Chapter 10

"Five, six, cross your arms, turn, hush hush, seven, eight, raise your hands and twist twice..." In the office on the second floor of the teahouse, the old air conditioner creaked, and the girl's voice counting the beats was interspersed with heavy breathing.

In the scorching summer, even with the air conditioner on, it felt hot on the second floor of the teahouse! Especially when dancing, which required a lot of energy, Yang Ruoyi was drenched in sweat, as if she had just emerged from water. Her face was so wet that water droplets could be shaken off her hands, and her short-sleeved T-shirt was half-soaked.

Fortunately, only Yang Ruoyi and Tang Wenfei were practicing dance in the office these days, so Peng Xueyuan, that naughty boy, couldn't take advantage of the situation!

"Yiyi, can you stop counting the beats? It feels strange, and you always pause." Tang Wenfei, hugging her knees, held her phone to record a video for her friend. Seeing her friend hesitate, she whispered a reminder.

After all, this office was not a professional dance studio. Although it was spacious, Yang Ruoyi and Tang Wenfei had to move the coffee table to create enough space for two people to dance. However, they lacked large mirrors and smooth wooden floors.

Without mirrors for reference, Yang Ruoyi and Tang Wenfei could only take turns recording videos of each other and then analyze their performances through the videos.

Of course, they could have bought a few full-length mirrors and set them up, but that would have been too much trouble and could easily attract the attention of adults—Yang Ruoyi didn't want her father to find out about her plan.

So, Yang Ruoyi and Tang Wenfei had to use this clumsy method!

Most of the time, it was Tang Wenfei who recorded videos for Yang Ruoyi, as Yang Ruoyi was a beginner and Tang Wenfei had to teach her step by step.

"Hey, don't talk now!" Yang Ruoyi stomped her foot in frustration.

Being interrupted, she couldn't remember the next move and had to walk over to the desk to watch the dance video edited by Peng Xueyuan on her laptop.

"It's not hard. Just remember the beats in the song and follow them." Tang Wenfei thought Yang Ruoyi was counting to keep the rhythm and offered a suggestion.

"No, I know the beats, but the problem is I can't remember the moves! There are so many of those wave moves you mentioned, and each one is different. I have to recite them to know which is which!" Yang Ruoyi pulled out a soft leather notebook from her bag and showed it to Tang Wenfei.

The notebook was filled with lively little stick figures, showing that Yang Ruoyi had some talent for quick sketching. With just a few strokes of a ballpoint pen, she could vividly depict each move!

Besides the action illustrations, there were simple text notes below.

For example, for the move where she crossed her arms to form a cross and clenched her fists, then turned 90 degrees clockwise and back counterclockwise, Yang Ruoyi wrote: "Seven, eight, cross arms and turn."

For the corresponding move "Seven, eight, raise hands and twist twice," she drew a detailed figure with raised hands and a hip twist and wrote the notes below.

It turned out that Yang Ruoyi used this "clumsy method" to help her remember the moves! She had spent a lot of time studying the tutorial videos to draw these figures!

"Dancing is so hard..." As Tang Wenfei looked at the notebook, Yang Ruoyi sat beside her, pouting and playfully shaking her friend's arm.

"You're learning very fast for a first-time dancer! Look, you're already better than yesterday. You can dance to the music without watching the video." Tang Wenfei comforted her with a gentle voice.

This wasn't just empty praise; Tang Wenfei genuinely admired Yang Ruoyi's progress.

Although Yang Ruoyi still forgot the moves, performed them inaccurately, and occasionally mixed up her left and right feet, compared to the students in the dance classes Tang Wenfei had seen before, Yang Ruoyi was learning at an incredibly fast pace!

After all, Yang Ruoyi had been a complete beginner in dancing. She had never learned from a teacher! In the past, she had participated in a few cultural programs at school as the arts committee member, but she always sang and never danced—she couldn't even remember if she had danced in kindergarten...

A beginner could dance an entire routine to music in just two or three days, which was truly a miracle!

Of course, Yang Ruoyi didn't feel much about it. She just thought Tang Wenfei was a good teacher, patiently helping her with each move, and they practiced very hard. To achieve her dream and prove to her father that she could do it, Yang Ruoyi had sweated a lot in the past few days!

"Hehe, you make me feel better!" Yang Ruoyi smiled brightly at Tang Wenfei. She seemed to have regained her energy, stretched her arms, and jumped off the sofa. Standing in the middle of the office, she gathered her damp, messy hair and prepared to dance again.

"Aren't you going to watch the video from before?" Tang Wenfei shook her phone, puzzled.

"No, I'm not! I didn't do well last time, and it was all broken. I'll start from the beginning again!" Yang Ruoyi said decisively.

...

Children always think their small actions are well-hidden from their parents, but this is just a subjective illusion. In reality, before they step into society, every little change is noticed by their parents' caring eyes!

Yang Ruoyi thought she and her friend were practicing dance in the office on the second floor of the teahouse in secret. However, the first day she came back drenched in sweat was already a giveaway!

Yang Han didn't need to secretly investigate. The old wooden building made the stomping on the wooden floor upstairs quite noticeable! Moreover, the music from upstairs could be heard from the window by the stream, and Yang Han couldn't help but notice it!

"This girl..." Yang Han shook his head lightly.

Of course, Yang Han didn't know the details of his daughter's plan. He just judged from the available information that Yiyi might not have given up.

He understood her determination, as he had been the same in the past, never giving up until he hit a wall. However, Yang Han didn't give up; he broke through the wall and achieved his dream. The cost, however, was missing out on the most precious time in his life, which he still regretted deeply...

Yang Ruoyi, the name Yang Han gave his daughter, meant "like her." He hoped his daughter would be as gentle and kind as her mother. However, as Yiyi grew up, Yang Han noticed that while she looked like her mother, her personality was more and more like his, with a strong, unyielding spirit!

Is it good for a girl to be so strong-willed?

Yang Han shook his head in worry but didn't go upstairs to stop Yiyi. He knew she was in her rebellious teenage years, and the more he tried to stop her, the more she would resist.

Teenagers have many issues, and it's better to guide them rather than block them!

"Uncle Dade, you all chat slowly!" Yang Han stood up from the tea table, filled the teacups for the elderly men who were not playing mahjong and were sitting there to drink tea and chat, and smiled as he prepared to leave. He picked up his straw hat from the counter and walked out into the afternoon sun.

"So early, Yang Han, where are you going instead of drinking tea?" Li Dade asked, puzzled.

"Hehe, I'm going to the market to look for some good pork ribs to make soup for Yiyi." Yang Han smiled, waved goodbye, and walked out.