Seeing this, Shu Nian wanted to answer the call immediately. But with a glance, she noticed that He You was still beside her. She politely said to him, “Let me take this call first.”

He You shrugged, indicating she should do as she pleased.

There were only two reasons why Li Qing would call her.

Either he wanted to offer her a role and have her come in for a voice test, or there was an issue with previously recorded content—whether during review or for other reasons—requiring additional recording.

It was possible that after this call, the day off she had given herself would come to an end.

Shu Nian answered the phone and obediently greeted, “Director Li.”

Li Qing’s voice was rich and loud: “Hey, Shu Nian. Are you free tomorrow?”

“Yes, I am.”

Li Qing didn’t beat around the bush and directly explained his purpose: “It’s like this, I have a project recently. There’s a role, the female supporting lead in the show. The production team wants a new voice actress, and I think you’d be suitable. Come over for a voice test.”

Shu Nian thought she had misheard and asked again in a daze, “The female supporting lead?”

“Yes, come by at noon tomorrow, at the recording studio in the northern part of the city.”

This sudden surprise left Shu Nian momentarily stunned. She stood frozen in place, only coming back to her senses after He You’s reminder, continuing to walk forward as if her soul had been snatched away.

Shu Nian could hardly believe her ears.

She had been involved in this industry since university.

Back then, because she had classes every day, she could only go to the recording studio during her free time, and all the roles she voiced were background characters. Later, as she gained more experience, her teacher began assigning her some named characters with continuous scenes.

But that was it.

What Li Qing had so casually mentioned was the best opportunity she had received in all these years.

At that moment, Shu Nian felt as if all the good things in the world had suddenly fallen upon her.

Despite repeatedly trying to suppress her emotions, Shu Nian couldn’t help but jump up and down on the spot.

“G-good, thank you, Director.”

“Oh, by the way, the production team has a requirement,” Li Qing mentioned casually. “The theme song in the film is sung by the female supporting character, so they plan to have the voice actress sing it. So besides the voice test, you’ll need to sing a short segment tomorrow.”

Hearing this, the enthusiasm that had been burning within Shu Nian seemed to be doused by a bucket of water poured over her head.

Instantly extinguished.

He You stood nearby watching her.

Originally jumping with joy, in an instant, her expression froze, then crumbled, turning into a wilted eggplant. Like a magic trick.

Shu Nian’s expression looked as if she was about to cry, and her tone became dejected.

“…But I’m tone-deaf.”

“Huh?” Li Qing was confused, “Do you just not sing well, or what? Or can you not find the tune at all?”

Shu Nian didn’t want to lie, but she also didn’t want to miss this opportunity. She lowered her head, struggling internally for more than ten seconds, looking particularly ashamed, and mumbled, “I just don’t sing very well.”

“Then come over tomorrow and try first,” Li Qing said. “The music producer in charge of the theme song will also be there, and we’ll see then.”

“…” Shu Nian reluctantly agreed, “Alright.”

Shu Nian’s feelings were complicated.

She had imagined that after being in the industry for a long time, perhaps she would be fortunate enough to get an audition for a lead role. She had been certain that on the night she received such news, she would be too excited to sleep.

Yet now that such an opportunity had arrived, Shu Nian didn’t know whether to be happy or unhappy.

After she hung up the phone, He You looked at her: “You’re tone-deaf?”

Shu Nian had always been somewhat insecure about this flaw and completely didn’t want to admit it now, but He You seemed to be waiting for her answer. She could only try to gloss over it by saying, “A little bit, I guess.”

“Your expression doesn’t look like a little bit’ at all,” He You mocked her without mercy. “Sing something for me to hear? Let me see how tone-deaf you are. Maybe I can give you some pointers.”

Shu Nian lowered her eyes and softly refused: “No.”

“It’s just singing a song, what’s the big deal?” He You didn’t understand why she could be so worried about this and snorted, “I’ll sing one for you.”

Shu Nian was lost in her thoughts and didn’t pay attention to his words.

He You didn’t mind whether she was listening or not and cleared his throat. His voice, whether naturally or acquired, was a smoky tenor—deep and raspy, giving people a sense of solid reassurance.

He hummed softly.

“Not that I don’t want to forget/Just that it’s hard to control myself”

It happened to be “Hard to Control” by A-He, which Shu Nian had been listening to recently.

Shu Nian immediately turned her head, her expression strange, oddly feeling as if her favorite singer had been slandered. She even had the misunderstanding that He You was deliberately singing like this, and frowned, saying, “You’re off-key.”

He You was very confident: “Off-key my ass, this is how it’s sung.”

“No, it’s not. It’s sung like this.” Shu Nian instantly forgot the fact that she was tone-deaf, her only thought being—to prove to him that Xie Ruhe’s songs weren’t that bad.

She sang earnestly: “Not that I don’t want to forget/Just that it’s hard to control myself”

“…”

He You looked as if he had just eaten something foul, and after a long while, he said, “Is that how I was singing?”

Shu Nian said with a straight face: “Of course not, you were off-key.”

Hearing this, He You relaxed as if breathing a sigh of relief.

“That’s good.”

“…”

Shu Nian didn’t want to talk to him anymore and pressed her lips together. Soon after, she still very unhappily emphasized once more, like a child: “Anyway, you were off-key.”

He You hummed lightly: “Pot calling the kettle black.”

The two went down to the hospital lobby on the first floor.

Coming down from the escalator and turning a corner led to the exit. Directly opposite were the hospital’s elevator shafts. At that moment, the elevator doors had just opened, and several people walked out.

The last one was sitting in a wheelchair.

