Chapter 113: Can… Can I?

“Wang Qiang, Wang Qiang?”

“Ah! Director Lu?”

“I’m so sorry—I was lost in thought just now and completely zoned out. Really sorry about that.”

“What were you saying just now?” Wang Qiang snapped back to attention, his face filled with apology as he looked toward Lu Qingqiang.

Was he doomed?

Just a moment ago… he’d actually felt his heart skip a beat for a girl he’d never even met before.

So distracted was he by that sudden flutter in his chest that he hadn’t even heard Director Lu speaking right beside him.

He really deserved to be slapped!

He’d sworn an oath before—before graduating university, he would focus entirely on his studies and, at the same time, throw himself wholeheartedly into building his career.

Love? Not even dogs would bother with that nonsense.

Yet here he was, actually—

Aaargh!

If there hadn’t been someone standing right in front of him, he would’ve smacked himself hard across the face—twice!

“I was saying,” Lu Qingqiang continued, “that little boy sitting in the second row, right at the very edge—that’s the one I brought you here to meet.”

“Shall we go in now and say hello to everyone?”

“Or would you prefer I call Xiao Hui out so the two of you can chat?”

The sentence-making game in the classroom had just wrapped up for the moment.

Now it was the children’s free activity time.

After Teacher Yuan awarded little red flowers to the top three performers in that round of the game, she let them play freely.

Inside the classroom, some kids sat together playing with toys, others stretched their legs, a few playfully roughhoused in small groups, and some took out sketchpads and settled quietly in corners to draw.

And then there were those who glanced around furtively before pulling a small pouch from their pockets.

From that pouch, they’d quickly fish out something and sneak it into their mouths in a flash.

“Either way is fine—I’ll follow your lead, Director.”

“Alright, then let’s just go in directly.”

“Okay.”

As soon as Lu Qingqiang stepped into the classroom with Wang Qiang, someone—no one knew who—shouted first: “Mama Lu is here!”

In an instant, all the children dropped whatever they were doing and ran straight toward Lu Qingqiang.

Each one tilted their heads up to look at her, their voices soft and sweet as they called out:

“Mama Lu!”

“Mama Lu, what are you doing here?”

“Mama Lu, I’ve been super good today~”

“…”

“Alright, everyone, go back and sit down nicely first,” Lu Qingqiang said gently. “I want to introduce you to a new friend—this new friend is really amazing!”

At once, the children hurried back to their seats and sat down obediently.

“This new friend’s name is Wang Qiang. He’s a third-year student at a very well-known art university here in Jiang City.”

“He’s here today to interview for a part-time volunteer teaching position. Let’s give him a warm round of applause to welcome him~”

The moment Lu Qingqiang finished speaking, enthusiastic clapping erupted from the children.

The whole scene made Wang Qiang feel, deep in his heart, that he was truly valued.

It was as if he weren’t just a volunteer—but a specially invited teacher warmly welcomed by all the kids.

“Thank you all for the applause! My name is Wang Qiang, and I love voice acting.”

“I heard from Director Lu that there’s a child here who’s also very interested in voice acting.”

“I wonder if that child would be willing to come up front and say hello to me?”

As soon as he said this, every pair of eyes in the room swiveled instantly toward Xiao Hui.

Xiao Hui’s face immediately flushed red, his ears turning crimson too—his nervousness and shyness were obvious to everyone.

Beside him, Xu Wei, Pang Jiajia, and the others began cheering him on:

“Go on, Xiao Hui! You can do it!”

“Be brave, Xiao Hui! Charge forward—we’re all rooting for you!”

“…” Xiao Hui gave a soft “Mm,” then stood up and walked toward the front.

“Hello, Big Brother Wang Qiang. My name is Xiao Hui.”

“Hi there! I heard from Director Lu that you really enjoy imitating the voices of cartoon characters—and that you’re really good at it.”

“How about this: we pick a short clip, and then try doing a little voice-acting duet together? Would that work?”

“Woohoo! Go, Xiao Hui!”

“Say yes, Xiao Hui!”

“You’re the best, Xiao Hui! Go go go!”

Xiao Hui’s face turned even redder.

