DFLB – Chapter 40

While she was eating, Qian Wei thought aloud: “There are two things that can show off a man’s attractiveness: The first can be called ‘hard power’ and the second can be called ‘soft power’. Hard power is all the external things, for instance, the appearance of his body, while soft power are more nebulous things like personality. So let’s show your hard power in front of Mo Zixin first. You can’t waste it when you have such an excellent figure! Why don’t you ask Mo Zi Xin to go swimming with you? No, forget that. Mo Zixin can’t swim. Instead, why don’t you ask her out to sing KTV together? You have a nice voice. ” Qian Wei patted her thigh. “Just imagine it, under the ambiguous and dim lighting of a KTV box, ah~, the music starts playing and then your magnetic voice serenades Mo Zixin with Eason Chan’s ‘Ten Years’*. You won’t even have to say anything, just look at her affectionately once in a while.”

Lu Xun’s face was expressionless as he said: “I am tone deaf.”

“…”

If this trick wouldn’t work, then they could just change it to a different one! Qian Wei quickly came up with something new: “It is said that when a man plays sports that is the time when his hormones will be riding highest. So why don’t you invite her to play badminton? That game will let you show off your elegant demeanor and superb skills!”

“I’m terrible at badminton.”

That can’t be right, Qian Wei thought. Didn’t Lu Xun obviously used to show off his invincible badminton skills after work in her previous life? Back then no one in the whole City A Law Association could beat him, so how could he be bad at badminton in college? Was it possible that Lu Xun was only always putting up a front and acting like a genius back in those days? But actually he only had such exquisite badminton skills back then because he was secretly practicing hard every day?

Forget it, if badminton wasn’t good, anything else would work too. Qian Wei made another suggestion: “What about tennis?”

“I can’t play tennis.”

Qian Wei was feeling amazed. It turned out that Lu Xun even had to secretly practice his tennis in her previous life, and he had even done it to the point where his skills were almost on the professional level.

Qian Wei almost racked her brains dry as she came up with one trick after another but Lu Xun basically couldn’t do any of them. She really didn’t expect to learn that Lu Xun, who had always seemed omnipotent back in the day, was just a rookie who couldn’t do anything while he was still at school. This discovery was really awesome!

In the end, Qian Wei couldn’t think of any good way even after finishing dinner with Lu Xun. However, while she was heading back to her dorm, probably because her heart only thought for the emperor nowadays, she randomly looked up and finally saw hope.

There was a poster advertising a campus dance competition.

This was it! During her last life, around this same time, the school had organized its first annual dance competition for the students, supposedly in the name of ensuring that the contemporary student body had well-rounded skills and a sufficient degree of artistic literacy. Then, in order to ensure the competition had a sufficient number of participants, each school had been required to send at least three groups of contestants.

And in her last life, this dance competition had been won handily by Lu Xun and Mo Zixin when they danced a tango!

Qian Wei remembered it so clearly because the prize was that whichever school won the competition would receive more funding from the university for certain academic activities. Back then Teacher Ji, the counselor for the Law School,  had been very enthusiastic about winning the competition because of the lure of more funding. It could be said that he had encouraged everyone he could find to participate in the competition. Even Qian Wei, who usually had no enthusiasm to participate in these kinds of school activities, had ended up being mobilized by Teacher Ji. And Mo Zixin, as the flower of the Law School, naturally participated as well. Mo Zixin had grown up surrounded by things like piano, chess, calligraphy and painting ever since she was a small child and, on top of all that, she had also practiced many dance skills. And among them all, her skills with the tango were the best.

Coincidentally, Lu Xun could also dance the tango very skillfully so finally, thanks to the counselor’s matchmaking, the two took part in the competition together as representatives of the Law School.

Qian Wei hadn’t actually gone to watch when the two of them participated but she still knew very well what happened because of Qian Chuan, who had been busy chasing Mo Zixin at that time. Back then he had been sure to pay attention to every move made by Mo Zixin and his romantic rival, Lu Xun.

So even though she hadn’t personally seen Mo Zixin and Lu Xun’s dance, Qian Wei knew that Lu Xun could dance the tango very well even as a student.

What’s more, when she was working for him in her previous life he used to have to attend various receptions and parties to mingle with the firm’s foreign clients. But back then Lu Xun did not have a girlfriend so, in order to save trouble, he had no scruples about using his identity as her boss to oppress Qian Wei and drag her along to those kinds of events. Over the years Qian Wei had no choice but to attend many kinds of parties and banquets as Lu Xun’s female companion. But despite the oppression, Qian Wei had actually been very happy about it whenever Lu Xun would drag her to one of those parties because he would always give her double overtime pay while attending.

So, with a new plan in mind, Qian Wei ran over to Mo Zixin’s dormitory since it still wasn’t too late at night.

