Chapter 139 A Close Call: Meng Yingying Returns...
Chapter 139
Faced with Arkhipova's invitation and provocation, Yang Jie remained calm, saying, "Even if you want to challenge our Yingying, you'll have to wait until she returns to the capital."
“And, Polona,” she echoed Han Mingbing’s way of addressing her, “have you forgotten? Back at Moba Affiliated School, she has already beaten you countless times, so if you want to challenge her, Polona, you’ll just have to wait.”
The person who initiates the challenge is the one who takes the initiative, while the person being challenged will always have to consider whether they are willing to accept the challenge.
Arkhipova has always maintained an arrogant attitude. Even before today, she had swept aside all the major units in the capital, including Han Mingbing, whom she had just lost to.
She had every right to be proud, but Yang Jie's words instantly plunged her into despair.
This caused Arkhipova to deflate instantly, like a balloon that had been inflated and then suddenly punctured.
Arkhipova wanted to say something more, but her teacher Jane interrupted her, "Arkhipova, listen to Yang, wait until Meng comes back before you spar with her."
At this point, he looked at Ekaterina, his eyes carrying a hint of warning, and Ekaterina immediately fell silent.
"Alright then, teacher, I'll listen to you."
However, this was the first time Ekaterina had stepped forward. She reached out to Yang Jie and said, "Yang, we'll wait for Meng for three days at most. If she doesn't come, we'll consider it an automatic surrender."
"So this trip to China has come to an end."
This is contempt; her words are blatant contempt.
Yang Jie's pupils contracted slightly. She smiled, reached out and shook hands with Ekaterina, then wiped her hand with a handkerchief and threw it on the ground in front of Ekaterina.
It seemed as if there was silent gunpowder smoke flowing in the air.
Ekaterina's expression changed instantly. She wanted to argue, but Jane pulled her back. He said seriously, "Alright, Lina, you provoked me first."
It's clear that Ekaterina was even more arrogant than Arkhipova.
Arkhipova had been severely beaten by Meng Yingying, so she was much calmer than Ekaterina; at least she didn't come up and provoke Yang Jie.
Catherine, a graduate of the Royal Ballet Academy, had originally thought that this exchange program would allow her to meet true geniuses.
But to her surprise, her three days there were uneventful, which is why she provoked him.
Even for Catherine, this wasn't a provocation, but rather a sign of disdain.
A whole litter of chickens and dogs.
I don't like it.
This is the most fundamental reason.
Yang Jie understood. Her expression turned cold. She didn't even bother with the other person and instead said directly to Jian, "Today's challenge ends here. As for when the next one will start, that depends on when our Meng Yingying comes back."
Jane agreed.
But Ekaterina refused. She made a very arrogant decision: at eight o'clock the next morning, she carried a chair and sat down in front of the Central Ballet Company.
"Who among you will accept my challenge? Every single one of you will do."
This is truly outrageous.
Even Arkhipova was momentarily dazed. She reached out to pull Ekaterina, "Lina, get up! If you continue like this, we'll end up becoming enemies."
Their initial intention in coming here was to exchange and learn, not to create enmity.
Ekaterina looked up at her and said in a somewhat indifferent tone, "Pova, you're scared by the Easterners. You kept telling me how amazing Meng from the East is, which is why I gave up the competition at school and came to participate in the exchange meeting with you."
"But this is the result, Birva, I am very disappointed."
"The students I challenged over these three days were terrible; they were all wasting my time. If that's the case, I shouldn't have come to this exchange meeting with you in the first place."
Hearing this, Arkhipova felt a pang of bitterness in her heart, so she simply stepped aside and distanced herself from her. "Lina, I'm not with you."
Clearly, she was worried that Ekaterina's actions would affect her.
The other person smiled dismissively, and Arkhipova turned and left to find Jane.
When Jane arrived, she was also helpless against Ekaterina, because Ekaterina was not a student at their Moba Affiliated School, so she didn't even have the right to interfere with her.
“Yang, it’s not that I don’t care, it’s that I can’t manage it, it’s obvious.” Jane pointed at Ekaterina, her voice not very calm, “She’s here to cause trouble.”
Yang Jie was also a bit overwhelmed, so she had someone close the door.
Because none of the people currently in the Central Ballet are a match for Catherine.