Not expecting to see Xie Ruhe at the hospital again, Shu Nian stopped in her tracks.

He You, who was beside her, also stopped and reminded her: “Keep walking, friend. Zoning out again?”

Shu Nian hesitated whether to greet him or not.

At that moment, Xie Ruhe stopped outside the elevator. Wearing a large coat, his face was pale, like a vampire living in the night. His eyes were pitch-black and deep, calmly looking in their direction.

He didn’t seem to be looking at her, but at He You beside her.

Shu Nian also followed his gaze and looked at He You.

Although He You was injured, it wasn’t serious, and he still had to return to the police station. He hadn’t noticed their gazes and looked down at the time, urging her: “Are you coming or not? If not, I’m leaving. I’m in a hurry.”

Just then, a crisp sound came from not far away.

Shu Nian instinctively looked toward the sound.

Xie Ruhe had already withdrawn his gaze, his eyes lowered. Perhaps because he hadn’t held it firmly, his phone had fallen to the ground. The floor was smooth, and it slid to a position about a meter away from him.

He slowly moved his wheelchair.

Shu Nian, who had been hesitating, no longer did so. She quietly said to He You, “You go ahead,” and then walked toward Xie Ruhe.

He You saw that she had met someone she knew, and didn’t mind, turning to leave the hospital.

Shu Nian quickly walked over and picked up the phone for him before he could bend down.

Xie Ruhe raised his eyes slightly, looking at the hand extended in front of him. After a pause of several seconds, he reached out to take it and said in a low voice, “Thank you.”

Shu Nian nodded and hesitantly asked, “Did you come here alone?”

Xie Ruhe was silent for a moment, then made a sound of agreement.

Shu Nian suggested, “Do you want to call your driver to pick you up?”

Xie Ruhe said, “He’ll be here shortly.”

Shu Nian felt relieved: “Then you wait here, and I’ll be on my way?”

She was still thinking about the news Li Qing had shared with her and was eager to go home and practice singing. When natural talent is lacking, one must put in more effort. Even if there was no effect, perhaps heaven would see her efforts and reluctantly—

Do her a small favor and make everyone at tomorrow’s audition tone-deaf as well.

Before Shu Nian could move, Xie Ruhe suddenly called out to her: “Shu Nian.”

“Ah? What is it?”

“My hand doesn’t feel very comfortable,” Xie Ruhe avoided her gaze. “Could you help me push the wheelchair?”

Shu Nian was stunned for a moment, then walked behind him and said, “Sure, where do you want to go?”

“The nearby station.”

“Aren’t you waiting here for your driver to come?”

Xie Ruhe said flatly, “He’ll probably take a while.”

The meaning was probably that he didn’t want to waste time waiting.

Although she still hoped he would wait for someone to pick him up, as it would be more convenient, since he had already said so, Shu Nian could only agree.

“Alright.”

After leaving the hospital.

Xie Ruhe suddenly asked, “Why did you come to the hospital?”

Shu Nian didn’t want to answer this question. Her voice lowered, and she said vaguely, “Just a bit of a cold.”

Still the same as before.

When encountering questions she didn’t want to answer, or when she lied, her voice would become muffled and unclear. She thought that if others couldn’t hear, she had gotten away with it, or it was equivalent to not having lied.

Xie Ruhe didn’t know why she didn’t want to say and didn’t ask further.

After quite a while.

Xie Ruhe asked casually, “Was that your boyfriend just now?”

“Who?” Shu Nian was lost in thought and couldn’t immediately gather her thoughts. “You mean that man just now?”

“Mm.”

“No, he’s my neighbor,” Shu Nian said honestly. “I don’t have a boyfriend.”

Xie Ruhe had his back to her and didn’t speak again, but his mood improved. The gloomy aura around him seemed to dissipate considerably because of these words.

Shu Nian didn’t notice, still thinking about the singing issue.

Soon, Shu Nian remembered Xie Ruhe’s current profession and instantly perked up. She felt it would be rude to directly reveal that she knew he was “A-He.”

After thinking for a moment, Shu Nian said, “By the way, weren’t you quite good at singing before?”

Xie Ruhe turned his head: “Hmm?”

Shu Nian asked, “Could you help me with something?”

“What is it?”

“Well, I have a voice test tomorrow that requires singing,” Shu Nian scratched her head, her voice thin and somewhat worried. “At that time, they’ll probably play the song once, and then I’ll have to sing.”

“…”

“I feel like I might not even be able to remember the tune,” Shu Nian looked at him, saying glumly, “Could you give me some advice on how to quickly remember the tune and not go off-key?”

Hearing this, Xie Ruhe recalled how Shu Nian sang in the past.

The atmosphere was quiet for a moment.

Xie Ruhe licked his lips and only said four words: “Memorize the lyrics.”

Shu Nian listened like she was in a class, hearing a professional speak, almost wanting to take out paper and pen to take notes: “Memorizing the lyrics will help remember the tune?”

Xie Ruhe said, “No.”

Shu Nian blinked and asked, “Then what should I do?”

Xie Ruhe felt a bit of a headache and hesitantly said, “Hum the tune of a song you’ve been listening to recently.”

Shu Nian didn’t think too much about it, but also didn’t sing one of his songs, obediently humming the tune of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.”

“…” Xie Ruhe said, “Now sing it with the lyrics.”

Shu Nian made a sound of acknowledgment and started singing: “Twinkle, twinkle, little star/How I wonder what you are”

Xie Ruhe breathed a sigh of relief, his expression brightening somewhat: “So just remember the lyrics.”

“Huh?”

“If you sing the lyrics, people can tell what song you’re singing.”

Shu Nian: “…”