Chapter 9: The Foreign Doll and Little Bear Dance

  Time flies, under the encouragement of my father and me, my mother did not go to the toy factory, but helped her second aunt at the noodle restaurant. The business of the noodle restaurant is also booming. I also study cultural knowledge diligently every day, and go to learn piano and dance on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

  The New Year's Day is approaching, and the school requires each class to perform at least one program. Teacher Fan arranged a dance for us - dolls and little bears dancing together.

  Since it's a dance of dolls and bears, as the name suggests, the doll is played by a girl, and the bear is played by a boy. The boys and girls are paired up to dance. Needless to say, Wang Di and I were a pair, and we were like that in our past lives too. Our group was the most embarrassing combination, and even though we didn't coordinate well normally, on the day of the performance, he actually forgot the steps! He just stood there blankly, and I didn't dare to blame him, so I could only endure it.

  No, this afternoon after school, all the classmates who participated in the dance had to stay behind for practice. It's worth mentioning that Wang Xiao and Mu Luo were in a group. This afternoon we practiced the second section of turning circles, and neither I nor Wang Di could coordinate well. The teacher and other classmates were resting, but we two were practicing there. Accidentally, both of us fell down, and Wang Di's foot seemed to be twisted. So he shouted: "I'm not practicing anymore, I don't want to participate, I want to quit, my feet are sore from practice."

  He's such a spoiled brat, just one look and you can tell he's been pampered at home. The teacher tried to reason with him but it didn't work, so the teacher called his auntie Director Qian to coax him, but he still refused to listen and insisted on not participating. In the end, Director Qian had to take him away.

  There was a shortage of one boy, and the teacher was a bit worried. Coincidentally, there were several boys and girls outside looking into the classroom. To know that in elementary school, being chosen by the teacher to do something made students very happy. These students weren't chosen, but they were curious about what the teacher taught us, so they hid outside the classroom and peeked inside.

  Mr. Fan called in several boys and asked who wanted to participate in the rehearsal, they all said they were willing. Mr. Fan also said that only one can be chosen, so today he will observe their practice situation, if it's not good, then there is still no chance to participate in the final performance, but they are still all willing to participate.

  Teacher Fan looked at the three of them, each one's head was higher than mine by a lot, this time it's a bit difficult, so I had to reassign them. Wu Hanwen and I formed a group, Wang Xiaoxiao and Mu Luwen were still in a group, and the other two groups also made changes. Lin Lilili was left alone, her face turned green with anger, but to please the teacher, she could only swallow her anger. I watched from the side, secretly pleased, thinking that Wu Hanwen and Lin Lilili being in the same group originally was a waste. Lin Lilili glared at me with a huff when Teacher Fan wasn't paying attention, I didn't show weakness either, giving her a cold stare back. Anyway, the conflict between us wasn't just this one thing, having more or less of it wouldn't make a difference.

  After partnering with Wu Hanwen, it went smoothly, although the steps were not very consistent due to unfamiliarity, but basically there was no problem with the footwork, and the turns could be roughly completed. On the other hand, Lin Lili partnered with those three boys separately, and it seemed that none of them could enter her eyes. After all, those three boys were mediocre, not good-looking, and far inferior to Wu Hanwen who had excellent grades and was handsome. No wonder Lin Lili didn't have the heart to practice.

  During the time when the teacher went to get the tape, Lin Lilili directly accused those three boys, making them look embarrassed. Wang Xiaoxiao's chivalrous heart was stirred again, and she walked over and said: "Lin Lilili, aren't you proud of being a dancing genius? It's said that you started learning dance at the age of five, but what I saw today is nothing special. You keep saying how bad others are, as if you're the best. If you're really good, why can't you get along with anyone?"

  Lin Lilili retorted, "Wang Xiaoxiao, don't be so smug. You think you're a great dancer? I'm just unlucky to have met these three idiots." Wang Xiaoxiao sneered, "Someone who calls others idiots isn't much better themselves. Ask the guys here if anyone wants to partner with you." Indeed, no one spoke up.

  Lin Lili's eyes were red with anger, and she said directly: "Wang Xiaoxiao, I'm going to tell Teacher Fan that you bullied me." Another girl who didn't get along with Lin Lili said: "Every time it's the same old trick, if you like tattling so much then go ahead." Lin Lili ran out in tears to find Teacher Fan. After a while, Teacher Fan came back in holding Lin Lili's hand, but didn't say anything, and it was unclear how she comforted Lin Lili. After several days of rehearsals, they finally settled on a boy named Xu to partner with Lin Lili.

  In the following days of rehearsal, everyone was relatively stable, except for some initial lack of coordination. For example, when I turned around in circles, I would always step on Wu Hanwen's feet. I felt embarrassed and apologized many times, but he was very magnanimous and didn't change his expression. He just said it was okay every time.

