CHAPTER 11 

After finishing the dumplings, the cafeteria was basically empty. Sang Miao gave Xiao Zhang a quick greeting and hurried off as well.

By now, it was about time. Sang Miao returned to the rehearsal hall. The others had already arrived one after another, and the space was already packed full.

As soon as Sang Miao stepped in, a few of the girls who were close with her waved and called her over.

Her dormmate Xiao Honghong shouted, “Sang Sang, over here! Hurry up!”

Sang Miao found it odd—usually when it came to document readings, Xiao Honghong and the others would hide in the back row, eager to slack off. Yet today, they were all lined up in the front row. She walked over and sat down in the middle seat they’d saved for her.

“Why are you all sitting so far up today?” Sang Miao asked.

Liu Feng, Sang Miao’s dance partner, who also got along well with the girls in her dorm, was seated nearby. He leaned over and said helplessly, “Honghong said the person reading the file today is different. She got all secretive and insisted we sit up front.”

Xiao Honghong was naturally lively and the last person you’d expect to be interested in official documents. Her unusual behavior today piqued Sang Miao’s curiosity. “Honghong, who’s reading the file today?”

Xiao Honghong grinned with a mysterious look. “You’ll know when he comes.”

The spacious rehearsal hall felt a little crowded now. Everyone from the troupe had gathered in the main hall. The room buzzed with chatter and movement.

After a short while, Yang Xin entered with someone—and that someone turned out to be Lu Xiao.

Xiao Honghong glanced proudly at Sang Miao and stuck out her tongue. “Told you this spot was worth it! Even though Captain Lu is as untouchable as a flower on a high mountain, we can still admire him from afar!”

Li Lan teased her by pretending to wipe her mouth. “Honghong, behave yourself—act like a lady.”

Sang Miao couldn’t help but sneak a peek at Lu Xiao and quietly agreed, “Honghong makes a very good point.” After all, Lu Xiao really was good-looking. Today, dressed in his formal military uniform, he stood tall and straight. The sharp lines of his body were visible beneath the crisp shirt. His high nose bridge, thin lips, and tight jawline gave him an air of quiet sensuality.

The stars on his shoulder boards gleamed golden, and the belt cinched tightly around his waist only emphasized his broad shoulders and narrow hips. The image reminded Sang Miao of a phrase—uniform temptation. The thought made a flush creep across her cheeks.

She quickly shook her head. What am I thinking!

As if sensing something, Lu Xiao’s gaze swept over, meeting hers for a split second. Sang Miao immediately dropped her head, terrified that he had somehow read her thoughts.

Xiao Honghong tugged Sang Miao’s arm excitedly. “Sang Sang! I told you sitting in front was worth it! Just now, did Captain Lu look over here or what?!”

“M-Maybe he did…” Sang Miao stammered.

Before Xiao Honghong could get any more excited, Yang Xin clapped her hands to quiet the crowd and introduced the speaker.

“Today’s document reader is Captain Lu Xiao. He’s been temporarily assigned to our troupe for a month, so the leadership decided not to send anyone else over. For this month, Captain Lu will be handling all document readings.”

In the past, the file readings were usually done by officers outside the troupe, typically someone of at least captain rank. Lu Xiao, currently holding that very rank, had consistently ranked top in both written and physical evaluations in the infantry unit. He was more than qualified to handle the job.

So the troupe didn’t request anyone else and instead asked Lu Xiao to take on the role for the month.

Lu Xiao didn’t refuse. After all, back in the infantry, it was usually him who relayed and interpreted the documents and orders for the soldiers under him.

Normally, document readings were long and dull, and most of the young performers—barely eighteen or nineteen years old—struggled to stay awake when the older officers droned on.

But Lu Xiao was different. His language was concise, clear, and structured. He had a knack for extracting the key points from dry, wordy documents, and his logical delivery made things easy to understand.

Coupled with his deep, magnetic voice, everyone—both male and female soldiers—was unusually focused.

Still, Xiao Honghong just couldn’t keep quiet. Not long into the reading, she leaned over and whispered to Sang Miao, “Sang Sang, doesn’t Captain Lu have the nicest voice? I’d be willing to sit through file readings every day if he’s the one talking!”

Sang Miao had been listening intently. She was still unfamiliar with many of the rules and regulations of this era, so she took every opportunity to study them. Normally, even if the readings were boring, she listened and took notes carefully.

And this time, Lu Xiao’s organized, clear explanations made it even easier for her to grasp the new policies in the military unit.

Sang Miao nodded in agreement. “Captain Lu really explains things well.”

Next to her, Liu Feng leaned over and asked, “Sang Miao, how’s the choreography coming along?”

At the mention of dance, Sang Miao paused her note-taking and looked up. “I made some changes to the second half of the routine. I haven’t run through it with everyone yet—it mostly needs to be reworked with you. It won’t affect the others too much.”

Liu Feng, the lead male dancer, was the one who partnered with Sang Miao most often in the routine.

She added, “I didn’t change the storyline or major sequences. I just added a few new battle elements to your sections.”

The moment Liu Feng heard they’d be doing one-on-one rehearsals, a flicker of excitement flashed through his eyes. He kept his voice low and steady as he replied, “Sure, I’m free anytime. Just let me know when you want to rehearse!”

His eyes lingered on her with a hint of barely concealed infatuation.

Sang Miao turned slightly and gave him a small smile. “Okay, let’s partner up for rehearsal tomorrow morning. Once we’ve practiced, we can try it with the whole group and see how it looks on stage.”

