Huayu97: Starting with Wu Song Fighting the Tiger

Kang Honglei's hand trembled slightly as he held the pager, and he immediately told Liu Xiang the news.

By the evening of the following day, he took Liu Xiang to the Taihu Hotel, muttering to himself, "Teacher Han is a rising star in Beijing's entertainment industry. The fact that he's contacting you again means he's taken a liking to you!"

At dusk, red lanterns cast a warm glow at the entrance of the Taihu Hotel. Waitresses in cheongsams smiled sweetly and swayed in their high heels to greet them. Upon hearing that "Han Lei reserved a table," their smiles widened, and they immediately led the two to the VIP room on the second floor. As soon as they opened the door, they saw Han Lei, dressed in a sharp black suit, leaning back in a mahogany chair, smoking. The gold-rimmed glasses gleamed in the wisps of smoke.

Upon seeing them enter, Han Lei immediately stood up, waved, and said in a hearty voice, "Old Kang, Liu Xiang, you've finally arrived! Please have a seat!"

Liu Xiang had barely sat down, her bottom barely touching the warm mahogany chair, when she noticed a boy sitting across the round table. He looked to be thirteen or fourteen, with a well-proportioned figure and ramrod-straight shoulders. His eyes and brows revealed a cleverness far beyond his years. Seeing Liu Xiang looking over, he immediately flashed two small tiger teeth and cheerfully called out, "Hello, brother!"

"This boy's name is Han Geng," Han Lei said with a smile, patting the boy's head and handing Liu Xiang a pair of chopsticks. The bone china chopsticks made a crisp sound as they rested on the gilded porcelain plate. "He's a boy from the capital. His parents divorced years ago, and he lives with his mother. This boy is talented; he has a particularly bright voice and a natural flair for dancing. He just doesn't have a good opportunity. I brought him out to Wuxi specifically to broaden his horizons."

Liu Xiang paused, his hand still holding the food, utterly shocked. He naturally knew who Han Geng was—the future pioneer of the Korean boy band that would sweep across Asia, a dazzling figure on stage. He just never expected to meet him here, in such a youthful and inexperienced state. He smiled and nodded at Han Geng, saying in a friendly tone, "Hello, call me Brother Liu Xiang!"

Han Geng's eyes lit up, and he immediately slid off the chair, snuggling up to Liu Xiang. His little head was so close that his nose almost touched Liu Xiang's arm as he asked curiously, "I know you played Wu Song! Uncle Han said your martial arts are amazing, that you can knock down a tiger with one punch, is that true?"

This made everyone at the table laugh. Han Lei smiled and smoothed things over, picking up the serving chopsticks and putting a piece of braised pork rib on each of their plates: "Eat first, try the signature dish of Taihu Hotel, it won't taste good when it gets cold."

The waiter opened a glass of Shaoxing wine, and its rich aroma wafted out. Han Lei raised his glass to toast everyone, and as he put it down, he tapped the bottom of the glass lightly on the table before getting to the point: "I've invited you all here because of some good news. A friend of mine has opened an Oriental Department Store in Wuxi, and it's opening the day after tomorrow. We're going to put on a commercial performance to make it a grand opening."

His gaze fell on Liu Xiang and Han Geng, and he said with a deeper smile, "I was thinking that Liu Xiang, you can sing and fight, and Xiao Geng is good at singing and dancing. If you two team up, one strong and the other agile, you will definitely be able to help me keep the scene in check."

Kang Honglei's eyes widened. He picked at the rice on the edge of his bowl, almost dropping his chopsticks, and eagerly asked, "The reward... Teacher Han, please give me a straight answer!"

Han Lei pointed at Kang Honglei with his fingertip and turned to look at Liu Xiang.

Then he said seriously, "In the 'Water Margin' crew, the role of Wu Song would only earn you a thousand or so yuan per episode at most. After filming the whole series, you had to endure a year and a half of hard work, exposed to the wind and sun, and all you earned was hard-earned money. This commercial performance is just a matter of you singing two songs and dancing two dances, and I'll give you and Xiao Geng three thousand yuan each."

