Chapter 232
Chapter 232
Zhou Jingying was not only skilled at solo dancing. Partner dancing was part of her professional repertoire as well.
But…
Even a consummate professional could nearly lose decades of cultivated composure when paired with someone who refused to cooperate at all.
Zhou Jingying was dancing. Lu Jing, on the other hand… turned every dance step into a giant stride, and every single step landed squarely on Zhou Jingying’s feet.
Lu Jing was terribly embarrassed.
Every time he stepped on her, he apologized. “Sorry, sorry.”
At first, Zhou Jingying smiled gently. “It’s fine.”
But after several repetitions…
“Sorry. I don’t know how to dance.”
“It’s all right. Just be more careful.”
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s fine…”
“Ah… I’m really sorry. Does it hurt?”
“Not too badly.”
“…”
“Um, sorry again.”
“Shut up!”
When Qin Weiyi looked over, Lu Jing was staring hesitantly at Zhou Jingying, wanting to apologize but not daring to speak. He looked at her, then at his own feet, and then–with a smack–stepped on Zhou Jingying’s foot yet again.
Zhou Jingying’s expression had gone completely numb.
Panic flashed across Lu Jing’s face, and he gave her a cautious glance.
He felt embarrassed but also somewhat aggrieved.
Making a grown man like him dance–wasn’t that deliberately making life difficult?
As he thought this, Lu Jing stepped on her again.
Zhou Jingying finally reached her limit.
The next time Lu Jing’s foot came down, she beat him to it and planted her own foot squarely atop his with a smack.
Lu Jing: “???”
For a moment, he could not decide whether to feel relieved that he had not stepped on her again or sorry for himself now that he had been stepped on too.
Seeing Lu Jing’s expression, Qin Weiyi guessed nearly every stage of his thought process and could not help laughing.
Yellow Hair noticed Qin Weiyi laughing and instinctively turned to look. The sight made him laugh too–and that caused him to step on Qin Weiyi’s foot again.
Qin Weiyi’s laughter vanished instantly. He cast Yellow Hair an icy glance.
Yellow Hair’s smile froze. He no longer dared let his attention wander.
Xia Zeqin and Shi Chen’s pairing fared somewhat better.
Xia Zeqin led while Shi Chen followed. Shi Chen was unfamiliar with the woman’s steps and inevitably made mistakes, but every time he seemed about to tread on Xia Zeqin, Xia Zeqin accurately avoided him.
Shi Chen opened his mouth to apologize several times, yet never once managed to say the words.
Of the two remaining pairs, Lin Junruo and Yang Zhen were shockingly well coordinated.
Yang Zhen led and apparently knew how to dance. Their initial unfamiliarity soon gave way to increasingly smooth cooperation, making them one of the few pairs genuinely dancing.
As for Mu Xin and Fang Kang…
That strange pairing was best left unmentioned.
Mu Xin only wanted the song to end as quickly as possible.
The Partner dance lasted seven or eight minutes–not especially long, yet to Qin Nan’s group, it felt like an entire lifetime.
When the music stopped and the young woman at the center of the floor withdrew with a smile, everyone relaxed slightly.
The music soon changed again. Some people continued dancing while other guests left the floor. Qin Nan’s group observed for a while, and only after confirming that a substantial number of guests had withdrawn did they hurry off as well.
Dancing–they never wanted to do it again for the rest of their lives.
Once off the dance floor, everyone made their own choices.
Xia Zeqin disappeared immediately. Shi Chen headed toward the food area to see whether he could discover anything. The instant the dance ended, Fang Kang began hopping away in search of clues. But being a frog made him slow. By the time Mu Xin flew back onto Lin Junruo and rejoined Qin Nan’s group, Fang Kang was still hopping, his destination unknown.
Since Zhou Jingying and Yang Zhen had danced nearby, they also approached Qin Nan’s group instead of leaving at once.
Yang Zhen hoped to extract useful clues from Jian Fan. Zhou Jingying, meanwhile, simply wanted to see whether she could recover some value from Lu Jing’s group after he had stepped on her so many times.
“Jian Fan, what do we do next?” Qin Nan asked.
Jian Fan’s expression was grave. “We can’t leave the ball.”
“Leaving might get us erased,” Yellow Hair added.
Jian Fan shook his head. “That’s not what I mean. Our permitted area is limited to this ballroom.” As he spoke, Jian Fan looked in one direction.
Qin Nan immediately followed his gaze.
They were inside a castle, with the ball taking place in its main hall. The front entrance led toward the castle gates, but another door connected the ballroom to the rest of the castle. Servants now guarded that door.
In other words, they could not enter the castle’s other areas. The ballroom was the only place currently available to investigate.
“Let’s split up,” Jian Fan said.
Qin Nan and the others had no objections.
Jian Fan’s gaze settled on Qin Weiyi, then shifted to Mu Xin. He quickly decided. “Mu Xin, go with Qin Weiyi and Lu Jing.”
Qin Weiyi could not speak or communicate, while Lu Jing could not keep up intellectually. Separating them would not be wise either, so the best solution was to add a third person to their pair.
Mu Xin, now transformed into Thumbelina, attracted little attention. The three of them made a suitable team.
Mu Xin had no objection. “All right.” She flew over to Qin Weiyi and Lu Jing, circled them once, then asked Qin Weiyi, “Mind if I land on your shoulder?”
Unable to answer, Qin Weiyi merely pointed at his shoulder to convey permission.
Mu Xin immediately landed there.
She could fly, but staying airborne constantly was tiring.
Qin Nan looked at Yellow Hair next. “You’re with Lin Junruo.”
Yellow Hair made an okay sign. That naturally left Qin Nan paired with Jian Fan. Zhou Jingying and Yang Zhen were not part of their team, so Jian Fan had no need to assign them.
Of course, if they wished to join, they could conveniently form a pair of their own.
Zhou Jingying had no interest in joining.
She did not know the group well, and hasty cooperation might do more harm than good. But just as she was about to leave, Yang Zhen suddenly reached out and grabbed her. Smiling at Jian Fan, she said, “Let us join. We’ll be a pair.”
Jian Fan did not answer Yang Zhen. Instead, he looked at Zhou Jingying.
Zhou Jingying had never expected Yang Zhen to do this. She was about to refuse when Yang Zhen suddenly tugged her sleeve. Zhou Jingying opened her mouth, but the words on her lips abruptly stalled.