After lunch, Grandma Huo told Huo Dongfang to take Ye Fanxing around.

"Star, let this kid show you around."

Huo Dongfang glanced at the sun in the sky, "Grandma, the sun is so big..."

At the opportune moment, Huo's mother handed Ye Fanxing a parasol.

"Star, if you're worried about getting a tan, hold up an umbrella."

Huo Dongfang: "..."

"You're a man, why would you be afraid of getting a tan?"

Holding the bamboo-handled parasol, Ye Fanxing said with great understanding, "Grandma, Auntie, then Brother Dongfang and I will go for a walk."

"Then you should go quickly."

Huo Dongfang led Ye Fanxing out of the Huo family courtyard.

This is lunchtime, and everyone is eating lunch.

Huo Dongfang didn't understand why his grandmother and the others had kicked them out.

“Xingxing, this courtyard is Zhan Beiwang’s home.”

The gates of the Huo and Zhan families' courtyards faced each other.

In front of the gates of both houses sat a pair of majestic stone lions.

Fruit trees were planted on either side of the courtyard gate; the Huo family's side had grapes, while the Zhan family's side had pomegranates.

Following the bluestone path, Ye Fanxing and Huo Dongfang arrived at the small square.

Even at midday, many children were playing happily in the small square.

"Uncle Huo!"

"Uncle Huo!"

As soon as the children saw Huo Dongfang, they started chattering and calling out to him.

"The sun is too strong, you should go home quickly."

Huo Dongfang was worried that the children would suffer from heatstroke while playing in the scorching sun, so he urged them to go home.

"Alright!"

The children immediately grabbed their toys and went home.

When there were shady spots, Ye Fanxing didn't hold an umbrella for Huo Dongfang.

Now that they were in an open space, Ye Fanxing subconsciously tilted the parasol toward Huo Dongfang's side.

The two became much more intimate, especially their shadows, which were entwined in an ambiguous way.

"Star, I'm not afraid of the sun, you can handle it yourself."

"good."

Ye Fanxing did not refuse, and instead traveled with Huo Dongfang.

Ye Fanxing would occasionally ask a question out of curiosity, and Huo Dongfang would answer it.

As we walked, we came to an auditorium, from which came melodious music.

Mixed with the music was the sound of clapping.

Ye Fanxing walked to the front of the auditorium without thinking, and saw some young girls rehearsing on the stage from afar.

Ye Fanxing, who has practiced dance for many years, felt a deep sense of familiarity upon seeing this scene.

Seeing Ye Fanxing staring intently at the stage, Huo Dongfang couldn't help but think of how Ye Fanxing had danced in the living room that day.

Her figure was light and graceful, like a startled swan, and her beauty was breathtaking.

"Star, let's go inside and take a look."

"Can we go in and take a look?"

"able."

Huo Dongfang led Ye Fanxing into the auditorium, and the two casually found a seat to sit down.

Ye Fanxing folded up the parasol and casually put it aside, while she watched the dancers on the stage.

Although she used to be a dancer, she rarely had the chance to sit quietly on stage and watch others dance.

Back then, her teacher always said, "One minute on stage requires ten years of practice off stage."

She was like a wind-up puppet, practicing her dance every moment.

I practice my basic skills while eating and watching TV series.

Not to mention when there are performances.

Whenever there's a performance, she's constantly on edge, her mind filled with nothing but her dance moves.

She was terrified that she would make a mistake on stage.

She doesn't allow herself to make mistakes.

Similarly, the teacher did not allow her to make mistakes.

The dance being rehearsed on stage is a Tibetan dance.

Perhaps because they had just rehearsed, their coordination was not very smooth.

A perfect dance requires countless rehearsals and adjustments between dancers.

The repeated practice is all for the sake of having the most perfect performance on stage.

"Stop, stop, stop!"

"How did you get it wrong again?"

"I've already told you, you all need to cooperate when we jump at this point!"

"And look at you all, each of you dancing your own dance, it's like a chaotic mess of demons."

"Start over!"

The music restarts.

The dancers on stage started dancing again.

Jumping back to the position where I made a mistake before, things got messed up again.

"Stop! Su Shuang, step forward!"

Su Shuang retorted, unwilling to give up, "I was dancing to the beat."

"Su Shuang, this is a gift to celebrate the motherland's birthday. Are you even capable of dancing? If you don't want to dance properly, tell me now so I can find someone else!"

Su Shuang bit her lip in extreme resentment, "I was clearly dancing seriously and properly, but you insist that I wasn't dancing properly. Fine, I won't dance anymore, okay?"

Su Shuang jumped off the stage.

As she passed by Ye Fanxing and Huo Dongfang, she glared angrily at Ye Fanxing.

"What are you looking at! What's so interesting! Even if you see it, you won't be able to jump!"

Su Shuang was in a bad mood, so she took it out on Ye Fanxing, whom she didn't know.

Huo Dongfang sat upright and said in a deep voice, "Apologize."

"Why should I apologize?" Su Shuang was both angry and furious. "We're rehearsing, what are you doing here! Who let you in? Get out!"

"Su Shuang!" The teacher stepped down from the stage. "If you didn't dance well, look for the reason within yourself, don't blame others!"

"Why should I look for the reason within myself? It's clearly her background that disrupted my rhythm." Su Shuang sneered, "She's watching so intently, anyone who didn't know better would think she was going to jump."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!