Three thousand!

Liu Xiang nearly dropped his wine glass, spilling a few drops of rice wine onto his trousers, but he was completely unaware. This was his entire salary for three episodes of Wu Song. In the early 1990s, an average worker's monthly wage was only a hundred or so yuan. Three thousand yuan was equivalent to almost half a year's income, enough to buy a decent wardrobe in Wuxi, or a black and white television for the family.

Han Lei's generosity is simply outrageous.

"Teacher Han, this..." Liu Xiang said somewhat embarrassedly, rubbing her hands on her pants. "It's too much. We're just going to sing two songs, it's not worth that much money."

"Don't refuse," Han Lei waved his hand, his tone resolute. "You're capable, you're worth the price. But Xiao Geng has solid singing and dancing skills, and he's reliable. You can learn his positioning and rhythm from him; it'll just be some simple dance steps. Conversely, don't hold back your martial arts skills. Teach Xiao Geng properly, make his dance more powerful, not just flashy. Mutual learning is the key to success, is that alright?"

Liu Xiang and Han Geng exchanged a glance. The boy's eyes were filled with excitement, his face flushed red, and he nodded vigorously, his voice clear and crisp: "Don't worry, Uncle Han! I will definitely teach Brother Liu Xiang well! I promise I'll teach him!"

Liu Xiang smiled, all her initial nervousness vanishing. She patted her chest and said, "I will answer any question you may have about martial arts techniques."

After a hearty meal and drinks, the two followed Han Lei to scout out the Oriental Department Store. As night fell, a few dim lights illuminated the building, and a red carpet covered the temporary stage set up at the entrance, with bits of dirt still clinging to the edges. The gold lettering on the backdrop, "Grand Opening of Oriental Department Store," gleamed, and balloons hanging nearby swayed gently in the wind.

Han Geng pulled Liu Xiang along and hummed the tune of "Green Apple Paradise" on the spot, teaching him how to move. The boy's movements were as agile as a little monkey. Turning, jumping, waving, every movement was precise and energetic. The twisting of his waist and hips was natural and smooth, revealing a natural stage presence.

"Brother Liu Xiang, look, you need to twist your hips here, not just stiffly turn your waist," Han Geng slowed down his movements and corrected Liu Xiang's posture hand in hand. "Also, when you wave your hand, you need to raise it to shoulder height. Too high and it looks like you're surrendering, too low and it looks listless."

Liu Xiang watched intently; after practicing martial arts for so long, she was indeed finding it a bit difficult to adapt.

However, Liu Xiang's inherent backbone emerged, and he insisted on learning on his own, developing his own style without relying on the system or external forces.

Afterwards, they all stayed at the Taihu Hotel, preparing to start early the next morning.

The night passed quickly, and Han Lei opened a meeting room for them, where the two began practicing together.

Liu Xiang took a deep breath to relax her body and immediately began practicing the dance rhythm with Han Geng over and over again.

Han Geng didn't find it annoying at all; he patiently accompanied him in practice and pointed out his mistakes.

As he practiced, Liu Xiang suddenly had a flash of inspiration and subtly incorporated the side kick and fist-clasping movements from martial arts into his dance moves. With a turn, he delivered a side kick, his toes pointed straight, exuding a powerful and swift energy; with a wave of his hand, he replaced it with the fist-clasping salute from martial arts, his wrist twisting with force and power.

Han Geng's eyes lit up, and he clapped his hands, exclaiming, "Wow! Brother Liu Xiang, you're amazing! This change makes the movements look so much better than before! It's both cool and powerful!"

Liu Xiang also got excited and tried incorporating the starting stance of the sweeping leg movement into her leaping steps. The two, one agile and the other powerful, surprisingly coordinated beautifully. Their figures on the red carpet, one tall and one short, one graceful and one strong, drew repeated nods from Han Lei in the audience, who couldn't help but shout, "Bravo!" "That's it! Combining martial arts and dance is absolutely unique and fresh! It's guaranteed to amaze the entire audience!"

Liu Xiang felt a great sense of accomplishment. The feeling of training on her own was definitely much better than relying on the system.