"Lie down as if you're a curved bow!"
——"Wow!"
"Stand like a pine!"
——"Ha!"
"Unmoved and steady as a bell when seated, walk as swiftly as the wind!"
——"Wow, wow!"
...
"A sweep of the stick clears a large area!"
"Wow!"
"A thrust of the spear makes a straight line!"
"Ha!"
"Light as a swallow in the clouds, our spirit soars high!"
"Wow, wow!"
...
Every evening at 7:30, the dance studio would resound promptly with this song, just as the necessary morning exercises at school.
At least with morning exercises, they could be canceled on a rainy day, but this was more relentless, ringing out punctually whether it was windy, rainy, or scorchingly hot.
In the brief span of ten days, He Jinxia stood at the very front of the dance studio, her hands clasped behind her and watched as everyone moved in unison with the rise of the music, their movements precise and their spirits fierce, stirring in her an odd sense of satisfaction.
