Chapter 42

  The heating in the recording studio is sufficient, and the work of recording is relatively easy. In addition to the necessary recording engineers and other staff, there are no extra idle people on site.

  After Wen Jingfan came in, he took off his coat and hung it on the clothes rack beside him. Underneath, he was wearing a gray sweater with smooth texture and dense stitches.

  Close to him, I could clearly smell the faint scent mixed on top, like a special woolen sweater detergent, and also like the smell of shampoo.

  Wen Jingfan slightly rolled up his sleeves, folded out a delicate and beautiful arc, turned around to look at her: "It will get hotter if we stay here for too long, take off your coat first, and put it back on when we go out later, otherwise you'll easily catch a cold."

  With a gentle nod, she was about to hang her coat on the clothes rack, but he had already naturally taken it from her hand. With a slight lift of his arm, he hung the coat up high, taking advantage of his height.

  Lu Xifang had just taken the mineral water from the staff and walked over, taking big strides to pass by, then took big strides back, squeezing between the two people and looking around: "My Si Qi and Ting Xia, tonight's main event is you two, are you ready?"

  Wen Jingfan suddenly raised his eyes and looked at Su Anran, calling out: "Listen to Xia."

  She was taken aback for a moment before looking up, "Huh?"

  He raised his hand and patted her shoulder, ignoring Lu Xifang's curious gaze beside him. He put his arm around her and walked towards the soundproof room: "Let's try it out first and see how it feels. If there's no problem, we'll do it for real. Any problems?"

  "There shouldn't be..." An Ran thought back to when she was reading the script, every sentence was a reflection of her state at that time, and she couldn't help but feel embarrassed.

  As soon as they entered the recording studio, An Ran saw that there were only two of them and pointed to Jiang Ningxia and the voice actors standing outside, asking: "Aren't they coming in?"

  "They've got a lot of the sound done already, they started ahead of time." He pulled out a chair and pressed her into it, adjusting her position before sitting down beside her.

  "They're coming tonight..." She still didn't understand.

  Wen Jingfan slightly raised an eyebrow and said calmly: "Surrounding us."

  Few words, much meaning... Four characters summarize.

  Su Anran was shocked by the meaning of the words and almost vomited blood, her face changing several times.

  "But don't worry." He suddenly smiled, his eyes slightly curved, and the black light sparkled, "It will be fine after a few more times like this."

  It's all the same whether I say it or not.

  Su Anran unscrewed the mineral water bottle and took a sip, the slightly cool water slid through her throat, and she was fully awake from her drowsy consciousness. She picked up the script again and looked at it, asked Wen Jingfan about a few sentences that she didn't know how to recite, and then the two of them began to rehearse their lines together.

  Compared to the real recording, his voice was lazy when acting and not fully invested. The corners of his eyes slightly raised, quietly gazing at you, as if he had already entered the play, and he... was the person in the painting.

  Lu Xifang was wearing headphones and listening all the time. Even Wen Jingfan's casual dialogue was recorded by the sound engineer.

  When the formal recording began, Wen Jingfan adjusted the audio equipment for her again. After confirming that everything was within a comfortable range, she sat back in her own seat and pointed to the TV clip playing not far away: "Also pay attention to your speech rate, and make sure your voice matches your mouth shape. It may feel a bit unnatural at first, but it will get better with time."

  Nodded calmly, indicating understanding.

  His expression when working is undoubtedly very serious, the corners of his mouth would involuntarily press down, a pair of eyes slightly drooping, and an arc of coldness rising at the corners. The facial expression, because it was accompanied by a few points of focus and seriousness, actually reduced the warm temperament, and added a few points of depth and clarity.

  It's unclear whether it was due to his good mood or something else, but despite his expressionless face, every time it was her turn to voice act, he would inadvertently raise the corners of his eyes and glance over at her lightly, before lowering his eyelids again, and slightly curling up the corners of his lips. It looked like he was smiling, but upon closer inspection, there was nothing out of the ordinary about it.

  After being looked at back and forth by him several times, An Ran forgot to pay attention to her lip shape due to tension. He slightly raised his finger, seemingly smiling but not quite, and gazed at her before lowering his voice and saying seriously: "This is our first meeting, it's right to be a bit tense, let's do it again."

