Chapter 97: She Looks So Embarrassed, How Could You Say No, You Love Rival?!
What a dazzling world we live in~
Lin Yibai had never been very interested in making short videos. She didn’t even have TikTok downloaded on her phone.
But the more she said no, the more Supervisor Sun Lirong and the others pushed her. They had plenty to say!
“Why can other girls do it, but Miss Baiyi can’t? You’re not worse than them!”
“Sister Lin Baiyi, you have to trust our judgment.”
“That’s right! We’re the ones who work with videos, we know what we’re doing.”
These days, becoming an internet influencer is a whole step-by-step process. You just randomly film something fun, then a week later, say ‘Hi, I’m the person in that video, I’ve joined Bilibili!’
Next, you take part in a ‘Try not to laugh’ challenge, go eat for free at some restaurant, get cyberbullied, maybe even say you got a health problem… Then say, ‘Hey everyone, this product is really good, link below!’
But the person who finally made the biggest difference, was Xia Zhilan herself.
She had a performance at the music school, and since the school was still setting up the event, she found time to stop by here.
She immediately pulled Lin Yibai aside for some serious persuasion, confidently saying, “Don’t know how to sing or dance? I’ll teach you. I’ll even personally play piano for you during the video. How about that?”
“Sister Xia, you’re such a kind person.”
But... Lin Yibai was still a bit unsure.
“No more thinking about it. After work today, stay behind and I’ll coach you myself. It’s settled!”
“Ah—wait!!”
“What? You can’t?”
“Well... not really.”
Lin Yibai thought, ‘Tomorrow is Monday! I still have to figure out how to lower my transformation rate and turn back before the day starts!’
But Xia Zhilan wasn’t the kind of person who forced others.
Even though she felt a little disappointed, she didn’t push further. She just quietly muttered something under her breath:
“12,000 yuan for a commercial job... and you’re giving it to someone else? And maybe that influencer’s not even that good, and has a bad attitude too...”
Lin Yibai: “!”
Damn! That’s 12,000 yuan!
She suddenly felt like her legs didn’t want to move anymore...
Why did she even bother becoming a girl in the first place?
Was it to fall in love with other guys?
No way. It was just because being a girl made society treat her a bit better.
In the end, wasn’t it all for money?
Right now, she just had to grit her teeth and push through a little longer. That 12,000 yuan job was right in front of her. She could finally buy a new computer, and even rent a little apartment.
At last, she made up her mind and said, “Sister Xia, wait a minute.”
Xia Zhilan narrowed her eyes, and asked thoughtfully, “Baiyi, is there something else?”
Actually, there was nothing to be shy about.
She simply and honestly said it. She wanted to give it a try.
Because... come on, it’s twelve thousand yuan!
Do you know how many truckloads her male self has to unload to make that much money?
Now all Lin Yibai needed to do was act like an internet influencer, film some videos, sing a few songs, and the money would come easily.
She asked sincerely, “So it’s a deal, right? Sister Xia, can you teach me?”
Xia Zhilan replied without hesitation, “Of course.”
After thinking for a moment, Lin Yibai asked, “Should we ask Xiao Wei to help too?”
But Xia Zhilan immediately said no.
“No need. Xiao Wei is a good kid, but when it comes to teaching, I’m a pro. If I’m not qualified to coach you, then no one at the music school is!”
“Sister Xia, you’re awesome!”
“Naturally.”
“Sister Xia, you’re unbeatable!”
“Hehe~”
Xia Zhilan giggled with joy.
This was the nice part of being around her daughter-in-law, she always made her feel happy.
Not like those TV dramas full of mother-in-law drama, with the poor son stuck in the middle, not knowing who to listen to.
But Lin Yibai still had some worries.
“But I don’t know anything about dancing. Can I really do it? Should I be stretching or something?”
Xia Zhilan waved her hand and laughed. “It’s not like you’re going to perform in a big concert hall. Look at those influencers doing hot dances online with their skin all exposed, how many of them actually studied dance since they were little?”
When it comes to so-called "hot dancing," the moves aren’t that hard.
The difference is some people dance with real artistic skill. Others just turn suggestive moves into dances.
It’s like doing basic gym exercises, just remember the movements and you’ll be fine.
Then she added, clearly enjoying the chat, “Also! In the future, if your kid doesn’t like singing or dancing, don’t force them to learn, okay? I’ve been through it, I know what this industry is really like.”
Lin Yibai scratched her head. Why are we suddenly talking about kids?
It felt like she was already pregnant and about to give birth or something...
It was a weird thought, but Sister Xia actually made a lot of sense!
Since she was now the one taking the lead role, Lin Yibai called another meeting with the video team.
She went over all the important details about the video, and explained what kind of message she wanted to express. Then Xia Zhilan and Xiao Wei worked together to design the dance moves for the video.
By evening, Xia Zhilan and Xiao Wei cleared out a room and called Lin Yibai over.
“No need to wait for another day,” Xia Zhilan said. “Let’s start practicing right now. What do you think?”
