Chapter 4: Present Life's Past (1)
"Would you like to go?" Zhou Shengchen seemed to feel it was somewhat inappropriate and sought her opinion.
"It's fine. I haven't had dinner yet anyway," Shi Yi didn't mind at all. "But I do have one request—could I take a look at your lab first? It’d be a shame not to, after making it past all those security checks."
He Shan had only been trying his luck and never expected her to agree. He immediately volunteered to show her around the lab. Zhou Shengchen, on the other hand, pulled out a stack of documents to sign, saying he would finish up the remaining work and give them ten minutes to walk around.
She sensed his indifference and followed He Shan out the door, listening to his enthusiastic introductions of the various labs they passed. She smiled politely but spoke little. She worried that coming here on her own initiative might have seemed impolite to him.
She had never been this willful before.
Doing it just this once left her feeling uneasy. In the end, the only name she remembered was: Electrical Insulation and Thermal Aging Laboratory. At least she had some idea of what he was working on.
"Here, we have the only large-scale aging test chamber in the country capable of combined thermal-electrical aging tests at up to 60KV and 200°C."
She nodded. Hmm, she basically understood none of that.
Even He Shan noticed her mood and smiled sheepishly. "Professor Zhou Sheng is like this with everyone. It’s like he has no real connection to anyone. Don’t take it to heart."
She hummed in agreement. "I can tell. He does everything based on his mood. If he feels like talking to you, he’ll say a few words. If not, he won’t speak at all—completely merciless."
"Exactly," He Shan nodded repeatedly. "That’s exactly how he is."
She laughed. "He’s always been like this."
"Have you known Professor Zhou Sheng for a long time?" He Shan was surprised. "I thought you two had just met."
Shi Yi didn’t respond. Only when they reached the lobby on the first floor did she clarify, "Actually, not that long. We met by chance at the airport six months ago and haven’t seen each other much since."
She wasn’t good at socializing.
Fortunately, there weren’t many people at dinner—about five or six, all of whom had stayed behind for the weekend because they weren’t locals from Xi’an. They found a small private room in a restaurant near Xi’an Jiaotong University. Some took charge of ordering and serving, while others chatted warmly with Shi Yi.
Gourd chicken, mushroom and walnut soup with double crunch, warm tossed kidney strips.
The dishes served were all names she had heard people mention before but had never actually tasted.
There were many types of beauties, most falling under the category of "to each their own"—some adored, some dismissed.
Shi Yi belonged to that rare category of universally acknowledged beauties, with a completely non-threatening appearance. By the time all the dishes were served, she had already gotten along well with the lab members, earning their favor.
Zhou Shengchen sat beside her, engrossed in discussing that night’s experiment with a graduate student next to him.
Meanwhile, she nibbled on her chopsticks, sampling the new dishes while listening to these people talk about a world she had never encountered. The conversation soon turned to Zhou Shengchen. Strangely, apart from He Shan, everyone else seemed unfamiliar with him, even asking questions one would only pose upon first meeting.
But given Zhou Shengchen’s temperament, it wasn’t hard to understand. Despite having been in Xi’an for over a month, he might not have exchanged more than a few words with anyone present.He answered many questions politely, and Shi Yi listened attentively.
She desperately wanted to know everything about him.
Finally, everyone felt a bit embarrassed for asking so much, and a girl wrapped it up with a smile: "I heard from the dean that many institutions have invited Professor Zhou Shengchen. Why did you choose to come here?"
"There are some family matters that require me to return to the country," Zhou Shengchen said. "This was just a convenient stop."
For him, invitations from research institutions were merely "a convenient stop."
It should have been an uncomfortable remark, but he said it so honestly that it only deepened everyone's admiration for him. Shi Yi, however, felt this was exactly how he should be.
After the barrage of questions for Zhou Shengchen, the conversation smoothly shifted to her: "Shi Yi, what do you do?"
"I'm a voice actor," she replied with a smile.
"Oh, like dubbing foreign films?"
"Yes, but that's not all," she explained simply. "The proportion of foreign films introduced in the country is still quite small, so most of the time, I dub domestic productions—TV dramas, animations, commercials, things like that."
"Domestic productions?" The only girl present looked puzzled. "But they're all Chinese—don't the actors speak their own lines? Why would they need dubbing?"
He Shan sighed. "You’re so out of touch. Haven’t you heard of something called 'Hong Kong dramas'?"
Shi Yi played along, sighing as well. "You’re the one who’s out of touch, yet you’re calling others that. Most TV dramas and films, whether in Mandarin or Cantonese, unless the actors have particularly good voices, require people like us to dub for them."
