Fortune Telling
Teacher Jin, can you tell fortunes?
“Amazing, Teacher Jin!” Ji Zibo was pushed by her towards the elevator entrance, still peeking inside. The door carefully opened a crack, and Lu Zhenqiu poked her head out: “What’s wrong with you two?”
Ji Zibo gave a dry laugh: “Nothing, Teacher Jin likes to exercise in the morning. I’m going downstairs to run a couple of laps with her.”
Lu Zhenqiu’s expression relaxed. Jin Shuilan shot Ji Zibo a cold glance. Ji Zibo looked a bit aggrieved: “Hey, it’s not like I knew you were hiding a beauty in a golden house1.”
“I didn’t ruin your good thing, did I?”
Jin Shuilan gritted her teeth: “Shut up.”
Ji Zibo covered her mouth with her hand and obediently followed her into the elevator. Jin Shuilan was wearing off-white loungewear, a completely casual and relaxed outfit, not at all suitable for exercise. When the two reached downstairs and felt the cold wind for a while, Ji Zibo asked: “What’s going on? Did you two get together?”
That was fast!
But she remembered, wasn’t Lu Zhenqiu Tang Yingxia’s girlfriend? Did they break up? Then she recalled Tang Yingxia’s recent interactions with Yu Wen on Weibo. They had most likely broken up; otherwise, would Tang Yingxia dare to flirt so openly with Yu Wen?
Jin Shuilan said: “No.”
Ji Zibo turned her head: “If you haven’t gotten together, why are you living together?” Her gaze gradually turned suspicious. She looked Jin Shuilan up and down, tsked, and said: “You’re keeping…”
Jin Shuilan said: “Can you only let your imagination run wild?”
Ji Zibo frowned. What did she mean, ‘letting her imagination run wild’? Her thinking was perfectly normal, wasn’t it? A woman appearing in Jin Shuilan’s house in the morning, and it was someone Jin Shuilan liked – wasn’t it perfectly normal to suspect they were having an affair?
Jin Shuilan explained: “She’s renting a place, and I’m the landlord.”
Ji Zibo didn’t quite process it: “What?”
Jin Shuilan said: “I can clear out both your ears and then explain it again.”
“No, no, no.” Ji Zibo nodded: “I get it. But why would you rent out your place?”
Jin Shuilan looked at her and said nonchalantly: “Short on money.”
Ji Zibo: …
When it came to spouting nonsense with a straight face, no one could beat Jin Shuilan. She really wanted to take a picture of her right now and show it to her readers. What ‘flower on a high mountain peak2,’ what ‘detached from worldly affairs3‘? For the sake of someone she liked, any words could come out of her mouth. Short on money? Did her conscience really not ache when she said that?
Ji Zibo didn’t know if Jin Shuilan’s conscience ached, but hers was starting to. She asked Jin Shuilan: “You deliberately lured her into this, didn’t you?”
“Where’s your conscience?”
Jin Shuilan asked: “What’s a conscience?”
You’re the ruthless one!
Ji Zibo was choked speechless by this sentence and couldn’t recover for a long time. Jin Shuilan asked her: “Why did you come to my place so early in the morning?”
“Why?” Ji Zibo rolled her eyes: “What do you think I’m here for? To rush you for the script! I sent you messages all day yesterday, and you didn’t reply to any of them.”
It was for a radio drama adaptation of one of Jin Shuilan’s old books. After the script was written, Jin Shuilan wanted to review it personally. It was originally agreed that it would be sent to her in these two days, but yesterday, after sending many messages, she received no reply. She thought Jin Shuilan had locked herself up again, writing day and night. Who would have thought she’d see Lu Zhenqiu when the door opened!
Jin Shuilan nodded: “I’ll send it to you in a bit.”
Ji Zibo said: “I came all this way, and you’re just going to send me off with one sentence?”
Jin Shuilan, seeing her intention, pursed her lips, a strong warning in her eyes. Ji Zibo made a zipping motion across her lips: “Don’t worry, I’m crystal clear4 on what to say and what not to say.”
Jin Shuilan thought about it. They would have plenty of opportunities to meet in the future, so she took Ji Zibo up in the elevator with her. Inside the elevator, Jin Shuilan extended her hand. Ji Zibo frowned: “What for?”
Jin Shuilan gestured with her hand: “Keys.”
Ji Zibo took out her keys. Before she could ask, she saw Jin Shuilan take them from her hand and then remove one key from the ring. Ji Zibo was puzzled: “Then how will I get into your house in the future?”
Jin Shuilan said: “Knock on the door.”
Ji Zibo: …
The cruelly abandoned Ji Zibo gnashed her teeth at Jin Shuilan’s retreating back, inwardly cursing her for choosing a lover over a friend5. But as soon as the door opened, her expression switched back to gentle, a truly masterful face-change. Lu Zhenqiu hadn’t eaten yet. Hearing the commotion at the door, she turned her head. Maomao was well-behaved this time and didn’t immediately run over. Only when he saw Jin Shuilan opening the door did he wag his tail and walk over.
