Troublesome – Chapter 19

Rabbit

It was as if she had ten thousand rabbits in her heart.

Lu Zhenqiu was no stranger to voicing bed scenes. After all, what novel didn’t have intimate scenes? Some of the explicit lines and moans couldn’t even be uploaded to the platform and could only be given to fans as a cloud drive bonus. She still remembered a live broadcast for an audio drama a long time ago where their punishment was to perform an intimate scene from the script on the spot. She and another voice actor had successfully gotten the livestream channel shut down for five minutes, which became a running gag at the time.

The segment Jin Shuilan had given her was a standard bed scene, with the explicitness level likely right on the edge of what the platform would accept. If it were the old her, recording this segment would have been effortless. But she hadn’t recorded a bed scene in two years, and she felt like she couldn’t quite get the feeling back right away. Lu Zhenqiu didn’t rush to record; instead, she searched for the novel using the name on the script.

It was actually a novel by Bai Mao¹. Bai Mao was one of the authors who had started writing baihe as soon as the website launched, even earlier than Jin Shuilan. Mentioning her brought to mind a single phrase: tears of the era². In the early years, the website had no restrictions on themes, and you could write anything. Bai Mao was one of the more famous veteran authors, having created many classic CPs. She was particularly skilled at writing about the collision of extreme s#xual love and rational reality.

The crueler reality was, the less the protagonist’s family understood them, the more they treated the protagonist like a monster, the more the protagonist wanted to immerse themselves in s#xual love to release themselves. Back when the site first launched, homosexuality was still a hushed topic. Her novels were like a ray of dawn cutting through the oppressive air, becoming spiritual nourishment for many. Lu Zhenqiu had read little of her work, but she had heard of Bai Mao’s name.

She heard that Bai Mao hadn’t produced any new works in recent years and, like Jin Shuilan, had gone into writing baihe screenplays. They probably knew each other, which was why Jin Shuilan had let her try out.

Lu Zhenqiu took a deep breath, went to the bathroom for a shower, and returned to her room to start reading the novel. The novel was three hundred thousand characters long, which wasn’t much. She wanted to know the plot before and after that scene, and more importantly, she wanted to understand the protagonist’s state of mind during the bed scene. That way, when she recorded, she could grasp the character’s mentality and know what kind of voice and tone to use.

When Jin Shuilan went out to get some water, she saw through the crack in the door that Lu Zhenqiu was sitting on her bed, head down, looking at her phone. Maomao was lying at the doorway and was about to stand up when it saw her. Jin Shuilan placed a finger to her lips, signaling Maomao not to move. Maomao obediently lay back down, wagging its tail.

A figure passed by the door. Lu Zhenqiu looked up but didn’t see anyone, though she heard a noise from the study. She pursed her lips and continued reading the novel.

Jin Shuilan sat in her chair and turned on her computer. She had slept for most of the day at the magazine office and couldn’t fall asleep now, so she decided to get up and revise her script. After turning on the computer, she logged into Q³. A stream of messages popped up—from the magazine, the production crew, Ji Zibo, and her small group chat. The small group had four or five authors she had known since she first started writing, including Bai Mao.

【Bai Mao】: Where is she? Where is she? @Jin Shuilan.

【Flirtatious Gemini⁴】: Teacher Jin has been quite busy lately. Haven’t seen her in the group for days.

【Yueyue⁵】: It’s about the magazine, haven’t you guys heard? They say they’re deliberately lowballing Old Jin and signed Tang Yingxia.

【Bai Mao】: Just because of that?

【Jin Shuilan】: Of course not.

Her sudden message appeared, and the others didn’t react for a moment. Bai Mao was the first to respond: Yo! The busy bee is back! @Jin Shuilan

【Jin Shuilan】: What’s up?

【Bai Mao】: I was afraid you were crying alone after getting lowballed by the magazine. Want big sister to come and comfort you?

【Jin Shuilan】: How will you comfort me? By writing my name in your will?

【Bai Mao】: Get lost! In your dreams!

Jin Shuilan watched her fooling around in the group and suddenly @’d her. Bai Mao sent back two question marks. Jin Shuilan typed: Nothing.