  His cold wasn't fully recovered, and if you listened carefully, you could still hear the suppressed hoarseness in his voice, heavy like the dust raised by colliding gravel, not clear.

  During the break, he stopped to drink a few sips of water, pinched his own throat with his fingers, and said helplessly: "It seems that I have to call it a day tonight, my throat is not doing well."

  Lu Xifang had been listening to the conversation between the two people in the soundproof room with his earpiece, and he agreed without hesitation: "Then hurry up and rest, as a director with long-term vision, I'm not in a hurry for this moment."

  Wen Jingfan seemed to smile slightly, took a sip of water and looked at her: "Tonight is much better than I imagined."

  As he thought of his guidance and demonstration, he looked at the gentle movement of his throat and silently regretted: "If it weren't for your guidance... I don't know what kind of terrible situation would have happened."

  She never got into it from the start.

  Outside the window, a faint gaze, so many people listening to their dubbing, commenting on her. She doesn't know if she's doing well or not, but in that instant, the small self-doubt hidden deep within her for a long time has been secretly at work.

  This is not her familiar territory, she is thinking of withdrawing every minute.

  Back home, An Ran hastily washed up and went to bed. After turning off the lights, she suddenly remembered Jiang Mo's mother's phone call and slightly furrowed her brow. She resigned herself to getting out of bed and going to the living room to retrieve her phone and turn it on.

  The screen lit up, and a moment later, there was a text message reminding her that Jiang Mo Cheng's phone had called her at some point.

  She subtly furrowed her brow, and when she flipped to a mixed short message, she raised her hand to gently rub the center of her eyebrows, feeling a wave of fatigue.

  Jiang Mo Cheng: "An Ran, I'm sorry. My mom has been a bit unstable mentally lately and it's caused you trouble. Don't answer my calls before receiving my text message."

  She leaned against the headboard, in the darkness except for the screen light of her mobile phone in her hand was the eyes that were lit up, she took a look at the time, suppressed the urge to call her mother, and got into bed to rest.

  Maybe it's because she has been feeling a bit weak lately, or maybe it's just that she's been too tired these past few days, but after falling into deep sleep from light slumber, she kept having bizarre and fantastical dreams.

  She dreamed back five years ago, still 18-year-old her, on the bell tower of Fan Yin Temple, looking down from afar and seeing a young man who was just looking up.

  His eyebrows were gentle and bright, reflecting the morning light like a flame. He smiled softly, as if saying something to her, but his mouth opened and closed, and the sound he made was weak, like a kitten's meow, so light that it scattered with the wind.

  Because she couldn't hear clearly, Ruan Anran grasped the railing with both hands and leaned forward forcefully, but unexpectedly, just as she heard his words, her hands loosened, and she fell rapidly from the top of the tower like a kite with a broken string.

  She was clearly getting closer and closer to him, just about to fall to the ground, he stretched out his hand but she couldn't touch it, just grazing the edge, without even touching his body temperature, they brushed past each other.

  Wen Jingfan's low and gentle voice entered her dream at this moment: "An Ran, why don't you hold onto me?"

  She wanted to hold his hand, but... didn't succeed.

  "It seems like he knew what she was thinking, his voice rose again: 'Then I'll give you another chance, you must hold my hand, okay? Hold it tight, don't let go. In this world, only I can accompany you, give you a lifetime of what you want. I will definitely live longer than you, even if it's just one more day, I won't let you watch me leave first.'"

  Su An suddenly woke up from her dream, opened her eyes, but it was suffocatingly dark.

  She was so scared that her whole body was trembling, and she had a cold sweat on her back. She fumbled to find the phone that was pressed against the edge of the pillow, and looked at the time...

  It was just 2 o'clock in the morning and she had only slept for a few hours.

  She curled up her body, tightly grasping the phone in her hand, and her nerves were slightly aching. She gradually woke up from the nightmare, opened the address book, and dialed a number out.

  Wen Jingfan had just fallen asleep for a short while when he was woken up by a sudden and urgent ringtone from his mobile phone.