Ji Zibo leaned to the side. Lu Zhenqiu called out: “Teacher Ji, good morning.”
“You know me?” Ji Zibo was a bit surprised. Lu Zhenqiu had been in the voice acting circle for a while before, but she hadn’t had any works for a long time. Ji Zibo thought Lu Zhenqiu had faded out of the circle, so she was surprised Lu Zhenqiu knew her. Lu Zhenqiu nodded: “I do. Teacher Ji is very skilled.”
Being praised like this, Ji Zibo was rather pleased. She shot Jin Shuilan a look, her eyes clearly saying, See, the person you like is praising me! After receiving a dagger-like cold stare from Jin Shuilan, Ji Zibo stopped being cheeky. She said: “Not really, but there hasn’t been much news about Miss Lu these past two years.”
Lu Zhenqiu nodded: “I’ve rarely taken on projects these past two years.”
In fact, it wasn’t that she rarely took them on, but that she couldn’t get any. Two years ago, she landed a leading voice role. Later, the production team sent her the deadline for submitting her audio, but for some reason, she never received that message and missed it by a bit. That production team subtly dissed her on Weibo for being unprofessional and later replaced her. After that, other production teams didn’t really approach her, so she hadn’t had many works these past two years.
Ji Zibo said: “Did you not want to take them anymore? Speaking of which, I sent you an invitation two years ago.”
It was at Jin Shuilan’s request, but Lu Zhenqiu never replied; it was like a stone sinking into the ocean6. After that, there was no news of Lu Zhenqiu, and they all assumed she didn’t want to do voice acting anymore.
Lu Zhenqiu was slightly surprised: “To me?”
She shook her head: “I never received it.”
Ji Zibo frowned: “How could that be? I definitely sent it. I sent it twice, in fact.”
Lu Zhenqiu asked: “Where did you send it?”
Ji Zibo took out her phone and rummaged for a while before finding Lu Zhenqiu in her Q7 contacts. She asked: “Is this your account?”
Lu Zhenqiu tilted her head and saw the Q number: “Yes, it’s mine.”
However, the records from two years ago couldn’t be found. Ji Zibo said: “Then it most likely got swallowed by the system. Useless system!”
Lu Zhenqiu nodded.
Jin Shuilan, already seated at the dining table, looked up at the two talking, her fine eyebrows tightening slightly. After thinking for a few seconds, she said: “Let’s eat breakfast first, it’s getting cold.”
Lu Zhenqiu said to Ji Zibo: “Teacher Ji, have you eaten? I just made some extra.”
Lu Zhenqiu had made it while the two were downstairs, guessing that Ji Zibo probably hadn’t eaten breakfast, having come so early. And indeed, Ji Zibo hadn’t. She sat down with a smile: “Then I won’t stand on ceremony. By the way, are you still doing voice acting now?”
Lu Zhenqiu lowered her head: “If there’s a chance…”
“There is a chance!” Ji Zibo said: “Of course, there’s a chance! We didn’t get to collaborate two years ago, you don’t know how much I regret that!” She coughed at this point, looked at Jin Shuilan, and said: “What a great opportunity this is now!”
Jin Shuilan also looked up and said to Lu Zhenqiu: “Yes, your vocal timbre is excellent. You can give it a try.”
Lu Zhenqiu hadn’t expected that just by having breakfast, she could also get a voice acting opportunity. She looked at Ji Zibo, then at Jin Shuilan, blinking. For the past two years, what she had heard most often was, “Sorry, Qiuqiu, your voice isn’t suitable,” or “Apologies, Qiuqiu, your timbre doesn’t fit.” She had become numb to rejections. Now, suddenly, someone was telling her that her timbre was excellent and she could try. Lu Zhenqiu was momentarily stunned.
Jin Shuilan saw her dazed expression, the helplessness after a pleasant surprise, and an obvious vulnerability. A small flame ignited in Lu Zhenqiu’s calm eyes – it was hope that hadn’t completely died out. Jin Shuilan’s heart suddenly softened. She lowered her head and said: “Let’s eat first. We can talk more after we finish eating.”
Lu Zhenqiu lowered her eyes, hiding her loss of composure. Her voice was slightly choked: “Mm, let’s eat first.”
Ji Zibo didn’t say anything more and also lowered her head to eat breakfast. Maomao squatted beside the three of them, tongue lolling out, looking at Lu Zhenqiu for a moment, then at Jin Shuilan. Only when they finished eating did it stand up. Lu Zhenqiu said: “I’ll do the dishes. Teacher Ji…”
“Let me.” Jin Shuilan took the bowls and chopsticks from her hands, her expression calm as she said: “You go talk with Zibo.”
Lu Zhenqiu looked up at her. Jin Shuilan deftly placed the tableware for the three of them into the sink and turned on the faucet. Lu Zhenqiu had no choice but to turn and chat with Ji Zibo.
Jin Shuilan rarely cooked; the kitchen was mostly for show. She had hired a cooking auntie before, but later dismissed her due to her irregular lifestyle. Now, seeing the suddenly appeared condiments in the kitchen, she still felt a bit unaccustomed. After washing the dishes, she looked at Lu Zhenqiu on the sofa.
