Chapter 50: Girls’ Generation
The grand Arts Festival at No. 1 High finally kicked off on the evening of the last day of the month.
The first and second-year students filed in through the entrance like sardines, filling the theater. Tong Yao, on the other hand, came in through a side door, followed by a cheerful Jiang Wu.
“Mom, I really didn’t lie to you. The teachers don’t have a performance. Why did you still come…”
“I wanted to.”
Jiang Wu was carefree and spontaneous. “You don’t have to mind me. Just pretend I don’t exist.”
The theater was dark, with only the stage brightly lit. The photographers in the middle of the venue were fiddling with their equipment, and a bunch of parents without seats were standing at the edges, cameras in hand, eager to start. The audience slowly filled in, the leaders took their seats, and the Arts Festival seemed ready to begin at any moment.
“This is quite a production,” Jiang Wu said, taking out her small digital camera. “You really don’t have a performance?”
“No!” Tong Yao said with a dark face.
As soon as she finished speaking, the entire venue was plunged into darkness. Then, two cylindrical beams of light shone on the stage, dust motes dancing in their paths.
The hosts walked onto the stage, and the lights followed. Tong Yao noticed that the female host this time was again Xu Yin. She was wearing a black evening gown that revealed her delicate shoulders and long legs. Hosting was like walking a runway for her, and in the blink of an eye, she had stolen all the male host’s thunder.
“I wish you were like her when you were little,” Jiang Wu commented. “I remember your teacher asked you to host a class meeting and you refused.”
This posture of using someone else’s child to put her down made Tong Yao’s face even sourer.
The Arts Festival’s performances were first by the second years, then the first years, in a random order. According to the program list, Class 4’s “Gangnam Style” was second, and Class 7’s “Oh!” was thirteenth. Tong Yao had never been a fan of watching cultural performances. During the Spring Festival Gala over the years, she would only have it on for background noise. The school didn’t force the teachers to watch the Arts Festival. The only reason Tong Yao was here was because of the young girl’s request.
The performance might not be interesting, but the people performing were.
The first performance was a slow-paced folk dance. Tong Yao couldn’t appreciate it and closed her eyes for a while, waiting for Class 4’s horse-riding dance. This song was currently taking the world by storm. Everyone could hum it. More than half of Class 4’s seats in the audience were empty. With 40 people on stage, they were as neat as an army. The chubby boy in the middle, wearing sunglasses and cosplaying as Psy, was particularly eye-catching.
The dance ended, they struck a pose, and the whole venue erupted in enthusiastic cheers.
The previously lifeless venue was completely ignited.
The pressure on the following classes instantly increased.
One class after another went on stage. Tong Yao looked at the area for Class 7. More than a dozen seats were empty. It was easy to guess that those kids were desperately rehearsing outside the theater.
Will Ruan Ruan be nervous?
She definitely would be. As the lead dancer, the pressure was the greatest. Even celebrities get nervous, let alone a child who was not mentally strong and had no experience.
Her brows couldn’t help but furrow, but then, an unexpected scene occurred in the venue—
The fourth performance, by Class 5, was a dance in the dark with fluorescent stick costumes. The effect was excellent, like a group of stick figures dancing. Even Jiang Wu praised it a few times. But the sixth performance, by Class 11, was surprisingly similar, almost making one suspect they had the same dance teacher.
In the theater, some students who were there for the show let out loud boos, seemingly unaware of how much damage this would do to the performers.
A clash of programs was always an awkward thing.
Tong Yao felt sorry for the students on stage. After seeing Class 5’s performance, what kind of mood were they in when they went on stage? Passionate, angry, wronged? Or did they feel it was unfair?
Because they went on stage later, they were made to look like pathetic plagiarists.
The performance on stage was about to end, but then, another car-crash-like accident occurred—the lights turned on prematurely, then were hastily turned off—perhaps the student controlling the lights was also flustered. On the stage without darkness, the fluorescent sticks completely lost their effect, making their performance, exposed in the light, look somewhat ridiculous and comical.
The theater was silent. Such a tragic sight, even the people who had been booing just now couldn’t bear to kick them while they were down.
The lights came on again. The performers bowed and left the stage, their smiles uglier than their tears.
A few of the girls seemed to have really cried.
The applause from the audience was sparse, with only a few cheers coming from the Class 11 stands. All for one and one for all. This was the only way they could welcome their defeated heroes.
There was joy and sorrow. This was the truth of life.
Jiang Wu clapped her hands lightly, making Tong Yao look at her sideways.
“I thought you would be sarcastic,” she also clapped. “You used to say that student activities were just playing house.”
“Indeed, it’s quite childish,” Jiang Wu tossed her hair. “But I only look down on cowards and lazy people. If you dared to go up there, I’d be willing to watch no matter how badly you performed.”
Tong Yao rolled her eyes. A mother, that creature, would always seize every opportunity to educate her.
“Mom,” her heart was a little heavy. She stood up. “I’m going out for some fresh air.”
“Mhm,” Jiang Wu nodded.
Tong Yao wasn’t lying. The theater was stuffy, and she really was going out for some fresh air. But getting fresh air and checking on the young girl’s situation were not mutually exclusive.
She went out through a side door. Outside the theater was a large open space, already occupied by various classes rehearsing. Everyone was wearing rented gorgeous clothes and makeup, a dazzling sight.
“Teacher Tong!”
Not far away, she heard the young girl’s call.
