Chapter 123 9.99 points, breaking the record...
Chapter 123
No one could answer her.
Because everyone's eyes were on the stage.
However, the National Ballet of China, which had been bustling with activity and even planning to hold a celebration banquet ahead of schedule, now had a gloomy smile on everyone's face.
"If Meng Yingying really gets first place, what will happen if the teacher finds out—"
They simply couldn't bear to think about the consequences.
Lin Rujuan has a saying she often repeats: she only cares about being number one, never number two.
If they take it a second time, no one will get away with it.
At that moment, everyone in the National Ballet of China had a gloomy expression, and some even made wishes with God.
Please pray that Meng Yingying makes a mistake during her dance; only then will she have a chance to miss out on the championship.
Unfortunately, God did not hear their wishes.
Even more so, on stage, Meng Yingying moved faster and faster, flipping and turning more and more, in sync with the rhythm of the music.
With her limbs outstretched and her eyes sparkling, the lights shone on her, and at that moment, her dance on the stage was an absolute visual feast.
Beautiful and cool.
"good!"
A burst of enthusiastic applause erupted from the crowd.
I thought Meng Yingying's loop control was already at its peak, but I didn't expect that as the long note of the accordion suddenly stopped, only a lonely suona was left hanging in the high notes, but the sound was not suppressed in the slightest.
Instead, it gave the impression of shocking the entire audience.
Suona (a type of double-reed horn).
That is the soul of all musical instruments.
It needs no accompaniment; it can resonate in the soul.
Everyone present followed the high notes of the suona and looked toward the stage.
Behind the center of the stage was a 2.4-meter-high wooden platform. Meng Yingying tiptoed backwards to it.
When they saw her do that, everyone knew that the most difficult move on Dujuan Mountain was about to happen: a cliff jump.
The entire audience fell silent instantly.
No, it should be described as deathly silence.
All eyes were now focused on Meng Yingying.
At this moment, Meng Yingying turned her back to the audience, her arms were tied behind her back, and the red silk tied behind her back tied itself into a knot.
She didn't need any help.
As the suona horn soared to its highest note, Meng Yingying stood atop a 2.4-meter-high platform, resembling a swooping cuckoo.
She fell headfirst off the wooden platform.
Everyone below started screaming.
"Is she out of her mind?"
"If she were to fall from a height of 2.4 meters, her head would be on the ground. If even the slightest accident were to occur, she would be torn apart and her head would be split open in an extremely gruesome manner."
"madman."
"She's an even crazier than Gu Xiaotang."
At that moment, everyone couldn't help but stand up, all looking up at the platform.
The judges watched intently.
Yang Jie looked worried.
Han Mingbing was filled with fear.
Wu Yanzhou felt a pang of regret; perhaps she shouldn't have brought Meng Yingying into the Capital Song and Dance Troupe in the first place.
At least that way she could save her life, instead of risking it on the stage like she is now.
At that moment, even the host called the security personnel, who planned to rescue Meng Yingying the instant the accident occurred.
But no.
The horrific outcome that everyone had imagined did not occur.
After Meng Yingying plunged down from the 2.4-meter-high platform, everyone thought she would fall headfirst and get a head injury.
However, imagination often contradicts reality.
Meng Yingying did a 720-degree backflip in the air, her legs tightly bound together in a scissor-like twist. Just before landing, the red silk snapped on its own. Using the force of the broken silk, she managed to change her landing point from her knees to her toes.
"Thump—"
The floorboards made a muffled thud as my toes slammed into the ground due to inertia, sending wood chips flying into a brownish-yellow firework.
Chen, the head of the judging panel, suddenly stood up, her knee hitting the back of the chair in front of her with a sharp crack, but she seemed completely unaware.
Her tone was shocked, with a hint of astonishment, "This, this isn't a cliff jump, she used a cliff-falling grappling hook, which is the highest level of suicide maneuver in the Air Force rotation."
She left the judges' panel, attempting to get closer to the stage, and sure enough, this time she saw things clearly.
