70

Duan Yihua felt like he couldn't keep watching Zhai Xingchen dance.

Every time he watched, his heart stirred.

That youthful, powerful beauty hit him straight in the chest. His fingers curled slightly, gripping the floor, then he put them on his knees. When he noticed Zhai Xingchen looking his way, Duan Yihua dropped his eyes immediately — but his heart only beat faster.

"After watching Huo-ge dance, then watching Xingchen dance, it's really..." Hu Ying said.

Huo Cheng pulled his gaze back from Zhai Xingchen's dancing and said, "You comparing me to Xingchen — why don't you just compare me to a god while you're at it."

Hu Ying said, "Huo-ge really knows how to lay it on thick."

This time, not even the jealous ones had anything to say.

Not Hu Ying. Not Yan Zhi. Not Pei Xu.

Because they all thought Huo Cheng was telling the truth.

A god dancing.

Most dancers aren't as graceful as Zhai Xingchen. The ones prettier than him can't dance as well. The ones who dance well aren't as sultry. Anyway, Zhai Xingchen was born for this.

Watching him dance was a treat!

"Once this show's over, a bunch of dance troupes are gonna fight over you," Duan Yihua said sincerely.

"You can start lining up," Lin Qingning said.

"It is my major, after all. Being decent at it is the bare minimum. Come on, Huo-ge," Zhai Xingchen said.

Zhai Xingchen reached out a hand to Huo Cheng. Huo Cheng took it, stood up from the floor, glanced at Zhai Xingchen — and suddenly flushed. With his back to Zhai Xingchen, he pressed his lips together.

His eyes met Hu Ying's and the others'. Huo Cheng felt awkward.

Damn it, why am I suddenly so shy. This wimpy look — all his rivals saw it.

Pei Xu and the others hadn't felt jealous or resentful before, but seeing Huo Cheng's slightly red, shy face, their feelings got complicated.

Rivals understand a rival's mind best!

Zhai Xingchen bent down to pick up his phone, replayed the Spring of the Northland track, rolled up his sleeves, and said, "Let me simplify it for you. The dance is actually pretty simple — a lot of the moves repeat. Even if you forget the moves, just go with the feeling. Keep the style consistent and no one will notice."

When Zhai Xingchen taught the dance, he was serious and crisp. His whole vibe turned more proper, and the top energy came out immediately — nothing like a twenty-year-old college student.

Hu Ying watched, one hand absently drawing circles on the floor.

But dance instruction meant physical contact was unavoidable, and Huo Cheng was clumsy — whether it was his arms, legs, hands, or feet, Zhai Xingchen had to adjust each one by hand. Huo Cheng wasn't normally a sensitive person, but when Zhai Xingchen touched his waist or thighs, he couldn't stand it — a tingly, buzzing feeling — so he kept laughing it off, cracking jokes to cover his own embarrassment.

Huo Cheng caught the faint scent on Zhai Xingchen, felt his warm breath, and his face kept getting redder.

Duan Yihua, Yan Zhi, and Pei Xu all stood up one after another.

Forget it, forget it. No more watching. It made their hearts sour.

Heh. Hard to tell if Huo Cheng is really that clumsy or just faking it.

"Let's stop watching them dance and go practice our own stuff," Duan Yihua said.

Lin Qingning asked, "Duan-ge, can you teach me some Accordion?"

Lin Qingning could play Piano, had picked up a little Violin as a kid, but the Accordion was so unusual — most people never learned it — and he was clueless.

The Production Team had told him before that if he couldn't handle the Accordion, he could swap with Pei Xu.

But he didn't want to swap with Pei Xu. Right now he just wanted to stay as far from Pei Xu as possible.

Duan Yihua said, "I need to learn that song of Yan Zhi's from him... let's the three of us find another room and work on it together. It's too noisy here."

Huo Cheng's laugh came from behind them again. Lin Qingning glanced back and said to Duan Yihua, "Too noisy, you say?"

Duan Yihua's face flushed slightly. He patted Lin Qingning on the shoulder.

Lin Qingning smiled knowingly.

Yan Zhi said, "It is noisy."

It's just learning a dance — look how red Huo Cheng's face has gotten.

Who knows what nonsense is running through his head.

In the end, only Wen Nu and Hu Ying were still sitting on the floor.

Wen Nu asked Hu Ying, "You gonna practice?"

Hu Ying shook her head. "I'm keeping the mystery. Blow everyone away at the end!"

Wen Nu laughed.

"Show me your Martial Arts. Are you about to practice?" Hu Ying asked.

Wen Nu nodded and got up from the floor.

"Don't expect too much," Wen Nu said. "I only learned from my uncle. It was back in middle school. I'm rusty now — I only throw a few punches for fun sometimes."