Just thinking about how she could make 12,000 yuan in just a few days, how could Lin Yibai say no?
Earning that kind of money was worth a little hard work. She already started planning how she’d spend her next few days.
First of all, the most important thing is making money. So, not only did she have to ask for time off again, but she also had to figure out a way to extend her transformation time.
She hoped she could last until the shooting was finished. Lin Yibai nodded and directly agreed.
“Alright, I can do that!”
Xiao Wei cheered, “Yay~”
Lin Yibai asked, “So, Xiao Wei, are you going to teach me now?”
Xiao Wei shook her head and pushed Xia Zhilan forward, saying, “Me? I can’t teach you. Everything, including the dance moves and choreography, is specially made for you by Sister Xia. So she’ll teach you the whole time.”
“Then what about you?”
“I’m off work now!”
“......”
Alright then! Everything was now in Sister Xia’s hands.
As a guy, Lin Yibai was pretty unfamiliar with dancing. She’d only ever seen people do street dance. Now, she had only one hope. Lin Yibai whispered to herself, “I hope it won’t be too hard!”
She imagined her body twisting in strange ways, doing splits, and somehow getting her feet up to her head. She realized she couldn’t even name any dance moves.
But Xia Zhilan just smiled. She told her not to worry at all.
They stood facing each other, and Xia Zhilan said, “The name of this dance is ‘Mist and Rain.’ It lasts about five minutes, and it only has a few hundred moves.”
Only a few hundred?!
Xia Zhilan’s words made Lin Yibai fall silent.
She explained that if you break down the movements of a simple exercise, like the ones in elementary school, there are already over a hundred moves. So a dance with a few hundred moves lasting five minutes wasn’t really that many, was it?
Xia Zhilan stood still and continued, “Now, follow me for the first move. Left foot to the side, toes touching the ground, parallel with your right foot. Bend your right knee, then raise your hand like a bird spreading its wings.”
Lin Yibai had to admit, Xia Zhilan was really skilled. Under her guidance, she was able to break down even the most complicated dance moves into simple steps.
After a long while, Xia Zhilan asked, “Did you get it?”
Lin Yibai replied, “I learned a little.”
Xia Zhilan nodded, approving, “Good, your task now is simple. Just remember the dance moves.”
Lin Yibai nodded seriously, “Okay, okay!”
Xia Zhilan added, “I have some other things to do now. You can practice by yourself.”
“Alright!”
The entire office area was empty, except for Lin Yibai and the lights in a certain office.
Xia Changyu definitely wasn’t going to leave. But he also didn’t want to watch the dance practice in front of Lin Yibai, knowing that she was a little shy.
However, not long after, Lin Yibai scratched her head and came to his office, asking, “Hey, do you have Sister Xia’s contact number? I clearly remembered those moves earlier, but now it feels like I’ve forgotten them again.”
There was no other way. Dance moves were all based on memory.
Unless she was a genius, if too much time passed, she’d forget the moves and feel something was wrong here and there. Xia Changyu naturally agreed and immediately called his mother.
On the phone, Xia Zhilan slapped her forehead and said, “Oh, my memory... I’ll send you a dance video right now. She can practice along with it.”
At this moment, Xia Changyu found the perfect opportunity to enter. He could now officially enter the practice room. And as he watched his mother teach Lin Yibai the dance, it felt oddly familiar.
Having a mother who was a talented woman from the Imperial Capital Music Academy, Lin Yibai’s childhood must have been closely tied to piano and dance.
Unfortunately, Xia Changyu didn’t like it and had a big argument with her about it. Later, Xia Zhilan stopped forcing him to practice.
Although Xia Changyu didn’t become a dancer or a musician, he still had some foundation. Seeing Lin Yibai’s awkward and clumsy dance moves, he couldn’t help but point out,
“That move you did earlier wasn’t quite right.”
Lin Yibai: “?”
Xia Changyu stood up, ready to show the correct way. He repeated Lin Yibai’s move and did it much more smoothly.
So, why did he understand this so well?
Looking into Lin Yibai’s questioning eyes, Xia Changyu sat up straight and said, “Well... when I was little, I took a dance class for fun! I probably have some basic skills.”
So that’s why. Lin Yibai believed him after hearing this. In her mind, kids from rich families often took expensive hobby classes, so it was normal for them to have some skills.
But in reality, Xia Changyu was struggling because he realized that whatever Lin Yibai didn’t understand, he seemed to know it all.
Was it on purpose by his mom?
And the more Lin Yibai was corrected, the less confident she became. In the end, she felt embarrassed and walked over to grab Xia Changyu’s hand, saying in frustration.
“Since you have nothing else to do right now and you know dance, why don’t you teach me?”
So, Xia Zhilan's plan worked perfectly. She delivered the assist that led to the winning goal, making her undeniably get the "Player of the Match" award. She seemed to have done something, but also nothing at all.
Xia Changyu: Thank you, Mom.