Shift! The Side-Character Heroine

“It’s Du Hang.” Du Hang was a little embarrassed to call himself an author in front of Lady Zhao. He did not have any notable light novels under his belt, yet.

“Isn’t your real name Du Hang? You don’t have a pen name?” Both names sounded just the same, and it confused Zhao Youyue.

“No, that is not my own name. This is Du, as in ‘crossing,'” Du Hang explained.

“Oh, I see… What is your novel’s title? I will pay it a visit when I am free.” Zhao Youyue pressed, gently yet imposingly.

Du Hang was reluctant to answer. He did not really like the idea of promoting his work openly. After all, it was just a hobby, and it gave him some pocket money. Famous or otherwise, he still had fans of his own.

“You don’t have to be polite about it. If it is good enough to be popular, you would have known about it. If you read it just to be polite, it would not benefit either one of us.” Du Hang went straight to the point.

Fortunately, Lady Zhao was familiar with such situations. She knew that no matter how spiky a porcupine was, its soft spot would be somewhere around.

Talented people were always worth the respect. Talented people would always be self-confident and prideful. If they lost that personality, they would be nothing more than commoners.

Han Leng spilled Du Hang’s beans instead, ” Du Hang’s light novels is a series that starts off with “Girlish Number” [1]. It’s about a female voice actress. You might even call it satirical. He even said so himself! Although you’re a voice actress yourself, you did not have to go through the arduous gauntlet that most professionals had to. Perhaps you could understand more about it by reading his book. With your beautiful face and voice, the sound system would not even matter.”

Zhao Youyue was suddenly interested in reading Du Hang’s light novel. She thought that it was just a typical youth love story or comedy, or a harem with a male protagonist being surrounded by several adorable girls. Du Hang was not that predictable. It was a female protagonist with an uncommon profession – a voice actress!

The light novel “Whole World Is In A Deep Sleep Except Myself” was still Zhao Youyue’s first priority on her shopping list. Now, Du Hang’s “Girlish Number” was next.

Du Hang corrected Han Leng in a severe tone. “In fact, Zhao Youyue, or should I say Ah Yu, is one of the voice actresses I’m impressed with. When I knew nothing about her, I thought that this actress was extremely serious in her career. She did not mimic anyone or showed her face just to gain extra fame. If I may say, she is a rare jewel in this industry. It is sad to see such a talent being set aside, because she never truly set foot in it. Or should I say that you were fortunate not to have been serious about it. Others would pressure and push you into following their footsteps until you get suffocated…”

“Is it just me, or you are praising me?” Zhao Youyue was happier than ever. Du Hang’s honesty was refreshing.

This man was like a stone. He did not speak only to please. Every word from him was as true as day. Hearing praise from him would be a great honor.

“I was just being honest! I was particularly impressed by your take on Yu Fansheng. Let’s not forget Altair and Jane Doe Su. Your voice – you became those characters. It was hard for me to think you and the characters are different people. Very few famous voice actors could do that!” Du Hang was impressed and confused at the same time.

He had a mild obsession with things, and one of his obsessions concerned the voice acting industry. In his free time, he kept up with the current media and made new connections. He did not have many friends who were his age since they shared no common topics. It was a side effect of being much mature than his age.

Han Leng was an exception. The talented young author shared several common interests with him: creativity, arts, philosophy, and ideologies. It was always pleasant to click with another person, especially in a world that rejected you.

With his powerful connections, Du Hang managed to learn more about the voice acting industry from the inside out. Since he was actually writing about it, he must have at least been to a live recording session, or some press conference, right?

Once, he had accompanied a senior who was in the voice acting industry to a date with one of the famous voice actresses. These voice actresses were much prettier in person than their voices. They shot movies as well.

Ordinary folk might think that it was easy for authors to date voice actress. Authors were often accused of having the authority to appoint voice actress for their animation. Nevertheless, Rosemary’s “The Strongest King” was just one of the lucky animes that found critical acclaim without much effort. It had not been a perfect adaptation…

It would be safe to assume that the sales of light novels depended heavily on their anime adaptations. WIthout animes, nobody would have heard of light novels. Ordinary authors had no say in these adaptations. They could only watch from the sidelines in silence.

Even Du Hang’s senior was harshly rejected by these arrogant voice actresses. One of them even complained to Du Hang about his novel “Girlish Number”…

“How dare this small-time author think so highly of himself? His novels did not even feature any form of illustrations. Look at his face, glimmering so proudly. So disgusting!”

When he asked others about her, they had responded in such a manner…

“Oh, she just started. A freshie, I guess?”

“All idols start fresh!”

“She is no idol. She is a voice actress…”

“She has a pretty face and is able to organize events. These days, that would be enough to be an idol!”

Du Hang was one of the rare authors who wrote about female protagonists. People would often be misled into thinking that it was an innocent, adorable girl acting cute all the time. They would be shocked to see that the real thing was full of cynics and cruel beauties. His book even criticized its own readers who would rather fall to the fabricated deception than face this world’s harsh reality. No wonder its sales were suffering.

Zhao Youyue was impressed by how observant Du Hang was. All of the characters she played: Yu Fansheng, Altair, and Jane Doe Su, were actually her in person. Only she alone could bring the life out of these characters…

Finally, she switched the topic. “Great Teacher Du, do you know of an author named, “Love The Taste Of The Rice In Her House”?

Translation Note:

[1] Girlish Number (ガーリッシュナンバー Gārisshu Nanbā, stylized as gi(a)rlish number)[a] is a Japanese multimedia project. It launched in the March 2016 issue of ASCII Media Works’ Dengeki G’s Magazine as a serial novel written by Wataru Watari, with illustrations by QP:flapper and Yamcha. A manga series drawn by Yūki Dōmoto is serialized in Dengeki G’s Comic. A 12-episode anime television series by Diomedéa aired from October to December 2016.

The story revolves around Chitose Karasuma, a voice actress who has been working in the anime industry for a year. Although she believes she is talented, she thinks the anime industry is rotten as she has only been voicing minor characters. One day, an opportunity arises for her to voice the main role in an upcoming anime adaptation of a light novel as an idol voice actress with four other girls.