A Beijing socialite stole my boyfriend; she went crazy after I got married.

On Monday morning, traces of last night's winter snow remained in the grass, and the roads were still covered in mud that had not yet been cleared.

Jiang Chu emerged from the underground parking garage, joined the crowd, and headed towards the art academy's teaching building.

She wore a black cashmere scarf, which buried most of her face, leaving only her large, watery eyes visible.

Jiang Chu has a very good walking posture. Even when she is just going out for a walk, her shoulder line is completely relaxed and open, and her center of gravity is steadily placed on the central axis of each step.

It carries a certain unconscious sense of graceful beauty.

Several freshmen passing by in the corridor couldn't help but take a second look.

Jiang Chu walked into the classroom, put her bag on the seat by the window, and casually took out her phone to browse through it.

A new message notification has been received.

Seeing that it was from the college, she assumed it was some kind of exam notification and clicked on it casually.

Invitation Letter | The 7th "Body Memory and Movement Aesthetics" Interdisciplinary Dance Creation Invitational Competition – To Some Current Students of the Dance Department, Kyoto University Faculty of Arts

Jiang Chu paused for a moment, sat up straight, brought her phone closer, and carefully scanned the email from beginning to end.

The invitation letter was worded very formally, and the English-Chinese bilingual layout on the paper was rigorous and restrained, exuding a strong academic atmosphere.

The opening line is the official introduction to the competition—initiated by the International Foundation for Arts and Cognitive Sciences, co-organized by four top universities, this year's theme is:

"The Primal Grammar of Movement"

Scroll down to see the competition requirements.

An interdisciplinary research article of no more than 8,000 words and an original dance video of eight to twelve minutes. The two must complement each other and together form a complete creative research system.

Next is the award description.

The award-winning research article will be included in the interdisciplinary academic anthology "Movement as a Primitive Language: The Boundaries of Body, Nervous System and Culture".

Published jointly by Cambridge University Press and MIT Press.

Jiang Chu's gaze lingered on this line for five seconds.

Jointly published.

Jiang Chu silently placed her phone on the table and stared at the unfinished writing on the whiteboard at the front of the classroom.

She was one of the best dancers among the students, and her academic foundation and theoretical knowledge were also quite good.

At least the midterm exam assignments I submitted previously received pretty good feedback.

But compared to those in the industry who are purely theoretical, they are definitely still quite far behind.

But this competition...

It seeks a combination of two things: theoretical reflection on the proposition, plus authentic physical creation that resonates with that theory.

The test wasn't about how much rote knowledge she had, but whether she could truly understand: once all cultural symbols are stripped away, what is the inherent grammatical order of human bodily movements?

How can it directly affect the viewer's nervous system, bypassing cognition and activating emotions?

This is a question that truly requires her to use her own body, the body she has used to dance for nearly twenty years, to work backwards to find the theoretical answer.

Jiang Chu lowered her head and silently read the award description in the email again, a slight smile unconsciously curving her lips upwards.

She had the opportunity to have her writings printed in authoritative professional books!

Even if it's just one article, even if it's just an inconspicuous entry in that thick interdisciplinary collection, it's still very interesting!

That also means that one day when she stands on a stage, people will look at her in a different way.

—Not just someone who jumps well, but someone who has seriously thought about "why sports are beautiful and how sports can touch people".

Jiang Chu signed up.

The email included a link to submit the registration confirmation. She quickly filled in her name, grade, and contact information, and pressed the send button.

The surrounding classrooms were gradually filling up with people.

This session was a seminar on "Chinese Classical Dance Styles and Performance Practices." Before the instructor even entered, a dozen or so classical dance students had already gathered in small groups.

"Hey, did you guys receive that invitation?"

A girl with a high ponytail, standing near the side of the corridor, called out.

She pointed her phone screen at the classmate next to her, "I just checked the official website for that 'Body Memory and Sports Aesthetics' competition..."

"I saw it, I saw it last night."

The boy sitting diagonally across from her pulled out his phone. "My God, I have to write an 8,000-word paper? And cite neuroscience and anthropology literature? I'd rather jump off a building."