She quickly found the other woman and asked: “Mo Zixin, are you planning to take part in the dance competition? Have you found your partner?”

Mo Zixin looked a little sad when she answered: “No, I was going to dance the tango, but none of the boys know the dance, so there is no one to be my partner.”

“Ask Lu Xun! Lu Xun knows how to dance the tango!”

Mo Zixin sighed, “I know. The counselor told me that he had written in his personal profile that dancing the tango was one of his specialties, so we went to ask him, but he refused.”

“Ah???”

Mo Zixin continued speaking, obviously a little frustrated: “In short, he was unwilling to budge. The counselor even said that he could turn a blind eye anytime Lu Xun was absent for the roll call in his elective courses in the future, but he was not moved. Anyway, we can’t force him to do anything. Maybe he just doesn’t have any interest in joining a dance competition.”

After that, Qian Wei went to find Lu Xun in a state of confusion.

“Mo Zixin and the counselor came to you directly to ask you to act as Mo Zixin’s dance partner. Why didn’t you agree?” Qian Wei looked at him disbelievingly. “Didn’t you say you wanted to chase Mo Zixin? It’s not like you can’t dance the tango, so isn’t this a great opportunity to show Mo Zixin your dancing prowess?”

“I’m not very good at dancing.” Lu Xun glanced at Qian Wei and said curtly. His face was dark like he would lose a million yuan if he said one more word.

Qian Wei retorted furiously, “Didn’t you write in your personal profile that dancing the tango is your specialty? ‘Not very good at dancing’?! Lu Xun, too much modesty isn’t a good thing!”

“Have you ever read the personal profile of a famous star?”

“Ah?”

“If you read a star’s personal profile they will always list in their hobbies that they like things like piano or ballet. And in their language skills they will always fill in English at the very least, but is that reality? Can anyone understand the English spoken by Zhang Lin? Or Chen Jia, she doesn’t even know what a musical score is, but doesn’t she still list herself as a skilled pianist for the publicity?” Lu Xun’s lips pressed into a thin line as he said, “Don’t you know that everyone lies on those kinds of things? It’s all just for publicity and to market themselves!”

“But… but you really can dance well though!” Qian Wei sputtered.

Lu Xun shrugged: “You haven’t ever seen me dance, how do you know I’m a good dancer?”

“…”

“If it’s the tango, I do know some of the steps but, in reality, I can’t dance it very well because I only ever learned a little bit of it. Plus, if I’m with Mo Zixin, I will be nervous so I will definitely dance worse, and that’s not even mentioning the fact that we will be up on stage.”

After listening to Lu Xun’s explanation, Qian Wei finally realized that, yes that seemed reasonable! After all, Lu Xun was only a 19-year-old boy right now so, in the face of the girl he likes, it was very normal that he wouldn’t be able to perform at his usual level because he would be too nervous.

“But you can’t just give up this sort of chance so easily!”

However, Lu Xun’s attitude was very firm: “I’m not doing it.”

Ah~, this man just had too much self-esteem! Not only was he worried he wouldn’t perform well, but he was also worried he might make a fool of himself!

Qian Wei thought about it carefully before deciding to sacrifice her own body: “Well, I happen to know a little bit about the tango, why don’t I accompany you to practice for a while first? You can slowly get used to it until you feel confident enough to go on stage.”

“You know the tango too?” Lu Xun sounded a little surprised.

“Just a little bit!” Qian Wei started cajoling him, “Come on, I’ll accompany you for a while. You can practice with me and once you’re more confident in your skills you won’t feel nervous anymore!”

Qian Wei was trying to persuade him but, in her heart, she didn’t have much hope. After all, she knew Lu Xun after working with him for many years. He was a man with a very stubborn temper and when he made a decision he would never let someone else change his mind.

However, probably because this matter was related to Mo Zixin, Lu Xun actually made an exception. He fell deep into thought for a moment before unexpectedly nodding in agreement.

“Then, like you suggested, I’ll practice dancing the tango with you.”

It seemed like, for the sake of love, even Lu Xun could figure out what was good for him from time to time!

When Lu Xun agreed Qian Wei was actually very optimistic about ‘teaching’ him. She figured that Lu Xun had a very strong foundation so it was probably just his lack of self-confidence and his nervousness that was holding him back. So all she had to do was practice with him a few times and maybe say some words of encouragement. After that, his self-confidence would surely return. Then he would be able to smoothly join hands with Mo Zixin to win the dance competition.

However, Qian Wei’s wishful thinking was completely shattered after she officially began practicing with Lu Xun.

Someone tell her, who was this person who could never coordinate his hands and feet and who was completely unable to step in time with the music?! Was this really the same Lu Xun who danced the tango so skillfully that the little female interns at the law firm would say they wanted to take off their pants just from watching him!?

