Chapter 395: Urgent Notice

The sun set in the west, and the fiery clouds painted the buildings, carriages, and horses of Lingao County in a faint red hue.

An East Wind horse-drawn carriage drove unhurriedly along the newly paved street. The driver gently pulled the reins, and the well-trained draft horse slowly came to a stop beside a building with a sign that read “Central Experimental Art Troupe.” A female Elder emerged from the carriage, her dark hair coiled into a “Parisian bird’s nest,” her dress flowing, her demeanor graceful and elegant, with a hint of charm. It was Liu Shuixin.

Just then, another identical carriage arrived right behind her. Before it had come to a complete stop, a figure leaped out—a young girl in a blue sailor-collared dress with white trim.

“Ah, Teacher Liu! What a coincidence! Long time no see! You look wonderful! Wow, what a beautiful dress, and so new! It looks like it was made in Lingao. They’ve finally learned how to make clothes!”

The girl bounced up to Liu Shuixin, firing off a string of questions. Liu Shuixin was familiar with every “young Elder,” especially the girls, as she taught them deportment class every week.

“Ziqi, what are you doing here? You’re not performing,” Liu Shuixin said with a smile. “I think you could put on a show too.”

“I can’t,” Lin Ziqi waved her hands repeatedly. “My singing is a train wreck, my dancing is a chaotic mess… I have no talent. I’m here to keep her company during rehearsal today!” she said, pointing to Zhang Yunmi, who had just gotten out of the carriage behind her. The latter had already changed into her performance costume and greeted her with a smile, “Hello, Teacher Liu! It’s so good of you to come and guide us at this hour. You must be tired!”

“Hello, Yunmi! For the sake of the show’s quality, a little hard work is nothing. But it’s great that you can be the lead dancer! The rehearsal is about to start, let’s go in!” During the past few days of rehearsal, Zhang Yunmi’s dancing had improved by leaps and bounds. Liu Shuixin was very impressed. The girl was not only quick to learn but also hardworking. Dancing was easy—as long as a girl was cute, had a good figure, and a little sense of rhythm, she could get countless “likes” by dancing to otaku music. But to dance well and with expressiveness required considerable effort. Zhang Yunmi had no dance background, and her body was a bit stiff when she started. She had improved entirely by sacrificing her rest time for repeated practice, so Liu Shuixin’s words were filled with warmth.

Originally, Liu Shuixin hadn’t had a very good impression of the Grid Skirt Club’s idol group project. In the other world, she had seen many girls who uploaded dance videos online. In her opinion, some of these girls, who were great in terms of looks, figure, and smile, had put very little effort into their dancing. Even with simple Japanese idol dances, they moved their limbs with a seeming reluctance to expend energy. If it hadn’t been for Dongmen and the others explaining at length that they were creating a “professional group,” and her own fingers itching for some work, she wouldn’t have been very willing to take on the job of the idol group’s rehearsal teacher.

However, over the past few days, she had come to enjoy it. It was the first time in many years that she had properly choreographed a dance for a performance. The long-lost work made her radiant and feel much younger.

The three of them entered the building. Lin Ziqi, trailing behind, didn’t forget to signal the guard to leave with the carriage.

With the cultural festival performance approaching, the organizers of the Grid Skirt Club were taking this extra rehearsal very seriously. Not only were they all present, but they had also directed the members to make all the necessary stage preparations.

Zhang Bolin stood behind the mixing console, a thin layer of sweat already beading on his forehead.

Since Nangong Hao himself was a man of many talents and couldn’t spare the time to also take care of the troupe’s Four Seasons performance—of course, the “old men” of the Grid Skirt Club believed this was a deliberate arrangement by Okamoto—the task of operating the playback and amplification equipment for the performance fell to the club’s Zhang Bolin. The main reason he was chosen was that he was the youngest and said to have the quickest reflexes.

Operating playback and amplification equipment during a live performance was a technical and delicate job. There was no room for error. A slight mistake could lead to chaotic music and an embarrassing dance performance, while a major one could burn out the equipment. The order of the backing tracks was especially crucial. If the wrong section was played, the performers, who danced strictly to the rhythm of the music, would immediately be thrown into confusion.

Zhang Bolin had no choice but to shadow Nangong Hao and learn from him. After a few days of intensive study, he was barely able to operate the recording and playback equipment independently.

In the rehearsal hall, the size and shape of the stage had been marked out on the floor with paper tape. Sunlight streamed in from the skylights, clearly illuminating the numbers on the floor.

White Arabic numerals, from 0 to 15, were arranged in three rows, a total of sixteen positions.

A group of girls was already waiting in the rehearsal room. They had already put on their makeup as required for the performance and were wearing their hair flowers and small accessories. To keep their clothes and accessories neat and tidy, no one was sitting; they all stood by the wall.

“Alright, everyone to their positions! Let’s start the rehearsal.” Liu Shuixin didn’t bother with pleasantries with the gentlemen of the Grid Skirt Club. She came out of the dressing room and got straight into her professional mode.

