Exclusive Rights to an Online Voice Actor

Chapter 1

It was just past 3 PM in the afternoon when he got back to his apartment. The blazing midday sun was blinding to the eyes.

Qi Jing closed his eyes. Not because of the glaring sunlight but because he barely even had the strength to keep them open. For most of the residents living in the area, it was still during working hours, so the neighbourhood was hushed. It was almost as if the surrounding sounds had evaporated from the heat and became beads of sweat that stuck to his skin.

Qi Jing lived on the seventh floor. He'd usually take the stairs, but this time, he made an exception and pressed for the lift.

When the lift doors opened with a 'ding', his ringtone virtually rang at the same time. The two noises sounding simultaneously felt ten times more piercing than usual.

It was often said that those who suffered from sleep deprivation were extremely sensitive to sounds and that would appear to be true. What's more, he was standing right in front of a confined space with a great echo effect.

Qi Jing looked at the phone number displayed on his screen and figured that if he didn't pick it up now, this phone would probably continue ringing for the next half an hour. It would cause such a din that he wouldn't be able to catch up on some sleep. If he turned off his phone, the caller would probably appear in person, knocking on his door, within the next hour. Should that happen, he can kiss any form of sleep goodbye.

Thus, his best and only option was to pick up the call.

"Hello?"

"Senior! I knew you came back today! You never ever answer your phone when you go on business trips and I didn't want to bother you during work either. But now that you're back, I can continue badgering you!"

Qi Jing could already feel the symptoms of his sleep deprivation worsening.

"Please press 1 if you want to treat me to a meal. Please press 2 if you want me to treat you to a meal. Please press 3 if you want to complain about your boyfriend."

"As much as I want to press 2 and 3, but before that... what should press for services related to voice acting?"

"That service is currently unavailable. Goodbye," Qi Jing tried to end the call but just as he was about to remove the phone from his ear, a wretched and miserable cry came from the speaker.

"Senior! Don't you remember that time I drank with you-"

And there it was, her trump card.

He sighed in resignation, "Alright, I get it. Just let me sleep for a few hours and I'll check the messages when get up."

Online voice acting, the name of a community made up of online voice acting enthusiasts.

Everyone in the circle had their own story and every story has a beginning.

Qi Jing was no exception.

Qing Jing worked in the media industry and given the nature of his work, he was destined to dabble extensively in the 2D world. From public forums to personal blogs, from serious academic journals to all kinds of strange, ridiculous gossip posts. He would scroll through them whenever he had the time and he was pretty willing to try out new things.

During the advent of Weibo, a microblogging platform, he had already created a personal account and invited many of the friends around him to join. During the first two to three years, he would simply check out the news on current affairs or follow some celebrities in the industry. Sometimes, when he was in the mood, he would even jot down some interesting anecdotes about his life. Until one day, when his junior from his university days @ him on Weibo.