Chapter 227: Chapter 95: Top Sister of the 60s Song and Dance Troupe (34)

"Master Yuan already had a huge problem with you. When Mr. Xue chose you to be the lead dancer for Group One, she did everything she could to stop it. We saw her whispering with Su Zhenren so many times."

"See? You couldn’t even stay in Group Two. You were sent straight to our ’cold palace.’"

"If you keep this up, you’ll definitely be influenced by us and end up wallowing in the mud with the rest of us. That’s what happened to all of us..."

’You are the company you keep. It’s the absolute truth!’

The Xia Zhaoyun of the past had armed herself with a thick, cold, and aloof shell. To others, she looked down her nose at everyone, as if no one was worthy of her attention. It made her incredibly unlikable.

This was especially true for the other girls in the song and dance troupe. Outside the troupe, each of them was a little princess, admired and sought after. Why would they be willing to fawn over her?

But annoying as she was, no one could deny that Xia Zhaoyun was born for the stage.

She was beautiful and could pull off any style of makeup. Her figure was tall, straight, and slender, and her fundamentals were rock-solid. She could master any dance with ease. And just like breathing, every movement was so graceful, without a hint of conscious effort, so fluid that it made even them—other dancers—green with envy.

Now, seeing her getting serious with their group—a bunch of girls the instructors had written off as the spoiled brats of the dance world—they felt a mix of helplessness and pity for her.

They had already given up and were just lying in the mud pit, not even trying to struggle. After all, their families, friends, teachers—even they themselves—didn’t believe a miracle was possible.

Watching someone willingly jump into their mud pit, the initial schadenfreude and the dark impulse to drag a top student down with them began to fade. A pang of conscience hit, and they stepped forward to dissuade her.

Xia Zhaoyun smiled, her lips pressed together. "Comrade Yao Yunying, do I look like a fool to you? Like someone who would throw away her future on a whim, just like you all did?"

Yao Yunying’s eyes flew open in anger. "I thought you were annoying enough when you were just looking down your nose at everyone, but I never imagined you’d be even more hateful when you actually spoke! I was trying to be nice and warn you, and you—you start insulting me?"

Xia Zhaoyun huffed. "I’m not that noble. This idea of treating everyone equally? That’s impossible for me."

"I’m no saint; of course I have my preferences. You can lack talent. You can lack the perfect physique for dancing. You can even lack beauty and grace. But what I will not tolerate is a lack of diligence. I will not tolerate you wasting your time!"

"You think you’re worthless? That in everyone’s eyes, you’re the dead weight at the bottom of the troupe?"

"Quite the opposite. In my eyes, you’re just not diligent enough. You lack the unwavering dedication to see a career in dance through to the end. ’Hard work pays off for the willing,’ but you’ve already given up on yourselves. Why should I give you... or any of you... the time of day?"

Seeing that everyone was tired from practice, they started giggling and gathering around, eager to listen to the drama and wait for the music signaling the end of the day.

Xia Zhaoyun smiled, her words sweeping to include everyone present.

Everyone...

’We were just here for the tea, how did we get dragged into this?’

"Alright, I won’t make things hard for you. That’s all for this morning. I have an assignment for you: over the next few days, you need to borrow your own performance costumes."

Without getting up, Xia Zhaoyun lowered her head and began calling out names. "Wang Huiwen, you go to the starch factory’s cafeteria and borrow a chef’s uniform. Their uniforms are especially proper. Oh, and the hat! Get the tallest chef’s hat you can find! For a prop, you’ll need a giant ladle. It can be made of wood or cardboard, as long as it’s something you can wield like a staff..."

"Zhao Si’en, I remember your uncle works at the public security bureau. It’s perfect. You’re going to borrow a female officer’s uniform. You have a good figure and you’re tall, so you’ll look incredibly sharp and cool in it. On your waist, you’ll carry an oversized wooden prop gun and handcuffs..."

"Peng Shulan, you borrow a pink nurse’s uniform... And remember, have someone make a giant syringe out of cardboard. Paint it and make sure it looks as realistic as possible..."

Teachers, dancers, painters, various workshop laborers... Her instructions continued, outlining costumes and props that would make each profession instantly recognizable.

The group listened with growing excitement. If this was really the plan, they would actually have a chance to dance solo!

What did that even mean? Since the day they’d entered this profession, they had only ever been backup dancers—pathetic figures relegated to being the background. The role of a lead dancer was an untouchable dream, the kind of thing that would make them smile in their sleep.

They never had the courage to even imagine themselves standing center stage, performing a solo.

Now Xia Zhaoyun was giving them that chance. Even if they might end up embarrassing themselves in front of everyone during the preliminary auditions, for a chance like this, they would grit their teeth and go for it!

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