Rebirth of Chinese Entertainment, the Diary of a 95 Flower

Chapter 184 Liu Haochun, who grew up amidst marital quarrels

After Jiang Yang left, Liu Haochun had Zhao Jinmai warm up and tested her flexibility, thus gaining a general understanding of her dance background.

The flexibility is considered good for most people.

She has absolutely no dance background.

Beginners should not train all at once, otherwise it may cause muscle strain, joint wear and tear, and lumbar disc herniation.

Focusing too much on flexibility while neglecting strength can lead to compensatory joint injuries.

Therefore, a training plan needs to be developed for Zhao Jinmai.

She returned to her room, found her dance bag, and took out several pairs of dance shoes and socks.

Pick out a pair that's a size too small, measure the size with your fingers, and make sure Zhao Jinmai can wear them.

Wear your knee pads too.

I also took the opportunity to carefully research Zhao Jinmai's information on my phone, to learn about the movies and TV series she has acted in, her family members, where she is from, and her hobbies.

Jiang Yang brought me my first opportunity to meet a child star.

Being strict with Zhao Jinmai during training was a way of giving Jiang Yang an explanation.

When not training, it's natural to ease tensions.

On the phone screen, Zhao Jinmai's mother was displayed; she was a university teacher and also a referee for international competitions. Suddenly, Liu Haochun recalled the words his mother had taught him since childhood: "Mom said that everyone can be a stepping stone for me..."

The thought had barely crossed Liu Haochun's mind when he turned off his phone and hurriedly ran to the bathroom.

Standing in front of a mirror with embedded light strips, I noticed that my eyelashes were drooping slightly, obscuring my pupils, and the muscles at the corners of my eyes were unconsciously tensing.

It's that pitiful look in her eyes again.

It happened subconsciously, and I couldn't control it.

The thought of how my mother had subtly influenced my thinking caused my eyes to change without me even realizing it.

Turn on the tap, and your fair palm is filled with icy water.

My fingertips trembled from the cold.

Splashing your face with cold water a few times causes large splashes of water to form streaks on the mirror.

Liu Haochun rubbed his eyes vigorously until blood vessels seeped into his eye sockets.

When she looked up at herself in the mirror, her pupils suddenly contracted, her eyes trembled slightly, and her lower lip quivered.

The look in her own eyes in the mirror was still pitiful.

That was me in the past.

I had no idea that I was dancing on the blood of others when I was a student.

There wasn't a single drop of water on her cheeks.

Slightly drooping eyelashes obscure the pupils, and a few glistening tears well up in the corners of her eyes—the very look her mother instilled in her from childhood, the kind of gaze that evokes a man's protective instincts.

Liu Haochun leaned forward, raised his hand and pressed it against the mirror, his pupils contracting: "You are not who I am now."

Wipe the mirror with your palm.

Wipe away the dripping water lines one by one.

After the mirror was wiped clean, it became clear and bright.

The reflection in the mirror showed a clear and genuine look in my eyes.

She tried to lift the corners of her mouth and smile, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn down.

"The ideas my mother taught me will only make me another cold-blooded woman."

"I don't want to dance on other people's blood anymore, and I don't want to rely on my parents and grow up cold-blooded."

"I will no longer run away."

My phone vibrated, the screen lit up, and I received a message on WeChat.

It was sent by Jiang Yang: [“I wasn’t watching her. How was Mai Mai’s behavior? She didn’t talk back to you, did she?”]
Liu Haochun typed a reply: [“Mai Mai is very well-behaved, just a bit talkative, she keeps talking. She listens to me very well when practicing dance. I’m going back to my room to get her some protective gear for practice. She’s resting in the dance studio, so you don’t need to worry.”]
About to send it out.

Let me edit it again.

Change the word '您' to '你' and then send it.

But then I felt that the sentence was too abrupt.

Open the emoji list.

Pick an emoji and send it.

I wanted to make the conversation between myself and Jiang Yang feel more relaxed, rather than like a work report.

At the same time, I'm trying to stop being as cold-blooded as before.

I clicked the laughing emoji.

I don't think it's appropriate.

It would seem ingratiating.

It would be appropriate for someone like Yang Chaoyue, who is already quite familiar with Jiang Yang, to post this.

Change to a smiling emoji
Jiang Yang was driving his Panamera, holding the steering wheel, on the East Third Ring Road, when he got stuck in traffic near the Yansha Bridge.

Looking out the window, the German sign of the Kempinski Hotel is very eye-catching.

