Chapter 413: The Dance Battle (2/2)

Chu Cheng took a step forward, his footsteps ringing in the stillness. “A dance battle?”

She looked at him, cold as ice. “Win and you take me home tonight.”

Chu Cheng laughed, and his mannerism was like a fox on the prowl. He lifted a hand to slowly loosen his tie. He yanked it off,a sharp snap in the air quickly following as the fabric whipped away. He then gently laid it around Lina’s neck. He then removed the vest and opened the top three buttons of his shirt revealing the line of his pectoral muscles.

He took a few steps back, extending the distance between himself and his challenger. Then, his boisterous voice shattered the calm.

“You told me today that I was a playboy. You’re. I was. But if you’d done your homework then you know that being a playboy isn’t just about money. That’s not a playboy, just a glutton – and that’s not me. My aim is to be the ultimate man. Whatever vice or pleasure you can think of, I’ve done it. I’m about to prove to you that you will never meat another guy like me.”

As he spoke he placed his right hand against his chest and spread his legs.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum! A rhythmic drumbeat like the beating of a heart shuddered through the crowd. Chu Cheng’s hand tapped against his chest to the beat, like it was his own heart making the noise. All lights extinguished but the single spotlight over his head.

Now this dance platform belonged to him.

Each bone-shuddering thud from the giant speakers saw Chu Cheng’s face change a little, like he was falling in to a trance. His face was bitter sweet, as though looking on the face of a loved one.

A single, gentle, tungsten light illuminated Lina Lee. She looked like she’d stepped out of a dream.

Chu Cheng launched himself forward suddenly with two long strides. His arms swung open like he wanted to grab her in a hug.

She frowned, taken by surprise. But he stopped half a meter away as the sounds of graceful music rose around them. He began to rock to the music.

Lina’s dance had been raw emotion, violent and loud. Chu Cheng’s, by comparison, was more refined. It didn’t have the explosiveness of heavy metal, but the notes made the listeners move almost without thinking.

This wasn’t just a dance. This was a story.

Lan Jue didn’t lean over to watch the dance – he’d seen Chu Cheng’s mating wiggle too many times to count. Thankfully his communicator rang, giving him an excuse not to watch. Using his Discipline to help reduce some of the din around him, he answered the call.

“Hey A-Li, what’s up man? 4” He greeted.

“Chu Cheng’s a right bastard.” Hua Li’s voice answered on the other end. “You know you’re the villain of the whole internet now, by the way?”

“Eh?” He helplessly sighed. He hadn’t been following the ‘controversy’ over the forums.

Hua Li told him all about it, interspersing a healthy dose of humiliating laughter. Lan Jue joined him. “This guy, he’d sell one of us in to slavery if it earned him a night with a pretty girl.”

Hua Li cackled. “Chu Cheng will be Chu Cheng, right? Where are you at, let’s get together and give him shit.”

“I came with that fool to the Crescent Moon,” Lan Jue muttered. “He left me up here so he could get a shot at Lina. Wait a while and we’ll go find you.”

Hua Li’s voice raised an octave. “Eh? You’re there? I’m right around the corner, I’ll be there in a second. Chu Cheng is a snake – luring the poor girl in to his lair. Looks like this one’s already another notch on his belt.”

Lan Jue laughed. “Not this time. The lamb lead the wolf to its own den. Except the lamb is actually a lioness. He’s strutting around like a peacock right now, you might catch the end if you hurry.”

Qianlin had been quietly listening the whole time. She spoke up suddenly. “Chu Cheng’s ‘den’, hm? But she’s the one that brought us here!”

1. It is common practice in China to deduct money from someone’s paycheck if they don’t do something. Unfortunately, these deductions are completely unregulated, so they could decide to withhold entire paychecks and the workers can’t do anything about it. Because of the largely unskilled workforce in my former line of work, the ladies were sadly very underpaid, and often had to suffer managerial corruption or other severely unfair practices – and because they were easily replaceable there wasn’t anything they could do about it. My wife once didn’t get paid for almost three months.

2. This, but really really fast.

3. This I believe.

4. “What’s up man?” is the go-to greeting for Chinese English speakers who want to sound cool. English is funny is China because they have one set phrase tht they use 90% of the time “How are you?” is followed almost exclusively by “I’m fine, thank you!”. It’s like a knee-jerk reaction that I spent a great deal of time correcting in my classrooms.