"No, no, you didn't read carefully. It doesn't ask you to write a purely academic paper," the girl corrected him. "It requires your 'creative research exposition' on the topic. You just need to have your own argument, but you need to cite interdisciplinary research to support it. It's not that kind of article, okay?"

"That sounds even harder, right?" The boy flipped his phone face down on the table. "You can at least look at other people's papers and piece them together."

Someone in the front row turned around and said, "I'm somewhat interested, but... our group's dance drama is about to start rehearsals, and I simply don't have time to do both at the same time."

"No, don't you guys think this competition is very prestigious? Anyone who wins a prize—"

"Take a closer look at the list of invitees. There are tons of amazing people, and a huge variety of dance styles. What if you put in all that effort and still don't get a ranking?"

"I feel that this kind of competition..."

A stylishly dressed, pretty girl sitting by the window spoke lazily.

She wore a pink-gold BVLGARI snake bracelet on her wrist. "These days, whether the industry recognizes your face is much more important than whether they recognize a particular paper you've written, right?"

She raised her neatly manicured fingers and casually scrolled to a notification on her phone:

"The talent show 'Feng Hua Hui' just announced its new season's recruitment last month; it's a golden channel for collaborations between film, television, and variety show brands. I submitted my application and passed the initial review. The public awareness is completely different. How many ordinary people would read an interdisciplinary collection of writings? Think about it yourselves, which is more valuable?"

The discussion in the classroom grew increasingly heated.

"You can't say that. Shows like 'Feng Hua Hui' are basically just about generating buzz. Once the hype dies down after three months, who remembers what you danced to? Can you compare them to serious academic publications?"

A girl in the back row, also dressed in designer brands, retorted, "There will only be more and more forms of entertainment. Three hundred years from now, not many people will watch those lousy variety shows. But what about books? As long as humanity exists, there will be scholars."

The girl with the bracelet turned her head. "You won a directing award last year, and the industry acknowledged it, right? And then what? You didn't go to that commercial performance you were invited to, wasn't it because you thought the pay was too low?"

The person in the back row rolled their eyes at her. "Because I don't lack money, I won't go unless I'm offered a lot of money."

A round-faced boy pushed up his glasses. "I think it depends on the person. If you want to pursue a career in academia, work within the system, or stay on as a faculty member, then this kind of interdisciplinary academic experience is a valuable asset, more effective than any variety show exposure. But if you want to pursue a market-oriented career, join a dance troupe for commercial performances, or transition into the film and television industry, then a platform like Feng Hua Hui is definitely more direct."

"So I signed up for both, hehe." A girl with her hair in a bun next to me grinned and held up her phone. "Filling out the competition registration form is free, and recording a video for the Feng Hua Hui audition is no trouble at all. Adults don't make choices, they want it all."

"Who do you think you are? Do you even have the energy?" someone poured cold water on the idea. "An 8,000-word paper plus a ten-minute original dance, you think this is a joke? The deadline for this competition is the same week as the audition recording week for the Feng Hua Hui competition. Do you believe you'll collapse on both of them at the same time?"

"So what? I've been doing this since junior high. I'm already familiar with participating in several competitions at the same time."

"I'm not going to join in this fun." A gentle-looking girl at the door shook her head slightly. "I'm going on a European tour with my group during winter break, so I need to start preparing now."

The people around him looked on with envy.

"Wow, that's a national-level touring project..."

The girl smiled, said nothing more, and lowered her head to open the notebook in her hand.

The boy who had been wearing glasses spoke up again: "The judging panel for the competition consists of industry leaders. I think that if I can win a prize, it will be a very strong endorsement, whether I choose an academic or creative path."

"Yes, the question is, how much money can you make by taking those routes?"

The woman with the bracelet spoke up again, "In this industry, the audience is only so big. No matter how academically valuable you are, it's hard to break out of your niche. Insiders see the intricacies, while outsiders just watch the spectacle. Most people are outsiders. Spending months writing a paper that only a few dozen people will read seriously is not as good as letting more people see you dancing on video platforms."

The classroom was silent for two seconds.

The girl at the door frowned. "Dance is art; entertainment is only one part of it."

The girl with the bracelet glanced at him, then shrugged without arguing further. "Say what you will."

She then turned her head and said, "Jiang Chu, you're definitely not participating either, right?"