Chapter 73 The Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers Shocks the Entire Audience...
Chapter 73
As the program ended, Meng Yingying stood up from her seat. Before she could move, Ye Yingtao next to her was so nervous that she was trembling. She grabbed Meng Yingying's hand and comforted her, "Yingying, if you're nervous, don't look at them. Look at me."
"I'll make funny faces at you then, so don't be nervous."
Clearly, Shen Qiuyue's desertion and Chen Xiaoxiao's constant mistakes have put immense pressure on everyone.
Keep in mind that two contestants were eliminated directly.
Meng Yingying took the stage under this immense pressure.
Meng Yingying took a deep breath, looked down at Ye Yingtao, and comforted her, "Yingtao, don't pinch me. I'm not nervous. Let me go. I want to go on stage."
Ye Yingtao then realized that she had been too nervous, grabbing Meng Yingying's hand and not letting her leave, which prevented her from going on stage to perform.
Ye Yingtao abruptly let go of her hand, "I'm so sorry, Yingying."
Meng Yingying shook her head. She looked down and saw Lin Qiu and Coach Zhao. Even Li Shaoqing and Jiang Li looked at her with some concern.
At that moment, all the infighting within the cultural troupe vanished instantly, leaving only worry, tension, and fear.
They were afraid that Meng Yingying would follow the same path as Shen Qiuyue and Chen Xiaoxiao.
Meng Yingying glanced at them one by one, and finally shook her head, "Wait for my good news."
She left her seat and walked towards the side path. Her back looked somewhat frail, but her steps were firm, filled with unwavering courage.
The previously noisy audience seats fell silent, and everyone's eyes turned to look at them.
"Will she be like Shen Qiuyue?"
"I don't know, but Shen Qiuyue is a professional performing arts troupe member. She has participated in so many competitions, and she made a fool of herself on stage this time. As for Meng Yingying, I don't think it's easy to say."
"I heard that Meng Yingying was not a child who grew up in the cultural troupe. Instead, she spent three years in the propaganda team before being accepted into the cultural troupe."
"So, in total, she's only been learning dance for three years?"
"Yes, and he's from an unorthodox background. You know, propaganda teams are places that only recruit promising talents that even performing arts troupes wouldn't consider."
"If that's the case, then I think Meng Yingying is in a bit of a predicament. She's not a professional, has little stage experience, and she's performing a dance called 'Fairy Scattering Flowers,' which is far beyond her current abilities. In my opinion, if she gets nervous on stage, she might not even be as good as Shen Qiuyue."
Upon hearing this, Shen Qiuyue suddenly looked up, her face still wet with tears, her expression filled with surprise and uncertainty.
Even a darker thought crept into his mind.
If Meng Yingying could also embarrass herself on stage, wouldn't she be less shameful?
Moreover, she could also give an explanation to her teacher and Commander Cao.
It turns out she wasn't the only one who embarrassed herself on stage.
Even Meng Yingying is one of them.
Unfortunately, Shen Qiuyue dared not let anyone know her thoughts. She could only watch helplessly as Meng Yingying walked from the audience to the back of the stage.
Calm and composed, looking straight ahead, quietly waiting for the announcement to begin.
At least from her appearance, Meng Yingying showed no signs of nervousness or unease.
Shen Qiuyue bit her lip and murmured, "With so much pressure and so many people, aren't you nervous?"
Unfortunately, no one could answer her.
The judges' panel next door.
Yang Jie watched the whole thing from beginning to end, or rather, she had already started paying attention to Meng Yingying before the program even started.
This was a rare off-topic remark she made during her time on the judging panel: "Meng Yingying has good stage presence."
For dancers, if they don't have good stage presence, it's difficult for them to perform at their best.
This is the biggest disadvantage.
You may work incredibly hard and put in a tremendous amount of effort on a regular basis, but if you get nervous on stage, all your previous efforts will be wasted.
For performers, the most important thing is those ten minutes or half an hour on stage.
When Director He saw Yang Jie praising Meng Yingying, she quickly decided to do her a favor, saying, "Meng Yingying is indeed very talented."
Seeing that Yang Jie was interested, Director He slowly revealed, "I checked her background. She's from Xiangshi. She stayed in the propaganda team for three years. After her father passed away, she had no choice but to come to the station to seek refuge with her childhood sweetheart. It's just a pity that her childhood sweetheart entrusted her to the wrong person. She ended up in the Harbin Cultural Troupe by some twist of fate."
