<h4>Chapter 142</h4>


    <i>unedited</i>


    Qi Jing didn’t inquire about the content of their previous conversation.


    He remembered how one of the old professors had told them in his university days—the first rule of any reporter is to ‘know what to ask and, at the same time, know what not to ask’. To this day, he still kept that rule deep in his heart.


    Neither of the involved brought up the content of their conversation, as if those thirty minutes didn’t exist. But upon a closer look, one could still discern a slight trace of red at the corner of their eyes, a proof that those thirty minutes had indeed transpired. Qi Jing, clearly aware of the cause of that redness, discreetly assessed the looks on their faces and made sure that they had already settled down. Seeing this, he smiled gently and didn’t ask.


    The four of them returned to the initial situation, chatting while slowly sipping their drinks. All of them tacitly shifted the discussion towards the voice acting, not bringing up the private matters.


    Tan Zixian really had a strong head. After downing a strong cocktail outside, he still asked the server to bring two bottles of wine after going back, continuing drinking without any change in his expression.


    Qi Jing smiled slightly and kept himpany.


    Qiu Tianyang couldn’t handle his alcohol well, so he only drank one more ss at that time. The bottle was a bit far from him on the table. When he was about to stand up to reach out for it, Shen Yan suddenly reached his hand and took it for him, quietly pouring him a ss. At that moment, Qi Jing and Tan Zixian stopped at the same time, their gazes fixed on Shen Yan’s entire process of pouring the wine.


    Aside from how much Qiu Tianyang’s hands holding the ss were shaking, a bit apprehensive... Their interaction seemed pretty natural.


    At least it seemed much more natural than when they had just entered this room—


    Seeing this, Qi Jing looked away, lowering his head to smile.


    Still, it seemed like Qiu Tianyang was still his usual chatty self when talking to him, but his demeanor turned submissive and hesitant when Shen Yan was present at the scene, refraining from speaking rashly.


    So Qi Jing specially brought up a topic rted to him, one that allowed them all to participate, “Speaking of which... If that Miss Jade Butterfly knew that the four of us were sitting in this room and drinking together, I wonder what kind of expression she would have?”


    The man she used to pursue, and then his boyfriend.


    The man she was currently pursuing, along with his boyfriend.


    Wouldn’t this gathering of four make Jade Butterfly so furious her face mask would get pulverized? He was quite looking forward to this...


    When Tan Zixian heard him mention this ID, he didn’t even look up at him as he said casually, “That woman already got her share of hardships in the finals, she probably won’t bother anyone again.”


    When Shen Yan understood that he was referring to his audition with Jade Butterfly, he gently replied, “I was only following the requirements of the script at that time.”


    ording to the script, it was precisely the scene of Bai Ke threatening Su Miaoyu, so he fulfilled his duty by pressuring her coldly.


    And as for Jade Butterfly’s nerves failing and her getting so scared she forgot her lines... It’s not like it was his fault.


    “Oh?” Qi Jing suddenly raised his eyebrows, appearing a bit offended but also not entirely, making it hard to determine whether he was actually unhappy, “And here I thought that you were standing up for me, yet it turns out that it wasn’t the case all along...”


    After saying this, he turned his head away with disappointment.


    Shen Yan was taken aback, at loss at how to reply to it.


    At that time, Tan Zixian cast a sideways nce, tantly exposing Qi Jing without giving him any face, “Return Date, you really are an old hand at bullying your boyfriend—”


    Hearing this, Qi Jing could no longer keep his act up and burst intoughter, tilting his head to the side and resting it right on Shen Yan’s body, wilful and pleased with himself. It was at that moment that Shen Yan realized that Qi Jing was toying with him, so he chuckled helplessly in response. Despite that, the shoulder ‘imed’ by Qi Jing remained motionless, allowing him to lean on it steadily.


    “Jade Butterfly is quite scheming, but all of those little moves in thepetition weren’t solely her ideas,” Qiu Tianyang finally found the opportunity to timidly join their conversation, “She will probably be more cautious after this failure. Additionally, everyone will be trying to uncover the mind behind the scheme to turn you against each other, so she won’t dare to make any major moves. I think that you should be more careful of Bronze Sparrow Terrace.”


    Hearing him say this, Qi Jing couldn’t help his curiosity and asked, “Why should we be more careful of Bronze Sparrow Terrace? Do you have a good understanding of him?”


