Dragon Raja; Chapter 78: Stars and Flowers (4)

Dragon Raja

She began to dance, performing a standard tango with great vigor. She spun along a straight path, cutting into the dance circle, heading directly to the center where Lu Mingfei and Finger stood. Everyone instinctively made way for her, the circle splitting apart as she cut in like a flash of silver light. No one could resist her arrival because her dance was too perfect, carrying a queenly aura that overpowered everyone else.

“I have a feeling… she’s not here to invite me,” Finger said regretfully. “After all, you’re the popular one right now.”

He did something Lu Mingfei did not expect—he pushed Lu Mingfei toward the Russian girl while he spun away, mirroring the Russian girl’s powerful dance as he left the crowd in the opposite direction. Lu Mingfei had to admit that Finger was quite a dancer—maybe he really was a “King of Cats” back in the day.

The moment the Russian girl put her hand on Lu Mingfei’s, the music entered a triumphant climax. With a strong head motion, Lu Mingfei adjusted his dance position under the girl’s firm guidance.

The laughter and exclamations ceased. A truly magnificent dance had just begun.

Never in his life had Lu Mingfei imagined himself dancing the tango so smoothly. The only dance training he had ever received was three months of lessons for a group dance performance during the Lunar New Year Gala. The dance instructor kept shaking her head, saying that Lu Mingfei was evidently the kind of person whose hands and feet couldn’t coordinate. When his hands were in the right position, his legs would be wrong, and vice versa. In other words, Lu Mingfei could either let his arms dangle while keeping the beat with his feet, or stand still and move his arms elegantly.

Neither of those options looked particularly good.

The only reason he had managed to stick with it was because his dance partner for that group performance had been Chen Wenwen.

But under the girl’s guidance and subtle eye movements, Lu Mingfei found himself immediately able to follow the rhythm. All the movements seemed to be engraved in his mind—how to place his arms, where to step with his feet. There was no need to think; he just had to relax and follow the instructions of this queen of dance. Their dance was unrestrained and natural, as if they had practiced together for years. The silver dress spun and flew, reflecting a dazzling array of lights.

“You… you’re good. What’s your name?” Lu Mingfei hesitated before asking.

“Zero,” the girl said with a faint Russian accent.

“Shouldn’t it be something like ‘something-something-vna’ or ‘something-something-nna’? ‘Zero’ is in English, right? Zero?”

“It’s also a Russian word—it means ‘zero.’ I don’t have an official name; they gave me the number ‘0,’” she replied flatly. “You can call me Zero.”

“Zero?” Lu Mingfei searched for something to say. “This piece sounds so familiar.”

“Por Una Cabeza, known as ‘Just One Head’ in Chinese, a work by Argentine tango king Carlos Gardel. Have you seen ‘Scent of a Woman’?”

Lu Mingfei shook his head.

“What about ‘Schindler’s List’?”

“I’ve seen that, I’ve seen that—it won an Oscar, and not seeing it would be a bit embarrassing,” Lu Mingfei replied and instantly regretted it. With such a Russian girl, like a young queen, spinning into the dance floor to ask him to dance, he should have put on the air of a Chinese emperor. But somehow, he ended up sounding so unsophisticated.

“It has this piece as part of the soundtrack. It’s a noble piece, looking down on everything,” Zero said, looking straight into Lu Mingfei’s eyes, her voice devoid of emotion.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lu Mingfei dared not meet her eyes. He didn’t understand why Zero had saved him like this. He’d imagined this scenario, but in his thoughts, it was Nono, currently dancing with Caesar, who played the leading role.

Maybe she just felt sorry for how awkward he was and decided to help? Lu Mingfei thought.

“I don’t mean anything by it,” Zero said.

“I know what you mean, I’m not dumb. I think Caesar deliberately left us out here to embarrass us, didn’t he? He invited us here just to leave us aside, to show he doesn’t care about us at all. Whether I run over to cling to Chu Zihang or Kiran, he wouldn’t care at all. He watched us scramble for food, watched us awkwardly dance.” Lu Mingfei sighed. “Caesar is a hero and has a beautiful girlfriend. Why would he pay attention to someone like me? I’ve just had some good luck recently and thought maybe I wasn’t such a loser…”

“You don’t need to explain this to me. I already said I don’t mean anything,” Zero interrupted him.

“Really?” Lu Mingfei felt embarrassed again. “I thought maybe…”

“I just like dancing. I brought dance shoes,” Zero said.

“But why did you choose me?”

“Everyone else already had a partner.”

“Then why didn’t you dance with Finger? He dances better than I do.” Lu Mingfei felt Zero’s reasoning was unconvincing. Did she really slice through the crowd like a silver knife just because she loved to dance and needed a partner? Could it be that Zero was the kind of hero who saved people without expecting recognition?

“Finger is too tall, our heights don’t match,” Zero replied confidently.

Left speechless, Lu Mingfei could only keep dancing.

“When the music ends, I will spin 3600 degrees. Hold my hand!” Zero commanded, queen-like.

Without thinking, Lu Mingfei complied. As the music reached its final notes, other girls were coming to a stop, but Zero didn’t. With her fingers pressed against Lu Mingfei’s palm, she began to spin—At this moment, all the light seemed to dance around her; it was a stunning display of beauty, a perfect combination of strength and skill. She was the phoenix that summoned the flames, her skirt broad enough to cover the entire dance floor.

The one thing Lu Mingfei could do was to stand firm, striving to remain upright, concentrating all his remaining strength in his hands—one hand pressed against her palm, the other gently supporting her waist. The Russian girl had said he needed to hold her up; otherwise, she would fall.

God knows why she chose him, this novice dance partner, and insisted on performing such difficult moves, but since she had put her trust in him, he would give it his all. The beauty’s grace was overwhelming, and he had no way to repay her.

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