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Her soft, delicate lips carried a familiar sensation that struck him deeply, as if awakening something from within.
Those lips… they resembled Hu Ouhua’s so much. That time, when he had fallen ill, he had accidentally kissed her. The softness, the warmth—this woman before him felt exactly the same.
He held onto her hand, leading her toward the light.
Hu Ouhua’s heartbeat quickened. A mix of fear and a vague, unexplainable anticipation filled her. But just as she took two steps forward, another hand grabbed hers.
The grip was forceful, yanking her away from Lu Yuetang’s grasp.
“Shang Rongrong, are you scared? Thinking of running away at the last minute? If you lose, you’ll have to leave Jing City and never return,” Xu Mindong shouted.
Lu Yuetang turned his head sharply, the unfamiliar voice and unfamiliar name jolting him back to reality.
Had he mistaken her… again?
A wave of helplessness and disappointment quietly surfaced in his heart.
Just then, someone patted his shoulder. In the darkness, the voice of Commander Liu’s daughter, Liu Panpan, came through. “It’s in this theater.”
Hearing footsteps leaving, Hu Ouhua adjusted her veil and walked inside.
Xu Mindong’s challenge this time was a dance duel titled “Red Plum Blossom.”
Both contestants would perform a dance, and the audience would vote. Whoever received the most votes would be the winner, while the loser would have to treat everyone to a meal.
Hearing that losing would cost her dearly, Hu Ouhua immediately refused to accept defeat.
In her past life, she had been confined at home by the Yang family. At first, she had no entertainment, but after color TVs became common, she often watched dance performances on television.
Those were the happiest days of her life.
Whenever the Yang family went on trips, she followed along with the TV, dancing along. She even sneaked into the cultural center to watch teachers instruct young children and learned alongside them.
“Plum blossoms bloom in the bitter cold.”
That was the spirit she wanted to convey in her solo dance.
The theater had only the front lights turned on.
Apart from the stage, the rest of the audience, trickling in one after another, had to fumble in the dark to find their seats.
Before stepping onto the stage, Hu Ouhua tore a small piece from the red lining of her dress, braided it into a small red flower, and placed it on the back of her hand before stepping forward.
Her opening was a series of continuous spins, transitioning gracefully from left to right, balancing on one leg with the elegance of a swan.
Then, she leaped forward, bent backward into a deep arch, and split her legs mid-air. Her movements were swift and mesmerizing.
Especially when she raised one arm high, the red flower on the back of her hand stood out vividly. Her long, graceful swan-like neck added to her beauty. Even with the veil covering her face, the sheer impact of her dance captivated the audience, melting their hearts.
Seated in the seventh row, Lu Yuetang’s gaze was fixed on the woman in red.
Suddenly, he recalled the Ning City incident when Shen Fubai had joked, “Lu, you really did a number on that poor girl’s red dress—tore it to shreds!”
Red.
The same shade of red.
As he watched the radiant girl twirling on stage, it felt like he was trapped in a dream, swallowed whole by an inescapable vortex.
Who exactly was she?
“Well, what do you think? That girl dances pretty well, huh? Though, if you ask me, it’s still not as cool as military boxing,” Liu Panpan commented casually.
She aspired to be a female pilot and spent most of her time training, never interested in the things most girls liked.
Lu Yuetang, however, remained motionless, completely ignoring her words.
On stage, the girl in the red dress executed three grand jetés in a row, raising both hands above her head with the red flower at the peak of her motion. She spun and spun, like a red plum blossom blooming gloriously in the dead of winter.
Beautiful. Fragrant.
Resilient.
The performance was simply breathtaking.
The entire audience, including the usually arrogant Qian Xiaolei, erupted into applause.
Hearing the commotion, Xu Mindong stepped out and was stunned to find that the theater was already packed to the brim.
Wave after wave of applause filled the room.
After the performance, Li Suyun stepped forward and addressed the crowd.
“Now, let’s vote on which dance was superior. Raise your hand for your choice, and I will count the votes.”
The first dance: 6 votes.
The second dance: 12 votes—an overwhelming victory.
Upon hearing the results, realizing she had been utterly defeated by a countryside nurse, Xu Mindong stomped her feet in frustration.
“This result is rigged! She’s just a nurse—what does she know about dancing? You all only voted for her because she’s pretty! She’s nothing but a seductress!”
Everyone exchanged glances.
Even Qian Xiaolei, who was usually the most lively, wasn’t having it.
“Comrade Xu Mindong, making mistakes isn’t scary—what’s scary is refusing to admit them,” he said. “You both wore the same outfits, styled your hair the same way, and had veils covering your faces. We voted purely based on the dance performance.”
A female shop assistant chuckled. “Comrade Xu, you lost fair and square. You did say the loser had to treat everyone to a meal. Shall we go now?”
Xu Mindong was fuming.
She turned to leave but was stopped by Li Suyun. “Xiaodong, think carefully. If you walk away now, it’s not just your reputation at stake—it’s your entire family’s.”
“Hmph!”
Xu Mindong had never been this humiliated.
Frustrated, she angrily pulled out a large banknote, a five-yuan bill, and ten pounds worth of food stamps, shoving them into Li Suyun’s hands.
“There! Happy now?”
Then, she stormed off.
With the troublemaker gone, the rest of the group happily began discussing where to have their feast.
Hu Ouhua was utterly exhausted.
Her red dress was soaked in sweat.
She had no interest in joining the celebration and just wanted to rest.
Li Suyun understood and handed her a canvas bag. “Your clothes are inside. Go change in the restroom and take a break.”
“Alright,” Hu Ouhua replied, taking the bag and heading off.
Meanwhile, in the theater, Lu Yuetang saw the red figure slip away from the crowd, and a bad feeling crept up on him.
He turned to Liu Panpan. “I have military business to attend to. I’ll be leaving now.”
Ignoring her calls, he quickly left the theater.
He searched around the cinema twice but found no sign of her. A deep sense of loss welled up in his heart.
“Lu Yuetang, what a coincidence! Are you here alone to watch a movie?”
Hu Ouhua’s voice suddenly rang from behind.
His dull eyes instantly lit up.
He turned around expectantly—
But she was no longer wearing the red dress.
Disappointment hit him like a wave.
“Yeah,” he replied absentmindedly.
Hu Ouhua was surprised.
She had clearly seen him come with a woman, yet he lied to her. That woman must be important to him.
The thought killed her interest in chatting.
“I’m heading home now. Commander Lu, I hope I get to drink your wedding wine soon,” she said lightly, then turned and left.
Lu Yuetang watched her disappearing figure, countless emotions swirling in his heart.
Why… why wasn’t it her?
A wave of helplessness washed over him.
Just then, a few female military doctors in red uniforms walked out.
“Shang Rongrong really is something. She’s beautiful, talented—if only she had studied harder and gotten into university, her future would’ve been so different.”
“Why worry? With her looks, mark my words—she’ll be marrying a high-ranking military officer soon.”