Chapter 258
Chapter 258
The retro-styled vinyl gramophone was placed on the table. Zhong Ning walked over, set the record, placed the needle, and a melodious dance tune began to drift through the hall.
Zhong Ning adjusted her collar, walked up to Xie Shiqing, and bent slightly at the waist in a polite bow. “I wonder if I have the honor of inviting Miss Xie to a dance?”
Xie Shiqing wore a soft white nightgown, her jet-black hair cascading straight down like a waterfall, resembling a lily blooming in the mountains—graceful and poised.
She extended one hand.
Zhong Ning took it, stepped forward, and wrapped an arm around her waist.
The two of them glided into the center of the hall like fish in water, their skirts fluttering like petals in flight, looking exceptionally elegant.
If one ignored their footwork, the scene would have been perfectly harmonious.
Not even half a minute into the dance, Xie Shiqing’s brows furrowed. “You—”
Zhong Ning said, “Sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean to step on you.”
Before her words had even finished, she stepped on her again.
Xie Shiqing sucked in a sharp breath.
Zhong Ning sighed helplessly, stopped, and crouched down to look. “We can’t keep dancing, your foot is already red from being stepped on.”
Xie Shiqing had been stepped on several times in a row, and a pained expression appeared on her face, making her seem much more lively.
“It’s not that I did it on purpose, it’s just that I never learned ballroom dancing.” Zhong Ning half-carried her to the sofa, took off her shoes, and gently rubbed the injured top of her foot.
“When attending banquets, I never dance. Did you know that?”
Xie Shiqing nodded.
Not dancing wasn’t really a big deal. With Zhong Ning’s current status, if she didn’t want to dance, no one could force her. Her mere presence at an event already gave it great prestige. However, since she never danced in public, there had been many speculations, the most common being that she simply disliked it and was unwilling.
Who would have thought she actually couldn’t!
Ballroom dancing had simple and easy-to-learn steps; it was the easiest dance to pick up.
Zhong Ning said, “Very few people know about this. It’s quite embarrassing. I really did try to learn for a long time, but my body just isn’t coordinated. I can’t dance—there’s nothing I can do.”
“Do you think I’m some kind of remarkable genius? But a genius who can’t even do ballroom dancing—doesn’t that sound ridiculous? Isn’t it embarrassing?”
Xie Shiqing froze for a moment.
“You dance very well—extremely elegant and beautiful. You’re much better than me. In my eyes, you’re the true genius, someone far more outstanding than I am. No matter how much effort I put in, I could never reach your level, a peak I could never catch up to in this lifetime.”
Zhong Ning spoke slowly, “Do you still think I’m excellent, and that you yourself are worthless?”
Xie Shiqing was clearly stunned, her lips slightly parted.
“Being excellent in one aspect doesn’t mean someone is perfect in every way, a master of everything. Gains come with losses. Just like I’m quite lucky, but dancing is my weakness—no matter how much I try to make up for it, I can’t.”
Zhong Ning bent down and gently placed a kiss on Xie Shiqing’s knee.
“Have you ever considered that the things you’re truly gifted at might lie in a different direction?”
“If a perfect score is ten, then in managing a company, you’re definitely a nine. At most, I’m only nine point five—not ten—because I’m someone without much ambition. Since I can’t make every company in my hands the strongest in the world, I naturally can’t be considered the best, can I?”
“In terms of luck, I’d give myself a full ten.”
“You could also try other things. Why insist on fixating on the company and neglect your true talents?”
Zhong Ning spoke with an earnestness she had never shown before. “Shiqing, do you think you’re a foolish person?”
Xie Shiqing shook her head.
Even though she had been struck by Zhong Ning’s words, she only admitted that she was inferior to the person in front of her. Being foolish was absolutely out of the question.
“In that case, your intelligence definitely hasn’t been brought to its full potential. It must be because this path doesn’t suit you.”
Zhong Ning leaned close to her ear, like a demon rising from hell, and whispered, “Give it a try. Try other things. Go discover your real talents, and become a genius admired by everyone!”
Xie Shiqing fell silent for a moment, then suddenly tugged at the corner of her lips. “Has anyone ever told you that your acting is terrible?”
Zhong Ning: “…Yes.”
Damn it, what did that mean!
Xie Shiqing said, “Your tone is too stiff.”
Zhong Ning: “…”
Xie Shiqing added, “But what you said makes some sense.”
Zhong Ning: !!!
“These are words I thought about for a long time, of course they make sense!”
“You’ve finally regained a bit of liveliness, honestly! Do you know how I’ve been these past few days? I couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep, everything tasted like nothing—even the pine mushroom has been complaining that I didn’t spend time playing with it…”
As Zhong Ning’s almost incessant complaints droned on in her ear, Xie Shiqing’s thoughts had already drifted far away.
Such an obvious matter, such a simple truth—
Yet she had never thought of it at all!
The smarter a person was, the easier it was to get trapped in dead ends, to fall into pitfalls, and sink into an existential crisis.
That’s right, that’s right!
Wasn’t she a smart person?
If she lacked talent in one area, then she must have it in another.
The smile on her face grew wider and wider, until she couldn’t stop herself from laughing out loud, tears even forming from laughter.
Once a person figured things out, the world would suddenly open up. The many problems that once troubled them would also be easily resolved.
Thinking carefully, managing a company wasn’t even what she truly wanted deep down. That goal had been instilled in her word by word by her mother.
The theory of being a genius was also her mother’s expectation and hope.
But Xie Shiqing liked being a genius; she felt it was part of her nature and didn’t need to be changed.
To pursue the best, to pursue perfection.
The fogged glass blocking her vision was removed, the veil covering her head was lifted—she felt as if, for the first time, she had truly stepped into this world.
When she looked at Zhong Ning again, Xie Shiqing sensed that something was off.
This person paid her a bit too much attention, cared a bit too much.
Since it was just a transaction, was it necessary to do so much?
Moreover, she had already returned Xie Corporation’s entertainment division early on. It wasn’t that Xie Shiqing was being narcissistic or anything—anyone looking at it would think this was clearly an attempt to coax her.