Her half-finished message had already been sent, but surprisingly, Qiang Qingci didn't reply.
Gu Sheng was genuinely shaken by this idea—the words "meeting up" drifted around in her mind... She had never tried meeting friends from the two-dimensional world before. Although this had nothing to do with the once-popular online romances of the past, it was just a gathering of friends who loved the ancient style, recording a song, having a meal together...
(⊙o⊙)... A meal, that seemed too distant...
No, just the words "meeting up," linked with a bunch of names well-known within the circle, especially the top talent, made her feel completely unsettled.
She wandered aimlessly around her room for half an hour, still unable to calm down.
In the end, she retreated into the bathroom and stared blankly at the full-length mirror. Was she really suitable to meet a group of big names from the circle?
Her phone rang in the living room, and she hurried out to pick it up.
It was a voice message from the top talent:
"There are seven of us, and four are in the same city. How about tomorrow at 3 p.m.? Jue Mei said you start school the day after tomorrow?"
Tomorrow?!
Gu Sheng felt like she was about to collapse.
What was this feeling of the end drawing closer step by step...
Meeting her favorite voice and a bunch of her favorite seniors, and without even giving her any preparation time. At the very least, she needed mental and appearance preparation, right, sir...
After agonizing for a long time, she finally replied on WeChat: "Okay... that time works for me."
She couldn’t act like a diva, could she? After all, they were accommodating her school schedule.
After sending it, she suddenly felt confused. How did the top talent know she was in the same city as him?
Weibo?
Weibo... well, she did list her city on her Weibo profile, unlike the top talent, who kept his hidden...
Alright T T, it made sense for him to know.
After roughly discussing the time, location, and arrangements for the other three who weren’t in the same city, the top talent casually reminded her to get some sleep early that night and didn’t send any more voice messages. Gu Sheng stared at her phone and silently whispered to the top talent’s profile picture: "Sir Top Talent... how am I supposed to get through the next twenty-something hours..."
Gu Sheng agonized over everything, from her clothes to her hairstyle, from whether to wear pants or a skirt, to whether to tie her hair up or leave it down.
In the end, she decided to go with clean, simple pants and a down jacket. It was freezing outside, so it was better to keep it low-key. Otherwise, it might really feel like meeting an online friend or going on a blind date, which would be truly awkward. According to what the top talent had told her, tomorrow she would meet Dou Dou Dou Bing, Fei Shao, and W, who were collaborating on the song, as well as Jue Mei and Feng Ya Song, who were just tagging along for fun...
Among them, only W and Fei Shao had posted photos online—the former because he was a radio host, and the latter... well, a voice actor who didn’t mind sharing photos. The others had never been seen, especially the top talent, who kept all his information hidden and was even less likely to share photos.
It wasn’t that she wasn’t excited, but she didn’t dare talk to anyone about it.
People outside the circle wouldn’t understand, and those within the circle would either hire someone to silence her or try to bribe or threaten her into secretly taking photos. Gu Sheng kept all this to herself from the afternoon until midnight, unable to sleep. When she woke up the next day, her face was noticeably paler than usual, clearly showing she hadn’t slept well. She kept combing her hair with a brush, but as she did, she suddenly remembered—she had to return to school today!That meant she had to carry a week's worth of clothes and food to the recording studio... and then return to school...
It was such an image killer...
But there was no other choice. By the time the recording finished, it would already be evening, and the studio's location wasn't far from the school—it was right on the way. Resigned to reality, she had no choice but to pack her clothes and food, stuffing her backpack until it was completely full. As she slung it over her shoulders and headed out, her mother couldn't help but add, "Once the class reunion is over, hurry back to school and call me when you get to the dorm." Gu Sheng guiltily mumbled an agreement.
She didn't dare tell her mother that she was going to meet a bunch of Two-dimensional world friends she'd never seen before.
She had no intention of spending hours explaining to her mother the difference between online friends and Two-dimensional world friends... especially since there really wasn't any practical difference.
After taking the subway and switching to a bus for two stops, she arrived at the building housing the recording studio around 2:30 p.m.
(⊙v⊙) Half an hour early.
Should she go up now? Or wander around downstairs until three o'clock before heading up... A gust of cold wind seeped through the gaps in her scarf. It was really cold today—why was it so chilly? Could it be about to snow?
She wandered around, killing time for twenty minutes, before finally stepping into the elevator on the first floor and heading up to the fourth floor.
The elevator dinged open.
A spacious living room opened up before her, where two girls were at a reception-like counter—one pouring water, the other taking notes while on the phone. The one pouring water smiled when she saw Gu Sheng. "The three o'clock studio booking—you're Mo Qingcheng's friend, right?"
She paused for a moment, thinking of the pinyin from WeChat, and concluded it must be the Top talent's name before nodding.
"Go straight ahead, the room on the left is the one. A few people have already arrived," the girl pointed to the sterilizer cabinet beside the sofa in the lobby. "If you're thirsty, there's water here—you can come out and pour some yourself. There's instant coffee in the pantry."
After delivering this efficient and thorough introduction, the girl smiled and went back to sipping her own water.
It was a very professional and swift series of responses.
This was Gu Sheng's first time at a recording studio, and she had worried it might be too formal or high-end. She hadn't expected it to feel so casual and down-to-earth. Following the girl's directions, she walked to the end of the hallway, passing three or four rooms along the way. Some doors were open, revealing recording engineers matching voices to videos, while others were tightly shut—probably in the middle of recording sessions.