So much so that Commander Chen kept muttering, "Even we old guys didn't dare to jump like that when we were young. The only one who dared to jump was Hai Mei. In order to make the dance of Azalea Mountain more perfect, she wanted to change the cliff jump to a cliff twist, but she failed. The difficulty level was too high. Later, she settled for the cliff jump instead."
Then, she changed the subject and looked at the stage in shock, "Only us old guys from back then know about this episode. In Dujuan Mountain, the cliff twist is more accurate than the cliff jump, but we have never told anyone about it."
How did Meng Yingying find out?
She almost reflexively looked at Yang Jie and Wu Yanzhou.
Yang Jie shook her head. "Don't look at me, Chen Nan. Back when Zhang Haimei danced 'Azalea Mountain,' I had already left the Central Ballet Troupe. I wasn't even in the capital anymore, so I wouldn't know about your discussions and rehearsals back then."
Commander Chen looked at Wu Yanzhou again, saying, "Don't look at me either, I don't know anything either."
"This is something that only your close relatives would know."
The most difficult part of the Rhododendron Mountain scenic area, as described in the official website, is the cliff jump.
The details of cliff hangings, or rather, the more challenging parts, are only known to those who have experienced them.
"How did she know?"
Commander Chen couldn't understand it.
Yang Jie subtly suggested, "Is it possible that she figured it out herself?"
"Chen Nan, I've mentioned my apprentice before; her talent is absolutely outstanding."
"She not only has a photographic memory, but she can also adapt and improve the dance based on its shortcomings to make it even better."
This is no longer a matter of talent.
This is creativity.
A student with creativity—that's the most terrifying thing.
Upon hearing this, Commander Chen murmured, "Meng Yingying is such an amazing child."
While others are still in the learning stage, she has already embarked on the path of innovation.
Even more so, she could perfect it to an even better level.
This is really, really scary.
Someone swallowed hard.
"Commander Chen, aren't you overestimating her?"
"She's just a kid from a small town."
Commander Chen shook her head, her gaze fixed on the stage, her tone grave, "No, I underestimated her."
The scene fell silent instantly.
The suona in the band gradually dropped from high notes to low notes, and then the long notes of the accordion slowly took over.
It was a gentle tone that spread around.
It looks like azaleas are in bloom.
The blooming of azaleas is the last thing to happen on Azalea Mountain.
Meng Yingying was still kneeling, her right knee touching the floor, her left knee bent, and the knees of her gray cloth trousers were already worn and frayed.
There were still some sawdust stuck to it.
As the accordion's mournful tone reached its third second, her right hand moved first—
It's not the orchid-like hand gesture from ballet, but rather the posture of a mountain person picking flowers: the thumb and forefinger forming a small pincer shape, slowly extending towards the ground.
It's like trying to pluck an unseen flower stem.
After picking it, she looked relaxed, her left hand with all five fingers spread and palm facing up, simply holding the non-existent flower.
He lowered his head and gently sniffed for a moment, his face full of joy.
That was the satisfaction and joy after smelling the fragrance of flowers.
The scene fell silent instantly. At this moment, even though there was nothing on the stage, following Meng Yingying's movements, they seemed to truly see Meng Yingying picking flowers at this very moment.
"Dujuan Mountain".
"This is the complete Rhododendron Mountain."
Someone in the crowd suddenly shouted, "What a magnificent Dujuan Mountain!"
"Meng Yingying!"
"Meng Yingying, you danced so well."
The waves of music grew louder and louder, almost engulfing Meng Yingying. She stood up, stepped to the end of the music, and bowed slightly to the people below.
Then, he tiptoed back from the center of the stage to behind the side curtain.
As she left, the thunderous applause grew even more enthusiastic.
The sound lingered for a long time, so much so that a long echo reverberated throughout the auditorium.
On the judges' panel.
Commander Chen was the first to react, "I'll give her ten points."
"She deserves a perfect 10."
