Chapter 246: Dubbing Excerpt

Chapter 246: Voice Acting Selections

Bai Zhi had watched the clips Meng Fan streamed online over the past few days, whether live or recorded. Though the content leaned heavily toward parody and comedy, anyone could see the sheer breadth of Meng Fan’s talent; he seemed capable of mastering any character type he touched.

After reviewing the clips the production team had prepared for him and glancing at his expression, Bai Zhi asked, "Too simple?"

"It’s alright, I just don’t know which one to pick."

Simple they were, but Meng Fan had no intention of cherry-picking the difficult ones. As a newcomer to the voice acting scene—though one who had already tackled at least 150 minor roles—he wasn't picky. Even the most basic script could be made to bloom in his hands.

Bai Zhi asked again, "Can't decide? Is there anything you’re dying to perform?"

"Not really," Meng Fan replied. "I pretty much covered everything I wanted to during my streams."

Bai Zhi rolled her eyes. "You really are something."

Meng Fan chuckled. "I’m actually quite Zen, you know."

"It’s the Zen ones who are the most troublesome."

Rolling her eyes again, Bai Zhi thought for a moment before smiling and calling over a staff member. "There should be plenty of ensemble pieces in the library, right? Don't worry about the number of characters or the range of types—difficulty doesn't matter."

"Yes, one moment." The staff member, assuming Bai Zhi was dissatisfied with the collaborative clips, quickly retrieved a new batch.

Bai Zhi scanned them, circling selections as she spoke. "Since you can't choose, I’ll do it for you." She handed the list to Meng Fan with a smile. "I told the production team before I arrived to look at your previous work before choosing, but it seems they still don't grasp your range. They didn't even include a single female role in the initial batch."

"I just play around with female voices on stream; I’d rather not do it on the show," Meng Fan said, taking the list.

Bai Zhi laughed. "What, afraid a female voice will ruin your reputation as a rugged, iron-willed man?"

"That’s not it."

After reviewing the clips Bai Zhi had circled, Meng Fan sighed, "Sister, you’re trying to give me a sister, aren't you?"

They were all duets between men and women, and the familiar ones were intense, rapid-fire arguments—like the classic "ruthless, cold, and unreasonable" tirades from *My Fair Princess*, or the "ruthless, shameless, and unreasonable" banter between Old Bai and Manager Tong. Was she expecting him to switch between male and female voices the entire time?

Bai Zhi grinned. "Nonsense. I just want both a brother and a sister."

Meng Fan looked at the uncircled options and found a few he actually wanted to do—all of them quite challenging. He circled a few and fell back into indecision, handing the list back to Bai Zhi. "Help me pick two from these."

Bai Zhi took it and was stunned. The list included Zhuge Liang’s debate with the scholars from the 1994 *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, the climactic scene of Third Master Bai Yingyu’s suicide in the finale of *Da Zhai Men*, the dinner scene from *The Message*, the "Feast at Hongmen" from *Let the Bullets Fly*, the opening conference room scene from *In the Name of the People*, and the "Eight Princes’ Deliberation" from *Yongzheng Dynasty*...

"You want to play one character, or... all of them?" Bai Zhi was shocked. Performing an entire ensemble piece alone was difficult enough, but these were all legendary scenes—any one of them could easily rank in the top ten of Chinese cinema.

"I haven't done these on stream, and I never even considered some of them. It feels like a real challenge," Meng Fan said. "Is it... too high-profile?"

"High-profile? It’s practically reaching for the heavens!"

Bai Zhi studied the list carefully. "Any of these would be a hit. They’re just a bit long; we’ll need to trim them. Let’s see... *The Message* is a must, since it has two and a half female parts. As for the other, if you really can't choose, go with *Da Zhai Men*. I guarantee it’ll leave the audience in tears."

"Alright, those two it is."

Meng Fan nodded. Otherwise, he’d just hesitate for hours. Being forced to choose only two was torture; it was better to have them thrust upon him.

Bai Zhi had already selected her own pieces, but she was still struggling with their collaborative performance. She had confidence in Meng Fan—he could handle anything—but the choice rested on her.

Suddenly, a scene came to mind. Her eyes lit up. "Hey, can you do English?"

Meng Fan asked with supreme confidence, "British or American?"

"Really?" Bai Zhi pulled out her phone, found a video she had saved, and showed it to him. "Then I’m picking this."

Meng Fan tapped play. A girl appeared on screen, followed by a male voice-over saying "No." He knew the scene instantly, especially when Sherlock Holmes appeared moments later.

It was from the first episode of the second season of *Sherlock*, the iconic confrontation between Sherlock and Irene Adler. The highlight was the phone password, "I’m—locked." Sherlock deduces her feelings through her pulse and dilated pupils, realizing the password is "I’m-sher-locked"—meaning he had trapped her, or rather, she had fallen for him.

It was one of Meng Fan’s favorite scenes, even more so than the chemistry between Sherlock and Watson. He hadn't expected Bai Zhi to choose this.

"Can you do it?" Bai Zhi asked.

"I can, but..." Meng Fan hesitated. "The collaboration should focus on you. This scene is male-heavy; the female role is a bit overshadowed. Maybe we should pick a female-led piece? I can support you."

"That’s where you’re wrong. A scene only shines if the opponent is strong. Since you can do it, this is the one." Bai Zhi was determined to let him shine. "Besides, we still need to pick another, right? I’ve already narrowed it down: *Xiaozhuang Epic* with Da Yu'er and Dorgon, or *The Qin Empire II* with Mi Bazi and Ying Si. Pick one."

Neither of those was exactly a "male-supporting-female" piece either.

"You call that 'narrowed down'? Those are the only two choices?"

Meng Fan looked them over. As a voice actor, he knew both scenes well. While Ning Jing’s performance in *The Qin Empire II* was brilliant, it was still a man’s play, so he chose the female-led *Xiaozhuang Epic* scene: "Yu'er, you cursed me."

"Fine, we’ll do those two. We’ll see which one the production team decides to air."

Bai Zhi was delighted. These were scenes she had always loved but never had the chance to perform. Recording this show was a dream come true.

"Let’s practice separately, then rehearse together."

I woke up early to write today, and instead of copying the show's original content, I went looking for classic clips myself. I ended up watching them all with such relish—it was a blast, and well... that’s how we got here. I’ll try to get two more chapters out.