After three seconds of thought, he nodded in agreement.

Seeing this, Teacher Yuan, who had been standing nearby, grabbed the remote, turned on the large tablet screen in the classroom, connected to the internet, and searched for an episode of “Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf¹.”

She clicked play.

After letting it run for just two minutes, she hit pause.

Then she dragged the progress bar back and played the same segment again.

“Is this okay?”

“Do you think you can remember those lines?” Teacher Yuan asked.

“Teacher Yuan, I’ve got it memorized,” Xiao Hui replied, his little face serious and focused.

“Teacher Yuan, hello—I’ve memorized it too,” Wang Qiang said.

As he glanced at Teacher Yuan, his heart—which had only just calmed down—started pounding wildly again, completely out of his control.

Ugh, he was going to die!

Not only did Teacher Yuan look beautiful from the side—but face-on, she was even, even, even more stunning!

Her face was round and gentle, radiating warmth and friendliness.

Her skin was fair and clean, and her dark eyes brimmed with tenderness.

When she spoke, a tiny canine tooth peeked out—adding a playful, charming touch to her whole demeanor.

Right now, in Wang Qiang’s eyes, Teacher Yuan was nothing short of a fairy.

She was so beautiful, she seemed to glow.

No—he absolutely had to perform well this time. He needed to leave a good impression on Teacher Yuan.

He wanted to stay at the orphanage.

Not just for a bowl of Sour Soup Noodles—but also because he wanted to become friends with Teacher Yuan here at the orphanage.

“Then… shall you two begin?”

“Xiao Hui, you’ll be Pleasant Goat. Wang Qiang, you’ll be Big Big Wolf. Is that alright?”

“Yes~”

With Wang Qiang taking the lead, the two quickly slipped into their roles.

The moment Wang Qiang opened his mouth, Lu Qingqiang could immediately sense just how strong his talent was.

He was truly exceptional at voice acting.

His voice was steady, his enunciation crystal clear—and his imitation of Big Big Wolf on TV was spot-on.

Then it was Xiao Hui’s turn.

The instant Xiao Hui spoke, he captured Wang Qiang’s full attention.

Wait… how old was this kid, really?

How was he able to imitate so vividly and accurately without ever having studied voice acting before?

Moreover, he’d just heard Director Lu say that Xiao Hui was still very young and couldn’t even recognize many characters yet.

All the lines Xiao Hui spoke during his imitation were memorized entirely by heart.

In other words, the child standing before him not only possessed extraordinary imitation skills but also an exceptional memory.

In that brief moment, Wang Qiang began to doubt himself.

Was he truly qualified to teach a child blessed with such remarkable talent?

Their imitation demonstration ended quickly.

Thunderous applause erupted once again from the audience.

“Xiao Hui, would you like to learn more professional voice acting techniques from this big brother here?” “He not only knows voice acting—he’s also a host,” Lu Qingqiang asked.

“Yes! I want to learn!” This time, Xiao Hui agreed without the slightest hesitation.

He felt that when the big brother across from him imitated Grey Wolf, his voice sounded different from his own.

It was steadier, more authentic, and far more fitting.

Whenever he himself tried to mimic Pleasant Goat’s voice, it always felt like something essential was missing.

“So here’s the question, Wang Qiang—would you be willing to take on a part-time role at our orphanage?”

“I… can I really do it?”

“Of course you can!”

“I’d be honored!” Wang Qiang immediately nodded.

After all, at this very moment, he was still just a tiny bit better than that kid.

If worst came to worst, he’d stay up all night cramming knowledge on voice acting once he got back.

He’d push himself to become even more skilled, so he could better teach this child.

His decision to stay definitely wasn’t just about Sour Soup Noodles or making friends.

Wang Qiang simply loved taking on all sorts of high-difficulty challenges.

“Wang Qiang, welcome to Jiang City Loving Heart Orphanage!”

“Thank you, Director Lu. I’ll do my best.”

After they stepped out of the classroom, Lu Qingqiang turned to him and asked, “Wang Qiang, do you have any other questions about our orphanage?”

“Well… um… when does your canteen serve Sour Soup Noodles?”

“???” Lu Qingqiang.

Translator’s Notes