“Ah, Grandpa Zhang, you haven’t been here in such a long time! I’ve missed you so much!”
A woman dressed provocatively, with heavy makeup, exclaimed as she threw herself into the arms of a “fat man,” who was elegantly dressed and as plump as a pig, and said in a flirtatious tone.
“Didn’t I come today, my dear?”
The man referred to as Grandpa Zhang said, while embracing the woman in his arms and shamelessly taking liberties, his voice dripping with lewdness.
“Oh, you really are a bad man!”
The woman, though playfully scolding the fat man for his behavior, showed no sign of displeasure on her face.
“Men are only loved by women when they’re a bit bad!”
The fat man continued with a lewd grin.
While the two were playfully flirting, two exceptionally handsome men, one in white and the other in blue, stood not far away, frowning as they watched the scene unfold, their expressions growing increasingly disgusted.
“Sister, is Yu’er really here?”
Han Rushuang, dressed in a white male outfit, asked with a furrowed brow as he looked at the entrance of “Wuchun Pavilion.”
“Mei wouldn’t lie,” Han Rubing, in a deep blue male outfit, replied with a charming smile.
“Alright, let’s go in and find the little one.”
After saying this, Han Rubing stepped towards “Wuchun Pavilion,” and seeing her sister heading that way, Han Rushuang followed with a frown.
Several courtesans at the entrance of “Wuchun Pavilion” noticed the two exceptionally handsome men approaching and quickly rushed to greet them.
“Oh… you two young masters are truly handsome! How about letting us serve you well tonight?”
One of the women, dressed in revealing red silk, said in a flirtatious tone, while moving towards the man in blue with a smile.
Han Rubing slightly furrowed her brow and sidestepped the advance of the red-dressed woman, calmly saying, “Take us to your best private room,” his tone carrying an undeniable authority.
Seeing Han Rubing’s suddenly cold demeanor, the red-dressed courtesan dared not approach again and obediently led the two sisters into “Wuchun Pavilion.”
“Young masters, this is the best private room we have at ‘Wuchun Pavilion.’ I hope you are satisfied?”
The red-dressed woman said after bringing Han Rubing and her sister to a private room on the second floor.
“Mm, not bad,” Han Rubing replied as she stood by a window that had been intentionally left open for guests to enjoy the view.
After speaking, she took out a one-hundred silver note from her pocket and handed it to the red-dressed woman.
“This is a tip for you; you can leave now!”
“Thank you, young masters!”
The red-dressed woman said happily as she accepted the silver note, but after a moment’s hesitation, she added, “Do you not need me to stay and serve you?”
“No need, you can go now!”
Han Rushuang said with a frosty expression.
“Um, then I’ll take my leave,” the red-dressed woman said before exiting the room.
“Sister,” Han Rushuang called softly after the red-dressed woman left.
Hearing her sister’s gentle call, Han Rubing replied in a soft tone, “Rushuang, don’t worry, let’s take a look around.”
Han Rubing understood why her sister called out to her; since they entered “Wuchun Pavilion,” they had been searching for the little one but had found nothing.
“Is the little one ready? The performance time is almost here!”
Yan Rumei said as she approached Meng Xiaoyu, who had already changed into her outfit and done her makeup, accompanied by the woman in white named Ye.
“All set,” Meng Xiaoyu replied, visibly annoyed upon seeing Yan Rumei and the woman named Ye.
“You look so beautiful now, Xiaoyu!”
Ye, who had entered the room with Yan Rumei, exclaimed upon seeing Meng Xiaoyu in a pink floral dress, and she couldn’t help but pull Meng Xiaoyu into her embrace.
“Thank you for the compliment,” Meng Xiaoyu said as she struggled out of Ye’s embrace.
“Xiaoyu,” Ye said, looking at Meng Xiaoyu, who was now eyeing her warily, with a hint of grievance in her voice.
Seeing Ye’s somewhat aggrieved expression, Meng Xiaoyu was about to explain that she wasn’t the “Xiaoyu” Ye referred to, even though her name was also Xiaoyu.
She wanted to say that this Xiaoyu was not that Xiaoyu, so please stop hugging her!
However, before Meng Xiaoyu could speak, Yan Rumei’s voice interrupted, “I say, little sister, the performance is about to start. Are you okay with that?”
“Okay? What do you mean?”
Meng Xiaoyu asked, puzzled.
“I’m asking if you have any problem with dancing?”
“What do you think?”
Looking at Yan Rumei’s mischievous smile, Meng Xiaoyu replied curtly with three words.
“Then I’ll be waiting to see your performance later!”
After hearing Meng Xiaoyu’s words, Yan Rumei said with a charming smile.
Seeing Yan Rumei’s alluring expression, Meng Xiaoyu felt very displeased, so she deliberately said, “Aren’t you afraid that if I dance poorly, I’ll ruin the reputation of your ‘Dance Spring Pavilion’?”
She found it strange why Yan Rumei wanted her to perform; didn’t she worry that she might be a total flop and tarnish the name of her ‘Dance Spring Pavilion’?
After hearing Meng Xiaoyu’s words, Yan Rumei didn’t respond but just smiled meaningfully.
In fact, she didn’t insist on Meng Xiaoyu performing; she only wanted to keep Meng Xiaoyu around.
So even if she had no talent at all, she would still do this.
As for ruining the reputation, she wasn’t worried at all.
Since she dared to let Meng Xiaoyu perform without knowing if she had any skills, she was already prepared for a backup plan.
So even if Meng Xiaoyu’s performance flopped, she had ways to salvage the situation.
Seeing that Yan Rumei didn’t answer her, Meng Xiaoyu didn’t ask again.
After a while, she heard the sound of silk and bamboo instruments coming from outside.
“The time for the little sister to perform has come! Hurry and follow your sister over there!”
Hearing the music, Yan Rumei quickly pulled Meng Xiaoyu and walked outside.
Yan Rumei led Meng Xiaoyu to behind a large screen, then turned around and smiled charmingly at Meng Xiaoyu, saying, “The stage is just on the other side of the screen! Make sure to dance well!”
Ignoring Yan Rumei’s seductive smile, Meng Xiaoyu took a deep breath with her eyes closed, then pulled out a pink scarf from her pocket and covered her face with it.
With a calm demeanor, she stepped over the screen and walked onto the stage, gracefully moving her body to the rhythm of the music.
Cloud and rain half-draped garments, swaying waist like a bending willow, sleeves fluttering as if to fly.
Mist lightly blushes like a wandering flower, the wind caresses the purple roses.
At this moment, the hall of the “Dance Spring Pavilion” was extremely quiet; no, it should be said that aside from the music, there was not a single sound of chatter.
From the moment Meng Xiaoyu stepped onto the stage and began to dance to the rhythm of the music, the entire hall gradually fell silent.
All eyes were focused on the figure lost in dance on the stage.