Zhou Lanxiang was unwilling to give up. "Teacher Yang, let me give it a try."
After she was stripped of her prize from the Red Star Cup competition, she was depressed for a while, thinking she would be fired from her job.
Unexpectedly, after waiting anxiously for two months, she still didn't receive any notice of Yang Jie's dismissal, which allowed Zhou Lanxiang to gradually relax.
She began to observe the advantages of the National Ballet of China from other perspectives.
At least now, when everyone is in the practice room and dormitory, they no longer feel insecure or anxious, and Lin Rujuan no longer suddenly becomes irritable and makes them drink medicine.
Similarly, Zhou Lanxiang was no longer afraid that Lin Rujuan would suddenly attack her and ask her how her supervision was going, how many people had taken their medicine, and how many hadn't.
We need to provide her with accurate data.
To be honest, Zhou Lanxiang was also in pain because of this, which is why she secretly took out the medicine hidden in her throat in a secluded corner.
It was precisely because of this stable life that Zhou Lanxiang took the initiative to offer to take on Ekaterina's challenge for the ballet troupe at this time.
Yang Jie glanced at her, wanting to refuse, "You're no match for her."
"But I still want to try."
Zhou Lanxiang's voice was firm, "Teacher, you see, even Han Mingbing is no match for Bova, but she still accepted the challenge."
“If I don’t accept, Ekaterina will keep blocking the entrance to our workplace.” At this point, Zhou Lanxiang looked up, her tone somewhat angry, “Teacher, our workplace already has a bad reputation, it can’t get any worse.”
Having narrowly escaped death at Lin Rujuan's hands, these women, though suffering, cherish their present lives.
Since Yang Jie took over the Central Ballet Troupe, the entire unit no longer felt like it was living under a sword of Damocles.
Aside from the fact that the practice is a bit tough and I'm occasionally called out for a talk.
But overall, the situation is still comfortable. I don't have to be scolded all the time, I don't have to be forced to take medicine, and I don't have to worry about whether I will become a madman and die.
For the survivors of the National Ballet of China, these are the best days ever.
How could they bear to let their workplace be provoked like this by a foreigner?
Yang Jie saw the fierce spirit in Zhou Lanxiang. She thought to herself, "Lin Rujuan is a real cancer. If Zhou Lanxiang had been properly nurtured back then, her future would definitely be bright."
As a result, Lin Rujuan used him as a dirty tool, which led to the current situation.
Yang Jie quickly analyzed the pros and cons, and seeing the indignant students behind Zhou Lanxiang, she knew she couldn't stop them.
She couldn't stop it.
Since it's better to guide than to block, we might as well open it up completely.
"Then give it a try, but don't feel guilty if you fail."
Zhou Lanxiang nodded, "Teacher, I know."
With Yang Jie's approval, Zhou Lanxiang quickly walked up to Catherine, who was sitting.
Zhou Lanxiang stood up, looking down at Ekaterina. "I accept your challenge."
Ekaterina disliked being looked down upon, so she stood up, glanced at Zhou Lanxiang, and said to Arkhipova beside her, "She's not worthy of my attention. You take her place."
That's really arrogant.
No wonder he came from the Royal Academy.
Arkhipova didn't want to speak. She said coldly, "You challenged yourself, so you do it."
Clearly, Arkhipova also disliked Ekaterina's previous unilateral decision.
The competition hasn't even started yet, and the two sides have already begun to fight amongst themselves.
Seeing that she was no longer needed, Ekaterina had no choice but to get up herself. She sneered and left with the words, "Bova, you still want to go from Moba Affiliated School to the Royal Academy? I think you're going to your death."
If you offend her, she'll make sure Arkhipova can't get into the Royal Academy.
Arkhipova's face instantly darkened, but as a former genius herself, she naturally couldn't bow down to Ekaterina.
She didn't speak.
Jane said, "Lina, you underestimate Moba Affiliated School. Every year, half of the students at the Royal Academy come from Moba Affiliated School. Do you really want to make decisions for the entire Royal Academy and reject all the students from Moba Affiliated School?"
Ekaterina fell silent instantly.
She couldn't lose her temper with Jane, because Jane was not only a teacher at Moba School, but also the vice principal.
Even more so, Jane had influence at the Royal Academy, so Catherine didn't want to offend him.
