Chapter 4: Weekend Dance Party

  A week later, Liu Hui announced that she had fallen in love with Zheng Yong, a boy from the neighboring computer class. When she told Wan Chao-hui and Zheng Hong-xia about it, Zheng Hong-xia exclaimed: "Are you kidding me? Not long ago at the school basketball game, you were still angry with Zheng Yong for stopping you from crossing the red warning line, and you even gave him a nickname 'belly chicken eyes' because of his small eyes. How can you be dating him now? Are you going to give up on your excellent potential stock Ma Jun?"

  Wan Chao Hui did not make a sound, quietly looking at Liu Hui.

  "Oh, don't even mention that potential stock, I've written him so many letters already, making my intentions clear, but he's still as dull as a block of wood, thinking I really consider him a good friend! With his excellent grades, he'll definitely be a top figure in the future, where would he look at me? Besides, school life is too dry and boring, I'm so lonely, I need to find someone to hang out with, otherwise how can I survive these three years? By the time we graduate, I think it's time for us to part ways!" Liu Hui said casually.

  "You've already thought of that, what else can I say? Chao Hui, what do you think of Liu Hui's idea?" Zheng Hongxia asked her opinion as Wan Chao Hui remained silent.

  "I respect Liu Hui's decision!" Wan Zhaohui said simply, but in fact she was very disgusted with the approach of treating emotions as a game. What nonsense, just because you're feeling lonely, you have to find someone to accompany you, and when graduation comes, it's time to break up, this is simply absurd, irresponsible to oneself and others.

  "Chao Hui, I see you're also learning from me, just settle for a romantic relationship and find someone to accompany you! After all, there are still many boys in school who like you!" Liu Hui joked with Wan Chao Hui.

  "If I keep saying this, there won't be any friends left!" Wan Zhaohui said with a serious face. She was the kind of person who would rather die than compromise her values, and she couldn't just find someone to pass the time with. Wan Zhaohui could endure loneliness, but deep down, she still yearned for a lifelong love, just like the theme song of her favorite TV series "The Legend of the Condor Hero - The East is Red" - "A Life of Meaning". She was waiting, and searching for a boy who would make her life meaningful.

  In college life, weekend dance parties are exciting events. This weekend, Liu Hui and Zheng Hongxia insisted on dragging Wan Chao Hui to a nearby polytechnic university's weekend dance party after school, Wan Chao Hui laughed and said: "Look at me wearing a tracksuit today, accompanying you guys to the dance party, aren't you intentionally embarrassing me?"

  "Ah, I don't care, just give me some face and come play with us!" Wan Chao Hui was most afraid that Liu Hui would use her coquettish ways on her. In her heart, she knew that Liu Hui usually accommodated her, even when she had a bad temper and spoke harshly, Liu Hui would just pout and sulk for a while before being fine again, and would even take the initiative to find her without holding any grudges. This time, after Liu Hui's persistent persuasion, Wan Chao Hui agreed with a smile.

  Wan Chao Hui came alone to the vice-canteen at the school gate, and dialed a phone call for Ye Caiyun's dormitory: "Caiyun, it's weekend today, do you have anything to do after school?"

  "No! I'm going straight home!" Ye Caiyun said softly.

  "Why don't you come to our school, Zheng Hongxia and Liu Hui are insisting on dragging me to the University of Science and Technology for a weekend dance party. We can go together and then return home together, how about that?" Wan Zhaohui was also well-intentioned, knowing that Ye Caiyun, who was introverted by nature, wasn't good at socializing. She hoped to use this opportunity to help her get to know more people and gain more experience interacting with others. As for Wan Zhaohui herself, as long as she put her mind to it, she could chat with anyone because she was skilled at understanding people's thoughts. Whether it was popular entertainment gossip, fresh news, family scandals or economic news, she could offer her unique insights and was quite good at understanding others' intentions, she just didn't easily open up to people.

  "Great! It just so happens that Xie Fei is at that school, let's go take a look!" Ye Caiyun was very excited, her voice rising significantly.

