Chapter 30.1 (1/2)

Published

at 17th of June 2019 10:42:10 PM

Chapter 30.1

Chapter 30 . 1

Under the admiring gazes of the other corps de ballet members, Yin Xuan “bestowed” upon me a supporting character role, and I “shot up through the ranks” just like that . The director brought me a copy of the script . He still had his doubts about me . After all, compared to the winner of an international compet.i.tion, there wasn’t anything even slightly newsworthy about me that they could use to hype up the movie .

“Ask me if you don’t understand anything . ”

Right after he said that, I started reading the script . In fact, my screen time was relatively short and I was only needed to dance one scene .

“Only I Dance” told the story of a single ballet dancer . The dancer grew up in poverty and with hards.h.i.+p . She began her journey on an uneven dirt road, sandy and filled with potholes . Yet she persisted, step by step, until she ended up on the big stage . It was a feel-good story about someone’s path to success .

My role would be the female lead’s younger sister, who was disabled and confined to a wheelchair . Every day, the female lead would care for her sister and push the wheelchair tiringly in hopes of freeing her sister’s worries . Even though the female lead’s journey took her from her rural village to the resplendent stage, she never forgot to bring her sister along . She wanted to share her glory with her sister every step of the way and let her see the outside world .

Though the sister was grateful, she at the same time hated the female lead . She hated how her elder sister could stand on stage, receiving flower bouquets and thundering applause . She hated her handicapped fate . Her elder sister grew more famous, yet her own heart only grew more twisted .

The younger sister was a bit of a controversial villain .

Other than the majority of my time spent in the wheelchair acting out emotional scenes with Yin Xuan, I had a scene where I was dreaming . In this dream, the younger sister stood up from her wheelchair and danced with her sister . The elder sister’s cla.s.sical dancing was graceful and gentle . In contrast, the younger sister’s dancing was frenzied and intense . It was as if they were sparring to determine a victor . The two figures followed closely after each other like a body and its shadow .

This was the only scene where I would dance with Yin Xuan .

After a.s.signing me the role of the younger sister, Yin Xuan was indifferent to me, yet she also didn’t trouble me any further . Quite the opposite; she diligently danced and shot her scenes .

I couldn’t help but admit that when she danced, it was as if she became a whole other person .

She was a proud, s.h.i.+ning dancer who used her body to tell a story . Her gaze was focused . From the tautness of the muscles in her legs, one could tell that she spared no effort in her dance . Often, after a scene, her makeup had entirely melted off . Even though the director had hired body doubles in fear of her tiring out, she never once used them .

Once she put on her ballet shoes, she no longer seemed like such an arrogant, unreasonable young miss . She became a dancer seeped in a ballet fantasy .

Her dancing was restrained yet elegant . It carried a timeless rhythm . People couldn’t take their eyes off her . No other arms could be as soft and graceful as hers .

Watching her solo variation, I felt like I could almost experience for myself the dreams of a struggling, impoverished dancer .

My hands trembled and grew cold . She was a much better dancer than me .

Once the scene concluded, the entire set sounded with applause from admiration . Yin Xuan stopped, but she then turned and smiled in a certain direction of the crowd . Like a b.u.t.terfly, she gracefully bounded over in her ballet shoes . The crowd parted for her . At the end of the parted path, I saw Yin Li .

After all these days, this was the first time I saw him straight on . He always seemed to have this special aura; one could always pick him out from the crowd . I was squeezed in the midst of an excited group of dancers, and took a glance at him from a distance .

Yin Xuan was clearly very happy to see Yin Li . She pulled his hand and was cheerfully saying something . However, Yin Li seemed to be absent-minded . His gaze swept across the crowd of dancers and finally landed on me .

He then smiled at me . It was a shallow, imperceptible smile that seemed to disappear as quickly as it had appeared . Yet I still was able to catch it .

Afterwards, Yin Li frequently came to see us rehea.r.s.e . The cast and crew all called him the perfect brother . But only I knew that his gaze wasn’t on Yin Xuan . What’s more, Yin Xuan knew all this yet didn’t expose the matter . Dancing occupied all her focus . She liked this script .

Because I had become a supporting actress, the crew had a.s.signed me an individual dance coach and ch.o.r.eographer . Every day, I would practice the ch.o.r.eography alone .

