The two of them agreed unanimously. They felt that Jiang Yao’s suggestion was particularly interesting. There were many children in the army, so it was acceptable to give them a chance to perform on stage.
Even though there was not much time for rehearsals, it was not impossible to teach the children a few simple movements.
After the two programs were settled, the next thing was to find the children who would perform on stage. The two female soldiers left Major Zhu’s home to report on those two programs, and then the army would select the children who would participate in the performances.
Jiang Yao began to be interested in the military’s Arts and Craft Regiment performance during the New Year because of those two performances.
When Lu Xingzhi returned home, Jiang Yao was still talking about that with Mrs. Lin, who wanted her son to perform on stage as well. Both of them thought about how likely it was to persuade Lin Wei to go on stage and dance.
When she saw Lu Xingzhi, Mrs. Lin exclaimed, “Is it so late already?” Then, she hurried home.
After Mrs. Lin left, Lu Xingzhi looked at the excited Jiang Yao and asked, “Why are you so happy if you’re not going on stage?”
“Who says you can’t be happy if you’re not going on stage? Every time the troops come to perform, aren’t you happy for that as well?” Jiang Yao retorted indignantly.
“Not me,” Lu Xingzhi said very seriously. “I don’t like to watch those performances.”
He told the truth. He had never seen the Arts and Crafts Regiment’s entire performance from beginning to end. Even if the leader were in front of him, he would sneak away or yawn sleepily.
Lu Xingzhi did not like to watch performances, listen to songs, or watch plays. He did not like them all. He had not liked them since he was young.
Therefore, it did not matter much to him how many performances the troops would perform in the army during the New Year. If he had to talk about the impact, then it would be about how he was forced to attend the performance, which would affect his ability to listen to the radio at home.
Usually, at 7 p.m., Lu Xingzhi would listen to the radio at home and catch up with the news whenever he had the time. He felt that listening to the radio was much more interesting than watching a performance.
Jiang Yao was skeptical when she heard Lu Xingzhi’s explanation. It was expected that he did not like to watch performances, but it was a little unbelievable that he did not want to watch the girls in the army.
“Did they say one would be attracted to female soldiers after staying in the army for three years? A lot of people want to marry a female soldier from the Arts and Crafts Regiment.” Jiang Yao raised her beautiful eyebrows. “Have you ever stared at a female soldier before? Have you ever stared at a girl in the army before?”
Lu Xingzhi chuckled and replied without a trace of guilt, “No!”
“Then why did you miss me back then?”
Jiang Yao said, “Did you stare at a girl and suddenly realize that I was the most beautiful one?”
Lu Xingzhi laughed at Jiang Yao’s teasing. He did not have the habit of staring at girls. It was fate that he noticed Jiang Yao. He even went to school to look for her. The way she smiled had attracted his eyes. Then, it quietly entered his heart and was firmly engraved in his mind from then onward.
That was fate; it was bizarre, indeed.
When he saw Jiang Yao’s smile, Lu Xingzhi laughed out loud, which was rare for him. He nodded and said, “I don’t have the habit of staring at girls.”
Jiang Yao was only joking with Lu Xingzhi. She spent all her time with him, and the two of them walked outside. Lu Xingzhi was either observing the surroundings or staring at her. Of course, she knew what her man looked like.