Because Zhai Xingchen and the others were playing Spring of the Northland, Wen Nu put on earphones so he wouldn't disturb them.

He was actually practicing Shaolin Fist.

What Chinese Martial Arts really emphasizes isn't the moves — it's the spirit. Whatever the style, that spirit is what grabs you.

Feet together, fist salute. Bow stance, punch. A leaping cover-step into a crouch-and-slash, sweep the leg, drop to the ground — crisp and clean as anything.

Wen Nu looked soft and cute, but once a martial artist moved, his face went serious on its own — the contrast was so huge that at first Hu Ying really wanted to laugh, but she was soon drawn in by Wen Nu's Martial Arts.

Because his form was really clean and sharp. There was one move — a spinning flying kick into the palm, then dropping to the ground — and it was just as stunning as Zhai Xingchen's Cloud Bridge Spin.

Hu Ying couldn't help clapping.

Huo Cheng sighed, "Badass... Wen Nu."

Zhai Xingchen was impressed too.

But the moment Wen Nu finished, he got shy again — totally different from the slightly fierce look he'd just had.

"Haven't practiced in ages. Just pulled my thigh," he said with a smile.

Huo Cheng said, "Forget the dance. I'll just learn Martial Arts instead."

"Could Xingchen pull off that move he just did?" Hu Ying asked.

"Which move?"

"The flying kick into the drop," Hu Ying said.

Wen Nu gave Zhai Xingchen a slow-motion demo.

Just one demo. Zhai Xingchen hitched up his pants. "I'll try."

And he spun, kicked into the palm, body light as a swallow, dropped to the ground — flowing, clean, decisive.

Even the staff across the room let out a gasp.

Huo Cheng, Hu Ying, and Wen Nu were all stunned.

Hu Ying's heart was pounding.

Oh my god, oh my god — so handsome! So top! So fierce!

Huo Cheng's expression was already cracking. Zhai Xingchen was taller than Wen Nu, and though he didn't look as forceful, his lines were smoother, prettier. Huo Cheng glanced at Zhai Xingchen, his face even redder, licked his lips, bent down to grab his water, and took a couple sips.

"Let Zhai Xingchen do Martial Arts!" a staff member suggested to Guo Bing. "He's so fierce when he does martial arts!"

"How's his piano level? If it's not great, then he really should do martial arts instead. People who dance well pick up martial arts easily — it'd look good!"

"I also think martial arts suits him better than piano. Zhou-jie says Pei Xu's piano is killer — if Zhai Xingchen gets compared to him, his performance definitely won't stand out!"

"Where did Pei Xu go? Off to practice piano?" Huo Cheng asked.

"He went to print sheet music," the cameraman replied.

About twenty minutes later, they saw Pei Xu coming back with the sheet music.

"I'm gonna go practice first," he said to Zhai Xingchen.

Zhai Xingchen nodded at him while adjusting Huo Cheng's leg.

Zhai Xingchen stayed in the Dance Studio for almost another half hour — it was nearly mealtime — then told Huo Cheng to keep practicing on his own and headed to the Piano Room.

He could play piano, but he hadn't touched it in years — whatever he remembered was from childhood. And Lin Qingning had probably picked the song on purpose to show off. The one he'd chosen, Love Song, had a soft, pretty name, but it was seriously hard — the gentler the opening, the fiercer the back half.

The Little Theater was huge, and the instrument room and dance rehearsal room were far apart — one at this end of the hallway, one at the other. There was no heating here; it was cold and damp. He heard the Accordion, the Guitar, and Spring of the Northland playing from the Dance Studio. Through all that noise, he made his way to the Piano Room door.

It was a tiny room with a vermilion wooden door. A few staff members were standing at the entrance, craning their necks to look inside. When they saw Zhai Xingchen coming, they quickly stepped aside.

Zhai Xingchen heard very soft piano — a little muffled. Pei Xu must have been using the soft pedal, deliberately lowering the volume.

Inside, he saw Pei Xu in a black Down Jacket, sitting at the piano. The notes trickled out from under his fingertips — casual, one-handed, reading the sheet music as he played.

"Switched songs?" Zhai Xingchen said with a smile. "Doesn't sound like By the Lake Baikal to me."

"Just messing around." Pei Xu stood up as he spoke, scooting over to make room.

Zhai Xingchen sat down next to him.

The Production Team staff were all buzzing.

Honestly, they all wanted to see more interaction between Zhai Xingchen and Pei Xu.

They'd felt like Pei Xu had been sitting on a slow burn these past two days, but he hadn't had much chance to be alone with Zhai Xingchen.

Zhai Xingchen set down the sheet music in his hand and glanced at what Pei Xu was playing.

