There were thirty-nine students in their class, eight boys and the rest girls.
The afternoon was technique class. The curriculum differed for boys and girls. After weighing themselves, they split up to go to their respective small classrooms.
Xu Wei was their teacher, expensively recruited by CUDC from a ballet company in France. Although Xu Wei wasn't the company's principal dancer, he had performed lead roles many times. Everyone had similar guesses about why he was willing to return.
Xi Shui was his most promising student.
Talented, loving dance itself more than the glory and fame it brought, good-natured, hardworking, and importantly, pure-hearted. Moreover, his family had connections in the industry. Though with Xi Shui's abilities, he could surely become a principal dancer after a few years in a company post-graduation, one could never be too careful. The more talented a child, the easier they could wither.
However, Xi Shui had one flaw.
His mouth!
He just couldn't control it!
Xu Wei sighed.
Xi Shui, who was practicing fouettés, caught this. Sensing the sigh might be related to him, he wobbled and suddenly stopped.
Xu Wei slightly raised his chin, gesturing for him to continue.
Lin Xiaojin spun over. He always approached dance casually, liking it but not willing to sacrifice everything for it. He circled around Xi Shui, saying, "I'm telling you, if you just finish that barbecue with us this weekend, you'll definitely lose weight!"
Xi Shui pulled up his waistband, sweat dripping from his pointed chin onto his hand. Panting, he asked, "What's the logic there?"
Lin Xiaojin stopped and explained, "Barbecue grills away calories. With all the calories grilled away, eating it will definitely make you thin!"
Xi Shui wiped his cheek with the back of his hand, his eyes flashing with surprise in the afternoon light. "Lin Xiaojin, your education has been wasted."
Lin Xiaojin: "......"
Before class ended, Xu Wei and the girls' teacher Jiang Die had everyone perform the first and second scenes of "The Dancing Girl" together.
"The Dancing Girl", also known as "The Temple Dancer of India", tells a tragic and melancholic love story. The main characters include the male lead, a warrior; the female lead, a dancer; the king and princess; the high priest; and the dancer's companions.
The first scene portrays the warrior, already engaged to the princess, falling for the temple dancer and expressing his love, unknowingly observed by the high priest.
The second scene shifts to the dazzling palace. At a ball, the warrior and princess make a perfect couple, but the high priest chooses this moment to reveal the warrior's secret affair with the temple dancer to the king.
Li Weiwei, who played the princess, had collaborated with Xi Shui several times and they had decent chemistry. Before casting, Xu Wei and Jiang Die had considered Li Weiwei for the lead female role of the dancer, but her image didn't suit the character. She was more suited to innocent, slightly quirky roles.
In the story, upon learning of her fiancé's involvement with a dancer, the princess attempts to have the dancer bitten by a poisonous snake, but ends up getting bitten herself in the process.
After the performance, Xi Shui's moves were flawless. Lin Xiaojin approached him, saying, "You're a scumbag."
Xi Shui wiped his sweat with a towel. "I'm not."
The warrior he portrayed was a scumbag.
But he wasn't.
"Alright, class dismissed. Some of you need to practice more intensively. Never skip your daily morning and evening routines. Basic skills are crucial for dancers!" Jiang Die wore her long hair in a bun. She had retired from the Capital Ballet Troupe after being a principal dancer for four years. Now in her forties, she exuded an elegant, otherworldly aura, her expression always calm as still water. Even her simplest movements were breathtakingly beautiful.
Xi Shui and Lin Xiaojin took their water bottles to the shower room to freshen up and change.
Although CUDC and CUSC were longtime rivals, they shared the same indoor training facility.
The facility had two buildings, A and B, connected by corridors. Only the 3rd, 4th, and 5th floors had concrete corridors with clear glass on both sides.
Xi Shui's class was on the third floor of Building A, but the showers were on the third floor of Building B.
Each floor had only one large shower room, with individual stalls separated by curtains.
Generally, there wasn't a shortage of showers. Different majors had different schedules, and some people were too lazy to shower.
The school's showerheads were powerful enough to peel off a layer of skin. Xi Shui closed his eyes tightly, frowning as he quickly washed, dried off, and got dressed.
Lin Xiaojin was a slow bather. Xi Shui stuffed his dirty clothes into his bag and stood in the corridor, drying his dripping hair with a towel.
The afternoon sun was still harsh. Xi Shui stood where the sunlight couldn't reach.
Looking down, he saw a group of male students coming up the stairs.
One glance was enough to tell they were from CUSC. CUDC students weren't that big, and their clothes, wristbands, and bag styles all indicated they were from CUSC.
One of them had already started undressing while walking.
Xi Shui turned his head to look elsewhere.
Only after the group entered the shower room did Xi Shui turn back, unexpectedly meeting a pair of pitch-black eyes.
Xi Shui's breath caught.
"What a coincidence..." The words rolled slowly off Zhou Zeqi's tongue as he looked at the still steamy, damp Xi Shui. "You just finished class too?"
Xi Shui unconsciously gripped his bag strap, his other hand clutching the towel. He made a sound of agreement.
When Zhou Zeqi had turned the corner and come up the stairs, he had immediately spotted Xi Shui standing in the corridor.
His hair, despite being toweled for a while, was still dripping, water falling onto his pale cheeks and exposed neck. He looked like winter sunlight shining on unmelted snow, his skin glowing.
