I Only Like Your Voice [Entertainment Industry]

Passionate about art, transmigrated to the Republican era: a gentle, charming actor who knows how to ensnare people, in the receiving role x a talented, younger modern musical theater actor, a puppy-like pursuer in the giving role

Shao Tinglan was once a hugely popular silent-film actor. When talkies swept the industry, he was ultimately silenced, unable to deliver his lines.

He later died in a bombing, but by then no one remembered him. The only information in the history books about his life was a single sentence: “Born in 1912, date of death unknown.”

When he opened his eyes again, Shao Tinglan had become an actor with a little fame but terrible acting and dialogue skills. A third of the fans drawn in by his stunning looks had been driven away by his acting.

With his brief moment in the spotlight about to end after a mere seven months, his company decided it would be better to send him on a variety show. At least he could make money that way.

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

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

To hear more of that voice, he stayed inseparable from Xi Guan on the show, speaking to him so tenderly it seemed his words could drip with honey.

“Shao Tinglan definitely has real feelings for him.”

“No one believes he's acting, right? Everyone knows Shao Tinglan can't act to save his life.”

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

Xi Guan believed it too.

After the show ended, he confessed to Shao Tinglan. “I think we could give us 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 family had collected every film featuring the silent-film actor Shao Tinglan.

When Xi Guan first saw Shao Tinglan's films as a boy, he couldn't put into words the tumultuous feeling surging 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 era, he would become his voice.

Get drunk, get drunk,

Go alone into the sea and dream a great dream.

What does it matter if I reach out and scoop up the moon?

“Listening to the Waves”

Blurb written on October 17, 2022

Reader's Guide:

1. Same-sex marriage is legal in this setting. Everything is made up by the author, with no real-life inspiration.

2. The author may have made up a lot of details. I haven't researched the professional aspects enough, so please don't scrutinize them too closely.

3. A sweet, younger-man romance.

4. All my current stories are one-on-one romances.

Coming Soon: ABO, I Only Like Your Pheromones

A seemingly cheerful and sunny but actually pessimistic, self-destructive recipient x a slow-to-realize pursuer with an obsessive commitment to pure love

After a dramatic upheaval in his family, Jing Yin became convinced that fate was fickle and the future unpredictable, so it was best to enjoy life while he could.

His motto was: When life is good, enjoy yourself to the fullest, for tomorrow you may be stepping through the gates of hell.

So when Duan Cenxiu, a young billionaire and an S-rank Alpha, placed a contract marriage agreement in front of him, Jing Yin signed without a moment's hesitation.

Seeing the person who had once seemed beyond his reach suffering from pheromone dysregulation, he actually felt relieved, because this was his only chance to get close to Duan Cenxiu.

For two years of marriage, Jing Yin diligently played the role of Duan Cenxiu's Omega partner, loving him with all his might. Sometimes Duan Cenxiu felt he was taking the act too far, and would remind him coldly, “I only need your pheromones. Don't get the wrong idea.”

Then Duan Cenxiu's first love returned from abroad. Jing Yin knew it was time to leave, so he presented him with a wedding anniversary gift and his best wishes, then disappeared from Duan Cenxiu's world.

But he never expected Duan Cenxiu to come looking for him, eyes red as he asked, “Weren't these your own words? ‘I'm so deeply in love with Cenxiu that I can't escape it.’ ‘I'll stay by Cenxiu's side for the rest of my life.’ ‘My whole self and my whole heart belong to Cenxiu.’”

Jing Yin stared at him in shock. “Did I get so carried away with my acting that I convinced you?”

Jing Yin believed love was simply a fleeting feeling that would eventually disappear. When it came, you should experience it fully. When it was gone, you should say goodbye gracefully.

But Duan Cenxiu insisted that if you loved someone, you had to love them for a lifetime.

Historical Romance, The Minister of Revenue Won't Pretend Anymore (also known as The Female Minister)

A sickly, scheming heroine vs. a naive, sweet hero

Everyone in the capital knew that Cao Shu, the youngest daughter of the Ministry of Revenue's Vice Director, had given her whole heart to the young general of the Marquis's household, to the point that lovesickness had made her ill.

Fortunately, fate smiled on them, and the two were destined to marry.

Huo Xiao had only met Cao Shu a few times. She always kept her head lowered, looking at him with a pair of timid eyes, and stammered when she spoke. Still, he found it surprisingly easy to talk with her.

So he had no objection to the marriage.

On their wedding night, a faint sheen of tears seemed to glimmer in Cao Shu's eyes. In a voice soft as a mosquito's buzz, she called him “husband.”

Huo Xiao's heart gave a flutter. He thought his wife was so delicate, and that he would have to protect her well from then on.

But after enduring the treacherous struggles at court and narrowly escaping death, he suddenly realized that he might be nothing more than a pawn in someone else's hands.

His “delicate” wife looked down at him with a smile. “Husband, you really are such a fine chess piece.”

A pawn that has outlived its usefulness can be discarded.

Huo Xiao, who had memorized the divorce agreement by heart, stood at the palace gates and looked at the person beside him, dressed in official robes just like himself. “For the next game, will you still have a use for this pawn of yours?”

Ever since Cao Shu decided to marry into the Marquis's household, she had thoroughly investigated Huo Xiao.

The thing she was best at, from childhood onward, was putting on an act. If it could get her what she wanted, why not play a role?

She simply hadn't expected that after the show ended, the discarded pawn would roll right back into her hands, willingly letting her manipulate him as she pleased.

Theme: The echoes of art can cross the ages and resound forever