So she vented all the frustration she had suffered before on the challenge.
To put it more directly, it's Zhou Lanxiang.
As a result, during the subsequent challenge, Zhou Lanxiang was completely overwhelmed by Ekaterina and had no chance to fight back.
She suffered a complete defeat throughout the entire dance performance.
By the end, Zhou Lanxiang's face was a little pale. She hadn't expected that she could make so many mistakes when performing the same Swan Lake routine.
When Ekaterina jumped up, it was as if she were a real swan taking a walk on the lake.
That's the difference.
In terms of both strength and talent, her opponent completely overwhelmed her. Zhou Lanxiang believed that although her talent was not as good as Gu Xiaotang's, it was still better than average.
She had never lost so badly since she entered the industry.
She had never done that, not even in front of Gu Xiaotang.
"You can't do it!"
Ekaterina looked down at her. "Change to another one."
She looked up and scanned each student behind Zhou Lanxiang. Their initially angry eyes gradually lowered as they made contact with her.
No one dared to meet Ekaterina's eyes.
Aside from Gu Xiaotang, Zhou Lanxiang is the most talented ballet dancer in the Central Ballet Troupe.
"Can't you do it?"
Ekaterina looked down at everyone who dared not meet her gaze with a hint of confusion. "Who will accept my challenge?"
Nobody
After seeing Zhou Lanxiang fail, the others also lost confidence.
"No?"
Ekaterina was quite disappointed. "I thought this exchange and learning trip to China would allow me to learn a lot and witness geniuses, but I didn't expect that in the end, they were all mediocre people who were worse than me."
These words angered many people present.
But there was nothing they could do.
Because they all knew that going up would be a loss anyway, it was just a matter of whether they lost sooner or later.
"If only Xiao Tang were here."
Someone said, "If Xiao Tang were here, she definitely wouldn't dare to be so arrogant."
"It's not just Xiao Tang, but also Meng Yingying. Didn't you see Meng Yingying's performance in the Red Star Cup? She was absolutely phenomenal. If it were Meng Yingying, she could definitely crush this woman. But what about this woman?"
Unfortunately, neither Meng Yingying nor Gu Xiaotang were there, otherwise Ekaterina wouldn't have had the chance to be so arrogant.
Ekaterina seemed to be getting impatient; she asked, "Is anyone else here?"
"If no one is here, then I'll take it as your National Ballet of China admitting defeat."
No sooner had she finished speaking than a voice came from behind her, "So, we admit defeat?"
It turned out that Meng Yingying and Gu Xiaotang had rushed back at the last minute.
Upon hearing this, Ekaterina instinctively looked over. She didn't recognize Meng Yingying, but Meng Yingying was indeed beautiful.
Moreover, her proportions are also very good.
She had a guess in her mind that he was a promising dancer.
When Zhou Lanxiang saw Meng Yingying and Gu Xiaotang return, she immediately became happy, "Xiaotang, Meng Yingying!"
Regardless of the competition and sordidness between them before, at least at this moment, everyone's goal is the same.
Defeat this enemy in front of us!
Meng Yingying nodded, while Gu Xiaotang felt a little uncomfortable, but seeing the tears on Zhou Lanxiang's face, he softened.
"Zhou Lanxiang".
As soon as she spoke, Zhou Lanxiang felt as if she had found a pillar of support, and tears streamed down her face. "Xiao Tang, you didn't see this foreign devil. He's really bullying people too much."
"That was such an insult."
He's starting to ramble.
Gu Xiaotang noticed something. "You accepted her challenge before?"
Zhou Lanxiang nodded somewhat ashamed, "I accepted, but I lost."
"A complete and utter defeat."
Otherwise, she wouldn't have cried so bitterly.
Gu Xiaotang didn't know how to comfort her. She thought for a moment and said, "It's already good enough that you accepted the challenge, Zhou Lanxiang."
This was a rare occasion in all the years they'd known each other, where they didn't argue but instead spoke to each other politely.
Because, to some extent, the two had always been competitors.
For a long time, Gu Xiaotang and Zhou Lanxiang didn't get along. Once, when Zhou Lanxiang tried to supervise her taking her medicine, Gu Xiaotang threw up in a fit of temper.
Gu Xiaotang thought Zhou Lanxiang would report her to Lin Rujuan, and she was prepared to accept the punishment, but unexpectedly, she didn't in the end.
