The Cannon Fodder Roles I Play All Become White Moonlights [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 25.1

Although Su Qingmeng had rejected Lin Wangbei, his gaze never left her.

Su Qingmeng was well aware of his attention, yet she calmly stretched and began practicing her basic skills.

The few girls who had initially danced energetically in front of Lin Wangbei also turned their eyes to Su Qingmeng, including Kong Jufang. Biting her lip, Kong Jufang hesitated, somewhat intimidated by Su Qingmeng, but eventually spoke up: “Su Qingmeng!”

Everyone looked at Kong Jufang, expecting her to make another envious remark about Su Qingmeng. To their surprise, she said, “Su Qingmeng, you dance so well. Why don’t you lead us in a dance?”

Feeling all eyes on her, Kong Jufang’s face flushed. Fortunately, her dark complexion concealed the blush. She had expected Su Qingmeng to refuse, but Su Qingmeng agreed without hesitation.

The girl who seemed born to dance stood at the front, effortlessly rising onto her toes into an arabesque, like a swan spreading its wings as if about to take flight from the water’s surface.

Lin Wangbei adjusted his thick glasses and picked up his accordion again. As Su Qingmeng danced, he began to play, a particularly melodious tune. The drawn-out notes of the accordion unfolded slowly and profoundly, as if telling a story.

The girls exchanged puzzled glances, unable to recognize the piece. It wasn’t the music they usually practiced.

Su Qingmeng, however, recognized it as the music from the most famous ballet of a neighboring country. But given the strained relations between China and that country at the time, the piece was banned from circulation domestically.

She sighed inwardly but continued to extend her body gracefully, like a noble swan gently shaking out its feathers. Her movements were elegant, followed by light leaps and spins. Every step she took was perfectly in sync with the music, interpreting it flawlessly. Even though the girls didn’t know the story behind the music, they could feel the emotions conveyed through Su Qingmeng’s performance.

A cursed noble princess falling in love, embodying both a maiden’s joy and aristocratic restraint, ultimately overshadowed by the sorrow of her curse.

They couldn’t help but feel their hearts ache, wishing for someone to come and save the poor princess, to break the curse that bound her.

Lin Wangbei was also entranced. He realized that her beauty wasn’t limited to her eyes, her entire body was exquisite, from her limbs to her waist, perfectly proportioned. He wished time could stand still, preserving this moment of eternal beauty.

“Lin Wangbei!” A sharp cry interrupted his music and the girls’ reverie. Teacher An stormed in, her face ashen. In all her years with the troupe, she had never been so furious or called out someone’s name so directly.

Lin Wangbei gave her an innocent smile. “Don’t be so tense.”

They were on a remote island, after all. No one would recognize the piece. Except…

He looked at Su Qingmeng through his glasses, an unusual flush spreading across his sickly pale face as he praised, “Comrade Su, you dance exceptionally well. Even the dancers in the central cultural troupe might not compare to you.”

Teacher An’s expression grew even more complex. Having come from the Central Art Troupe, she was proud and ambitious, yet she had lost the selection for the lead dancer. Unwilling to settle for being a backup dancer, she left the capital to teach at a local troupe. Lin Wangbei was different from her.

He came from a cadre family in the capital, effortlessly skilled in both the accordion and the violin, and had a secure place in the Art Troupe’s orchestra. Yet, he disliked staying in the capital. Hearing she was on the Southern Frontier Island, he followed her there. She had initially thought he was interested in her, but now it seemed otherwise.

She glanced sideways, giving Su Qingmeng a complicated look. She had to admit that Su Qingmeng was exceptionally beautiful, even in the Central Art Troupe, few could surpass her in looks or figure. With more practice, she could not only become the lead dancer on this small island but even compete for the lead position in the Central Art Troupe.

Perhaps she could even dethrone her former rival.

With this thought, Teacher An let go of her earlier jealousy and felt a desire to nurture Su Qingmeng properly. Cautiously, she asked, “Have you heard this piece before?”

Su Qingmeng shook her head blankly, appearing completely unaware.

Teacher An felt a pang of bitterness, a mix of jealousy and disappointment welling up inside her. Her movements and flexibility were flawless; her weakness lay in her musicality. Yet Su Qingmeng possessed not only extreme flexibility but also perfect pitch. Combined, these qualities could make her a top-tier dancer.

She glanced at Lin Wangbei again. The artistic young man wore a gentle smile, but there was something different in his gaze when he looked at Su Qingmeng. Reluctantly, she admitted that if she were in his shoes, she might also shift her affections.

At this moment, she felt more inclined to tell Su Qingmeng that the man who had followed her here had changed his heart in just a few days and was utterly unreliable. Men were fleeting clouds, but dance was eternal. Becoming a top dancer was far more rewarding than marrying a good man, especially since Su Qingmeng had already been married.

“Alright, everyone, practice well. Teacher Lin, could you step out with me? I have something to discuss,” Teacher An called Lin Wangbei outside. She was decisive by nature, if she had doubts, she preferred to seek clarity directly.

“I thought you came to the Southern Frontier Island for me, but it seems I misunderstood?” she asked bluntly.

“No, I just hadn’t been to the Southern Frontier before and wanted to see it. After all, music needs inspiration,” Lin Wangbei replied with a smile. “I need my muse.”

Teacher An frowned. “Lin Wangbei, stop saying things you shouldn’t. The girls on this island are naïve, don’t lead them astray.”

Today’s music, combined with Lin Wangbei’s words, touched on forbidden topics. If someone with ill intentions made an issue of it, Su Qingmeng would be the first to suffer.

