Chapter 376: – Before the dance
Restarting dance practice wasn't too difficult for Lin Jin. When she was back at her previous rental place, she thought the space too small to really stretch out, but now this new place had no such issues. With the wooden floor and spacious living room, it was practically a natural dance studio.
Lin Jin moved her laptop into the living room, tidied up some of the clutter, and started looking online for popular anime dance videos to imitate. Although her own dance videos would definitely not be those soft, cutesy anime dances, she figured that adding some anime dance elements might attract a lot of viewers.
Of course, not all anime dances were soft and cutesy. Some dancers with solid skills performed powerful and impressive routines, looking very pleasing to the eye. And most of those strength filled dance videos have a loyal fan base.
She tried to learn some anime dances. Although Lin Jin was an otaku, she wasn’t those type of anime or game otakus. She was one of those paralyzed couch potato otakus, the type that was able to laze around in bed all day without moving. So, she wasn't very familiar with anime dances. She had seen some anime dance videos before, which just left her with the impression of people just trying to act cute. Now, watching those videos again, she realized the dances actually seemed quite difficult.
While there weren't many high difficulty movements, there were some nuances when it came to rhythm control and costume design.
On Tuesday afternoon, after attempting a few dances, Lin Jin sat on the couch, panting.
"It seems like I need to buy some cute clothes?" she crossed her legs on the sofa. Although her physical fitness was quite poor, these dances weren't too exhausting. After two or three dances, her body was still okay.
"A sailor uniform or something should work, right? Sailor uniform plus white silk..." Lin Jin tilted her head as she thought about it before suddenly furrowing her brows. "If all the viewers were just those who only watch anime dance, then it seems like it would be useless even if it really became popular, right? So, I should probably do dances that look good no matter the audience..."
Even though it seemed pointless now to think about becoming popular in the future, Lin Jin felt that since she had the black cat's help, she'd eventually make it big as long as she continued step by step.
Besides, she was so beautiful. It would be unreasonable if she didn't become popular, right?
Lin Jin thought about it for a bit and felt that her mini skirt could also work as the dance outfit. But it was too easy to flash people when dancing, so she decided to buy a pair of safety pants, the source of all evil.
Without any hesitation, Lin Jin placed an order on a shopping site for a pair of black safety shorts. Then, she stretched and stood up, planning to continue practicing dance when she heard the doorbell.
If nothing unexpected happens, it should be Teacher Lin, right?
When she left Teacher Lin's place yesterday, Lin Jin had given her her new address. So now, besides the two shut ins Wu Min and Wen Xuan, the only other person to ring the doorbell would probably be Teacher Lin.
Walking to the door and opening it, she saw Teacher Lin standing there with a smile.
"You finished the dance?"
Lin Jin wasn't very fond of seeing Teacher Lin, this person was just too annoying. But Lin Jin had no other choice and needed her help.
"Not yet. Just came over to hang out. I have no classes this afternoon." Teacher Lin walked straight in, kicked off her sneakers, and walked barefoot into the apartment while complaining nonstop, "Lin Jin, why do you have nothing at your place, where’s the TV? What about AC? It's so hot and you don't even have an AC?"
"There's one in the bedroom." Lin Jin walked before the couch, picked up an apple from the small table beside it, and handed it to Teacher Lin. "Here, have some fruit."
"Not bad, there’s progress. You even have fruit for the guests now." Teacher Lin happily took the apple, rubbed it with her palm, then turned her head and asked, "Do you have a peeler? I don't eat fruit with the skin on."
"Why do you have so many demands?" Lin Jin pouted, grabbed a paring knife from the small table, and handed it to her, then sat back on the couch without much interest.
The fruits and peeler were things her mom had left for Lin Jin. Otherwise, Lin Jin definitely wouldn’t have fruits at home. When she wanted to eat fruits, she could just directly buy the pre-cut fruit at school. Although it was a bit more expensive, there were more varieties and not needing to peel it was convenient.
Teacher Lin sat next to Lin Jin. While peeling her apple, she had her head lowered as she said to Lin Jin: " I did some research for you on anime dances last night. I think your first dance could be a bit more provocative."
"What?"
"Pomp and Circumstance, how’s that?"
Although Lin Jin couldn't see her expression because she was looking down, she was sure Teacher Lin had a mischievous smile on her face.
"Pomp and Circumstance is too old, isn't it?" Lin Jin frowned and rejected it from a different point of view. "Too old songs won't work, right? Besides, haven’t a lot of people already danced to the song?"
"But this song is timeless. Same with a few Hatsune Miku songs, there’ll always be people covering them." Teacher Lin clearly did her homework. She tossed the paring knife onto the small table, took a bite of the apple, and continued, "Actually, with your voice, doing covers isn’t bad either."
"Let’s forget about doing covers." Lin Jin shrugged. With her basic vocal mastery, she was afraid of being beaten to death if she did a cover. But dancing was fine. Although her dance skills were just beginners, there was less competition. Plus, with the choreography of Teacher Lin, a professional dance teacher, it should be a bit better than most of those popular dance videos.
"If you sang like you did at that Chinese New Year's Eve party, people would believe you if you said you were a superstar" Teacher Lin recalled Lin Jin's previous performance with a satisfied expression on her face. "You were really incredible then, definitely on the level of a superstar. Too bad it was just that one time."
Well, when put that way, if the black cat gave her a few more master pills and then she covered a couple of songs, would she get famous quickly?
Lin Jin always felt she sang really well that time, but she didn’t have a clear idea of how well it was. She only knew her performance was well received by the original singer.
Lin Jin lowered her head and started to wonder if she should negotiate with the black cat. Ask it for two more master pills? That way, it should be pretty easy to get popular.
"So, it's just Pomp and Circumstance right?" Teacher Lin tilted her head, looking at Lin Jin who was in thought. She thought Lin Jin was considering whether to dance to Pomp and Circumstance or not. So without waiting for Lin Jin to finish her thoughts, she slapped Lin Jin's shoulder and said with a laugh, "Then it's settled! I'll try my best to finish the choreography by Friday. It won't be too hard, at most it’ll just be a bit embarrassing!"
Lin Jin, who was deep in thought, shuddered all over and looked up. She vigorously shook her head, refusing: "No! You can make it as difficult as possible! Anyways, I don't want those really embarrassing stuff!"
"Huh? You're already a girl anyway, what's wrong with doing some sexy dances?" Teacher Lin laughed, "It’s not like I never did those kinds of dances back when I was learning. And think about it, Swan Lake is quite revealing throughout the entire thing! You must know that that's a world classic!"
"No matter what you say, I won't agree. Pick another one." Lin Jin frowned and shook her head.
"How about Koshitantan?"
"Or Yoshiwara Lament? Wholeheartedly?"
Even though she hadn’t heard of the last few songs, their titles alone felt quite improper.
Translator’s Note: These are the songs. They were a pain to track down :( especially with koshitantan by chance being a part of the lyrics for the deer anime op.Pomp and Circumstance / Ifuudoudou / 威风堂堂, Waiting for a Chance to Pounce / Koshitantan / 虎視眈眈 / 虎視眈, Yoshiwara Lament / 吉原哀歌Wholeheartedly / Isshinfuran / 一心不乱