Chapter 23 A Love Suicide?
Jin Zhao immediately turned around and went to withdraw his registration.
Meng Yanxi grabbed her wrist with one hand: "It's been more than two minutes, we can't back down now."
The boy's large palm pressed against her skin, its heat spreading through her body, making her heart feel as if it had been scalded.
Jin Zhao's face turned red as he whispered his grievance, "This isn't WeChat."
"Alright, we're blocking other people's way, let's go back first." Meng Yanxi couldn't help but laugh and pulled the person back to their seat.
When Meng Yanxi smiled, Jin Zhao felt as if he had been bewitched.
They'd been classmates for almost a year, and she'd never seen Meng Yanxi smile. He always seemed aloof, like the aura emanating from him—a cold mountain mist, far away in the clouds.
So he can laugh too, and he laughs so wickedly.
"Who would do something like that?" Jin Zhao returned to his seat, the curse had worn off, and he was now sober, feeling a bit annoyed with him.
Isn't this just a trick to get her to sign up?
Meng Yanxi waited for her to go in first, then sat down beside her: "You've never seen me dance, how do you know I dance badly?"
Jin Zhao was shocked, staring at him with wide eyes: "You can't even dance!"
Meng Yanxi said confidently, "I used the future tense."
Jin Zhao: "..." A logical genius.
Their eyes met, and Jin Zhao remained silent for a long while before having to remind him, "There's still a week left, and you have zero experience."
"Not really." The seventeen-year-old boy's face showed a look of reminiscence.
Jin Zhao felt as if she had seen the light at the end of the tunnel: "Can you dance? What kind of dance?"
Meng Yanxi thought for a moment and said with certainty, "I know a little, but I don't know the specific dance style."
Although he was handsome, he had a very cold and aloof demeanor. Jin Zhao didn't think he was capable of classical or ballet dancing, so he asked, "Jazz? Street dance?"
Both of these dance styles are quite popular among boys.
Meng Yanxi: "It shouldn't be."
Jin Zhao patiently asked, "When did you jump? Do you have a video?"
“There’s no video.” Meng Yanxi said, propping her head up with one hand as she looked at her.
Jin Zhao looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to continue.
Meng Yanxi: "Fine, just pretend I didn't skip it."
Jin Zhao: "..."
If he were to act in a TV series, she would definitely call him a "green tea b*tch".
Jin Zhao: "You should just tell me."
Meng Yanxi: "Don't be angry when I tell you."
Jin Zhao: "Then you'd better not say anything more, let's go and withdraw."
Meng Yanxi: "..."
The two exchanged words for a while. After Luo Heng and Si Tian returned from registering, Luo Heng's loud voice interrupted from afar: "Brother Yan! Brother Yan! You signed up for dancing?"
Si Tian was also surprised. She squeezed into a seat, turned to face him, and asked curiously, "Can you dance?"
Meng Yanxi nodded coolly: "I know a little."
"Holy crap!" Luo Heng slapped his thigh. "Brother Yan, you've been hiding this well! You can even dance, is there anything in this world you can't do?"
Hearing their conversation from the back row, Lu Jingyue looked towards Meng Yanxi.
That's why they say Jingyan is cautious in his words and actions. No one in this world knows Meng Yanxi's background better than Lu Jingyue. Lu Jingyue interjected, "When did you learn that?"
Lu Jingyue's rebuttal at the crucial moment was so powerful that everyone turned their attention to Meng Yanxi.
Meng Yanxi glanced at Jin Zhao and said, "I knew how to do that when I was little."
Jin Zhao: "When I was a child?"
“Ah,” Meng Yanxi nodded, without any shame, “I performed on stage and won an award in kindergarten on Children’s Day.”
Jin Zhao: "..."
Everyone was speechless.
He even emphasized that he had won awards? Is that something to brag about?
Jin Zhao couldn't help but remind him: "That award should be universal; every child should receive it as long as they perform."
Meng Yanxi: "Really?"
Jin Zhao: "Yes."
Meng Yanxi looked somewhat regretful: "Oh, I thought I was the only one who had this."
Jin Zhao: "..."
She had seen Meng Yanxi's aloof and sharp-tongued side too many times, so his sudden display of a bit of childishness was quite a shock.