However, their relationship only went as far as that.
We have never been as harmonious as we are now.
"Little Tang, you must defeat her!"
Zhou Lanxiang said through gritted teeth, "We can lose to anyone else, but we can't lose to those foreign devils."
Gu Xiaotang hummed in agreement and turned to look at Ekaterina.
Ekaterina was also looking at her. Seeing that Zhou Lanxiang regarded Gu Xiaotang as her pillar of support, she came over and asked, "Are you Meng?"
Zhou Lanxiang and the others spoke Chinese so fast that Ekaterina only understood half of it.
Gu Xiaotang was somewhat surprised, and she subconsciously looked at Meng Yingying.
Ekaterina instantly realized what she meant, her eyes narrowing. "You're not Meng, you must be that Tang guy?"
Clearly, in the short time she had been here, she had already distinguished between Meng Yingying and Gu Xiaotang.
Gu Xiaotang ignored her and walked over to Meng Yingying, calling out, "Senior Sister."
This is the first thing Gu Xiaotang, who has been resting in Harbin for three months, has learned.
If you're unsure what to do, ask your senior sister.
Meng Yingying was both amused and exasperated, while Yang Jie seemed to be deep in thought upon seeing this scene.
However, she did not disappoint Gu Xiaotang's expectations. She stood in front of Gu Xiaotang and reached out to Ekaterina, "Let's get acquainted, Meng Yingying."
If it were anyone else, Ekaterina would never have shaken hands with Meng Yingying, but it just so happens that it was Meng Yingying.
She was somewhat wary, because in Arkhipova's words, Meng Yingying was a rare genius.
So, Ekaterina did reach out after all, "Ekaterina."
Meng Yingying hummed in agreement. "You want to challenge our National Ballet of China?"
Ekaterina nodded. "It's me, it's just that the people here aren't very good."
She was very tall and fair-skinned, with a large frame, deep-set eyes, and golden hair.
To be honest, Ekaterina's appearance was undoubtedly superior, but she was too tall and had a large frame.
Actually, I'm not really suited to ballet.
Hearing Ekaterina's words, Meng Yingying was not angry. Instead, she remained calm and said, "You use your genius level to challenge our ordinary students. Naturally, you think our students are not good enough."
"Similarly, if I were to go to the Soviet Union for an exchange program and challenge your school with my level of expertise, even the most ordinary students would be considered trash by me."
That's really blunt.
Ekaterina's expression changed instantly. "You're humiliating us."
Meng Yingying nodded readily in acknowledgment, "Didn't you humiliate us first?"
"There is an old Chinese saying that goes, 'He who insults others will be insulted in return.'"
Ekaterina didn't understand, but she felt it wasn't a kind remark.
Yang Jie, who was standing nearby, breathed a sigh of relief after Meng Yingying returned, watching as Meng Yingying and Ekaterina confronted each other.
Yang Jie not only didn't stop him, but was actually quite pleased. This child was really something; he came back and stood up for everyone.
Of course, no matter how happy she was inside, Yang Jie still showed no expression on her face. She said to Jian Qian, "Meng has always been like this. She only respects people with ability, so she speaks a bit bluntly. Jian, please don't take it personally."
Ekaterina couldn't understand Meng Yingying's last sentence, but Jane had dealt with them for over twenty years and naturally could.
Jane didn't look too good, but after all, they were the ones who started it first.
So he had no choice but to hold back and said, "Let the children start the competition."
Yang Jie smiled and hummed in agreement before calling Meng Yingying over. "Yingying, what kind of dance do you plan to perform?"
At this point, she casually added, "Lina comes from the Royal Ballet, and she is best known for Swan Lake."
Meng Yingying went to see Ekaterina, who had her chin raised and looked very arrogant.
Meng Yingying smiled, "Then I'll dance Swan Lake too."
She changed the subject, her tone tinged with malice, "It would be a wonderful thing if I danced Swan Lake to defeat you."
This was the first time Meng Yingying had shown a ruthless side.
Ekaterina's expression changed.
Before she could even react.
Meng Yingying pointed to the stage, her expression calm, and said, "Let's begin—"
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Author's note: No extra update tonight. My hand hurts terribly, I need to put on some ointment and rest.
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