Yu Qing walked on the road to the Dance Studio.
The night wind brushed against his face, but it couldn’t dispel the heaviness in his heart.
Throughout the day, not only had the search for a rental gone poorly, but after finally escaping his roommates’ concern and questions, it seemed he had only attracted more of Li Ming’s attention.
The road ahead seemed covered in thorns.
Yu Qing sighed inwardly.
He subconsciously touched his still-stiff neck.
The discomfort was a lingering reminder of today’s failures.
Some changes were quietly happening.
The path he had stepped onto was already one he could not turn back from.
Tonight’s rehearsal would require every ounce of his focus.
Facing the night breeze, Yu Qing arrived at the Art Academy and knocked on the Birchwood Door of the Dance Studio.
Tonight’s practice officially began.
Inside the Dance Studio, the light stretched their shadows across the polished wooden floor.
A gentle Waltz melody flowed, yet it couldn’t fully smooth the waves within Yu Qing’s heart.
Shen Tang was as strict as ever.
To complete the task Fu Yi had assigned her, she had rushed out a detailed schedule overnight, dividing tasks according to Yu Qing’s abilities, scrutinizing every detail worth attention.
“Yu Qing, guide! Not push! Your arms need a frame, give your partner a clear sense of space!”
“Shift your weight cleanly, don’t drag it!”
Shen Tang’s crisp voice echoed faintly in the Dance Studio.
She watched every one of Yu Qing’s movements and quickly pointed out corrections.
Still, it wasn’t bad.
At least Yu Qing could feel his dancing skills improving rapidly.
But this improvement didn’t seem to be entirely thanks to Shen Tang’s strict teaching.
Unlike the previous clumsiness and stiffness, Yu Qing felt as if his body had suddenly awakened.
The issues Shen Tang pointed out were often improved on his very next attempt, and he could adjust into more suitable postures for himself.
His steps were no longer chaotic, his arms were steadier, and he was even beginning to sense the rhythm matching the music.
And it was only his second day learning to dance.
The speed of progress was so fast that even a hint of surprise occasionally flickered across Shen Tang’s serious face.
But the changes didn’t end there.
As practice went on, Yu Qing noticed something strange.
It felt as though his progress wasn’t due to any realization about leading, but more like…
Hmm…
The awakening of muscle memory?
Whenever Yu Qing focused intently on his steps, it felt awkward.
But the moment his attention slipped, his body would move more fluidly on its own.
It was as if his body was responding to some conditioned reflex, rather than being guided by his will.
This became especially obvious when Shen Tang explained the coordination between male and female parts.
To help Yu Qing understand, Shen Tang pulled Fu Yi from her work to demonstrate a female rotation, letting Yu Qing watch and think about how to cooperate.
But to his surprise, Yu Qing found he could clearly anticipate every shift in Junior Yi’s balance—not just the way her toes pressed off, but even the arc of her arm seemed etched into his mind.
Unconsciously, Yu Qing’s toes curled slightly inside his shoes, simulating the feeling of that spin.
No way.
Am I better at dancing the female part?
No, that can’t be.
Last time I could barely stand straight.
If I had that much talent, Junior Yi wouldn’t have teased me so much.
I’m probably overthinking it.
So.
Is this the Black Pearl’s effect?
After last time, Yu Qing’s body hadn’t changed on the outside, but he had wondered if there were other changes.
Now, could he have inherited Junior Yi’s dancing talent?
No, that’s too ordinary.
Maybe, by Transforming, he gained part of Junior Yi’s muscle memory, and thus some of her skills.
Dancing might be one of them.
This speculation cast a cloud over Yu Qing’s mind.
He wasn’t sure whether to be happy or anxious.
Gaining Junior Yi’s muscle memory would definitely help his plans, but who could say if such changes would alter his thinking—turn him into a second Junior Yi?
“……”
Is that so bad?