Meng Yanxi could say that he is the only one who has won the first prize in the National Mathematics Competition, that he is the only one with stunning good looks, and that he is the only one with insane money-making ability... But he dares to say with absolute certainty that he is the only one with kindergarten awards. What kind of outrageous confidence is this?
Aren't kindergarten award certificates usually sold in bulk, by the box?
However, after this little incident, the distance between Jin Zhao and Meng Yanxi inexplicably shortened a lot.
Because Meng Yanxi tricked her into signing up for a duet dance, and he had no prior experience, Jin Zhao had to take on the task of teaching him to dance, but she only had a week. Jin Zhao calculated that their total rehearsal time was only one and a half hours between afternoon school and evening self-study, plus one Sunday in between.
The affiliated high school has several activity rooms, and Meng Yanxi's execution ability is as terrifying as his confidence; he managed to borrow one of them on the same day.
The classroom was neither too big nor too small, with off-white curtains, a mirror covering an entire wall in front, and a dusty piano in the corner, with a few old performance costumes and props on the piano lid.
The task for the first day was to decide on the dance style and music.
Jin Zhao asked Meng Yanxi, "What kind of dance do you want to perform?"
Meng Yanxi said, "Anything is fine." She turned around and opened all the windows.
Outside the dance studio are two mimosa trees. It's almost June, the season for mimosa flowers to bloom. The pink, head-like inflorescences are emerging, swaying in the wind like tiny fans.
Perhaps it was the Crown Prince's confident demeanor that spurred her on; Jin Zhao's mouth moved faster than her brain, and she blurted out, "Then let's do children's dance; you're good at that."
Meng Yanxi: "..."
Jin Zhao couldn't help but smile slightly, then pretended to lower his head to cover it up.
Meng Yanxi looked down at her.
He stood by the window, where a brilliant sunset shone through the open window, and the wind blew in, causing the curtains to flutter.
Jin Zhao also looked at him.
The seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy was tall and had long legs. His handsome eyebrows and eyes were half-reflected in the sunset and half-covered by his wispy hair. His cold and hard features seemed to be softened by the evening breeze at this moment, reminding her of the boy who stepped forward without hesitation in the dark alley that night.
Meng Yanxi is like a dashing young man from ancient times, with a cool exterior but a burning passion in his bones.
Jin Zhao's heart stirred, and he asked softly, "How was the sword dance?"
Meng Yanxi was taken aback: "What?"
"Sword dance," Jin Zhao repeated.
A dashing young man, dressed in fine clothes and riding a spirited horse, wields a long sword. When he raises his hand, it is sharp and powerful; when he turns, his clothes flutter. His cold and hard temperament is integrated into his fierce sword moves, and his righteousness and passion flow with the blade.
Meng Yanxi seemed not to understand, and after looking at her quietly for a few seconds, she suddenly asked, "What kind?"
Jin Zhao couldn't describe it to him, so he asked, "Did you bring your phone? I'll find you a video."
Meng Yanxi, with her hands in her pockets, said, "I didn't bring any."
Jin Zhao was in a bit of a dilemma.
Meng Yanxi: "Can you do it? Jump and see."
Jin Zhao looked around and said, "But there are no swords here."
Meng Yanxi glanced at the simple classroom, strode out, and left with the words, "Wait a minute."
Jin Zhao suspected that he wanted to go out to buy a sword. She recalled that there were no shops selling dance props near the affiliated high school, but he quickly went downstairs before Jin Zhao could stop him.
The classroom next door was also lent out, and Zhao Yu, the arts and literature committee member, and six other girls were rehearsing a group dance called "The Goddess of the Luo River." It was a very professional dance piece that required real skill honed over a long period of time, and Jin Zhao could no longer perform it.
Jin Zhao returned to the classroom and practiced in front of the mirror.
Although she doesn't dance often now, her muscle memory is still there. She hums a tune casually, and her hands naturally move in a series of smooth, flowing motions.
Meng Yanxi returned quickly, carrying two tree branches in her hands.
"We'll buy the sword tomorrow, use this for now." He handed a branch to Jin Zhao.
"That's fine too."