  "That's settled then, when do you think you can come to our school?" Wan Zhaohui was also quite excited, she hadn't expected Xie Fei to be at the Polytechnic School, and he had done pretty well on his exams! In Wan Zhaohui's impression, Xie Fei was a loyal and down-to-earth guy. When they were in high school, Ye Caiyun, Wan Zhaohui, Lin Boyang, and Xie Fei sat together, and over time, they became friends. Xie Fei was much more honest than Lin Boyang. In Wan Zhaohui's eyes, Lin Boyang was a reckless and flirtatious young master, but to be fair, he was indeed extremely intelligent. She remembered that once during the city-wide math competition, all the hardworking top students in their class didn't get any awards, but Lin Boyang, who never studied, easily got third prize. It wasn't wasted that his English teacher from Shanghai Foreign Language School had praised him for being highly intelligent. Unfortunately, the English teacher's kind words couldn't encourage Lin Boyang to study harder. Lin Boyang's natural intelligence made Wan Zhaohui's heart feel uneasy, but on the surface, she always treated him indifferently. You can't give too much encouragement to someone as arrogant and proud as him, or else he'll become even more conceited! Wan Zhaohui had never figured out why Xie Fei, who seemed so loyal and down-to-earth, was actually very close friends with Lin Boyang! Sometimes she would get a glimpse of the fact that beneath Lin Boyang's carefree and playful exterior, there might be a calm and introspective mind at work. This was just an intuition, but she couldn't quite put her finger on why she felt this way.

  "I can leave school at 5 o'clock, and I estimate that I will arrive at your place by 5:30!" Ye Caiyun replied affirmatively.

  "Alright, I'll wait for you in the classroom!"

  When Ye Caiyun rushed over, Liu Hui and Zheng Hongxia, as well as several boarding female students, were already dressed up, each one looking stunningly beautiful. Ye Caiyun was also wearing a long-sleeved dress, while Wan Chao Hui wore a light blue sports suit that made him stand out awkwardly among them. However, he didn't mind, knowing in his heart that these girls were all there to show off their charm and attract boys' attention, including Liu Hui and Zheng Hongxia who already had boyfriends. It was a feeling of being the center of attention, which was very satisfying.

  Everyone took the bus for three stops and arrived at B University of Science and Technology. It was still half an hour before the dance party started. Wan Zhaohui excused himself to go to the bathroom, shook off the others, and went straight to Xie Fei's dormitory with Ye Caiyun.

  After much difficulty, they finally found Xie Fei's dormitory, but to their disappointment, Xie Fei had gone home. The two of them walked dispiritedly around the campus, and when they passed by a small shop, Wan Chao Hui bought two cans of Coke.

  When they walked into the entrance of the dance hall, a dance had just ended and the soft lights in the room lit up. Wan Chao Hui saw Liu Hui and her group at a glance, so he pulled Ye Cai Yun to walk towards them.

  Wan Chao Hui saw a few boys from the neighboring computer class and was shocked: How did they end up here too? The boys from the computer class saw Wan Chao Hui, immediately stood up to offer their seats, and Wan Chao Hui smiled and said "thank you" before pulling Ye Cai Yun down to sit without hesitation, as her feet were really tired. At this time, the music started again, and all that could be heard was Liu Hui saying: "This is a fast three-step rhythm!" Seeing how effortlessly she spoke, Wan Chao Hui guessed that she must be familiar with dance steps! She was just waiting for the boys to invite her to dance. Wan Chao Hui couldn't help but glare at Liu Hui, what a heartless person! She couldn't bear to look at Zheng Yong standing next to Liu Hui, who also didn't know how to dance and shouldn't have come. It was heartbreaking to watch his own girlfriend being held around the waist by another boy and dancing with him.

  "Hey, miss, would you like to dance with me?" Wan Zhaohui's thoughts were drifting away, and she hadn't even noticed that someone was inviting her to dance. It wasn't until Liu Hui nudged her gently with his elbow that Wan Zhaohui snapped back to reality and looked at the boy in front of her. He was indeed a handsome and stylish guy, dressed all in black - a black shirt and black pants - except for a black-and-white polka-dot silk scarf tied around his neck. Wan Zhaohui thought to herself: "Wow, this outfit is just like what Ou Yang Ri wore in that popular Hong Kong TV series 'Shanghai Storm'!" Under the flashing neon lights, Wan Zhaohui took a closer look at the handsome guy and found him quite good-looking. She didn't dislike him. But suddenly, his eyes narrowed as he looked at her, with a flirtatious expression on his face. This made Wan Zhaohui feel a surge of disgust. Without hesitation, she coldly replied: "Sorry, I don't know how to dance!"