Seeing that everyone was looking over, Commander Chen said seriously, "I've seen Hai Mei's performance of Azalea Mountain, but I have to admit that Hai Mei's performance of Azalea Mountain is not as good as Meng Yingying's."
“Not only do I have to admit it, but you all have to admit it too. When Hai Mei jumped off Dujuan Mountain back then, she amazed everyone. Now, Meng Yingying's jump on Dujuan Mountain has perfected what she couldn't do back then. So I give her a perfect score. Meng Yingying deserves it.”
Upon hearing this, the others exchanged glances. "A perfect score is too high. Although Meng Yingying is very capable, even a student would become arrogant if given a perfect score."
“How about this, I’ll give her 9.9 points. The extra 0.1 points represents her potential for future improvement.”
"I'd also give it 9.9."
I give it a perfect 10.
After the five judges finished giving their scores, the score tellers immediately began tallying the results.
The audience seats below.
Meng Yingying, wearing a thin dance costume, walked all the way here. She didn't feel cold while dancing on stage, but now that she was offstage, the gusts of cold wind blew down on her, and goosebumps rose all over her body.
As soon as she came down from behind the stage, Yang Jie was waiting beside her with a military overcoat in hand. "Put it on quickly."
The military overcoat draped over my body instantly protected me from the biting wind.
Meng Yingying finally stopped trembling and said, "Teacher."
She looked at Yang Jie with a gentle smile in her eyes.
Especially under the stage lights, she seemed to be bathed in a soft glow.
Even Yang Jie was momentarily dazed. "Yingying, you performed very well on the competition stage."
That was all Meng Yingying wanted to hear. She smiled slightly, though she was a little stiff from the cold, still wearing her military overcoat. Yang Jie brought over her cotton shoes and knelt down to put them on her.
This time, Meng Yingying did not refuse. She did not feel cold while dancing, but as it was about to end, the sub-zero cold air seeped into her bones.
Her joints were all frozen stiff, and if Yang Jie didn't help her, she wouldn't even be able to squat down.
After Yang Jie helped her get dressed, she asked with concern, "Are you feeling better?"
Meng Yingying nodded.
Yang Jie led her downstairs, and Wu Yanzhou also went to fetch two thermos bottles, which were made from IV bottles and filled with hot water, thus becoming a heater.
Holding the thermos, Meng Yingying finally felt a bit warmer.
"Yingying".
As soon as she arrived, Han Mingbing and the others looked at her intently, saying, "Your performance on stage just now was absolutely brilliant."
They had seen Meng Yingying's rehearsals, but the rehearsals were far less impressive than her performances on stage during the competition.
You could even say that these two are on completely different dimensions.
Meng Yingying smiled and sat down.
Han Mingbing leaned over and asked, "Do you think Yingying's score will be higher than Gu Xiaotang's after the judges finish giving their scores?"
Before Meng Yingying took the stage, Gu Xiaotang was everyone's shadow, but after Meng Yingying took the stage...
Meng Yingying became a shadow over everyone.
Even more so, it is an existence that is unattainable.
No one could answer Han Mingbing's question. Hu Hongying said uncertainly, "Anyway, I think Yingying dances better than Gu Xiaotang."
"I think Yingying's dancing is beautiful, while Gu Xiaotang's dancing looks like a madman."
Although Gu Xiaotang's dancing was like a warhorse neighing and every movement was perfect, it was precisely this perfection that made people feel somewhat oppressed.
"What are you guessing for? We'll find out soon enough."
Wu Yanzhou interrupted them and handed Meng Yingying a enamel mug of hot water, saying, "Drink some hot water to warm yourself up first."
"If the scores are announced later, I'm guessing you'll most likely be in first place, and you'll have to go up on stage to receive your award."
Then I'll have to take off my military overcoat again.
Meng Yingying hummed in agreement, then took small sips from the enamel mug. The hot water warmed her from her mouth to her stomach, and her icy body quickly warmed up.
Unlike everyone else's nervousness, Meng Yingying was very calm because she had already done her best, and the subsequent scoring was no longer within her control.