Jin Zhao held it in his hand and measured it a couple of times; the length of sixty or seventy centimeters was just right.
"Do you have a favorite song?" she asked Meng Yanxi, then quickly shook her head. "But you didn't bring your phone, so you can't choose one."
“You can choose.” Meng Yanxi walked towards the piano in the corner.
He removed the old clothes and props covering the piano, lifted the lid, and casually tested two notes with his fingers—they were in tune. He then pulled out a piano stool, took out a piece of paper, and wiped it clean.
"You can play the piano?" Jin Zhao walked up to him in surprise.
Meng Yanxi was unusually modest, and chuckled softly: "Just like dance, I performed in kindergarten and won awards."
Jin Zhao burst out laughing.
She suddenly realized that Si Tian was right; Meng Yanxi was indeed quite easy to get along with.
The boy's fingers fell on the black and white keys, and the clear, melodious sound of the piano flowed out.
It was the melody of "Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion." He heard her humming the tune when he came in. It flowed from his fingertips like light ink spreading on rice paper, gentle and lingering, wrapped in the quietness unique to the classroom, mixed with old books and dust.
Jin Zhao had never learned to play the piano, so she didn't know how good Meng Yanxi's piano skills were, but it was definitely not just at the level of winning awards in kindergarten. She stood in front of him, gently leaning against the piano, as if she were being drawn into it.
Meng Yanxi's fingers moved with fluid grace, his dark eyes occasionally glancing at her.
The dappled sunlight slanted into the classroom, falling on the piano's lacquer, which was covered with a thin layer of dust. Beside the piano, a boy and a girl sat and stood, and fine dust floated around them in the light.
Jin Zhao didn't know how long she had been standing there listening, until suddenly, the sound of the strings seemed to throb, gently touching her heart. She snapped back to reality, turned around nonchalantly, faced the mirror in the classroom, and picked up the branch in her hand, twirling it around.
Meng Yanxi had seen her dance twice: first, an unknown dance without music in Huijue Town, and then "Looking at a Thousand Years". This was the third one, and she could bring out completely different charm in each dance: the tranquility and compassion of Huijue Town, the timeless beauty of "Looking at a Thousand Years", and the balance of strength and gentleness in "Preface to the Orchid Pavilion".
The simple tree branch seemed to sprout a sharp blade in her hand. The winding stream of the Orchid Pavilion flowed slowly as the girl shattered the light and shadow with her sword. The tree branch spun into a dazzling sword flower, and it seemed as if a sharp edge was flowing between her wrists, both sharp and resilient.
Meng Yanxi couldn't take her eyes off him.
*
In the following days, the two went to the activity room every afternoon after school to try to find an hour of rehearsal time before evening self-study.
Jin Zhao was pleasantly surprised to discover that although Meng Yanxi had no dance background, his physical fitness and core strength far surpassed that of professional dancers. He also had a certain degree of flexibility, although not as good as professional dancers, it was still above the amateur level. Coupled with that brain that was good at making money, competing, and consistently ranking first in the grade, Meng Yanxi learned as if it were child's play. Jin Zhao only needed to demonstrate the movements once, and he could perform them perfectly, not to mention the leaps, flips, and sword flourishes that required sharp strength, which he performed even better than Jin Zhao.
Jin Zhao suspects that his kindergarten dance award, like his piano performance, is just a humble claim.
Meng Yanxi: "Do you want to hear the truth? I didn't dance in kindergarten either."
Jin Zhao: "..."
Meng Yanxi: "But I have studied martial arts and karate."
Jin Zhao: "Martial arts?"
Meng Yanxi: "Yes, I was almost kidnapped when I was a child, and I've had a special teacher ever since."
Jin Zhao didn't know what to say. It turns out that being rich has its troubles. But then again, no wonder he's better at fighting than others; it turns out he has a private instructor for fighting.
The program lists for each class have been submitted in the past two days. The high school's forum keeps up with current events and quickly launched a poll for the most anticipated program. The administrator, I don't know if he is a student, also helped to make this poll the most anticipated program.
Thanks to Meng Yanxi, their duet dance "Preface to the Orchid Pavilion" topped the list, by a wide margin.
