The next day, Shu Nian left home half an hour earlier than the specified time. The character she was voicing didn’t have many lines, so she completed all her work in less than two hours.

Li Qing was quite satisfied with her and had her try voicing another small girl character.

Creating a fake voice was not difficult for voice actors.

Shu Nian made some adjustments, raising her pitch, emphasizing the nasal sounds, and making her voice sound more childish. With only a few lines, it was just a minor role, and she passed it directly.

This was her daily routine.

Meeting Xie Ruhe again.

For her, it was like walking down the street and suddenly hearing a song with a beautiful melody. After going home, wanting to listen to that song again, but not remembering the lyrics, trying everything possible but never finding the song again.

It was a brief interlude that, once passed, would never be encountered again.

In the long, monotonous days, there needed to be some surprises.

Meeting him again, regardless of how it happened, was still something that made Shu Nian happy.

Even if he seemed unhappy.

Shu Nian had thought about sending him a text message to ask why he was suddenly unhappy. She pondered for a long time, picking up her phone and putting it down, then picking it up again.

In the end, she gave up.

She felt that this intersection of their lives didn’t need to be prolonged.

He wasn’t willing. And she no longer had as much enthusiasm to expend as before.

“Young Master.”

Fang Wencheng stood at the doorway, habitually knocking three times, though he knew Xie Ruhe probably couldn’t hear. He called out again, then pushed the door open.

The room was soundproof, so only a faint sound could be heard from outside. But as soon as the door opened, deafening rock music burst out.

It was almost ear-splitting.

Inside, the lighting was dim. The wooden floor had no furniture except for speakers, making the room look empty. On the ground were neat domino tiles, compulsively arranged in a specific pattern.

Several dozen mango candies were scattered around.

Xie Ruhe wore a loose hoodie with long sleeves. His collarbones were exposed, giving him a dejected air. A wheelchair was placed nearby. He sat on the floor, lazily setting up dominoes.

Fang Wencheng walked to the speakers and turned off the music, then said, “Young Master, have you written the theme song for Huajing’s film that you promised earlier? They called to ask about it.”

Xie Ruhe gave a barely audible “mm.”

Fang Wencheng said, “Good.”

Having no other business, Fang Wencheng was about to turn the speakers back on and leave the room when Xie Ruhe suddenly spoke up: “Tell Huajing that I’ll specify the singer, and I’ll write the promotional song for them as well.”

Hearing this, Fang Wencheng was stunned. “But they didn’t request—”

Xie Ruhe’s expression remained unchanged as he continued, “No charge. If they’re not satisfied, they can change it.”

Fang Wencheng found this strange.

This was the first time Xie Ruhe had offered to let others modify his songs; normally, he would get angry at the mere suggestion. But Fang Wencheng didn’t ask further. “Alright, which singer do you want to specify? I’ll communicate with them.”

“The theme song is sung by the female supporting character in the film,” Xie Ruhe said, looking down, his slender fingers picking up a domino tile and gently placing it in position. “So let’s use the voice actress for the female supporting role.”

Fang Wencheng thought he had misheard. “Voice actress?”

“Yes.”

“That doesn’t seem right.” Fang Wencheng advised, “I think it’s more appropriate to find a singer. The two don’t necessarily have to be the same person. Voice acting and singing can be separate. The songs you write aren’t easy to master; you should find a professional.”

Otherwise, they’ll be berated to death trying to sing it the way you want.

Xie Ruhe was insistent. “Just the voice actress.”

Knowing he wouldn’t listen to persuasion, Fang Wencheng’s expression became troubled. “Besides, this is a film. They usually don’t use voice actors; they record on set. If there’s too much background noise that can’t be used, they’ll have the actors themselves dub it in post-production.”

After being rejected multiple times, Xie Ruhe suddenly looked up, staring at him silently.

Fang Wencheng immediately dropped his troubled expression and cleared his throat twice.

“I’ll go ask first.”

Fang Wencheng left the room and called the film company to relay Xie Ruhe’s message.

Not long after, he returned to the room.

“They agreed.” Fang Wencheng breathed a sigh of relief. “They agreed quickly. They said they were planning to find a voice actress for the female supporting role anyway, because the actress playing the role has poor line delivery, and her voice doesn’t match the character’s design in the film.”

Seeing that Xie Ruhe didn’t respond, Fang Wencheng continued, “So will you select the voice actress, or will the production team choose?”

“Tell them to find a voice directing director named Li Qing.” Xie Ruhe’s voice was flat. “Have him find some people to audition. We need fresher voices with solid dubbing skills.”

“Alright,” said Fang Wencheng. “Any other requirements?”

Xie Ruhe lowered his eyelids again. “Notify me about the audition day. I’ll go too.”

“…” This time Fang Wencheng couldn’t hold back, even though he knew the young master’s temperament was poor and unpredictable. “Young Master, what are you going there for?”

Xie Ruhe didn’t answer.

—What was he going there for?

He just wanted to see someone.

But he had no reason, and couldn’t find a reason to see her.

Not contacting each other anymore was probably the best outcome. After all, he was in this state now. Even if she didn’t look down on him, he would still feel extremely embarrassed about his condition.

