Seeing that Li Shishi seemed normal, I figured they probably hadn't met before, so I said, "He's not a good person; he was an anti-government militant in his younger days." Baozi was used to my rambling and didn't respond. A little while later, the waiter came sauntering over with a large jug of beer. I quickly took it from him, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Young man, you should get some exercise."
The pot was indeed quite heavy, and I struggled to pour them some wine. Then someone brought over a large fruit platter and a table full of snacks. I asked for a deck of cards, and Baozi told everyone's fortunes, saying that the divination showed Qin Shi Huang's unfortunate childhood, Liu Bang's wife's bad fate, and the most unreliable one was that Xiang Yu would have a marriage next month. I quickly changed the subject.
After playing for a while, more and more people started to arrive. The newer tables saw our large "wine jug" and thought it was a new promotional activity at the bar, so they asked the waiter.
Suddenly, the bar's overhead lights started spinning, casting countless spots of light, and a sharp whistle blared from the speakers. The children all stood up abruptly, clapping, shouting, and screaming. We had no idea what was happening, but when we asked, we learned it was the signal for the start of a street dance performance; apparently, this wasn't the first time the bar had organized such an event.
Sure enough, five young people—three men and two women—hurriedly walked onto the stage. The two girls, wearing white headscarves, stood on either side of the stage, striking a cool, symmetrical pose. The three boys began performing street dance moves to the music, gradually increasing in speed, and the screams from the girls in the audience immediately drowned out the music. At this moment, the overhead lights, which had been rotating slowly, gradually accelerated, eventually rolling wildly like a soccer ball kicked by the outside of a foot, making the faces of the people below appear to change rapidly in the light, like ghosts.
The scene and atmosphere were very exciting, but I had absolutely no interest in it. I said listlessly, "Today is a children's show. I wonder when they'll start pole dancing." Baozi also said disappointedly, "Those guys are quite handsome, but their moves are too simple. When are they going to start spinning on their heads?" After a while, the two women started to twirl, and that's when I started to find it a bit interesting.
The music grew increasingly intense and heart-pounding, and the students on the dance floor swayed to the rhythm. I saw Zhu Gui and Du Xing standing in the back row, arms crossed, looking up at the stage. I walked over and leaned on their shoulders from behind, asking, "Who did this?"
When Du Xing saw me open my mouth, he asked loudly, "What did you say?"
I shouted, "You can't do it like this! We need to find two women to go up and seduce a steel pipe!"
Zhu Gui also shouted, "Why isn't it working?"
I pointed back at the beer everywhere and said, "Students have no money, so they only drink beer; strippers drink foreign liquor to make money!"
Zhu Gui understood, and chuckled, saying, "Women who are willing to take off their clothes in public are hard to find!"
It seems that although they speak modern language, their mindset hasn't caught up. Three-legged toads are hard to find, but women willing to take their clothes off are easy to find, right? Du Xing shouted, "It's not our doing. This tavern has this every month on this day. It was ordered by that girl surnamed Chen."
I chuckled to myself: Chen Kejiao has been in the bar business for so many years, yet she's still as naive and stubborn as a college student starting a business. It seems that if the bar were run according to my plan, it would make more than 200,000 yuan a month.
Suddenly, five young men dressed in black rushed up from below the stage, taking over half the stage. Four of them held the fort, while one stood out and pointed at the three men and two women opposite them. People in the audience started shouting excitedly. I watched for a while and laughed, "This is getting lively! Someone's here to 'dance'!" Du Xing asked, "Should we interfere?" I said, "No, it's a good thing."
The group of three men and two women seemed far less skilled than the group in black. Not only were their dancing techniques inferior, but they had probably never danced against so many people before. Coupled with the commotion from the audience, they could only watch helplessly as the group performed. The group in black kept sending out members to provoke them, and their dancing was indeed quite impressive. To paraphrase Baozi, they were doing headstands in circles, Thomas Flairs, cloud steps, water ripples…
The children in the audience were the fairest judges; they didn't care if you were being bullied, they just applauded whoever danced well, and they even started booing the boy and girl pair. The black-clad group became increasingly smug, and finally one of them gave the boy and girl pair a "fall down" gesture.
