Snow-Kissed Rose (GL) Chapter 13

Song Yingshi sighed in relief when she saw Huai Xu's mood returning to 75 points. Then, she glanced at Huai Xu and smiled, saying, "You can continue practicing. I'll stay out of your way."

Song Yingshi had just sat down and was about to pull out her phone when Huai Xu suddenly asked, "Are you going to play on your phone again?"

Huai Xu's question momentarily stunned Song Yingshi. She had originally planned to search for memes to share with Huai Xu, hoping to bring Huai Xu's mood up. However, at Huai Xu's silent reproach, she had no choice but to join Huai Xu in practicing.

To the average person, Song Yingshi's sweet singing voice would sound pleasant and praiseworthy. However, it was nothing compared to the voice of true singers. She only had a vague understanding of vocal techniques and resonance and had only begun to grasp the basics after learning from the training camp's vocal instructor.

After putting on a pair of earphones, Song Yingshi held up a lyrics sheet and began humming along to the rhythm of the song used in her vocal lessons.

Meanwhile, Huai Xu minded her own business and sang her own songs.

Curiosity getting the better of her, Song Yingshi took off her earphones to listen to Huai Xu's singing.

The song Huai Xu sang was a sweet love ballad. When sung by Huai Xu, it gave Song Yingshi the mental image of a jar of sugar stored in a freezer—sweet but cold to the touch.

Huai Xu was not only applying the singing techniques she had learned but also harnessing her natural talent. Her transition between notes was flawless, the switch between her modal voice and falsetto was natural, and her diction and rhythm were distinct and sophisticated.

Despite having only learned the song for two lessons, Huai Xu's rendition already neared perfection.

It also seemed that Huai Xu truly enjoyed singing, as Song Yingshi noticed Huai Xu's mood going up to 80.

However, as soon as Huai Xu finished speaking, her mood fell right back down to 75.

Song Yingshi found the situation unfortunate, and she couldn't help but wonder what she needed to do to get Huai Xu's mood to 90 points.

After pondering for a moment, Song Yingshi hugged her lyrics sheet, clapped, and said with a smile, "That was wonderful!"

"Aren't you going to sing?" Huai Xu asked.

Song Yingshi wasn't a great singer, but she had no lack of courage. At Huai Xu's question, she eagerly said, "I'll give it a try, then."

After clearing her throat, though, Song Yingshi suddenly froze and looked at Huai Xu hesitantly.

Noticing this, Huai Xu raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"I recall you have perfect pitch," Song Yingshi said, scratching her cheek.

"Mhm," Huai Xu responded.

In simple terms, perfect pitch was the ability to naturally identify musical notes in musical and everyday sounds. To someone with perfect pitch, every sound in the world had a different meaning.

However, people with this trait often came with a quirk—pitch obsession.

Song Yingshi dared not say she could hit every note perfectly. She might not mind getting called out for going off-pitch, but it would be a massive problem if it affected Huai Xu's mood.

Not wanting to take risks, Song Yingshi said, "Maybe I shouldn't sing after all."

"Why?" Huai Xu asked.

"I'm worried you'll dislike my singing," Song Yingshi answered truthfully.

"I won't," Huai Xu stated.

"Really?" Song Yingshi asked skeptically.

"Mhm. Just sing if you want to," Huai Xu urged.

Huai Xu was the novel's female protagonist with a reliable personality. Hence, Song Yingshi was willing to trust Huai Xu. Not to mention, Huai Xu's mood had returned to normal after every fluctuation thus far, so Huai Xu's mood falling a little from her singing shouldn't be a problem.

After reassuring herself that everything would be fine, Song Yingshi held up her lyrics sheet, adjusted her pitch, and began singing.

Song Yingshi quickly immersed herself in the song. She felt as if she had become the girl in the lyrics, needing to be coaxed by her lover. She was delighted with her singing, and she thought she could go on to give a perfect performance, that was until…

Huai Xu's mood sharply dropped by 10 points.

?!

Song Yingshi abruptly halted her singing and glared at Huai Xu. She couldn't believe how Huai Xu had lied to her face. Was this why the saying, "the prettier the woman, the more deceitful she is," existed?

