Gu Sheng turned off her computer, threw herself onto the bed, and rolled back and forth hugging her blanket, feeling as if her blood vessels were about to burst. Her mind was completely filled with thoughts of this luxurious cast—wasn’t this the lineup she had dreamed of her entire life?
She was so excited that she didn’t even notice her phone ringing countless times before finally hearing it.
When she answered, it was actually Geng Xiaoxing, who had just said goodbye in the YY room.
“Congratulations, classmate Gu Sheng.”
She laughed and asked Geng Xiaoxing what was so important that she had to call so late.
“Actually… well… I want to have a heart-to-heart with you.”
“A heart-to-heart?” Gu Sheng was puzzled. “We eat, sleep, and attend classes together every day, and you’ve never mentioned wanting to have a heart-to-heart with me. How come you suddenly have something on your mind right after the New Year holiday?”
The other side hesitated and stammered.
Her intuition told her it was an emotional issue. An emotional issue? Then nine times out of ten, it had to be about that perfect group leader.
Sure enough, Geng Xiaoxing stumbled over her words, swallowing and spitting them out several times before finally confessing that she had just had her first-ever private WeChat conversation with Jue Mei Sha Yi. It was purely personal, purely friendly communication. He had only told her a ghost story, but she had already become so flustered that she couldn’t sleep at all.
Gu Sheng laughed until she nearly died. The ghost story Jue Mei told was definitely not an ordinary one—it was more like the soul-snatching, enchanting Painted Skin Ghost from Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio.
“Classmate Geng Xiaoxing,” Gu Sheng lowered her voice to prevent her mother, who was watching TV in the living room, from hearing her, “have you completely become a Voice Fetishist?”
“Huh?” Geng Xiaoxing fell silent for two seconds before also lowering her voice and saying, “It seems… perhaps… probably yes.”
“If a guy is as beautiful as a flower but has an unpleasant voice, would you like him?”
“It seems… I wouldn’t.”
“If a guy is gentle and considerate but has an unpleasant voice, would you like him?”
“Probably… not.”
“If a guy is extremely wealthy but has an unpleasant voice, would you like him?”
“No… I wouldn’t like him.”
“Congratulations! You have fully transformed into a complete Voice Fetishist~”
Gu Sheng let out a long sigh and said somewhat resentfully, “If a guy has an unpleasant voice and doesn’t speak standard Mandarin… and you have to spend your whole life with him… Ah, what a painful thought.”
Geng Xiaoxing had once scoffed at her reasoning, but now she wholeheartedly agreed.
Not being handsome? As long as he’s clean, it’s fine. Not gentle? He can be taught and nurtured. Not wealthy now? He can work hard and earn money in the future… But if his voice is unpleasant…
It’s simply unimaginable!
The two Voice Fetishists reached a consensus, completely forgetting the original purpose of Geng Xiaoxing’s call.
Unexpectedly, the Top talent was absolutely efficient. Just a few days later, the planner for this song began coordinating schedules with Gu Sheng to prepare for the first rehearsal of Sword Roars in Jianghu.
Gu Sheng’s response was, of course, that she was available at any time.
These were all legendary figures, so she naturally had to cooperate—absolutely cooperate.
To reward Perfect’s fans, this rehearsal was completely open to the public. Each of these people had a large number of fans, and as she waited for the start time, she watched the number of participants jump from the thousands to the tens of thousands, growing increasingly restless. The flood of comments below flowed like a river, making it impossible to see what anyone was saying.
As she waited, she noticed a private message from the Top talent.
Qiang Qingci: Have you practiced beforehand?
Gu Sheng: Yes, don’t worry, I’ve practiced for a long time~
She didn’t dare to show up without practicing, fearing she might embarrass the Top talent.Although it was just a few sentences, facing such Golden Throats... the pressure was immense, okay?
Qiang Qingci didn’t reply again.
Immediately after, Feng Ya Song, Jue Mei Sha Yi, and even Dou Dou Dou Bing all privately messaged her, telling her not to be nervous. Dou Dou Dou Bing even thoughtfully added: Even if you sing better than us, you’ll still get criticized. As a newcomer, you have to be able to handle the pressure, okay? Keep it up!
Gu Sheng quickly expressed her determination: Don’t worry, my heart is tough as nails!
About ten minutes later, they started chatting casually.
They sounded like old friends, teasing each other. Qiang Qingci maintained his aloof, elegant demeanor, staying off mic... Gu Sheng, on the other hand, was too much of a nobody and really had nothing to say to these seniors, so she muted herself and just listened.
With tens of thousands of listeners, it was practically like an open-air concert.
And these die-hard fans were more than happy to listen to the reclusive big shots chat—they couldn’t ask for more, okay?!
Besides, this so-called "rehearsal" couldn’t involve any group singing due to YY’s latency issues. So it was just a few people willing to sing a couple of lines. It was purely a warm-up for Perfect’s anniversary celebration under the guise of a rehearsal.
Sure enough, after a few people sang, when it was Gu Sheng’s turn, the audience wasn’t very enthusiastic.
They kept professing their love for their own idols, completely ignoring her.
