Lin Xiaoyu lay on her side, gently hooking Jiang Ling’s sleeve with her finger, and in the unseen darkness of night, she slowly let out such a sentence.
After a brief silence, Jiang Ling immediately responded with a quiet “Mm.”
“But actually, it’s not something all that serious.”
As Lin Xiaoyu spoke, she didn’t relax her grip at all. Her clear voice rang right in Jiang Ling’s ear.
“My mother was an outstanding ballerina, you could say she was gifted and had a bright future ahead. But after an accident on stage, her waist and legs were injured, and the doctor said she might never be able to dance again for the rest of her life.
My mother was helpless about this. She had to quit the ballet troupe, get married, have children, and live out an ordinary life… It should have been like that, until one day, by chance, she discovered my talent for dance.”
Jiang Ling turned around, her words coming out a bit quickly: “So she—”
Lin Xiaoyu reached out and pressed a finger against her lips, stopping her from speaking, and shook her head. “Don’t rush.
Maybe it’s because of our bloodline, but my talent for dance wasn’t inferior to my mother’s at all. In fact, I even surpassed her. And the most important thing was, at that time, I was also very interested in dancing.”
Jiang Ling gradually adapted to the darkness, and could vaguely make out that Lin Xiaoyu’s face was probably showing an expression of satisfaction.
“I really liked dancing, and my mother was thrilled. She started spending a lot of time nurturing me. But her expectations were too much, so much that I gradually realized, my dancing was entirely for her.”
Lin Xiaoyu’s voice suddenly became muffled, and as if seeking warmth, she gripped Jiang Ling’s sleeve tightly.
“It’s not that I have OCD; it’s just that my mother made me keep myself dignified and neat from a very young age. It became an unshakable habit, but explaining it is troublesome, so I usually just tell people I have OCD.”
Hearing this, Jiang Ling suddenly remembered that the first time they met, Lin Xiaoyu did mention something about having OCD.
But she didn’t mind eating the same food as her, and physical contact was never a problem. So that’s why?
“I’m afraid of thunder because I always kept making a mistake in one section of the dance. After several times, she locked me in the practice room and said I couldn’t leave until I got it right. That day, there happened to be a violent storm.”
Lin Xiaoyu closed her eyes, as if she could still recall that night’s scene—
The dance studio had a huge mirror and equally wide windows. Normally, it felt spacious and spotless. But on a rainy night, for her as a little girl, it was nothing but terrifying.
The music played on repeat in the room, interwoven with lightning and thunder, rain battering hard against the window. She could only spin and leap over and over, until fear filled her heart, and she finally, in a mess, managed to finish that troublesome section.
Jiang Ling saw Lin Xiaoyu’s lips trembling, and unconsciously leaned a little closer to her.
“I can endure the pain of practice, but I can’t inherit her unfulfilled expectations.”
After a long pause, Lin Xiaoyu finally spoke, a note of bitterness in her voice.
She did love dancing, but not the “dance her mother desired.” Maybe that’s a bit unfair to say, but back then, in Lin Xiaoyu’s heart,
She was nothing but a tool for fulfilling her mother’s wishes.
“So I took a short break from dance, using a fever as an excuse, to figure out whether I truly liked it from my heart.”
She added, “But it turned out, I really do love dancing. I like ballet, jazz, pop—any style you can name, I like them all.
That left me so confused at the time. I didn’t know what was right, so I muddled through, meeting my mother’s expectations for a long, long time, until I saw NOVA’s promotional slogan. Do you know what it said?”
Lin Xiaoyu smiled and tossed the question to the silent Jiang Ling.
Jiang Ling thought for a while. The slogan? It should be on the flyer Mo Ran handed to her.
“It’s, ‘I will help you become the person you want to be.'”
Lin Xiaoyu reached up and smoothed Jiang Ling’s furrowed brow. “I asked before—Sister Bai Xue wrote that line. It sounds casual, but it was because of that sentence that I rebelled against my mother for the first time, left my family, and came here to become an idol.”
“When I danced a piece that had nothing to do with my mother, I was sure that dance was truly important to me. I didn’t feel pain, or fear. Every movement I made filled me with joy.”
“So I stayed.”
After she finished speaking, for a long while, only the steady sound of the two of them breathing could be heard in the room.
Jiang Ling took in all she’d heard about Lin Xiaoyu’s “past,” and finally understood what Lin’s mother really meant in their argument before.
“This is the first time I’ve told anyone about this. I’m not used to it, so maybe I spoke a bit quickly. You—”
Lin Xiaoyu tucked her hair behind her ear, exposing her slightly reddened ear, but because the night was so dark, Jiang Ling didn’t notice.
Instead, she hugged Lin Xiaoyu, her feelings complicated. It was an ordinary hug, but the warmth instantly spread between them, dispelling the faint chill.
“Thank you for being willing to tell me.”
Jiang Ling’s embrace tightened.
She felt herself being completely trusted, her chest filling with joy and a peculiar, indescribable feeling.
Lin Xiaoyu hugged her back, her voice soft and light.
“I just wanted to tell you, that’s all.
Good night.”
Lin Xiaoyu fell silent, but she didn’t let go, quietly drifting off to sleep.
And Jiang Ling slowly closed her eyes as well, but a gradually forming thought floated up in her heart:
She would never let Lin Xiaoyu’s efforts be in vain.
The next day.
As expected, Lin’s mother came visiting early in the morning, and apart from Fang Wannian, everyone else was already waiting in the living room.
“Miss Bai, as I’ve said before, I’m definitely taking Xiaoyu home with me.”
Lin’s mother didn’t beat around the bush and spoke bluntly to Bai Xue.
But Bai Xue didn’t look surprised at all. She slowly shook her head, “Forgive my candor, but for now, that’s simply not possible.”
Seeing Lin’s mother’s expression change, Bai Xue continued, “We might not be a famous group, but everything was signed in black and white—your daughter signed a full one-year contract with us.”
Lin’s mother was left speechless.
She knew full well that if she tried to take Lin Xiaoyu away after signing a contract, there would definitely be consequences.
“In that case, when the contract ends, I’ll take her away immediately.”
But Lin’s mother clearly wasn’t giving up. She’d come this time fully prepared, determined to bring Lin Xiaoyu home.
At this, Bai Xue frowned ever so slightly, but had no grounds to argue further.
Seeing Lin’s mother’s unyielding attitude, Jiang Ling thought of what Lin Xiaoyu had confided in her the night before, and also understood why Lin’s mother was so persistent.
Her voice trembled slightly as she broke the stalemate:
“Auntie, why not make a bet with your daughter?”