At Song Yingshi’s glare, Huai Xu massaged the bridge of her nose and said, "It's okay, keep singing."

With a blank expression, Song Yingshi tossed the lyrics sheet aside and said, "I won't sing anymore, okay? Stop being upset."

"I'm not upset," Huai Xu responded.

"Hmph." Song Yingshi turned away, refusing to look at Huai Xu.

At Song Yingshi's pouting, Huai Xu relaxed her expression and explained, "But you were off by half a note. It sounded off-putting, and it needs some correction."

Despite Huai Xu's words, Song Yingshi dared not sing in front of Huai Xu again, and she carefully watched as Huai Xu's mood gradually returned to 74 before stopping completely.

Even after Song Yingshi rubbed her eyes and rechecked multiple times, Huai Xu's mood remained at 74 points. It showed no intention of returning to 75 points.

Song Yingshi was heartbroken.

If the highest Huai Xu's mood ever reached today was 89, would this scenario count as suicide or homicide?

I can't be that unlucky, right? Song Yingshi wondered anxiously.

…

Even after they finished their morning run together, Huai Xu's mood remained at 74 points.

Seeing this, Song Yingshi realized just how much of a negative impression her singing had left on Huai Xu, and this led her to doubt her singing ability.

While having breakfast in the cafeteria, Song Yingshi grabbed Tao Qin, sang a short melody to the other party, and asked, "How is my singing?"

"Your singing is lovely," Tao Qin answered, blushing to her earlobes.

Sitting nearby, Lu Xuewen professionally commented, "Setting aside the airiness of your voice, I'd say it's okay."

Song Yingshi glanced at Huai Xu, whom she had dragged along to eat, and wrinkled her nose provocatively before chatting with Tao Qin and Lu Xuewen.

In response, Huai Xu merely gave Song Yingshi an indifferent sidelong glance.

"Since when did you two know each other?" Tao Qin asked curiously. She wanted to ask this question from the moment she saw Song Yingshi and Huai Xu entering the cafeteria together.

While eating her croissant, Song Yingshi turned to Huai Xu and blinked twice at the other party.

Huai Xu caught Song Yingshi's signal. She faced the curious looks of Tao Qin and Lu Xuewen and indifferently answered, "We met in the classroom this morning.

"Oh..." Tao Qin muttered sheepishly.

Huai Xu was distant and cold. Had Song Yingshi been the one to answer, Tao Qin might have pressed for more details. However, she dared not do so with Huai Xu.

Just as Tao Qin was thinking of asking Song Yingshi for details in class later, she saw Song Yingshi entering Class 2's classroom with Huai Xu.

Seeing this, Tao Qin hurriedly called out to Song Yingshi, saying, "Yingshi, you got the wrong classroom."

"I'll be sitting in on Class 2 today. I'll see you tonight," Song Yingshi responded with a smile.

?

…

Song Yingshi meant what she said and followed Class 2's schedule the entire morning. She behaved as if she had always been a student of Class 2.

Even during lunch, Song Yingshii stuck to Huai Xu like glue. Wherever Huai Xu went, Song Yingshi followed.

The only time they separated was when Song Yingshi needed to use the washroom. Of course, even at the call of nature, she still tried to stay close to Huai Xu and asked, "Wanna go to the washroom together?"

Unfortunately, Song Yingshi had her invitation turned down ruthlessly by Huai Xu, and she had to visit the washroom feeling like an abandoned puppy.

However, when Song Yingshi thought about how Huai Xu's cold personality had likely prevented her from visiting the washroom while holding friends with a friend, she couldn't help but start to pity Huai Xu.

After all, this was a precious experience all girls should have in their school years.

…

Class 2 had dance lessons for the second period after lunch.

The training camp's dance lessons were intended to prepare trainees for the survival show. Hence, these lessons focused on jazz dance.

Every dance lesson began with a warm-up and basic exercises led by the instructor. Then, trainees would form groups and study the performances of veteran artists.

After warming up and practicing jazz steps, the dance instructor played the dance track for the day.

As Song Yingshi moved and swayed her body to the beat, Huai Xu couldn't help but look at her. Even the other trainees found themselves repeatedly sneaking glances at her.

