When She Stops Being Dramatic

Chapter 139: Chapter 67: Leading Lady of the 1960s Song and Dance Troupe (6)

Xia Zhaoyun was in a similar state. The bangs on her forehead were damp with sweat, and a healthy blush bloomed on her fair, delicate face. A light mist swirled in her stunning, foxy eyes, exuding a captivating allure that one could never tire of seeing.

”Yunyun, how’s the script coming along? Do you need me to do another demonstration day?”

Xia Zhaoyun chuckled and shook her head, tapping her temple with a slender, pale finger. ”I’m this smart and beautiful. Are you questioning me?”

He Qingran rolled her eyes, speechless. ”Oh, please. You’re such an irritating peacock, always fanning your tail to show off how beautiful you are. Can’t you spare a thought for us plain-janes?”

Xia Zhaoyun burst out laughing. ”Hey, sis, only male peacocks fan their tails. Besides, my point was about being smart. I can memorize the script after reading it just once. It’s a photographic memory I was born with—something you can only dream of.”

”As for looks, though, you’re not too far behind!”

He Qingran gritted her teeth. ”Now I see why you’re so unpopular! You’re always showing off by twisting the knife in people’s hearts. You’re really one of a kind!”

Xia Zhaoyun arched an eyebrow, looking utterly smug. Gone was the grief-stricken girl from the cafeteria.

Once they finally caught their breath and a song came to an end, a smile played on Xia Zhaoyun’s lips. ”A very good morning to all our comrades at the Zhaoyang Clothing Factory. This is Xia Zhaoyun, and I’ll be your host for this morning’s broadcast...”

He Qingran looked over at her in amazement as she handled the background music.

The Zhaoyang Clothing Factory was a large enterprise that strove to be the best in every respect. It would frequently send personnel on learning and exchange trips all around the Capital City.

Even though she had only been in the broadcasting department for a year, she’d already been on a handful of these educational tours!

Every other broadcast had been conventional. The announcers’ voices were always sonorous, filled with inspiring power. The style and vocabulary of the scripts were uniformly solemn and formal; only the specific content ever changed.

But Xia Zhaoyun? Her voice was clear, sweet, and gentle, yet it carried her own distinct, pampered flair. Each word and phrase was like a cheerful, leaping musical note, forming a melody all its own...

It was the first time He Qingran had ever heard such a refreshingly new style of broadcasting.

It was like a feather brushing gently against her ear, like floating on a boat across a shimmering lake. She felt completely reborn, convinced that the world was a truly wonderful place, and that not working and living to the fullest would be a shameful waste of time!

It was a completely different approach, yet it achieved the same, if not an even more gratifying, result.

He Qingran felt that some people were truly born to stand on mountaintops, destined to be admired by all.

When the half-hour broadcast was over, He Qingran immediately shot both thumbs up. ”Yunyun, you’re so good you could be the star announcer at the city radio station!”

”First place is in the bag! It’s a sure thing! When you get the prize money, you have to treat me to a meal at the Guest House!”

Xia Zhaoyun scoffed. ”I was just kicked out by the Song Family. I’m counting on that two hundred yuan to build a new life for myself, and you have the heart to eat it all up in one meal?”

He Qingran grinned and scurried to the door, poking her head out to look left and right. Seeing no one, she slipped back inside and carefully checked that all the equipment was turned off.

Once everything was secure, she draped an arm over Xia Zhaoyun’s shoulder and whispered conspiratorially, ”I’ve been holding this in for an hour. I have to ask, how in the world did you manage to claim you’re dating Mr. Huo back in the cafeteria?”

”He’s a hero to everyone in this factory! Why would you drag him into this unless you had absolutely no other choice?”

”What if you meet someone you actually like later? How are you going to get out of this?”

”The way you had those people wrapped around your finger today, they were ready to give you their all. Once they find out you were faking it, or that you didn’t ’wait’ for Mr. Huo, there will be hell to pay!”

”Girl, don’t tell me you were stupid enough not to think of that?”

Xia Zhaoyun arched an eyebrow and asked quizzically, ”After that performance I gave in the cafeteria, why wouldn’t you think my feelings for Huo Tianhao are genuine?”

He Qingran huffed. ”As if I don’t know you. Your heart and soul belong to dancing. You walk around with your nose in the air; no one is ever good enough for you.”

”’Everyone else is drunk on life, while you alone remain fragrant and sober!’ If I hadn’t seen you eat with my own eyes, I’d really think you were some heartless fairy who floats above the mortal world.”

”Being so grief-stricken over a man that you want to die? Is that something you—Song, I mean, Xia Zhaoyun—would do? Oh, let me think... two years ago, when Mr. Huo was shedding his blood to protect the factory’s property, what were you doing?”

”That’s right—that’s when we first met, and we didn’t exactly hit it off. You were at the skating rink, showing off your moves and grinning so wide your teeth gleamed, making a whole group of young guys trip over themselves on the ice.”