1.9 The nutrient solution is now more difficult than the "Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers" technique...
Chapter 63
Meng Yingying was taken aback. She looked at the round-faced girl in front of her, hesitated for a moment, and then extended her hand. "Hello, I am Meng Yingying."
Tong Jialan's eyes lit up, and she repeated, "Meng Yingying, Meng Yingying."
"Your name is so beautiful."
Meng Yingying looked into her eyes; they were the classic almond-shaped eyes, round and very clean.
This kind of person can't be a bad person.
Thinking of this, Meng Yingying paused in packing her dance costume. "Comrade, may I ask how you spell your name?"
Which one exactly?
It's still Tong Jia.
"Tong Jialan." Tong Jialan took Meng Yingying's hand and began to write in her palm, "My surname is Tong Jia, and my given name is Lan."
At this point, she blinked and whispered, "My ancestors were from the Manchu noble family, the Tongjia clan."
However, she never dared to reveal this identity to anyone.
Meng Yingying knew who she was instantly.
She found it in the archives of the performing arts troupe in her previous life, among the videotapes stored there. One of the tapes contained the name of a senior performer who danced Manchu court dances.
However, Meng Yingying couldn't remember what the other person's name was, Tong Jia.
She had no idea whether the Tong Jialan in front of her was the same person as the senior she had seen on the videotape in her past life.
Meng Yingying felt as if history was reflecting reality.
Tong Jialan in that videotape seems to have a tragic fate, dying from domestic violence at the hands of her husband after marriage.
She left behind only a fleeting, stunning dance before departing far too soon.
Looking at the enthusiastic, chubby-cheeked Tong Jialan in front of her, Meng Yingying wasn't sure if the two were the same person.
"Tong Jialan".
She called out softly.
Tong Jialan's eyes lit up. "Hmm?"
Meng Yingying smiled, then swallowed back the words she was about to say, "Your name is also very beautiful."
"She's also very beautiful."
Tong Jialan has a chubby face, fair skin, and a bright smile with crescent-shaped eyes; she has a very innocent appearance.
Meng Yingying didn't really understand why Tong Jialan, who seemed so good to her, would be abused to death by her husband.
Meng Yingying even wondered if she had remembered it wrong, or if her memory was confused.
In fact, the Tong Jia in the videotape she had watched before was not Tong Jialan.
When Meng Yingying praised her, Tong Jialan's eyes immediately crinkled into crescent moons with a smile. "Thank you."
She turned and left, hopping and skipping as she walked.
He's only nineteen years old, just a year into adulthood.
"What are you looking at?"
Ye Yingtao had also picked up her old dance costume and was about to change when she saw Meng Yingying staring at Tong Jialan's back.
"Look at Tong Jialan."
Ye Yingtao knew perfectly well, and she said sourly, "Don't Lin Qiu and I look good together?"
"It also depends on others."
She's really on edge right now. She already has Zhao Yueru, okay, Zhao Yueru is Meng Yingying's relative, so she can accept that.
But then another new good friend will come.
She was genuinely unhappy.
Meng Yingying chuckled and flicked Ye Yingtao's head. "What are you thinking about? I just thought of an old friend when I saw Tong Jialan."
She had already picked up her dance costume. "Let's go to the dressing room to change."
No sooner had these words been spoken than Comrade Zhang outside called out, "The new dance costumes have all arrived. Please line up and collect your costumes."
Now, there's no need to change into dance clothes.
Meng Yingying called Ye Yingtao and Lin Qiu over to help. There were twenty-two of them in total, and each of them had two new dance costumes.
That makes forty-four sets, which is quite a lot.
When it was Shen Qiuyue's turn, Meng Yingying suddenly asked, "Didn't we say that the main team would have new dance costumes, but the substitutes wouldn't?"
This was also one of the conditions they agreed to with Director Fang.
Shen Qiuyue was about to receive her dance costume when she heard Meng Yingying's hand and immediately paused.
The person handing out the clothes next to them seemed a little surprised.
"What's wrong?"
Meng Yingying briefly recounted the events, just as Director He, who was late, entered. She pointed at Director He and said, "At that time, when Director Fang of our Harbin Cultural Troupe reached an agreement with Director Cao, Director He was standing to the side."
