Yun Qing said, ”It should work.”
Ye Feifei didn’t quite agree.
She thought for a moment and suggested, “Qingqing, I think you could ask Gu Yiwei for help. He’s the student council president—he should have a way to find out who’s spreading rumors about you behind your back.”
“I don’t want to trouble him. The anniversary celebration is only a few days away, and the student council must be really busy. I think my method will work just fine.”
“Alright.” Ye Feifei stopped worrying about her.
The moment they entered the dance studio, their classmates all looked over.
Seeing Yun Qing, their faces lit up with relief. “Yun Qing, you’re finally back!”
For the evening gala of the anniversary celebration, each department needed to prepare a medley segment.
Their class of twelve was the strongest class in the Classical Dance Department, and they had been given an entire piece to themselves.
They would be performing the Whirling Dance, a piece set against a Western Regions backdrop, with the dancers portraying Dunhuang goddesses—and Yun Qing was the lead dancer of “Whirling.”
She had been away from school these past few days for a show, and rehearsing without the lead dancer had been quite frustrating.
Yun Qing apologized, “Sorry for holding up everyone’s rehearsals lately.”
“It’s fine. You’re back now, that’s what matters.”
“Yun Qing, how did the competition go?”
“Yeah, did you make it to the next round?”
Their class had always been very close-knit. Whenever something came up, everyone was understanding and accommodating with each other—unless it involved some matter of principle.
Besides, after three years in the same class, they had always gotten along harmoniously, never having any falling-outs.
After chatting for a while, Teacher Hu came in.
They quieted down and returned to their positions, following the teacher’s instructions.
With the anniversary celebration approaching, their classes had almost all been suspended, and all their time was devoted to rehearsing the celebration piece. Today was another “Whirling” rehearsal.
Teacher Hu stood to the side, carefully watching the twelve dancers’ movements and expressions, correcting details one by one.
But today, someone was off their game, making mistake after mistake, until they fell clumsily to the floor.
As the drumbeats grew faster, there was suddenly a thud—Du Lanying had fallen yet again.
Everyone stopped.
Yun Qing looked with concern at the person who had fallen at her feet. She crouched down and helped her up. “Are you okay?”
However.
The moment their eyes met, she could feel Du Lanying’s fear of her.
Then, Du Lanying averted her gaze and coldly pushed her hand away.
Yun Qing took in all of her reactions and returned to her position thoughtfully.
“Lanying, what’s wrong with you today?” Teacher Hu said sternly.
Du Lanying’s face was a little pale. Curling her fingers, she apologized, “I’m sorry, Teacher. I’m not in good form today.”
“Don’t say sorry to me—you should apologize to them.” Teacher Hu’s voice was severe. “You are one whole. When one person makes a mistake, all of them have to keep practicing along with you.”
That was the nature of group dance—one person’s mistake could ruin the entire piece.
All of them knew this all too well.
Moreover, the anniversary celebration was important for everyone performing. Many distinguished guests would be attending, and the performance would be open to the public. To a large extent, it would represent the level of their Jing Dance Academy.
Du Lanying tightened her fists.
She stepped forward and bowed deeply to everyone, apologizing.
……
Soon, the night of the anniversary celebration arrived.
The backstage of the grand auditorium was packed with people, busy figures everywhere.
At that moment, Yun Qing was sitting backstage in the grand auditorium, getting her makeup done.
She lifted her eyelids to cooperate with the makeup artist, then let her gaze fall back on her phone screen.
Since parting ways with Liang Xiheng last time, she had been busy with the school anniversary performance while preparing for the next round of the competition, staying at school the whole time and never seeing him again.
Although Liang Xiheng had promised to come watch her perform, none of the several messages she’d sent him today had gotten a reply.
The classical dance department’s medley segment was scheduled as the opening act, and she was worried he’d arrive late and miss her performance.
After a moment’s hesitation, she opened the chat and sent a nudge:
—Xiheng-ge, the performance is about to start. Are you here yet?
The message had just gone through.
Ye Feifei came up to her holding a box of red velvet cake and whispered, “Gu Yiwei asked me to give this to you.”