As soon as she finished, He Shan was met with a round of laughter from the group.
"So voice actors always stay behind the scenes? You’re so pretty—why not consider acting yourself?"
"That depends on personality," she said, taking a sip of grapefruit juice. "For example, Zhang Hanyu started as a voice actor, and he was well-suited to step in front of the camera. My personality isn’t suited for it—I don’t like being watched by crowds, so I’m better off working in a recording studio."
"Do you get to meet a lot of celebrities in your line of work?"
"Actors? I see them often. It’s just like any other industry—they’re just the visible few, while there are many, many more people working behind the scenes with them. In the end, we’re all the same."
Completely different worlds.
Hearing about each other’s fields felt mystifying to both sides.
The researchers found her profession fascinating and kept asking all sorts of questions.
As she savored the dishes she had just eaten, she picked out the ones she liked and added more to her plate. While eating, she unconsciously listened to his words, most of which were terms she didn’t understand—probably all related to chemistry.
Different voice, different appearance—everything was different.
Yet she couldn’t help but search for some trace of familiarity in his every gesture.
Zhou Shengchen finally finished discussing work and glanced at Shi Yi, who had set down her chopsticks. "You ate so little?"
She frowned at him. "It wasn’t little at all. You were just talking the whole time and didn’t see how much I fought them for food."
He said, "The food here is quite good."
She hummed in agreement. "It is. Places near universities usually have good restaurants."
"Professor Zhou Shengchen, your friend has us all wanting to switch careers," someone joked. "How nice—getting paid just to 'talk.' Not like us, working so hard."Zhou Shengchen smiled but remained silent.
Shi Yi, not wanting the atmosphere to turn awkward, considerately picked up the conversation and answered for him: "Let me tell you, becoming a voice actor requires years of training."
"That complicated? Is it similar to being a broadcaster?" someone else asked curiously.
"Not the same."
Under everyone's curious gazes, Shi Yi suddenly set down her chopsticks with utmost seriousness and mimicked a classic cartoon character—Donald Duck. No one expected such a bizarre, comical voice to come from such a beautiful girl, leaving even the restaurant staff stunned.
"Understand now?" Shi Yi's voice returned to its usual gentle tone.
He Cai exclaimed in awe, thoroughly impressed.
Halfway through the meal, while Zhou Shengchen briefly stepped away, someone cheekily asked Shi Yi if she was his girlfriend. She froze momentarily, staying silent. Another person quickly clarified for them: "Don't talk nonsense. I heard Teacher Zhousheng already has a fiancée."
The gossipy person immediately apologized to her.
Shi Yi pretended not to care, lowering her head to fiddle with her phone as if checking messages.
When it was time to leave, Zhou Shengchen didn't follow the group but stayed by her side. After the noisy crowd turned the corner, he hailed a taxi and opened the rear door for her. "I'll take you back to the hotel."
Shi Yi got in, while he took the front passenger seat.
The driver played old songs throughout the ride. Sitting in separate rows, they naturally didn't exchange many words. She gazed at the night scenery outside, replaying the earlier conversation in her mind.
He has a fiancée.
So, like any ordinary person, he must be living a normal life—birth, aging, sickness, death, marriage, and children. No different from anyone else, no exceptions. In truth, she knew this well. Aside from seeing those strange glimpses of past lives, she was no different from others either.
Birth, aging, sickness, death.
When they arrived, Zhou Shengchen stood outside the hotel entrance, signaling it was time to part. Shi Yi said goodbye but had only taken two steps when she inexplicably turned back—and found him still watching her.
She walked back to him and suddenly asked, "Do you believe in fortune-telling?"
"To a certain extent, no," Zhou Shengchen smiled. "But if the prediction is exceptionally good, I might subconsciously convince myself it could be true." Shi Yi extended her hand. "May I read your palm?"
"You know how?"
"I've learned a bit," Shi Yi lied casually. "Though it's not very useful—probably inaccurate."
Zhou Shengchen offered his hand. Shi Yi lightly held his fingers, which carried a man's roughness from years in the laboratory, their temperature neutral. For a fleeting moment, she hesitated but quickly masked it with words: "I can only see your past, not what lies ahead."
"Past?"
She gave a soft hum, still holding his fingers as she looked into his eyes. "Do you believe in past lives? I might be able to see yours."
The security guard at the entrance watched them curiously, baffled by their actions.
Just then, a taxi pulled up in front of the hotel. The headlights made Zhou Shengchen narrow his eyes slightly, his voice laced with amusement: "Go on, tell me.""I always have this feeling."
Shi Yi remained silent, carefully choosing her words.
Zhou Shengchen was too polite to press her, simply allowing her to gaze at his open palm.