Looking in the direction of the voice, the next moment, Tong Yao was stunned.
A vibrant and youthful girl—was that her little girl? The exquisite makeup added a touch of charm to her cute features. The crop top and hot pants combination was exceptionally alluring, revealing slender jade-like legs and a supple willow waist. At this moment, Ruan Xi was dazzling. Few could resist glancing her way. Her previous worries seemed unnecessary; Ruan Ruan appeared to be dancing with more vigor than anyone.
After a few calls, the young girl had already run up to Tong Yao. Before Tong Yao could respond, she initiated a hug, startling Tong Yao so much that she didn’t know where to put her hands.
“Teacher Tong, did you come to see me?”
She rested her head on Teacher Tong’s shoulder, pretending to be a spoiled child, her racing heart like a drumbeat.
“…Yes.”
Tong Yao moved awkwardly, her hands resting on the young girl’s waist, then retracting as if burned—Ruan Ruan hadn’t worn so little when she hugged her before! The touch on her chest was tender and soft. Wearing something so thin was practically like skin-to-skin contact. As a teacher, how could she have such contact with a student…
Ruan Xi pretended to casually rub against Teacher Tong. Sensing Teacher Tong’s stiffness, her heart tightened, not knowing what kind of image she had become in the heart of the person she liked.
And Tong Yao, with a guilty conscience, her eyes darting away, inconspicuously pushed the young girl away and changed the subject.
“So… are you nervous?”
Ruan Xi was slightly disappointed but still nodded obediently.
“Nervous. But we’ve rehearsed many times, so I’m very familiar with it.”
“That’s good.”
Tong Yao’s heart calmed down. Looking at the young girl, she didn’t know what to say. Ruan Ruan was already doing very well. All she could do was cheer her on and encourage her. She then thought of the performance by Class 11 just now, half a month of sweat turning into tears. What if it was Ruan Ruan who failed? Sometimes, fate could be so cruel as to make hardworking people fail again and again.
Her wish was just to watch this child grow up happily.
Finally, she lowered her head and smiled softly.
“You’re… very beautiful today.”
The young girl’s cheeks heated up at a visible rate.
She looked at Tong Yao foolishly, her words becoming stutters.
“R-really?”
“My honest opinion.”
The little person in the young girl’s heart was already jumping up and down, shouting “Yay!”
“Go on and rehearse,” Tong Yao patted the young girl’s back. “Move around a bit so you don’t catch a cold.”
Ruan Xi nodded vigorously and ran back as if injected with chicken blood.
Enthusiastic applause erupted from the theater behind them. It seemed an exciting performance had just occurred.
But Tong Yao had no desire to go in and watch.
The best performance was right in front of her.
After a few rehearsals, Labor Reform rushed out from inside and clapped his hands. “We’re next!”
This sentence was like a eunuch telling the emperors, “The enemy has already breached the city.”
“Everyone, go for it,” the dance teacher said. “You’re the best.”
The children’s faces were grave. Some were already trembling with nervousness.
“Go on in and wait,” Labor Reform patted the boys’ shoulders. “Don’t feel any pressure.”
They lined up and walked into the backstage of the theater one by one, with the tragic grandeur of heading to an execution ground.
Ruan Xi took a deep breath. Here, she could clearly hear the sound of the skit on stage. She was next. She was so flustered she almost forgot her own name. And Tong Yao was at the front, offering words of encouragement to each child. When it was the young girl’s turn, she asked, “Is there anything you need the teacher’s help with?”
Ruan Xi was at a complete loss. When it was really her turn, she finally knew how much pressure there was. It was like a mountain suddenly pressing down on her, making it hard to breathe. Her eyes were a little red, and she asked with a trembling voice, “Teacher Tong… can you kiss me?”
Tong Yao was stunned.
“Thank you, Class 12, for your wonderful performance. Next, let’s welcome Class 7 to bring us their exciting dance.” From the front stage, Xu Yin’s voice sounded. The staff closed the giant screen and urged the performers from Class 7 to enter.
“Hurry up, hurry up!”
The children started to run onto the stage. Tong Yao didn’t have time to think. Seeing that the person was about to leave, she quickly held the young girl’s face and planted a light kiss on her forehead. She was wearing high heels, and her height advantage was finally back. A gentle kiss, and then she quickly pulled away, not giving herself a chance to brew any emotions, and just said, “I’m going to record for you!”
Ruan Xi, still in the same spot, touched the warm spot on her forehead and suddenly giggled foolishly.
In the audience.
Jiang Wu looked at her daughter, who had run back panting, and asked in confusion, “Where did you run off to for so long?”
Tong Yao vaguely said, “Just wandering around,” and then quickly took out her phone and started recording.
The giant screen opened.
The prelude to “Oh!” began. The youthful and beautiful girls danced onto the stage. Their sexy and cute outfits immediately made the whole venue cheer, and the leaders’ blood pressure rise.
Tong Yao aimed the camera at the young girl in the middle, her hand steady, which made Jiang Wu, who was beside her, narrow her eyes.
On the stage.
Ruan Xi, with a smile, danced in the center of the stage, killing countless rolls of film. The muscle memory formed was something that even pressure couldn’t change. The longer she stayed on stage, the less nervous she became. She seemed to have completely integrated into the stage. Watered by sweat and tears, the seed of hard work finally blossomed and bore fruit. Her sweet appearance, the passionate music, the unrestrained and dazzling chest and legs, announced to countless people—
Tonight was the girls’ generation.
