“…”

Shu Nian thought she had seen wrong and asked confusedly: “Are you writing a self-criticism?”

Xie Ruhe made a barely audible sound of agreement and reached out to flip the paper over, with the back facing up, strangely giving the impression of trying to cover something up. Before she could say anything else, he headed towards the recording studio.

“Come over.”

Shu Nian responded with an “Okay” and followed him.

Today was not like yesterday when they spent the entire afternoon practicing.

Xie Ruhe first had her listen to the complete version once, then asked her to enter the studio and sing along with the accompaniment. Whenever she went off-key, he would remind her, then rewind and have her sing that part again.

During the audition last time, Shu Nian had heard others say a lot about Ahe—that he had a bad temper, little patience, and would berate people without using profanity, yet was particularly harsh.

And just now, Fang Wencheng had given her a friendly reminder.

Xie Ruhe’s mood hadn’t been good lately, he was quite mercurial, so it was best to do more and talk less.

During practice, Shu Nian wasn’t afraid; she felt as if she was attending a class, and she just needed to obediently follow his instructions. But once she entered the studio, it felt like entering a battlefield.

Shu Nian was very afraid of being scolded, singing nervously, her entire body stiffening at the sound of his voice.

Her vocal cords were tense and unnatural.

Noticing her discomfort, Xie Ruhe’s brows furrowed.

This microexpression made Shu Nian’s palms sweat, feeling as guilty as if she had accidentally fallen asleep in class and been caught by the teacher. She swallowed and said: “Sorry, let me adjust a bit, I’ll sing well. Can I practice by myself first? I promise I won’t be off-key later…”

Xie Ruhe calmly interrupted her: “Can you tell when you’re off-key?”

Shu Nian moved her lips but didn’t know what to say.

Indeed, she couldn’t tell.

Shu Nian explained in a small voice: “I did practice when I went back yesterday…”

Xie Ruhe said: “I know.”

Shu Nian relaxed slightly: “I’ll try harder.”

Xie Ruhe lowered his eyes, thought for a moment, and said, “You’re singing much better than yesterday. But you can’t reach this high note; it’s an issue with your vocal range.”

Hearing this, Shu Nian looked bewildered: “Then what should I do?”

Xie Ruhe said: “Come out and let’s practice vocalization.”

Shu Nian nodded, exited the recording booth, and stood next to Xie Ruhe.

“When you sing high notes, don’t shout with your throat, use more breath.” Xie Ruhe demonstrated the difference between the two singing techniques for her. “You’ve been singing with your throat all along, which is very damaging to your voice.”

Shu Nian didn’t understand how to do it: “How do I vocalize using breath?”

“When singing, try to press your throat down as much as possible.” Xie Ruhe said, “First, practice your breathing.”

“Alright.”

“Take a deep breath, push the air downward, expand your lungs outward, and contract your abdomen when exhaling.”

This was very familiar to Shu Nian; voice actors were also trained this way. She would practice whenever she had time, and now she did it naturally and effortlessly, repeating it three times.

Her breath control was very stable. Xie Ruhe didn’t ask her to continue practicing this and continued: “When you sing high notes, your waist should be engaged, tuck in your chin, don’t tilt your head up. Lower your larynx.”

Shu Nian listened to his words and followed along.

Xie Ruhe said: “Now try singing that high note.”

Shu Nian sang it once.

Xie Ruhe reminded her: “Contract your abdomen, engage your waist.”

Shu Nian thought about it briefly, tried to follow his instructions as much as possible, and sang it again.

Xie Ruhe still felt it wasn’t right and said: “Put your hands on your waist, inhale, contract your waist and ribs inward, then sing once. Feel if you’re using your waist muscles.”

Following his instructions again, but this attempt was still not right.

Shu Nian felt very frustrated. She had followed all his instructions, but the results still weren’t there. She exhaled gloomily, suddenly bent down, and grabbed his wrist.

Xie Ruhe unexpectedly looked at her, his right hand moving upward as she guided it.

Shu Nian felt a sense of helplessness, feeling she could never do well, wanting to seek his help. She placed his hand on her waist and said seriously: “I am engaging, feel it, my muscles here are all tense, I’ve been following your instructions.”

“…” This sudden action made Xie Ruhe’s entire body stiffen.

He stared at his hand, his Adam’s apple bobbing. Though his expression remained unchanged, with no emotions showing, the base of his ears gradually reddened. Xie Ruhe licked his lips, wanting to pull his hand back.

But Shu Nian pressed his hand, not letting him move: “Teacher, help me find the problem.”