He arrived late and still doesn't understand what's going on.
After Meng Yingying finished speaking, she immediately understood, "That's right. Director Cao agreed on behalf of the substitute teams that the substitute teams in Jilin City Cultural Troupe would receive half the amount of dance costumes and meal allowances compared to the regular teams."
At this point, Director He looked at Shen Qiuyue, who was putting on the new dance costume, and said, "Just leave it there."
"Your cultural troupe doesn't need to collect uniforms, and Commander Cao knows that too."
Shen Qiuyue clutched her new dance costume, tears welling up in her eyes.
Others nearby, unable to bear it any longer, chimed in, "Isn't this going a bit too far?"
"Yes, the substitute teams are also participants. There has never been such a rule in previous years that substitute teams cannot receive meal allowances and new dance costumes."
"Boss, could we let this go this time?"
Director He smiled enigmatically. “This was something that had been agreed upon beforehand. If it weren’t for Director Cao’s agreement, I doubt Director Fang of the Harbin team would have agreed to let the Jilin City Cultural Troupe participate as a substitute.”
"alright."
"Shen Qiuyue, put the clothes down. If you take them down again, it won't look good for anyone. If you're really upset, go ask your leader, Commander Cao, why he agreed to such humiliating conditions in the first place."
Hearing this, Shen Qiuyue couldn't stand it any longer. She covered her red eyes and ran to Commander Cao.
Everyone felt a little reluctant.
After Director He finished inspecting the area and left, Chen Xiaoxiao from the Provincial Song and Dance Troupe couldn't help but say to Meng Yingying, "Comrade Meng, aren't you being a bit too stingy? What's wrong with giving Comrade Shen some new dance costumes?"
"Anyway, we have extra dance costumes, and these dance costumes were donated by the Jilin City Cultural Troupe."
Meng Yingying looked up at Chen Xiaoxiao, knowing that she was from the provincial song and dance troupe, but she wasn't afraid.
He simply said, "Since you care so much about Shen Qiuyue, why not give her your new dance costume?"
"Also, after you put them on her, remember to ask her if they will hide silver needles in your dance shoes next time."
“It’s better if you don’t hide them. If you do hide them,” Meng Yingying smiled at her, “then you’d better be careful. Falling from a great height with needles in your dance shoes is probably not a pleasant experience.”
Upon hearing this, not only did Chen Xiaoxiao's face turn pale, but even Tong Jialan, who had been silent all along, couldn't help but swallow.
"Meng Yingying, did their team really put silver needles inside the dance shoes?"
To be honest, just thinking about it is terrifying.
Meng Yingying hummed in agreement. "I was going to put it in my dance shoes, but then I saw the sentries arresting people. Afraid of being exposed, I threw the silver needles under a big tree. That counts as putting them in, but it wasn't a successful attempt."
"However, I would like to remind everyone that this kind of thing can happen twice. In the future, please remember to check your dance shoes every time you wear them."
"To avoid what happened to me before."
Now, everyone fell silent.
Even Chen Xiaoxiao, who previously felt sorry for Shen Qiuya, is no longer as close to her as before.
Shen Qiuyue noticed this and knew that Meng Yingying must have said something inside.
She wanted to question him, but because she felt guilty, she was too ashamed to do so.
Shen Qiuyue persisted for three days in a row, but when even the food in the cafeteria started to be treated differently.
When they saw Meng Yingying and the others eating eggs and having a meal of pork belly every day, although it wasn't much, maybe one or two slices per person.
Shen Qiuyue couldn't hold back any longer and turned to find Commander Cao, "Leader, I don't want to participate anymore."
Every day they are pointed at and talked about, and people are wary of them. Not only do they wear old dance costumes, but they also eat the worst food.
Who can stand this?
Upon hearing this, Commander Cao's face instantly darkened. "What did you say?"
Unlike Qin Mingxiu, she didn't treat Shen Qiuyue like her own daughter.
Shen Qiuyue was startled by Commander Cao, but thinking about the rumors and differential treatment outside, she finally mustered up some courage.