The large screen at Sanyuanqiao is currently playing a trailer for the Spring Festival Gala of the Year of the Monkey.

The Yansha Bridge has been frequently congested lately, especially during the evening rush hour. Fortunately, Yang Chaoyue's high-speed train was on time, so he was able to pick her up in time.

Seeing the message from Liu Haochun on his phone, Jiang Yang typed back: "[Well done.]"
No wonder I haven't been able to get any dance attributes from Zhao Jinmai for a while.

It turns out that it's MaiMai's break time now, and Liu Haochun isn't teaching anymore.

Don't rest, keep training hard!

I really wish Liu Haochun would treat Zhao Jinmai like a beast of burden, training her relentlessly until she dies.

In a few days, she will be showing off her dance skills to Xu Xiaoou. If Mai Mai doesn't work hard, how can she perform well in front of the producer and win a high-paying role?

Jiang Yang then sent Liu Haochun a message: "Thank you for your hard work."
I received a reply from Liu Haochun.

It's a smiling emoji.

Jiang Yang's lips twitched: "Heh?"

Since the second half of last year, with the widespread use of smartphones, the meanings of many chat emoticons have changed.

Especially at the end of last year, a popular post appeared on Zhihu titled "Why does this smile and expression give me the creeps?"

Rage Comics also became popular, and the accompanying emoji packs labeled the smiley face with "hehe".

Liu Haochun clearly spends most of his time busy with his studies and has very little time online, yet he still uses the smiling emoji as a genuine smile.

Garlic Bird Garlic Bird... Why should a man in his thirties argue with a minor girl?

She was hoping to rely on Liu Haochun to learn dance skills from Zhao Jinmai.

At the same time, it would be best to continue playing the role of Liu Haochun's strict teacher so that one can fully appreciate her acting skills.

Once the traffic cleared up, I rubbed my lower back.

The car accelerates quite quickly, but the seats are too hard, making my back hurt. It's not as comfortable to drive as my old Corolla. He continued typing a message for Liu Haochun.

Liu Haochun wiped the water droplets off her face, untied her ponytail, and let her hair fall loose.

Use a hairdryer to dry the wet bangs on your forehead.

Looking at the clean mirror and her clear reflection, she slowly curved her lips into a smile.

The corners of my mouth are stiff.

I can't laugh.

My mother taught me from a young age to pretend to be weak in front of men and arouse their protective instincts.

The pitiful look in her eyes and the sweet smile were skills she had learned long ago.

It's also fake.

It's not true.

He tried to put on a genuine smile, but his lips were full of bitterness.

I remember last year at the Affiliated High School of Beijing Dance Academy, a current actor from the National Theatre of China was invited as an external expert to teach a course on the integration of dance and drama. He taught us how to use our bodies and expressions to showcase the beauty of dance and immerse the audience in the story.

When discussing how to project a captivating smile, I clearly remember the speaker saying something like this: "Students can try to recall happy moments from their lives, such as when you achieved excellent grades and went home to tell your parents about it, and how they encouraged you..."

Liu Haochun thought back carefully.

I achieved excellent results and went home to report to my parents...

The buzzing sound of the hairdryer in my ear gradually decreased until it finally went silent.

His shoulders slumped slowly.

The once clear and bright eyes gradually became numb, and images from the past appeared in the pupils, reflected on the mirror surface inlaid with light strips.

I saw myself in 09, when I was in elementary school in my hometown of Tonghua City, Jilin Province.

After finishing their final leg-stretching training of the day, the children's palace dance class won the city-level children's dance gold medal for the first time. I clearly remember hearing the whistle of the green train at Tonghua Railway Station outside the window.

Back home, he stuck the certificate on the refrigerator door and proudly showed it to his dad, who was wearing a shirt and came home: "Dad, this is the award I won!"

Dad glanced up at his award certificate, his hair parted in a 3/7 style, and sat on the coffee table lighting a cigarette: "Dance again? Have your academic grades improved?"

The screen darkened.

My mother suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

I forgot what I said, but I started arguing with my dad.

Standing at the master bedroom door, I saw my mother pull out the marriage certificate from the master bedroom drawer and tear it in half: "Go to the Civil Affairs Bureau tomorrow! How could I have married you in the first place? Even your father said you were a good-for-nothing back then, and he was right."

The father's face was contorted with rage, his once meticulously styled hair now disheveled: "The biggest regret of my life is marrying you!"