    Qiu Tianyang stopped for a moment, his gaze turning briefly toward Shen Yan’s side as if reminiscing all kinds of his absurd actions. A while passed before he lowered his head and chuckled self-deprecatingly, “That’s because we used to be the same kind of person—”


    Qi Jing saw how he nced at Shen Yan before, and he realised something. Hearing Qiu Tianyang’s words now let him vaguely guess that there were some unpleasant experiences between them in the past. However, Qi Jing didn’t probe any further, only shifting the topic of the conversation in a half-joking manner, “The same kind, huh... Makes sense, since you’re both gods. Wouldn’t it be natural for a god to easily understand another god’s thoughts?”


    Qiu Tianyang paused for a moment, then simply chuckled silently.


    His next words were so honest that it caught Qi Jing off guard.


    “Few years ago, online voice acting was different from what it is today. There were fewer people in it and barely any productions, so if you had a good voice, you could get your name out there by only voicing one or two audio dramas. I just happened to seize the opportunity and had good luck,” Qiu Tianyang said slowly, “Something like fame can make your ego inte... For some, it’s like money—the more they have it, the greedier they be, always feeling like it’s not enough. And when they encounter something that hurts their pride even slightly, they can’t bear the humiliation. You can say that before thispetition, Bronze Sparrow Terrace had almost reached the peak of his poprity. Suddenly getting so humiliated by you, having his dignity trampled upon, how could he possibly ept it? Especially you, Return Date. You challenged him publicly, so you need to be cautious now.”


    The topic was serious, and so was its content. However, Qi Jing’s furrowed eyebrows rxed at thatst sentence, and he chuckled, “Yes, yes, indeed. Even though you, our god, also challenged Bronze Sparrow Terrace publicly for Noodles, he probably would only dare to seek revenge against a small nobody like me.”


    Saying this, he also looked at Tan Zixian with a grin.


    Tan Zixian, in turn, looked at Qiu Tianyang, mouthing a single word—”dumbass”.


    Qiu Tianyang chuckled helplessly, “It’s not that he wouldn’t seek revenge—I’m just not afraid of it.”


    Qi Jing nodded his head, “Having a big fanbase behind you really makes a difference during conflicts like this...”


    “Well, I wasn’t referring to the amount of fans. I’m already retired from the circle since a long time ago, and he doesn’t know me in real life. No matter how much he wants revenge, he can only retaliate within the online voice acting circle... And for me who’s been out of that circle for so many years already, it’spletely inconsequential.”


    Qiu Tianyang raised his head to look at Qi Jing as he spoke. Then, once again, his gaze shifted toward Shen Yan even though his words were still directed at Qi Jing.


    “For you, Return Date, it’s different. You’ll keep voice acting and remain in the circle. Especially after thispetition you and Shen Yan got so much fame. There’s still a long way ahead for both of you, so it would be such a waste if Bronze Sparrow Terrace set you up like this. Moreover, after this introduction event your real-life personal information inevitably circte online. What if he goes crazy and colludes with Jade Butterfly to do something that would disturb your work and life?”


    At that moment, suddenly spoke up, saying, “Return Date is much harder to bully than you imagine—”


    Upon hearing this, Qiu Tianyang was momentarily stunned.


    Shen Yan finished speaking calmly, “If, by any chance, they really interfere with our personal lives... I’ll be there for him, I’ll stand by him to face them together.”


    Qi Jing didn’t expect Shen Yan to say something like this there as well. He was momentarily taken aback, and then he realised that the corners of his lips had been curling up slightly. It was only at that point that the alcohol he drank earlier was finally starting to have an effect, making him feel that boundless and woozy feeling of contentment. Unconsciously, he let out a short, deep chuckle and reached out to get a good hold of the other man’s arm,zily burying his face in his shirt.


    “Whoever bullies me, I’ll bully them right back.” He said. Whether it was the truth or his drunken talk didn’t matter anymore—he was just indulging the need to vocalise his stream of thoughts.


    “Okay.” Shen Yan smiled lightly, not opposing him at all.


    Tan Zixian chuckled with a faint ‘hmmm’, pointing at Shen Yan with the ss in his hand as he cocked his eyebrow at Qiu Tianyang, “Take a good look—that’s a boyfriend right there.”


    Qiu Tianyang could only turn his head away in silence.


    “He actually almost had his way with thispetition. Fortunately, Teacher Yuan was quick to think up a counter-measure, otherwise...”


    Thisment from Qiu Tianyang poked at Qi Jing’s curiosity, so he asked quickly, “How so? When did it happen?”


    “The finals,” Qiu Tianyang said, “During the finals, Bronze Sparrow Terrace used Jade Butterfly’s ‘person’ among thepetition organisers to tamper with the contestants’ group numbers—I only found out about itter.”


