Chapter 3 – Clearing Up Old Grudges

Ye Heng was speaking without much seriousness, pushing Ning Songyi forward as he said,
“Who knows, maybe in the end this one here will become your biggest headache, Aunt Fang.”

“I don’t care about him,” He Fang replied bluntly. “If he can’t get himself a wife, that’s his own fault and his bad temper that he inherited from his father.”

She pulled a thick stack of large-denomination bills from her drawer and stuffed it into Ye Heng’s hand.
“Here, take this.”

“Aunt Fang, I really can’t accept this!”

“Take it!”

He Fang forced the money into his hand.
“This is money that Old Master Ye left in my care. You’ll need it to look after him properly.”

Ye Heng understood what she meant, and could only slip the money into his pocket.

“All right, that’s all I called you in for. Go on, you’ve got things to do.”

Ning Songyi got up to leave, but his gaze was drawn toward something in the corner of the room.

“What are you staring at? Let’s go!”

Seeing that he hadn’t moved, Ye Heng clapped him on the shoulder to snap him out of it. Only then did Ning Songyi shove his hands in his pockets and prepare to leave.

“Oh, and tell your sister she owes me a self-reflection essay—one thousand words, due tomorrow. If she dares to eavesdrop again, I’ll add another thousand.”

Ye Heng froze mid-step, sucking in a breath. He exchanged a helpless look with Ning Songyi, then hurried out.

Zhao Yu stepped out of He Fang’s office. She wanted to use these few days to get back into her old rhythm of dancing, so instead of wandering around, she headed straight for the practice room.

As soon as she pushed open the door, she saw someone already practicing quietly inside.

She entered, but the girl ignored her, continuing to drill basic movements. Zhao Yu followed suit, silently warming up.

“You gave up the lead dancer position, didn’t you? What are you still practicing for?”

Zhao Yu was startled. She turned her head and found Ning Songyun suddenly at her side.

In her past life, Zhao Yu never knew what she had done to offend Ning Songyun. Every time they met, she either got an eye-roll or a hostile glare.

But now… she was the one to strike up conversation?

“What are you spacing out for? I’m talking to you.”

When Zhao Yu stayed silent, Ning Songyun’s voice rose:
“What’s wrong? After that scumbag man blinded you and filled your head with pig fat, your ears don’t work properly either?”

“I never gave up the lead role. So of course I need to keep practicing,” Zhao Yu answered.

“You didn’t give it up?!”

Ning Songyun looked almost excited, but quickly coughed to cover it up under Zhao Yu’s puzzled gaze.

“Hmph, at least you’ve got some sense. Didn’t let that scumbag and that woman trick you.”

“You seem very concerned about whether I gave it up or not.”

“Concerned? About you?!”

Ning Songyun leapt up like a startled cat.
“I just think—if you beat me fair and square, but then gave the spot to some half-baked amateur, that would be an insult to me! Why would I care about you?!”

Zhao Yu finally understood. So that’s why her attitude had been like that in her past life.

Still… her prickly tsundere act was kind of cute.

Zhao Yu deliberately stretched out her tone: “Ohhh~~ I see now.”

“You—!”

Ning Songyun stomped furiously, then sat down hugging her knees with her back to Zhao Yu, cheeks puffed with indignation.

After finishing some stretches, Zhao Yu tiptoed over and crouched beside her.
“I haven’t practiced these last few days, I’m a bit rusty. Will you practice with me?”

Ning Songyun gave a cold snort and turned her back again.

Zhao Yu lowered her eyes, feigning disappointment. Out of the corner of her eye, Ning Songyun saw her expression, hesitated, then suddenly sprang up.

“Ugh, what are you standing there like a fool for? Come on already!”

Zhao Yu couldn’t help but laugh as she rose to join her. The two of them began practicing together to the music.

She had thought that after decades without dancing, her body would be hopelessly out of practice.

But the moment the music began, her muscles seemed to awaken from slumber. Every step, every move, landed precisely on the beat.

When Ning Songyi and Ye Heng arrived, they saw the two girls dancing gracefully.

“Not bad, your little sister’s pretty good,” Ye Heng said lazily, arms crossed, complimenting Ning Songyun.

But Ning Songyi’s eyes were fixed only on Zhao Yu, unwilling to look away.

Sunlight streamed into the practice room, wrapping Zhao Yu in a warm glow, even her fingertips seemed to shine.

Ye Heng noticed the unusual look in his friend’s eyes, and his gaze flicked between the two of them before dawning comprehension spread across his face.

He gave a pointed cough, then began circling Ning Songyi, deliberately singing nonsense in a grating voice:

“I don’t knoooow~~ so looooud~~ don’t need to caaare~~ tsk tsk tsk, who said that? And what are you staring at now, huh?”

His mockery earned him an elbow straight to the ribs from Ning Songyi.

Catching him off guard, Ye Heng stumbled forward and smacked into the door with a loud thud, drawing the attention of the two dancers.

“Brother? What are you doing here?” Ning Songyun ran up to him.

“Hey, little miss, you don’t even greet your Brother Ye?”

Ye Heng hooked her head with his hand, grinning as she struggled.

“We came to tell you—you’ve got to write a self-reflection. Aunt Fang found out you were eavesdropping. A thousand words, due tomorrow.”

“What?!”

Ning Songyun’s delicate features scrunched up in dismay.

She muttered under her breath, “I ran so fast and still got caught. Just my luck…”

Zhao Yu’s shoulders shook as she fought to suppress her laughter.

Then a long, slender hand suddenly appeared in front of her, holding a familiar hairpin.

She touched her head and realized the hairpin her mother had given her had fallen off.

“Thank you,” she murmured, taking it back and pinning it in place. Even if one was missing, recovering this one meant a lot to her.

When she lifted her head, she found Ning Songyi’s dark, ink-like eyes fixed on her.

She panicked, quickly looking away, heart skipping.

Where had she seen those eyes before?

But when she dared look again, all she saw was his retreating back.

Ye Heng noticed the strange tension between them and, smirking, gave Ning Songyun a few exaggerated winks before following Ning Songyi out.

“You know my brother?” Ning Songyun asked curiously. It was the first time she’d seen him take the initiative to approach a girl.

As they walked away, she couldn’t hold back her gossiping nature any longer. But when Zhao Yu shook her head, she sighed in disappointment and picked up her bag.

“Guess I’ll go home and write that stupid essay.”

“You weren’t eavesdropping on me, were you? Is that why you got punished?” Zhao Yu suddenly asked.

Ning Songyun froze.
“W-what? Who said that? Who was I listening to?”

From her reaction, Zhao Yu knew she was right.

Of course—otherwise, how would she have known about Zhao Yu nearly giving up her spot? That news hadn’t spread yet.

Zhao Yu stepped closer, reaching for the bag slung over Ning Songyun’s shoulder.

“What are you doing?”