The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 683 - 682 The Soulless Dancer

Chapter 683: Chapter 682 The Soulless Dancer

"In this Youth Dance Competition, the runner-up is——"

As the host paused, the whole venue fell silent, everyone holding their breath in anticipation of the announcement.

"From Fengcheng, contestant number 026, congratulations!"

The applause was thunderous.

Ren Jingshu, crying with joy, stepped out of the line and bowed deeply to both the judges’ panel and the audience to express her gratitude.

Thank you.

Thank you.

She silently thanked them in her heart, feeling as if the whole world had become exceptionally gentle and friendly.

After the awards ceremony ended, the contestants exited the stage in order.

There were seven awards in total for the competition, including the champion, first and second runners-up, as well as the best performance, most innovative, and so on.

Offstage, the seven award-winning contestants were immediately surrounded by recruiters from various performing arts institutions.

Some contestants who didn’t win but performed well were also approached by recruiters.

Among the contestants, the champions and runners-up were undoubtedly the most sought after.

The first to strike up a conversation with Ren Jingshu was from the Folk Dance College, which is on par with the Capital Dance Academy in terms of reputation and faculty. However, Ren Jingshu had always aimed for the Capital Dance Academy since she was young, so she politely declined their offer.

The folk dance teacher didn’t persist, they left their contact information and hurried to speak with another contestant.

"Ren student, congratulations!"

Seeing Ai Qing coming to congratulate her in person, Ren Jingshu could hardly hide her excitement. "Thank you, Teacher Ai."

Ai Qing didn’t waste words, "How about it, are you interested in joining us at the Capital Dance Academy?"

Ren Jingshu quickly nodded her head.

Ai Qing was pleased and immediately took her to meet the admissions team colleagues.

Although Ai Qing was from the Capital Dance Academy, her task that time was to be a judge, not to recruit students.

"Old Xun, this is Little Ren, could you introduce her to our admissions rules and disciplines?"

Seeing Ai Qing bring back the runner-up, Xun Zhou, who was in charge of admissions, was immediately brimming with joy.

"Ren student, come..."

"Jingshu!"

Xun Zhou had barely started speaking when he was interrupted by Ren Jingshu’s mother who had arrived.

After learning Ren Jingshu’s mother’s identity, Xun Zhou enthusiastically included her in the introduction.

When it came to the choice of discipline, mother and daughter were in agreement, both choosing classical dance.

With the runner-up trophy from the dance competition in hand, Ren Jingshu essentially had her ticket through the arts entrance exam; all that was left were the cultural test scores.

However, as it was a performing arts college, the score requirement wasn’t high, at least, not a tough issue for Ren Jingshu.

"Ren student, how is your discussion with Teacher Xun?"

Seeing Ai Qing return, Ren Jingshu nodded happily, "I’ve chosen the classical dance discipline."

"Good, not bad!"

Ai Qing smiled and patted her shoulder, praising her potential and comprehension, while also taking the opportunity to give her a deeper critique of her performance that day.

As the saying goes, laymen watch the excitement while insiders watch the technique. In just a few sentences, Ai Qing affirmed Ren Jingshu’s adaptability and performance under pressure, and also highlighted areas where she could improve, which Ren Jingshu accepted with great satisfaction.

"Teacher Ai, hello, I am Jingshu’s mother, my last name is Dai."

After Ai Qing finished speaking, Ren’s mother immediately smiled and exchanged pleasantries with her.

Ai Qing politely nodded her head and replied with a simple "Hello."

"Teacher Ai, thank you for your guidance and care for my daughter Jingshu. I regret not being able to host you properly last time you visited Fengcheng. Do you have time today? I would like to invite you to a meal as a token of my gratitude."

"No need to be polite, I didn’t help much. There’s no need for a meal."

Ren’s mother did not insist, but instead inquired about Ai Qing taking on students, "...It’s rare for my Jingshu to favor someone like you, whom she greatly admires as an idol. I wonder if my daughter could have the fortune of becoming your student."

Ai Qing glanced at Jingshu, who was silent with her head down, and said with a light smile, "To be frank, the matter of accepting students was just a casual joke I made. I didn’t expect that He and the others would take it seriously."

Being a veteran in social interactions, Ren’s mother naturally understood that Ai Qing was politely declining.

In Ai Qing’s presence, she maintained her composure and grace, but as soon as she turned away, she couldn’t help but scold Jingshu for not performing well during the competition.

"If you hadn’t made a mistake, you could definitely have won the championship. If you had won, we wouldn’t need to brown-nose; people would look at you differently... Where are you going? You haven’t even removed your makeup yet!"

Having spoken at length without receiving a response, Ren’s mother turned her head only to find that Jingshu was walking in a different direction.

She hurriedly caught up, "Where are you going?"

"To meet friends."

Ren’s mother angrily grabbed her, "Jingshu, don’t think everything is fine now that you’ve passed the art exam. You still have to take the college entrance exam next year; you should be focusing on your studies right now..."

"So, I don’t even have the right to make friends?"

"Even if you want to make friends, you should choose those who can help you with your studies. What can he help you with?"

Jingshu looked at her mother seriously, "Please don’t apply your set of thoughts to us. I won second place, and they will congratulate me, be happy for me, unlike you, always nagging, never satisfied!"

"My strict demands are for your own good. Do you think you could have achieved what you have now without my pushing?"

Jingshu sneered, "No, it’s not for me. You just like being called ’Champion Mother,’ seeking more capital to boast about in your circles, wanting to hear everyone praise your good parenting."

"During today’s competition, all you saw was my mistake. Did you even worry for one second about whether my leg was injured?"

Ren’s mother instinctively looked towards her daughter’s leg, but it was covered by the swirling skirt, and she could only see the tips of the shoes.

"You got hurt? I’ll take you to the hospital."

"No need, I’ll just apply some ointment when I get home. I’m going out to lunch with my friends, you can go back on your own."

For Jingshu, being sociable at her age was quite normal.

But Ren’s mother was used to controlling her daughter and accustomed to her obedience. Now, suddenly faced with her daughter’s refusal to listen, she felt irked and even more suspicious that Zhao Yun had led her daughter astray.

"Tell me, are you in an early relationship with that boy?"

"Yes."

Probably not expecting Jingshu to admit it, Ren’s mother was at a loss for words.

Jingshu’s face showed a hint of scorn, "Do you also think that I didn’t win the championship because an early relationship distracted me?"

"I can tell you clearly, it’s not the case. On the contrary, it’s precisely because of the early relationship with him that I started to understand a lot of things."

"For many years, I’ve lived by your rules, without a sense of self. How can a dancer without her own soul possibly perform a good dance?"

"From now on, I want to be myself, no longer controlled or manipulated by anyone."

Watching her daughter’s resolute departure, Ren’s mother stood there, lost in thought.

Once, her own teacher had said the same to her, telling her that she was too utilitarian, a dancer without a soul.

She used to be indignant, believing the teacher was biased against her.

She was ambitious; she wanted to climb to the top. What was wrong with that?

Yet, twenty years later, she was hearing similar words from her daughter.

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