"Boss, I've said I don't want to participate anymore, I want to withdraw from the competition!"
Yes, when she said the words "withdraw from the competition," Shen Qiuyue instantly felt relaxed.
Perhaps she should have given up on participating in the league from the day she failed in the preliminaries. If she had given up then, perhaps there wouldn't be so many jokes about her.
"Withdraw from the competition?"
Commander Cao sneered, "Shen Qiuyue, do you want to see what you're saying?"
"What did the team do to ensure you could participate in the league as substitutes?"
"More than seven thousand yuan. In order for you to get in, the team alone spent more than seven thousand yuan in cash. In addition, there were food coupons, meat coupons, and cloth coupons. In total, our team has invested nearly ten thousand yuan in this league match."
"Shen Qiuyue, are you saying you're going to give up?"
"Do you have the right to give up?" Commander Cao took two steps closer to her, grabbed her by the collar, and said, word by word, "From the moment you agreed to be a substitute, there was no turning back."
"Withdraw from the competition?" She suddenly released her collar and sneered, "Shen Qiuyue, you are too naive."
"You have no other path but to win the championship."
"The team has spent nearly 10,000 yuan on this, not to make you withdraw from the competition."
After saying this, the furious Commander Cao stormed out. Left behind, Shen Qiuyue collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down her face.
"Coach, what should I do?"
She could continue participating, but she couldn't stand the stares and gossip. However, if she didn't participate, Commander Cao wouldn't let her off the hook.
Shen Qiuyue felt as if she had walked down a dead end.
The path that Commander Cao planned for her was also a dead end.
Let her break through in this team full of geniuses and win the championship.
This is even more difficult to wait for.
Because of this incident, Shen Qiuyue was somewhat absent-minded during training for the next few days.
After making several mistakes in a row, he was called out by Chief Instructor He Chu.
As soon as she left, the stage in the training room fell silent.
The people were whispering among themselves.
"Do you know what happened to Shen Qiuyue?"
"I don't know." The person who answered was Tong Jialan. She had been going to see Shen Qiuyue these past few days, but Shen Qiuyue hadn't said much.
I don't really pay attention to her.
Meng Yingying saw it, but she pretended not to see it and continued practicing her "Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers" routine.
Coach Zhao was teaching the moves in front of her. She had jumped over them before, so she was familiar with them. Meng Yingying followed along and jumped very well.
Moreover, she can almost always remember the moves Coach Zhao taught her.
After Coach Zhao finished teaching her once, Meng Yingying held two long silk ribbons, each sixteen feet long, and began to flick her sleeves.
She had practiced with three-foot-long silk ribbons before, so when she joined a sixteen-foot-long silk ribbon again, aside from the initial discomfort, she was able to adapt.
She quickly swung the silk high into the air; her wrists were strong, and the long silk covered a distance of sixteen feet, or almost five meters.
With flexibility, she does splits, spins, and jumps, with a long ribbon around her. She uses the ribbon to jump and ascend to the sky.
Soon, Meng Yingying became the most eye-catching person in the entire dance studio.
Everyone stopped and turned to look. "Why would she choose the 'Fairy Scattering Flowers'?"
"This dance is too difficult."
"However, she was able to swing a six-foot-long silk ribbon so high that it didn't even fall down. She's really amazing."
Tong Jialan said this in a low voice, "I tried to jump over it once. I failed at the first step because the long silk ribbon was too long. Every time I tried to swing it, it would get tangled in my face and body. I couldn't swing it at all."
If the celestial maiden scattering flowers cannot lift her long silk ribbon, it means the flowers cannot be scattered, which means the dance has failed from the very beginning.
At this point, Tong Jialan's tone became somewhat dejected, "I swore afterwards that I would never touch such a complicated dance as 'Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers' again."
"A dance style that combines four elements is simply inhuman."
"That's just you."
Chen Xiaoxiao from the provincial song and dance troupe glanced at Meng Yingying, who was still spinning and jumping with a long silk ribbon. The ribbon was too long, and when it fell, it got caught on Meng Yingying's leg, causing her to fail when she landed.
Chen Xiaoxiao smirked, "Some people just like to show off, choosing the most difficult pieces in an attempt to scare their opponents off from the start."