Song Yingshi became much more open when it came time to dance. She didn't mind being watched. On the contrary, she went out of her way to perform in front of the mirror, showing off her flexible body and powerful yet graceful movements.

At the final beat, she concluded her dance by holding down her half-cap while standing in place. Then, she lifted her chin slightly and stared at herself in the mirror with a smile that conveyed hints of sexiness, seductiveness, and charming delight.

Song Yingshi's dance was steady, confident, and bold. It exuded an irresistible charm, and one of the trainees couldn't help but shout out:

"How cool!"

The classroom turned into an impromptu stage thanks to Song Yingshi's performance.

By now, the dance instructor had naturally noticed the addition to Class 2. However, rather than get upset at Song Yingshi, he very much welcomed her participation.

As the dance instructor for all three classes, he was well aware of the differences between each class.

Due to the presence of several students like Song Yingshi, Class 1 maintained a lively atmosphere since the start of the training camp. This liveliness translated into the trainees' performance in their lessons. Take their dance lessons, for example. No matter how skilled or poorly skilled a trainee was at dancing, everyone dared to dance confidently.

Class 3 was somewhere in the middle—not great, but not the worst either.

Class 2 worried him the most. Their dance skills were the weakest, and they lacked an energetic group to hype up the class. Although the trainees of Class 2 were obedient, the atmosphere in the classroom was always dull. This led to some trainees being unable to let loose when they danced or unwilling to raise questions, which, in turn, required him to repeatedly correct them and provide demonstrations.

While he didn't mind going the extra mile, the problem was that these trainees became less confident the more he corrected them. Now, they would always tense up whenever he corrected them. Although they could usually learn from their mistakes and correct their movements, their anxiety prevented them from getting the emotional aspect of their dances right. If they were already faring this poorly in practice, wouldn't they fare even worse during the actual performance?

While he might not have said it aloud, he had always been worried about Class 2's future. He had even planned to report the situation to Director Shi.

However, after seeing how Song Yingshi managed to affect the atmosphere in Class 2, the dance instructor began hashing out a plan in his mind.

During the lessons, he could see in the mirror that Song Yingshi picked up the dance moves exceptionally fast. After just one round, she got the hang of it, and after two rounds, her style was almost fully formed.

From past lessons, he knew that Song Yingshi picked up dance moves exceptionally fast. She could usually get the hang of a dance after one demonstration. By the second demonstration, she'd understood the gist of the dance's style already.

After the dance instructor finished teaching the 8-counts planned for today, he called Song Yingshi out of the classroom for a chat. Then, when they returned, he told the class he had to leave for a while and that he had tasked Song Yingshi with leading the lesson.

Just like that, Song Yingshi took over the dance lesson for Class 2's trainees.

As soon as the dance instructor left, the trainees in the classroom relaxed visibly.

After observing everyone's expressions, Song Yingshi clapped her hands and said, "Let's continue practicing."

Standing in the dance instructor's spot, Song Yingshi turned on the music and said, "Front row, crouch down. I'll give everyone a demonstration, so pay attention."

The dance instructor had taught four 8-counts today. However, he had taught them in multiple sections and had yet to link them together.

All three classes progressed at the same pace, so this was the first time Song Yingshi was learning this dance routine. Nonetheless, she performed it as if she had practiced it countless times. Her movements were smooth, and she hit every beat with precision. Her body was brimming with explosive power, and she exuded a sensual charm that perfectly suited the music's style and captivated everyone in the room.

Her expressions also complemented the dance perfectly. The fluttering of her eyelashes, the direction of her gaze, the alternating intensity of her smile as she swayed her hips, and even the way her hair flowed were all naturally on point.

She seemed to have a spotlight shining upon her at all times. Wherever she stood, her surroundings would be turned into a stage.

The moment Song Yingshi finished dancing, over half the room burst into spontaneous applause.

In response, Song Yingshi turned around and gave everyone a bow after fixing her hair.

Perhaps it was because of Huai Xu's striking beauty, but as Song Yingshi straightened her posture, she instantly met Huai Xu's gaze.

Song Yingshi couldn't quite figure out what expression Huai Xu currently wore. If she had to describe it, it seemed like Huai Xu was meeting her and getting to know her for the first time.

A bit puzzled, Song Yingshi tilted her head and smiled at Huai Xu.