CHAPTER 519: CHAPTER 313: ARRIVING AT THE YE FAMILY

Within the General Political Dance Troupe, the initial stage rehearsal for the New Year’s Day program was in full swing: dances, solo songs, choral singing, symphony performances... each act took its turn on stage.

A rendition of "The Yellow River Chorus" had the staff in the audience energized, their faces intense with emotion. As the applause subsided, a beautiful woman in a military uniform took to the stage to announce, "Next up, the solo performance ’On the Hopeful Field’, singer: Su Sha, welcome Commander Su!"

"Applause..."

A graceful woman in her forties, brimming with smiles, confidently stepped onto the stage. Her purple eyes sparkled with a dreamlike radiance. As the prelude came to an end, her clear and soaring voice poured out,

"Our homeland lies on the hopeful fields

Smoke drifts above newly constructed homes

...

Ahem! Generation after generation, we strive upon these fields

For her happiness, for her glory

For her happiness, for her glory~"

Despite being familiar tunes heard countless times, for the troupe members, to listen was to learn, and the opportunity to acquire skills from their seniors was nothing short of delightful.

"Applause..."

Amid the warm applause, Su Sha saluted, turned, and exited the stage. As she met the female soldier who announced at the entrance, the latter beamed with a sweet and exuberant smile, "Commander Su, your singing always makes one feel as if they’re in the moment!"

Su Sha returned the smile, "Xiao Wan, praising me won’t do you any good, I won’t speak for you."

"Commander Su, I..."

Su Sha quickly interrupted the soldier, "Xiao Wan, rehearsing is no different from performing." With those words, she disappeared behind the curtain.

The soldier referred to as Xiao Wan stomped her foot and hurried to the center of the stage to announce, "Next up, the dance ’Soldier’s Holiday’..."

"Commander, I didn’t mean that, I truly love your singing!" After announcing, Xiao Wan found Su Sha backstage removing her makeup, her face flushed as she explained.

Su Sha nodded with a smile, "Alright, I believe you."

"Aunt Shasha..." Xiao Wan, anxious, stamped her foot, "You can’t play dumb!"

"Enough, look how nervous you are, Xiao Wan..." Su Sha patted her hand, "I know why you joined General Politics, honestly, I’m moved.

But as for my son’s matters, it’s not up to me, and not even his Grandpa has a say. I don’t want you to resent me later, which is why I’ve always been frank with you. I’m not trying to help because I can’t."

"Aunt Shasha, my dear aunt," Xiao Wan glanced around to make sure everyone else was busy, then clung to Su Sha’s arm, coquettishly adding, "I’m not asking you to help with anything, just bring me along when he’s around, that’s all."

"No!" Su Sha flatly refused.

"Don’t you like me?" Xiao Wan pouted.

"What do you think, I’ve watched you grow up, treated you like my own daughter, would I not like you? But everyone at home has agreed to his marriage, and I... Ah..." Su Sha sighed and fell silent.

"Look, as long as you like me, that should be enough. Aunt Shasha, my dear good aunt, my mother said that even before I was born, you and she were friends that considered marriage," Xiao Wan argued. "How can you go back on your word?"

"That was a joke, how can you take it seriously?" Su Sha, annoyed, covered her forehead, "Xiao Wan, let’s not talk about this anymore; frankly, it bothers me too."

Xiao Wan’s eyes roamed, "I don’t know why you dislike that girl, but I know that if you don’t take action, you’ll be even more bothered in the future.

Now, I’m willing to be the villain, so why won’t you give me a chance? I was prepared to give up attending the Curtis Institute of Music; you should understand how determined I am."

Su Sha appeared moved by the notion, but recalling her son’s tone over the phone made her hesitant and ambivalent. Xiao Wan, standing across from her, twirled around, "Auntie, in terms of looks, I’m not shaming myself, right?"

"Of course not." Su Sha nodded affirmatively. The most beautiful woman in the troupe, how could she be otherwise?

"And in terms of family background, I don’t fall short, right?"

"Of course not." Su Sha nodded again without hesitation. Xiao Wan’s full name was Qiao Xiaowan. The Qiao Family might not be one of the Six Great Families, but nobody dared to underestimate them.

Qiao Xiaowan’s grandfather was Qiao Dongsong, the current Minister of National Defense, and her father, Qiao Aimin, at the age of forty-six, was already a provincial leader with limitless prospects.

Although Qiao Xiaowan’s uncles didn’t hold positions as prominent as her father’s, they were all successful in their own right, making the Qiao Family one of the fastest-rising families since the founding of New China.

All of this was somewhat related to Qiao Xiaowan’s maternal grandfather, who was the actual leader of the renowned Moselle Family in France. Back in the day, the Moselle Family’s sole female heir, Alyssa, fell in love with Lian Fengnan, a business genius from China. The couple, after getting married, had only one son and one daughter. The son took his mother’s surname, while the daughter took her father’s, with the daughter being Qiao Xiaowan’s mother, Lian Qinghua.