    Qi Jing eximed with surprise, “Oh? So Jade Butterfly really had someone on the inside?”


    Qiu Tianyang nodded, “She did, the one who went on the stage to give the opening speech today.”


    Once he mentioned this, the face of the cunning-looking event nning manager suddenly came to Qi Jing’s mind. After this sudden realisation, he eximed, “So it was that old uncle!”


    “Voice acting projects are just one part of the Operation Department’s responsibilities. They’re usually handled by the respective department managers, and I mostly just listen to the reports and summaries. I actually didn’t have much involvement in thispetition.” As a director, being too controlling and micromanaging could easily lead to dissatisfaction among subordinates. “That manager was also responsible for seeking coborations with voice acting studios for outsourcing projects. During that time, Jade Butterfly was working at amercial studio, so they probably got acquainted then. She continued to leverage that connection to find opportunities for herself and her friends in the voice acting circle... I only found out about their rtionshipter on, but since the projects wereplete, I just let it slide. But she went too far with meddling in thispetition, so I had to intervene.”


    Only when he asked around he found out that the third judge for all of the previous instalments of ?Order to End the Heavens?petition would be invited from among the past champions. As the director, Qiu Tianyang invited Pu Yuzhi and Longbow, then let the subordinates decide who to choose for thest member of the judging panel.


    That event nning manager was acquainted with Jade Butterfly, so after her strong rmendation, Northwest Road easily became the third judge, helping her and the people she wanted to aid by inting their score.


    Qiu Tianyang knew that, so he quickly changed Northwest Road out before the finals started, ensuring that Yuan Zhengming would appear earlier to maintain a certain level of ‘fairness’. However, something he couldn’t foresee at all unfolded during the finals—”


    “To put it simply, ourpany is a business entity, and in business, you can’t afford to offend your customers. Due to Bronze Sparrow Terrace’s act of giarising you during the semi-finals and his refusal to acknowledge it, we got a lot ofints from the audience on thepany’s website. The higher-ups got to know about this and believed that involving him would have a bad influence on the product sales, so it was decided that he won’t get any role even before the finals started. This information got leaked by our manager to Jade Butterfly, who initially really wanted to get Bronze Sparrow Terrace the male lead role. Naturally, Bronze Sparrow Terrace was also aware of that.”


    From being guaranteed a role to getting silently excluded from it—this kind of treatment was a tremendous humiliation for someone like Bronze Sparrow Terrace, who was so used to having his every whim catered to in the online voice acting circle.


    But with things like this, his actions then finally made sense.


    “So he actually knew that he had no way of winning, that’s why he was hell-bent on taking me down with him?” Qi Jing sneered lightly.


    No wonder that... He spread the rumours among his fans, saying stuff like being hurt, ‘because Little Noodles got together with Don’t ask for my return date’ to exin why he didn’t take part in the finals.


    No wonder that... He would rather staypletely silent, giving up two of his roles in the finals for nothing while taking him down with him.


    No wonder that... He didn’t care about the consequences at all.


    Either way he wouldn’t get that role, so it wasn’t that weird for him to develop the extreme mentality of ‘if I don’t get it then you too can only dream of getting it’.


    “Exactly. Because he got to know about it beforehand, he used Jade Butterfly’s connection to make our manager change the group numbers so that you and him would get paired in the same audition. This way, he could sink at least one of your roles for you.”


    Since Qiu Tianyang said so, it proved that at that time, Bronze Sparrow Terrace’s actions were all premeditated and calcted, and not made in a spur of a moment.


    “What to do? I almost felt moved by our god’s story.” For some unknown reason, Qi Jing didn’t feel any anger at all after listening to the whole thing. Instead, he chuckled from amusement. He truly felt touched—the esteemed god Bronze Sparrow Terrace was willing to invest so much for an insignificant VA like him, even resorting to the lousy excuse of having his ount hacked. This guy really was driven.


    Qiu Tianyang’s voice dropped slightly, even more serious than the person involved himself, “Return Date, if your conflict with him was online, he would immediately mobilise his fans out to harass you, but he wouldn’t really mind you. However, amercialpetition involves real-life interests, it can count as work. It doesn’t matter if it was direct or indirect—you have deprived him of an opportunity to gain money and fame, and he will remember you.”


    At that time, Tan Zixian interjected impassively from the side.


    “Bronze Sparrow Terrace’s actual age certainly isn’t more than twenty five.” That’s why he would act so childish. This god’s style was a generation apart from him.