Xi Shui wore shorts that reached his knees. His legs were straight and long, with smooth calf muscle lines. Dancers always looked thin but were actually rock-hard to the touch; otherwise, they couldn't perform those series of difficult dance moves.
All of Xi Shui's exposed skin was the same color, white and glossy, like pearls in hand.
Not only Zhou Zeqi noticed; others did too.
Wu Fengyi even pulled up his own collar to sniff it. "Help, why do I feel like he's from a different world than us? I suddenly feel so stinky."
"You guys go in first, I'll wait a bit."
"What? What are you up to?"
"Never mind."
Before entering the shower room, Wu Fengyi looked back, just in time to see Zhou Zeqi stop in front of Xi Shui, attempting to reach out and touch something. However, the other turned his face back, interrupting Zhou Zeqi's action.
Tch.
He knew it.
"They're all my classmates," Zhou Zeqi straightened up, noticing Xi Shui was holding his breath. He stepped back a few paces. "Are you waiting for someone?"
Xi Shui exhaled in relief.
It wasn't just Zhou Zeqi's height, which exceeded his by half a head. Height alone wasn't enough to create such a strong sense of pressure. It was his casual tone, the muscles hidden beneath his clothes, his nonchalant gestures - everything about him always made people feel he was in effortless control of any person or situation.
It made Xi Shui feel like a cat, a rabbit, a thrush gripped by the neck, like being suddenly lifted and spun ten times by a dance partner appearing from behind, dizzy and disoriented.
"Waiting for Lin Xiaojin."
"Lin Xiaojin is your friend?" Zhou Zeqi's lips curved upward. "Boyfriend?"
"No, no," Xi Shui quickly clarified. Such a misunderstanding with Zhou Zeqi was enough; he couldn't let others think the same. "We're good friends." He emphasized "good" heavily.
"Oh," Zhou Zeqi's expression returned to neutral. "You're not dating anyone?"
Xi Shui nodded, paused, then shook his head.
Zhou Zeqi's eyes slowly narrowed.
Xi Shui looked up and said, "Who knows? These things, who can say for sure?"
Xi Shui couldn't read the meaning in Zhou Zeqi's eyes. He just felt that even at this safe distance, he again began to sense that unfriendly aura emanating from Zhou Zeqi towards him.
"That's... true." Zhou Zeqi spoke extremely slowly.
Having received agreement, Xi Shui smiled, revealing two rows of teeth like mother-of-pearl. "Right?"
"......"
-
Xi Shui went to eat with Lin Xiaojin.
He disliked vegetables, especially cucumbers and broccoli - these were the vegetables he hated most in his life.
Lin Xiaojin didn't like them either.
The two of them picked through their salads.
They happened to run into Xu Wei, who was also eating in the cafeteria. Xu Wei sat down next to them.
"......"
"Picky eating isn't good," Xu Wei said, picking up a corn cob and elegantly removing the kernels.
Xi Shui was practically forcing the broccoli and cucumber into his mouth.
After eating this five-star level of unpalatable food, Xi Shui felt his appetite had been completely destroyed.
Tomorrow was Saturday.
As they parted ways, Lin Xiaojin gripped Xi Shui's hand, eyes brimming with tears, "Tomorrow, barbecue, don't forget!"
Xi Shui showed a hesitant expression, "I can't eat anymore."
"You can just eat one meal."
This......
This was a good idea!!!
But Xi Shui also needed to think about ways to lose weight and maintain his weight.
The main issue was that his weight was always fluctuating, making Xi Shui feel insecure. If only it could stay fixed, and then, he wouldn't gain weight from eating.
That night, after finishing his evening practice and showering, Xi Shui lay on his bed with a tablet in hand, searching for weight loss methods. When he found a method, he would note it down in his memo app.
— Cucumber diet?
This wouldn't work, it would lead to malnutrition, lacking carbs and fats. Not scientific.
— Plastic wrap weight loss method?
To be determined, haven't tried it. Skip the chili oil though.
— 21-day weight loss plan?
Too harsh, it would damage the body.
Xi Shui bit the iPad pen, his brows furrowed.
What to do?
These methods all seemed unreliable.
"Dating can help you lose weight, kissing burns calories!" Lin Xiaojin's previous words echoed loudly in his mind.
Xi Shui hesitated for a few seconds, then typed into the search bar: Does kissing burn calories?
After the webpage loaded.
The answer was: Simple pecks don't burn calories, but passionate deep kisses can burn calories.
Xi Shui looked at the answer displayed on the screen, then sat up with a start. He quickly wrote on the screen with his pen.
[How long does kissing need to last to burn calories?]
[Answer: Kissing for one minute can burn 6.4 calories.]
Xi Shui thought, rounding off, let's say it's 6 calories.
So kissing for an hour would be 360 calories, equivalent to jogging for six kilometers.
Jogging requires running shoes, workout clothes, and a track.
Kissing doesn't need any of that. Kissing only needs one thing - a partner!!!
Xi Shui deleted all those random methods he had just noted down in his memo app, and wrote "kissing weight loss method" on the first line. After writing it, his pen tip paused, and he realized he had overlooked a very important issue, an essential cog in this weight loss method.
That is, he didn't have a partner to kiss anytime, anywhere!
*
Little Stream: "I'm ready!"
Narrator: You still need a partner
Little Stream: "Oh right, I don't have a partner......"