In the face of this kind of Lu Xun, who seemed to know almost nothing about the tango, Qian Wei was indignant: “Lu Xun, how dare you put the tango in the specialty column of your personal profile! You study law, you really should know that false advertising is a crime!”

It seemed that Lu Xun must have desperately crammed to learn the tango for Mo Zixin in her last lifetime.

“Come on, when dancing the tango we need to be in a forehead-to-forehead position, our heads need to be very close to each other but still staggered a bit. Get to this distance. Yes. Almost there. No, get a little closer to me.”

“Now put your hand on my waist. Up a little bit. I said, up a bit!”

“And when the music winds down, remember to spin and kick out your leg.”

“Your waist! Twist your waist! Look, I’ll show you! ” Lu Xun, this guy, he was simply unteachable! No matter how Qian Wei yelled her instructions the guy would never put his limbs in the proper place. In the end, Qian Wei had no choice but to directly pose with him, “Ass! Get your ass up! A little higher! Yes, that’s it!”

“Hold me tight!” Moving in time with the music, Qian Wei took Lu Xun’s hand and put it on her waist. “The tango is a dance but its also a kind of physical communication between two people. You have to feel your partner’s body with your heart and you have to read the other person’s intentions from their dance steps, the music, and the beat.”

“Keep your body close to me. A little closer. Now intertwine your leg with mine. Like this…”

After practicing with him for an hour, Qian Wei was truly exhausted. In a moment of carelessness, she couldn’t help but say, “Lu Xun, Lu Xun, aren’t you always excellent in everything you do? Why are you so stupid when it comes to dancing?” This Lu Xun, unexpectedly he needed all of his movements to be directed by Qian Wei. Only when she personally moved his limbs would he get it correct, he really had the qualifications to be called an idiot when it came to dancing! But back in her last life Lu Xun could dance a tango that was amazingly sexy, so it really seemed to be evidence that hard work could make up for any amount of clumsiness!

Qian Wei panted heavily and felt so tired that she could hardly move. Meanwhile, Lu Xun, this guy, his face was all red for some reason even though he obviously hadn’t been moving hardly at all.

“Lu Xun, ah~, you can’t compete like this. There is still a month to go before the dance competition but at your current level you will have to come and attend my devil training every day starting from tomorrow if you want to have a any chance.”

“Okay.”

The only good thing about this situation was that Lu Xun was acting quite obedient, maybe because he knew his skills weren’t good enough at all.

Then, no one knew who did it, but the news that Mo Zixin and Lu Xun would be competing representing Law School ended up getting out. So Qian Wei had only been secretly training Lu Xun for a few days when Qian Chuan suddenly showed up at her door.

“Damn, that Lu Xun is really shameless. I heard that he wants to dance the tango with Mo Zixin! I had thought I was wrong about him before but it seems that my consideration was wasted. As it turns out he’s just another sneaky guy wanting to chase Mo Zixin!”

“The teams for this dance competition were all created based on which school the competitors are from, okay?” Qian Wei responded tiredly.

Qian Chuan looked very annoyed: “I wonder if it’s too late for me to change my major.” He seemed greatly pained. “Also, isn’t your law school supposed to be really good? Noble and elegant, practically at the national standard? Wouldn’t it be fine to do a Waltz or something? Why would you guys choose an erotic dance like the tango?”

Now Qian Wei was not happy: “Why is the tango erotic? The tango is an art!”

Qian Chuan exaggeratedly imitated some of the steps of the tango: “Just see for yourself, it’s all hug, hug, touch, touch, twist, and rub! If we were still in the 80s the tango would be recognized as a crime! In my opinion, that kind of dance should be abolished from our campus! It’s not appropriate for students to dance! All it’s good for letting is two people make ambiguous eyes at each other while pretending to dance. It’s just indecent!”

Qian Wei unconsciously defended the tango: “You’re completely wrong! The tango does not give the dancers the opportunity to make a lot of eye contact! After all, while dancing the tango the dancers use a close hug so, although the heads of the dancers are close together, they are staggered in a way that there is no chance for them to make eye contact at all!”

“The movements of the dance are so ambiguous and entangled that there is no need for the dancers to make eye contact!” Qian Chuan’s tone was full of grievances. “I’ve made some careful observations and, in movies, as long as there is a scene of dancing the tango, it basically only happens between men and women who are having an affair! It’s a very shady dance! It’s really no wonder the heads of the dancers are staggered, do you want to know why? It’s so that the dancers can stay alert at all times and always be looking around to see if their husband or wife is coming back! So their partner won’t find out about their affair!”

“…”

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*you can google that song if you want. It’s a love song that’s pretty okay. All the celebrities and songs and such mentioned in this chapter are real.