"But in the end, it turned out that there was not a single success, and instead it became a laughing stock."
Tong Jialan felt that what she said was too harsh. She glared at her with her big eyes and began to protest, "Chen Xiaoxiao, don't you think what you said was too much? You said that Meng Yingying didn't dance well, but I saw that her coach only taught her once and she got the hang of it. How can you say that she didn't dance well?"
"The 'Celestial Maiden Scattering Flowers' dance has more than a hundred movements, combining four skills: long silk ribbons, ballet, model opera, and folk dance. Can you memorize it all after being taught it only once in this environment?"
Chen Xiaoxiao naturally couldn't remember.
So she never thought of performing a dance like "The Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers" from the very beginning.
Tong Jialan continued, "Also, you said Meng Yingying's 'Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers' dance was a joke, then isn't your 'Red Sister' dance also a joke?"
The job of a "red sister-in-law" is also quite challenging.
Chen Xiaoxiao scoffed, "How can we be the same? We're from the provincial song and dance troupe, and who is she?"
"It's an obscure local arts troupe. People from such a place starting with such difficult dances? Isn't that just making a joke of themselves?"
Tong Jialan was furious, her eyes were red with anger, and she rolled up her sleeves, ready to fight, but Meng Yingying, who had come down and composed herself, grabbed her and said, "Alright, Tong Jialan, let's not talk about it anymore."
"There are some people who are hard to explain."
Then, Meng Yingying turned around, squinted at Chen Xiaoxiao, and said, "The people from the Provincial Song and Dance Troupe are really something."
"But," she changed the subject, "shouldn't true skill be revealed on the field?"
Chen Xiaoxiao, "You—"
Meng Yingying glanced at the calendar on the wall. "There are still 23 days left until the competition. I hope you can still be this good on the field in 23 days."
"Of course, when I say impressive, I don't just mean your words, but also your personal and professional abilities."
Chen Xiaoxiao gritted her teeth; now it was her turn to be furious.
As a member of the provincial song and dance troupe, she was always fawned over and never accused of being a smooth talker.
The real test will be on the field.
Chen Xiaoxiao's face was contorted with anger.
Shen Meilan from the Capital Song and Dance Youth Troupe next to her tugged at her and comforted her, "Alright, Xiaoxiao, don't stoop to the level of people from small places."
Meng Yingying had already left.
They were all supposed to go back to their own stages to continue practicing, but then they heard this.
She suddenly looked at Shen Meilan, the so-called genius among geniuses in this competition.
Of the six teams this time, only Shen Meilan came from the Capital Song and Dance Troupe, and her teacher was not an ordinary coach, but the principal dancer of the Soviet Ballet.
Meng Yingying had always spoken in a calm tone, as could be seen from her advice to Tong Jialan. This was the first time that a hint of murderous intent had appeared in her usually gentle eyes.
His pupils were dark and deep, and when he looked at people like that, it was truly startling.
Shen Meilan always considered herself to be of a different status, so she never got involved, and they usually bickered and joked around.
But this time, Meng Yingying startled her.
"What are you looking at?"
Shen Meilan feigned composure, "I wasn't wrong either, the Harbin Cultural Troupe is indeed made up of people from a small place."
Before Meng Yingying could speak, Ye Yingtao, who had come over to find her, exploded, "So what if the Harbin Cultural Troupe is from a small place? Did they eat your rice? Just because you're from the capital doesn't mean you're superior!"
"If you're so important, what are you doing in Changchun? Changchun is just a small place like Harbin. You come to a small place like ours? Are you out of your mind?"
She doesn't have Meng Yingying's good temper at all; why would she try to reason with the other party? What a load of rubbish.
Sure enough, the high and mighty Shen Meilan had never heard of such a thing before, and her face immediately turned red with anger.
"Let's go, ignore her!"
After a barrage of curses, Ye Yingtao pulled Meng Yingying away.
Meng Yingying was both amused and exasperated. She wasn't angry, but she noticed Ye Yingtao's chest heaving beneath her dance costume.
"Okay, don't be angry anymore."
"Come here and help me hold up the red silk. I want to try the 'Celestial Maiden Scattering Flowers' act again."
