Chapter 74 Winning the Championship
Chapter 74
The moment those words were spoken, the room fell silent.
Everyone held their breath and focused intently.
Meng Yingying followed suit and looked over. She had just come off the stage and was covered in sweat from a long dance, her breathing becoming rapid.
Ye Yingtao, standing nearby, asked instinctively, "Yingying, what score would they give you?"
Meng Yingying shook her head, her face still flushed with an unnatural redness. She shook her head and said softly, "I don't know either."
All she knew was that she had perfected the "Celestial Maiden Scattering Flowers" dance.
Her best dance in her past life was unfortunately broken by a ligament injury, preventing her from performing it again in this life.
They picked it up again.
"I feel it's definitely not low."
Lin Qiu said this, glancing at the judges' panel, and said in a low voice, "You didn't see that when Yingying finished dancing the 'Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers' routine, even Teacher Yang Jie, who had been expressionless the whole time, stood up excitedly."
"And, didn't you see? She even gave Yingying a score. She didn't give Shen Qiuyue and Chen Xiaoxiao scores before, but she gave Yingying a score."
At this point, Lin Qiu's eyes lit up, "She also promised He Changshang that she would announce Yingying's score."
"I feel like she definitely likes our Yingying."
Everyone in the Harbin Cultural Troupe was incredibly untalented, and Coach Zhao was also an honest man, so under these circumstances...
They had almost no knowledge of the resources available to them from higher authorities.
Not only could they not reach the capital, but they were also somewhat unclear about the current situation.
Why would Commander Cao go to such great lengths and pay such a high price to send Shen Qiuyue to be a substitute in this Northeast China League?
As a member of the Capital Song and Dance Troupe's youth team, Shen Meilan's status and rank are clearly higher than those in this competition, so why is she participating in this kind of competition?
It's obvious there's a greater benefit involved, but none of them know it.
Thinking of this, Lin Qiu whispered, "Yingying, I hope you win the championship, and I hope you take the lead."
That way, more people will be able to see Yingying's good qualities.
Meng Yingying didn't speak, but gently held Lin Qiu's hand. She realized that whether it was Coach Zhao, Lin Qiu, or Ye Yingtao, they were all very close.
Each of them was doing everything they could to think of themselves.
"We don't know the scores yet," Meng Yingying comforted her. "Just wait and see when they're announced on stage."
Lin Qiu nodded and looked at Teacher Yang Jie on the stage, who was holding the scoring sheet in her hand. She gently raised her hand, and the audience immediately fell silent.
"I know everyone is eagerly awaiting Comrade Meng Yingying's score."
"I'm looking forward to it too."
"Come on, scorekeeper." Yang Jie glanced at the scorekeeper below the stage. "Has the tally been completed?"
It turned out that what she was holding was a rating sheet, which only showed the scores given, but the total scores had not yet been tallied.
The people who actually tally the scores are the scorekeepers.
When Ms. Yang Jie called her name on the spot, the scorekeeper's face turned red instantly. She nodded and hurriedly ran to hand the score to the stage.
Yang Jie took the document, glanced at it, and immediately knew her score. She then called out to Meng Yingying in the audience, "Comrade Meng, have you guessed what your score is?"
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the interview with Meng Yingying began.
Fortunately, Meng Yingying was not intimidated. She stood up, thought for a moment, and said, "I've guessed."
"You guessed it perfectly."
"However, as everyone knows, it was just a dream I had this morning. When I woke up, I found that I hadn't even been on the field yet."
His humorous tone instantly caused the audience to burst into laughter.
"I didn't realize Comrade Meng had such a humorous side."
Even Yang Jie on stage was amused and laughed a bit. "However, this isn't a dream, it's reality."
"Your score is not much different from a perfect score."
Everyone was shocked and turned to look at the stage.
"Since everyone is curious, I won't keep you in suspense any longer."
"Comrade Meng Yingying's score, after removing the highest score of 10 and the lowest score of 9.9, is finally 9.99."
