Exclusive Rights to An Online Voice Actor

Chapter 118

unedited

Went off with a bang completely didn’t expect that he would get a tic for his tac from this person. A vein on his temples probably bulged as his voice growled, “You little... Fine! I will show you what a man looks like!”

Hearing this, Crossing the bridge noodles seemingly chuckled lightly. “Such a pity that the competition doesn’t allow turning on the cameras, otherwise I would really be able to have a look.”

A part of the audience didn’t understand, while the other one got it.

Qi Jing belonged to the part that only got it after a couple of seconds. Once he understood the double meaning of Crossing the bridge noodles’ words, he couldn’t stop himself from bursting out in laughter while smacking the desk—and for the reasons he couldn’t possibly tell Shen Yan why, what an agony.

Audience 1: o(*≧▽≦)ツ Pfahahaha! Have a look at what’s a “man”... Contestant Went off with a bang truly is a charitable guy!

Audience 2: o(*≧▽≦)ツ My goodness, Little Noodles is actually capable of saying something that would make people blush this hard!

Audience 3: o(*≧▽≦)ツ I actually got it, but I swear I’m pure of heart!! (serious face)

Audience 4: A man... Pfft. I honestly believe that contestant Went off with a bang is very “manly”, cough cough...

Audience 5: A good kid like me really has no idea what the people above are talking about!!

Audience 6: A good kid like me really has no idea what the people above are talking about!! ╰(*°▽°*)╯

Even Yuan Zhengming in the background sputtered with a short “pfft”, presumably also enjoying the bustling atmosphere of the scene during the wait.

Went off with a bang was stumped for a good while before he finally realised that his taunt just now got twisted by Crossing the bridge noodles into a completely different direction. He probably found it too much of a disgrace, especially since it stepped into the one territory about men he didn’t want to step into the most, so he couldn’t squeeze out any response for a good moment as only his heavy breathing could be heard.

At that time, Crossing the bridge noodles said with much ease, “Let’s begin.”

Yang Chunqu was probably still laughing, as her voice was a little bit shaky, the upbeat tone of her voice quite easy to hear, “If contestant Went off with a bang agrees, then group No.20 can officially begin. Is that okay?”

Went off with a bang hummed nasally with a ‘humpf’, so it could be counted as consent.

Went off with a bang’s voice was indeed that of a real man, and his bearing also that of a real man, so judging by the ‘power’ and ‘steadiness’ in his voice, How long away is forever was still appearing bleak in comparison. As someone who had previously auditioned for “Old Man Xiaoshan” with great achievements, it wasn’t difficult for him to play an old grandpa, not to mention a fifty-to-sixty elder man. Even without the surprising contrast How long away is forever’s performance had, his first line was still just as capable of catching everyone’s attention.

“Fang, Yi, Sheng.” First three words, each enunciated strongly.

The way he handled it was a bit different from How long away is forever, with not only shock and fear hidden in the dark undercurrents behind this force, but also hate. This way, the feeling it gave was as if he gnashed his teeth while speaking.

“You actually... didn’t die?”

“Yan Buliu’s” information network wasn’t all that simple, so when “Fang Yisheng” didn’t end up dying that year, he actually left some traces behind. But when the man himself appeared before his very eyes, living and breathing, the impact was still too big, uncovering layers upon layers of the hate he felt towards this man.

If he couldn’t use him for his own cause, then killing him was the only option.

And as he failed to even kill him, of course he would start to hate, start to resent, so furious that he began laughing instead—

“Haha... To have tricked the Heavens and us all, coming back to life once dead. Lord Fang truly isn’t but a normal man!”

The short, cold laugh before the line was like a crucial final touch of a painting as the chilling acclamation at the end resounded clearly, making his stance overbearing and immediately elevating the rivalrous atmosphere between them to a climax.

Truly worthy of first place in semi-finals.

Qi Jing intended to mock this Uncle Bang’s shortcomings, but he realised that after going through so many auditions in the competition, his abilities began to shine through even more with his current voice acting skills and newfound understanding of the character. This, coupled with him being gifted with good voice qualities and having the right skills to act, made Qi Jing actually nod in silence despite himself after hearing those few lines.

Audience 1: ╰(*°▽°*)╯Aaoooo!! This fellow Went off with a bang isn’t bad!! Such a fine man!! 【Cough, I really only mean it in a literal sense】

Audience 2: I haven’t listened to the semi-finals, I heard he got first place? Now that I hear him he sounds so hot! Go on, go on! Looking forward to this performance!

