In the face of extreme stress and distraught, reason and lucidity elude oneself.
It completely slipped Fu Qingxuan’s mind to call the cops or make phone calls. As though he had gone mad, he ran amok while crying out Shen Xi’s name from his home all the way to the Huo residence, like a trapped animal tasting freedom for the first time. His eyes were bloodshot from excessive worry and fear.
Oh, meanie.
Where could she possibly be?
Did she meet with danger while on her way home?
She must have been abducted by the bad guys.
What should he do if she was taken advantage of?
How could he be so careful and fail to keep an eye on her!
Fu Qingxuan was kicking himself. It was all his fault. Had he forsaken that so-called pride of his, he could have asked the Huo family sooner and it would not end up like this.
Night befell.
There was barely anyone on the road.
No response was heard in the howling wind, even his voice was carried away by the wind. Fluster and fear overtook every inch of his body like growing weeds, brewing an agitated storm within him.
Shen Xi took a breather after one last round of practice. Her beauty was accentuated as her sweat-drenched hair rested on the side of her face.
Guan Yue ran over to hand her a glass of water and wipe away her sweat while giving a warm and hearty smile. “Good work.”
No wonder Shen Xi caught Ms. Shen’s eye. She was undaunted by hardships and fatigue in her pursuit of perfection. Guan Yue could say that Shen Xi had more perseverance than she and Ms. Shu had.
Shen Xi accepted the glass. “Thank you.”
Guan Yue smiled brightly, “Skip the pleasantries, we’re a family.”
Shen Xi gulped down the glass of water before turning to her and Shu Baiyu. “Yueyue, Ms. Shu, it’s getting late. I should get going.”
Sigh. Even the best-laid plans would go astray. She came to learn about embroidery yet here she was, dancing.
Nevertheless, between embroidery and dancing, she preferred the latter.
Shu Baiyu approached them. “It’s late. Let Yueyue take you home.”
Shen Xi’s eyes reflected delight at the thought of Fu Qingxuan. “It’s okay. I think there’s someone waiting at the door for me.”
Shu Baiyu had mixed feelings about it, assuming that she was talking about Su Yi. She reminded Shen Xi. “The butler said that Mr. Su has left.”
She guessed Su Yi was still her biological father after all. As an outsider, Shu Baiyu was not in the position to ask about Shen Xi’s family affairs. It was too complicated and would only stir disgruntlement if she inadvertently offended Shen Xi.
“Oh.” Shen Xi replied as she put on her jacket to leave.
Shu Baiyu walked her to the door.
Without being told to, Guan Yue picked up the pace and walked beside Shen Xi. “I’ll send you off and if there’s no one there, I’ll drive you home.”
“Sure.” Shen Xi did not turn down the offer. Her body was at its limit after a full day of dance practice without any break.
However, for some reason, she was sure that Fu Qingxuan would come and pick her up.
Guan Yue stole a glance at her. In Ms. Jiang Yin’s words, Shen Xi did not get on with the Su family at all. She said that Xixi had no feelings whatsoever for the Su family and was against returning to that family.
Nevertheless, there was no telling when it came to families, especially between blood relations. It put the girl in a difficult position since she was a softie after all.
Guan Yue never liked anyone from the Su family, be it Li Jingran or Su Ruowan. She met them a couple of times because Su Ruowan wanted to be her teacher’s student. However, Su Ruowan did not possess a gift for dancing.
Ms. Shu informed Su Ruowan that she could give dance a go if it was only as a hobby. Nonetheless, she probably would not qualify to progress in this career professionally.
“That reminds me.” Shen Xi was struck by a thought and gazed at Guan Yue with a tilted head. She paused before saying, “We’ll talk tomorrow.”
Intrigued, Guan Yue was held in suspense and had to ask her. “What did you want to say?”
Shen Xi shook her head. “Let’s talk tomorrow.”
“The suspense is killing me.” Guan Yue was tickled. “You have to tell me.”
It was killing Guan Yue inside to be caught in an unfinished conversation.
Shen Xi grinned. “It’s nothing really. I wanted to ask if you and Ms. Shu would be open to taking in a person to learn from you.”
Guan Yue looked at her skeptically, “A friend of yours?”
Please, let the person not be Su Ruowan!
Prior to Guan Yue and her teacher’s arrival in Vienna, Li Jingran brought Su Ruowan along to meet with Ms. Shu. Instead of insisting Su Ruowan be Ms. Shu’s student, Li Jingran mentioned that she hoped for Su Ruowan to practice alongside Ms. Shu for the time being.
Shen Xi gave a nod. “Yes, she will be participating in National Idol after the new year. I hope she could spend some time with you. She has some dancing experience.”
Lil Ye may have talent in dancing and singing but she was lazy and unmotivated. Shen Xi needed to look for someone stern and also someone she revered to teach her.
Since Shen Xi made up her mind to crush Su Ruowan with Lil Ye, she had made foolproof preparations. She never fought an unprepared battle.
As the color drained from her face, Guan Yue nervously asked her, “Is it Su Ruowan?”
Dumbstruck, Shen Xi shook her head with a smile. “No way. It’s my friend, Song Wenye. I’ll have a talk with her later and inform you tomorrow.”
What was she thinking?
Shen Xi would rather put an end to Su Ruowan. Why would she provide her a great opportunity?
“Okay.” Guan Yue sighed in relief once she got a grip on herself. It did not matter who as long as it was not Su Ruowan. She solemnly reminded Shen Xi, “But you need to tell her in advance that it’s going to be tough learning from us. It’s best that she quits early on if she doesn’t have the willpower to work hard.”
“I just went through that.” Shen Xi had a full understanding of what she meant.
Throughout the afternoon, she had seen her fair share of the student and teacher’s ardent and deep passion for dancing.
Should there be a single expression through the eyes or movement that was not quite there, even if it only felt slightly different, Shen Xi had to repeat the routine. Ms. Shu and Guan Yue took turns teaching Shen Xi from noon until now.
It was high time Lil Ye learned about patience. It took training and discipline to build
character.
“Is it hard?” Guan Yue abruptly shortened the distance between them. “Scared?”
Raising a brow, Shen Xi appeared proud. “Why would I be scared? I’ve been through worse.”
Perseverance and endurance were key to dancing. Growing up, she had experienced dance routines of much higher difficulty and she would work on it day and night before competitions.
Looking at her proud face, Guan Yue expressed emotionally. “My teacher and I may be stern, but it’s only for your own good. Please don’t be mad at us.”
Shen Xi replied, “I’m not that petty…”
She was interrupted before she could finish her sentence.
“Shen Xi!” Fu Qingxuan let out a raspy wail.