Yun Qing glanced around in confusion.
The dressing room was too crowded—there was no sign of him anywhere.
Just then.
A WeChat notification sounded.
Gu Yiwei: [I noticed you didn’t go eat dinner, so I grabbed it for you on the way.]
Ye Feifei put on an auntie-like knowing smile. “Looks like someone’s finally waking up. I’m shipping this so hard.”
A trace of helplessness flashed through Yun Qing’s eyes.
Last year in their classical pas de deux class, her partner had been Gu Yiwei, and for the final assessment, they had performed an excerpt from Butterfly Lovers.
The assessment piece depicted the happy ending where Zhu Yingtai throws herself into Liang Shanbo’s grave to die with him, and the two transform into butterflies, flying wing to wing, never to be separated for all eternity.
This section contained many difficult lifts—Zhu Yingtai lying on Liang Shanbo’s shoulder as he spun her around, her pose like a butterfly spreading its wings—movements that required deep trust between partners to pull off.
Plus, with the romantic imagery of lovers flying wing to wing, beyond technique and timing, the physical language and emotional expression were of utmost importance.
The assessment had been held in the grand auditorium, open to everyone to watch. Because their chemistry was so seamless—and they’d earned the highest score of the day—many people suspected they were dating, and quite a few shipped them as a couple. Her roommate was one of them.
But it had only been a performance. Neither of them had fallen for the other through the role.
After the class ended, they’d barely had any contact.
She’d eaten too much at lunch, and dinner came early in the afternoon.
She wasn’t hungry, so she’d simply skipped it, tucking two protein bars into her pocket as backup.
Perhaps Gu Yiwei had happened to notice she hadn’t gone to dinner and, out of their old partner bond, wanted to show a little concern. She knew she was indeed good-looking, but she wasn’t so narcissistic as to think every guy in the world would fall for her.
She didn’t want to cause any unnecessary misunderstandings—better to keep her distance.
“Feifei, please take it back for me.”
Ye Feifei’s smile immediately faded. “The guy is just showing he cares. Why are you so cold? You’re wasting his kindness.”
Yun Qing sighed helplessly. “Stop playing matchmaker. I already like someone.”
“What?!” Ye Feifei stared at her in shock.
Aside from Gu Yiwei, she’d never seen Yun Qing interact with any other guy at school. This sudden revelation that she liked someone was truly unexpected.
She lowered her voice. “Is the guy you like from our school?”
Yun Qing: “No. We’re not together yet—I’m still figuring out how to win him over.”
Ye Feifei was utterly stunned.
Guys who pursued her stretched from their school all the way to the neighboring Jing University.
With that figure and that face, all she had to do was stand in front of a man and he’d come running to her on his own. How could she possibly need to rack her brains chasing after someone else?
Just as she was about to ask, a voice calling out to her rose from the bustling crowd.
“Feifei, it’s your turn for makeup.”
Ye Feifei had no choice but to set aside her gossiping for the moment, looking disappointed. “Since you already have someone you like, I’ll return the cake for you then.”
“Okay, thank you.”
Ye Feifei picked up the cake and hurried off.
Yun Qing collected herself and politely replied to Gu Yiwei’s message: [Thanks for your concern. I just had a protein bar and I’m already full. Keep the cake and eat it yourself after the show tonight.]
At that moment.
Gu Yiwei was standing not far away, quietly watching her figure. When he saw Ye Feifei walking toward him carrying the cake, he understood—Yun Qing was avoiding any appearance of impropriety.
After they finished dancing “Butterfly Lovers,” everyone assumed they would end up together.
But what they didn’t know was that he was the only one who couldn’t step out of the role.
She had acted it well—her dancing was beautiful, graceful, full of life. Whenever their eyes met and hers brimmed with tender affection, he couldn’t help sinking deeper and deeper.
They knew each other’s every move, every point of exertion, and their partnership was seamless. Because of that, there was a time when he too believed they would become a devoted, perfectly matched couple.
But in truth, it was never so.
His dance partner fell into character quickly—and out of it even faster. She had always treated him with polite distance. To her, they were merely collaborators.
Nothing more, nothing else.