She stopped at the very end, at the room on the left.
Her nerves kicked in.
She let out a soft breath and cleared her throat.
What should she say first? Maybe just "Hello everyone, I'm Sheng Sheng Man"... but that felt a bit silly...
Her hand was on the doorknob, about to turn it, when the door was pulled open from the inside. A very tall man stood before her, and both of them froze.
"Hello," Gu Sheng blurted out.
Then... the young man chuckled. "Sheng Sheng Man?"
"Mm," Gu Sheng nodded.
"I'm Jue Mei Sha Yi," the man pursed his lips, his height lending him a slightly imposing presence. "Nice to meet you, Sheng Sheng."
The first half of his sentence had been perfectly serious, but the latter part left her utterly flustered.
Gu Sheng suddenly felt awkward and warm all over, hearing him mimic the Top talent by calling her Sheng Sheng...
While she was still processing this, Jue Mei had already leaned to the side and called out to the people inside, "The Top talent's Financial Backer is here."
...
Gu Sheng felt that if he said one more thing like that, she would definitely turn and flee.The view opened up to reveal a very pale boy wearing glasses, sitting cross-legged on the sofa. Upon hearing this, he immediately jumped up, smiling as he ran over. "Financial Backer, Financial Backer, hello, I'm Feng Ya Song."
...
"Alright, alright, you're scaring her..." Jue Mei pulled him behind himself.
"Really? Sheng Sheng? Did I scare you?" Feng Ya Song grinned at her.
Gu Sheng shook her head, forcing herself to stay calm. "How could that be... No, not at all..."
Suddenly, a hand rested on her shoulder from behind.
Gu Sheng was startled, hearing someone say, "Don't bully the little sister. Hello, Financial Backer, I'm W—the one who was eating hot pot next to you while you and the Top talent were being all lovey-dovey~"
...
She swore she was about to cry.
These people...
"Alright, you lot, move aside." Finally, a young girl stepped forward. She didn't look much older than Gu Sheng, wearing a white sweater and appearing very gentle. She wrapped an arm around Gu Sheng and pulled her out of the circle of three men, not forgetting to shoot them a disdainful look. "So the Top talent couldn't make it last minute, and you guys still bully Sheng Sheng like this... Hmph," she said, leading Gu Sheng to sit on the sofa. "I'm Dou Bing."
"The Top talent isn't coming?" Gu Sheng was a bit puzzled, but looking around the room, there were only these four people...
"Something came up last minute... There's no helping it. He's busier than any of us," Dou Dou Dou Bing said helplessly. "He repeatedly reminded me to take good care of you so you wouldn't be scared by them."
...
Alright.
Gu Sheng felt a bit disappointed and slightly let down.
After all, the Top talent was the most mysterious presence. Being able to meet him was probably a wish for many, right?
Fortunately, these were people she had known for a few months. Although everyone seemed about five or six years older than Gu Sheng, they quickly found common ground. After a while, a sleepy-eyed Fei Shao arrived. Gu Sheng then learned that this recording studio was co-owned by Fei Shao and his partners, and this room had been reserved for them starting from three o'clock.
So no one was in a hurry. They opened a bunch of snacks and tossed them onto the table in the outer room, making it feel like a small gathering.
While listening to their casual chatter, Gu Sheng looked around the recording studio.
The outer area was equipped with devices, a sofa for resting, and a coffee table.
A full wall of glass allowed a view into the soundproof room, which was empty, with only unused microphone equipment and tables and chairs inside.
It was very clean and very professional.
While chatting, Jue Mei suddenly remembered that Gu Sheng was still a student and worried she might return to school too late. He quickly called everyone to start working. Actually, he and Feng Ya Song were just there to join in the fun. Without Qiang Qingci, there would only be four people left, each with just a few lines. They could finish in just over half an hour.
By the time Gu Sheng finished recording, it wasn't even six o'clock yet.
From where she was, she could hear all the sounds from the outer room. Indeed, being in a recording studio was the best—not only for the sound quality but also for the guidance from experienced professionals and the recording engineer.
Too bad... the Top talent wasn't here...
Sitting in the soundproof recording room, she heard the recording engineer say, "That's it." She suddenly let out a sigh of relief and was about to take off her headset when she heard Feng Ya Song's voice through it: "Mo Qingcheng, you're such a lifelong yogurt fanatic."
Her heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively turned to look through the glass wall.
On the other side of the glass.A young man stood there, dressed in jeans and a black long-sleeved T-shirt, seemingly having just arrived. When she looked out, he was also watching her, holding a large carton of yogurt in one hand while waving at her with the other.
Those eyes, dark and clear, were unexpectedly beautiful.
The corners of his eyes lifted slightly, still carrying a smile.
She stared at him in disbelief.
It was actually him.
"Sheng Sheng, hello," his voice came through the headset so vividly, low and gentle as he told her, "I am Qiang Qingci."
Author's Note: Covers face, knocks out the top talent... drags him straight home... I'd rather burst a blood vessel and die... P.S. I remember... I think I mentioned this story only gets updated when inspiration strikes T T, otherwise it wouldn't be good to write... pats. Longtime readers know that for the past two years, I've always been writing two stories simultaneously... Currently, the main focus is the xianxia one. Anyway, one of the two stories is always being updated... The top talent says: "While I'm away, please give lots of support to 'Wine in the Studio.'"
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