Chapter 398 – The Aloof Male God’s Exclusive CP – Tang Tang’s Test (05)
Bai Tang gave him an opening, and Qi Yuanxu naturally seized the opportunity.
He forcefully brought Bai Tang back to the villa. For Bai Tang’s comfort, he even gave up the master bedroom.
“There’s really no need to go through all this. Moving back and forth is too troublesome,” Bai Tang said.
Besides, you’ll end up shamelessly squeezing back into the master bedroom anyway. Why make such a big show of moving luggage? he thought.
However, this time Qi Yuanxu was determined to act like a proper gentleman. He couldn’t afford to lower Tang Tang’s impression of him—otherwise, winning him over would truly become impossible.
There wasn’t much luggage. It took less than an hour to pack everything up. Qi Yuanxu carried the new pillows and blankets into the master bedroom, while Bai Tang watched him work as if he were an idiot.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Bai Tang leaned against the doorway, nibbling on a pine nut.
“Mm. The bedroom’s a bit messy. Tang Tang, go play in the living room for a while. I’ll be done soon,” Qi Yuanxu said gently.
Bai Tang tossed away the shell and left behind a single sentence—“Don’t regret it, hmph~”—before walking out, leaving Qi Yuanxu standing by the bed, utterly confused as to why Tangtang was angry again.
Qiu’er covered its face.
Master, are you stupid? Just follow your instincts and feelings! Where did your dominance go? Little squirrels need to be conquered with strength…
Qiu’er had completely lost hope in its emotionally clueless master. Instead, it prayed for the female lead to appear as soon as possible—preferably a brainless one—so that tormenting her could help heat up the relationship.
Xiao A was still deeply immersed in the vast ocean of books under “system maintenance,” unable to pull itself out.
That evening, Bai Tang opened his laptop and logged in. The Ling Tian Voice Acting Society’s conference hall already had quite a few people. Bai Tang wasn’t early, but he wasn’t late either. His blue vest blended in among the many others on the list—unless one looked carefully, it was impossible to spot him.
Dong—
Suddenly, the noisy chatter in his headphones vanished. Bai Tang was pulled into a small private room by Coffee Without Sugar.
“Pine Nut, are you there?” Coffee asked.
“Yeah, I’m here,” Bai Tang replied quickly, pressing F2 to turn on his mic.
“Good. Let me tell you—I’ve got a role here that suits you perfectly. You won’t need to participate in the casting tonight,” Coffee said excitedly. “I remember sorting the role scripts earlier. Let me find yours—hold on a sec~”
“Wait, isn’t that cutting in line? That doesn’t seem right…” Bai Tang hurriedly interrupted Coffee Without Sugar. Was it really okay to use connections so openly? That wouldn’t be fair to the others.
Coffee laughed. “Ah, it’s fine. You’re new, so you don’t know yet. Our main roles are always selected from recommended candidates first. If the audition doesn’t work out or we can’t find a suitable match, then we open it up for public casting. The newbie CVs in the main hall will audition for other roles. I recommended you, so you get priority for the audition. That doesn’t mean the role is definitely yours. Ah—found it. I’m sending it to you now…”
“Pine Nut, take a look at it first and get familiar with it. We’ll do the audition shortly~” Coffee Without Sugar said. She had a feeling that as long as Pine Nut voiced this role, the drama would definitely become a hit.
“Okay.” Bai Tang received the script and opened it, carefully studying the lines.
Qi Yuanxu pushed the door open while carrying a plate of freshly cut fruit. He saw Bai Tang wearing headphones, seriously acting out his lines. An audition?
As someone once known as a “god-tier CV,” Qi Yuanxu was very familiar with the process—even though he had semi-retired.
He didn’t disturb Bai Tang. Instead, he stood quietly behind him, holding the fruit and watching him voice the lines.
The audition only required a short excerpt, so it didn’t take long. After Qi Yuanxu had been standing there for a moment, Bai Tang turned off his microphone.
The judges were scoring him. Shortly afterward, the word “Pending” appeared on the public screen.
