NOVEL NEXT Chapter 20 - Little Tang Yuan, I dare you to push
The moment they entered the dance studio, Jiang Zi stepped forward and stood beside Tang Yuan, sticking close to her.
Jiang Zi looked down at Tang Yuan, her gaze as gentle as water, and unexpectedly said, “I’m willing.”
Jiang Zi didn’t know how to create a CP, but she knew how to show her true feelings.
Tang Yuan turned to look at her, astonished, and reflexively let go of her hand. “You… you don’t need to agree right away. I haven’t thought it through yet…”
After speaking, Tang Yuan hurriedly walked back, cross-legged, and began watching a video on her tablet.
Jiang Zi followed her, sitting close beside her. They huddled together to watch the screen.
【Hmm? Why do I feel like Jiang Zi isn’t being threatened to play with Tang Yuan?】
【They seem to have a good relationship on the surface. Just now, Tang Yuan was the one who took Jiang Zi to get her injury treated.】
【Who knows if Tang Yuan caused that injury, and there are still people defending the perpetrator?】
【I’m really curious about who’s behind Tang Yuan. The cleanup crew arrived so quickly.】
“Jiang Zi, Little Yuan, come over here.”
After finishing with the improvised choreographed group, Hou Yuan Zhan came over to check on their progress.
For the rest of the day, except for a brief lunch break, they were fully immersed in their work.
Jiang Zi lacked a dance background, so learning was quite challenging. They first needed to teach her to understand the beat, then have her mimic the movements from the video tutorial, and finally adapt the details to fit her own style.
Even so, their group had it the easiest. The pair working on the improvised choreography had a dance background, but the difficulty of creating choreography on the spot meant constant adjustments, and they didn’t manage to perfect a complete routine on the first day.
The other two groups of girls, who had never learned dance, progressed more slowly than Jiang Zi and Tang Yuan.
After Hou Yuan Zhan finished work at the scheduled dinner time, the dance studio was left to them.
After dinner, all four groups returned to the dance studio.
Tang Yuan and Jiang Zi sat on a long bench to rest.
Looking at their reflections in the mirror, Tang Yuan couldn’t help but smile with crescent-shaped eyes at the sight of Jiang Zi’s messy appearance.
Jiang Zi had sweated all day; her black clothes had darkened a shade, and her long black hair was tied up high. The falling strands clung to her neck. Although she had wiped the sweat from her face, her skin still glowed with a rosy hue.
[Turns out “sweat pouring down like fragrance” is a realistic phrase—sweat makes a beautiful woman even more fragrant!]
[Even though sister wears loose and conservative clothes every day, I’ll prepare a midriff-baring outfit for her when she’s on stage. Heh heh heh~]
Tang Yuan looked down, her eyes continually darting to Jiang Zi’s waist, wishing she could poke a couple of holes there. This was because, while correcting Jiang Zi’s dance posture, Tang Yuan had held her waist.
It felt surprisingly firm and solid.
[I’m not a pervert; I’m just curious.]
Jiang Zi extended her index finger and lightly tapped Tang Yuan’s forehead, trying to drive away the inappropriate thoughts from her mind.
The others hadn’t started practicing yet and were sitting on the other side, unable to stop their curiosity about the relationship between Tang Yuan and Jiang Zi.
A blonde girl tilted her head back to take a sip of water, seemingly gathering her courage, then walked over to Tang Yuan and sat cross-legged in front of them. Curiously, she asked, “Tang Yuan, how did you and Jiang Zi meet?”
Tang Yuan responded with a friendly smile, “We’re classmates.”
“Many said online that you and Jiang Zi didn’t get along. Is that true?”
The live broadcast in the dance studio was still running. Although Hou Yuan Zhan wasn’t there, many people were still watching, hoping to see Tang Yuan’s true nature since she hadn’t slipped up all day.
【ManMan is so brave, asking right to her face, haha.】
【I was wondering the same thing. Watching them today, it really doesn’t look like they have a bad relationship.】
【After all, they’re actors. Maybe it’s just good acting.】
【Tang Yuan might be trying to build a good image, but why would Jiang Zi, the so-called victim, go along with it?】
【She must be enduring it quietly, afraid to resist, or she’ll lose her resources in the future.】
Most of the comments on the livestream didn’t believe Tang Yuan was a good person, and none of them defended her.
Realizing her question was too direct, the blonde girl laughed and said, “I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Gao Qiao Man. I didn’t mean anything by it. I just wanted to get to know you guys.”
Jiang Zi took the initiative to grasp Tang Yuan’s hand, interlocking their fingers tightly.
“The rumors online are all false. That high-viewed video was just a clip from the small web drama we acted in.”
Tang Yuan unconsciously pulled her hand away from the interlocked fingers and naturally linked her arm with Jiang Zi’s, closing the distance between them. With a charming smile, she said,
“Yes, there were some misunderstandings between us before, but once they were cleared up, we became very good friends.”
Jiang Zi lowered her gaze and said firmly, “There was never any misunderstanding.”
Tang Yuan’s eyes widened in surprise. She turned to look at her, subtly pinching her arm. The truth was that the original owner did indeed bully her, and that was an undeniable fact.
“I know some self-proclaimed classmates have said that Tang Yuan and I have a bad relationship and that she used to bully me. I just want to say that as the person involved, I have never thought that Tang Yuan was bullying me.”
Tang Yuan tightened her hold on Jiang Zi’s arm and whispered, “Jiang Zi…”
Jiang Zi’s words remained resolute, “Tang Yuan, you never owed me anything. There’s no need to feel guilty.”
Tang Yuan: …
She’s willing to distort the truth for me. I’m so touched.
【erm, can I say some things?】
【The person involved has clarified, It’s marketing accounts spreading rumors.】
【Another day of being used as a pawn, hahaha, my life is truly pathetic!】
【Their relationship is so good. Jiang Zi must have seen the trending news and immediately cleared things up. Friendship forever!】
As for Gao Qiao Man, who had asked the question, her gossip heart was satisfied with the clarification and nodded understandingly. She also casually remarked,
“These days, marketing accounts are getting more outrageous, always spreading these unfounded rumors to stir up the netizens. It’s one thing to spread lies, but debunking them is a real hassle.”
Gao Qiao Man shook her phone and looked at Tang Yuan, “Can we add friends?”
“Sure.” Tang Yuan agreed readily and added her.
Gao Qiao Man turned the QR code towards Jiang Zi.
Jiang Zi replied mildly, “Sorry, I didn’t bring my phone.”
Gao Qiao Man nodded understandingly, “No problem. Ah Yuan can just send me a contact request. That’ll work, too.”
Out of the corner of her eyes, Jiang Zi caught Tang Yuan about to push her contact to the newly added friend. Immediately, she felt a lump in her throat. It turns out that being speechless really does make one laugh.
Jiang Zi heckled, “Little Tang Yuan, I dare you to push it.”
Tang Yuan’s hand froze over the contact recommendation, looking up innocently. The distance between them was very close, which meant Jiang Zi’s cold lips brushed against Tang Yuan’s forehead.
Tang Yuan’s eyes flickered, her cheeks slightly flushed, “Um…”
Gao Qiao Man vaguely sensed that the atmosphere between them was off and felt like she was out of place. She quickly put away her phone and stood up, saying, “It’s getting late. I need to go practice with my teammates. Let’s chat another time.”