I could see from Maya’s face that she was very happy to see me. “Good evening, Miss Todd. I’m here to pick you up to meet your dance instructor.”
I hesitated for a while. But in the end, I didn’t refuse.
Every time I took a step now, I felt like my calf was breaking apart all over again. With my current situation, taking the dance lesson should be strenuous. But I promised Rufus, and there were only three days left before Friday. If I didn’t learn how to dance, I would make a fool of myself at the ball and disgrace him. It would be more troublesome.
“Miss Todd, is everything alright?” Maya must have noticed that I was in a daze, so she leaned over, tilted her head, and asked me.
“Nothing. Let’s go,” I said through clenched teeth. Since I had to do it, I had to do it well. As for my leg injury, I should be able to endure it for a while.
Maya took me to a garden full of roses. In the middle of the garden stood a white palace glazed with glass lanterns hanging in front of it. I felt like I was in make-believe.
“Miss Todd, I can only take you here. The dance instructor is in the hall. You can go inside and find him,” Maya said with a smile and left.
When I pushed the door open, I was startled.
How could my dance instructor be Rufus?
“Why are you just standing there? Come in.” Rufus still looked cool, sitting upright in front of the ebony table with a notebook and a pile of official documents.
He was a busy man, but he still spared time to come here to teach me how to dance. I really felt like crying!
I closed the door nervously, feeling helpless. “How about some other day?”
“Sylvia, what are you afraid of?” Rufus raised his eyebrows and seemed very dissatisfied when he saw the timid look on my face. He simply walked over to me, grabbed my wrist, and pulled me to the desk. “Drink the soup.”
As usual, it was the same nourishing soup. Looking at Rufus’ handsome profile, I inexplicably began to feel nervous.
When I finished drinking the soup, he took me to another room to start our dance lesson.
“Come here,” Rufus said, reaching out his hand to me. He looked at me seriously and deeply.
“Does it really have to be so formal?” I stretched out my hand, but I was trembling, and my heart was beating fast.
Rufus didn’t say anything more and just held my hand tightly. When I felt the temperature of his palm, I felt like I was losing my mind. My temperature began to rise, and I blushed. Looking up at his chin made me start to think about how intimate we could be.
But when I moved, the pain in my leg instantly sobered me up.
Yana hissed in my head, “It hurts!”
She startled me. “What are you doing?”
“Nothing. I’m just crying in pain for you. After all, you can’t cry out, right?”
I couldn’t help but secretly roll my eyes. Yana was a real drama queen.
“First, chest up. Focus your upper body strength on your shoulder blades,” Rufus said, tapping my back.
I responded in a panic, feeling numb on the part he touched.
“When moving forward or backward, use your middle body muscles, which is at the hip and crotch area. Come on, try it.” Rufus pulled me a step forward. Then I took a few steps forward despite the pain in my leg.
“Remember to hold my waist when we whirl.” As he spoke, he put my hands on his waist.
I bit my lower lip and listened to every word he said. But my leg hurt so much that I couldn’t concentrate.
I was still lost in thought when Rufus suddenly let go of me. He seemed to have noticed that I was absent-minded.
“If you don’t want to learn, you don’t have to force yourself,” he said coldly.
I hurriedly wiped my sweaty palms. “It’s not that I don’t want to learn. I’m not forcing myself either. It’s just that…”
I hemmed and hawed for a long time as I couldn’t come up with a good excuse.
Rufus’ POV
Sylvia’s hands were cold. I frowned and clasped her palm tightly, hoping the warmth of my skin would seep into her body and make her feel better. She didn’t know how to take care of herself. The wind was strong outside, but she was only wearing a thin coat.
She was lowering her head the entire time, like a scared turtle, ready to retreat to its shell at any time. Looking at her fluffy head, I felt a little helpless. ‘Why was she so afraid of me?’ She didn’t even dare to look me in the eye.
“Chest out. Don’t hunch. Look straight ahead. Your gaze shouldn’t drop to the floor,” I said in a low voice.
But Sylvia didn’t respond. She was absentminded the entire time. She didn’t return to her senses until I gently nudged her.
I didn’t say anything. I gently wrapped my arm around her waist and said, “Raise your foot.”
Sylvia was in a daze the entire time. She responded to me slowly like a puppet. I pursed my lips and looked at her, feeling unhappy. It seemed like she didn’t want to stay with me.
Her cursory behavior made me think she didn’t want to attend the ball with me.
Finally, I lost my patience. “If you don’t want to learn, you don’t have to force yourself.”
Seeing that I was angry, Sylvia looked up at me, panic and fear evident in her eyes. “It’s not that I don’t want to learn…”
Only then did I notice that her face was pale, and beads of sweat had covered her forehead.
My heart sank. “Are you feeling uncomfortable?”
“Nothing. It’s just a little hot.” She averted her gaze and held my hand, gesturing for me to teach her. I had an inkling that she was trying to hide something.
I grabbed her hand and stared into her eyes. “Sylvia, I know you are lying. Are you hiding something from me?”
“No, please don’t ask. Let’s continue,” Sylvia croaked, dropping her gaze to the floor.
Anger bubbled up within me. “All right. I’m not going to continue until you tell me the truth. I have this whole night to spare anyway.”
“No, I have to go back to the dorm before nine!” Sylvia grabbed my sleeve and pouted at me.
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