moment: “The cuisine in my hometown is quite limited. I don’t think there’s anything I can recommend. But you can see beautiful lakes and prayer flags there.”

Waves of excited sounds came from the audience. Some broadly guessed a general location. When asked for the exact location, Ran Jiu smiled and said it was a secret.

When it came to the last question, perhaps to incite excitement, the organizer deliberately chose a more tricky one. A picture appeared on the screen, showing tangled illuminated fiber-optic lights. One was straight, and one was bent. It asked her which one she preferred.

Ran Jiu: “Is there a difference?”

The host hinted: “One is straight, and one is bent.”

Ran Jiu often recorded radio dramas. During a period when the Baihe trend was prevalent, all the roles she recorded were dominant voices (gong yin). That was what attracted a small part of her fan base. Later, curious people would always ask about her sexual orientation in the bullet screen. She had never directly answered this kind of question.

They had encountered this kind of question before when publicly practicing their roles (pia xi). Each time, she would skillfully deflect it. Even Wei Feng thought Ran Jiu didn’t care about this in the slightest and considered it a small case.

Who knew she paused for a moment: “To be determined… I guess.”

This answer was so suggestive that the scene became uncontrollable. Wei Feng quickly grabbed the microphone: “Hey, hey, there’s another person here! Support the adorable Junior Sister Wei Wei! You can ask me more questions too!”

Later, when Wei Feng also couldn’t handle it anymore, they bowed and exited the stage amidst the audience’s cheers.

Wei Feng took off his mask, fanning the sweat on his face: “What’s going on with you? You weren’t like this before.”

Ran Jiu explained calmly: “Creating buzz.” (Zao Shi)

Wei Feng was stunned for a moment. Ran Jiu was the most focused person on voice acting in the studio. She never had such tricks in mind. This time, she truly surprised him. He was speechless for a moment. The hand he wanted to put on her shoulder didn’t move. He laughed awkwardly: “Alright, you’re catching on.”

This celebration was essentially for major studios to recruit sponsors and small studios to make a name for themselves. After Ran Jiu and her group finished their presentation, they didn’t hold much expectation.

Unexpectedly, a few studios came looking for them. Wei Feng saw she was tired and took the initiative to go out and handle the situation. Li Wei Lin was lively by nature. Seeing that Ran Jiu didn’t talk much to her, she sulked silently for a while. Since a few of her fans were there, she went to meet them.

Ran Jiu took off her mask, tidied her clothes, put on a face mask and a baseball cap, and was about to leave.

Unexpectedly, as she was leaving, she was stopped by an unfamiliar agent. She knew this person, or rather, their studio and the voice acting community had all heard of him.

The agent was named Luo Xun. The voice actors under him were all considered “Little Pink” (moderately popular figures) in the voice acting circle. The most famous one was “Ting,” a voice actor who debuted mainly by voicing the male dominant roles in Dan Mei (Boy Love) dramas. He started from radio dramas and now mainly works in film and television dramas, often taking on the voiceovers for important roles like the male lead or second male lead. After the TV dramas became popular, he also became famous, and his value soared.

At that time, voice acting hadn’t formed a complete professional ecosystem. Most voice actors didn’t have agents. Luo Xun had excellent operating skills and later signed a few more people, all of whom he promoted quite well. For a while, many newcomers in the voice acting circle wanted to join him.

However, the rumors about this person’s character were not good. A while ago, an artist from his company revealed that this agent used signed autographs as bait, engaging in many questionable practices involving ‘casting couch’ scenarios.

Although the rumors were unverified, this person spoke greasefully on many shows and live streams, having ambiguous relationships with the artists under him, which greatly reduced public favorability.

This man, with sharp features and a greasy face, blocked Ran Jiu’s way. His brand-new Polo shirt couldn’t hide the belly fat. He slowly handed out a business card: “Hello, Jiu Tu. You’ve heard of Tianhai Company, right? Would you like to work under me?”

Ran Jiu smelled the acrid smoke on him and subconsciously stepped back, her expression remaining indifferent, “Sorry, I’m not interested at the moment.”

Luo Xun was clearly not pleased and intended to pester her.

Ran Jiu frowned slightly, avoiding the arm he reached out, “If you are interested in a collaboration, you can directly contact Xiao Zhi, the person in charge of our studio.”

“No hard feelings if no deal is made, let’s just chat first.” Luo Xun’s gaze shifted slightly in a malicious way.

Ran Jiu felt a shiver of disgust.

The next second, someone blocked her from behind.

Rong Ting, having rushed in from somewhere, pushed Luo Xun away, speaking with a clear, official-sounding voice: “Hello, Uncle. You can’t do that. You need to chase celebrities rationally, not as a sasaeng fan.”

Uncle?

Ran Jiu was stunned, slightly wanting to laugh. This silly child, what kind of celebrity was she? Luo Xun would probably be furious being called a sasaeng fan.

Sure enough, Luo Xun hadn’t stood firm just now. Once he steadied himself, he frowned, both angry and amused: “Where did this kid come from? I’m talking business with her.”

Rong Ting was actually terrified. She had never argued with anyone before, and her hands were sweaty. She deliberately raised her voice: “When others talk business, they look up. Why are you looking down?”

The eyes of the surrounding people vaguely looked over. Luo Xun was a bit cautious and lowered his voice: “Don’t scream. You kids don’t care about face, but I do.”

Seeing that he had finally backed down, Rong Ting sneered: “Oh, kids don’t need face, so a person your age doesn’t need face either, right?”

After the great battle, Luo Xun walked away exasperatedly.

Rong Ting, who had been fierce just moments ago, suddenly lost her bravado, seemingly returning to her socially anxious shell. She turned around. Ran Jiu was looking at her with her eyelashes lowered.

She tentatively called her: “Jiu Jiu?”

There was a slight pause between the two syllables. Rong Ting seemed uncertain, waving a hand at her.

Ran Jiu’s voice was muffled under the mask: “I’m not wearing a mask.”

Rong Ting: “I knew it was you as soon as I heard your voice.” She touched her nose, adding to herself, and also the long legs, and the conspicuous hair color.

Ran Jiu had too many distinctive features; she was unique.

Ran Jiu didn’t speak. Rong Ting tried calling out “Jiu Jiu” again.

The combination of the falling and level tones sounded endearing, seemingly incompatible with the cool person in front of her, yet Rong Ting felt a little addicted.

Ran Jiu suddenly remembered that repeated syllables were often terms of endearment. She frowned and said: “Where are the tickets I left for you?”

The person opposite woke up from her trance, rummaged in her pocket, and pulled out two pieces of stiff paper.

One was half a ticket, which she had bought from a classmate at a “friendship price.” After being checked, only the stub remained.

The other one was whole, but a little crumpled. It was the one Ran Jiu had left for her on the shoe cabinet that morning.