The finale of the event featured Ren Yunshen and Teng Hao.
From the moment Ren Yunshen learned about this promotional event, she offered to contribute her talents. Afterward, she roped in Teng Hao, and the two spent a long time huddled over their phones, mysteriously discussing something as if planning an impressive surprise.
Today, this surprise was finally unveiled.
It turned out that Yunshen planned to provide live piano accompaniment for Teng Hao’s dance.
The bold combination of piano and street dance was eye-catching even just on paper. Add to that the pairing of a handsome young man and a beautiful young woman, and the visual appeal was undeniable.
For this performance, Ren Yunshen had specially arranged for a piano to be transported from a nearby music store.
As soon as the two appeared, the noisy crowd fell silent as if struck by a chemical reaction.
By the fountain with its flowing water, the young woman in a white sweater dress sat down at the black piano, then turned to look at the young man beside her. They exchanged smiles.
The piano notes pierced through the sound of water and began to flow.
It was Richard Clayderman’s “Whispers of Fall.”
The gentleness from the girl’s fingertips and the strength in the boy’s footwork gradually intertwined… the scene was so beautiful that even a single glance was intoxicating.
“Who is that?” Sam pointed at Teng Hao, looking surprised. “Your little brother?”
Teng Yi smiled and nodded.
Wasn’t that just his little brother?
“Amazing!” Sam exclaimed.
In Sam’s memory, Teng Hao had always been that little kid following behind Teng Yi, crying about wanting to learn dance with his brother, then crying about dance being too difficult. Who could have imagined that in the blink of an eye, that little kid had grown up so much, not only grown up but becoming capable of holding his own with his dance skills?
Though Teng Yi didn’t say it, he was also secretly impressed. Recently, Teng Hao has indeed made great progress, and today’s performance was particularly outstanding. Perhaps it was because Ren Yunshen was by his side, but Teng Hao’s entire aura was especially gentle. This gentleness didn’t diminish the power of his breaking moves, but rather softened their sharp edges, allowing the technique and footwork to completely merge with the piano music.
Other dancers from the street dance community also expressed their admiration for Teng Hao.
While the men were critiquing Teng Hao’s dance skills, the women’s attention was focused on Ren Yunshen.
Under the warm sun, Ren Yunshen’s face was fair, her eyes sparkling like bright pearls, her slightly curled long hair falling against her white sweater, rising and falling with the wind. Usually somewhat shy, once she sat at the piano, she became poised and confident, as if glowing.
Her gaze alternated between the black and white keys and Teng Hao…
“Isn’t that girl just beautiful?” Chen Manbai watched Ren Yunshen. “I’m a girl and even I want to pursue her.”
“Yes, me too, me too, I feel like I’m turning gay,” Xia Qiaofeng quickly agreed. “Not just beautiful, she looks like such a refined young lady, so elegant.”
“Ruan Ruan, she really can’t speak?” Jian Xiangxiang asked quietly.
Ruan Yu nodded.
“What a shame, God likes to play jokes.”
Ruan Yu remained silent.
She felt that Yunshen could speak – at least at this moment, her communication with Teng Hao had no barriers. Everything she wanted to say, her admiration and secret love, was all expressed through her piano playing.
She hoped Teng Hao could understand.
–_–
Videos of Teng Hao and Yunshen’s collaborative performance were captured by onlookers, and these videos, brimming with youthful beauty, gained some popularity online.
Teng Hao suddenly became a celebrity at their school, receiving so many love letters from girls that his hands were sore. Of course, there were also many boys who asked him about Yunshen or tried to get her contact information, but he blocked all such attempts.
He told himself it was to protect Yunshen, but how much of that protection was mixed with personal motives, only he knew.
After the “Bringing Street Dance Back to the Streets” event, more and more people wanted to learn street dance, and the Journey to the West studio was bustling with people every day. Most of the enrollees were male, with females in the minority, and among these few females, most had ulterior motives.
On Saturday, as soon as Ruan Yu entered Journey to the West, she saw Teng Yi surrounded by a group of female students.
“Boss, can you teach me personally?” one student with green-dyed hair playfully flirted with Teng Yi.
Teng Yi remained calm: “Sorry, the boss only teaches the boss’s wife.”
“Where is the boss’s wife?”
Teng Yi’s gaze fell on Ruan Yu.
“That’s her at the door.”
Instantly, all eyes turned toward Ruan Yu.
“The boss’s wife is so beautiful! I’m so envious!” the student who had been joking earlier called out loudly.
