Marrying My Bestie's Ferocious Brother - He Calls Me His Baby!-Chapter 42: The Lead Dancer Suddenly Falls Ill—Are You Saying It Wasn’t You?

Chapter 42: Chapter 42: The Lead Dancer Suddenly Falls Ill—Are You Saying It Wasn’t You?

He no longer looked at Li, who was trembling like a leaf on the ground.

The military jacket, retaining his body warmth, wrapped Lin Wan Yi’s petite figure securely.

He lowered his head, his voice soft and gentle, as if afraid to startle the person in his embrace.

"Are you cold?"

Lin Wan Yi lifted her face from the warm scent of soap, shaking her head.

Gu Yanshen didn’t say another word, bending down to lift the half-filled wooden bucket from the ground with one steady hand.

The bucket, which Li had accused of containing "poison" and "dead rat meat," seemed like a treasured object in his hand.

One hand carrying the bucket, the other holding his wife’s shoulder, he turned to head home.

Throughout, he didn’t spare a glance for anyone around him.

Just then, a man came rushing from around the corner; it was Li’s husband, Mr. Li.

Seeing his wife collapsed on the ground, and Gu Yanshen’s face colder than the winter night, his legs went weak.

"Mr. Gu..." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Gu Yanshen did not stop, merely giving him a cold glance as they passed.

Just one glance.

Mr. Li felt as though ice-cold water had been poured over him from head to toe, chilling his blood.

He dared not say another word, rushing over to cover Li’s wailing mouth, dragging her home.

"Bang!"

The sound of a door slamming echoed in the courtyard.

Then, came the suppressed and intermittent pleas for mercy and the sound of slaps.

The crowd fell as silent as mice.

Back home, once the door was closed, they were cut off from everything outside.

Gu Yanshen placed the bucket down, finally releasing the jacket to reveal Lin Wan Yi within.

His hand rested on her shoulder.

"Did she touch you?"

"No," Lin Wan Yi looked at his tense jawline, "I avoided it."

Gu Yanshen was silent for a moment before speaking.

"You handled Mrs. Wang’s matter very well."

This was the first time he had directly acknowledged her capability in handling interpersonal relationships.

Lin Wan Yi smiled, her eyebrows arching gently.

"Do you think the performance I’m in charge of will go well?"

Gu Yanshen looked into her eyes.

"You can do it."

It was not consolation; it was a statement.

The next day, Lin Wan Yi received a notice to attend a meeting for the preparation of the cultural performance at the division’s activity room.

When she arrived, several others were already seated in the activity room.

Leading them was a woman of about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, named Sun Li. She was the division’s cultural affairs officer, with a shrewd and sharp face.

Surrounding her were several young military wives, chattering intensely. One of them, named Xiao Fang, was particularly striking and gazed at Lin Wan Yi with undisguised hostility.

Lin Wan Yi had seen her before, a dancer from the cultural troupe and the originally designated lead dancer for this performance.

"Everyone’s here, let’s start the meeting," Sun Li cleared her throat, her gaze sweeping over Lin Wan Yi with a touch of scrutiny.

"Mrs. Wang personally appointed Comrade Lin Wan Yi to take charge of our main performance, let’s welcome her."

The applause was sparse, dripping with perfunctory.

Sun Li acted as if she didn’t notice, directly pulling out a program list.

"The time is tight and the tasks are many. My suggestion is to go with the segment of ’Red Detachment of Women’ we practiced before. Everyone’s familiar with it, and it’s not easy to make mistakes."

She spoke, looking at Lin Wan Yi, with a barely noticeable smile.

"Comrade Lin Wan Yi just arrived, and may not know this dance requires strong fundamentals, especially the lead dancer, who needs to convey a sense of strength. Xiao Fang is the best at this in our group."

Her words seemed to be introducing the situation but were actually sidelining Lin Wan Yi.

The program was old, the lead dancer predetermined—so what exactly was this "leader" responsible for? Applause?

Upon hearing this, Xiao Fang lifted her chin higher.

"Sun’s right, not everyone can dance this. It can’t be done half-heartedly."

Lin Wan Yi ignored their duet performance, simply picking up the program list for a glance.

"’Red Detachment of Women’ is a classic, but I think we can make some slight adjustments to the movements."

Her voice wasn’t loud, yet it clearly cut through all the noise.

Sun Li frowned.

"Adjustments? How? This is a classic, you can’t just change it."

"It’s not random changes," Lin Wan Yi set down the program list, extending her slender, fair fingers to make a gesture of holding a gun aim, "For instance, the original gesture was to press forward flat with all five fingers together, representing determination."

She paused, slightly rotating her wrist.

"But if we change the hand gesture to this," she opened her index finger and thumb, forming a gun shape, her gaze suddenly becoming sharp, "it represents battle. From determination to battle, it advances the performance, instantly elevating the stage aura."

A simple gesture change, yet it was like the finishing touch that made everyone’s eyes light up.

Even Xiao Fang, who had kept a straight face, showed a slight shift in expression.

Sun Li was at a loss, opening her mouth only to find herself unable to form an argument.

This change indeed improved upon the original!

But how could a capitalist’s daughter know such things?

"We... we’ll do as you say," Sun Li reluctantly conceded.

The first round of confrontation, Lin Wan Yi won with ease and grace.

During rehearsal, Xiao Fang, as the lead dancer, said nothing but refused to cooperate in action.

When Lin Wan Yi suggested making movements firmer, Xiao Fang deliberately danced weakly.

When Lin Wan Yi asked for uniform formations, Xiao Fang intentionally lagged.

The entire afternoon, the rehearsal progressed very slowly.

Lin Wan Yi didn’t get angry, merely calling a halt each time Xiao Fang made an error, then stepping forward to demonstrate the movements flawlessly herself.

After several instances, Xiao Fang’s face turned beet red, and the surrounding military wives shifted their gaze towards her.

Anyone with eyes could see that Lin Wan Yi’s skill surpassed this "professional."

By the end of the rehearsal, Sun Li and Xiao Fang’s expressions were extremely unpleasant.

The next morning.

As soon as Lin Wan Yi arrived at the activity room, she found chaos.

Sun Li was frantically circling, while a group of military wives stood together, faces full of panic.

"What happened?" Lin Wan Yi asked.

Upon seeing her, Sun Li seemed to find a scapegoat, her voice urgent and aggressive.

"What else! Xiao Fang’s sick, she can’t come!"

"What’s the illness?"

"I don’t know! Early this morning, her husband came rushing over, saying Xiao Fang was burning up and covered in red rashes, it’s terrifying!"

Hearing the symptoms, something flickered in Lin Wan Yi’s mind.

Sun Li stared intently at her, her tone shifting, just loud enough for everyone to hear.

"It’s strange, isn’t it, she was fine yesterday, suddenly she’s sick today."

Her voice was mocking, dragging out her words.

"With the lead dancer down, what do we do about our program? It’s not like someone... doesn’t want Xiao Fang to be up, is it?"

All eyes suddenly focused sharply on Lin Wan Yi.