She drank her hot water and waited quietly for the result.
At this moment, the scoring by the judges has reached a fever pitch.
"I don't care, I'll give it a perfect score, and I won't change it."
"Me too, a perfect 10."
"Then I'll keep it at 9.9 and won't change it."
After everyone had finalized their scores, the scorekeeper began tallying the results: "Remove the highest score of ten and the lowest score of nine point nine."
"Final score—"
The scorekeeper didn't say the score aloud, but wrote it down on a piece of paper and handed it to Commander Chen. Commander Chen's pupils contracted slightly when he saw it.
She kept the score separately.
"I will come up on stage to announce these scores."
It's clear that Meng Yingying's final score was beyond everyone's expectations.
When Team Leader Chen suggested announcing the scores, no one objected. As a key member of the judging panel for this competition, she was considered one of the top judges.
After Commander Chen went on stage, she held a megaphone in her hand and waved to the crowd below, who immediately fell silent.
Everyone turned to look at the stage.
Commander Chen held the score sheet and smiled as she looked at the audience. "I know everyone is eager to know what Comrade Meng Yingying's score is."
“Similarly, I’d like to know too.” She paused for a moment, “To be honest, I was quite shocked when I first saw the rating sheet. Shocked about what?”
The people below looked over curiously.
Commander Chen leaned slightly back behind the loudspeaker, increasing the distance between himself and the speaker, so that the sound would no longer be harsh.
"What's shocking is that this is the highest score I've ever seen in my 25 years in the industry."
The moment these words were spoken, the scene erupted in uproar.
"Commander Chen, stop keeping us in suspense. How many points did Comrade Meng Yingying get?"
Of all the scores, only Meng Yingying's score was kept secret; everyone else's scores were published directly.
Commander Chen stopped keeping everyone in suspense. She looked down at the score sheet in her hand, walked through the crowd, and fixed her gaze on Meng Yingying.
Their eyes met.
Commander Chen smiled and said, "For Comrade Meng Yingying's score, we'll remove the highest score of ten and the lowest score of nine point nine."
"The final score is 9.99."
The room fell silent the moment those words were spoken.
Thunderous applause erupted, shaking the loudspeaker lights in the auditorium.
The audience erupted first—
"Nine points and nine points! My God, this must be the highest score ever recorded in the Red Star Cup competition."
"Didn't Commander Chen say that this is the highest score?"
"Doesn't that mean Meng Yingying broke the record?"
"Meng Yingying! Nine point ninety-nine!"
"He's 0.07 points taller than Gu Xiaotang! My God!"
"Her score is absolutely historic, and it will put immense pressure on future Red Star Cup participants."
"Yeah, just hearing 9.99 is enough to make you despair."
Some are happy, some are sad.
Zhou Lanxiang from the National Ballet of China next door turned pale instantly. "Nine point ninety-nine, even higher than Gu Xiaotang."
"We're fucked."
"If the teacher finds out that we lost the championship, not only Gu Xiaotang, but all of us are finished."
Zhou Lanxiang was almost in despair. She couldn't understand why Gu Xiaotang had almost paid the price of his life to get that high score.
How could it have been broken so easily by Meng Yingying?
The situation at the National Ballet of China is dismal.
Next door, the Capital Song and Dance Troupe was filled with jubilation.
Yang Jie was the first to stand up. Her palms were red and numb from clapping, but her eyes welled up with tears first.
This marks her return to the championship stage after eleven years away from the capital.
Moreover, he was the champion of the Red Star Cup competition.
The young girl she mentored pierced the ceiling of the capital with her rare copy of "Azalea Mountain"!
Thinking of this, Yang Jie turned around abruptly, looked at Meng Yingying, her eyes moist, "Yingying, you did it."
She knew better than anyone how much Meng Yingying had sacrificed for this championship.
He fell off the cliff at least a hundred times.
Her entire body was covered in sores, not a single patch of undamaged skin. And just before going on stage, Gu Xiaotang received such a high score; she was dancing with her life on the line, which drew the attention of all the judges.