  He took a look at the caller ID display, it was Wen Shi Qian.

  He propped himself up and sat up, turned on the desk lamp, and connected the phone. His voice was hoarse and almost inaudible: "Hello?"

  Wen Shi was taken aback for a moment before hesitantly asking: "Second Brother?"

  Wen Jingfan cleared his throat and responded with a low "mm-hm". Because he was suddenly woken up, his eyebrows were slightly painful, and he felt that some chaotic thoughts were entwining him, but he couldn't make sense of them.

  "You made me a spy, Grandpa is back. He looks like he's in a bad mood, are you coming over tomorrow morning?"

  He heard the fatigue on the other end, took a sip of water to refresh himself, and replied: "Help me keep the door open, I'll go over now and see Old Man tomorrow morning."

  Otherwise, who knows how long this old man will disappear again and avoid seeing anyone?

  That day, at the hospital, Wen Shi Qian told him: "I saw a file on my grandfather's desk with the name 'Sui An Ran'. I think it should be related to you. The column with the most information is about you."

  After Old Man Wen grew older, he became increasingly anxious and depressed. His physical condition also declined, making him even more interfering with his grandchildren.

  Wen Jingfan returned to the Wen family that day and locked himself in the study with Old Master Wen, who stubbornly refused to agree: "I won't agree. A child raised by a single parent must have some psychological defects. Not to mention that you two are not from suitable families, you think I'm old-fashioned now, but only when you reach middle age will you understand that this is for your own good. Only relationships between equals can truly last, what's the point of liking or not liking?"

  "It's your fault for investigating her, I have nothing to do with her now."

  It seems he was somewhat in the wrong, so the old man just grunted and didn't respond again.

  After an unpleasant parting, Mr. Wen made an excuse to go to L City to clear his mind. This was the first time he had returned in all these years. But a more important reason was that he didn't want to see him.

  Wen Jingfan got up and dressed, the night air cool as water. He looked out of the window, in the endless darkness there were only a few lonely lamps shining brightly, like scattered stars.

  He got up and went to the living room, just about to go out when he realized he hadn't brought his phone. He was about to turn back when Van Gogh, who had been nowhere to be seen all night, appeared with his phone in her mouth, squatting not far from him.

  "Calling..." is displayed on the screen.

  Wen Jingfan furrowed his brow every day. Squatting down, he beckoned to Fan Xi, "Fan Xi, come over."

  Manxi then took a few quick steps over, picked up the phone and put it in his hand, and even lifted his paw to push against his palm.

  A hint of a smile flashed in his eyes, but when he saw the name on the screen that was currently calling, he paused slightly.

  "Alright?"

  An Ran suppressed her breathing and carefully responded with a "yes", before asking: "Were you just calling Fan Xi?"

  "Hmm." He sat down on the floor, pulling Vanxi into his arms and stroking his fur. Those long fingers fell, and Vanxi slightly raised his head, contentedly called out, lifted his paws and scratched his head, indicating: comfortable, continue to scratch for me.

  "Why aren't you sleeping yet?"

  "There's no..." She hesitated for a moment, as if wanting to say something, but the words reached her lips and she stopped herself.

  Wen Jingfan detected the instability in her tone and slightly furrowed his brow: "Did you have a nightmare?"

  She bit her lip and nodded, completely forgetting that Wen Jingfan was there and couldn't see her actions.

  "It'll be fine when you wake up." He chuckled softly and thought for a moment before reassuringly saying, "You're here, no one can take you away."

  His words were as profound as the vast starry sky; after he finished speaking, he paused for a moment and then burst out laughing silently.

  Apart from him, no one can enter your heart. So you are here, and no one can take you away.

  Shanxi/Jiangsu/Wenxue/Dujia/Yuanchuang/Shoufa

  No forwarding allowed

  The author has something to say: The good news is related to publication, but since it's just the beginning of negotiations... I'm really excited and can't help but share, wait until everything is settled and I'll make a formal announcement again ~ hehehe.

  I'm so dead tired, sorry for keeping you waiting, little sisters~ muah~

  There is still one chapter left.