"We might have known each other in a past life—some kind of karmic connection."
She didn’t know how else to phrase it, and in the end, could only offer such vague words. In today’s society, if she were a man and Zhou Shengchen a woman, she thought she’d undoubtedly come across as a playboy.
But with their genders reversed, such words just sounded strange.
What exactly was she trying to say?
That they had met long ago, perhaps through countless cycles of reincarnation, before finally having the fortune to reunite?
These absurd notions—perhaps only she would believe them.
She had held his hand for too long and had to let go.
As he withdrew his hand, he suddenly said, "I believe what you said. Every meeting between people is bound by cause and effect."
The words sounded so unlike him. Shi Yi laughed awkwardly, only to hear him ask, "Are you heading back tomorrow?"
"Too much work waiting for me—I have no choice."
"If it’s not too much trouble, leave me your phone number," he said. "Sometimes it’s inconvenient to go online, so this might be a better way to reach you."
For a moment, Shi Yi thought she had misheard, her mind blanking briefly.
He smiled faintly. "Is it inconvenient?"
"No, not at all," she blurted out, then realized she had nothing to write it down for him.
"Just recite it. I’ll remember," he said, seeing her hesitation.
Shi Yi recited a string of numbers.
Before she could repeat it, Zhou Shengchen nodded. "Got it."
The next day, she returned to Shanghai.
The unexpected detour to Xi’an had cost her an entire week. Under the relentless pressure of her agent, Meilin, Shi Yi had no choice but to start recording in the studio every afternoon after lunch, often working until midnight.
When she worked, she was intensely focused, usually reviewing the script on A4 paper twice from start to finish in silence.
Once she found the right rhythm, she would immediately ask the sound engineer to begin. Of course, she occasionally mispronounced a word, but a quick retake of that line would suffice—the rest was flawless.
"Teacher Shi, we’re good here on my end. We’ll wait for the director to review the final take."
She stepped out of the studio and walked to the water dispenser in the hallway, filling a cup but barely drinking from it.
Her gaze drifted out the window, lost in thought.
An assistant from the recording studio emerged from the elevator, carrying plastic bags filled with drinks and late-night snacks, even holding a white disposable container of street-side barbecue skewers, the tips of the bamboo sticks poking out temptingly.
The assistant greeted her with deep respect.
She nodded and smiled.
Every glance, every smile—utterly captivating.
The word flashed through the assistant’s mind.
Shi Yi’s name was already legendary in the dubbing industry, though few had seen her in person. She was a top-tier voice actor, possessing the most mesmerizing vocal range and impeccable professionalism. Any project she took on became effortless—yet her schedule was notoriously hard to book.
And yet, people couldn’t resist her voice, her presence.
Even if it meant waiting over half a year, they would hold out for her.
Among those who frequented recording studios, voices came and went—even the most unique could eventually be replaced. But fame had a way of elevating certain figures. The harder she was to book, the more sought-after she became.
As for her appearance, there was a well-circulated anecdote in the industry.When she was still a newcomer, a renowned producer once ran into Shi Yi at a recording studio and bluntly told her she was his ideal leading lady. After she politely declined several times, the wealthy producer flew into a rage on the spot, leaving everyone trembling in fear. The final outcome was Shi Yi silently walking away, never returning to that studio again.
Years later, she rose to fame overnight.
The same producer, upon hearing Shi Yi's demo recording, was utterly captivated and went to great lengths to arrange a meeting with her.
The result went without saying—she refused to see him again.
These dramatic little anecdotes were endlessly recounted with relish, subtly becoming leverage that elevated her status.
Around eleven o'clock, all work unexpectedly wrapped up early. Before leaving, Shi Yi turned off her phone's silent mode and noticed an unfamiliar number had called her—twice.
A scam call?
She tossed the phone into her bag, where it clanked dully against her keys.
It's Zhou Shengchen.
The moment this thought surfaced, it spread uncontrollably. She retrieved her phone and dialed the unfamiliar number back. Someone answered quickly, but it wasn't his voice.
"Miss Shi?" The unfamiliar voice accurately identified her name.
"My apologies, I might have dialed the wrong number," she said.
The call was soon handed over.
A different voice came through: "It's me, Zhou Shengchen."
She naturally responded with an "Mm."
Perhaps because it felt too natural, both of them froze. Fortunately, they weren't face-to-face, avoiding much awkwardness.
After a brief silence, an incoming call notification suddenly chimed. Shi Yi glanced at it and quickly said to him, "Give me a few minutes—I need to take my mother's call."
"No problem."
Reassured by his response, Shi Yi answered her mother's call.
(End of Chapter)
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