Bai Mao immediately sent her a private message: What’s wrong? Really pissed off by the magazine? What are you so angry about? Your daily income from the livestream platform alone is enough to thrash the magazine. Why do you even care about them?

Jin Shuilan: It’s not about the magazine.

Bai Mao: Then what could it be?

Jin Shuilan tilted her head, thinking for a few seconds, and finally typed: I’ll tell you later.

Bai Mao sent an “OK” sticker. Jin Shuilan closed the private chat window and saw a message from Ji Zibo: I’ve contacted Zhen Yuan⁶. I’ll ask her about that thing with Lu Zhenqiu in a bit.

Zhen Yuan was the audio drama producer who had sent Lu Zhenqiu a message back then, the one Lu Zhenqiu said she never received. The conflict between them had started from that point, and afterward, they all thought Lu Zhenqiu had quit the industry.

But now that they had met again, she realized that might not have been the case.

After replying to Ji Zibo, Jin Shuilan leaned back in her chair, her body relaxed. She clearly wasn’t sleepy, but she didn’t feel like doing anything. In the end, she opened the livestream app and clicked into Lu Zhenqiu’s channel. The page had all of today’s songs, uploaded by fans. Clutching her phone, she went back to her room, listening to the music as she got into bed to rest.

In the next room, Lu Zhenqiu was still reading the novel.

A three-hundred-thousand-character novel was just a matter of a few hours for Lu Zhenqiu. She read until past four in the morning, and after finishing, she even jotted down some notes, deeply analyzing the protagonist’s personality and psychological changes during that bed scene. After she finished her notes, she glanced toward the door. Jin Shuilan wasn’t awake yet. Having gone to bed so late last night, she definitely wouldn’t be up this morning. Seizing the moment while her emotions were still fresh, she closed her door and began to record.

About an hour later, Lu Zhenqiu emerged from her room, her face flushed red. She first took Maomao to the bathroom, then fed it, and finally took it downstairs for a couple of laps.

Maomao was full of energy, a stark contrast to the yawning Lu Zhenqiu beside it. With drooping eyelids, Lu Zhenqiu was dragged along by a dog. After two laps, she returned home. As expected, Jin Shuilan was still asleep. Lu Zhenqiu couldn’t wait for Jin Shuilan to wake up and make her breakfast, so after washing up, she climbed into bed to sleep.

When Jin Shuilan woke up, the house was silent. There wasn’t a single sound from outside her door. She scratched her head and walked out of her room. She saw that Lu Zhenqiu’s door was closed. Maomao was lying at the entrance, looking up at her and panting. Jin Shuilan stroked its head and walked toward the bathroom. As she passed the kitchen, she saw a pastry box on the counter. She walked over and looked down. Next to the box was a sticky note—【Teacher Jin, morning. Have a bing⁷.】

It was Lu Zhenqiu’s handwriting—graceful and beautiful, just like the person herself.

Jin Shuilan’s mood lifted considerably. She put the note in her pajama pocket, took the bing out of the box, and heated it in the microwave. Maomao’s nose twitched. Jin Shuilan tapped its forehead and shook her head. “Don’t you get any ideas.”

Maomao let out a whimper, looking rather wronged.

Jin Shuilan slipped into the bathroom. When she came out after washing up, Maomao was still lying there, not having moved an inch, being very well-behaved. While eating the bing, Jin Shuilan took out the dog treats she had bought for Maomao and muttered, “Don’t tell her…”

Maomao barked twice, as if in agreement.

After eating the bing, Jin Shuilan went into the study. The computer was on, the script half-edited. An icon at the bottom of the screen was flashing; someone had sent her a message. Jin Shuilan opened it. It was the editor-in-chief of Miqi Magazine⁸. They had probably heard that she and her old publisher weren’t seeing eye to eye and were now making an offer.

Miqi was not a small magazine. For their first collaboration with Jin Shuilan, they were showing considerable sincerity: a total offer of four million, with a twenty percent royalty. If it weren’t for Jin Shuilan’s old publisher, these would be the most generous terms available. But they were dealing with Jin Shuilan. Afraid it wasn’t enough, the editor-in-chief had personally come to ask for Jin Shuilan’s thoughts.

