Chapter Eighty-Five: The Dance

A famous star falls for me.

Hua Jingjing cried out, “How could I? I clearly only mentioned one! When did I ever bring up a second demand?”

I put on a deliberately earnest look. “Really? You said it yourself just now, and already you’ve forgotten? Look, your first demand was that I should call you Jingjing from now on, and I agreed. Then your second demand was that I should say it to you right away, and I did that too. Now you want to raise another one, wouldn’t that make it the third demand?”

Hua Jingjing stared at me with her big eyes, sizing me up and down as if she did not recognize me at all. Then she burst out laughing. “Tang Qian! You... you, with all your macho pride, are actually trying to wriggle out of it? Did I hear that right?”

I said, “What do you mean wriggle out of it? I’m arguing from reason. You really did make two demands!”

Hua Jingjing was both annoyed and amused. Unable to help herself, she waved a hand and lightly swatted at me, laughing as she scolded, “You shameless rogue! Now I really know what kind of person you are!”

I quickly pretended to turn and flee from the car, crying out, “Hey! I agreed to all your demands, so why are you still hitting me?”

Hua Jingjing missed the first time, then climbed over the seat after me, still trying to swat me, and said angrily, “You still want to run? No way! I must...”

Suddenly she noticed something and exclaimed, “Huh? What happened to your head? Why is there gauze on it?”

I had already opened the door to get out when I heard her discover the bandage on the back of my head. Instinctively, I touched it and said, “This? Well, I got hurt, that’s all.”

Hua Jingjing’s face filled with distress. She climbed toward me and held out her hand. “Let me see. How did this happen?”

I hurried to stop her. “Don’t look. It’s only a small wound, nothing serious. Hey, don’t crawl over here!” But she paid me no mind. Once she got over, she knelt on my seat, cradled my head in both hands, and carefully examined the bandage. Softly, she asked, “Does it hurt? This doesn’t look like something you’d get from bumping into something by accident. Could someone have hit you?”

I understood then that she truly felt hurt for me. I could sense the concern and tenderness in her heart. I could not help being moved, and though I knew this gesture was far too intimate, I could not bear to refuse her.

How could one refuse someone who aches for you? I was not a heartless man, so I could not do it.

Sighing, I was about to make up a lie and brush it off, since being injured by a little girl was hardly something glorious, and besides, Hua Jingjing knew the family very well, so explaining it to her would have been troublesome. Then I suddenly remembered that I had just promised her I would never lie to her again. I did not usually make promises lightly, but once I did, I was bound to keep them.

After thinking for a moment, I said, “I was hit by someone, but the injury isn’t serious. You don’t need to worry.”

Hua Jingjing said furiously, “It’s your head! If the blow had landed harder, someone could have died. How can I not worry? Who could be so cruel and vicious as to beat you like this? This is outrageous. Tell me who it was, and I’ll make them pay for it properly!”

I shook my head free of her support. “Forget it. It was just some very boring person. I don’t want to talk about it anymore. Besides, my own problems are my own to solve. Why should a woman like you stand up for me? Am I such a useless man?”

Hua Jingjing pouted and said aggrievedly, “I’m only worried about you, and now you’re acting all macho again!”

I said, “All right, all right, let’s not talk about it. You came to see me tonight, didn’t you? Now that you’ve seen me, is there anything else?”

Hua Jingjing heard the hint that I was seeing her out, and said sadly and angrily, “What? I haven’t seen you for days, and now that we’ve only just met, you want to drive me away so soon?”

I sighed. “Manager Hua! I already have a girlfriend. The way you act toward me makes things very difficult for me.”

Hua Jingjing widened her eyes. “What did you call me? You only just promised me—have you already forgotten?”

I immediately realized I should have called her Jingjing. But the address Manager Hua had long since taken root in my mind; how could I switch it off at once? I had simply blurted it out by mistake. “No, no, I just said it out of habit. I’ll correct myself next time, next time.”

Hua Jingjing was far too clever to let my slip go. “That won’t do. You said something and didn’t keep it. You have to be punished, or else you’ll keep making the same mistake.”

With a bitter expression, I said, “Such a small slip and I still have to be punished? Isn’t that a bit much? I didn’t mean it. I didn’t say it on purpose.”

But Hua Jingjing refused to let it go. “Of course you have to be punished! You’re a man! A real man’s word is as good as gold. How can you fail to do what you said you’d do? Since it was unintentional, I’m punishing you for that. If you had done it on purpose, hmph, I’d despise you!”

I had nothing to say. Hua Jingjing had indeed found my weakness. I was terribly concerned with saving face, and anything that would make me look down upon was absolutely out of the question. In the end, I could only say with a tearless, hopeless face, “Fine, punish me then, but if it makes things too difficult for me, I won’t accept it.”

Hua Jingjing’s scheme succeeded once again. Delighted, she laughed. She suddenly spread her arms and wrapped them around my neck from behind, pressing her body close against my back. Smiling, she said, “Relax. My punishment is very easy. I’ve been exhausted from work these last two days, so I want to go relax a little. You’ll accompany me to a dance hall and go wild for a while. That shouldn’t be too hard, should it?”

I was shocked and shouted, “What are you doing? Get down!”

Hua Jingjing had finally found a chance to be intimate with me; how could she give it up so easily? She clung to me tightly. “No! I’m not getting down!”