Gu Xiaotang's high score was like a sharp sword hanging over everyone's heads.
It hung even higher above Meng Yingying's head.
Because she was the one who went up to compete after Gu Xiaotang, the pressure from Gu Xiaotang forced Meng Yingying to change to a more difficult move on stage.
She changed the cliff jump to a cliff hang.
This became Meng Yingying's decisive move and one of the reasons she received a high score.
Meng Yingying's eyes were also red. She didn't say anything, but just held Yang Jie's hand tightly. "Teacher, you see, I told you that as long as we don't give up, there is still hope."
She didn't give up on Gu Xiaotang, who was so outstanding.
That's why we have the current outcome.
Yang Jie nodded, and Director He was too excited to speak. She knew that the largest investment in Northeast China had been a success.
Meng Yingying's victory in the Red Star Cup competition was tantamount to breaking through the ranks of geniuses in the capital.
From then on, Meng Yingying's name would spread throughout the capital, and everyone would cooperate with her to obtain the resources she desired.
Just like this rare, out-of-print film of Rhododendron Mountain.
If Meng Yingying were in Harbin, in the three northeastern provinces, even if Director He were sold off, she still couldn't possibly get such a thing for Meng Yingying.
"Meng Yingying!"
Even the usually shrewd and diplomatic He Chang was speechless with excitement for the first time.
He would only call out Meng Yingying's name again and again.
She could almost foresee the rise of the Northeast Cultural Troupe.
Meng Yingying pursed her lips and smiled sweetly at He Chang, "Aunt He."
"I have not let you down."
At this moment, Meng Yingying was nowhere to be seen as the dashing and capable woman she was on stage.
He Chang nodded and patted Meng Yingying on the shoulder, "More than that, you not only lived up to my expectations, Meng Yingying, you have shattered them."
She originally planned to send a contestant from the three northeastern provinces to the capital to establish himself, even if it was just a runner-up or a top ten finish.
Who would have thought, my goodness!
Meng Yingying swept through the capital's geniuses and won the championship.
Wu Yanzhou felt a sense of pride at this moment, straightened his back, and coldly swept his gaze over the crowd that had mocked him earlier, but he couldn't help but smile. "Meng Yingying is representing our Capital Song and Dance Troupe in the competition this time."
“Some of you said before that Comrade Meng Yingying got in through connections from a small place. I’d like to ask you, if there really was such a genius trying to get in through connections, would you have agreed to it?”
That's a blatant slap in the face.
Everyone fell silent.
If there really was a genius like Meng Yingying who wanted to get into university through connections, they would agree to it no matter what.
Is this a backdoor deal?
No, this is clearly a windfall!
And it was a gold ingot, which just happened to fall on them.
Unfortunately, this good fortune didn't fall into their laps, but instead went to the Capital Song and Dance Troupe.
Han Mingbing and his group were as proud as peacocks at that moment, saying, "Meng Yingying is from our Capital Song and Dance Troupe."
Li Shaoqing and Shen Meilan exchanged a glance, both seeing a wry smile in each other's eyes. "Meng Yingying, she's a genius wherever she is."
Back then, they could compete on the same stage as Meng Yingying to vie for the championship, but this time it was the Red Star Cup competition.
Neither of them even qualified to go on stage for the individual competition.
They can only participate in team competitions.
That's the gap.
Li Shaoqing even felt that this was just the beginning, and that they might have to look up to Meng Yingying in the future.
They were all talking about Meng Yingying, except for one person.
That is—Yi Cailing.
She was contestant number six, and also the last contestant to go on stage.
Gu Xiaotang in front of her was already making it hard for her to breathe, and then Meng Yingying came along.
Yi Cailing, in a fit of despair, muttered, "I'm not going on stage anymore, I might as well go to the rooftop."
That'll solve everything!
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Author's Note: Yi Cailing: I'll perform a hanging act for everyone to see!
Writing this, I feel so sorry for Yi Cailing. She really has two huge obstacles in front of her.
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