Before long, the other girls also came upstairs one after another, each choosing a bed they liked.
As soon as Li Yao reached the third floor, she spotted Li Yang hunched over, tidying her belongings. A thought flashed through her mind, and she carried her things straight into Li Yang’s dorm.
After Li Yang finished organizing, she turned to ask Jiang Xue if she needed help—only to see Li Yao chatting with Cheng Miaoxin in her dorm about face cream brands…
Li Yang smiled faintly, completely unconcerned. So they came to her on their own? Fine.
Their troupe had good待遇. Besides free meals provided by the army, each person also received a daily meal allowance of one yuan.
That was why most girls were willing to come to the northwest—an extra thirty yuan a month.
Though conditions were tough, it was essentially extra income for everyone.
Early the next morning, after a full day of rest, the girls were energetic again.
Jiang Nianxin had repeatedly emphasized before they left Nancheng that they must always be mindful of both personal and organizational image in the army.
So everyone behaved well, arriving at the first-floor dance studio half an hour early.
While they were chatting happily, Chen Lili walked in with five or six young men carrying square black bags.
They were familiar faces.
Even the girls from the second team hadn’t known that the male comrades from their publicity department had come along.
Chen Lili looked at the girls sitting on the floor and smiled.
“Is everyone here?”
Li Yang nodded. “Teacher Chen, everyone’s present.”
“Good.”
Chen Lili gestured toward the men behind her.
“I won’t introduce these comrades in detail—they’re from our troupe’s publicity department.”
“But the black boxes on their shoulders are worth explaining.”
As she spoke, she opened one of the black canvas bags.
Li Yang took one look—it was a shoulder-mounted video camera.
“A camcorder?”
Hearing that Li Yang recognized the strange machine, everyone began discussing it.
“Captain, what’s a camcorder?”
“What does it do?”
…
Li Yang explained confidently, without any airs:
“This looks like the most advanced cassette tape camcorder currently on the market, probably introduced from Hong Kong.”
“It’s similar to the cameras used in photo studios, but this portable device can record moving images—like a film.”
Chen Lili was surprised that Li Yang knew about it.
“That’s right. The troupe just bought these from Hong Kong.”
“We’ve temporarily been assigned four machines to record our daily rehearsals and performances here and send them back. These comrades were specially trained for a long time as cameramen—let’s give them a round of applause.”
The room erupted in applause.
“So it records like the black-and-white movies we watch?”
“My gosh! Does that mean we can appear on screen too?”
Chen Lili decided to start filming that very day, documenting their first day in the northwest.
Though the tapes were expensive, she didn’t have to pay for them herself.
Everyone was already preparing for the performance a week later. The basic program lineup had been decided.
To fill the time, Li Yang alone was assigned four performances.
And they were the four best programs chosen by a vote within the troupe.
The girls had already let go of their jealousy. In their eyes, Li Yang was practically inhuman—she could do everything and worked incredibly hard.
Such mastery couldn’t be achieved without years of dedication.
Among women, admiration often replaced rivalry when faced with overwhelming ability.
Everyone respected strength.
They all saw how Li Yang would practice her movements tenfold, a hundredfold whenever she felt they weren’t perfect—from morning till night.
If someone as talented as her still worked so hard, how could they not?
In just a few days, Li Yang had transformed the entire atmosphere of the dance studio.
This was exactly what Chen Lili and the others wanted. She began to understand why the director had chosen Li Yang as the leader…
Soon it was noon, and everyone headed to the cafeteria together.
A delicate-looking girl with flushed cheeks ran over.
Li Yang already knew her name—Zhang Xiaoman.
“Xiaoman, what’s wrong?”
As team leader, Li Yang naturally took on responsibility and rarely refused requests she could fulfill.
“My family makes soda. My dad sent a batch with me this time.”
Dimples appeared on her cheeks as she smiled.
“Hehe, the director and Minister Chen have already approved it!”
“So I want to treat everyone to soda. My dad said if we can open a market here, that would be great!”
“I see.”
Li Yang smiled and nodded. “Thank you, Xiaoman. If it’s good, we can place regular orders. Your dad is very business-minded—maybe even the soldiers will want to buy some when they see us drinking it.”
Zhang Xiaoman hadn’t expected such kindness. Others were only excited about free drinks, but Li Yang acknowledged her and her father’s effort.
Grateful, she spoke more brightly.
“Then we’ll prepare first. Go to window one later—we’ll be waiting.”
Normally, Chen Lili would go to the cafeteria early since she had many responsibilities.
But seeing everyone’s enthusiasm today, and with Xiaoman’s invitation, she decided to join—also to record the full rehearsal and the group meal.
At the cafeteria, she had already arranged for a camera to be set up in advance.
Li Yang and Jiang Xue were both a bit particular about cleanliness. No matter what, after training, they always returned to the dorm to wash up and change before eating.
That was why Zhang Xiaoman had come to inform them.
Unexpectedly, when Li Yang and Zhang Xiaoman reached the cafeteria entrance, they heard loud commotion inside.
Li Yang’s instincts told her something was wrong. She had already noticed some female soldiers showing hostility before.
The girls in their troupe could sing and dance—but in a real conflict, they were no match for trained soldiers.
Sure enough.
When Li Yang entered, the situation had escalated from shouting to fighting.
The troupe girls were only capable of weak punches and hair-pulling—while the soldiers, with short hair, easily grabbed their long braids instead.
Some aggressive ones even struck hard, kicking at legs.
Zhang Xiaoman and Zhang Qiaoyue were hit and collapsed in pain.
Chen Lili stood in the middle, trying to stop it, but couldn’t handle everyone.
Li Yang quickly instructed Jiang Xue:
“Xiaoxue, go protect the camera. Tell Wang Hu to record everything as evidence.”
Jiang Xue understood immediately and ran toward a pillar.
Wang Hu was already anxious. As a man, he couldn’t interfere in a fight between women.
And as a cameraman, he had been trained—like a reporter on the front line, he must not retreat.
Hearing Jiang Xue’s message, he steadied himself. He had even brought an extra tape.
With Jiang Xue’s help, he climbed onto a table and continued filming the scene clearly.