When She Stops Being Dramatic

Chapter 239: Chapter 98: The 60s Cultural Troupe’s Top Sister (37)

Back at the troupe, she gathered the girls from the three groups in the main hall and announced the results of the lot drawing.

”Although this is just a program selection, it’s also a brutal competition where twenty will be chosen from fifty-seven, with a clear scoring and ranking system.”

”As the host, our Zhaoyang Clothing Factory must secure a good ranking. To that end, there has been a significant disparity in how resources are allocated among our three programs.”

”My goal for Group One is to place in the top three. Are you confident?”

The girls of Group One held their heads high, chests out, and shouted at the top of their lungs, ”Yes!”

”Good. I’ve been watching your training. Every one of you has worked very hard, living up to the trust and cultivation of the leaders and teachers. As long as you perform at your usual level, this goal isn’t difficult.” As she spoke, she held out a sign, motioning for Jie Xiaoqin to take it.

”After discussing it and considering all factors, the troupe’s leaders and teachers have unanimously decided that you will perform in the morning.”

The girls of Group One looked even prouder. This was a privilege reserved for the strong in the troupe!

”The afternoon slot goes to Group Two,” Master Yuan said without further elaboration, handing the sign to Group Two’s lead dancer.

”And the evening slot is for Group Three,” she said, pushing the sign toward Xia Zhaoyun with a smirk that wasn’t quite a smile.

For a normal gala, the final act did indeed highlight a program’s importance and appeal. But this was a competition. All contestants had to be waiting backstage from early in the morning, leaving them in no mood for training.

The morning slot was advantageous in every respect: the performers’ mental state, the pressure they were under, the judges’ initial reference standards, and so on. The afternoon was second best. By evening, setting everything else aside, the energy levels of both the judges and the performers would have taken a huge hit.

Furthermore, with so many excellent programs to compare against, the judges would become pickier. The scores for evening programs were generally not very high.

This was all based on her rich experience.

Yet Master Yuan just had to say with a smile, ”This is the real grand finale. I trust that Comrade Xia Zhaoyun can lead the girls of Group Three to bring glory and honor to our factory and troupe.”

Xia Zhaoyun smiled faintly and nodded. ”We will do our best.”

The girls of Group Three were indignant, but they knew this was what their superiors considered the best arrangement.

A fire of determination burned within them. They had to wow everyone at the competition and let their skills and the results speak for themselves!

For the next two days, Xia Zhaoyun remained unhurried, fine-tuning details for the group like positioning and expressing emotion through body language. At the same time, she coordinated with the auditorium staff to ensure the stage effects would be optimal.

Early in the morning, the girls came down the stairs to assemble, shouldering their bags and looking like they hadn’t fully woken up. Compared to the other two groups—who were full of vigor, eyes wide, chests puffed out, and brimming with restless energy—they looked like they had already been eliminated.

”All of you, wake up!” Master Yuan snapped, glaring at the girls from Group Three. ”Can’t you show a little more ambition? Last night, the girls from Group One and Group Two practiced as usual until eight or nine, and a few even practiced until ten. And you?”

”You probably just did a half-hearted stretch after dinner and went back to rest, didn’t you? And now you still look half-asleep. Do you really think this selection is child’s play?”

”Let me tell you, if you make our Zhaoyang Clothing Factory lose face in front of the other units, then you just wait. Every bonus and performance for the latter half of this year will have nothing to do with any of you!”

Xia Zhaoyun lowered her gaze, a faint smile on her lips.

Master Yuan saw that her words hadn’t had enough of an impact on the girls of Group Three, especially Xia Zhaoyun, who acted as if she hadn’t heard a thing.

Annoyance flared in her heart. ’We’ll see how long they can keep smiling,’ she thought. ’There will come a time when Xia Zhaoyun has to beg me!’

The Zhaoyang Clothing Factory’s auditorium was massive, with viewing galleries up to the Third Layer. The backstage area could simultaneously accommodate the performers and staff for over fifty programs.

It was just past five, but all the lights backstage were on. Performers and staff bustled back and forth, creating a constant din.

The girls of Group One were having their makeup done. The makeup artist had been brought in from the city’s cultural palace; her skills were superb. Even though the audience couldn’t clearly see the performers’ makeup on stage, it still set them distinctly apart from the other performance troupes.

This, too, was a demonstration of masterful artistry.

Meanwhile, the girls of Group Three were just walking around backstage, occasionally leaning in to whisper some gossip in Xia Zhaoyun’s ear. They were chattering excitedly, showing no signs of nervousness or pressure.

They even declared with a touch of pride that their huge group of friends and family would all be coming that night, without a single one missing. They were determined to let them see their own individual splendor on stage.

The performances went by quickly, one after another. Although the choreography was new, and some of the music was newly composed, they ultimately didn’t break away from the contemporary group dance style. The only differences were in the difficulty of the movements. They didn’t offer many surprises; ”decent” was already high praise.

The scores for each program in the morning session were very close. Zhaoyang Clothing Factory’s Group One was currently in second place. When the score for the final program was announced, the girls of Group One couldn’t help but hug each other happily.

Barring any surprises, they were guaranteed a spot in the top three!

The first few acts of the afternoon session were quite strong, with scores rivaling the top ranks. Every time the host announced a score, the girls backstage would grow tense, either clenching their fists or huddling together. A mix of surprised gasps and disappointed groans filled the air.

After all the afternoon programs were finished, Zhaoyang Clothing Factory’s Group One had dropped to third place. Group Two, however, had performed well and surprisingly secured a solid seventh place, exceeding everyone’s expectations.

The girls of Group Three ate dinner early and came backstage, only to be told that the makeup artist hired by the factory had already left. Their only option was the troupe’s own veteran makeup artist—someone with strong connections but an outdated aesthetic—to help them.

She was notorious for painting faces to look like a monkey’s butt, making everyone on stage look like red-faced opera characters and completely hiding their feminine grace!

The girls usually wore makeup, but it was always light. On stage, it would look no different from being bare-faced.

They were a little dejected. Meanwhile, the girls from the other two groups were secretly enjoying the show.

”There’s nothing to be done about it. We told you to get your makeup done earlier and wait. But you were afraid it would smudge after so long, so you delayed until now! The makeup artist is a busy person; how could she have the time to wait with you all night?”

”Mr. Liu’s makeup is pretty good. At least the audience will remember you at a glance... even if they can’t tell any of you apart...”

”It’s better than nothing. If you delay any longer, Mr. Liu is going to storm off too...”

”Don’t tell me you were hoping a makeup artist from another factory would save you? Don’t be so naive. Believe it or not, they’d dare to make you look like hideous clowns...”

After saying this, they couldn’t help but cover their mouths and snicker. Now that their part of the competition was over and the results were in, the troupe’s girls were guaranteed a spot in the final showcase performance. Their moods had lightened considerably, and one sarcastic comment followed another.

Even Jie Xiaoqin and Song Zhenbao couldn’t resist popping over to offer a few words of ”advice,” but it only added fuel to the fire, making the sarcastic remarks even worse.

Xia Zhaoyun calmly opened her bag and took out a set of makeup tools she had spent a long time putting together.

”Alright, girls of Group Three, line up in front of me for makeup,” she called out. The girls, who had been feeling down, immediately perked up and hurried into a line.

In their eyes, their Little Xia was omnipotent. No problem could ever stand in her way.

Xia Zhaoyun skillfully took Yao Yunying’s face in her hands, examined it from side to side, and began to apply the makeup.

To most people, stage makeup, especially for dancers like them, was all cookie-cutter. At most, there might be some variation in color depending on the style of dance.