“Alright!”

The seating in the rehearsal hall was tight. The two sat shoulder-to-shoulder, and when they turned to speak, they were very close.

Liu Feng was tall and good-looking, which made Sang Miao appear even more petite and delicate in contrast. They were often paired together during performances.

At that moment, from Lu Xiao’s perspective, it looked like Sang Miao was whispering intimately with Liu Feng, smiling sweetly, their postures close and casual. She clearly wasn’t paying proper attention to the document reading.

Lu Xiao suddenly paused mid-sentence, his gaze coolly falling on Sang Miao, who was still chatting. There seemed to be a hint of displeasure and coldness in his eyes.

Sang Miao immediately noticed the sudden silence from the podium. She turned her head and met Lu Xiao’s gaze, which seemed to carry a silent warning. Only then did she suddenly realize that she was probably the only one in the front row still talking.

Sang Miao felt a wave of embarrassment rush over her. She looked exactly like a good student who got caught goofing off in class. She quickly sat up straight, picked up her notebook, and didn’t dare to slack off again.

Lu Xiao’s eyes drifted away as if the brief pause and warning had never happened—like Sang Miao had only imagined it. Then he calmly continued with the next regulation from the document.

Sang Miao had learned her lesson. She sat properly the whole time and didn’t say another word or let her attention wander until the end of the session.

By the time it ended, it was already late. The full moon hung high above the rehearsal hall. As usual, Lu Xiao would be returning to the company commander’s dormitory in the infantry camp.

Sang Miao and a few of her dorm mates, like Xiao Honghong, linked arms and prepared to head back together.

Lu Xiao’s route led in the opposite direction from theirs. He stood at the edge of the crowd, the silver moonlight casting a soft glow over his tall and upright figure, making him appear gentler than usual.

“Sang Miao.” His deep voice rang out from the other side of the crowd.

Sang Miao blinked. Me? What does he want?

While she was still stunned, Xiao Honghong excitedly nudged her in the waist and whispered, “Sangsang, Captain Lu is calling you! Go on!” When Sang Miao still didn’t react, she even gave her a little push.

Sang Miao stumbled forward a couple of steps, then walked toward Lu Xiao, going against the flow of people.

Several members of the cultural troupe had already turned to look at the two strikingly attractive figures. Zhao Weiwei was among them.

Zhao Weiwei had never been close to the others in the troupe—partly because of the grudges from her past life, and partly because in this life, she carried her own pride and restraint, disdaining to associate with this group.

So no one had told her about Lu Xiao’s document-reading session. By the time she arrived at the rehearsal hall, no one had saved her a seat. She had to sit alone in the back row, where she couldn’t even see Lu Xiao’s silhouette—her view completely blocked.

Now, standing in the crowd and watching Lu Xiao call out to Sang Miao alone, Zhao Weiwei couldn’t help but clench her fingers tightly. Why is it Sang Miao again? Why does she keep haunting him like a ghost?

Lu Xiao only came to the cultural troupe in this life because of me.

Meanwhile, Sang Miao had already approached Lu Xiao. He looked down at her and asked mildly, “Have you gotten the dance down?”

“Mm, I’ve found the rhythm. I’ll go over it again with the others tomorrow to fine-tune the coordination. I won’t let you down in the performance, Captain Lu.”

“You’re not coming tomorrow?”

Only then did Sang Miao realize—both of their parts had already been rehearsed. There was no need for her to practice with Lu Xiao again. She had completely forgotten to mention it earlier. No wonder he called her over.

After a moment’s hesitation, she answered, “It’s all set now. No need to trouble you again tomorrow. Thank you for helping me rehearse all this time, Captain Lu.”

“No need to thank me. Helping you coordinate the choreography is part of my job.”

“Even so, you’ve helped me a lot. If you ever need anything from me in the future, don’t hesitate to ask!” Sang Miao thanked him sincerely. She figured they probably wouldn’t have much to do with each other from now on, and she couldn’t help but feel a bit out of sorts at that thought.

Lu Xiao gave her a look and said, “Alright. I’ll come find you if I need anything.”

Seeing that he accepted it, Sang Miao smiled and nodded slightly. “Okay then. If there’s nothing else, I’ll head back now, Captain Lu.”

When Sang Miao turned around, most of the people had already left. Only Xiao Honghong, Liang Xiaoling, and a few of her dorm mates were still waiting for her.

The girls were visibly excited as they asked her, “Sangsang, what did Captain Lu want to talk to you about?”

“Nothing much… I just couldn’t find the right feeling for the choreography before, especially the part where Qionghua goes to the battlefield. I asked him for some guidance,” Sang Miao explained honestly after a moment’s hesitation. There was nothing to hide.

“He taught you one-on-one? Captain Lu is usually so cold and hard to approach—how come he treats you differently? Is he into you?”

“Yeah! Our Sangsang is so pretty, and her dancing is amazing.”

“No, no, it was just instruction. Captain Lu only looks cold, but he’s actually quite nice. He even said helping us with choreography is part of his assignment,” Sang Miao quickly explained. After all, the male lead belongs to the female lead.

“I think he’s only nice to you. The rest of us barely get a word out of him,” Xiao Honghong teased.

“Oh, stop it, Honghong!” Sang Miao laughed. Xiao Honghong’s playful teasing made her feel like she was back in high school, joking around with close classmates. She couldn’t help but feel nostalgic for this kind of close-knit dorm life.