Jin Zhao thinks that if Meng Yanxi were to enter the entertainment industry, he would definitely be a top star. Even the slightest thing he does would generate at least 70% of the comments around him.
—Holy crap! Did I see it wrong or report it incorrectly? Meng Yanxi can dance?
—So, I believe you if you say Meng Yanxi can fight, but dancing... it's hard to imagine what Meng Yanxi would be like when she dances.
—So what? Boys can dance too.
—Boys can dance, but is Meng Yanxi an ordinary boy? Look at his face, it's like ice. I haven't seen him smile in the two years of high school. Can you imagine a high-and-mighty flower going all out on stage just to make you laugh?
—Aaaaaah, I can't take it anymore just thinking about it! Meng Yanxi! You can have all my votes!
—Stop dreaming, just kidding? Meng Yanxi: Who are you?
—No, I heard there was a live vote this time, and there was actually a vote-getting session after each performance.
—Meng Yanxi: Take it or leave it.
—Hahahaha, believe it or not, I really think Meng Yanxi will voluntarily withdraw from the vote-soliciting segment!
...
Jin Zhao didn't know whether Meng Yanxi would withdraw from the campaign, but she knew that she already wanted to voluntarily withdraw from the arts festival.
She was naturally a bit indifferent; others couldn't see her, and she didn't care about others. She and the world were like well water and river water, never interfering with each other. When she signed up, she never expected to be in the limelight with Meng Yanxi.
On Friday evening, Meng Yanxi was already able to dance the entire "Preface to the Orchid Pavilion" smoothly on his own. Jin Zhao felt that with more practice, he would dance even better than her. That day, her comment about her being his backup dancer ironically came true.
To be fair, she does have to admit: "I am sword dance, you are sword dance."
Meng Yanxi asked, "What's the difference?"
Jin Zhao thought for a moment and said honestly, "The difference between fancy martial arts and a dashing young man."
Meng Yanxi looked at her thoughtfully, remained silent for a while, and then saw through her little scheme with a sharp insight: "You don't want to jump anymore?"
Jin Zhao: "..."
Meng Yanxi nodded generously: "If you feel the style doesn't match, then I'll withdraw."
Get out!
Even the good-natured Jin Zhao wanted to swear. Has the true intentions finally been revealed?
He tricked her into enrolling, and then thought he could get away unscathed? Meng Yanxi truly has the brains to earn 5 million at seventeen; how could she be so cunning?
Jin Zhao asked bluntly, "If I say no, will you hurt your leg again and take a week off?"
Meng Yanxi raised an eyebrow and asked, "Is that the kind of person you see me as?"
You're absolutely right! Jin Zhao thought to himself.
But she dared not provoke him. She had already figured out Meng Yanxi's temperament. He had no moral bottom line. If she really provoked him, he might lie down on the spot and accuse her of bumping into him, trying to extort money from afar.
“Don’t do this,” Jin Zhao stated seriously, “If you get ‘hurt,’ I will… I will…”
But she had never threatened anyone before, and couldn't think of a more intimidating statement for a moment, so she hesitated for a couple of seconds before getting stuck.
The young man looked at her with a smile, the brilliant sunset streaming in through the window, reflecting the smile in his eyes. The cool indifference in his dark, peach-blossom eyes faded, replaced by a hint of frivolity and dissoluteness.
Meng Yanxi: "A double suicide?"
Jin Zhao: "..."
Jin Zhao's face flushed a thin layer of powder, whether from embarrassment or anger, it was hard to tell.
Who uses words like that?!
"Aren't you the top student in the grade? Did you get the PE teacher to tutor you in Chinese after class?" Jin Zhao said, blushing as she scolded him.
The boy leaned against the wall, one long leg slightly bent, his hands in his pockets. Whether he was deliberately teasing her or not, he smiled roguishly: "You know I'm first in the grade, so you should know that I'm very good at Chinese."
Jin Zhao wanted nothing more than to beat him up, but then—
"Thump!"
"ah!"
Suddenly, a loud thud came from the next classroom, as if something had hit the ground. Jin Zhao felt the floor beneath his feet shake, and at the same time, a cry of pain came through the wall, piercing his eardrums.
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