Audience 3: After all he was a runner-up in the previous competition, so he can’t be bad. I had a good feeling about him during the semi-finals, yes... I don’t know if Crossing the bridge noodles can play into such a strong opening... (thinking real hard)

That was the reaction from the usual listeners, but the Rice Noodles Fans’ reaction was so much more... distressed.

Audience 4: ┭┮﹏┭┮ Ah... Scary scary scary, I’m hiding back our Little Noodles!

Audience 5: ┭┮﹏┭┮ Girls, let’s all wish Little Noodles good luck!【I heard that this Big Uncle Bang is really fierce】

Audience 5: ┭┮﹏┭┮ I listened to Little Noodles’ semi-finals, and I honestly feel like his youth voice can do it! I’m just afraid that he won’t be able to keep his demeanour up to this guy’s.

And at that time, a short snicker could be heard, the disdain within palpable.

“Hah.”

A laugh of someone who has just heard a banal joke.

Laughing not because of its content being funny, but because the person who said this joke himself was just a clown.

Crossing the bridge noodles has always only received the pure and virtuous roles, either utmostly polite or utmostly soft, all of them the prime example of easy to bully characters that even if they smiled, the smile would be faint and gentle. And this voice of a man looking down with a sneer on the other person, as if thinking him a clown, completely toppled his previous bashful image in the eyes of his fans.

Everyone held their breath as they continued listening.

“I have said before, ‘the court up on high, the Jianghu faraway’—those two never cross together.” The moment he spoke, he immediately gave a feeling of a young man. It seemed like he made a note of the feedback at the end of semi-finals and worked on his too low of an age impression, leaving no trace of that inexperienced youth to be found, “The one to die was the ‘Lord Fang’ you just called, but the only one standing today before you... is Fang Yisheng.”

Then, his tone suddenly turned chilly.

“That year, Lord Yan had Lord Fang dead, but right here, right now, you, Yan Buliu, will not have this, Fang—Yi—Sheng, die—!”

Just like Went off with a bang, he enunciated each syllable of this name with force, his voice getting more fierce with each word, especially ending as he ended with that ‘die’.

Who knows if he managed to surprise Went off with a bang, but he certainly did surprise the entire audience, shaking everyone to the core.

“Wow...” Qi Jing couldn’t help the itch arising in his heart, really wishing that he could go up and take part in this scene. Every time he heard other contestants doing amazing with their part in a joint performance, he would always feel an urge to also get there and voice act a couple of lines.

For it to have such an effect on him, it was enough of a proof that this group had nailed the dynamic of the scene.

For Qi Jing it was the first time to hear Crossing the bridge noodles perform like this too, so not only he found it novel, but was also pleasantly surprised. This guy’s voice was so gentle, so it really was an interesting feeling to hear him voice act a scene of a showdown between well-matched opponents.

Its feeling was different to his own interpretation of the scene.

If he could be likened to an unsheathed sword, cutting steel like mud, the blade clean and sharp, then Crossing the bridge noodles was more like an iceberg—cold and cheerless, yet not at all fragile. He was firm, resolute, and even the fiercest of the opponents wouldn’t make him budge a step. It was this haughty “Fang Yisheng” that was most suited to Went off with a bang’s overbearing “Yan Buliu”—if it was How long away is forever’s interpretation of “Yan Buliu”, the effect wouldn’t end up half as good.

Just as Pu Yuzhi had said, it was the ‘synergy’ that was the most precious in finals.

Audience 1: Awooooo! Little Noodles so hot!!

Audience 2: Wow... I didn’t expect Crossing the bridge noodles to have such powerful moments, it’s so good! I’m really taking a liking to him!

Audience 3: I have always liked the silly and soft Little Noodles, but now I’m loving this Noodles too! 【That’s right, I’m a hardcore fan of Little Noodles, no matter what style he goes for I’m digging it all (￣︶￣)】

Audience 4: °。°(((p(≧口≦)q)))°。° Seconding the comment above!

Audience 5: °。°(((p(≧口≦)q)))°。° Seconding the comment above! +1

Audience 6: ...Fine, I think I’m the only one to think this: should I reach out to Noodles-sama after the competition to play this type of role?【I’m already sick of hearing feeble shous ←no offence】

After getting such a strong strike back, Went off with a bang seemed to be caught by a surprise, but fortunately this moment was a juncture of the character’s feeling changing, so it managed to cover it.

But with their exchange coming to this point, it wouldn’t work for him to smile gloomily like How long away is forever did, so he only kept adding to the rage of being tested to his limits. Without even a trace of a smile, the killing intent in his voice grew heavier to a terrifying degree, “Seems like today is the day... when either you die, or I perish!”