Yin Li’s gaze followed me all along . His gaze was polite . It tenderly stopped at the appropriate distance . There was no sense of encroachment . His gaze was warm and kind .

We never exchanged words, yet I felt at ease .

Soon, my scenes would begin shooting . The first time I acted with Yin Xuan, she wore patched-up clothes, pushed my wheelchair and spun around gleefully . As she danced, she twirled my wheelchair around too, letting me experience the joy of dancing .

I looked at her with pure grat.i.tude and joy .

I thought that we would bicker and be unable to act out our parts, but that never happened . Yin Xuan quickly became immersed in her role . Her face brimmed with a b.u.mpkin girl’s innocent smile . She looked at me with the same clear gaze . It was as if she was really looking at her younger sister, whom she tenderly loved .

“I will be your legs!” she said to me . Then, she started dancing on the dusty road . The uneven, pothole-ridden road was unable to stop her pa.s.sion for ballet .

“As long as this ground is made for standing, this ground is made for dancing!”

I looked at her and shouted in excitement: “You’re flying! You’re flying!”

She turned and looked at me . The backlighting traced out her gorgeous silhouette . “I will fly . I will fly out of this village, and fly with you together to see the world . ”

We shot these scenes all in one take . The director was very satisfied . Yet once the cameras stopped rolling, Yin Xuan and I exchanged a fleeting glance and then turned and walked away from each other . I looked at Yin Li, who was sitting to the side . His expression, which he did not hide fast enough, was yearning yet clearly disappointed at the same time .

Every scene afterwards, he would always sit there with a calm demeanor and complicated expression . When he looked at the love between Yin Xuan and I, he really hoped that reality would reflect our acting .

But that was not meant to be . In the end, the relations.h.i.+p between Yin Xuan and I would only worsen, and our on-screen relations.h.i.+p was no exception .

Finally, it came to the dance between just the two of us .

I was eager, and I could sense that Yin Xuan had also waited for this moment for a long time .

Currently, the female lead was already a world-famous young dancer . In the streets of Europe, one could see her large, blown-up advertis.e.m.e.nts . She was no longer the b.u.mpkin girl with the patched-up clothes . She had become a ballet G.o.ddess and appeared on the covers of all sorts of fas.h.i.+on magazines .

Yet, I was still that handicapped girl who was capable of nothing . I looked on as my sister shot to stardom .

In this scene, I played a leading role . As Yin Xuan danced simple ballet ch.o.r.eography on the side, I dreamed of myself rising from the wheelchair . Then, I edged toward Yin Xuan and started dancing .

“Cut!” the director yelled . “It’s not this feeling . You’re never giving enough energy . Again . ”

I had no choice but to return to the wheelchair and start over . But I never seemed to be able to grasp the feeling the director talked of . We had to re-shoot the start of this scene four times already . Perhaps because of her brother’s presence, Yin Li restrained herself and didn’t flip out .

“Nevermind . It’s your first time acting . You might not be able to let loose in front of the camera . Go home and think about it . Let’s call it a day . ”

The director motioned for the cast and crew to wrap up . I planned to have the makeup artist remove my makeup . But I was stopped in the lounge by Yin Xuan .

She had once again resumed her impatient expression, and her tone carried a trace of malice .

“Why did you think I wanted you as supporting character?” She stuck out her chin . “It’s not to embarra.s.s you . It’s not to make you look bad when you dance next to me!

“You never agreed to dance a duet with me before . You are Madame Taylor’s pupil, and you’ve never publicly performed . You’ve always been haughty and disdained me . I’ve been looking forward to this duet for G.o.d knows how long . ”

She looked me in the eyes, proud as ever . “Dance the role! You aren’t supposed to dance as yourself . You need to dance as her! Through dance, you must evoke her life! On stage, there is no you . Only her! If you want to get your revenge on me, then bring out the level that Alica is capable of . Leave me in the dust . The further the better . Or else, you won’t even have the right to stand on the same stage as me . ”

She didn’t wait for my reply and left, her expression indeterminable .

Upon returning to the set, her demeanor wasn’t like the arrogant one she showed in private . She only shot me a provoking glance where Yin Li couldn’t see .

She was trying to anger me .

“Go ahead and dance your anger and hatred,” her glare seemed to say to me .

I saw her perfectly posed . Under the direction of the director, I sat back down in the wheelchair .

I took a deep breath .