Chapter 170: Singing Well Is Impossible

Chapter 170: Singing Properly Is Out of the Question

"Let's head back together later; I'll treat you to a meal."

"And eat dust like this? Besides, who knows who’ll end up treating whom."

After packing his things, Meng Fan made a quick escape, caught a cab outside the cultural center, and reached his apartment complex in seven or eight minutes.

He ordered takeout before showering; by the time he finished, the food had arrived.

He ate while checking his email and group chats, but there was dead silence.

These casting directors must receive countless submissions and emails every day, yet Meng Fan felt that given his presence, they should have noticed him by now.

As for the quality of his work, Meng Fan was confident it was up to par.

It was all a bit disheartening.

In reality, those directors had indeed seen his submissions, and the quality was fine, but the crux of the matter was that the clips Meng Fan had chosen were all, damn it, big-time male leads.

And one had to admit, Meng Fan’s voice was perfectly suited for a leading man—charming, emotive, and deeply soulful!

But let’s be honest: what production would hand a lead role to an unknown like Meng Fan, who didn't even have a single professional credit to his name?

Never mind big-budget productions; even small-scale projects were picky about their leads, often hand-picking specific voice actors.

After all, even top-tier voice actors didn't command exorbitant fees, and those with established reputations and reliability weren't expensive either.

If Meng Fan had submitted clips that didn't fit the standard leading-man mold, those directors might have been tempted to offer him a minor role to test the waters.

Naturally, Meng Fan had no idea he had committed such a laughable, intriguing, and even absurd mistake.

Depressed as he was, Meng Fan wasn't in a rush; there was plenty he could do in the meantime.

He didn't go for a run that night, nor did he go for a midnight stroll, let alone visit a karaoke bar.

Grinding the "Mic Hog" task these past few days hadn't just been exhausting for Zhang Zhouwei and the others; Meng Fan himself felt nauseated. Who could sing a thousand songs in a few days without feeling miserable? Especially when the duet partners he encountered while mooching songs in the middle of the night were such a bizarre, chaotic bunch.

He drew manga that night while simultaneously turning on his livestream.

After hitting 10 million views for the "Livestream Guru" task, he needed another 90 million to reach the 100-million mark for the next reward.

The reward was enough to make his eyes turn green, but the difficulty of grinding for it was immense.

To be honest, Meng Fan was somewhat daunted by the task, which was why he hadn't been very enthusiastic about streaming lately. But he couldn't afford to be "lazy" about it; securing the remaining rewards was one thing, but maintaining his audience—those walking experience points—was crucial.

Did his viewers only provide experience for the "Livestream Guru" task?

The answer was definitely no.

This group of viewers could be linked to other tasks. For instance, the "Million Collections" task would have been at least ten times harder to grind without the popularity generated by his streams.

Then there was the "Professional Mangaka" task, which required publishing ten volumes with sales reaching 100,000. To get those sales, he still had to rely on these viewers.

He had to keep them happy!

Thinking of this, Meng Fan realized the attributes he’d just gained from the "Mic Hog" task were finally coming in handy.

Streaming at home was different from the studio; he didn't have to worry about keeping quiet. He could be as loud as he wanted, and of course, music was a must.

Meng Fan was by no means the type of streamer who, after gaining +6 Singing Ability and +4 Vocal Charisma, would act all cocky and announce to everyone that he was going to sing a few songs.

He was far too low-key for that.

He chatted while drawing, and as he talked, he began to hum along to the music.

It was perfectly normal; what art streamer didn't hum a few lines along with the music?

"In the days to come, you'll be the one buying groceries, you'll be the one cooking, and you'll be the one picking up the packages. You'll be the one doing the dishes, taking out the trash, and unclogging the drains."

Meng Fan didn't sing loudly, and he seemed quite casual, but his enunciation was crisp. The viewers in the chat heard every word clearly, and in truth, his delivery was full of emotion, following a deeply soulful route.

"Huh? Is Boss Meng singing?"