Ye Yingtao remained silent.
Seeing that she was still angry, Meng Yingying held the red silk and said softly, "Actually, it's normal for them to come to see me. It's just that I chose to be the celestial maiden scattering flowers."
"Look, I've been at the training camp for a week and I still haven't done a complete routine. It's only right that I'm being laughed at."
If you're not good at it, you need to practice more.
Meng Yingying firmly believed in this: for dancers, only by jumping high can they have the right to shut others up.
"You didn't finish the dance, that's not your problem."
Ye Yingtao was familiar with Meng Yingying, and while helping her stretch her legs, she spoke up for her, saying, "It's because your body isn't strong enough."
“Yingying, this has absolutely nothing to do with your flexibility and suppleness.”
"Yingying, the Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers technique values sustained explosive power even more than the Red Detachment of Women. With your current frail physique, you simply won't be able to sustain it in the later stages."
"Moreover, the long silk ribbon that the celestial maiden scattered flowers was a full five meters long. Yingying, do you know what five meters means?"
"While you are dancing, you also have to throw the long silk ribbon out and make sure that the five-meter-long ribbon stays in the air and doesn't fall."
At this point, Ye Yingtao grasped Meng Yingying's wrist and said, "Look at your wrist. It's so thin. You still want to throw the long silk ribbon out intact and hold it for fifteen minutes to half an hour."
"Yingying, don't blame me for being blunt, but you can only perform the 'Fairy Scattering Flowers' dance when you develop your personal strength. If you don't develop your personal strength, then no matter how good your memory is, how fast you can grasp the rhythm of the dance, or how amazing your skills are."
"It's no use, Yingying."
"Strength can overcome all skills. In our dance profession, in addition to testing flexibility, suppleness, technique, and rhythm, strength is also very important."
Meng Yingying had always known this; she held the five-meter-long silk ribbon and threw it out again.
Sure enough, the long silk ribbon fell limply to the ground in no time.
Only five minutes had passed since they started practicing. After just five minutes of practicing with the long silk ribbon, Meng Yingying's wrists began to ache.
Or perhaps it's because they were completely exhausted.
It's not that she lacks talent, nor that she has a bad memory, nor that she can't remember these complicated dance moves.
Instead, from the very beginning, when they were waving the long silk ribbon, they had already put her outside the door.
Meng Yingying stared at her wrists and suddenly said, "Cherry, what if I tied sandbags to my wrists and ankles at the same time?"
"What?"
Ye Yingtao thought she had misheard.
Meng Yingying said, "Tying sandbags around your neck is the fastest way to increase your strength."
"When I'm not dancing, I tie sandbags to my body, making sure I wear them for at least ten hours a day."
In this way, when you remove the sandbags and swing the long silk again, you will feel a sense of ease.
At that time, after being subjected to the sandbag, my wrists would have gained a bit more strength.
Meng Yingying thought that if she did this, her wrists wouldn't be so thin and weak anymore.
"Are you crazy?"
Ye Yingtao lowered her voice, "You don't want your wrist anymore?"
"For us dancers, the ligaments in our wrists and ankles are the most important. If these are injured, it will be very difficult to recover in the future."
Meng Yingying examined her wrist and said, "How will you know it won't work if you don't try?"
"You're insane."
Ignoring Ye Yingtao's advice, Meng Yingying turned and went to find Coach Zhao. However, as soon as she mentioned her idea, Coach Zhao rejected it.
"This method is too dangerous."
Meng Yingying insisted, "But this is the fastest way to increase one's sense of strength."
To perform the "Scattering Flowers under the Heavenly Maiden" dance, one must be able to continuously swing a five-meter-long red ribbon; this is the most basic requirement.
Coach Zhao remained silent.
Meng Yingying said softly, "Coach, if you want to be successful in public, you will suffer in private. You and I both know that."
"Since that's the case, why not give it a try!?"
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Author's Note: I'm getting an extra chapter after writing 19,000 units of nutrient solution! I'm completely drained; my wrists, back, and hips all ache. Please give me some more nutrient solution and comments! Thank you, my darlings!
Goodnight everyone~
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