I found it quite interesting and was about to leave when the group in black on stage suddenly threw off their black coats, revealing white vests underneath. Each vest had a letter on it, and when the five of them stood together, they spelled "APPLE." The one with the letter "A" grabbed the microphone from the side of the stage and shouted, "Do you think we danced well?"
A roar of approval erupted from the audience: "Bravo!"
A continued, "Want to know where we came from?"
Audience: "Yes!"
A pointed persuasively at the letters on the vests of the five men and shouted, "Say it after me: APPLE—APPLE!"
I read it aloud as well, and it felt very familiar. It wasn't the English meaning, but the place itself. I immediately remembered: it was the name of a bar!
A said, "If you still want to see us dance, you're welcome to visit our Apple Bar." Then, this guy slyly glanced around and said, "I guess we're no longer welcome here. Don't worry, we don't mean any harm. But if your bar can send someone up to dance with us, we're welcome; if you're asking us to leave, we'll leave immediately." After saying these polite words, it wouldn't be appropriate to beat them up again.
This time, Du Xing immediately understood: "Damn it, they've come to challenge us!" He asked me, "What are the rules for going up there to 'fight'?"
I wasn't angry at all; in fact, I was hoping these guys would take away all those students who were just drinking beer and taking up space. I told Du Xing, not very enthusiastically, "There are no rules. Just jump around and attract people's attention, but no physical contact." Du Xing then strode onto the stage.
The waiter who served us on our first visit came to Zhu and Du for advice as soon as they signed up for the Black Group. Now that Du Xing was about to go on stage to dance, he ran up to the stage, grabbed the microphone, and shouted, "Now, welcome our Deputy Manager, Mr. Du Xing!"
I nodded to myself and said to Zhu Gui, "This young man is quite clever, but unfortunately it's not up to me. Otherwise, we should lift him up."
Du Xing walked onto the stage, and this time, regardless of whether it was appropriate or not, he clasped his hands in a fist salute to the audience. He had a big head and big eyes, a face full of wrinkles, but he was not old. He could have appeared in "UFO" magazine without makeup. The people below chuckled.
The men in black were also confused. One of them, A, asked, "What do you want to say?" Du Xing huffed, "A duel!"
A chuckled. He'd probably never seen Du Xing dressed like that before, wearing a shirt, dress pants, and shiny leather shoes. But seeing that Du Xing wasn't joking, A said, "There are five of us and only one of you, that's not fair. How about this, I'll do a few moves, and if you can do them too, we lose. Are you in?"
The music had stopped, the laser lights were switched to silent mode, and the whole bar was very quiet. Du Xing snorted, "Then please."
Chapter Sixty-Two: He is not alone
A glanced at Du Xing again, chuckled contemptuously, and said, "Then you do this first." With that, he slumped headfirst, supporting himself with one hand and hugging his legs with the other. He remained headfirst for a full five seconds before gracefully flipping himself back to his feet, drawing cheers from the audience.
Du Xing watched, chin in hand. Seeing A gesture for him to proceed, Du Xing, without thinking, also did a handstand, bracing himself on one hand while his legs swayed like scallion leaves. Only then did he remember to grab onto the ground with his other hand. He managed to stand up, but because he hadn't practiced, he was unsteady and had to jump a few times to stabilize himself. Du Xing, head down, asked A, "Is this how it's done?" He jumped a few more times as he spoke. The audience, seeing his comical antics, burst into laughter, while some applauded and cheered.
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that Du Xing has never trained in street dance. He barely managed to do it by relying on the strength of one hand and the coordination of his body, but that's precisely why it's even more difficult.