Hearing this, Yang Jie frowned slightly.
Director He knew that she was dissatisfied with Meng Yingying's childhood betrothal partner, so she continued, "However, that childhood betrothal partner wasn't all bad. After she broke off the engagement with him, she got a spot in the cultural troupe's assessment."
At this point, He Changcai revealed the key point: "She only joined the Harbin Municipal Art Troupe in June, and by the end of July, she led the Harbin Municipal Art Troupe to win the championship in the preliminary round of the Heilongjiang Provincial Art Troupe competition."
"She didn't win in just one event, but in the team event she tied for first place and won in the individual event she was far ahead of the others. At that time, her score was almost far ahead of everyone else."
"Teacher Yang, now that you've heard this, you should know what I'm going to say."
"You've probably heard about the Harbin Art Troupe's strength in Changsha. They've been at the bottom for years, and in previous years they even ranked last in the preliminaries. Let alone participating in the Northeast China League, I can say frankly that this is almost unprecedented in the nineteen years since the Harbin Art Troupe was founded."
Yang Jie's eyes flickered slightly as she looked at Meng Yingying on the stage. "You mean, it's because of her?"
Her skin was very fair and delicate, and her eyes were bright and clear. Sitting on the judges' panel, she looked more like a contestant than a judge.
Director He nodded. "It's her."
“I reviewed the entire preliminary round process. The Harbin Art Troupe was able to win both the team and individual championships without Meng Yingying. The same goes for the Jilin Art Troupe. They should have been the champions in this year's preliminary rounds, but they lost completely because they encountered Meng Yingying.”
"Three months."
Director He's tone was somewhat complicated. "It only took three months for Meng Yingying to join the performing arts troupe and then fight her way into the league."
"In just three months, it turned everything upside down for all the participating teams."
"First there was Su Mingda, then Shen Qiuyue, Chen Xiaoxiao, and even Shen Meilan, all because they felt that Meng Yingying's talent was too strong, which forced her to change the category on the spot."
At this point, Director He himself fell silent. "Teacher Yang, Meng Yingying is a prodigy."
This was the result of her observation over three months. In fact, one reason she notified all the teams to enter the training camp a month in advance was to observe Meng Yingying beforehand.
She wanted to see how Meng Yingying performed in the training camp.
Then, the more I observed, the more alarmed I became.
The more I observed, the more I felt that Shen Qiuyue's defeat was truly deserved. Meng Yingying was, in essence, the kind of person who grew stronger when faced with a stronger opponent.
In the last preliminary round, she danced an abridged version of The Red Detachment of Women, but this time she danced directly to The Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers.
After listening, Yang Jie's eyes grew brighter and brighter. She tapped her fingers on the table, but her gaze was fixed intently on the stage. "I like eccentric geniuses."
There are many geniuses, but few eccentric geniuses.
Seeing her like this, Director He knew that his words had not been in vain.
She then looked at Meng Yingying standing behind the stage. She thought, the three northeastern provinces have been silent for too long, so long that no one in the capital can get in.
If Meng Yingying can win Yang Jie's favor, and under her guidance, they could break into the capital's inner circle.
Does that mean that all dance troupes in Northeast China can change their ways?
They desperately need their people in the Capital Dance Company.
Let's help resolve their current predicament.
On stage, Meng Yingying was quietly counting the beats. This was a habit she had developed in her past life. The bigger the stage, the more she would wait for those three minutes before going on stage.
That's when she's at her most peaceful.
Only by remaining calm during those three minutes can she ensure that she can perform at her best on stage.
When she counted to one hundred and three, the announcement on the radio started again.
—Contestant number five, Meng Yingying, please prepare to enter the stage.
As soon as the announcer finished speaking, all the lights in the theater went out instantly, as if someone had suddenly drawn the curtain of night.
Immediately afterwards, a long, drawn-out note from a banhu broke the silence, and the lamplight suddenly cast a bright white circle, illuminating the curtain that was turned to the side.
Meng Yingying raised her hand and lifted the side curtain, and the light naturally enveloped her.