The scene fell silent for three seconds, then erupted in a thunderous applause.
"Meng Yingying!"
"Meng Yingying!"
"Meng Yingying!"
"My goodness! 9.99! What's the difference between that and a perfect score?"
"0.09 points higher than Shen Meilan, that's terrifying! I thought Shen Meilan had the highest score. When she got 9.9, everyone thought Shen Meilan's championship was in the bag. But Meng Yingying suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and her score was even higher than Shen Meilan's!"
"I knew it! Meng Yingying only trained in the local propaganda team for three years, yet she was able to join the performing arts troupe and even make it from the preliminaries to the league. She's incredibly talented, and she deserves to be number one!"
"She deserves to win first place. You didn't say that before she went on stage. You said Shen Meilan was definitely going to win."
The other person smiled awkwardly.
The atmosphere at the scene was reaching its peak.
Ye Yingtao jumped up with a loud shout, tears and snot streaming down her face, "Yingying! Our Yingying is the champion of the Northeast Three Provinces League!"
Lin Qiu was calmer than her, but her eyes also reddened. She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted at the stage, "Meng Yingying from the Harbin Art Troupe has won first place in the individual competition!"
Director He couldn't sit still any longer. She stood up, gave Meng Yingying a thumbs-up, and said in a low voice, but couldn't hide her excitement, "We haven't seen anything like this in the three northeastern provinces for over a decade. I've stumbled upon it today!"
After nodding, Director Liu and Coach Zhou patted each other on the shoulder, saying, "This time, we can finally stand tall in front of the capital!"
"Well—" they said, glancing subtly in Shen Meilan's direction, "thankfully the championship wasn't snatched by the students from the capital, otherwise where would we, the three northeastern provinces, put our faces?"
Shen Meilan, who had been the subject of much discussion, turned pale, even ugly. She hadn't expected that Meng Yingying would surpass her high score.
Her breathing was a little rapid.
She didn't win first place, does she still have a chance?
For the first time, Shen Meilan felt somewhat lost. She had given up her comfortable life in the capital to come to this place to participate in the league, all for the sake of that reward.
But now, the championship she had won has been snatched away.
But these people didn't seem to intend to let her go, and their voices grew louder and louder.
Yang Jie, who was on stage, then invited, "Our champion, Comrade Meng Yingying, our runner-up, Comrade Shen Meilan, and our third-place winner, Comrade Tong Jialan, to come up on stage."
As soon as she heard this, Meng Yingying stood up and prepared to go on stage.
Although Shen Meilan was unhappy, she had no choice but to go on stage at this point.
As for Tong Jialan, winning third place was an unexpected surprise for her, and she ran up there without being invited.
Shen Qiuyue, who was hiding behind the auditorium door, turned pale when she saw this scene. "Meng Yingying won the championship?"
"How did she win the championship?"
She shouldn't be like her and Chen Xiaoxiao, being suppressed to the point of being unable to breathe by Shen Meilan from the capital, right?
Shouldn't we avoid making mistakes on stage and ultimately having to give up the competition?
But no, there was nothing.
Meng Yingying was not only unaffected by Shen Meilan, but she also delivered an outstanding performance on stage.
I got a high score of 9.9.
Meng Yingying won the championship.
She was eliminated.
Such a cruel reality was hard for Shen Qiuyue to accept. She stood there trembling, watching Meng Yingying walk onto the stage.
"Make way."
Shen Qiuyue was crying when she suddenly heard a sound behind her. She instinctively turned around and saw Qi Donghan standing there, about to go inside.
Shen Qiuyue choked on her sob, "Commander Qi?"
When did he arrive?
Qi Donghan's gaze wasn't on her, but on the stage, closely following Meng Yingying's back. He repeated, "Make way."
Shen Qiuyue and Chen Xiaoxiao had been standing at the door for quite some time.
The man's aura was too strong, and his voice was cold and sharp, like an icicle in the dead of winter, revealing a bit of sharpness.