A said awkwardly, "Even if you succeed." Then he did a handstand, spun around the stage several times, his hands digging into the ground. Du Xing didn't even bother to stand up and rest, using his hands instead of his feet to circle the stage like a ballet dancer, saying, "What's so special about this? It's easier than doing somersaults." Laughter and applause erupted from the audience again.
A was getting a little embarrassed, so he pushed out a helmeted guy and went back to the line. This was Baozi's favorite activity: the head-on challenge. The young man was really agile; with a few running steps, he flipped over and spun around like a top. Baozi liked this activity not because she thought it was difficult, but because she admired how hard-headed and pain-resistant the people who did it were. If they were wearing helmets, she probably wouldn't care so much.
The young man spun around with his head and then his back, creating a small whirlwind on the stage, just like a tortoise shell thrown onto the marble floor. Although his performance was brilliant, no one commented; they were more eager to see what other tricks Du Xing would pull next.
Du Xing, looking troubled, said, "Oh dear, this is difficult. How can I get it spinning?" Then, he suddenly said to the group that had just suffered a crushing defeat, "You guys need to help me out in a bit. When I stand up, two of you come over and spin me around." Before they could even react to what he meant, he did a headfirst handstand again, but this time without using his hands for support. His body swayed precariously as he said to the five people who were still in a daze, "Quickly, two of you come over, one on the left and one on the right, and give me a push in one direction?"
So he saw himself as an upside-down wine bottle, and now to spin him, he needed a clockwise or counter-clockwise force. The two girls, quick-witted, rushed over, grabbed Du Xing by the waist, and gave him a push. Sure enough, Du Xing slowly started spinning. With his head on the ground and his hands behind his back, he spun crookedly and erratically, shouting, "Push me a few more times, or you can whip me with your clothes!" The three men took off their shirts and chased after Du Xing, whipping him. Du Xing spun like a giant top the more they whipped him.
The audience was having a blast, laughing so hard they could hardly breathe. After a while, they finally got into the spirit and shouted "That's good!"
A's expression grew increasingly grim; in his view, Du Xing was simply making sarcastic remarks and mocking them. After Du Xing stood up, the black-clad group selected someone with a "P" printed on their chest. This time, instead of doing handstands, they performed a cloud-stepping exercise.
Street dance has deep roots in early breakdancing. While the "cloud step" is no longer a staple in street dance performances, it remains an indispensable technique. Student P has solid dance skills and delivers a flawless performance. He appears to be running frantically, yet he doesn't move forward an inch, as if he's on a treadmill.
It seems the Black-Clad Group has realized they can't compete with Du Xing in terms of kung fu, so they're resorting to technique to outmaneuver him. Without prior training, it's impossible to get the feel for the dance. Du Xing tried to imitate it, jumping a few times, but it didn't resemble a cloud-stepping movement at all; it looked more like tap dancing. The audience, already used to surprises, laughed, clapped, and cheered when Du Xing returned to the stage, regardless of what he was actually doing.
Du Xing was a bit of a show-off, and eventually he just stopped caring about what he was dancing and started acting crazy on stage. At first, it wasn't noticeable, but gradually people were drawn to him. Du Xing was like a feather on the vent, floating around intensely and lightly, almost never touching the ground. Although no one could name the dance he was performing, the dynamism was definitely a treat.
The audience gradually stopped laughing and began to quiet down. Someone remarked, "He dances much better than Michael Jackson." Then they started clapping rhythmically, followed by a sharp, provocative whistle, and everyone waved their arms in one direction. The waiter with the microphone called out at just the right moment, "Music!"
The deafening music blared again, the laser lights spun wildly, and the audience went wild. A girl screamed, "Du Xing, I love you!" Du Xing playfully winked at her, instantly captivating countless girls. In their eyes, Du Xing was no longer the same person; he was now a dance king and a prince charming. The girls stomped their feet and chanted in unison, "Du Xing, I love you! Du Xing, I love you..."
The group in black had already slunk away, leaving the mixed group on stage to dance with Du Xing. The young people below, naturally unable to resist the urge to join in, also started dancing.