Tea of Summer - Chapter 1: Summer Tea 1.1

Sorry for the late posting guys. I had a midterm test today and it's a new story so we had to discuss translations a bit longer than usual. So though this is being posted at about Thursday, 12:21 am PST, know that these stories will still be posted on Wednesday as usual. Description is in the project page.

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Chapter 1: Summer Tea 1.1

It was a scorching summer day.

Xia Liang looked at the burning sun outside. It was only 8 am in the morning. She reluctantly glanced at the air condition at home, then gritted her teeth and shut the door.

Xia Liang, Xia Liang. She silently repeated her own name twice, then indignantly looked at the shining sun. Why couldn’t summer be cooler just like her name?[1] Summer was really disgusting.

She took two subway lines to reach her workplace. Xia Liang blew out a long breath.

New Sound.

This was the recording studio she was currently working for. It was said that the owner was a professional voice actor. She had just finished her freshman year in college abroad and returned home for summer break in May. Her family insisted that she should “make good use of the 3 months summer break” and forced her to look for a job. She had looked around for internships in recording studios since she was a minor internet voice character. Maybe she could meet some voice character idols during her internship. Luckily she was hired by this New Sound Recording Studio as a receptionist for the summer.

But reality did not always go as expected Though Xia Liang loved voice acting with great enthusiasm, a receptionist was just a receptionist. Even though her daily work was easy going, the original passion she had started with was diminishing little by little. Umm, a little bit, only a little bit. Xia Liang told herself that she was still passionate about voice acting. It’s just whenever she saw those not so famous voice actors who perspired during recording sessions inside the soundproof studio without any air conditioning, she would quietly clench her fists --- --- it’s better to just be a voice over on the internet.

After a month had passed aimlessly, Xia Liang hopelessly realized --- ---though there had been some good voices, her dream of meeting a handful of idols by chance hadn’t come true at all. Ah…… Xia Liang dispiritedly leaned on the small table in the break room of the studio. Her face pasted to the icy cold glass desktop. She was surfing Weibo out of boredom while thinking about the critique she received yesterday from the director of a radio drama about her voice acting in it.

【Most parts are fine. But where was your shyness when the male character was confessing to the female character, ah? ah? ah? I dare you to fake it even more?! Get on YY tomorrow night at 8PM to rehearse!】

Xia Liang plumped up her cheeks. Umm, usually she’s pretty good at acting her part most of the time. But whenever there’s a love scene, she would always be criticized by the director as too fake and too stiff……Xia Liang was helpless. It’s not her fault that she had never fallen in love before.

Somebody knocked the desk twice. Xia Liang promptly jumped up from her seat, “Zhao Ge.”[2]

Zhao Ge was one of the recording engineers at New Sound Studio. He’s around mid-thirty. It was said that he was a professional voice actor before. But he had overused his voice and developed some problem with his vocal cord. He had to quit voice acting and switched to working behind the scene—however even voice acting itself could not be counted as being at the front of the scene.

Zhao Ge winked at her: “We have guest here. Make a cup of tea, use the white tea on the shelf.”

Xia Liang widened her eyes, “Didn’t they said that An Jie white tea was boss’ favorite? Uh, will it be you or me who takes the blame when boss asks?”

Zhao Ge stared at her, “No discipline at all! Go make the tea when I tell you to. Don’t you know who’s here!”

Xia Liang stuck out her tongue, “Oh……” Then curiously, “Who?”

Zhao Ge paused for a little while and decided to be trendy this time. “Use the language of you young people…... he’s probably what you would call boss’ good pal.”

Xia Liang cramped her mouth. Whatever……

After Xia Liang made the tea, she watched the steam slowly rise and took in a deep breath. White tea was her favorite, too. She held up the tea tray and walked to the recording room. She put it down on the side of the chair Zhao Ge used to sit. She turned around and happened to see Zhao Ge lead a young man in a black cap walking toward her way.

Her eyes crossed with that man’s eyes shortly. She nodded to him politely. The man only looked downward coldly. Xia Liang twitched her mouth and went back to where she should have stayed.

Really cold.

But……she turned around to take a look at the man’s back. He was probably 185cm tall. She tried to recall that man’s face. Though it was not clear underneath the cap, but the angular contour was very distinct. The curve of his nose was also very pretty.

Xia Liang sat back to her chair and pulled out her cell to begin surfing the Weibo again.

It’s better to look at handsome dude from a distance, since he didn’t belong to her.

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[1]: Her name is: 夏凉, “xia liang,” which literally translates to “summer cool”

[2]: She calls him: 赵哥, “zhao ge,” the first character (zhao) is his last name and ge (meaning older brother) is used as a sign of respect.