She sang with her best performance, and aside from a few comments about her unstable breath and lack of vocal power, there wasn’t much criticism. She genuinely felt relieved. Thankfully, she didn’t embarrass the Top talent.
"Our dashing, morally impeccable Top talent, where are you?" Dou Dou Dou Bing cleverly shifted the focus to the most heavyweight Top talent. "Top talent? Top talent? Where are you? Come out and entertain the guests~"
Dou Dou Dou Bing was an old friend of his, so naturally, the tone was more casual.
The channel fell silent for a few seconds.
"Hmm, I’m here."
Qiang Qingci replied to her.
A voice that could captivate and instantly win over any girl...
"Do you need me to do the spoken parts?" he asked leisurely, following up.
"You can do them... or not. Just say something, give us a little performance or something," Dou Dou Dou Bing let out a long sigh. "Luckily, I’ve known you for a few years, so I’m immune. Qiang Qingci, could you please, just a little, tone down that affectionate voice of yours, okay?"
Qiang Qingci couldn’t help but laugh.
Gu Sheng felt her heart skip a beat, completely mesmerized.
Just that one laugh, she was genuinely mesmerized.
She had been listening for two or three years, okay? How come she wasn’t immune at all? Good heavens...
That utterly natural, utterly charming laugh—she had to secretly record it someday, maybe use it as a ringtone or something.
He pondered slightly, "What kind of performance would be good?"
The public chat flooded like a tidal wave.
"Qiang Qingci, I love you! Forever!!!" "I’m your Obsessive Fan! Even your cough sounds amazing, so enchanting, isn’t it? Isn’t it? Isn’t it?!!!" "Please recite a full line, I’ll record it as my ringtone!" "Begging you to say ‘You little temptress,’ I’m on my knees!" "I just want one ‘I love you’—I’ll record it and replay it a hundred times as my ringtone!"...
Tonight, there were many fans, and tonight, the fans were wild, but no other idol’s fans could match even one-tenth of the Top talent’s fans’ enthusiasm.
In the end, even the special guests couldn’t hold back their laughter.Fei Shao very tactfully expressed his "jealousy": "Ah~ Tonight, I've been completely overshadowed by the Top talent~"
He spoke ambiguously, making Dou Dou Dou Bing unable to resist snapping at him: "Qiang Qingci never flirts with girls, and absolutely never flirts with guys either. That's tradition. Stop using our Top talent to sell BL."
Fei Shao laughed: "Sell BL? Do I need to sell it? Haven't I already reached the level of a BL immortal?"
He was a singer, so naturally he didn't speak with the same perfect enunciation as Qiang Qingci.
Gu Sheng silently thought, compared to the Top talent, everyone else's voice really paled...
"I..." he drew out the sound, as if thinking, the light, trailing tone was truly captivating, "How about I sing?"
Sing...
Sing?!
Sing??!!
Gu Sheng was shocked, the fans were shocked, the few guests and everyone from the Perfect group present were shocked.
Who had ever heard Qiang Qingci sing? Absolutely no one, okay?!
Back when Qiang Qingci was hugely popular online, no matter how much fans begged, no matter how big the event organizers were, no one could get him to sing... to the point where everyone thought the Top talent was definitely the epitome of tone-deafness.
But now, tonight, the big shot is going to sing?
Gu Sheng immediately pressed record. She swore everyone in this room did the same thing: recording it...
Fei Shao stumbled over his words, somewhat disbelieving: "Qiang Qingci, are you trying to take over our territory?"
Dou Dou Dou Bing also complained indignantly: "Hey, the vocal techniques for CVs and singers are different. Do you really think your pure CV voice won't go off-key when singing?"
On the other hand, Jue Mei Sha Yi, who had been observing all along, very, very, very excitedly cut in: "It's over, your fans are going to completely defect... He doesn't sing because he sings too well, okay?"
Jue Mei Sha Yi laughed heartily twice, clearly full of anticipation.
Gu Sheng's heart pounded wildly, still unable to believe this fact.
Until, until Qiang Qingci, after everyone had finished complaining, said very calmly: "Sheng Sheng, could you please help me with the subtitles?"
"Ah?" she blurted out, then cleared her throat the next second, surrendering, "Big shot Qiang Qingci, I'm all thumbs. Subtitles and such are absolutely impossible..."
Following every line he sings, scrolling subtitles?
Probably by the time he's sung ten lines, I'd only have subtitled four...
"It's fine," Qiang Qingci's voice held a slight hint of laughter, completely ignoring the countless subtitle experts volunteering on the public screen, "Just do it casually."
Just do it casually...
Can this be done casually? Really, can it?
For the Top talent's first-ever performance, my terrible subtitles will definitely get me killed.
Gu Sheng was caught in a dilemma, but couldn't refuse on the spot either. After three seconds of silence, she steeled herself: "What song does the big shot want to sing?"
He thought for a moment, then calmly uttered a name: "《Drunken Dream Immortal Grove》."
As soon as the name was out, the Microphone fell completely silent.
A female song, and an absolutely high-pitched one at that.
The Top talent tonight really is going to outshine everyone...
Author's note: Whew, I've already become infatuated with the Top talent, covering my face, what do I do...
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