This was the first time Xie Ruhe had such intimate contact with her, and he felt somewhat uncomfortable: “What?”

Then, Shu Nian followed his instructions and sang the high note from the song again.

When she finished singing, Xie Ruhe immediately withdrew his hand, and turned his gaze away, his voice low and indistinct: “Sing like that, just practice on your own.”

Shu Nian blinked: “Was that right?”

Xie Ruhe didn’t look at her, using the fingertips of his left hand to rub the palm of his right hand.

“Yes, practice a few more times.”

Noticing that the redness of his ears was almost spreading to his neck, Shu Nian asked: “Is the air conditioning set too high?”

Xie Ruhe looked over: “Are you hot?”

Shu Nian shook her head, pointing at his ears: “No, I see your ears are red, I thought you were hot.”

Xie Ruhe’s gaze was a bit unnatural as he reached up to touch his ear: “It is a bit hot.”

Shu Nian responded with a sound of acknowledgment and found the remote to lower the temperature.

Afterward, the two began to do their things. Shu Nian practiced singing on the side, while Xie Ruhe looked at the computer, doing something unknown. After practicing for a while, Xie Ruhe handed her a bottle of water and said: “Take a break.”

Shu Nian took it, and drank a sip: “Okay.”

Xie Ruhe was still looking at the computer.

Shu Nian casually took out her phone to glance at it and suddenly noticed a red dot on WeChat, which rarely showed notification alerts. She thought it would be a public account message, but when she opened it, she found it was Lin Qiqi, whom she had met on the day of the audition.

Lin Qiqi: [Do you remember me? The one who auditioned with you that day, Lin Qiqi!]

Afraid of disturbing Xie Ruhe, Shu Nian muted her phone: [I remember.]

Lin Qiqi: [What’s your name?]

Shu Nian: [My name is Shu Nian.]

Lin Qiqi: [Hahaha sounds like “reading books”.]

Apart from work and her parents, Shu Nian rarely took the initiative to talk to others. She didn’t know what to say, so she just replied with a proper smiley face.

Lin Qiqi: [By the way, did you get a call from the director?]

Lin Qiqi: [I haven’t received one yet [about to cry]]

Lin Qiqi: [It’s been almost a week, even if I didn’t pass, they should at least notify me. [going crazy]]

Shu Nian didn’t know whether to tell the truth, feeling a bit awkward, and not knowing how to reply for a moment. She could only reply with another emoji, then put her phone aside and continued practicing singing quietly.

Shu Nian didn’t look at her phone again.

She had muted it, and without looking at the phone, she didn’t know the other person was still sending messages. The screen flickered, with messages appearing on the lock screen.

Xie Ruhe turned his head, originally wanting to see what Shu Nian was doing, but as his gaze shifted, he was immediately drawn to the phone she had placed to the side.

Messages came one after another.

Seemingly unaware of Shu Nian’s indifference, Lin Qiqi remained enthusiastic and familiar.

Lin Qiqi: [You know, that day, Ahe only spoke to me.]

Lin Qiqi: [Although he was scolding me, isn’t this a way of attracting my attention in an alternative way?]

Lin Qiqi: [Sigh, but generally no news means I didn’t pass.]

Lin Qiqi: [I originally thought I would pass. [going crazy]]

When Shu Nian turned around, the scene she saw Xie Ruhe with an unpleasant expression, looking at her phone screen, not saying a word. The light was shining on him as he lowered his head, his expression obscure.

Even the bright yellow light couldn’t dispel the coldness around him.

Shu Nian asked confusedly: “What’s wrong?”

Xie Ruhe’s gaze didn’t shift: “Who is this?”

Hearing this, Shu Nian looked down and when she saw the words on the screen, she felt a bit embarrassed and immediately pressed the power button, turning off the screen: “Don’t look.”

Xie Ruhe looked at her and repeated: “Who is it?”

Shu Nian vaguely said: “Just someone I met during the audition.”

Xie Ruhe frowned: “I scolded her?”

Shu Nian didn’t want to talk about others behind their backs and felt somewhat guilty towards Lin Qiqi. Because of her carelessness, the person involved had seen her messages, and now she didn’t dare speak, only responding with silence.

After a while.

“Shu Nian.” Xie Ruhe called her, “I wasn’t trying to attract her attention.”

Shu Nian didn’t understand immediately: “Hm?”

Xie Ruhe was strangely serious, his black eyes appearing bright and shiny as if he particularly cared about this matter.

“Don’t believe what she says.”