    “Ah? Then that’d make him have to call me ‘big brother’—” Qi Jing’s eyes narrowed slightly as he pondered.


    To everyone’s surprise, Shen Yan, who kept silent on the side, suddenly said, “He has already called me ‘grandpa’.”


    ording to the roles distribution in ?Trap?... Bronze Sparrow Terrace really has called him ‘grandpa’—that’s even two generations higher than a ‘big brother’.


    Qi Jing remained frozen for a couple of seconds, then his lips twitched uncontrobly, unable to contain hisughter.


    “Hahahaha! That’s true, he really has to call you ‘grandpa’! Hahahaha...” Heughed so hard he couldn’t even keep his back straight, leaning on the other man’s shoulder and shaking continuously like a sieve.


    Shen Yan didn’t reply, but simply chuckled softly, reaching out to embrace his shoulder and rub it affectionately.


    As they left the door and stepped outside, it was already approaching midnight.


    Maybe they spent too much time inside. The moment they went out, cold air hit their faces, causing them to shrink back instinctively.


    Qi Jing’s mind remained clear, although his body became a bit hot due to the alcohol, as if he was a bit feverish. The abrupt difference in temperatures in and outside of the restaurant caused him to shiver slightly. Aside from that, people in this state are all prone to act a bit childish. When he lifted his head and saw Shen Yan ahead of him, he let out a short, subduedugh. He took two steps closer, nting his head inShen Yan’s firm back, leaningzily against him for warmth.


    Before, seeing how his face looked normal, and his words sounded normal, Shen Yan didn’t worry that much, but now...


    “Are you drunk?” Shen Yan asked in a low voice, without immediately turning around. He currentlypletely supported Qi Jing’s weight, so he was afraid that if he turned back, Qi Jing could identally fall. “Can you stand steady on your own?”


    “En,” Qi Jingughed muffledly, his hands instinctively tugging on at both sides of Shen Yan’s sleeves from behind, “I’m fine, I just felt cold, so I just wanted to lean on you for a bit...”


    “Nonsense, he’s definitely drunk.” Tan Zixian himself drank the most alcohol, and the most potent, yet his judgement was still the most urate.


    “Don’t just talk about him, you’re in a simr state.” Qiu Tianyang said with a wry smile. Despite Tan Zixian appearing unaffected, Qiu Tianyang extended his hand to support him lightly. He walked Tan Zixian to the side of the car, opened the door and watched him sit down securely, even helping him to wear seat belts before finally feeling relieved.


    Among the four of them, only Shen Yan didn’t drink a single bit of alcohol, while Qiu Tianyang only drank two sses, so after such a long time he had already metabolised most of the alcohol, at least enough to drive a car.


    “I’ll drive you back to the hotel.” Qiu Tianyang offered timidly, seeing Qi Jing in that state.


    “No need.” Shen Yan shook his head. Although it was still a refusal, his tone waspletely different from the cold rejection he had given before their conversation. Unbeknownst to them, that thick and imprable wall between them vanished from their exchanges, no longer making him feel like he kept hitting against it. Right now, it was just a straightforward rejection. “The hotel isn’t far, so he and I can walk back.”


    Qiu Tianyang wanted to say something, but stopped.


    Shen Yan nced at Tan Zixian in the car and said quietly, “You guys better go back and rest first. I feel like he drank quite a bit tonight, and tomorrow we still need to wake up early for the recording.”


    “Okay...” Qiu Tianyang finally gave up on persuading him. He opened the car and sat inside, taking a moment before slowly retrieving the car keys. After starting the engine, hesitated and didn’t immediately drive out onto the road. It was as if, to that moment, he still didn’t really believe that this talk that waited four years hade to an end. Moreover, the fact that Shen Yan still conversed with him in such aposed tone by the time it concluded... It felt surreal just to think about it, leaving him sitting there in the driver’s seat, lost in thoughts for a while.


    Shen Yan watched him as he did it all before stopping there for a long while. Then, he suddenly knocked on the car window and reminded him, “Drive safely.”


    Qiu Tianyang raised his head in surprise, then lowered it back with a wry smile, “Oh... I know.”


    Shen Yan withdrew his hand.


    “Then, see you tomorrow.”


    “See you tomorrow...” It wasn’t like they wouldn’t see each other again, so he could rest at ease.


    Shen Yan silently watched as the car drove out onto the street and gradually disappeared into the night. Without saying anything, he bent down and, at the same time, extended his hands back to piggyback the person leaning against his back, carrying him steadily.


