"Lu Jing, if you are so willing to shoulder the lifelong responsibility of supporting Lin Shu and her daughter, then go ahead and play the selfless hero all you want. Don't drag other people into your mess. It's utterly sickening."
With that, Zhao Yu turned around and walked away without looking back.
Not far away, behind a tree, someone had been watching the entire farce with great amusement.
"Who would've thought? Our Cultural and Art Troupe has such a feisty little comrade."
Ye Heng draped an arm over Ning Songyi's shoulder. "Is she one of Aunt Fang's girls?"
Ning Songyi shoved Ye Heng's arm away with his hand. He watched the direction in which Zhao Yu had departed for a moment, then answered concisely in three words: "I don't know."
"How could you possibly not know? Didn't Aunt Fang mention—"
Mid-sentence, Ye Heng turned his head and realized that Ning Songyi had already walked off at some point.
"Hey! I say, how can you just leave without calling me!"
Ye Heng shouted as he hurried after him. "If you ask me, that little comrade would definitely get along great with your sister. If she really is from Aunt Fang's troupe, things are going to get lively around here!"
"So noisy."
———————————————
Unaware that her beatdown of the scumbag had an audience, Zhao Yu returned to her dorm in high spirits.
No sooner had she picked up her practice uniform than a roommate came panting back into the room.
"Zhao Yu, the head of the troupe wants to see you in her office."
The head of the troupe?
Zhao Yu frowned. In her past life, the director had never summoned her on this particular day. "What does she want with me?"
"How should I know?" Her roommate waved a hand dismissively. "You'll find out when you get there. Hurry up."
Left with little choice, Zhao Yu walked toward the troupe leader's office, full of doubt.
"Director, you wanted to see me?"
He Fang gestured for Zhao Yu to approach. "Sit down and we'll talk."
Puzzled, Zhao Yu took a seat on a nearby stool.
He Fang handed her a white enamel mug filled with sugared water, along with two envelopes.
"You want to give up your spot as the lead dancer to Lin Shu? Let me tell you, this performance is crucial. You really ought to reconsider..."
Before He Fang could finish, Zhao Yu nearly choked on the water she had just swallowed.
"Cough, cough, cough... Director, what are you saying? Who's giving up their spot? There's no such thing!"
Seeing Zhao Yu's reaction, He Fang frowned. "You aren't giving it up? Then what is this?"
He Fang opened one of the envelopes, which contained a formal request form.
After picking it up and reading through it, Zhao Yu felt a rush of blood to her head.
"Director, I didn't write this transfer request."
"Then who did?" He Fang pointed to the signature on the form. "Isn't this your signature?"
Clenching her fists, Zhao Yu searched her memory hard, and suddenly a somewhat distant memory surfaced.
A couple of days ago, Lu Jing had mentioned he needed to write a letter back to his hometown and asked her to write out a brief self-introduction for him.
It was clear now that Lu Jing had planned this all along! If she refused, he would simply forge her handwriting, sign her name, and submit it anyway!
Her face drained of color with anger. "Director, I didn't sign this. It was Lu Jing. He forged my handwriting."
He Fang had previously caught wind of rumors that Lu Jing and Zhao Yu might be romantically involved.
"Then did you submit this marriage application yourself?"
He Fang motioned for Zhao Yu to open the second envelope.
"I still advise you to think this over carefully. After all, you're young and the most capable dancer in the troupe. Getting married right now will have a huge impact on your career."
Zhao Yu opened the envelope and stared with nostalgic eyes at the neat handwriting—her own from her youth.
At this exact time in her past life, He Fang had given her the exact same advice. But back then, she had been blinded by Lu Jing and refused to listen to anyone.
And what had been the result?
Only she knew the bitterness of the life she ended up living.
With that thought, Zhao Yu didn't hesitate for a second. She reached out and tore the marriage application to pieces.
"You—?" He Fang hadn't expected Zhao Yu to be so decisive.
Yet seeing the promising young comrade take her advice to heart so readily, approval filled her eyes.
Zhao Yu stood up and bowed ninety degrees to He Fang.
"Director, I think you're right. I'm not in any rush to get married. Filing this application was just an impulse on my part. Thank you for your advice."
"It's good that you see reason!" He Fang pulled Zhao Yu over and patted her hand gently. "You're only twenty-one, there's truly no need to rush into marriage. Once you're more established and get a promotion, you'll have plenty of opportunities."
Zhao Yu nodded. "I understand, Director."
"All right, then I'll pretend I never saw this marriage application, and don't ever bring up giving away your position again. Always keep your wits about you, understand?"
"Understood."
"I didn't call you here for anything else. You have the next two days off, and this is your first time at our military region. Go out and look around."
"Yes!" Zhao Yu gave a military salute and turned to leave.
Only, once outside, she paused by the door, glanced back toward the corner, and then walked away with a puzzled expression.
When the sound of Zhao Yu's footsteps had faded into the distance, He Fang calmly blew on the tea in her enamel mug and spoke up. "Come in."
Ye Heng pushed the door open with a grin. "Aunt Fang."
"You two actually dared to eavesdrop at the door. Aren't you afraid I'll make you write a self-criticism report?" He Fang scolded with a stern tone.
"Aunt Fang, it's not like you didn't invite me here, we just happened to time it right."
Ye Heng bantered shamelessly with He Fang. "Otherwise, how would we ever dare to eavesdrop? Have a heart and let us off this once, won't you?"
"Oh, you." He Fang reached out and swatted Ye Heng lightly.
"You're not a kid anymore, when are you going to grow up and act mature? Your mother was asking me to find you a match just the other day. With your attitude, which young lady would ever look twice at you?"
At the mention of the word "mother," the smile vanished from Ye Heng's face, replaced by a sarcastic tone. "I don't need her old ladyship to worry about me. She can mind her own business."
With that, Ye Heng stretched his arms out, leaned back against the sofa, and his tone returned to normal.
"Besides, I'm heading to Heisheng soon, so you don't need to trouble yourself. If there really is a good match, you'd better save her to be your own daughter-in-law."
As he spoke, Ye Heng nudged Ning Songyi with his elbow. "Look, you've got such a big son here waiting to take a wife."
Ning Songyi glared at Ye Heng. "I don't need one."
"He's not in any hurry either. His maternal grandfather already said he'd vet Songyi's marriage himself."
He Fang knew that her son had spent his childhood by his grandfather's side and had never been very close to them.
Therefore, she generally avoided crossing boundaries to make decisions for him, fearing that any friction would only alienate him further.
Instead, it was Ye Heng, who had practically grown up around her, that worried He Fang more. "Are you really going to take care of Elder Ye? Have all the paperwork been processed?"
"Yes, so Aunt Fang, you can stop fretting. For all you know, by the time the old man and I come back, a wife might just drop right out of the sky for me."