Ruan Yu felt a bit embarrassed. She smiled and nodded to everyone, then quickly went upstairs. Once upstairs, she entered Teng Yi’s practice room, reading while waiting for him.
About half an hour later, Teng Yi also came up.
“Everything arranged?” Ruan Yu asked.
“Mm.”
“Who’s teaching the female students?”
“Han Zuo.”
Ruan Yu gave a small laugh.
“What are you laughing at?” Teng Yi sat beside her, both of them leaning against the mirror.
“Having to hand over such a good opportunity to others, don’t you feel reluctant?” she asked.
“Reluctant about what?” he put his arm around her. “I only have you in my heart.”
After feeding her this cheesy line, he pressed against her, covering her with kisses.
Ruan Yu covered his lips.
“Only me?”
“Mm.”
“What about street dance?”
Teng Yi’s eyes curved in amusement. He propped himself up with one hand on the floor, using the other to play with her temple hair, looking down at her.
“What? Jealous of street dance?”
“If I am? Do you like me more, or street dance more?”
Teng Yi thought carefully.
This question’s difficulty rivaled “If your mother and I fell into the water, who would you save first?” He didn’t know how to answer. Simply saying he liked her would be too perfunctory, but saying he liked street dance obviously wouldn’t work either.
“That difficult?” Ruan Yu pouted.
“Do you know why I like you?” Teng Yi suddenly changed the subject.
“Why?”
Ruan Yu was also curious. She had wanted to ask before but never had the chance. Now that he brought it up, it was a good opportunity to satisfy her curiosity.
“The rooftop.”
“The rooftop again?”
Teng Yi nodded.
He wasn’t sure if it was love at first sight, but after that first meeting on the rooftop, he couldn’t forget her. Not her face, but rather her resilient demeanor. He felt that version of Ruan Yu was just like himself, countless times collapsed from exhaustion in the practice room only to get back up again.
Because of this similarity, he developed a curiosity and attention toward her.
This curiosity and attention led him to gradually know a more complete and wonderful Ruan Yu – she was intelligent and kind, persistent and hardworking.
Teng Yi often felt that if he didn’t have his passion and wasn’t also persistent and hardworking in pursuing his dreams, he wouldn’t be worthy of someone like her.
His persistence and hard work came from his love for street dance.
Therefore, his love for her and his love for street dance were interconnected.
If one day he lost his passion for street dance, it would mean the fire in his heart had been extinguished, that he had lost his soul, and then, such a version of himself would no longer be worthy of loving her.
“You and street dance are equal to me. I will passionately love street dance for a lifetime, and love you for a lifetime.”
–_–
Ruan Yu started learning street dance from Teng Yi.
Initially, she just thought the girls in Han Zuo’s class looked especially cool when dancing, so she secretly asked Han Zuo if street dance was difficult to learn. Somehow these words reached Teng Yi’s ears.
So that evening, Ruan Yu was captured by Teng Yi and brought to the practice room.
“The boss’s wife wants to learn street dance?”
“I was just asking.”
“Why didn’t you ask me?” Teng Yi’s expression was quite sour.
“You’re so busy.”
After the studio officially opened classes, Teng Yi had less time to spend at the studio. He was running around every day – the Industrial and Commercial Bureau, Tax Bureau, banks, talent recruitment markets… his feet barely touched the ground. After all, leading a company was different from leading a club.
“Think I’m too busy?” He pinched Ruan Yu’s cheeks. “It’ll get better after this busy period.”
“Mm, I know, everything’s difficult at the start. You focus on your work, I won’t disturb you. I can attend Han Zuo’s classes.”
“No way, the boss’s wife can only be taught by the boss. I’ll make time.”
Teng Yi kept his word. From then on, he made time every day to teach Ruan Yu to dance.
Ruan Yu had always thought her brain was developed but her limbs were simple, but unexpectedly, her body coordination was quite good, and she had a talent for dancing.
However, Teng Yi wasn’t a very reliable teacher. He would always start touching and getting physical while teaching – being hugged, kissed, and knocked down became required parts of the lesson.
Although this teacher had questionable “ethics,” he had impressive points. Under his guidance, Ruan Yu could soon dance a complete routine to “Shape of You.”
“Shape of You” was choreographed by Teng Yi for her, with mostly cool moves. Ruan Yu, usually such an elegant person, when dancing this style, was like a lady who always wore flowing dresses and suddenly put on a sharp suit – a complete change in style, but creating a stunning contrast.