She was wearing a moon-white short-sleeved dance costume, with a two-zhang-long thin silk ribbon tied around her waist. The ribbon was bright red and eye-catching, and it was being dragged softly on the spring pine wood floor, ruffled by the wind.
Just as everyone was holding their breath, Meng Yingying slightly raised her chin, her toes lightly touched the ground, and like a kite lifted by the wind, she instantly floated into the center of the stage.
The scene fell silent instantly, and everyone was amazed.
When Meng Yingying first appeared, she was like a fairy from the Jade Pool, ethereal and otherworldly.
When the second note of the banhu (a two-stringed bowed instrument) sounded in the Changchun Film Studio's band, the cymbals were lightly struck, producing a clear sound with a metallic resonance.
Meng Yingying didn't rush to make an appearance. Instead, she let her arms hang naturally, with two long strips of thin red silk trailing on the ground.
She stood quietly, waiting for the soft sound of the suona, which instantly suppressed the banhu and cymbals, and the prelude began to rise.
Meng Yingying first took small, quick steps on her toes, then slightly flicked her wrist, and the red silk on her wrist came to life!
She swept the two-zhang-long red silk ribbon along the ground into a semicircle, then lifted it into the air, softly flipping it over, resembling a long dragon with flowing sleeves.
It shimmered with silver threads under the light, its red was dazzling, and its brightness was blinding.
The old suona player in the audience couldn't help but squint as he looked at the stage with a hint of shock.
This is the "Auspicious Clouds Prelude" from the "Celestial Maiden Scattering Flowers" aria. It hasn't been performed for nearly twenty years. Does anyone dare to jump on it today?
The others couldn't help but sit up straight; the laymen watch the spectacle, the experts see the details.
Director Liu exclaimed in surprise, "Auspicious Clouds Guiding the Way? This is Auspicious Clouds Guiding the Way?"
This is also the most difficult part to get started with. Two zhang of thin silk, which is five meters long, is difficult to swing while simultaneously coordinating with soft dance steps. It's harder than climbing to heaven.
If the thin silk is too long, the wrist strength is insufficient; if too much force is applied, the body will become too rigid.
Many people who wanted to perform the "Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers" dance eventually gave up because they couldn't draw out the auspicious clouds.
Director He felt that Director Liu's appearance was somewhat embarrassing, while looking at Teacher Yang Jie, her figure remained unchanged from beginning to end.
She couldn't help but snap at him, "Sit down and keep watching."
Director Liu then awkwardly sat back down in his seat.
Only then did he concentrate on watching the stage again.
On the stage, under the white lights, Meng Yingying took ten quick steps around the stage. Suddenly, she did a somersault, her body swirling in the air like a kite caught in the wind, while the red silk in her hand remained perfectly still, drawing circles close to the ground.
The next instant, she touched the ground with her toes, and her hands quickly flipped out from behind her back, the silk being shaken open in a flash.
With a gentle press of her wrist, the silk ribbon drooped softly, coiling into a cloud at her feet, as if she were truly stepping on an auspicious cloud.
Now it was Director He's turn to sit up straight, the pen tip drawing a long line across the evaluation form.
She herself forgot not to get excited.
Director Liu, who was standing next to him, muttered to himself, "Director He, don't get agitated."
—To avoid losing face.
Director He glared at him angrily, "Shut up!"
I disturbed her from watching the competition on stage.
Director Liu, "..."
I could only look at the stage with a sense of grievance. At that moment, the banhu, gongba, and suola, three instruments, rose together in a lively rhythm.
Meng Yingying stepped on the clouds on the ground and glided out in a flash. She murmured, "First fall—".
As soon as he finished speaking, his left wrist sank, and the red silk swished across the ground, circling halfway.
"Second fall!"
With a flick of her right wrist and a hook of her fingertips, another ribbon shot out from behind her. The two red ribbons collided in mid-air with a soft snap before separating again.
Even the old suona player in the audience couldn't help but squint and mutter under his breath, "She hooked her wrist cleanly, this girl has a really strong hand."
"The third fall—" Meng Yingying shouted these three words.
She suddenly lowered her body, stood on her toes, and simultaneously straightened her knees, her whole body like a bowstring, instantly stretched to its limit. But that wasn't all; she also pressed down with both hands at the same time.
Two red ribbons swelled up instantly on her chest, like clouds being kneaded by the wind and then bursting open with a "poof".