But after all this time, after seeing her again.

Just saw her once, twice. What he thought would be just a small intersection, he never imagined that the desire he thought he had controlled would resurface continuously because of this encounter.

He wanted to see her, very much wanted to see her.

So he racked his brains, wringing out every bit of ingenuity to create an excuse.

All just to see her once.

After placing the last domino, Xie Ruhe pulled the wheelchair over and, using the strength in his arms, gripped the armrests, gritted his teeth, and tried to sit back in the wheelchair.

Fang Wencheng shifted his feet but didn’t step forward to help.

Because he knew Xie Ruhe didn’t need it.

After quite a while, Xie Ruhe sat in the wheelchair, fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.

Seeing him like this, Fang Wencheng hesitated for a few seconds, then reluctantly reminded him, “Young Master, you haven’t done your rehabilitation today. The rehabilitation physician has already arrived.”

Xie Ruhe remained silent, not getting angry. His fingers tapped on the armrest, one after another as if playing some tune. His mood seemed poor, and his voice sounded dejected.

“Is it useful to do it?”

He would suddenly have such emotions.

He would feel hopeless, thinking many things were futile even if done, feeling that nothing was worth his effort. He just wanted to give up directly, to live the rest of his life in degradation, which didn’t seem so bad.

“It helps. And if you don’t do it, then there’s truly no hope. Your muscles will atrophy,” Fang Wencheng earnestly persuaded. “Even if there’s only a tiny glimmer of hope, I hope you won’t give up.”

After a long while, Xie Ruhe said, “I understand.”

Fang Wencheng sighed in relief. “Then I’ll go tell the physician to prepare.”

Before leaving, Fang Wencheng turned the speakers back on for Xie Ruhe.

The loud rock music filled the empty room again, the drumbeat vibrating, making one’s body go numb. Xie Ruhe lowered his eyes, looking at his legs, pressing his lips together, lost in thought.

After some time, as if thinking of something, Xie Ruhe silently called out “Shu Nian,” and then, as if in a trance, said something.

Softly, as if it would dissolve into the air.

“I don’t want to be a cripple.”

Shu Nian went back to her life as a “studio worm.” Every day she would rush to various recording studios as soon as she woke up, not leaving until midnight, then going home, taking a shower, and going straight to sleep.

Day after day, it was the same life.

Deng Qingyu had tentatively asked if she wanted to try a different job.

Shu Nian rejected the idea without a moment’s consideration.

She believed that living meant doing what you loved. She loved voice acting, loved this profession, loved the feeling of being in a recording studio, loved using her voice to shape a character, and loved the charm that her voice brought her.

Doing what she loved.

Living this way, this long life, seemed not so difficult to endure.

In the blink of an eye, November was coming to an end.

Shu Nian had no work recently, and realizing the busy season was approaching, she decided to give herself a day off and didn’t go to the recording studio. It happened to be Thursday, so she scheduled her treatment time with Dr. Wang Yue for the morning.

During the treatment, most of the time it was Shu Nian talking, with Wang Yue guiding the conversation.

Afterward, Wang Yue conducted various examinations on Shu Nian and flipped through the papers in her hand.

“Shu Nian, according to your symptom self-assessment scale, all your indicators are within the normal range. And now you can control your emotions well, with no significant impact on your daily life.”

Shu Nian looked at her like an obedient child waiting for praise.

Wang Yue’s voice was gentle. “I think we can extend the treatment cycle. How about having your next follow-up visit in a month? Would that work for you?”

It was moving towards complete recovery.

Shu Nian’s mood brightened, and she quickly nodded. “Yes, that works.”

A moment later, Shu Nian said goodbye to Wang Yue and left the department. She took the escalator down to the third floor. Just as she was about to turn a corner to continue going down, someone suddenly called out to her from behind.

“Shu Nian?”

Hearing the voice, Shu Nian instinctively turned around.

The man was tall and broad-shouldered. The sleeve of his left arm was pulled up to his elbow, revealing half of his forearm wrapped in bandages, indicating he was injured. Compared to the last time they met, he looked more disheveled, as if he had just returned from a mission.

Shu Nian stood in place, glancing at the wound on his hand.

“Officer He, you’re injured?”

He You raised an eyebrow, looking down at his arm, not caring much about a wound that was like a mosquito bite. He casually curved his lips, completely informal. “Worried about me?”

Shu Nian was used to his demeanor but still shook her head.

“Be careful.”

He You had always been casual and didn’t take her words to heart, snorting lightly. “What’s there to be careful about with a wound like this? Even if I got stabbed a few more times, it would feel like someone tickling me.”

Shu Nian’s eyes widened in surprise. “You think getting stabbed feels like being tickled?”

He You yawned lazily and gave an affirmative “mm.”

Shu Nian didn’t understand. “Then why did you come to the hospital?”

“…”

He You was momentarily speechless. He looked at her, his expression indescribable. After a long moment, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something.

The next moment, Shu Nian’s phone rang. She withdrew her gaze and looked down.

It was a call from Li Qing.