Chapter 147: Chapter 133: Girlfriend
The cello’s deep, sonorous voice suddenly joined in, blending with the violin’s tremolo, elevating the pitch and making the entire golden hall ripple.
Several pairs of men and women spun by, their steps accompanied by the flowing long dresses, leaving behind the fragrance of perfume and the dazed play of light and shadow.
Lin Xian was somewhat surprised.
had never danced, after all.
“A little,” Lin Xian replied.
“Dance with me,” she said.
Zhao Yingjun tiptoed forward, her left hand resting on Lin Xian’s shoulder, then brushed past, spinning halfway.
Lin Xian stepped to the left, extended his left arm to catch Zhao Yingjun’s lower back, and took over the lead.
The cello’s sound faded.
The violin solo’s string melody stirred the heart, and Zhao Yingjun tapped her high heels within the notes, hitting each beat with precision.
Lin Xian, too, did not drag his feet. Following Zhao Yingjun, his right hand steadied her slender waist, left hands joined, they glided in small steps, shifting smoothly across the dance floor.
The tango was not hard to learn.
At Donghai University Art College, ballroom dancing was a very popular elective course, and if you were a bit slow during registration, you’d miss out on a spot.
The Art College was already scant on males and abundant with females, and during the practice phase of this course, the few male students were like tools, having to cooperate with many female students to practice the steps.
This was perhaps also the reason why the course was so popular…
Lin Xian managed to snag the course in his sophomore year, and that year he had been many a girl’s dance partner.
Maybe it was because he was already the host for the campus, with a good image and suitable height, many girls in class liked asking Lin Xian to be their dance partner for practice, even lining up for the chance.
That year was truly exhausting…
From the moment he entered the dance studio, until the class ended, Lin Xian was always spinning, spinning, waist-leading, spinning.
He had thought he had danced all the tangos he would in his lifetime that semester.
Today, he got to catch up on one more lesson here.
“You dance really well,” Lin Xian admitted sincerely.
“You’re not too bad yourself.”
Such was the proficiency, the intensity of their dance steps, yet they never once touched one another.
The essence of tango lies in the push-and-pull of steps.
An expert’s tango is like playing the piano, while a beginner’s is like practicing Wing Chun.
“They teach tango in East Sea University?”
“They teach some basic steps, but not these complex ones,” Lin Xian answered truthfully.
“Then how come your technique is so good?”
“This dance piece is very famous,” Lin Xian said, spinning the pair as they drifted off center back into place:
“Many movies have used this tune, directors are quite fond of it. Whenever there is a tango scene, ‘A Step Away’ is often indispensable. I learned by watching it many times.”
“Like what?” Zhao Yingjun looked up.
“‘Scent of a Woman,'” Lin Xian replied:
“A great movie, also a very classic dance sequence.”
Zhao Yingjun chuckled softly, looked away, and observed the revolving men and women:
“I’ve seen that movie; the leading actress is beautiful.”
“Gabrielle Anwar,” said Lin Xian:
“But she’s aged now.”
“Everyone gets older, there’s no one who doesn’t age.”
Zhao Yingjun released Lin Xian’s left hand, her high heels tapping to the music’s rhythm as she spun in a circle, then grasped his hand once again:
“It seems you really like watching movies, I noticed it before when talking to you. You come up with film knowledge so easily, very learned. Have you studied this in depth?”
The dance music was nearing its end, all the harmonies paused, leaving only the violin’s solo as it gradually softened in the fading tremolo:
“I’ve simply watched quite a few movies,” Lin Xian said lightly.
The violin’s tremolo abruptly ceased.
The entire piece ended, and the men and women in the dance hall either talked with laughter or applauded quietly.
Lin Xian and Zhao Yingjun sat down by a table at the edge, as waiters brought cutlery and wet towels.
Zhao Yingjun ate some pastries in silence, seemingly deep in thought.
Lin Xian, elbow on the table, looked out the window at the neon night of Donghai City, his mind filled with visions of the New Donghai City from his dreams.
“Hee hee, Senior Lin Xian!”
A sudden laughter from behind interrupted Lin Xian’s thoughts.
He turned his head back…
“Yingjun, it’s been so long!”
The beautiful young girl before him was smiling and greeting Zhao Yingjun.
Her water-blue gown clung to her graceful figure like a gentle cascade from the mountains, clear and sparkling as if fairies were dancing around her; and with her elegantly pinned-up dark brown hair matching her attractive hair accessory, she certainly had the air of a Disney princess.
She was indeed a princess.
Not a Disney princess, but the princess of Donghai City.
“An Qing, why did you come out so late?” Zhao Yingjun pulled Chu Anqing to sit down, admiring the well-dressed young princess:
“That dress is so beautiful, and where did you get that hair done? I’ve never seen this style before.”
“It was so much trouble!” Chu Anqing seemed in a good mood as she laughed happily, shaking the decoration on her hair:
“I don’t even know how it’s done, it was a stylist my dad found for me, took a long time. How about it, Senior Lin Xian, does it look good?”
“It looks good,” Lin Xian said genuinely.
It’s said that comparisons are odious. Before, his estimation of Chu Anqing was not low, but after his encounters with the difficult CC in the dream—her irritability, stubbornness, back talk—he found himself thinking Chu Anqing was even more endearing.
She looked stunning in this ensemble, full of golden flair.