I feel right at home in the world of the courtyard house.

"Thank you for your hard work, everyone."

Li Jing'an led Song Yun and Su Liting through the club's small theater and straight into the backstage dressing room.

At this moment, several dancers who were putting on makeup saw that Director Li had arrived and stood up from their seats, warmly calling out "Director Li".

Li Jing'an smiled and nodded in response, but his gaze involuntarily swept over the group. The girls were busy putting on makeup, wearing only tight-fitting white training underwear, the fabric of which perfectly outlined their graceful figures.

Looking at the vibrant scene before him, Li Jing'an couldn't help but swallow hard, secretly marveling at the exhilarating feeling: "What youthful energy! Look at that slender waist, you could probably wrap your arms around it with both hands."

He had a sudden inspiration, cleared his throat, and said, "Everyone, don't rush to change into your costumes. Let me use this time to test your basic skills. Consider it a pre-competition assessment, which will also help us in selecting the lead actors."

After saying that, he casually pulled up a chair in the dressing room and sat down, watching with amusement as the girls took turns demonstrating basic skills such as kicking and drawing circles. As each graceful figure unfolded before his eyes, Li Jing'an's smile grew wider and wider.

"Good, good, everyone's foundation is very solid!" Li Jing'an nodded repeatedly with satisfaction, then changed the subject, "By the way, did you bring your own costumes today?"

"Director Li, we all brought our own clothes." Wang Manqi, being outgoing, immediately stepped forward to answer. Since she usually played the lead role in school performances, the others naturally had no objections.

"I understand, I understand. Today is just an internal assessment, not a public performance." Li Jing'an waved his hand, appearing very considerate. "I've already given the order for the new performance costumes. They'll take a couple more measurements for you. If you have any other requests, feel free to make them. After all, you're professionals."

"Director Li, do we still need special pointe shoes? Will the factory make and distribute them?" Wang Manqi asked, seizing the opportunity.

Li Jing'an was slightly taken aback. Seeing this, Wang Manqi quickly took out a pair of shoes from her backpack in the back row and explained that ballet shoes are made by dance students according to their own foot shape.

Li Jing'an took the small shoes and examined them carefully, feeling somewhat surprised. He had originally thought that the toe box, which allowed the toes to stand upright, must have been padded with iron plates or wood, but it felt soft to the touch, simply hardened with layers of glue.

"Why not add a metal plate inside?" Li Jing'an asked curiously.

"That's not safe," Wang Manqi explained patiently. "We have a lot of jumping movements on stage, and adding hard objects could easily cause injuries. Also, the noise from the stage when we land would be too loud."

Li Jing'an examined the soles of the shoes again and discovered they were made of cardboard. He immediately decided to find the best craftsman at the steel mill, using high-quality leather for support, to make several sturdy pairs of dance shoes for everyone. Upon hearing this, the girls beamed with joy and cheered.

Li Jing'an turned to Wang Manqi, who had been actively engaging in conversation, and said with a smile, "Your name is Wang Manqi, right? I saw in your file that you're very outstanding, have a good personality, and are a very proactive person. How about this, you'll be the final performer today. Thank you for your hard work, is that alright?"

After receiving Wang Manqi's affirmative answer, Li Jing'an's gaze intentionally or unintentionally drifted to Liu Yuanyuan, who remained unmoved to the side. He thought to himself: This won't do; without competition, how can there be progress!

"Alright, everyone, get ready to change. We'll wait in the small theater outside," Li Jing'an said, standing up. The girls, hearing this, quickly took clothes from their bags and went into the small changing room.

Li Jing'an turned to leave, and as he passed the row of backpacks, he casually pulled a pointe shoe from Wang Manqi's bag and quietly slipped it into his pocket.

……

On the small theater stage, the girls took turns performing excerpts from "The Red Detachment of Women." However, even after everyone had finished performing, Wang Manqi, who was to be the final performer, was nowhere to be seen.

The lounge was in complete chaos. Wang Manqi was sweating profusely, her face pale, and she turned her backpack inside out, looking around frantically and shouting, "Hey, where are my shoes? Everyone, help me find them! They were just here!"

The dance students who had just finished their performance all gathered around and squatted down to help her search. But after a lot of searching, they couldn't find a trace of it.

The commotion attracted Li Jing'an, who strode into the lounge and asked in a deep voice, "What's going on? What happened?"

After listening to the girl's account, Li Jing'an's face suddenly darkened, and he said in a serious tone, "How could something like this happen! We can't tell right now whether it was just a careless mistake or someone deliberately messed things up. I don't want to think the worst, but I hope it was just someone who took the wrong thing while packing. If it was the student who took it by mistake, they can come forward and explain. Don't be afraid, this is a small matter that can be discussed."

After he finished speaking, he stood quietly for more than ten seconds. The scene was completely silent; not a single person uttered a sound.

He then looked at Wang Manqi, who was anxious and at a loss, and put on a magnanimous and considerate appearance to advise her: "Manqi, we won't be able to find out anything about this in a short time. See who here has a similar shoe size to yours and borrow one temporarily. Anyway, the factory will soon be making brand new training shoes for everyone, and you won't need the old shoes you brought anymore, so don't be too serious about it."

He paused, then added, "I'm not saying we shouldn't pursue this matter at all, but we're all classmates who were assigned to the factory together. If someone accidentally took the wrong item and is too shy to admit it, there's no need to hold a grudge. Let's put this matter aside for now and talk about it later."

Wang Manqi was speechless for a moment and could only nod helplessly.

After Li Jing'an left, she glanced suspiciously at each of her female classmates. Both shoes had been in her bag when she showed them to Li Jing'an; someone must have secretly taken them! Reluctantly, she had to find a classmate with a similar shoe size and borrow one to make do.

Although the entire presentation went smoothly, she knew in her heart that she had not been able to perform to her full potential.

After the performance, Wang Manqi returned to the dressing room looking sullen and uncomfortable. Her classmates gathered around to comfort her, with Liu Yuanyuan looking particularly worried. Upon seeing her, Liu Yuanyuan immediately went to ask, "Manqi, are you alright? Did you dance well?"

Wang Manqi simply nodded, forcing a smile, and replied nonchalantly, "It's nothing, it's alright."

Not long after, Li Jing'an walked back into the dressing room, smiling as he addressed the group of girls: "You all did a great job demonstrating your basic skills. But in a model ballet, there has to be a hierarchy; some will be the leading lady, and some will be the supporting roles. Everyone needs to understand that whatever the role, it's a glorious revolutionary task. Today we must choose a lead actress, but this position isn't permanent. Whoever performs well and gains everyone's approval will have the opportunity to be rotated. The one chosen as the lead actress shouldn't be complacent; she must train even harder. This is also a form of encouragement. Is that alright?"

The girls readily agreed.

Li Jing'an's smile deepened as he slowly announced the results: "After comprehensive evaluation, Comrade Liu Yuanyuan will be selected as the lead actress for the revolutionary modern ballet!"

The girls around her were stunned for a moment, then they all crowded around and congratulated Liu Yuanyuan.

Liu Yuanyuan stood there stunned, completely bewildered, never expecting that she would be chosen in the end. She had always assumed that the spot would definitely go to Wang Manqi, since Wang Manqi had always had far more opportunities to perform on stage as the lead actress than she had.

Wang Manqi forced a stiff smile and offered her congratulations along with the others, though insincerely. In her heart, however, the seed of doubt had already taken root.