Relay Race on the Dance Floor

On the other side, Zhuo Shi, holding a glass of red wine, watched the group of young people enter with a smile. Turning to Cai Yue'er beside him, he said, "See? What did I tell you? Young people should act like young people."

Cai Yue'er frowned slightly, her gaze lingering on Gu Yue, Ye Xinglan, and Xu Xiaoyan for a second at a time before settling on Yun Jingheng. She sighed, "Zhuo Shi, don't you think... the atmosphere between these kids is a bit awkward?"

Zhuo Shi took a sip of wine, his smile deepening. "Subtlety is good; subtlety is what makes things beautiful."

Cai Yue'er glared at him.

Yun Ming... look at how you've raised your son! You were flirting with girls everywhere when you were in school, and now it's your son's turn, huh?!

Cai Yue'er shouted those words in her heart, but she forgot that she had a bad habit.

When I get excited, my lips move slightly, enough for those around me to see.

Zhuo Shi, holding a glass of red wine, glanced at her with a smile and asked, "Who are you talking to?"

"No." Cai Yue'er immediately resumed her expressionless demeanor.

Your lips are moving.

Chewing gum.

"You never chew gum."

Cai Yue'er was silent for two seconds, then turned to look at him, her gaze so sharp it seemed she wanted to drill two holes in his face. "Zhuo Shi, are you very free? If you are, go check the lifeboats on the ship. What if someone falls into the sea?"

Zhuo Shi tactfully took a sip of wine and stopped asking questions, but the curve of his lips clearly said, "I understand everything."

Leng Yaozhu stood not far from them, her face as dark as the sky before a storm.

Her gaze followed Gu Yue intently, watching her smile so brightly, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

"Oh my God, my Nana!"

She wailed inwardly, "I did say Yun Jingheng was nice, but I didn't tell you to just fawn over him! Fine, you can fawn over him, but at least consider the occasion. Look at the looks in the eyes of those two girls next to you—do you really think you can win him over?"

She took a deep breath, picked up her glass, and took a large gulp, trying to calm her turbulent emotions with alcohol.

Cai Yue'er noticed her unusual behavior, turned her head to look at her, and asked, "Lord Leng, are you alright?"

"Very good."

Leng Yaozhu put down her empty glass, her smile as dignified as a textbook cover. "Very good."

How could Cai Yue'er not know that Leng Yaozhu's apprentice was Gu Yue? She was shocked to see her apprentice behaving intimately with Yun Ming's son, especially with other people present.

How could she be comfortable?

"Lord Leng," Cai Yue'er spoke, her tone slightly gentler than usual, "Let the children deal with their own affairs. Didn't we go through the same thing back then?"

Leng Yaozhu glanced at her sideways, her gaze filled with helplessness, heartache, and a hint of inexplicable bitterness. "Back then? You were the first one to lose back then."

Cai Yue'er was momentarily speechless, then said expressionlessly, "I did that... for cultivation."

So you're still single.

"... Lord Leng, I don't like hearing that."

Leng Yaozhu finally showed a genuine smile, though it was tinged with bitterness. "Fine, I won't say anymore."

She took another glass of wine from the waiter's tray.

The music on the dance floor never stopped, like an invisible river carrying the spinning figures and fluttering skirts.

The lights changed from warm yellow to pale pink, and then from pale pink to light purple; each change seemed to herald the beginning of a different story.

Leng Yaozhu held her wine glass, her gaze never leaving the dance floor.

She watched as Gu Yue led Yun Jingheng into the dance floor, and saw her apprentice, who was usually indifferent to everyone, look up at the boy beside her with a smile she had never seen before.

That smile wasn't polite, distant, or perfunctory; it was an irrepressible joy that welled up from the depths of his eyes.

Leng Yaozhu felt as if a string in her heart had been tightened.

"This child," she whispered, her voice barely audible to herself, "Wouldn't you be a little more reserved?"

But Gu Yue didn't hear her master's thoughts.

She was holding Yun Jingheng's hand, leading him step by step across the dance floor.