“Tang Tang, have some fruit.” Qi Yuanxu set the plate beside Bai Tang and casually glanced at the screen. “The role’s pending, huh…”
“Yeah…” Bai Tang slumped back against the chair in frustration. This script was very similar to the worlds he had experienced before, and the role resembled his past ones as well. He had tried his best to recreate that feeling—so why couldn’t he pass in one go?
Bai Tang ate the fruit gloomily when, all of a sudden, another account entered the locked private room. The username immediately caught his attention.
“Shuang Manyue…” Bai Tang murmured the name. It sounded familiar.
Qiu’er: “That’s the female lead, Tang Tang—it’s the female lead!”
“Alright, alright, I know. Be good, Qiu’er~” Bai Tang quickly soothed the increasingly excited Qiu’er. He’d heard that excessive system stimulation wasn’t good, and Qiu’er’s condition still hadn’t been identified. It needed to calm down.
Perhaps because Bai Tang had been staring at the name “Shuang Manyue” for too long, Qi Yuanxu misunderstood. He thought Bai Tang had been affected by seeing the word “Passed” on the public screen and had become discouraged.
Out of habit, Qi Yuanxu gently ruffled Bai Tang’s soft hair. “Tang Tang, for your first time voice acting, you did really well. I’ve done voice acting for a while too. If you don’t mind, I can practice scenes with you…”
Qi Yuanxu deliberately hid his former “god-tier CV,” identity, afraid it might put pressure on Bai Tang.
Bai Tang wasn’t sad at all. This script was originally the female lead’s breakout work anyway. He was only auditioning for the third male lead—if he didn’t get it, then so be it.
He smiled brightly. “Sure~”
Little did he know that this smile, in Qi Yuanxu’s eyes, looked like forced cheerfulness.
When it came to voice-acting practice, Qi Yuanxu was indeed far more professional than anyone at the Ling Tian Voice Acting Society. He first chose a simple segment to gauge Bai Tang’s current level, then formulated a plan and trained him step by step, gradually increasing the difficulty.
“So? Have I improved?”
After finishing a segment, Bai Tang tugged at Qi Yuanxu and asked. His bright eyes were filled with excitement and anticipation—he felt like he’d done an amazing job.
A beautiful curve lifted at the corner of Qi Yuanxu’s lips. “You’re great. Tang Tang, you’re the fastest learner I’ve ever seen. Your sense of immersion is excellent too.”
The two of them were acting a face-to-face scene together, playing opposing roles. From time to time, there was unavoidable physical contact, which Qi Yuanxu found very satisfying. Over the course of the evening, the distance between them was imperceptibly drawn much closer.
Bai Tang wanted to keep practicing, but Qi Yuanxu closed the script, switched off the bright overhead light, and turned on the night lamp instead. “You’ve already been practicing for four hours. It’s time for bed, Tang Tang.”
Bai Tang felt deeply regretful and said helplessly, “Alright, then.” When it came to schedules and daily routines, he had never been able to win against his own “husband,” so he obediently went to wash up.
Before entering the bathroom, Bai Tang was also made to drink a cup of Pangdahai water.
“It’ll soothe your throat. It’s good for your voice.”
Bai Tang glanced at Qi Yuanxu, then stepped closer and covered the hand holding the cup with his own. He tilted the cup slightly and took small sips.
Unlike the accidental touches during voice acting, this time Bai Tang was doing it on purpose. After gulping it down, he flicked his hand away and dashed into the bathroom, leaving Qi Yuanxu outside, torn between hope and unease.
Inside the bathroom, Bai Tang leaned against the door and snickered quietly. Qiu’er had said this was called a temptation test—only those with firm willpower could withstand temptation.
Qiu’er: …I don’t remember ever saying that.
Bai Tang quickly finished washing up, jumped onto the bed, pulled the blanket over himself, and lay down.
He stared at the person lingering by his bedside with clear, almond-shaped eyes. “Why haven’t you left yet, A-Xu? Hurry back to sleep. Go on, go on~”
Well, Tang Tang had already told him to leave—there was no choice but to go.
Qi Yuanxu checked the windows once more, tucked the blanket around Bai Tang, said good night, and then left the room.