She had changed into a leotard and dance shoes, her hair tied back unceremoniously with a handkerchief. Her expression was serious and focused, a completely different person from the charming young woman of a moment ago.

The girls quickly took their positions. Although there were sixteen positions, three people had no assigned spot and stood in the back row. They were the understudies. Even though they were also dressed and made up for the performance and participated in the full rehearsal, they could only stand on the sidelines and wait to be called upon during the actual show.

Zhang Yunmi stood at position 0, the center of the front row. This was the so-called C-position, the focus of the entire stage. Position 1 belonged to Lin Aili, and position 2 to Zuo Yamei. It was said that this was Dongmen Chuiyu’s idea. Originally, Liu Shuixin had wanted Zuo Yamei to be at position 1. Dongmen’s reasoning was sound: Zuo Yamei was an “amateur enthusiast,” while Lin Aili was still a full-time student. Lin Aili was also younger, clearly having more potential as an artist.

“Let’s go, first song!” Liu Shuixin clapped her hands and shouted towards Zhang Bolin, “The Only Flower in the World!”

Music with the style of another world began to play. Led by the Elder Zhang Yunmi, the girls in plaid skirts began to dance gracefully.

Liu Shuixin stood to the side, carefully watching each person’s dance moves, occasionally nodding or frowning.

At the end of the song, Dongmen Chuiyu and the others sitting on the side applauded, but Liu Shuixin shook her head slightly. “There are still some small problems. Starting with Yunmi, come to me one by one, and I’ll go over the details.”

Lin Ziqi had long since found a comfortable chair. Seeing her best friend walk over from Liu Shuixin’s side, she quickly took out a bottle of kvass from her bag and handed it to her, praising, “You look so good in Japanese style! If this were the old world, so many people would be crowding around for your autograph!”

Zhang Yunmi took the drink but didn’t reply. Afraid of smudging her makeup, she didn’t dare wipe her face with a towel, only using a tissue to blot the sweat. “Phew, so tired. Uncle Dongmen organized this rehearsal at this hour, he should arrange for dinner, right?”

“Of course!” Lin Ziqi answered loudly. “The great beauty of our Fāngcǎodì’s first class is here, how could we neglect her!”

Zhang Yunmi gave a shy smile and shook her head. “Don’t be silly, what does that make me?” She didn’t take the kvass, shaking her head. “You have to put a straw in it for me.”

Because of the lipstick and foundation, she could only drink with a straw after putting on makeup.

“Ah, I forgot!” Lin Ziqi quickly rummaged through her bag for a straw, inserted it into the bottle, and handed it to her again.

“Thanks. You’re so thoughtful, Ziqi.”

“You’re working so hard.” Lin Ziqi looked at her best friend lovingly as she held the glass bottle and sipped the drink in small mouthfuls. “I originally thought it was just for fun…”

“Actually, I think it’s fine. Dancing is a lot of fun. When I’m dancing, my mind is a blank slate. I don’t have to think about anything, just follow the rhythm. It’s like floating.” Zhang Yunmi smiled faintly. “It’s a pity I’m not a good dancer.”

“If you’re not a good dancer, then no one else can live…”

Zhang Yunmi shook her head. “Teacher Liu just said my expressiveness isn’t good enough.”

“That’s being too picky.”

Zhang Yunmi smiled faintly. “I’m starting to like being an idol, even though I’m not a great dancer.”

Dongmen Chuiyu happened to walk over and heard Lin Ziqi’s words. He smiled and said, “Little Zhang, you actually dance very well. Your stage presence is much better than those girls. Their expressiveness is limited by the times, they can’t compare to you! I’ve already arranged for the merchant’s guild restaurant to deliver food later, you won’t go hungry. You guys rest for a while, I’ll go check on Teacher Liu’s side.” With that, he walked to the other side of the hall.

“Mmm… Uncle Dongmen is very thoughtful. Good, I don’t have to go back for dinner,” Zhang Yunmi squeezed out a faint smile.

Lin Ziqi naturally understood the meaning behind her words. She didn’t know what to say for a moment, just patted the slender shoulder of the girl beside her.

At this moment, a garrison soldier entered the rehearsal hall and spoke a few words with several Elders. Wu Ciren’s face changed. He said, “I’ll be back in a moment, tell everyone not to disperse,” and quickly followed the soldier out of the rehearsal hall.

They went to the art troupe’s office. A staff member on duty handed the receiver to the enthusiastic “police chief.”

“This is Wu Ciren, who’s this? Director Wu Mu of the Political Security Bureau? Please hold on a moment!” Wu Ciren covered the mouthpiece and waved his hand to dismiss those around him. After the soldier and the staff had left the office, he spoke into the phone, “What can I do for you?”

After listening to Wu Mu’s account on the phone, Wu Ciren’s brow furrowed, especially at the last sentence: “There is currently no evidence that Officer Zuo Yamei has engaged in any anti-Senate activities, but her suspicious social connections are under surveillance. Please ensure your department’s safety and cooperate with our work when the time is right.” It left him completely bewildered.