Before Shen Qiuyue could react, Chen Xiaoxiao instinctively stepped aside.
After Qi Donghan passed by, Chen Xiaoxiao asked her in a low voice, "Do you know him?"
Shen Qiuyue nodded hesitantly.
"He's been here for a long time, watching from the doorway, but he's so intimidating that I don't dare to speak."
Otherwise, Chen Xiaoxiao would have had everyone leave long ago.
Shen Qiuya remained silent.
Looking at Qi Donghan's tall, imposing, and handsome figure, Chen Xiaoxiao couldn't help but ask Shen Qiuyue, "Who is he?"
Who are you looking for?
He doesn't look like an ordinary person.
Shen Qiuyue knew who he was looking for, but she didn't answer. She just gazed at Meng Yingying on the stage from afar.
She felt that her life seemed to have started to rot after Meng Yingying appeared.
On stage.
Meng Yingying walked from the side aisle to the stage. This was the second time she had stood on the stage to receive an award since she came here.
As soon as she came up, Yang Jie reached out her hand to her, "Meng Yingying."
She smiled, and although she looked very young, her eyes were exceptionally kind.
Meng Yingying looked at it strangely, and nodded, "Teacher Yang."
The sound is also very clear.
This made Yang Jie like it even more. "Once everyone is here, I'll present the awards to the three of you together."
No sooner had she said that than Shen Meilan and Tong Jialan came up.
At this moment, the champion, runner-up, and third-place winner were all present.
With outsiders entering, Yang Jie's attitude became more businesslike, revealing her usual indifference: "Now that everyone is here, I, Yang Jie, will present you with the awards today."
Meng Yingying and the others nodded and lined up in order.
Yang Jie glanced behind the curtain, and soon the backstage crew brought up the certificates and prizes.
The certificates also listed the names of the champion, third place, and runner-up.
Yang Jie first received the championship certificate. She walked up to Meng Yingying and handed her the certificate herself, saying, "Meng Yingying, congratulations on winning the championship of the Northeast Three Provinces Joint Performance."
Meng Yingying accepted the certificate with both hands, smiled, and said, "Thank you, Teacher Yang, for presenting me with this award."
He was very humble, showing no arrogance or pride whatsoever after winning the championship.
This made Yang Jie think even more highly of her.
From the audience, Coach Zhao watched Meng Yingying holding the trophy. She secretly wiped away her tears, then smiled again, "My student Yingying has won the championship."
Although she was just an accomplice, once she went out, everyone would say that Meng Yingying was her student.
Standing on the steps of the auditorium, Qi Donghan's gaze was also fixed on Meng Yingying, who stood on the stage, holding a trophy, just like when she danced before.
It was radiant!
On stage, Meng Yingying seemed to sense something. She looked up and subconsciously glanced at the corner of the auditorium's staircase.
Sure enough, I saw a familiar figure in that place.
Meng Yingying was somewhat surprised, "Qi Donghan?"
When did he arrive?
Although Qi Donghan had said he would stay, he also had his own mission and naturally couldn't follow Meng Yingying around all the time.
Their eyes met.
Across the surging crowd, Qi Donghan smiled at her, his eyes filled with an intense and unwavering tenderness.
"Yingying, you're amazing."
The silent words were understood by Meng Yingying, and she smiled at him with her lips pursed.
Yang Jie pulled her back to reality, "Meng Yingying, do you have an acceptance speech after winning the championship?"
Curious, she followed Meng Yingying's direction and looked towards the stairs, but when she looked over, there was nothing there.
Yang Jie withdrew her gaze and focused intently on Meng Yingying, awaiting her acceptance speech.
Holding the certificate, Meng Yingying stood in the bright halo, her sweat-dampened hair clinging to her forehead, but it couldn't hide the light in her eyes.
She bowed deeply to the audience, her voice not loud, but clear enough for everyone to hear.
"Thank you to the judges, thank you to my coach and teammates, and thank you to my opponents—you pushed me to my limit so that I could perform the best 'Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers' dance of my life."