Immediately afterwards, paper flowers burst out from between her fingers, red silk supporting white paper and gold flakes, which, when illuminated by the light, made the whole stage look like it was covered in snow.
The scene fell silent instantly.
Yang Jie, who had remained unmoved in the front row of the judges' panel, suddenly sat up straight, her fingers unconsciously tapping the table as she muttered, "Three hand movements—scattering flowers in the clouds, the hand shape is right, the height is right too!"
He Chang suddenly looked over, then looked back at the stage, "She has successfully executed the 'Three-Handed Cloud Scattering Flowers' technique."
"And it's such a perfect standard."
The adjacent audience seats.
Ye Yingtao grabbed Lin Qiu's hand nervously, her nails digging into her flesh. "Yingying, Yingying, how come her silk is more obedient than mine?"
Lin Qiu was also stunned, and subconsciously replied, "Because that's Yingying."
Because it was Meng Yingying, everything seemed to become normal again.
Coach Zhao was also on tenterhooks, "Yingying did the first two moves very well, only the most difficult part, the thirty-two whip spins, is left."
If she can also handle the thirty-two whip spins, then she's almost guaranteed a win.
While everyone was excited and nervous, Shen Qiuyue hid at the very back, staring intently at the stage, thinking, "How can Meng Yingying dance so well?"
"How come she's not nervous at all?"
Chen Xiaoxiao, who was hiding in the shadows like a rat, said, "That's because she's a genius."
It was at this moment that Chen Xiaoxiao realized how terrifying Meng Yingying was.
No wonder Commander Cao and Su Mingda tried to drive Meng Yingying out of the competition. But they failed and could only watch as Meng Yingying advanced triumphantly.
“No, she’s still missing the most difficult thirty-two whip spins.” Shen Qiuyue didn’t believe it. She murmured, “It’s not the end yet. I don’t believe she can pull off that move.”
That's something even her teacher couldn't do.
On stage, the sounds of the banhu and gong gradually faded away, leaving only the increasingly loud sound of the suona, which almost dominated the entire auditorium.
As Meng Yingying stepped to the high-pitched rhythm of the suona, she lightly touched the ground with her toes, as if nailing herself into the floor, and then suddenly twisted her body.
"Thirty-two laps—"
Meng Yingying murmured to herself, her voice even steadyer than the beat of a drum.
One circle, two circles, three circles.
She clenched the red silk into two straight lines, like the horns of a red dragon being held by the head. With each turn, the end of the red silk would wrap around her head once.
The lights followed, and the red silk and silver threads intertwined, forming a luminous ring above her head.
Director Liu dared not shout, and he muttered restrainedly, "The shoulders didn't sway, the hips didn't move, the axis is so stable it's unbelievable."
Director He heard this, but unusually, he ignored him and instead focused intently on the figure on the stage.
She could no longer distinguish between the human figure and the red silk; they were intertwined, indistinguishable.
"Ten laps!" Lin Qiu held Ye Yingtao's hand tightly from below the stage, repeating repeatedly, "Ten laps already! Yingying has spun around ten times, and she's not even out of breath!"
Ye Yingtao gritted her teeth, "Don't shake, don't shake, I want to count!"
Sixteen laps later, Meng Yingying suddenly squatted down, her knees almost touching the ground, but then instantly stood up, as if someone had snapped a folding fan shut and then flung it open again.
The red ribbon stopped abruptly, then swung violently, making a whooshing sound, crisper than a bell.
Judge He Chang abruptly stood up from her chair, peering ahead to get a better look. "Sixteen laps in the mud? Is this kid crazy?!"
And the craziest thing yet was yet to come.
Twenty-four laps.
Meng Yingying spread her arms wide, her toes like nails, firmly planted on the floor, her trouser legs stretched into a full moon shape by centrifugal force.
Every time she spun around, the drummer from the Changchun Film Studio would slam his cymbals down with a bang, the sound synchronized with her heels, sending shivers down everyone's spines.
Tong Jialan, sitting in the audience, turned pale, her fingers unconsciously clenching her clothes, muttering softly, "Turning thirty-two times with a silk ribbon—I can float after twenty-eight turns, how did she do that?"
Unfortunately, no one answered.
Everyone stared intently at the stage.
Thirty-two laps.
