TVB Building, third floor body training room
A huge floor-to-ceiling mirror reflected the graceful figures of twenty young people. The air was thick with the salty smell of sweat and cheap perfume. The air conditioning was turned up high, but it couldn't dispel the tense atmosphere in the rehearsal room.
The instructor, wearing a tight black dance costume, clapped her hands and gave short, powerful commands:
"Keep your head up! Chest high! Tummy in! Look up! Imagine you're standing on a ferry in Victoria Harbour, the sea breeze is your camera, and your smile is for the whole of Hong Kong Island to see!"
Her high heels tapped rhythmically on the floor, as if keeping time for some silent wrestling match.
Liu Rumeng stood at the edge of the mirror, meticulously adjusting her posture according to the instructions. The content of the physical education class was extensive and trivial: walking in a straight line with a book on her head to practice her posture, stretching her muscles and bones in a tight training suit to improve her flexibility, and repeatedly practicing the less than three seconds but extremely charming turns required for her stage appearance.
Sweat trickled down her smooth forehead, yet she seemed unfazed, striving for perfection in every movement. She knew the competition here was far more brutal than the selection process at mainland art troupes.
The afternoon swimsuit training session is coming to an end.
The air was still swirling with steam, but the locker room was already buzzing with activity and whispers. Liu Rumeng pulled open the curtain to her cubicle, preparing to change out of her conservative one-piece swimsuit, when she heard deliberately subdued Cantonese banter from a few cubicles nearby.
"Hey, you guys, some people are doing the catwalk in their swimsuits today. Did they practice some twisting?"
"That northern girl from mainland China doesn't even know how to catwalk! At best, she knows how to walk along the ridges of a field while planting rice in the countryside!"
"Haha! May, you're such a bad mouth! But honestly, I'm blessed with a life of luxury. On one hand, I'm hooking up with the Japanese tycoon, Young Master Kobayashi Tenwang, and on the other hand, I've got Young Master Fok Chun-ting, the eldest son of the Fok family, right here at my doorstep. With all the power of a 'Kobayashi concept stock', why would I still want to compete with us for the Miss Hong Kong title?"
"What the hell! She's trying to get ahead by flirting and having multiple girlfriends. She's really got the skills! What kind of stunning beauty do you think she is? Let's see when she'll fall!"
"I heard she always acts so aloof and ignores everyone, pretending to be the daughter of a wealthy family! My dad told me that mainland Chinese people are all poor!"
Their voices were neither too loud nor too soft, just enough for Liu Rumeng to hear, laced with a thick Hong Kong accent and undisguised contempt. They assumed this "northern girl," with her limited Cantonese, wouldn't understand such sarcastic remarks, so they took advantage of her changing clothes while her back was turned to them to brazenly "joke" and, incidentally, to win over the other contestants, who were already secretly jealous of Liu Rumeng's immense popularity, their intention to isolate and exclude her was clear.
Liu Rumeng paused. The mirror reflected her drooping eyes and her instantly tense jawline. A cold rage rose from the depths of her heart, but she quickly suppressed it. She remembered her husband, Lin Huowang's words: Hong Kong Island is a place of fame and fortune, but also a battleground. Showing weakness is like being slaughtered.
She turned and faced the gathered beauties, still wearing sardonic smiles. Her gaze was as calm as water, yet as if icy, it pierced straight ahead. She spoke in a clear, articulate voice, using a much more authentic Xiguan Cantonese than theirs:
"That's all? You're putting others down to elevate yourself, and after putting them down you still want to form cliques? Really a good upbringing."
Her voice was not loud, but it seemed to have some kind of penetrating power, instantly making the entire locker room quiet. All eyes were focused on her, some in shock, some feeling guilty, and some watching the show.
The smiles on the faces of the beauties who took the lead in making a fuss - May and Cindy - froze, and they looked at Liu Rumeng in disbelief.
Liu Rumeng took a step forward and glanced at their delicately painted faces:
"You guys were having a blast just now calling me 'Northern girls' and 'Mainlanders'? Well, let me ask you, which of your ancestors, three generations ago, didn't come from the mainland? Were they Chaozhou? Hakka? Or Shunde? It's just that your fathers and grandfathers came to Hong Kong Island a few years or even decades earlier to work and make a living! Isn't the blood flowing in your veins mainland China?"
Her voice was not loud, but it struck everyone's heart like a heavy hammer:
"I don't think there's anything shameful about coming from the mainland. We admit that the mainland isn't rich today, but our people are strong despite their poverty! We fought the United States and the Soviet Union, the two most powerful countries in the world, and we never bowed our heads! Do you know what national dignity is?"
Her eyes suddenly became sharp, with a kind of contempt that made the girls feel stinging:
"And what about you? You Hong Kong Islanders think you're naturally superior? Open your eyes and take a look! Whose land is this? It belongs to China! And now it's being colonized by the British! In Hong Kong Island, the superintendent is a foreigner, the judge is a foreigner, all the high-ranking officials are foreigners! You ride the Star Ferry every day and see them so high up, sitting first class, living in detached houses on the Peak. You've been born thinking that we Chinese are several levels below them! You even habitually give way to others when you walk, you don't dare speak loudly, and your knees go weak when you see foreigners! Don't you ever feel ashamed?! Don't you ever feel ashamed and angry?!"
Her words were like a sharp dagger, tearing through the delicate veil of some unspoken understanding. A pin drop could be heard in the dressing room. The beauties, chattering only moments before, felt as if they had been doused with a basin of ice water. Their faces flushed or turned pale, their eyes darting around in panic, no one daring to meet her gaze. The question of "shame" and "shameful anger" lashed at their hearts like an invisible whip.
Liu Rumeng glanced around coldly, no longer looking at the group of speechless beauties, their heads bowed in shame. She swiftly picked up her towel and personal belongings and, without looking back, headed for the shower room at the end of the dressing room. The sound of her high heels tapping against the floor was remarkably clear in the silence, each step carrying a resolute and untouchable aura.
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