Jin Shuilan was indeed considering switching magazines. It was true they had cooperated for several years, and it was also true she had some rapport with Zhao Siran, but it hadn’t reached the point where one couldn’t live without the other.

Besides, they had actually used Tang Yingxia to pressure her. If it had been anyone else, she might have turned a blind eye and let it go. But it just had to be Tang Yingxia.

This blind eye, Jin Shuilan really couldn’t turn.

She replied to the editor-in-chief: 【I will consider it.】

Seeing that she was showing some leeway, the other party quickly replied: 【Ah! In that case, Teacher Jin, shall I send the contract over to you this afternoon? For you to look over in detail?】

Send it over?

That might be inconvenient.

Jin Shuilan typed: 【Let’s meet at a café. I’ll send you the address.】

The editor-in-chief said: 【Alright then. Shall we meet at noon? I can treat you to a meal as well?】

Jin Shuilan: 【No need. Let’s make it three in the afternoon.】

Lu Zhenqiu’s livestream was at four, and she needed to get up and prepare in advance. Jin Shuilan was worried Lu Zhenqiu would oversleep, so she planned to stay home until three. If Lu Zhenqiu wasn’t up by then, she could knock on her door.

Lu Zhenqiu did not oversleep. When her two o’clock alarm went off, she opened her eyes. The bed was too warm and comfortable, so she snuggled for another ten minutes before finally throwing off the covers. Pushing open the door, she saw Jin Shuilan sitting on the sofa, playing on her phone. Lu Zhenqiu greeted her, “Teacher Jin, morning.”

Jin Shuilan turned her head to look at her. Lu Zhenqiu was wearing a set of fluffy pajamas that looked loose and comfortable. Her hair was slightly messy, and her expression was dazed from just waking up. There was a faint blush on her cheek, and her complexion was much better than when she first arrived. She opened her mouth, “Morning.”

Lu Zhenqiu saw that she was neatly dressed, had makeup on, and had a coffee-colored handbag next to her. She couldn’t help but ask, “Teacher Jin, are you going out?”

Jin Shuilan nodded slightly. “I have to go out to discuss something in a bit. Want me to bring you back a coffee?”

Lu Zhenqiu scratched her head. The sleeves of her pajamas were long, covering her hands. Jin Shuilan just felt that Lu Zhenqiu looked soft all over. Her gaze couldn’t help but soften, her heart flooding with tenderness.

“Okay,” Lu Zhenqiu said. “By the way, Teacher Jin, I’ve already recorded that scene from yesterday. I’ll send it to you in a bit.”

A flash of surprise crossed Jin Shuilan’s eyes. “It’s done?”

Lu Zhenqiu nodded. “Mhm.”

After speaking, she let out a yawn and gave Jin Shuilan an embarrassed smile before heading into the bathroom to wash up. Jin Shuilan waited outside for a long time, but she didn’t come out. Seeing that it was almost three, she said goodbye to Lu Zhenqiu and left the house.

Only when she heard the door close did Lu Zhenqiu let out a breath. She found the file on her phone. Actually, she had been waiting for Jin Shuilan to leave. Not having to face her, or even be in the same space, seemed to lessen the embarrassment of sending this file.

Although she knew it was just a recording, she couldn’t fight the sense of shame deep in her bones.

After getting in the car, Jin Shuilan habitually turned on the music. The car’s Bluetooth had just connected when Lu Zhenqiu’s file arrived. She clicked on it casually. Suddenly, a low, ambiguous moan echoed through the quiet car: “Ah… mmm… right there—”

Jin Shuilan jolted and shut off her phone. The sound stopped abruptly!

Thump! Thump! Thump! It was as if she had ten thousand rabbits in her heart, running, colliding, making her chest burn!

---

The author has something to say:

Thirty red envelopes, muah muah.

Jin Shuilan: I can’t take it, I can’t take it.

Lu Zhenqiu: You can’t take it just from hearing my voice?

Jin Shuilan: It’s not that I can’t take it, I’m afraid you can’t take it.

Lu Zhenqiu: Why can’t I take it?

Jin Shuilan: I’m afraid you won’t be able to handle it.

Lu Zhenqiu: …

---

---