Lin Wangbei chuckled. “What’s there to fear? The people on this island are ignorant and uneducated. No one would understand any of this.”

Teacher An disliked his condescending tone. She looked at the young man, who carried an air of innate superiority, and shook her head. How had she ever thought he was a good match?

The two returned to the dance studio calmly. The girls had already split into two groups to practice, one group consisting of Su Qingmeng alone, and the other made up of the rest of the girls.

Teacher An still had high hopes for Su Qingmeng, but she felt that her uncooperative personality needed to be tempered. She planned to smooth out Su Qingmeng’s rough edges, polish her skills, and then bring her back to the main cultural troupe to astonish everyone.

“Ahem,” Teacher An cleared her throat, “Everyone, practice the dance seriously. Starting today, each of you will take turns leading a segment of the dance.”

Naturally, Su Qingmeng was displeased and willfully asked for leave again.

“…” Teacher An felt exhausted and began to question herself, why did she have such high expectations for a student like this?

Lin Wangbei chuckled softly, “Since you’re practicing group dances, there’s no need for me here. I’ll escort Comrade Su back.”

Su Qingmeng’s beautiful peach-blossom eyes shifted slightly, casting a sidelong glance at him, but she didn’t object.

The weather on the island in April was pleasant, though the sun was rather intense. As the two stood at the entrance, they could feel the direct heat of the sunlight.

Su Qingmeng produced a large black umbrella from somewhere and handed it to Lin Wangbei. “Here, didn’t you say you’d escort me? Hold the umbrella for me.”

The umbrella was large and heavy, even a man like Lin Wangbei found it cumbersome to hold. The corner of his mouth twitched. “Comrade Su, didn’t you ride a bicycle here?”

Su Qingmeng looked at him as if he were an idiot. “That was in the morning when it wasn’t hot yet. Now the sun is blazing. Do you think I’m crazy enough to ride back under this scorching heat?”

Her beautiful peach-blossom eyes glared at him, making his heart flutter.

Lin Wangbei believed that a skilled hunter must have patience, especially when encountering a perfect prey like Su Qingmeng. He was determined to succeed.

Su Qingmeng lowered her gaze, concealing a fleeting coldness in her eyes. When she looked up again, she was the same impatient, ill-tempered girl. “If you’re not going to hold the umbrella, don’t bother following me.”

“Of course, I’ll hold it,” Lin Wangbei replied, suppressing his irritation as he held the umbrella for her.

The distance from the cultural troupe to the Qiao residence wasn’t short, and Lin Wangbei wasn’t in the best of health. Holding such a large umbrella for so long was genuinely tiring, especially since Su Qingmeng was extremely particular.

If he tilted the umbrella even slightly or allowed a sliver of sunlight to touch her, she would snap at him, “How can you be so incompetent at something as simple as holding an umbrella? And people say you’re a talented scholar from the capital? With your clumsiness, how did you earn that title?”

“…” Lin Wangbei realized he might have misjudged her. The moment Su Qingmeng opened her mouth, she was no longer the perfect goddess he had imagined. Gritting his teeth, he forced a gentle smile and said, “There’s a saying: a man becomes foolish when he meets the woman he adores.”

Su Qingmeng paused mid-step. Her fair, slender hand lifted to shield her eyes from the nonexistent sunlight. She looked at Lin Wangbei, her eyes shimmering under the umbrella’s shadow as if filled with boundless affection. Lin Wangbei’s heart skipped a beat under her gaze.

But the next moment, the girl who had just been gazing at him so tenderly frowned and said, “A man who turns foolish at the sight of a woman is clearly not someone to entrust your life to. He can’t be the pillar of the family, and if he ends up unsuccessful in the future, he’ll probably blame the woman for making him foolish.”

“…” Lin Wangbei suppressed the twitch at the corner of his mouth and asked with a smile, “Then, Comrade Su, why did you choose Commander Yang back then? Was it because he was very clever?”

“No,” Su Qingmeng looked at him again as if he were a fool, “Of course it’s because he’s the division commander. On this island, the division commander holds the highest authority.”

Lin Wangbei’s mouth twitched involuntarily once more. Truly, he had never encountered someone so bluntly honest. This girl must have made it this far in life entirely thanks to her pretty face.

“I’m here, you can go back now.” Su Qingmeng spotted the shaded area under the eaves and hopped over in three quick jumps.

Lin Wangbei, holding the umbrella, gazed at the girl not far away. Dappled sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting shifting patterns of light and shadow across her face, making her look like a dazzling glass doll. His heart thumped heavily twice.

He walked up to her, smiling gently and elegantly: “After escorting Comrade Su all this way, I’m drenched in sweat. Won’t you invite me in for a glass of water?”

“I never asked you to escort me,” Su Qingmeng stated matter-of-factly, “Besides, I’m just staying at someone else’s place. It wouldn’t be appropriate to let you in.”

Now standing in the shadows, with the few rays of light blocked by his approach, her eyes were completely hidden in darkness. Stripped of their seemingly shy affection, they revealed only straightforward indifference. His heart raced uncontrollably. What kind of eyes were these? No matter their expression, they remained endlessly captivating, making him want to preserve them forever…

Lin Wangbei’s pale lips curved upward slightly. He wasn’t someone so easily dismissed.

He continued in his gentle, good-natured tone: “That’s alright. I’ll just stand here. Is it too much to ask for a glass of water from Comrade Su?”

“Su Qingmeng!”