Chapter 60: Reporting In Part 1

Since they had an appointment, Xu Yinian saw Lin San the moment she entered the building. The director was waiting in the lobby, nursing an iced Americano and yawning.

Xu Yinian told Lin San that Bai Ran was right behind her and would be up a bit later. Hearing that someone would be sent down to guide Bai Ran to the lounge made Yinian finally relax.

Unlike the empty halls on the day of her audition, today was a proper workday. The building was bustling, with staff members passing by every few moments.

When they saw Xu Yinian, their eyes lit up. There was only one fresh face expected today—the newcomer for the upcoming recording of Improper Thoughts.

“Director Lin, is this the newcomer?”

Although Lin San was the lead on the project and had handled the auditions with Ji Yan, she had followed her usual routine of sending the audition files to the rest of the project team the day they finished.

The members of Monologue Studios were generally quite young, and the working atmosphere was free and relaxed.

A voice that could be simultaneously recognized by Lin San and “Briefly Put”—two people notorious for being extremely picky—was rare even among professional voice actors. More importantly, it was a perfect match for the character of the “little stutterer.”

After the files had been sent out, the group chat had exploded with exclamations like “Ahhh, she’s so sweet I’m dying” and “This project is in the bag.”

Lin San had been bombarded with questions about where she had dug up such a treasure.

This wasn’t the first time Lin San had chosen a newcomer. As long as the voice quality was top-tier, there wasn’t a talent Director Lin couldn’t mold into shape.

Now that the lead role was finally settled, the long-stalled production of Improper Thoughts was fast-tracked. The entire team, charmed by the “little stutterer’s” sweet voice, was fired up and ready to start the recording sessions immediately.

Seeing Xu Yinian now—dressed in soft, thick autumn clothes and looking every bit the “good girl”—the image of that clear, sweet, mochi-like voice instantly sprang to mind.

The last time they had seen a voice match a person’s physical appearance so perfectly was probably Monologue’s ace, “Briefly Put.”

Aside from Lin San, no one knew that Jian Yan was actually the studio’s investor, Ji Yan.

Everyone lamented that with her looks, she could easily be a star if she ever went public. Yet, she never showed her face, maintaining an incredibly low profile. Of course, her voice alone was enough to earn her a massive following.

“Wait, aren’t you in charge of the project next door? How do you know our Niannian?” Lin San asked.

“Any newcomer our Director Lin personally brings in is bound to be the center of attention, isn’t she?”

Lin San took a sip of her iced Americano and looked at the girl beside her teasingly.

Sure enough, Xu Yinian shyly shrank behind her, a faint blush creeping onto her face.

“Director Lin, you’ve got to protect such a thin-skinned sweetie. Don’t let Teacher Jian scare her off again,” the staff member joked, looking at Xu Yinian with sympathy.

Everyone knew Jian Yan’s reputation as the “Cold-faced Yama.” She was demanding and rigorous, and she had never worked with a newcomer before. Outside of work, she was indifferent and lazy, with no concept of “protecting the fairer sex.” Rumor had it she had bluntly rejected several co-stars who tried to flirt with her.

Even so, Jian Yan’s professional skill and her “hit-maker” status meant that plenty of people were still desperate to work with her.

Hearing this, Xu Yinian realized they were talking about the partner she would be recording with today.

Scare me…?

Does that mean Jian Yan is very mean?

Yinian had searched for information online and knew Jian Yan was mysterious and low-profile, but she had no idea what the woman was actually like. At this thought, she grew nervous and looked at Lin San hesitantly, wanting to ask if it was true.

However, she saw that Lin San was also looking at her, a hint of awkwardness flashing across the director’s face.

“What are you talking about? Ji—Jian Yan isn’t that exaggerated. Besides, it depends on who she’s working with…”

Lin San explained hurriedly, almost letting Ji Yan’s real name slip as she tried to salvage the woman’s image in front of Xu Yinian.

Knowing that Jian Yan was Lin San’s cash cow, the staff member didn’t say anything more and walked away with a smile.

Xu Yinian, meanwhile, followed behind Lin San and secretly searched for “Briefly Put Temper” on her phone, hoping to find some clues.

She actually managed to find a trending thread.

[Does Briefly Put really never do any CP fanservice?]

The top comments were mostly dominated by Jian Yan’s fans:

— Teacher Jian is a solo act, okay? If you want to ship, do it in the drama. She’s low-profile to begin with, how do you expect her to do fanservice?

— Are you just now realizing that the woman who sounds like she’s conquering the entire CV circle in the dramas is actually frigid in real life?

— She has such high ‘Top’s Virtue,’ I love it. (T/N: “Top’s Virtue” refers to a character who is a dominant partner but remains strictly loyal and avoids scandals.)

The “temper” keyword appeared in a post that looked out of place in the middle of the thread.

— Wait, haven’t you guys heard? She was called out by a co-star for her attitude. It’s obvious she has a bad temper and no social skills. Who would want to bait CP with her?

— The person above, shut your mouth unless you want to get exposed. If you’re talking about a certain ‘two-syllable’ CV, I’ll gladly slap you with the recordings of her trying to cling to Teacher Jian to leech off her popularity.

…

After reading all that, Yinian didn’t reach much of a conclusion, other than knowing her partner was cold, low-profile, and completely against shipping.

It was her first time realizing that the voice-acting circle had so much drama and fan wars.

I should probably talk to Jian Yan as little as possible outside of work, Yinian thought sheepishly. I don’t want to accidentally say the wrong thing.

When they reached the fifth floor, Lin San pointed to a room at the end of the hall, different from the recording booth they had used last time.