The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 676 - 675: Dare to hit me today, dare to hit you tomorrow

Chapter 676: Chapter 675: Dare to hit me today, dare to hit you tomorrow

Watching Wan Ying’s joyful face, Ren Jingshu felt the surreal sensation of being in a dream.

"Teacher Wan, did I really dance well just now?"

"Of course, you did! Didn’t you hear the comments Teacher Ai Qing made about you?"

After taking a few sips of water, Ren Jingshu slowly opened her mouth under the expectant gaze of the other, "Actually, I can’t quite remember which movements I just danced. I just emptied my mind, thinking of nothing. I danced wherever my thoughts took me."

Perhaps, the best state of performance is to forget that you’re performing, to forget you’re on stage, to forget the audience below, to forget everything, and just immerse yourself entirely in the world of dance.

This was her realization and inspiration, though she was unsure if it was right or not.

"Everyone has their own unique way of expressing themselves, perhaps, the state you were just in is the most suitable for you. Like this, dance another piece for me to see."

After hearing the dance teacher’s words, Ren Jingshu, just like when she first arrived at the practice room, aimlessly wandered around to find that empty state, then began her movements with a light point of her toes.

"Not bad, although the intensity was not as strong as before, it’s still much better than your usual performance."

Ren Jingshu humbly accepted the instruction.

In fact, she could feel that she hadn’t completely lost herself this time. She was too eager to show herself in front of the teacher, and as a result, the performance was not quite satisfactory.

But that was alright. She had found her shortcomings and was sure she would improve in the future.

Of course, Wan Ying saw this clearly too. Her sincere encouragement to Ren Jingshu was not to get discouraged, to work hard, and strive for a good ranking in the All Dance Competition.

"... Teacher Ai Qing is serving as a judge at the All Dance Competition for the first time. She mentioned that she intends to select two exceptional talents to take on as students at this competition. If you could become her disciple, I dare not say anything else, but joining the Zhongyang Dance Team would certainly be no problem."

Joining the Zhongyang Dance Team was undoubtedly the dream of every art student.

What was meant to come would always come.

After school in the afternoon, Ren Jingshu returned home, where Ren father, Ren mother, and Ren Yingying were all sitting in the living room, presenting a scene as if they were holding a court trial.

"Ren..."

Before Ren mother could start, Ren Jingshu spoke up to interrupt,"Dad, Mom, I have good news. Today during dance practice I met Teacher Ai Qing! Teacher Ai Qing watched my dance and said I have a lot of potential and is looking forward to my performance in the All Dance Competition."

Ren mother had already forgotten her initial intent to scold Ren Jingshu, "Really? What else did Teacher Ai Qing say?"

"At the All Dance Competition in October, Teacher Ai Qing is also one of the judges, and she will choose excellent students to mentor from among the contestants. Teacher Wan told me to seize the opportunity, to perform well, and try to be chosen by Teacher Ai Qing."

"That’s wonderful!"

Ren mother was thrilled and her attitude changed 180 degrees, becoming warm, even forgetting the backtalk she’d received from Ren Jingshu that morning.

"Jingshu, Teacher Wan is right; this is a rare opportunity. I’ll call your class teacher in a moment. From now on, you can skip self-study and focus on your dancing."

Ren Jingshu didn’t refuse.

She had just touched on a bit of the method and wanted to spend more time practicing and pondering. As for the schoolwork she’d fall behind on, she could catch up when taking breaks from dance practice.

This year she’s a senior in high school, and her target school is the Capital Dance Academy.

If she could rank in the top three at the All Dance Competition, she would be directly admitted to the Academy without having to go through the arts examination next January.

As mother and daughter spoke with fervor, Ren father didn’t make a sound.

Compared to his stepdaughter’s future, everything else could be put aside for the time being.

But Ren Yingying wasn’t prepared to let things go. She had suffered such grievance and bullying and was waiting for Ren mother and Ren father to properly discipline Ren Jingshu to vent her resentment.

"Mom, can you not talk about something else first?" she said. "My sister was bold enough to hit me today, and she’ll be bold enough to hit you tomorrow. Look how hard she hit me, my lips are swollen, and my body is covered in bruises..."

Before she could finish, she saw Ren Jingshu approaching.

The thrashing she had received at noon haunted her greatly. The sight of Ren Jingshu closing in made her panic, fearing another beating, so she hopped and skipped to hide behind her father.

"What do you want to do? You want to hit me again? You dare to be so arrogant even in front of Mom and Dad..."

"I’m sorry."

Ren Yingying’s voice seemed to be strangled as she stuttered.

"You, don’t think a simple sorry will settle this!"

Ren Jingshu gazed at her. "Of course it won’t, because you need to say sorry to me too. You rummaged through my backpack without permission, stole my personal belongings, and I hit you for your own good, hoping you would learn a lesson. You’re not a three- or five-year-old child anymore; you should understand respect and manners."

With such a heavy accusation cast upon her, Ren Yingying was forced by her father to apologize to Ren Jingshu.

And the storm seemed to subside.

But neither Ren’s mother nor father calmed down.

One called the costume company, ready to order another set of performance clothes for Ren Jingshu, just in case. The other instructed the nanny to prepare some nourishing food for Ren Jingshu to strengthen her physique and bones, while Ren Yingying, the "victim," was ignored.

After sulking for a long time, seeing that no one paid her any attention, she ran upstairs indignantly and forcefully opened Ren Jingshu’s room door.

"Are you lying to Mom and Dad? You never met Teacher Ai Qing, did you? How could someone as important as Teacher Ai Qing, who is so busy with performances and work, have the time to come to Fengcheng, let alone run into you by chance, and then compliment your dancing?

"Phooey! Ren Jingshu, you really have the nerve to flatter yourself. If it weren’t for Mom pulling strings and asking for favors, you wouldn’t even have the qualifications to compete in the whole dance competition! With your pathetic skills, even if you were in front of Teacher Ai Qing, he probably wouldn’t want to take a second glance, fearing it would hurt his eyes!"

Ren Jingshu wasn’t angry.

The things her mother said when she lost her temper were a hundred times worse than these.

Her classmates would often talk behind her back, saying she was cold and indifferent to everything, an emotionless person.

But if she hadn’t forced herself to become this way, she would’ve crumbled long ago.

"If you say I’m lying, then show the evidence. If you don’t have any, get lost and don’t bother me."

Yes, evidence!

As long as she found evidence to expose Ren Jingshu’s lies, Ren Jingshu wouldn’t just be skinned alive!

Staring at the slammed door, Ren Yingying felt an unspeakable excitement and thrill, as if she saw Ren Jingshu being whipped.

Don’t ask her why she hates Ren Jingshu so much—it’s an inborn repulsion.

She was once a carefree little princess, the darling of everyone’s eyes, until Ren Jingshu came into her life.

Ren Jingshu was prettier, more diligent, and excelled in all areas, making her look worthless in comparison, and even stole the affection that was rightfully hers.

She could never live peacefully with Ren Jingshu in this lifetime, unless Ren Jingshu was gone from this family, gone from her life.

The next day.

When the designer came to take Ren Jingshu’s measurements, he brought the previously tailored performance clothes so that Ren’s mother could check if any alterations were needed.

At that time, Ren Jingshu was still in the dance studio practicing and wouldn’t return home for another hour.

Ren Yingying eyed the exquisite costume with a plan forming in her mind. "Mom, let’s go to the dance studio. We can have my sister wear this outfit and dance a segment, to see if her dancing has truly improved."