In the first few days after learning it, Ruan Yu would drag Teng Yi to dance it with her several times every day. At first, when her movements weren’t so skilled, Teng Yi would follow her rhythm from behind. Every time the music started, she would look at herself in the mirror with a serious expression, while he would look at her with doting eyes… like a parent, like a knight, and also like a prince.
Gradually, Ruan Yu became familiar with the music and movements, no longer needing his accommodation. The two could dance like seasoned partners, showing chemistry and aesthetics.
After each dance, Ruan Yu would grin foolishly at the mirror for a long time.
“What are you grinning about?” Teng Yi asked her.
“I feel like I could go perform on the street now,” Ruan Yu said.
“Didn’t you want to be a host? Why the change in ambition?”
“I mean, if I can’t become a host in the future, at least I can perform on the street, you know…” She traced the shape of a bowl with her fingers. “Put out a bowl to collect money, no need to worry about starving.”
“You want to travel the world with one dance?”
“Yeah. After all, I learned from a master.”
Teng Yi smiled and pulled her into his embrace.
“How could I let you perform on the street?” He kissed the crown of her head, his words gentle. “After graduation, just go do what you want to do. Worst case, you can come back and be my boss’s wife.”
–_–
Winter in Liao City was getting colder.
With final exams approaching, Teng Hao had to prepare for tests and temporarily stopped practicing. His tutoring location was moved back home from Journey to the West. Ruan Yu went directly to Hua Mansion after class every day, which meant she had even fewer chances to see Teng Yi.
Teng Hao realized he had become like the Milky Way separating his brother and sister-in-law, and he felt quite guilty about it.
Ruan Yu didn’t mind though. Her relationship with Teng Yi was now stable, and they didn’t need to be clingy every day. She felt that even between lovers, they should give each other space to do what they needed to do.
After Teng Hao changed locations, it became much more convenient for Yunshen to see him. She no longer needed to take a detour to practice piano at the music store on Dongyun Road every day. Yunshen spent all her saved time researching desserts – cakes, cranberry cookies, caramel pudding, soy milk boxes, double-skin milk… making different things every day, and of course, all these desserts ended up in Ruan Yu and Teng Hao’s stomachs.
Both were afraid of being fattened up by Yunshen but couldn’t resist her culinary skills.
This harmonious “eat and drink” tutoring continued for ten days. After ten days, an unexpected guest arrived – it was Wang Jingyao, the girl Teng Hao had long liked.
When the doorbell rang, Ruan Yu thought it was Yunshen.
She went downstairs to open the door but found an unfamiliar girl standing there.
The girl wore a bright yellow cotton coat, and although the coat was oversized, she still looked very tall. Her hair just reached her shoulders, her face was small, and her cheeks were flushed red from the cold wind.
“Hello, is Teng Hao home?” the girl smiled at Ruan Yu.
She had monolids, but when her eyes curved, they revealed a kind of delicate beauty that was even more attractive than double eyelids.
“He is. And you are?”
“I’m Wang Jingyao, Teng Hao’s classmate. Sister, you must be Teng Hao’s tutor, right? He often mentions you at school.”
“Hello, I’m Ruan Yu.”
“Sister Ruan, you’re even more beautiful than how Teng Hao described you.” Wang Jingyao’s words seemed coated in honey, sweet in every utterance.
Before Ruan Yu could speak, she heard someone running down from the second floor.
“What delicious thing has Yunshen made today…” Teng Hao’s gaze fixed on the doorway, his words stopping abruptly. It took him a while to recover, “Jingyao? Why are you here?”
“I was doing homework at home and got stuck on a math problem that I just couldn’t solve. I felt so frustrated that I went out for a walk. As I walked, I ended up here.”
Teng Hao scratched the back of his head.
“Were you thinking of me?”
“Mm, after coming out, I suddenly remembered how you always said your tutor was amazing, so I boldly came over, hoping Sister Ruan could help me think through it.” Those bright eyes turned to Ruan Yu, carrying a hint of coquettish appeal. “I wonder if Sister Ruan would be willing?”
“Of course she’s willing!” Teng Hao answered quickly. “Come in quickly, it’s so cold standing at the door.”
Wang Jingyao stomped her feet, breathing out a small white cloud.
“Yes, it’s super cold today. Sister Ruan, may I come in?”
Ruan Yu suddenly realized she was still blocking the doorway and quickly stepped aside.
“I’m sorry, please come in!”
“Thank you.”
Ruan Yu smiled.
Just as she was about to close the door, she saw Yunshen walking into the courtyard next door.