He forcibly suppressed his unease, not daring to show a trace, and focused even more on practicing the male steps.
At the same time, he secretly observed every move Fu Yi made, trying to reverse-engineer his understanding of the female role into leading the male steps.
Just as he imagined, gaining deeper understanding of the female dance allowed Yu Qing to improve faster at the male role—but it also deepened his doubts.
In the corner of the Dance Studio, after finishing her demonstration, Fu Yi returned to her seat.
She sat on a black folding chair, a lightweight laptop on her thick black-stockinged legs.
Her fingers flew over the keyboard, the cold screen light illuminating her focused, distant face.
She looked truly busy.
Except when Shen Tang called her, Junior Yi would only pause her work for practice, then immediately return to the computer.
During a break, Yu Qing wiped his sweat and casually walked over to Fu Yi.
“Junior Yi, still busy with work? So tough.”
He glanced at the laptop’s contents—lines of text and too many technical terms for him to understand.
But that wasn’t important.
What mattered was sounding relaxed and natural, not letting Junior Yi notice anything off.
Though Yu Qing suspected that would be difficult.
Fu Yi looked up from the screen, her face instantly switching from expressionless to that lively, mischievous smile.
But her eyes held little warmth, as if covered by thin ice.
“Yes, Senior, it can’t be helped. The tragedy of being a working stiff. Unlike you, who can focus on pursuing art.”
There was a subtle tease in her tone.
She was the one who had dragged Yu Qing here to dance, yet now she was mocking him again.
Yu Qing pretended not to notice, pulled over a chair, and sat down beside her.
He picked up a water bottle, took a drink, and feigned concern.
“What kind of work is that busy? Looks like you haven’t stopped. Are you interning at a company near campus?”
“Something like that.”
Fu Yi replied vaguely, eyes back on the screen, fingers moving nonstop.
“A small Consulting Company. I handle some data chores.”
“Consulting Company, huh? Sounds impressive.”
Yu Qing didn’t really understand.
He had no experience with such things, but that didn’t stop him from probing further.
“What field does it cover? Finance? Or market research?”
Fu Yi let out a crisp, pleasant laugh—though it held no warmth.
“Why is Senior suddenly so interested in my work?”
She tilted her head, eyes curving like a sly fox.
“Could it be… you want to know about my private life? Then secretly follow me and, in a quiet place late at night, abduct me and do naughty things?”
Busted?
Yu Qing tensed inside, but his expression stayed calm.
“No, just making conversation. Seeing how busy you are, I thought I’d avoid such work if I ever came across it. I don’t want to get old before my time.”
Junior Yi’s words had many meanings, but Yu Qing could only take them as a joke.
And as he guessed, Fu Yi was only teasing.
Yu Qing’s experience in society was still too shallow.
For someone like Fu Yi, a seasoned veteran of the business world, it was easy to tell what Yu Qing was really thinking.
Still, she couldn’t figure out why Yu Qing suddenly started probing into her life.
Recently, the cooperation with the mining company was nearing its end, and each day was growing more hectic.
In a few days, she’d have to go on a business trip to South America.
She also planned to have someone investigate the woman who had sneaked into her room.
Though Zhou Min had promised her, Fu Yi’s instincts said that if she didn’t investigate, something serious could happen.
And then there was the woman on the Forum whose image seemed so similar to herself in private.
Fu Yi had been keeping an eye out for information, but so far nothing had surfaced.
All these things combined set off alarm bells in Fu Yi’s mind.
She instinctively began connecting the events, preparing for the worst.
She also recalled Fu Mingxuan’s recent provocations.
At first, she’d dismissed him as a clown, but now Fu Yi had to consider these as calculated moves.
For the sake of a smooth partnership, she needed to be at her best.
That’s why, before the trip, she had to investigate thoroughly.
As for Yu Qing’s probing, it became unimportant.
If a little pet wanted to know about its owner’s life, she could make something up to please him.