These words brought joy to some and sorrow to others.
Coach Zhao and the others all started clapping.
Ye Yingtao was so excited that she stood on her chair, clapping her hands and saying to Lin Qiu, "Did you hear that? Yingying said thank you to us."
After saying that, she didn't seem to expect Lin Qiu to reply, so she cupped her hands into a megaphone shape and shouted at the stage, "Meng Yingying, it's us who thank you."
"It was you who showed us a different outcome."
The Harbin Cultural Troupe has always been at the bottom of the rankings. From top to bottom, everyone is lying flat and they are ridiculed very much. But Meng Yingying exists.
I took them to different places to see the scenery.
Ye Yingtao's voice was sharp and piercing, making it hard for Meng Yingying on stage not to hear it. She smiled and said, "That's because we complemented each other."
Seeing this, Yang Jie thought to herself, "It's rare to find contestants and teammates with such a good relationship."
In her previous mindset, most people were in a competitive relationship, and while it was possible to have a good relationship, the chances were slim.
"Teacher Yang."
Seeing that Yang Jie's gaze was fixed on Meng Yingying, Shen Meilan whispered a reminder.
Yang Jie snapped out of her daze and handed her the runner-up certificate. "Shen Meilan, don't be discouraged. You also danced very well, but you encountered a genius."
Seeing that Shen Meilan remained silent, Yang Jie understood that she was dissatisfied with Meng Yingying's reputation as a genius.
She simply gave a calm example: "Would you disagree with Gu Xiaotang of the National Ballet of China?"
Shen Meilan murmured, "How could Meng Yingying possibly compare to Gu Xiaotang?"
Gu Xiaotang is the most talented among their younger generation; everyone says she is taking over Yang Jie's mantle.
Eleven years after Yang Jie left the National Ballet of China, a successor was finally found.
"She can't compare to Gu Xiaotang. Gu Xiaotang has practiced dancing for seventeen years, while Meng Yingying has only practiced for three years."
“Shen Meilan, you are different from them. You have seen the dance competition of the capital’s geniuses. In your opinion, who danced better, Meng Yingying’s ‘Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers’ or Gu Xiaotang’s or Han Mingbing’s?”
This question stumped Shen Meilan.
Shen Meilan remained silent because she could not answer.
To be honest, the dance Meng Yingying performed, "The Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers," was almost on par with, and arguably just as good as, the one Gu Xiaotang had performed before.
"Look, if it weren't Meng Yingying who won today, but Gu Xiaotang, would you still be so dissatisfied?"
Shen Meilan bit her lip and murmured, "Teacher Yang, they are different."
Gu Xiaotang was a genius in Beijing's elite circle from a young age, and everyone considered her to be among the best.
This is an undeniable fact.
In fact, if Gu Xiaotang won the championship, she wouldn't even have the courage to say a word, let alone feel resentful.
"You look down on Meng Yingying, thinking she's from a small town, while Gu Xiaotang was born a genius from the capital, right?"
Shen Meilan looked at Meng Yingying hesitantly, and after a while, she nodded, "Yes."
People in the capital are proud, and she was no exception. In fact, if it weren't for the special reward, she would never have come to such a small place to participate in the competition.
"But you forgot."
Yang Jie spoke calmly and pointed out a fact: "Gu Xiaotang was able to become a genius because the Central Ballet Troupe nurtured her with resources little by little, but what about Meng Yingying?"
Do you think Meng Yingying has this resource?
Upon hearing this question, Shen Meilan's face instantly turned pale. "No."
She said, her voice trembling slightly.
"Yes, Meng Yingying not only didn't have any formal training, but she also hadn't formally studied at all. She had only been with the Harbin Art Troupe for three months, and in those three months she had participated in two competitions. Without the guidance of a famous teacher or a good venue, she won first place in the individual competition every time."
"Shen Meilan, ask yourself honestly, how many of the top talents in the capital's dance circle can achieve this level?"