And the way Crossing the bridge noodles cut off his words was similar to Qi Jing’s, “No—today, it is only you who will perish.”

At this point, Went off with a bang was finally completely immersed in the scene, forgetting all about his adversary being Crossing the bridge noodles, only hollering loudly, “Nonsense!”

This point of the scene was a rapid exchange, the lines coming close one after another, so if both of the contestants were in their form, it would sound especially dynamic. But during this critical moment, no one expected Yuan Zhengming to shout unfeelingly, “CUT—”

Eh...

It was as if he tripped and fell hard to the ground after getting ready to jump high to the sky, leaving him feeling especially frustrated.

Teacher, Yuan, are, you, for, real—?

Considering how there was not as much time allotted for the auditions in the finals compared to semi-finals, only one minute each, Yuan Zhengming lowered his criteria for cutting the performance by quite a lot to make it fair—he would rarely shout ‘CUT’ before hearing the latter part of the scene. This time was definitely one of his latest cuts, right before the end.

“Teacher Yuan?” Went off with a bang probably also felt this pain of getting cut short, so he asked frustratedly.

“About that,” Yuan Zhengming smiled lazily, “Your current situation was too intense, it started to derive from the feeling of ‘surging undercurrents’ from the original work. ‘Fang Yisheng’, you are not supposed to be such a brash person.”

Crossing the bridge noodles agreed with a soft hum, seemingly having already realised what was the problem.

But Went off with a bang couldn’t hold himself from thrashing around from anger, “I knew it! I just knew that a brat like you would get in my way—it’s your fault!”

Without waiting for Crossing the bridge noodles to speak, Yuan Zhengming retorted with an impish smile, “Aiya, aiya, you had your part in it too, ‘Yan Buliu’. After getting agitated by him, towards the end, you didn’t realise that it began to turn into a shouting contest, spinning out of your control.”

But neither Noodle’s fans nor Bang’s fans would care about the actual facts, only raising a noisy hubbub.

Audience 1: /(ㄒoㄒ)/～～ I don’t understand what Gorrilla Teacher is talking about! What are you doing bullying our Little Noodles!

Audience 2: /(ㄒoㄒ)/～～ I don’t understand +1086! It sounded great when I listened to it just now, why did you have to cut it! (rolling all over the floor)

Audience 3: (╯－＿－)╯╧╧ Why is it always that Bang Bang gets duped by the judges! Do you actually have any understanding of the aesthetics of voice acting?! It’s clear as day that Bang Bang got led astray while acting, he’s innocent!

“I’m sorry.” Crossing the bridge noodles spoke suddenly, catching everyone, along with Qi Jing, by surprise, “It’s my fault. It’s because I got offended, so I got too into displaying my own strength and forgot to hold back and ended up going too far, wanting only to outdo him.

That getting offended was of course pointing to the ‘don’t get too attached’ and the ‘little girl’ comments from the other one.

I didn’t expect him to be so competitive—Qi Jing thought.

“Haha, aside from the fact that you needed to stay consistent with the character settings, your group’s performance was very riveting.” Yuan Zhengming smiled cheekily, also not forgetting to praise Went off with a bang, “If your opponent didn’t go strong, you also wouldn’t go that far.”

Went off with a bang was still upset, only grunting back at him angrily.

The audience could also only bite their handkerchiefs while grumbling angrily along.

Qi Jing had more or less noticed the problem even before Yuan Zhengming’s explanation, and the explanation itself was also fair and square, leaving no place to retort, so he could only sigh with regret while giving them his votes to show his support. Although they did get cut, it still didn’t hold them from getting scores that went far beyond the average.

【Group Score】: 4.0, 3.5, average score 3.75

【Elapsed Time】: 53 seconds = 0.53 points

【Audience Votes】: 88.5% voting ratio = 0.885 points

—————————————————–

Overall group score: 3.75＋0.53＋0.885= 5.165 points

“Crossing the bridge noodles” individual score:

【Voice Quality】: 4.0, 3.5, average score 3.75

【Enunciation】: 4.0, 4.0, average score 4.0

【Foundation Points】: 4.0, 3.5, average score 3.75

【Charisma】: 4.0, 4.0, average score 4.0

—————————————————–

Overall average scores: 3.75＋4.0＋3.75＋4.0= 15.5 points

Additional audience vote points: 85.1% voting ratio = 0.851 points

Overall score: 15.5＋0.851＋5.165 = 21.516 points

“Went off with a bang” individual score:

【Voice Quality】: 4.5, 40, average score 4.25

【Enunciation】: 4.0, 4.0, average score 4.0

【Foundation Points】: 4.0, 4.0, average score 4.0

【Charisma】: 4.0, 3.5, average score 3.75

—————————————————–

Overall average scores: 4.25＋4.0＋4.0＋3.75 = 16.0 points

Additional audience vote points: 79.2% voting ratio = 0.792 points

Overall score: 16.0＋0.792＋5.165 = 21.957 points

It was also a difference of only half a point, but Crossing the bridge noodles would probably find it a pity... At least Rice Noodles Fans certainly did, since he didn’t manage to outdo Went off with a bang with his individual score.

