Chapter 231: Dubbing Program

Chapter 231: The Voice-Over Program

Su Qingcen’s third concert stop was in Nanjing. The success of the first two had brought relief to her and her team, bolstering their confidence.

The third show was twenty days away, so there was no immediate need for rehearsals. However, they hadn't been idle; her schedule remained packed with at least one public engagement daily—be it a show or an event. She remained constantly in the spotlight. Even though Su Qingcen was an artist of substance, she still had to feed the machine of public attention, unable to escape such a rigorous schedule.

Whether Su Qingcen herself desired this was beside the point; her company would certainly fill every gap. For stars driven by traffic, entertainment agencies were notoriously greedy. Su Qingcen was actually better off than most, possessing enough leverage to reject arrangements she disliked—though the company would inevitably replace them with others.

This time, under the guise of shooting a music video, Su Qingcen had managed to clear two days from her schedule, treating it as a small vacation amidst the work.

Bai Zhi enjoyed far more freedom. Her company planned in six-month blocks, but her minor scheduling was largely left to her own discretion.

Since returning from the Double Eleven gala, she had only appeared on one variety show in over ten days, spending the rest of her time selecting scripts, reading, and soliciting songs. She was a remarkably relaxed artist.

Bai Zhi arrived early at the designated shooting location and sent Sister Sun to pick up Meng Fan. Soon after, Su Qingcen arrived. The two met with the production team before retreating to a private room to chat.

"Have you seen that video of Meng Fan?"

As they talked, the conversation drifted to him. When Su Qingcen shook her head, Bai Zhi immediately pulled out her phone to play a saved clip.

It was a montage of Meng Fan’s livestream from the night before, where he had mimicked the "Ghost Beast" internet celebrities to record commercials. The video spliced together his impressions of over thirty characters, including the song he had performed using a dozen different voices.

Celebrity impersonations had been stale for a decade, especially singing impressions. But mimicking speech was rare, and significantly harder without the crutch of music. While not unheard of, Meng Fan’s characters were inherently absurd, making the performance fresh and amusing.

The video had been uploaded at midnight, and despite not going viral, it had gained traction, especially within the niche community of "Ghost Beast" fans.

On the B-site, Meng Fan’s impressions had already been turned into various memes and audio clips.

Su Qingcen watched with a smile, then played it again. She shared it on her own account: "Boss Meng, I had no idea you had so many faces!"

She laughed, adding, "I never imagined he could mimic so many voices, and so playfully at that."

"The guy is a real troublemaker," Bai Zhi said, scrolling through her phone. "Listen to this one."

She pulled up a five-minute audio clip. Sentence after sentence followed, spoken by different voices, with no logical connection between them.

Su Qingcen was bewildered. "What is this?"

"A voice-over compilation," Bai Zhi replied.

Su Qingcen’s eyes widened. "You mean... Meng Fan did all these? That’s impossible! There must be dozens of characters here—men, women, young, old—and the vocal ranges are so distinct!"

Bai Zhi shrugged. "I didn't believe it at first, but it’s definitely him." She found a short video on her phone.

"I first saw this in a group chat. It claimed a voice actor had performed a dozen roles in rapid succession—a density even higher than Han Xiaoxue’s work. I’m currently on that voice-over show, and Han’s performance from last season was brilliant. I was curious, so I looked it up and saw the name 'Meng Fan.' I thought it was a coincidence, but after seeing his book-selling video, I was convinced. I tracked down the source and had someone get me this compilation."

"I have another one with a long monologue. Listen to this!"

Bai Zhi played a clip from an animated film. The dialogue was complex and lengthy, akin to a speech, yet Meng Fan’s delivery was spot-on, his emotional resonance truly staggering.

Su Qingcen was left breathless, her own emotions stirred by the performance. She let out a long sigh. "Is their family’s talent just a bit too overwhelming?"

Impersonation was a parlor trick, but this demonstrated true technical mastery and vocal range.

Bai Zhi shrugged again, acknowledging that some things defied logic. "Meng Fan had Caiwei help him find a teacher to learn voice-over, but I never expected him to be this good. And the studio people told me he had never done professional voice work before. Maybe it really is just talent, as you said."

Su Qingcen lost her composure. "Both siblings are monsters!"

Bai Zhi thought to herself, *Not just the siblings—the whole family!*

But she kept that to herself. Only she knew Meng Fan was Meng Caiwei’s brother, and few in the industry knew the truth about the Meng family.

"Oh, right," Su Qingcen asked. "Bai, didn't you say your show is entering the annual grand finale? You mentioned in the group chat you were looking for a guest. Why not just ask Meng Fan?"

Bai Zhi laughed. "I actually thought about it. Everyone in the group is either too busy or claims their line delivery isn't up to par, and one person said they have bad blood with Mango TV. I even asked Caiwei, but with her current status, she’d overshadow everyone. When I checked her schedule, her film crew couldn't coordinate. And here comes a ready-made candidate! I’ll ask him later."

Su Qingcen thought for a moment. "I think it’s better to check with the production team first. It would be awkward if Meng Fan agreed and the producers didn't."

Bai Zhi nodded, understanding. While the producers gave her freedom, they had popularity requirements. Meng Fan was not yet a recognized figure in the entertainment industry.

Half an hour later, Bai Zhi’s assistant, Sister Sun, called, her voice frantic: "Something’s happened! Meng Fan hit someone! At the entrance! He hit a foreign celebrity!"