Yaya found a spot to sit down and started playing with the dough in her hands.
At home, whenever they made anything with flour, they’d give her a piece to play with too—it seemed like that was just what adults did to keep little kids entertained.
And it was actually pretty fun. Soft and squishy.
Though it didn’t take long before it started to stiffen up. Not as fun as the modeling clay that Little Devil had given her.
Yaya tilted her head, thinking back to the little cat that Huo Jiusi had shaped for her.
The image in her mind was so vivid and clear—but clearly, her hands weren’t listening to her brain. What she ended up making was so ugly she couldn’t bear to look at it.
She was just about to destroy the evidence when Old Zhang came over, his gravelly voice booming, “Oh! Is that a little calf Yaya made? It’s so lovely!”
Yaya blinked, not having the heart to tell him she’d actually been trying to make a cat.
Never mind. A calf it is.
She’d been planning to get rid of it, but Old Zhang’s comment made her change her mind. She decided to use it as a little test—to see who could actually tell what she’d made.
The dough had hardened, but the general shape was still visible.
Ling Hang said it looked like a little tiger. Yue Mingyuan said it looked like a puppy. Ye Zhiqiu said it looked like a little boat.
She asked around, and she got all kinds of answers—but not a single person said it was a cat.
Look at her—so talented! The things she made were all so different and wonderfully bizarre, they could probably be written into art history.
Ye Zhiqiu had come over with Yue Mingyuan to help make dumplings.
The moment they saw her, the soldiers snapped to attention in perfect unison, their voices booming: “Hello, Sister-in-Law!”
Ye Zhiqiu had participated in several grassroots performance tours before, and she’d experienced the soldiers’ warm enthusiasm many times—but it still got her blood pumping every single time.
“Sister-in-Law, we’ve got the wrapping covered. You can just supervise us from the side.”
“Anyone who doesn’t wrap carefully will have to go up on stage and perform later!”
The suggestion was met with a chorus of enthusiastic agreement.
Ye Zhiqiu thought for a moment, then said, “How about I start things off with a dance for you all?”
Because of the special nature of their unit, most of these soldiers had never actually had the chance to watch a performance by the art troupe.
Everyone was momentarily stunned—then burst into thunderous applause. A few soldiers quickly pushed several tables together.
They didn’t have a proper stage. Every year during the New Year celebrations, they’d just push a few tables together in the middle of the room and that would be the stage.
A chair was set beside it to serve as steps.
Ye Zhiqiu felt a rare flicker of nervousness. She took a deep breath, stepped onto the chair, and climbed up onto the tables.
Even with several tables pushed together, the space wasn’t very big. Fortunately, Ye Zhiqiu had plenty of experience with this kind of setup.
When they performed at grassroots units, they’d encounter all sorts of makeshift stages, so they had to adapt on the spot.
Ye Zhiqiu moved like a flower drifting on the wind, or a butterfly soaring into the air.
Her upper body movements were wide and graceful, while her feet stayed relatively still.
But that didn’t diminish the beauty of her dance in the least.
The soldiers were completely mesmerized, all of them forgetting to wrap dumplings.
Some had stopped mid-motion, holding a piece of dough in their hands. Others had already placed the filling inside but froze. A few were just standing there holding a spoon.
And they were all staring, mouths slightly open, looking a little dazed.
Most of them had never seen a dance performance by the art troupe before. They’d heard it was beautiful, but they never imagined it would be this beautiful.
Too bad they didn’t have the words to describe it.
It wasn’t just them—Yue Mingyuan was absolutely captivated by Ye Zhiqiu, too.
She twirled lightly, like a celestial being, the warm yellow light casting a soft glow around her. She looked so beautiful it almost seemed unreal.
There was no music, but dance had become second nature to Ye Zhiqiu. She kept the rhythm in her head, silently counting the beats.
“Mommy is so pretty! My mommy is so, so pretty!”
Yaya was holding a big apple in her hands. She waved it around a couple of times, then took a big, crunchy bite.
Yue Mingyuan scooped Yaya up. Yaya wrapped one arm around his neck. “Daddy, is Mommy pretty?”
Yue Mingyuan smiled and nodded. Yaya immediately shouted toward the stage at the top of her little lungs, “Mommy! Daddy says you’re pretty!”
The mess hall was quiet, and Yaya’s voice was loud enough for everyone to hear. The crowd around them started cheering and teasing, especially the soldiers under Yue Mingyuan’s command. “Captain, how about you get up there too?”
Before Yue Mingyuan could respond, Yaya kicked her little feet to signal she wanted to be put down. Then she grabbed his hand and tugged him toward Ye Zhiqiu. “Yeah, Daddy! You go up and dance with Mommy!”
Yue Mingyuan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Yaya, Daddy doesn’t know how to dance.”
“Daddy can’t dance—that’s okay! Daddy can go up there and protect Mommy. You can stand right next to her and make sure she doesn’t fall.”
Yaya whispered this into Yue Mingyuan’s ear, then gave him an encouraging little fist pump. “Daddy, Yaya believes in you!”
Yue Mingyuan looked down at Yaya seriously. “Then you have to be a good girl and stay right here, okay?”
Yaya patted her little chest confidently. “Don’t worry, Daddy! Yaya can take care of herself! Now go protect Mommy!”
Yue Mingyuan glanced over at Ye Zhiqiu. She had just leaped into the air and landed, but one of the tables wobbled, and her body noticeably lost balance.
Without a second’s hesitation, Yue Mingyuan pushed off with one hand and vaulted onto the table, reaching out with the other to steady her.
Ye Zhiqiu used his support to regain her footing.
Mistakes happened sometimes during performances, and for a dancer, the ability to handle unexpected slip-ups on the spot was crucial—which meant you had to have a solid foundation from all your daily training.
She spun around and met Yue Mingyuan’s gaze.
The two of them only needed one look to know exactly what the other wanted to do.
Yue Mingyuan adjusted his steps to match Ye Zhiqiu’s rhythm. She placed one hand on his shoulder. Even though it was their first time dancing together, they moved with the kind of synchronicity that suggested they’d done this many times before.
Ye Zhiqiu executed a mid-air spin and kick, and as she landed, she finished with a backward flip-kick—the “Purple Golden Crown” move.
Straightening her clothes, she spread her arms wide and took a graceful curtain call.
The mess hall erupted in thunderous applause and cheers: “Sister-in-Law is so beautiful! That was amazing!”
Ye Zhiqiu’s cheeks were slightly flushed from the exertion and excitement. She turned her head and saw Yue Mingyuan staring at her, which made her feel a little shy. She looked down and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“My wife is so beautiful.”
Ye Zhiqiu’s face turned even redder.
After they finished eating the dumplings, the snow outside had grown even heavier. The snowflakes were as large as goose feathers.
Yue Mingyuan drove Ye Zhiqiu and Yaya back to the compound. Yaya had already fallen asleep, curled up in her mother’s arms.
When they reached the front door, Yue Mingyuan took Yaya from Ye Zhiqiu’s arms, and the two of them went inside.
The family was still awake. Yue Mingyuan had a couple more dumplings at home before he had to head back to the camp.
Ye Zhiqiu walked him to the gate. He pulled her into his arms and gave her a kiss on the lips.
He’d been wanting to do that ever since they first met up today.
“Drive safe,” Ye Zhiqiu reminded him.
Yue Mingyuan slipped a big red envelope into her hand. “I’ll call you tomorrow morning to wish you a Happy New Year. This is an early gift for you.”