  The teacher asked us to turn more circles to get a feel for it, but the more I turned, the more I got dizzy and my feet couldn't stand still. I thought to myself: Don't fall down, don't make a fool of yourself! I quickly closed my eyes, wanting to find a hole to hide in.

  But the pain didn't come as expected. Wu Hanwen caught me just in time. I opened my eyes, and he smiled and said: "Wu, you're so lovable. Great kindness doesn't need to be thanked, but unfortunately, my face is limited. Tomorrow, I'll bring a Red Fuji apple for you to eat." Wu Hanwen's face turned red, and he waved his hand, saying: "No need, I couldn't just watch you fall down."

  Behind me, Lin Lili's discordant voice said: "Idiot." I didn't get angry, thinking that she was just jealous of the Red Fuji apple.

  After another week of rehearsals, the day of the exciting performance finally arrived. Early in the morning, the five boys and five girls who participated in the dance arrived at school early. Teacher Fan carefully applied powder, blush, and lipstick to us, and one of the girls even had a beauty mark painted on her face, which was considered beautiful at that time.

  I took a look in the mirror and felt that my blush was too heavy, but I couldn't help it, after all, I had to respond to the call of the times. But on the other side, Lin Lilili actually told the teacher that she felt her face wasn't red enough like an apple, and wanted to add more, the teacher couldn't resist her request and added a bit more for her. I turned my head and smiled secretly, thinking: what kind of apple is this? It's simply a monkey's butt!

  Wu Hanwen walked over and asked me what I was laughing at. I said it was nothing, and he didn't say anything else, just pointed to my lips and said: "You're being too deliberate with your lip movements, you've almost eaten away all the lipstick." I felt even more unnatural, wanting to be natural again. Wu Hanwen said: "Relax, relax, or you'll smudge the lipstick completely." I rolled my eyes and said: "This is such a hassle, knowing that in her past life, she didn't wear lipstick until her twenties, what a waste of effort!" Since I spoke softly, Wu Hanwen asked me what I said. I could only laugh and say: "Wu class monitor, your demands are too harsh for me, this young lady won't serve you." Wu Hanwen's face turned red, saying: "Do as you please, my name is not to be used like that, don't call me Wu class monitor."

  Teacher Fan gave us a small bear headgear after we finished our makeup, and now everything is ready, all that's missing is the east wind. We lined up in an orderly manner and headed to the theater.

  After a while, the performance began, and our class was the sixth program. The first three programs were either chorus or duet songs, including "Where is Spring" and "Let's Row Together", and two classes only wore school uniforms. Our program was still quite innovative. Moreover, we all spent money on it, buying three-layer gauze princess dresses from Hu Feifei's mother's wholesale store, which were enviable at that time. The boys all wore white shirts with blue suspenders and red bow ties, which looked perfect together.

  At the fourth program, we went to wait for the show, everyone was talking in a low voice, some girls said they were nervous, I didn't feel anything, if I had to be nervous, it would have been in my previous life, this life is all old tricks. Finally, the host announced that the sixth program was Er Nian Er Ban's doll and little bear dance, welcome them on stage. We divided into two teams and came to the center of the stage one after another, quickly finding our positions during practice, waiting for the formal music to start. I and Wu Hanwen cooperated really well, I clapped my hands, he circled around me, then stretched out his hand to invite me to dance together, circling was particularly smooth, didn't bump into his feet at all, and his face was full of smiles, which also reminded me to keep smiling. In short, when the music ended, we all felt reluctant to end.

  After stepping down, we returned to our seats in the classroom and watched the performances seriously. The senior sisters had guzheng playing, dancing, and the most special one was the Latin dance of Class 1 of Grade 6. Everyone thought it was very wonderful, I also think it's okay, but not as good as the people in the video that Meng Nainai showed us, nor as lively as when Meng Nainai danced alone. However, it's still worth learning from.

  After all the programs ended, it was the exciting awarding session. The host first announced the third prize, which didn't include our class, so we breathed a sigh of relief and were sure to be in either the second or first prize. After announcing the second prize without our class again, I felt a little excited but also slightly worried. Finally, when the last first prize was announced, it was indeed our class.

  We were overjoyed, and in the excitement, I unconsciously grabbed Wu Hanwen's hand. His hand was icy cold, while mine had a hint of moisture. I quickly let go, feeling embarrassed. Turning my head, Wang Xiaoxiao was even more exaggerated, giving Mu Luo'en a princess hug. Mu Luo'en had a stunned expression.

  She turned her head around and saw Wu Hanwen also looking at them, as if a hint of envy flashed in his eyes. I quickly shook my head, it must be that I was mistaken, could good students like Wang Xiaoxiao? Or did the good student have a crush, haha, sister will investigate military information later, dig out first-hand news, and it turns out I have the potential for gossip.