The silver-white skirt and the silver-gray suit trousers overlapped and separated, like two streams flowing into the same lake.

"Relax a little," Gu Yue said.

I am very relaxed.

Yun Jingheng's answer was as stubborn as ever, but his shoulders did feel a bit heavier than before, no longer as stiff as a board.

Gu Yue gently pressed her fingers on his shoulder. "It's a little better."

"The teacher teaches well."

Don't give me that.

Yun Jingheng looked down at her, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Gu Yue didn't look at him; her gaze was fixed on his shoulder, as if she were studying some important topic.

One lap, two laps, three laps.

Yun Jingheng's steps became smoother and smoother. Although he would still occasionally step on Gu Yue's skirt, he no longer stumbled.

Gu Yue spun him around, her silver-white skirt billowing and drawing a graceful arc in the air before slowly falling.

The song ended.

Gu Yue released Yun Jingheng's hand, took half a step back, and a faint smile still lingered on her lips.

She was about to turn and walk towards the edge of the dance floor when—

Leng Yaozhu thought she had misread it.

Ye Xinglan had somehow already positioned herself half a step behind Gu Yue.

It wasn't that they walked over or squeezed in, but rather, as if they had calculated the distance and timing beforehand, they naturally took a step forward the instant Gu Yue let go, taking Yun Jingheng's hand with their left hand and placing their right hand on his shoulder.

The movements were as fluid as water.

Without pausing, without hesitation, and without even looking into Yun Jingheng's eyes.

She so naturally filled the gap left by Gu Yue's retreat, as if she were the one who was originally there to take over the dance.

Yun Jingheng was visibly taken aback.

He leaned back slightly, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but Ye Xinglan had already turned him around halfway, the silver-gray suit and black skirt overlapping under the light.

Before he could react, she had already led him away.

Leng Yaozhu's wine glass hung in mid-air; she forgot to put it down and forgot to drink.

Her gaze was fixed on the two figures in the center of the dance floor, black and silver-gray intertwined, spinning, separating, and then coming together again, like a performance she was forced to watch without a ticket.

"This..." Her lips moved, but no sound came out.

She clearly saw Gu Yue let go of her hand, clearly saw Gu Yue take half a step back, and clearly thought the dance was over.

Leng Yaozhu took a deep breath, raised the wine glass to her lips, and found that her hand was trembling slightly.

Then, completely bewildered, I watched the entire dance.

Then she watched the two of them stop, watched Ye Xinglan walk to Gu Yue and sit down next to her, and then she looked at the girl in the blue dress.

Leng Yaozhu looked at the scene, a strange premonition suddenly welled up in her heart: there was still one person missing.

Unlike Ye Xinglan's "seamless transition," Xu Xiaoyan's entrance was in a completely different style.

She didn't wait behind Gu Yue, nor did she time it with a stopwatch.

She walked onto the dance floor as naturally as if she were strolling in a garden, her steps neither too fast nor too slow.

She tilted her head and smiled as she walked up to Yun Jingheng.

Leng Yaozhu couldn't hear what she said, but judging from her lip movements, it was something like "Your braid is undone."

Yun Jingheng reached out and touched his hair, then nodded.

Xu Xiaoyan said something else, and Yun Jingheng hesitated for a moment. Then, he found a seat on the edge of the dance floor, while Xu Xiaoyan stood behind him.

Leng Yaozhu was stunned.

She saw Xu Xiaoyan reach out and gather Yun Jingheng's loose hair, her fingers deftly weaving through it, her movements as gentle as if she were handling something precious.

Strands of black hair were straightened in her hands, divided into three sections, and braided into a plait.

Right by the dance floor. Right in the middle of the music.

Right under everyone's watchful eyes.

"Oh no... this child," she murmured, looking at Xu Xiaoyan's profile as she diligently braided her hair.

"She's even better than the previous two; I need to teach Nana something..."

Cai Yue'er's voice came from the side, carrying a subtle hint of teasing. "Lord Leng, are you alright?"

Leng Yaozhu took a deep breath, placed the empty glass on the table, and gave a textbook-perfect, dignified smile, "I'm fine. Very fine."