After saying good night to Qiu’er and Xiao A, Bai Tang hugged his squirrel plushie, rolled to the middle of the bed, and closed his eyes.
The pale yellow lamp glowed softly beside the desk, and his favorite squirrel plushie was in his arms. It wasn’t dark, and he wasn’t alone—yet Bai Tang still couldn’t fall asleep.
For who knew how many times, Bai Tang opened his eyes again, staring blankly at the snow-white ceiling.
“Qiu’er, I can’t sleep…” the young man called out while hugging the squirrel plushie.
The previous times, someone had always answered. This time, there was no response. Bai Tang looked into the little white room and saw the golden retriever and the husky sleeping in each other’s arms.
Alright then—Qiu’er and Xiao A were asleep too. It wouldn’t be right to disturb them.
So Bai Tang lay there, wide awake, counting squirrels instead.
“One squirrel, two squirrels, three squirrels… seven hundred and sixty-three squirrels…”
Dong, dong, dong—
Suddenly, a loud chiming of bells rang out from downstairs.
Bai Tang jolted all over, instinctively hugging the squirrel plushie tighter.
The plushie was soft, but it had no warmth—unable to give the timid little squirrel a sense of security.
Once the grandfather clock downstairs fell silent again, Bai Tang lifted the blanket. A blast of cold air from the air conditioner swept over his body, making him shiver. His pale bare feet stepped onto the icy floor, the chill shooting up from the soles of his feet.
Clutching the squirrel plushie tightly, Bai Tang moved soundlessly through the villa.
After finally making his way to the guest room, Bai Tang’s body had already been chilled by the central air conditioning.
He quietly slipped into Qi Yuanxu’s room, slowly lifted the blanket, then quickly burrowed inside.
Qi Yuanxu, startled awake: What was that?!
A fluffy head wriggled against his chest. Qi Yuanxu wrapped an arm around him. “Tang Tang?”
The boy lifted his head, revealing a pair of pitiful, watery eyes. “A-Xu, I’m scared~”
Seeing Bai Tang’s reddening eye rims, Qi Yuanxu’s heart melted completely. “Don’t be scared, don’t be scared. If you don’t mind, Tang Tang, come sleep with me.”
Qi Yuanxu shifted backward, making space for Bai Tang.
Hugging his plush toy, Bai Tang pounced into Qi Yuanxu’s arms and even rubbed his cheek against that solid chest. “A-Xu, you’re so nice~”
“I’m right here. Go to sleep, Tang Tang. Don’t be afraid.” Qi Yuanxu tucked the blanket around him, his face wearing a tenderness he’d never shown before.
“A-Xu, good night~” The boy’s voice was muffled inside the plush toy.
“Good night.” Qi Yuanxu felt wide awake, yet utterly content as he held the beloved boy in his arms.
Happy times always seemed to pass especially quickly. In the blink of an eye, the new semester began, and Bai Tang became busy as well.
That night’s audition for the third male lead didn’t go through for Bai Tang. The reason was that the role later had a “darkening” arc, and Bai Tang couldn’t quite bring out the necessary ruthlessness, so he ultimately missed out on the role.
At the first class meeting of the new semester, Bai Tang sat lazily in his seat, bored, secretly exchanging messages with Qi Yuanxu.
“Tang Tang, are you hungry? After the meeting ends, message me. I’ll take you out for a late-night snack.”
“Sure, sure.”
A smile tugged at Bai Tang’s lips as he happily chatted with Qi Yuanxu, so absorbed that he didn’t even notice the homeroom teacher bringing a girl into the classroom.
“Hello, everyone. My name is Wei Rushuang.”
For reasons unknown, the plot had deviated. The female lead, who was originally supposed to transfer into the neighboring class, ended up joining Bai Tang’s class instead.
With so many people, the room was a bit noisy. Just as described in the original storyline, Wei Rushuang picked up the microphone and introduced herself. The newly repaired mic carried her sweet voice through the entire building. Many people became intrigued by the sudden female voice before even seeing her.
Author’s Note :
Bai Tang: You have to be able to withstand temptation.
Qi Yuanxu: Got it.
(First I’ll have a candlelight dinner with Tang Tang, then we’ll go watch a movie…)