  "Don't worry, I can teach you. Although this song is a fast three-beat tune, I can teach you to dance the slow three-step!" The young man looked quite sincere, but Wan Zhaohui just smiled faintly and accepted his invitation. She wasn't moved by his words; she wanted to see how long he could endure before revealing his true nature! In fact, her relatives who loved dancing, San Auntie and Er Gugu, a civil servant, had taught Wan Zhaohui before. They said: "You're so beautiful, if you don't learn to dance, how will you face important occasions in the future? Not to mention socializing with others!" Wan Zhaohui thought it was beneath her to socialize with men; she didn't want those lecherous men to take advantage of her and hurt her self-esteem. After Uncle became wealthy, he often drove back a group of beautiful women, men and women together, dancing and playing mahjong in Er Gugu's mansion. At that time, Wan Zhaohui was just in junior high school and thought those beautiful women had no self-respect; she would never become such a woman! However, Wan Zhaohui followed her mother's teachings: learning new things was one thing, whether you were good at it or not was another matter. Whether or not you wanted to do something was yet another issue, depending on your mood! So Wan Zhaohui patiently learned from them.

  The young man's words were gentle as he taught Wan Chao Hui, looking very patient, but Wan Chao Hui always felt that he was holding her waist a bit too tightly, as if intentionally pulling the two closer together. Moreover, she could feel the young man's hot breath on the back of her neck, and several times his lips had brushed against her skin. Finally, Wan Chao Hui was disgusted to the extreme, and she deliberately took a wrong step, heavily stepping on the young man's toes. "Ah!" Along with the young man's sharp cry, Wan Chao Hui felt a thrill of delight in her heart, and a sly smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.

  This move was indeed effective, and the young man couldn't help but lose his composure. However, he still had some elegance and waited until the music ended before bowing slightly and leaving. But as he left, his expression towards Wan Chao Hui was somewhat arrogant, thinking that she was just a pretty face and losing interest immediately. Wan Chao Hui saw this and felt it didn't matter, maintaining her usual demeanor: slightly raising her chin, with a faint smile on her face, staring straight into the young man's arrogant eyes. This instead made the young man feel somewhat at a loss, unable to understand what was going on with this beautiful girl, and he turned around awkwardly and walked away.

  Back to her seat, Wan Chao Hui took the Coke from Ye Caiyun's hand and slowly sipped it, "This little girl is quite charming, as soon as she comes, there are handsome guys asking her to dance. Is it because this sportswear makes you stand out, and attracts boys even more?" Liu Hui's tone was filled with a strong sour taste, and she sat on Wan Chao Hui's lap with a stifled expression. She thought she was pretty too, everyone thought she was lively and lovely, why did she always lose her charm in front of Wan Chao Hui's cold face?

  Wan Zhaohui understood Liu Hui's thoughts, gently shook her head, patted Liu Hui's shoulder, looked at Zheng Yong standing not far away, and whispered: "Can you tone it down a bit? You also need to take care of Zheng Yong's feelings! After all, he is your boyfriend now, not your little follower! Don't play with fire!"

  "What's the big deal? What about my boyfriend? Can't restrict personal freedom, right? I like being the center of attention, I like being chased after!" Liu Hui blurted out her inner thoughts without thinking, her mouth slightly pouting, her eyebrows raised, with a completely nonchalant attitude.

  Wan Chao Hui looked at her with a mixture of disdain and pity, shaking his head. If Liu Hui wasn't a high school classmate, he would have thought she was just a simple girl without any ulterior motives. They could still chat and laugh together normally. But Wan Chao Hui couldn't help but look down on her behavior - if she didn't take Zheng Yong seriously and always had the intention of dumping him, why did she give her first kiss to such a guy so easily? Not long after Liu Hui started dating Zheng Yong, she talked about kissing him in front of Wan Chao Hui and Zheng Hong Xia without any shyness, even saying it was her first kiss. She also asked Zheng Hong Xia and Wang Xiao Liang if they had kissed, and when she saw Zheng Hong Xia's face turn red with embarrassment, she realized something. At the time, Wan Chao Hui thought Liu Hui might have actually liked Zheng Yong a bit, but now it seemed that wasn't the case - she was just using him for her own amusement. Who knew who was taking advantage of whom in this mess? On the other hand, Zheng Hong Xia and Wang Xiao Liang were a well-matched couple, being a handsome guy and a beautiful girl who genuinely liked each other. Plus, they were both from the same city, so maybe their relationship would actually work out in the end. Wan Chao Hui was a romantic at heart, but he also understood how things worked in the real world.