She was behind me and holding on so tightly that I could not pull her off in a hurry. I darkened my face and said in a low voice, “If you don’t get down, don’t blame me for never speaking to you again.”

That was her weakness. After all, she liked me. Though I hated using such a despicable threat, there was no other way to deal with Hua Jingjing. With no choice at all, I had to resort to it.

Sure enough, Hua Jingjing hurriedly let go and climbed down, saying both aggrieved and angry, “Threatening me again! You know I’m afraid you won’t talk to me, and you still keep using this trick. You really can do it, hmph!”

I turned to face her and said seriously, “Hua... no, Jingjing. You’re a good girl. I, Tang Qian, am no hero or great man, and I’m not worth your liking me like this. I truly feel ashamed. Someone as beautiful as you, with such good prospects, should find someone more worthy of you, not me. Being with you would put pressure on me. Do you understand?”

“Don’t I understand such noble-sounding reasoning? I know that falling for you was the unluckiest thing in my life. But what can I do? I already like you. It’s too late, and I can’t get out of it. If you want me to find someone else, I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. My heart is already full of you and can hold no one else. Do you understand?”

I was serious, and Hua Jingjing was even more serious than I was. Her gaze was resolute and full of deep feeling, her expression sincere, and it reminded me of something Xu Shu once said: Hua Jingjing was the kind of stubborn girl who, once set on something, could not be pulled back even by ten oxen. I felt a deep headache and found the situation extremely thorny, yet at the same time I could not help being moved.

My tone softened as I sighed. “Sigh... why put yourself through this? You know I have a girlfriend. It’s impossible for me to... I really don’t want you to get hurt.”

Hua Jingjing smiled gently. “I know you have a girlfriend, but I’m not afraid. I can compete with her fairly. I’m confident I can snatch you away from her. I’ll make you fall in love with me, I promise.”

I gave a wry smile. Hua Jingjing really was not merely stubborn; she was downright obsessive. I knew there was no way to persuade her with words, so I could only give up in frustration and prepare to get out of the car.

Hua Jingjing saw me move and immediately said, “Hey! Where are you going? Have you forgotten that you have to accept your punishment? You’re supposed to go dancing with me!”

One foot already on the ground, I frowned and said, “A dance hall? Oh, spare me. What sort of place is that for me? That’s a place for young people. And I don’t know any of that writhing, swaying modern dance. Even if I went, it would be pointless. I think we should forget it.”

Hua Jingjing said, “No. That’s not up to you. This is your punishment, and you must accept it. Get back here and fasten your seat belt.”

I cried, “Do I even have the right to refuse?”

Half an hour later, Hua Jingjing had forcibly dragged me to the largest club in the city, a place called Shockwave Plaza. The place was vast beyond measure, occupying a huge tract of land. It was not even midnight yet, and it was already packed to the rafters. The deafening, pounding music struck every cell in every person’s body without pause, setting the blood racing and making one want to throw oneself into the frenzy of the beat.

Inside the dance floor, the lights were dim, lasers flashing on and off in a constant strobe. There were no distinctions of age or sex, wealth or poverty here; people twisted and swayed wildly with only one purpose: release. Whatever it was they sought to vent, they could forget themselves here and express it freely, without restraint.

As soon as Hua Jingjing and I entered, with me unwilling and resentful, I found the noise, which seemed to attack my heartbeat directly, utterly unbearable. Frowning, I shouted at Hua Jingjing, “Forget it. There are too many people here. Let’s go back!”

But the fierce music made my words sound like a mosquito’s whine. Hua Jingjing leaned close to my ear and shouted, “What? I can’t hear you!”

I had no choice but to yell, “There are too many people here. We should go back!”

This time Hua Jingjing finally heard me. She smiled and shook her head to show her disagreement. Then she reached out, grabbed my arm, and pulled me inside.

After great difficulty, we found a seat. Like most of the young people there, Hua Jingjing ordered two bottles of beer from the waiter. Even while sitting down, her body was already swaying to the fierce rhythm of the music. I sighed helplessly and lit a cigarette. My already aching head seemed to hurt even more.

The beer arrived quickly. Hua Jingjing seemed very excited; she grabbed a bottle and gulped down several mouthfuls, then cried out and slammed it down hard. Pulling me along with her, she said, “Come on. Don’t hold yourself back. Let’s go crazy for a while and forget all our troubles and unhappiness, if only for a little while. Come!”

She dragged me along, and I staggered into the dance floor. At once, Hua Jingjing began to sway in front of me, gesturing for me to join her.

I could not dance at all, so I could only stand awkwardly in the crowd and helplessly watch the various people around me, all nodding and shaking their heads while dancing madly. Then I noticed, to my left, a group of a dozen young men forming a circle, dancing around a girl standing in the center who was performing astonishingly difficult moves.

Under the dim, flashing lights, through the gaps in the circle of boys, I could see that the girl had long hair and long legs, and was showcasing dance skills that matched those of any master. I did not understand dance, but I could still tell she moved beautifully and with astonishing power. While others merely swayed and rocked, she would spin in place seven or eight turns, kick, flip sideways, and even do a one-handed handstand. Good heavens, she was practically a gymnast.

As I marveled at the girl’s unusual, lovely, and graceful dancing, a strong beam of light swept over her, and at last I could see her face clearly: that pure, innocent face.