His black eyes were dark and deep, as if absorbing all light, a look she knew well meant he was angry.
But why was he angry? Shouldn’t she be the one who was angry?
During the previous malicious editing incident, Ji Zhixian had been unwilling to believe her and wanted to brush things off. Now he was again unwilling to believe her, thinking she was deliberately causing trouble.
When she was the one being misunderstood and distrusted, why was Ji Zhixian angry?
“Do you think I’ll lose?” This was the only reason Lin Xiaoman could think of.
Ji Zhixian probably thought she hadn’t seized the opportunity.
“Do you think you can win?” Ji Zhixian scoffed.
“We can make a bet,” Lin Xiaoman’s eyes were extremely bright.
She seemed very confident.
Ji Zhixian felt she was provoking him: “What are you going to bet with me?”
“If I lose, I’ll bear the consequences, and you don’t need to do anything,” Lin Xiaoman smiled slightly. “If I win, do me a favor.”
Ji Zhixian felt it was time to make this naive girl pay for her blind optimism.
“Okay.”
“Aren’t you going to ask what I want you to do?”
The corner of Ji Zhixian’s mouth curved slightly, as if hearing a joke, and a hint of a smile finally appeared on his cold face: “No need.”
Lin Xiaoman’s smile deepened.
“
The next morning, Lin Xiaoman led her teammates in repeating the movements they had arranged yesterday. After jumping down several times, the effect got better, and everyone’s confidence increased.
“Maybe we can get first place!” one teammate said excitedly.
Suddenly, a cold laugh rang out, and everyone turned to see Xu Wei standing at the dance room door. She looked at them, her eyes full of disdain: “With this dance, you want to get first place?”
“Teacher Xu,” Wei Qinghuan stepped forward, “If there are any parts we’re not doing well, please point them out.”
“From beginning to end, nothing is good,” Xu Wei contemptuously swept her gaze over them.
Xu Wei’s long eyebrows raised, and she asked sharply: “Who told you to modify this? Who told you to change my choreography?!”
Everyone fell silent, and the dance room became completely quiet.
Lin Xiaoman stepped forward, neither humble nor arrogant: “Me.”
Xu Wei’s expression turned cold. Yesterday, it was also Lin Xiaoman who had made her lose face.
She had checked Lin Xiaoman’s information, and the most circulated image online was still of her falling off the stage. Just a third-rate celebrity who became famous by associating with Tang Feifei, yet she dared to speak to her like this.
“Do you think your modification is better than the original?” Xu Wei tilted her head, aggressive.
“I’m not a professional dancer, so naturally I can’t compare with Teacher Xu,” facing her strong attitude, Lin Xiaoman was much calmer. “I just believe that the dance I modified is more suitable for us.”
“You’re not a professional dancer, so what do you know?”
“I know that high-difficulty dance moves are not suitable for beginners,” Lin Xiaoman looked at her, speaking seriously. “With our abilities, it’s really difficult to perform the dance you choreographed. The effect wouldn’t be good, so simplifying it is more appropriate for us.”
Lin Xiaoman’s tone carried an undeniable certainty, like someone used to giving orders, which didn’t match her slightly immature appearance. Even Xu Wei was momentarily stunned, unsure how to refute.
“Teacher Xu, we also hope to make the dance more perfect. If we had more time, we would definitely practice according to your standards. But the competition is urgent. Compared to whether each move is perfect, our priority is to complete the entire dance. We hope you can understand,” Lin Xiaoman didn’t want to argue, and patiently explained.
Xu Wei snapped back to reality. She was an internationally renowned figure yet she was intimidated by a young girl?!
She felt embarrassed and somewhat humiliated, and couldn’t help raising her voice: “Am I the teacher or are you? Not wanting to suffer, you’re quite good at making excuses. Today’s young people are truly disappointing!”
Lin Xiaoman slightly furrowed her brow, her voice still calm: “Teacher Xu, I’m just stating the facts, and this is our decision, which has nothing to do with being young.”
“You—” Xu Wei was so angry her face turned red. She glared at Lin Xiaoman, “What kind of attitude is this?”
“However others treat me, that’s the attitude I’ll return,” Lin Xiaoman looked at her without backing down, her clear eyes showing no fear.
Xu Wei was even more upset: “With you like this, I can’t teach at all!”
Lin Xiaoman’s gaze turned cold, making Xu Wei feel afraid. She took two steps forward, and Xu Wei unconsciously stepped back: “What do you want to do?”
Lin Xiaoman slightly bent down, her voice gentle: “Please have a good rest.”
The program team looked bewildered as they watched Xu Wei storm out of the dance room, suddenly developing a good impression of Lin Xiaoman – she was simply a drama-creating expert, born for variety shows.
It had only been a short while, but she had already provided them with so much material.
However, the small director reported the incident to the main director. Although the main director was secretly pleased, he expressed regret and apology, hoping Xu Wei wouldn’t hold a grudge against the young ones.
Xu Wei had spoken her piece and refused to return to the practice room. The main director tried to persuade her again, but until her anger subsided, he no longer mentioned her return to the show.
On the other side, Lin Xiaoman replaced Xu Wei’s work, arranging the dance and individually guiding each person’s dance posture. Her attitude was better than Xu Wei’s, and she was willing to demonstrate personally. Everyone quickly mastered the moves without resistance.
After a full day of training, the camera crew admired Lin Xiaoman. Her movements were much more difficult than others’. After each session, while the others slightly sweated, her forehead was noticeably wet, and she had changed clothes several times. Whenever asked to rest more, she used her spare time to guide team members, never resting.
In the evening, after the five of them finished singing and dancing, the nearby cameramen applauded.
“Fantastic!” one of them said.
“So shocking!” another added.
Lin Xiaoman reviewed their performance, knowing they were exaggerating, but although it didn’t match the original dance, the presented effect was already very good.
“We’ll definitely win!” one team member exclaimed excitedly after watching the video.
“This is all thanks to Xiaoman,” another teammate happily patted her, full of smiles. “Without her, the final result wouldn’t have been this good.”
“The final depends on you,” another teased, “You’re our ace.”
Lin Xiaoman’s expression was serious: “Don’t think this is enough. Never place your hopes on others. What if something happens to me and I can’t perform?”
As long as you haven’t taken the stage, anything could happen. This was her experience from her previous life.
But everyone seemed to think she was joking: “Xiaoman, don’t be silly. Nothing will happen.”
As they spoke, everyone began to prepare to leave.
At this time, the cameramen and others were gradually packing up. Lin Xiaoman was resting with her eyes closed. Although the body’s original owner often danced and had good physical fitness, the time was short, and her movements were still somewhat different from before. So she planned to practice more later.
“Teach me,”
Suddenly, someone stood in front of her, casting a shadow.
Lin Xiaoman kept her eyes closed, recognizing the voice, her mouth slightly curving up, “Are you sure you can do it?”
“
“Don’t underestimate me,” Wei Qinghuan raised her head, stepping back, twirling and rotating with a flourish, performing the move and laughing proudly, “How’s that?”
