Her Secret

Upcoming stories: I Only Like Your Voice, Minister of Rites, She's Done Pretending, and Peerless Heroes of the Martial World

It was their secret,

like a tomb resting quietly in the deepest corner of their hearts,

until wild grass completely covered it over.

Perhaps one day, flowers would bloom there.

Blurb for I Only Like Your Voice:

Shao Tinglan was once a silent-film star who enjoyed enormous popularity. When sound films swept in, he couldn't deliver his lines and was eventually lost to silence.

Later, he died in a bombing. By then, no one remembered him. The only record of his life in the history books was: Born in 1908, date of death unknown.

When he opened his eyes again, Shao Tinglan had become an actor with a little fame, but terrible acting and line delivery. A third of the fans he'd attracted with his breathtaking looks were put off by his acting.

As he was on the verge of becoming a has-been with a mere seven-month run as a celebrity, his company decided it might as well send him on a variety show. At least he could make some money.

On a dating variety show, Shao Tinglan was paired with musical theater actor Xi Guan.

The day he saw Xi Guan's work, Shao Tinglan realized that this was the voice he'd dreamed of. For the first time, he felt the tumult of his heartstrings being plucked.

Wanting to hear more of that voice, he stayed by Xi Guan's side throughout the show, speaking to him so tenderly it seemed his words could drip with sweetness.

"Shao Tinglan has definitely fallen for him."

"Nobody believes he's acting, right? Everyone knows Shao Tinglan can't act to save his life."

"Hahaha, it hurts, but it's true. If Shao Tinglan doesn't like Xi Guan, I'll eat my keyboard standing on my head."

Xi Guan believed it, too.

After the show ended, he went to confess to Shao Tinglan. "I think we could give it a try."

Shao Tinglan was thrilled. "Really? I can pay you."

Xi Guan sensed something was off. "...Pay me for what?"

Shao Tinglan: "For teaching me my lines."

Xi Guan: "..."

No one knew that Xi Guan's home contained a collection of all the works of silent-film actor Shao Tinglan.

When he first saw Shao Tinglan's films as a boy, Xi Guan couldn't put into words the surging emotions in his chest. When he learned that Shao Tinglan had vanished from the film industry because he couldn't deliver his lines, he made a wish: if he could go back to Shao Tinglan's time, he would become his voice.

Get drunk, get drunk,

set out alone upon the sea and dream a great dream.

What harm is there in scooping up the moon?

"Tinglan"

Art-obsessed, transmigrates to the Republican era, gentle actor as the shou x talented, modern younger gong and musical theater actor

Theme: Live bravely.