"Is Gu Xiaotang okay?"
"Is Han Mingbing okay?"
"Is He Canyang okay?"
With each name she asked, Shen Meilan's face grew paler; she knew it was wrong.
Whether it's Gu Xiaotang, Han Mingbing, or He Canyang.
They all received the best conditions, the best teachers, and the best environment from a young age, which is why they were considered geniuses in the industry.
But Meng Yingying had none of these things—
She came from a poor, remote place and made it into the league from the preliminaries in just three months.
Thinking of this, Shen Meilan couldn't help but tremble. At this moment, she even felt that Meng Yingying's talent was terrifying.
Because, all the geniuses in the entire capital combined don't possess her astonishing talent.
No wonder Yang Jie, who has been retired from the dance world for many years, waited until now to personally present Meng Yingying with the award.
It turns out that Ms. Yang Jie discovered a wild genius outside.
"Do you still feel resentful now?"
Yang Jie asked her.
Shen Meilan bit her lip and lowered her head without saying a word.
But judging from her expression, everyone knew she had given in.
Yang Jie smiled and said, "I know you're outwardly convinced but inwardly still not convinced. But ask yourself, if you officially joined the performing arts troupe for three months without any great teachers, could you perform the 'Scattering Flowers of the Heavenly Maidens' dance like this on your own?"
This time, Shen Meilan remained completely silent.
Because she knew she couldn't.
"You see, you can't do it, and you can't do it either."
"In my eyes, and in the eyes of everyone present, Meng Yingying's victory is well-deserved."
Yang Jie seemed to have said all she could say; she simply couldn't bear to see Shen Meilan, this promising talent, go astray.
She wasn't the most talented, but she was still quite good. She was a vibrant young woman in her early twenties with a bright future ahead of her.
She shouldn't have gone astray because of jealousy, which has never ruined her future.
After admonishing Shen Meilan, Yang Jie took the runner-up certificate and walked up to Tong Jialan. Tong Jialan almost reflexively said, "I'm convinced, I'm very convinced. In my eyes, Meng Yingying is the undisputed champion."
Hearing this, Yang Jie couldn't help but smile. "Yes, I can tell. You admire Meng Yingying a lot."
Her smile eased Tong Jialan's pressure somewhat. She glanced back at Meng Yingying before nodding, "Yes."
"Without her, I wouldn't have continued to participate in the competition, nor would I have been able to win the runner-up title."
Without Meng Yingying, she might not even exist in this world.
Yang Jie was surprised by her admiration for Meng Yingying and couldn't help but nod. "Young girls should indeed stick together for warmth, instead of slandering and being jealous of each other, thus ruining their lives."
There was clearly a hidden meaning in those words.
Or perhaps it was meant for Shen Qiuya and Chen Xiaoxiao in the audience.
Upon hearing this, the two women's expressions suddenly froze.
Unfortunately, Yang Jie only touched on the topic briefly. She walked to the center of the stage and said, "I know you are all very curious as to why the competition in this Northeast China League is so fierce."
"As a result, Commander Cao spent a lot of money to send Shen Qiuyue in as a substitute, and Su Mingda used dirty tricks to try to eliminate his competitors in advance."
“And—” Her gaze fell on Shen Meilan, “Why did Shen Meilan leave the capital city and travel thousands of miles to the three northeastern provinces to participate in a local competition?”
As soon as he said that, everyone's ears perked up.
Because this is something that none of them can understand.
They were even more surprised that Yang Jie, an outsider, knew so much about the inside story.
Meng Yingying asked directly, "Why?"
Holding the certificate in her hand, she looked on with a hint of surprise. Because what Yang Jie said was exactly what they had been pondering for a month without understanding.
The top three have now been selected.
There was no need to hide it anymore.
Yang Jie glanced at Director He before saying, "Because the real reward of the Northeast China League is—a spot in the selection process for the youth dance exchange in the Soviet Union."
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Author's note: There will be an extra chapter tonight, but it will be at 12:30.
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