"Hahaha, did I mishear the lyrics?"

"Damn, Boss Meng’s singing voice is actually this good!"

"Holy crap, the more I listen to these lyrics, the weirder they get, but why do I, a grown man, want to do the dishes for him?"

"Fine, fine, it’s all me, as long as it’s you by my side!"

Just as the viewers realized Meng Fan could sing well, he stopped, naturally shifting the conversation to the accessory he was drawing: "According to Kun Ye's description, I feel this spirit doesn't quite fit her late Qing Dynasty setting, so I tweaked it. Look, doesn't this unique style, born from imported goods in the late Qing, make her seem even more eerie? It might be a bit creepy, but you have to admit the lines I drew are beautiful!"

Chatting, roasting Kun Ye, and not forgetting to brag about himself.

Then, as he talked, he started humming along to the music again: "Because of the words, I won't easily fall in love, so my English is still at the middle school level. Because my vocabulary doesn't grow, I forget it all after two beers..."

"Wait, can you stop singing for a second!"

"Do these lyrics have to be so heartbreaking? It reminds me of the CET-4 exam!"

"I'm stunned! I didn't know Streamer Meng could sing so well!"

"Boss Meng, dare you sing louder!"

"First time watching an art stream, but I’ve fallen for the streamer’s voice!"

"Streamer Meng’s voice is so pleasant!"

Seeing Meng Fan go quiet and return to drawing after just a few lines, the viewers wouldn't have it. The chat was soon flooded with requests to "Sing!"

With such a commotion, even if Meng Fan tried to play dumb, he couldn't pretend not to see it. He laughed and said, "Forcing an art streamer to sing, aren't you guys being a bit much? Fine, I'll sing. But since you asked so suddenly, I don't know what to sing... I'll give you an a cappella performance."

Meng Fan put down his pen, cleared his throat solemnly, and began: "Don't wait until a thousand years later, Cao Cao told me, fairy tales are all lies, I couldn't possibly be your Monkey King~ Monkey King, you are truly amazing, the Five Elements Mountain couldn't crush you, out popped a Calabash Brother~ Calabash Brother, seven melons on one vine, fearing neither wind nor rain, ah~ ah, ah ah ah Black Cat Detective..."

Meng Fan got high on his own singing as he went along.

"Can you be serious for once!"

"You're insane, hahahaha!"

"Can't you just sing a proper song?"

Meng Fan stopped and looked at the chat, snorting: "You’re the crazy ones for forcing an art streamer to sing. You know damn well whether I’m being serious or not! As for singing properly, singing properly is out of the question; it’s impossible to sing properly in this lifetime."

Meng Fan changed his voice, mimicking the tone and accent of the internet meme "Brother Thief," and said vividly: "I don't know how to be a singer; only by drawing this kind of stuff can I maintain my livelihood. Entering the livestream feels like coming home; the feeling in the livestream is much better than at home. Everyone here is a talent, and they speak so well; I love it here."

Thanks to Lu Only, National Handsome Representative, Longquan 199, Floating Feather Broken Wing, To the Extreme Void, Shadow Tear Intertwined, Wolf Poison Dog, CHAIRMAN Bookworm, Little Chicken Shield Stranger, Wandering Heart, Love Consultation Report, Melancholy Snail, Wu Wa, Ma Munan, Old Four Leaves, Teacher Meow 233, Viper's Haze, Fallen Journey, Chen Chun Mu Shen, Shallow Song Twilight Years, Book Friend 140908170226946, gxkeith520, Meng Tai, Floating Feather Broken Wing, Magical Toy, Qian Mo Mo Bai, Sending Girlfriend, Departing Tears, Heart Tied to Little Right Ear, Fighting Beauty, Ka zh Ka, Underwater Floating and Sinking, CHAIRMAN Bookworm, Ouyang VS Tianyu, Thinking Non-Thinking, Floating Feather Broken Wing, and other book friends for their tips!

(End of chapter)