Chapter 5.1 (2/2)

That painting was placed so high up that I had to tilt my head back to look at it. The person in it seemed to be looking straight at me, staring or perhaps even glaring at me.

I didn’t recognize that face but the expression made me feel extremely uneasy.

Although its features were different from Yin Li’s face, its expression resembled his. Solemn, arrogant, and unapproachable.

Scared by that painting, I rapidly

I rapidly s.h.i.+fted my gaze away and, turning my head, instantly spotted interesting objects on the other side of the room.

It was a huge cabinet. I opened it and the clouds of dust instigated a coughing fit.

But as expected, this cabinet had some interesting things.

At the very bottom were dancing shoes, both old and new; in the middle hung many large and small ballet costumes; and on the top shelf were rows of trophies of many different shapes and sizes.

Seems like this room was for practicing ballet.

Wanting to cast more judgement, I looked back. That huge oil painting was still gazing down at me with an aloof and superior air. A mischievous idea suddenly popped into my head.

I turned around to face the mirrors. Then, twisting one foot back, I took a bow, even remembering to hold up the hem of my non-existent skirt. The woman’s pervasive presence in the room seemed to vanish temporarily, and I once again felt like I had owners.h.i.+p of the place.

Looking in the mirrors, I noticed that my bent knee and the arch of my body were also extraordinarily elegant. Even though my leg still hadn’t recovered its nimbleness, my calf had finally regained muscular contours.

This discovery temporarily distracted me from my surroundings. I copied the various ballet poses in the photos, repeatedly mimicking her dance positions in the mirror. To my surprise I was very successful, and once my playfulness was triggered I couldn’t help but continue. Finally, I stood on my toes and grabbed a

and grabbed a crystal trophy from the cabinet’s top shelf and fiddled with it.

Then facing the setting sun, I stood in front of the mirror and raised the trophy up above my head. Like I had just won an award, I announced in a voice choked with emotion: “First, I’d like to thank the committee for giving me this opportunity! I also want to thank my loved ones for supporting me: Thank you Dad, Mom, thank you Teacher, thank you CCTV!1 Thank you everybody!”

1CCTV here refers to China Central Television, a state-owned television broadcaster in China that’s one of the most prominent/popular networks in the country. They do stuff like news, entertainment, drama, etc. They also do the ma.s.sive Lunar New Year’s Gala show (春节联欢晚会) that’s hugely popular with Chinese families. It’s like the Superbowl in the USA, it’s that popular to watch.

I stared at my reflection in the mirror, feeling more pleased with myself the longer I looked. Once again I bent my waist and took a few more bows, but straightening back up I was still unsatisfied. I turned to my imaginary audience and graciously blew a few kisses. “Thank you everyone! Thank you everyone!”

*Clap clap clap* Matching the scene, the sound of applause came from behind.

Still immersed in my own little world, I didn’t stop to question it and continued idiotically crying into the mirror: “Thank you all for your support! I’ll always love you guys!” Then, I laughed loudly with my hands on my hips.

Only then did I feel that something was off……

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