stjorthotic Chapter 11, Part 1: The Zhang Family
Chapter 11, Part 1: The Zhang Family
As the music ended, Liu Xiaoli froze in her last pose, slightly out of breath, her chest rising and falling gently.
Sunlight streamed in through the high window, landing on her sweat-dampened forehead, where the fine beads of sweat sparkled like tiny diamonds.
Teacher Fang clapped her hands, her voice unusually approving: "Not bad, Xiaoli's solo dance has improved a lot compared to last week. Her breath control is more stable, and her movements are more fluid. Keep it up."
Liu Xiaoli bowed slightly, a faint smile playing on her lips. The smile was subtle, like the first tender bud of spring, carrying a touch of shyness yet unable to conceal the joy beneath.
"Alright, take a 15-minute break, then we'll start over from the beginning." Teacher Fang clapped her hands twice, and the girls dispersed.
Some went to get water, some sat down against the wall to rub their ankles, and some huddled together chatting and laughing quietly, but their eyes kept glancing in Xu Yang's direction.
Liu Xiaoli walked up to Xu Yang, took the military green water bottle he handed her, and took two sips.
A thin layer of sweat clung to her neck, rolling slightly as she swallowed.
"How was it?" She put down the kettle, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him, her voice carrying a hint of anticipation.
"I was stunned. You danced so beautifully," Xu Yang honestly admitted.
Liu Xiaoli smiled, amused by his straightforward words.
"You're exaggerating too much," she said, but her ears were secretly turning red.
"It's no exaggeration at all. You're the best one, better than everyone else." Xu Yang's tone became serious, and he looked directly at her without flinching.
Liu Xiaoli felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze, lowered her eyelashes, and unconsciously twirled the lid of the kettle in her hand.
After several seconds, she seemed to remember something and looked up: "Oh right, your guitar, I've already talked to Mr. He from our theater, and I can take it back after rehearsal tomorrow."
"You'd better keep your word and play it for me then."
"It's a deal." Xu Yang smiled at her, revealing a set of neat white teeth.
The break ended quickly, and Teacher Fang clapped her hands again, calling everyone back to their places.
"Xiaoli, you can skip your solo dance today and take a break. Don't hurt your ankle. Everyone else, we'll start over!"
Xu Yang watched as Liu Xiaoli walked to the cushion by the wall, sat down, and began to rub her ankles and the backs of her feet.
She massaged very carefully, pressing the acupoints on the soles of her feet with her knuckles one after another, her movements as skilled as those of an old Chinese medicine doctor.
Rehearsals continued, and Xu Yang's gaze swept around the rehearsal hall before finally settling back on Liu Xiaoli.
She sat on the mat, rubbing her feet as she watched her companions rehearse, quietly counting the beats.
When a partner's movement is not in place, she will slightly furrow her brow and gesture with her fingers on her knee, as if correcting the other person's movement.
Xu Yang was somewhat dazed.
This girl is too serious.
Their earnestness is both heartbreaking and captivating.
The rehearsal ended at around 4 p.m.
Teacher Fang gave a few more instructions, the gist of which was that they would be going to perform for the troops next week, and that everyone should rest well these two days and get into the best condition.
The girls all responded with a "Yes," and then packed their things to leave.
Liu Xiaoli changed back into the floral shirt, and her hair was re-braided into loose plaits.
However, in Xu Yang's opinion, Liu Xiaoli looks good in any clothes she wears.
After all, she not only has a beautiful face, but also a very outstanding figure.
The two exited the opera house; Xu Yang mounted the bicycle, and Liu Xiaoli skillfully jumped onto the back seat.
This time, instead of just tugging at the hem of her clothes, she openly and generously supported Xu Yang's waist.
Although the force was very light, the sensation transmitted through the fabric of the Zhongshan suit still made Xu Yang's back muscles involuntarily tense up.
"Turn left, take Jiefang Avenue," Liu Xiaoli's voice came from behind.
Xu Yang pedaled into the flow of bicycles, but his mind was racing.
Starting today, he will officially become a member of the Liu family.
This is a fantastic thing for him.
The Liu family is a well-established family in Jiangcheng. They have a third aunt named He Hui, who has real power in the cultural system, a third uncle named Liu Xiaoli, whom they have never met but who is said to be very capable, and Liu Xiaoli's parents.
Although Xu Yang didn't know much about these two people, he only knew that Liu Xiaoli's father was a cadre and her mother came from an intellectual family.
Living in such a family is like having his identity issue insured.
Just thinking about the treatment he received made Xu Yang feel like he had hit the jackpot on this time travel trip.
In his past life, he never even got close to the goddess, let alone her. Now, he's living in the goddess's mother's house.
After riding for about twenty minutes, the bicycle turned into a relatively quiet street.
Rows of sycamore trees line both sides of the road, their canopies intertwining in mid-air to form a natural green archway.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves, scattering golden fragments across the ground.
This is clearly a residential area for government employees' families. Most of the buildings along the road are three or four-story red brick buildings with withered ivy climbing all over their exterior walls. You can tell that they must be green walls in the summer.
There were hardly any pedestrians on the street, and it was so quiet that the only sounds were the soft rustling of bicycle wheels on the pavement and the faint sound of a radio broadcast in the distance.
"That's the yard over there." Liu Xiaoli patted Xu Yang on the back and pointed to a large yard with shards of glass stuck in the wall.
A white wooden sign with black lettering hangs at the main gate of the courtyard, which reads "Jiangcheng City Cultural Bureau Family Compound".
There was a gatehouse at the entrance, where an elderly man with gray hair was reading a newspaper while wearing reading glasses. He looked up when he heard the bicycle bell.
"Oh, Xiaoli's back?" The old man took off his reading glasses, his gaze falling on Xu Yang riding his bicycle, his eyes narrowing.
"This must be Xu Yang, the amnesiac little hero who rescued you from the river, right?"
Liu Xiaoli nodded. Ever since Xu Yang rescued her from the water, the story had spread among her third uncle and aunt.
At the same time, news of Xu Yang's amnesia also spread.
When Xu Yang heard the other person call out his name and mention his amnesia, he couldn't help but glance at Liu Xiaoli.
He understood that the Liu family was deliberately spreading this story.
No wonder the Liu family allowed me to stay there temporarily; they had already made preparations.
Only in this way can we avoid bringing gossip to the Liu family and instead enhance their reputation.
If I were to actually live at the Liu family's house long-term, I would seem rather tactless in comparison!
Xu Yang felt that this was likely a test by the Liu family.