The sound of tearing up the marriage certificate drowned out the cheers of his award.

She desperately stood on her tiptoes, just so her parents would look down at her.

I turned to look at the certificate of merit pasted on the refrigerator.

The handwriting for the first prize became blurry and invisible, and the image darkened.

It lit up again.

It was me in 2012. I had grown taller, my cheeks were no longer round, I had lost a lot of baby fat, my legs were longer, and I won the special prize in the Northeast China Dance Exhibition.

I practiced at the dance studio until the very last minute before going home.

It wasn't that I worked particularly hard, but rather that I felt the lights in the dance studio were warmer than those at home.

arrive home.

Without showing the certificate, he called out, "Mom and Dad, I'm home... I won another award, a provincial one." On the dust mat on the floor were his parents' shoes, scattered haphazardly.

I heard my parents' voices at home.

The response I received was the sound of arguing.

Where did my parents talk in my memory?

Kitchen? Living room? Bedroom?

Can not remember.

All that could be heard were sharp, piercing voices:
"The clothes in the washing machine have been piling up for three days! Are you blind or crippled?"

"You don't even pick up the soy sauce bottle that's fallen over, and you don't even sweep the floor. Do you think this place belongs to me alone?!"

"I feel disgusted just looking at you."

I could vaguely make out two figures craning their necks, blaming each other.

Dad's belly is bigger than before, and his hairline has receded.

My mother's skin is looser than before.

The things we say to each other are more hurtful than before.

I've only ever seen pictures of my parents loving each other in wedding photos.

The parents in the wedding photos are smiling, but in reality, they can't even be bothered to pretend.

The certificate of merit on the refrigerator, from three years ago, is yellowed and the corners are curled; it can no longer warm the home.

I've been posting these for three years without receiving any encouragement, and this time is no different.

Liu Haochun didn't take out the provincial award certificate from his schoolbag. Instead, he tore off the certificate that was pasted on the refrigerator, lowered his head, and silently went to her room.

The moment she closed the door, she finally locked the sounds of the argument into the past.
The arguing around me gradually subsided, replaced by the buzzing of a hairdryer, which grew louder and louder.

It wasn't until the high-powered hairdryer in the East Hotel room made my forehead hot and burning that I suddenly woke up and came back to my senses.

I went through my memories, and there was no praise from my parents, only their incessant arguing, which was shocking.

I can't recall how it felt to be praised.

The forced smile still carried a bitter taste.

My hair was already dry.

Hold the hairdryer high so the hot air blows directly onto your face.

Look up at the mirror with embedded LED strips.

Looking at myself in the mirror, I realized that at some point, my face was covered in tears, and I looked ugly and unsightly.

Tears fell silently; there was no sobbing, just quiet weeping.

Suddenly, I realized that what that specially appointed expert from the Beijing Dance Academy said might not apply to me, because I couldn't find any happiness from my parents in my memories.

The phone screen on the table lit up.

I received a message from Jiang Yang.

Liu Haochun instinctively avoided eye contact, habitually not expecting good news.

Upon seeing the message content, her pupils contracted slightly:

"Haochun, you're excellent. You can even keep that idiot Zhao Jinmai in check. I usually can't even handle her. You're much better than me."
The humming of the hair dryer stopped abruptly.

She slowly picked up her phone and rubbed the edge of it with her fingers.

What does "melon rind" mean?
can't read.

Her gaze lingered on the words 'You are excellent,' and she silently read them aloud, her lips slightly parted.

My finger hovered over the screen, and I tapped it.

Zoom in on the message, and the text sent by Jiang Yang fills the entire screen.

My finger gently traces the words "You are much better than me" on the screen.

Like touching something precious.

A simple "You're better than me" is worth more than a million yellowed certificates of merit.

How could I possibly be better than Jiang Yang?

This is Jiang Yang's recognition of himself.

Growth begins with learning to applaud yourself.

Liu Haochun's shoulders gradually relaxed and were no longer tense.

Jiang Yang sent another message:
"I'll be bringing another trainee over later, Yang Chaoyue. Her coordination is even worse than Mai Mai's, but she's incredibly strong. She used to do heavy labor in a factory; one punch from her can hurt my shoulder. I need you to create a training plan for her over the next few days. I'm confident you can handle it. With your abilities, you're sure to get a management contract with my company."
Liu Haochun held the phone in both hands.

My eyes were fixed on the words "brokerage contract".

My fingers pause on the keyboard for a few seconds, deleting and revising, and I don't like to express my determination to others.

