Facing the head of the art troupe, the translator still had to show some respect. He reluctantly nodded, though he couldn’t help glancing at Li Yang several times—this girl actually understood English.
Li Yao’s expression darkened as well. Ever since childhood, that little wretch Li Yang had always been praised by teachers for her academic excellence and sharp comprehension. She had already done everything she could to take away Li Yang’s study time, so why was her English still so good?
It seemed that Li Yang had also gotten news about the art troupe recruitment…
A sinister look flashed in Li Yao’s eyes.
Jiang Nianxin was furious. How could these Indians be so ungrateful?
She was already busy, and the girls were still waiting for rehearsals and selection.
If not for orders from above to host a welcome performance for these foreigners, who would waste time here with no overtime pay or allowances?
Unexpectedly, after seeing the leaders of the art troupe arrive, these foreigners became even more arrogant.
Right in front of Jiang Nianxin, they even began mocking the performers.
This little incident didn’t seem to be mentioned in the original story, so Li Yang tilted her head slightly and quietly asked Zhao Guoqiang.
“Uncle, do you know what these foreigners are here for?”
“I don’t think we’ve had any official foreign delegations here before, right?”
Zhao Guoqiang worked at the Education and Sports Bureau, so he naturally had better access to information.
“That’s right, this is the first time for Nancheng!”
“These foreigners are from India. They took the initiative to propose some kind of academic exchange in higher education science systems. They originally wanted to go to Beicheng, but after discussion, the higher-ups agreed to the exchange—just that the location was set here in Nancheng.”
“Who knows what these foreigners are plotting?”
“Since they lost to us in the National Fortune War over a decade ago, there’s been no diplomatic relations. Who knows what their intentions are this time?”
“We’re closer to them here, so if anything happens, we can respond quickly. There’s no way we’d let them do whatever they want. The higher-ups would never allow them deep into our inland.”
“Even so, they agreed. About thirty of them arrived at the Nancheng guesthouse yesterday. Today, the art troupe is hosting their welcome event, I think.”
“In a couple of days, university students from Beicheng will also come to Nancheng for the exchange. I’ll have to go pick them up at the train station.”
Zhao Guoqiang couldn’t understand a word of the foreign language these people were chattering in.
They spoke too fast and too loudly—it was really noisy!
Didn’t they see that their Huaguo translator Xiao Hou couldn’t even get a word in?
If it were up to him, they shouldn’t have allowed these people in at all—it was making everything chaotic.
Zhao Guoqiang grinned at Li Yang. “My good niece, can you understand what they’re saying with that strong ‘spice-flavored’ accent? When did you learn that? How come I didn’t know?”
“If I’d known you could speak this kind of foreign language, I would’ve gone to the principals of schools in Nancheng to see if I could arrange a job for you. Though I’m worried your students might get laughed at speaking like that…”
Li Yang sighed. “Uncle, why are you going off track again? And also, what they’re speaking is English.”
Zhao Guoqiang scratched his head. “What? That’s English? When I accompany leaders to public classes or hear English on the radio, it doesn’t sound like this.”
To be fair, he hit the nail on the head.
“It’s just their accent—heavier, like curry.”
“What does ‘curry flavor’ mean?”
Li Yang found it hard to explain, since her uncle had never eaten curry.
“It’s what you called a ‘spice flavor’!”
Zhao Guoqiang burst out laughing. “So I’m not the only one who thinks their speech sounds spicy and overwhelming! Haha, as expected of my own niece.”
Li Yang: …
On the art troupe’s side, Chen Lili, the teacher in charge of the performance, gently tugged at Jiang Nianxin’s sleeve.
“Director, what should we do? These guests don’t seem to like our performance.”
Jiang Nianxin felt overwhelmed but held back her temper.
“The performances were rehearsed in advance. If they don’t like them, we can’t just rearrange everything on the spot. If they don’t want to watch, then forget it. Tell Xiao Hou to take them away. If they’re hungry, take them to a state-run restaurant. If they have too much energy, let them stroll in the park. We’re not here to serve them…”
Li Yang noticed a tall, dark-skinned man with curly hair on her right. When he heard Jiang Nianxin’s words, his brows furrowed deeply enough to crush a fly.
He even shot Jiang Nianxin a look of disdain.
Chen Lili glanced at Hou Tianci, who was still struggling to translate.
“Director, maybe forget it. Hou Tianci isn’t very reliable. When the foreigners speak, he has to ask them to repeat themselves three times before he can barely translate. It’s really affecting everyone’s mood. Otherwise, the girls wouldn’t have rushed over and started arguing.”
“And if the leaders find out we made things difficult for the guests, what then?”
Jiang Nianxin had seen her share of the world. On her own ground, she would naturally stand up for her people—something Li Yang agreed with.
“These Indians’ English is really hard to describe. They speak so fast, like something is chasing them, and with that strange accent. Poor Xiao Hou. Just listening to a few sentences makes my ears feel like they’re fermenting.”
“I’ll take responsibility if anything happens. Just do your jobs.”
Following behind Jiang Nianxin, Li Yang found it amusing and couldn’t help but let out a laugh.
For some reason, the previously noisy venue fell silent at her laughter.
Several Indian men immediately lit up when they saw Li Yang. They gathered together, whispering among themselves and occasionally chuckling.
Then one bespectacled man with messy hair pointed at Li Yang and said, “We’ll see her in the ballet.”
Xiao Hou thought he misheard and asked again.
“What’s mean?”
The man looked Li Yang up and down and continued:
“Look at her figure, she should be a dancer. We’ll see her in the ballet.”
Li Yang heard it clearly, and her expression instantly turned cold.
Seeing her reaction, Zhao Guoqiang quickly asked Hou Tianci, “Translator Xiao Hou, what did he say?”
Hou Tianci swallowed and forced himself to answer.
“They… they want this comrade to dance ballet.”
Before Zhao Guoqiang could react, Jiang Nianxin spoke up to refuse. To make things difficult for them right in front of her—these foreigners really thought too highly of themselves.
“Xiao Hou, tell them this is Huaguo. We don’t dance ballet. If they want to see it, they can go back to their own country.”
Hou Tianci relayed her words, and the foreigners burst into laughter again.
One of the women even replied in broken Chinese, “You… Huaguo people, unbelievable. So many people, yet no one can dance ballet? Is there no one left in your Huaguo? I really am very disappointed.”
As a proud and patriotic young woman, Li Yang could tolerate insults toward herself—but not toward her country.
She stepped forward, moving past Jiang Nianxin.
Her slender finger pointed directly at the tall middle-aged man who had glared at Jiang Nianxin earlier.
“You! Yes, you!”