Chapter 38: The Street Dance Prodigy
"Alright, that's enough for today. Go do your homework."
After issuing his dismissal, Teng Yi walked over to turn on the music, lowered the volume, and began warming up. The two mirrors in front and behind reflected his tall, straight figure. Even simple movements like kicking his legs or twisting his waist carried an aura entirely different from others when performed by him.
Ruan Yu followed Teng Hao out of the practice room and headed to an office at the end of the second floor.
The office was newly renovated, spacious, and furnished with a sofa and two desks, each equipped with an Apple computer.
Teng Hao's backpack was tossed on the sofa.
"Is this a dance training base?" Ruan Yu asked.
"More precisely, it's a street dance company."
"A company?"
"Yes, a professional street dance training company dedicated to promoting and popularizing street dance culture."
"Whose company is it?"
"My brother's. This is his dream. But it's still in the preparation phase and won't officially open for a while." Teng Hao opened his backpack, pulled out a few test papers, and handed them to Ruan Yu. "From now on, our tutoring sessions will be held here."
"Why?"
"Because my brother agreed to let me learn street dance here."
Ruan Yu thought for a moment. "Is this the condition he promised you earlier?"
"Smart girl." Teng Hao gave her an approving look. "No wonder you're the top scorer who helped me improve."
"Isn't he worried it’ll affect your studies?"
"That’s what you’re here for, isn’t it?"
Ruan Yu suddenly felt the weight of responsibility pressing down on her shoulders.
"Does your mom know?" she asked.
Teng Hao quickly put a finger to his lips. "Shh. She can’t know for now."
"Would she disapprove?"
"I haven’t talked to her about it yet, but when my brother first wanted to learn street dance, she was absolutely against it."
Teng Hao remembered how the peace at home had been shattered for the first time when his older brother, Teng Yi, expressed his desire to learn street dance. To their mother, Shen Bing, street dancers were nothing but delinquents with no real future. She believed Teng Yi was heading down a bad path. The two had even had a huge argument over it.
Later, the stubborn Teng Yi surprisingly softened first. To change his mother’s mind, he wrote a two-page-long pledge by hand, pouring out his passion for street dance and repeatedly promising he wouldn’t go astray or let it affect his studies.
Moved by his sincerity, Shen Bing finally relented. However, she still insisted that dancing could only be an amateur hobby, not a "career." Teng Yi didn’t argue further on this point. Instead, he seized every opportunity to practice, working hard in secret, enduring injuries without complaint.
At sixteen, Teng Yi competed in the "Dream Cup" Street Dance Competition, the most prestigious televised street dance event in the country at the time. With solid fundamentals and exceptional skill, he advanced from the preliminaries all the way to the national finals, winning third place in the Breaking category. He was the youngest awardee that year.
The media rushed to cover his story, hailing him as a "street dance prodigy." Shen Bing was even interviewed by several newspapers, basking in the pride of her son’s achievement."After that, my mom never interfered with my brother's street dancing again. This time, when my brother wanted to start a street dance training company, she supported him without hesitation." Teng Hao's eyes sparkled with admiration. "I really look up to my brother. He's my idol."
"Then learn from your brother and win your mom over too."
"I'd love to, but I lack perseverance and patience." Teng Hao scratched the back of his head, a little embarrassed. "Actually, I tried learning street dance from my brother for a while, but it was too tough. I couldn’t stick with it. Plus, my grades at school were slipping, so my brother wouldn’t let me continue."
"What’s the situation now?"
"I regret it."
After quitting for a while, Teng Hao realized he still couldn’t let go of street dance. He wanted to start dancing again, but Teng Yi wouldn’t allow it. Knowing his younger brother’s tendencies, Teng Yi was sure this was just another fleeting enthusiasm and didn’t want him wasting time, ending up with neither dance nor studies. Despite Teng Hao’s desperate pleas, Teng Yi remained firm.
"And then?" Ruan Yu asked.
"Then your incident happened. My brother told me to apologize to you, but I refused and used it as leverage to negotiate. He agreed in the end."
"You really are... as thick-skinned as a shoe sole turned into cheeks."
Teng Yi chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry, sorry. I really shouldn’t have splashed water on you that time. I’ve reflected and learned my lesson."
"So, thanks to me, you got to keep dancing?"
"You played a part, but I put in the effort too." Teng Hao pointed at his test papers. "Honestly, when the results came out, even my teacher and I couldn’t believe it."
Ruan Yu laughed.
"From now on, strive to impress your brother too."
"Yeah, definitely."
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