Finally, I pressed send with conviction, my eyes brightening:

"I will definitely do my best to complete this! I know I can do it!!"
Received Jiang Yang's reply:
"I believe you, Haochun."
Liu Haochun opened the emoji bar.

Send another smiling emoji.

After sending it, take a deep breath and smile at yourself in the mirror.

This time, her smile wasn't stiff; the corners of her eyes curved slightly.

The tears were still there, but her expression had brightened.

Clear, authentic, and filled with the joy of encouragement.

There is no bitterness.

She casually wiped away her tears with the back of her hand, not caring about her appearance.

To calm herself down, she packed the dance protective gear she had prepared for Zhao Jinmai into a bag.

Before leaving, I glanced at my chat history with Jiang Yang one last time.

I held my phone to my chest, wanting to cherish this encouragement.

Close the door.

My steps became lighter.

Jiang Yang parked his car and arrived at Beiping South Station.

Looking up, you see a dome with a wave-shaped steel structure, and the floor is paved with polished marble.

It was during the Spring Festival travel rush, and the surrounding area was crowded with people.

There was a middle-aged man with dark skin, wearing old sneakers and carrying a snakeskin bag, returning home from working away from home.

A young girl wearing a rabbit-ear-eared fluffy hat is waiting for someone at the station entrance, standing on tiptoe to look around, her phone case covered in a shiny rhinestone.

The announcement, accompanied by echoes, announced: "Train G12 is arriving soon..."

Looking at Liu Haochun's reply on his phone, saying that she would definitely do her best to complete the task he assigned, Jiang Yang was very satisfied.

I didn't get to utilize Liu Haochun's acting skills.

This shows that Liu Haochun's words came from the bottom of his heart.

"Young girls are so easy to fool. Just a few compliments and a promise of a better future, and they're willing to be your slave," Jiang Yang muttered.

His face darkened.

Suddenly, something came to mind.

In my past life, when I joined the company, I was also fooled by the boss's empty promises and became a beast of burden.

I was so exhausted I almost had a heart attack. I was so anxious every day that my hair was falling out in clumps. My heart was racing. Finally, I completed my performance target and met my KPI.

The boss completely denied the promises he had made.

Working people can't recognize empty promises, just like fish can't recognize the hook in the bait.

The pancake turned into an empty pancake.

I mentally cursed the boss's ancestors' graves.

Now that he's the boss, Liu Haochun is basically an intern. How come, without thinking, people have started making empty promises to Liu Haochun? He's a real piece of work.

I can't just make empty promises to Liu Haochun.

You can't live like the exploiters you hate the most.

There must still be a trace of youthful spirit in me.

Recalling his past life as a beast of burden, Jiang Yang's gaze hardened: "I never want to be a beast of burden again."

The sound of a suitcase being dragged reached my ears, along with a familiar voice: "Brother Yang, what are you doing?"

"Be a successor to communism."

"Did you take the night shift?"

Hearing the word "night shift" sent chills down Jiang Yang's spine.

He turned his head and saw Yang Chaoyue, wearing the Versace fur-trimmed coat he had bought two months ago, already dragging his suitcase in front of him. He laughed and said, "Do you know what I'm thinking? Just answer randomly."

Just a moment later, Yang Chaoyue squeezed out from the crowd of people going into battle, his eyes quickly locking onto Jiang Yang's location.

He quickly approached Jiang Yang, but couldn't understand what Jiang Yang was muttering while looking at his phone screen.

I gave a casual reply.

Then she grabbed Jiang Yang's clothes.

I took a deep breath as I buried my face in my coat, and the familiar scent gave me a sense of security.

When I'm back in my hometown, I want to spend more time with my father.

Now that he's with Jiang Yang, he's suddenly filled with the enthusiasm to help him.

What a great boss.

Yang Chaoyue deliberately nudged Jiang Yang's chin with the top of his head.

Just like when I parted ways with Jiang Yang at the Chongqing high-speed rail station.

When her cheek touched Jiang Yang's collarbone, she secretly rubbed against him.

Caught off guard, Jiang Yang instinctively leaned back, took a small step back, his hands dangling in the air, and his lips twitched slightly.

"I don't know what you're thinking, I just answered randomly." Yang Chaoyue smiled faintly, listening to Jiang Yang's steady heartbeat, his voice muffled inside Jiang Yang's coat: "But I'm thinking of you."
-
PS:

Please give me a monthly ticket.

(End of this chapter)