Still, having experienced this battle, Went off with a bang would probably never dare to call him “girly little shou” again.

So that was not that bad either.

“I hope that Noodles himself doesn’t mind it too much...” Just as Qi Jing muttered to himself, he suddenly heard Crossing the bridge noodles replying to him in his headphones.

“I don’t mind it.”

Qi Jing heard himself reply “Is that so” instinctivel, before he realised that something was wrong.

Weird, the contestants should get off the mic before the scores were out, so why was he still able to hear Crossing the bridge noodles talking in the voice channel? And even more weird was, why was this guy able to hear him talk to himself?

“And that’s because now, in the next stage, there’s me,” As if knowing what he was thinking, Crossing the bridge noodles replied lightly. After a short pause, he added the remaining two words, “...and you.”

Only now Qi Jing suddenly remembered that the group just now was numbered 20th, and among his audition groups, there was a group No.21.

Noodles had two consequent groups?

“Hah,” He was so into listening to the competition that it only occurred to him now. Qi Jing couldn’t help but laugh, “Turns out we got put together—do you still remember how we were even saying in the semifinals that we never got to work together. Of course, that one time for the opening doesn’t count.”

“Of course I remember.” Crossing the bridge noodles chuckled lightly, “Now is a good opportunity.”

The Time Limit shippers in the audience couldn’t get more excited.

Especially since this audition was for the very very much a classic for the Time Limit, “Fang Yisheng” and “Lu Wei”.

One was Don’t ask for my return date’s noble voice, the other one was Crossing the bridge noodles’ youth voice. There were no surprises with the voice types for them, but who knows if there wouldn’t be any surprises when they’re thrown together? Even that alone was enough for the discussion thread in the related topic on the forum to grow in pages.

Audience 1 : o(*////▽////*)o Aaaah! It’s the “Time Limit” duo! (scratching the table from excitement)

Audience 2 : o(*////▽////*)o Aaaah my goodness, I would never expect that I would be able to see the Time Limit’s CP here! 【What nonsense, the two of them clearly have a pure master and servant relationship】

Audience 3: (*艸’*) Cough cough... What to do, I love the master x servant ships the most...

Audience 4: (*艸’*) Cough cough, I quite like master x servant too. Time Limit ship doesn’t need to toss us crumbs so carelessly!! 【don’t listen to me】

Audience 5: YO!!!! ← Aside of this sound, I really don’t know how to express the feelings in my bubbly girl heart!

Audience 6: YO!!!! ← Same girl heart【Also, commenter above, didn’t you already express that? And you weren’t stingy with words too, pfft...】

The spirit of ‘Fang Yisheng’ still hasn’t left Crossing the bridge noodles with him having just left such an intense scene, yet he already had to become “Lu Wei”, making it quite a challenge.

Qi Jing teased him deliberately, “You need to tone your demeanour down, otherwise I don’t think I will hold up against it.”

Crossing the bridge noodles replied with much generosity, “I have already said before, I can be a bit of a ‘little girl’ for someone whose voice I like.”

He both replied to Qi Jing’s question and once again made Went off with a bang stamp his feet from anger—it was easy to imagine this picture being quite amusing.

The Time Limit shippers in the audience also couldn’t be more excited.

Yuan Zhengming’s voice could be heard faintly from the background, “I’m saying... Aren’t you two afraid that your boyfriends will get jealous?”

“He won’t.”

“He wouldn’t dare.”

They spoke at the same time, and then laughed at the same time. The present Time Limit shippers already didn’t know how to describe their feelings.

Yuan Zhengming’s mumbled “Young people these days” got cut covered by Yang Chunqu’s timely cough, “Then, I will ask our two contestants to prepare yourself for the start.”

A/N:

Time Limit shippers winning ← no they’re not

T/N:

Lucilla: Digging it regardless, all hail to the multishipping! (gets dragged away)

Also, sorry for the scuffed editing for this chapter, I’m scheduling it on the fly as I’m prepairing for my flight (hehe, did you get the pun? *silence*), so sorry for the scuffed editing. I will polish up the editing when I’m back in my country next week ^^