    “Shen Yan—” Qi Jing got spooked by him doing something like this so suddenly. He sobered up quite a bit and quickly called him.


    “It’s fine, I’ll carry you back. It’s not far anyway.” With his chest right against Shen Yan’s back, each word he said carried a slight vibration, as low and steady as his voice. Qi Jing couldn’t get free with a short struggle, and then the back of the man before him was so warm andfortable—so he got enticed by this warmth, so scarce amidst the snow. In the end, he gave himself up without any dignity.


    “Am I heavy?”


    “Doesn’t matter, I can carry you.” It was a bit heavy, but when Qi Jing circled his hands around his neck to hug him, the weight he carried on his back only made him feel more securely grounded at heart.


    The streets were cold deserted in the middle of the night. The snowing sky was pitch-ck, with the street lights shining incessantly, recing the stars in adorning the nightndscape. Although the city was unfamiliar, and so were its lights, the feeling of tranquillity wyeth seeing those small spots of light suspended in the darkness of the night was the same as back in their hometown. It evoked such a sense of peace that he suddenly longed to go home—to go home, and also turn on all of its lights.


    Qi Jing thought hazily, then buried his face on the back of Shen Yan’s nape to greedily breathe in that familiar smell. This was how his ‘home’ smelled.


    They actually could see their hotel from where they were at that time—it wasn’t more than a couple of streets away. The way back wasn’t long, about long enough to tell a story. Shen Yan promised before that after everything, he will tell him a story when they’re alone.


    “I will tell you a story, okay?” Shen Yan asked in a low voice.


    “Mhm.”


    Hearing Qi Jing’s muffled response, he chuckled softly. The footprints he left behind in the snow unfolded one by one, mirroring the slow and regr pace of the story he narrated. “Let me tell you a story... about a child and a grandpa he depended on to keep moving forward. In this story, there’s the child, there’s his grandpa, and there’s also this grandpa’s other rtives.”


    Carried on his back, Qi Jing’s eyes widened slightly, and a glint of light shook inside. Only after a while he once again replied with a soft ‘Mhm’.


    Qi Jing had heard the beginning of the story before, and he also knew bits and pieces of its middle part. However, its ending suddenly intertwined with the happenings of the past few hours they had just experienced. Those past memories, reminiscent of old-school photographs, emerged vividly, as cold as the chilly wind that brushed by his cheeks. They didn’t feel in any way ‘distant’—the pain they carried felt very much real.


    By the time the story was finished, the hotel was already within sight. As Shen Yan ceased speaking, his steps also gradually came to a stop, pausing for a bit before entering the brightly-lit surroundings.


    “A-Jing,” He called out softly, “Did you fall asleep?”


    The man on his back didn’t respond.


    But he quickly knew that it wasn’t the case. Suddenly, he felt something fall on the back of his neck, cold and wet. In the very intimate and warm space between them, it was particrly easy to notice. He paused for a moment, then smiled faintly, not asking for the reason.


    It was Qi Jing who first spoke hoarsely, “A-Yan, let me down.”


    Shen Yan shook his head, but smiled slightly, “I will carry you back to the room.”


    However, Qi Jing insisted. “Let me down first.”


    So Shen Yanplied and set him down on the ground. Before he even could turn back, the man behind him silently held his shoulders, preventing him from moving. Then, those hands slowly traced down his shoulder des until his palms rested quietly on his back.


    “Do you know?”


    This beginning sentence without rhythm and reason, perhaps just a drunken rambling, but he listened attentively.


    “Know what?”


    “It’s your back that I like the most—” The man behind him muttered against Shen Yan’s back. His hands traced it inch by inch with great care, as if he was touching something incredibly precious. Then, he chuckled quietly, a hint of bitterness in hisughter. “I’ve always known that it’s particrly broad and sturdy, capable even of carrying a heavy man like me.”


    At this point, his voice grew lower.


    “Even though it carried so, so many heavy burdens, it never copsed and remained upright, alive.”


    When Shen Yan heard this, his throat bobbed, and he called in a low voice, “A-Jing...”


    At that time, Qi Jing suddenly buried his face in Shen Yan’s clothes, fingers gripping on his back a few times, as if in pain. His voice also mixed with those few low gasps, just like the creasing fabric he was clutching. “No, I really, am drunk.”


    The sheer fact that he admitted to being drunk actually proved how clear-headed he was at the moment. So clear-headed in fact that he became acutely aware the intense desire he felt right now—


    “I want you,” He whispered, “What to do?”