Lu Zhenqiu had her back to her, her figure slender. A bit of sunlight fell on the coffee table, refracting around her, casting a halo of light. Jin Shuilan thought back to two years ago. After their first meeting, Lu Zhenqiu left first. She had followed Lu Zhenqiu to the audition site. At that time, many lights shone around Lu Zhenqiu. She faced the microphone, her voice crisp and ethereal. The moment she spoke, Jin Shuilan was captivated.
It was the vocal timbre she loved.
She had indeed asked Ji Zibo to contact Lu Zhenqiu, but Ji Zibo told her Lu Zhenqiu hadn’t replied. They had all assumed Lu Zhenqiu was unwilling, never expecting that she simply hadn’t received the message.
How could she not receive the message, for no good reason?
Jin Shuilan frowned, thinking about Lu Zhenqiu’s conflict with that production team back then, which was also caused by a communication gap. She lowered her head in thought for a few seconds when Ji Zibo called out: “Teacher Jin!”
She looked up. Ji Zibo said: “Come over here.”
Jin Shuilan walked over. Lu Zhenqiu tilted her head. Jin Shuilan had that air of ‘natural grace from a wealth of knowledge8‘, yet there was a hint of cold arrogance in her bones. These two temperaments blended perfectly, making her seem rather unapproachable at first glance.
But Lu Zhenqiu felt that Jin Shuilan was just cold on the outside but warm on the inside.
She shifted, making space for Jin Shuilan to sit. Ji Zibo said: “I just talked with Qiuqiu. That ‘Lu Yin’ in the script you just finished, weren’t you having trouble finding someone to voice her? I think Qiuqiu’s timbre is very suitable. Why not let her try?”
Lu Yin was extremely popular in the novel, arguably on par with the two main protagonists. She was the ‘white moonlight9‘ loved by many readers. This was because the character was born for righteousness. She had saved the female lead several times in their childhood, and the female lead later fell in love with her. However, Lu Yin had no interest in romantic love, spending her entire life on the battlefield, protecting her home and country. Her final battle to defend a city lasted a full fourteen days. With supplies exhausted and no reinforcements, she gritted her teeth and held on. The enemy forces were shaken by her solitary courage, and the enemy general even declared: 【As long as Lu Yin stands, the city will not fall.】
But the city eventually fell, because Lu Yin died.
From the very beginning, she and Jin Shuilan had selected several voice actors for this role, but none of them were quite satisfactory after the auditions. While eating just now, Ji Zibo had been considering Lu Zhenqiu’s suitability for the role and found it to be quite high. She had heard Lu Zhenqiu’s previous work and was deeply impressed by her timbre. She felt she wouldn’t choose the wrong person this time.
The last time she had such a strong intuition was with Bai Nuannuan.
Hearing her words, Jin Shuilan nodded slightly: “She can try a segment first.”
Ji Zibo clapped her hands: “Then it’s settled! I’ll send you the script later.” She said to Lu Zhenqiu: “Also, these next two days, have Teacher Jin explain the character profile to you in detail.”
Lu Zhenqiu said: “Mm, I’ll try to figure it out first.”
“No need to be polite. If there’s anything you can’t figure out, just ask Teacher Jin.” Ji Zibo smiled: “She’ll be more than happy to explain it to you.”
So talkative. Jin Shuilan glanced at her. Ji Zibo coughed: “Alright then, I’ll get going.”
Lu Zhenqiu saw her to the door and only closed it after watching Ji Zibo get into the elevator. When she turned back, her expression was a bit more cheerful than yesterday, and her complexion had also improved. Jin Shuilan put down her phone and said: “You seem very happy?”
Lu Zhenqiu nodded, a faint blush on her fair face. She thanked Jin Shuilan: “If it weren’t for Teacher Jin, I wouldn’t have had this opportunity.”
Jin Shuilan said: “You’re welcome.” After saying that, she added: “There will be even happier things to come.”
Lu Zhenqiu was puzzled: “What?”
As soon as her voice fell, her phone screen lit up, and a ringtone filled the living room. Lu Zhenqiu quickly picked up her phone and answered the call. The person on the other end of the line calmly informed her: “Hello, is this Miss Lu Zhenqiu?”
Lu Zhenqiu said: “Yes, I am.”
“I’m the person in charge of Sanshui Live Streaming Platform. I’d like to discuss a contract signing with you. Is it convenient for you?”
Lu Zhenqiu was stunned for a few seconds: “It is!”
The person on the other end said: “Alright then, I’ll add you on WeChat first and send you the contract.”
Lu Zhenqiu hung up the phone and looked at Jin Shuilan, her gaze burning, her eyes clearer than usual. Just when Jin Shuilan thought Lu Zhenqiu might have seen through her, Lu Zhenqiu asked: “Teacher Jin, can you tell fortunes?”
Jin Shuilan blinked, speechless.
The author has something to say:
Thirty red envelopes, muah muah.
Jin Shuilan: Yes, I’m a fortune teller. I’ve divined it, you’re missing me in your fate.
Lu Zhenqiu: …
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