Finally, after thirty-two laps, Meng Yingying stomped her foot hard on the ground and froze instantly with a snap. The red ribbon continued to slowly swirl in the air, as if two red dragons had been suddenly grabbed by their vital points, and then slowly fell down.
She maintained the posture of spreading her wings against the wind, and beads of sweat dripped from her chin to the tips of her shoes, quickly disappearing.
The entire audience was silent for three seconds, then burst into applause, like a drop of water falling into hot oil, creating a lively, surging sound.
Ye Yingtao cried her heart out, wiping away her tears as she tugged at Lin Qiu, crying, "Look, look! That's our Yingying! Our Yingying!"
"She really spun around 32 times, without missing a single one, without making a single mistake."
Lin Qiu's face flushed with excitement. "I saw it! I saw it!"
Her voice trembled, "Yingying danced so perfectly, so perfectly."
Shen Meilan watched the whole thing from beginning to end. She felt a sense of crisis and almost reflexively looked towards the judges' panel.
I wanted to glean even the slightest bit of information from the judges' faces.
Yang Jie, who had remained calm on the judging panel, also stood up. Her eyes were fixed on the stage, following Meng Yingying's figure. She unconsciously said, "Thirty-two loops with a long silk ribbon, stable axis, even speed, clean release and recovery—she is indeed a prodigy!"
"Moreover, Meng Yingying's 'Scattering Flowers' dance is almost a textbook example."
As soon as he said that, the judges' panel and the audience fell silent.
Upon hearing this, Shen Meilan's face turned pale instantly.
If Meng Yingying's "Scattering Flowers Under the Heavenly Maiden" dance is a textbook template, then what about her?
She previously danced Evergreen Pointing the Way and got 9.9 points, so what does that count for?
He Chang knew that Meng Yingying danced well, but she didn't expect Yang Jie to give her such high praise. She almost reflexively glanced at Shen Meilan before looking away.
He asked Yang Jie in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft.
"Teacher Yang, since Meng Yingying danced so well, what score do you think would be appropriate?"
Sister Yang hesitated for a moment, her gaze following Meng Yingying's figure. After thinking for a while, she gave a conservative score, "I give it 9.9 points."
This was the highest score Yang Jie had given since she entered the competition, but they didn't know that it was already an extremely conservative score.
The scene was completely silent.
Even the judges' panel was included.
"Teacher Yang, if you give it 9.9, how much should we give it?"
If Yang Jie, who came from the National Ballet of China, gave such a high score, how could they possibly give it any more?
Yang Jie glanced at them.
"Just follow the season's scores, you don't need to refer to my scores. A thousand people will have a thousand different ways of judging."
"You don't need to consider me."
His tone was very calm and casual.
However, this immediately increased everyone's pressure.
Director He took the lead, saying, "I give Meng Yingying a perfect 'Fairy Scattering Flowers' dance, I give her ten points."
Director Liu also said, "I have never seen anyone dance better than Meng Yingying, so I would give her a perfect score."
"She deserves it all."
Everyone looked at Judge Li and Judge Zhang, who exchanged a glance and both said, "I give them ten points."
"I can't find any flaws either."
Judge Li said, "Since you all give ten points, I will follow Teacher Yang's example and give nine points. I will give one point less because I am afraid that Meng Yingying will become too proud."
Hearing this, everyone laughed.
"Write down all the scores, and I'll go on stage and sing them out."
In a short while, the scores were all written down, but just before going on stage, Director He suddenly changed his mind, "Teacher Yang, how about you give Meng Yingying a score?"
She was initially testing the waters, thinking that if Yang Jie didn't agree, so be it, since Yang Jie really didn't like getting involved in these kinds of things.
Director He was prepared to be rejected, but to his surprise, Yang Jie nodded and agreed, "I'll go up and sing the part."
He Chuzhang, "..."
Director He watched as Yang Jie, carrying the score sheet, walked towards the stage. She waved lightly towards the bustling stage, "Now, let's announce Comrade Meng Yingying's score—"
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Author's note: I thought I would post it ahead of time. After all, I got up at six in the morning to write, thinking that I could definitely finish it in five and a half hours. But this chapter has too many professional action scenes, so I wrote it very slowly and ended up being late again.
I'm bowing to everyone. I gave out red envelopes in the last chapter!
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