Chapter 225: Try a Female Voice

Chapter 225: Trying Out a Female Voice

The "Professional Manga Artist" persona has two requirements: total sales of one hundred thousand copies and ten published volumes.

As for sales, with "Spirits Beneath the Earth" already in the mix, Meng Fan had essentially given up on "Campus Love Guide," needing only the experience points from the three volumes of that short-form manga.

"Is there really such a rush?" Qin Jiao asked. "Fine, I'll have them sent over to you now, but since you're already here, don't be in such a hurry to leave."

She clapped her hands to gather everyone, arranging a temporary masterclass on illustration specifically for Meng Fan.

The lecture ended just in time for lunch, and Qin Jiao returned.

"Everything is handled, and I've brought the remaining contracts."

Meng Fan took the documents from her, asked where to sign, and did so immediately without even glancing at the fine print.

Though he often joked about guarding against her schemes, he trusted her implicitly in such matters, knowing she would always fight for his best interests.

Qin Jiao took back the signed papers and remarked, "I've practically become your secretary."

Meng Fan chuckled, though he didn't dare make any jokes related to that title.

Seeing there was nothing left for him to do, he left the Damei Studio. He had intended to head straight home, but wandered instead to the nearby Chocolate Factory, just in case he could pick up a few more roles.

"Iron God!"

The bearded Lou Lan’s eyes lit up at the sight of him. He grabbed Meng Fan and pulled him inside, saying, "You’ve come at the perfect time—a crisis in the world of voice acting!"

"What’s the situation?"

Hearing this, Meng Fan knew it had to be related to dubbing. He wondered, is this "Luck +1" business really that metaphysical?

"It’s like this: I took on a job dubbing characters for a small mobile game. I submitted the files days ago, but the client called today saying that due to some 'irresistible force,' the lines couldn't pass censorship, and I have to re-record them." Lou Lan pulled him into an empty booth. "Even though they offered more money, the deadline is incredibly tight. If I can't finish, I’ll never see the final payment. When these clients decide to be unreasonable, you’re completely helpless!"

He poured Meng Fan a glass of water and continued, "The original recording was a patchwork of several voice actors, and with time this short, it’s impossible to assemble them again. I was at my wit's end when you walked in. Isn't this fate? You have to help me!"

"Are there many characters?"

Meng Fan’s eyes brightened.

Seeing that expression, Lou Lan felt relieved. "There are quite a few. Nine of them require male voices, which you should be able to handle easily."

He pulled up the character list, complete with descriptions, visuals, and scripts.

Meng Fan glanced over them and said, "Let’s begin."

"You got it!"

Lou Lan didn't even bother with an assistant or a director. After the last few days, his faith in Meng Fan’s abilities had reached the level of blind devotion. As for an assistant, this was his own private contract; even if it was tied to the studio’s business, any savings were his own.

Giving a thumbs-up, Meng Fan entered the zone and began the first role.

It was a romance-themed mobile game, and the lines were rather bashful—it wasn't hard to see why the original script had been censored. Meng Fan felt these new lines were still walking a dangerous line.

Though he didn't have the full game, these snippets suggested a rather crude production; the dialogue was likely the only highlight.

"You are not a person; you are a love letter written to me by this world."

"I have wandered the mortal realm for decades, only to wait for a single glance from you."

"What I want is simple: as long as time remains, you remain."

"When you are here, you are everything; when you are not, everything is you."

"It rains in every city, just as I think of you wherever I go."

These cheesy lines were the mild ones; some of the more explicit ones weren't even fit for conversation.

"Ding!"

After Meng Fan had finished about five characters, the system notification for completing the second stage of [Booth Bug] finally chimed in his mind.

Before this, he had completed 47, and the requirement was 50. This meant the system only counted three of the five he had just recorded—whether the other two were censored or rejected, Meng Fan couldn't say.

[Booth Bug] stage two complete: +50 points, +1 Voice Acting Skill.

The remaining four characters were finished quickly, and this time, he gained three more points of experience.

"Done?"

"Done!"

Lou Lan checked the time, no longer shocked by Meng Fan’s supernatural efficiency. He gave a thumbs-up and said, "Incredible! Director Cha told me your submissions were all full of 'male lead' charisma; I almost missed out on a treasure like you because of that. I was curious what that sounded like, and now I’ve seen it. You can handle every popular style of male lead on the market!"

It was true. The characters Meng Fan had just voiced were all archetypes designed for a female audience—mature, roguish, sunny, gentle, domineering... and Meng Fan had demonstrated a total, all-encompassing mastery.

Moreover, Lou Lan felt that if taken individually, these performances were no worse than those of the industry’s go-to male leads; in terms of emotional expression, Meng Fan was the clear winner.

Meng Fan stepped out of the booth, smiled, and said, "If you have jobs like this in the future, just call me."

"You got it. By the way, this contract is tied to the studio, so the pay will go through them," Lou Lan said.

Meng Fan nodded, then asked curiously, "Didn't you say there were female roles too? Did you find anyone?"

Lou Lan gave a bitter smile. "I contacted two, but both said they couldn't make it on such short notice." Suddenly, he stared intently at Meng Fan. "Wait... Iron God, you don't mean to try the female voices, do you?"

In the industry, women voicing male characters was standard—in anime and games, many male roles were played by women. But men voicing female characters? It existed, but it was rare.

Usually, it was just for fun. In commercial work, at least in China, it was unheard of, though there were a few legends in Japan who could do it.

However, those were people with naturally neutral or feminine vocal ranges. Meng Fan’s voice was distinctly masculine, even a bit rough—Lou Lan had never heard of such a thing.

"Since you can't find anyone, let me give it a try."

Meng Fan was desperate to grind for experience.

After his singing ability had boosted his vocal range, quality, timbre, and control, he had practiced in private quite a bit.

Humans are naturally curious. Once you can shift between various male timbres with ease, it’s impossible not to wonder if you could pull off a female one.

Especially after gaining the Voice Acting Skill, it was no shame to admit that, out of pure curiosity and a spirit of exploration, he had indeed experimented with female tones—loli, mature woman, queen—he had tried them all.

As for the results? They were certainly much better than a voice changer.

Consider it a sacrifice for the sake of art.