He froze — it was The Desert Dance Hall.

"That's Liu Shuang's song!" he said, delighted.

Pei Xu said, "I heard it by chance last time and thought it really fit playing here."

Right — it suited the moment perfectly.

"Done practicing your performance piece?" Zhai Xingchen asked.

"Done. Your turn," Pei Xu said.

Pei Xu put away The Desert Dance Hall sheet music and spread out Love Song for Zhai Xingchen.

"This piece is hard," Pei Xu said. "Might not get it down in one day."

"I played this when I was learning piano," Zhai Xingchen said. "Let me get a feel for it first."

Zhai Xingchen pressed his lips together. Pei Xu looked down and saw his pale hands settle on the keys — his nails neatly trimmed, a faint pink, smooth and gleaming.

Zhai Xingchen felt his way through the opening notes.

He wasn't fluid at first — occasionally hit a wrong note or two. Guo Bing and the others watched from the monitor. "Told you — pretty average."

"Better let him do martial arts. Easier to stand out."

"Everyone got their piece from the Lottery Draw. Don't change it — too obvious."

"Right — being able to play at all is already something."

Pei Xu turned a page of the sheet music for him and glanced over. "Not bad."

Zhai Xingchen thought, That's what you call not bad?

Hadn't he deliberately hit a few wrong notes just now?

So he played another wrong note on purpose.

Zhai Xingchen figured Pei Xu, being a fund manager with a quiet, reserved personality, didn't get many chances to shine. He still didn't know how good Pei Xu really was at piano, and he didn't want to steal his spotlight.

"No good, my hands are too rusty. You try." He handed it back to Pei Xu.

He wanted to see what Pei Xu could really do.

"Let loose," Pei Xu said.

Zhai Xingchen blinked, then his fingers sped up — the music suddenly flowing. When he hit the interlude, he glanced at Pei Xu, who said seriously, "Faster."

Zhai Xingchen played faster, pale fingers sliding across the keys, the music urgent. The staff around them barely dared to breathe. Just as he was about to hit the climax, Pei Xu suddenly reached his hand over Zhai Xingchen's fingers. Some unspoken understanding passed between them — Zhai Xingchen pulled his hands back, their fingers brushed as they passed, and Pei Xu's hands took over, landing on the keys.

Love Song was hard not just because of the tempo and the technique it demanded, but because it was so emotionally charged — the further in you got, the more intense and unrestrained the feeling. Dense runs of notes poured out, pulling the listener's heart along with them. Pei Xu held the keys with his left hand, his right suddenly hooked — then lifted off the keys. Zhai Xingchen froze for a beat, then jumped in to cover. He was trying to match Pei Xu's emotional state and got a little overeager — thunk, thunk — two wrong notes. Pei Xu beside him laughed softly. Zhai Xingchen laughed too, turned to look at him, met that warm, bright smile, slid his fingers left to right, and finally slammed down on the keys.

Pei Xu gave a thumbs up. "Zhai-ge's amazing."

Zhai Xingchen exhaled. "Pei-ge's the amazing one."

Guo Bing and the others were stunned.

The camera panned across Pei Xu's face — his smile so sweet. He glanced at Zhai Xingchen, then looked away. His fingers curled, tightened, loosened again. His ears were red.

Now that Zhai Xingchen knew what Pei Xu could do, he let himself go.

Because Pei Xu's skill was too high — not just technically, but emotionally. There was no way Zhai Xingchen could outshine him.

And Pei Xu was so handsome — a totally different style from him. He was the kind of male lead from a Jinjiang novel that both men and women would want to pounce on.

Born with a halo!

Next he played Love Song twice on his own, with Pei Xu sitting beside him turning pages. The more Zhai Xingchen played, the more focused he got — by the third run, he hadn't hit a single wrong note. Pei Xu was on his left; when he reached for the lower keys, his body leaned slightly to the left. Pei Xu suddenly reached over to turn the page, and Zhai Xingchen brushed right against Pei Xu's ear.

The piano room was cold, so the warmth of that earlobe startled him — but before he could turn to look, Pei Xu had already flinched away.

Zhai Xingchen jumped.

He knew Pei Xu, as a Jinjiang novel male lead, had three signature traits:

One: his skin flushed easily during physical activity.

Two: he sweated easily during physical activity.

Three: he was sensitive, both body and mind.

He'd say, "Don't do that, I can't take it."

But... that sensitive?

He turned to look and saw Pei Xu touching his own ear, thin lips pressed tight.

His hands had lost their paleness from the cold — the backs were a dark reddish color — but they still made Pei Xu's ears look blazing red by comparison.

Those ears looked hot.

This... something's off, right?

Zhai Xingchen caught a faint warm scent of mint.