Over the past thirty years, Zhang Mingyang still remembers the first time he saw Xu Duanran dance.

That day, the two mothers went shopping together and took their young son to pick up Xu Duanran from the dance class.

When they arrived, the eldest lady was still training inside, and he and two adults stood outside waiting for her to finish class.

A little boy of several years old is at his most naughty, but that day he was surprisingly quiet and stood at the door with his parents.

He still remembered that when he was bored, he was attracted by the little girl's dancing.

The girl's hair was tied back, revealing her smooth forehead. She was wearing a white dance costume, like a little angel who secretly came to the world.

When it comes to dancing, Xu Duanran is very talented and stands out among a group of stumbling little girls.

A child's memory is inherently inaccurate. Zhang Mingyang has forgotten many things. He can't remember where he went that day or what he ate, but he still remembers her dancing and it is firmly engraved in the deepest part of his heart.

Later I remembered that that was probably when he started to fall in love with this beautiful girl next door, and he continued to like her for many years.

When someone mentions to him that martial arts novels are nonsense, he will be the first to refute.

They said that children are so ugly. How could the hero and heroine fall in love at first sight when they meet as children and still remember it for so many years?

He said it was true because he had seen it before.

Under the moonlight, Xu Duanran danced gracefully, and familiar music came from the mobile phone placed on the ground.

Zhang Mingyang heard that this was the dance that the eldest lady danced at the New Year's Day party.

She once invited him to watch it, but he refused, but in the end she still sent him the video taken at the scene.

Although there is no gorgeous dress at the party, Xu Duanran is still beautiful in school uniform, and every move is just right.

She stood at the highest point of the school and danced alone for her beloved.

Her feet are her stage, and the gentle moonlight in the sky is her spotlight.

As the music came to an end, Xu Duanran also stopped. Her chest was rising and falling, and her eyes were shining.

"In this way, you have seen every dance of mine."

She had long wanted to find an opportunity to dance for him, and the stage in front of her was just right for her.

The dance in the video feels different from the dance in person.

Until the music ended, Zhang Mingyang was still dazed.

For some reason, he suddenly remembered the conversation between him and Yang Tianyi in the car that night when he saw the video.

…

"Boss, that song just now was pretty good, why don't you stop playing it?"

"Just listen to a good song once. It's easy to get stuck if you listen to it too much."

…

Yes, if you listen to a good song often, you will easily fall into it.

When the previous piece of music ends, the phone placed on the ground will automatically play the next piece.

This is pure music, and it is also a song that Zhang Mingyang is familiar with. For a period of time, he had to listen to it every day, and was forced to listen to it. He felt like vomiting when he heard it.

"One Step Away", an interlude from the movie "Scent of a Woman", is also a tango dance song.

At the New Year's Day party in my sophomore year of high school, every class had to put on a show. I don't know what their class teacher was thinking at the time, but he found such a song and asked the whole class to dance.

The dance of this piece requires the cooperation of men and women, but they are in a science class and there are only a few girls in total. Some even require male-male teams.

Xu Duanran has been dancing since elementary school, so the task of teaching everyone to dance naturally falls on her head.

Not only does she need to teach her classmates to dance, but she is also the lead dancer at the front. When other people dance, simply say that the lead dancer needs to restore all the dance moves.

Of course, the lead dancer also needs a partner.

In order to compete for this spot, Zhang Mingyang and Brother Ji had a "friendly" exchange with all the boys in the class.

This also indirectly caused him to have a bad relationship with the male classmates in his class. During the holidays, no one even invited him to attend the class reunion.

The male classmates in the class may have also fantasized about becoming the dance partner of the goddess, but in the end they were afraid of this "madman" and Zhang Mingyang successfully became Xu Duanran's dance partner.

During that time, he was very happy every day, and the thing he looked forward to most was Xu Duanran teaching him to dance.

With the eldest lady constantly trying to make a fuss, "One Step Away" became the first and only dance he learned.

The music played and countless memories came to mind.

After Xu Duanran left, he didn't even dare to listen to this song for a long time.

He still remembered that someone told him that the reason why this piece of music was called "One Step Away" was because the piano and violin in the piece were always one beat apart.

Zhang Mingyang is not a music student, so he doesn't understand what this means, and he can't hear it.

But he understands the last sentence, because that's who he used to be.

"I will always stand one step away, waiting for her favor."

"There are no wrong steps in tango, unlike in life."

When he was stunned, Xu Duanran walked up to him, put her hand on his shoulder, and held his hand with the other hand.

"Do you remember how to dance?"

The winter night was cold and windy, and even though she had just finished dancing, the eldest lady's hands were still cold.

Zhang Mingyang followed her steps little by little, as if he was back in high school training again.

"Do you still remember that after the New Year's Day party performance, our class became several couples?"

During the tango dance, the man and woman were very close together, and Xu Duanran whispered in his ear.

"Who told her to choose such a trendy program to create opportunities for puppy love?"

"The head teacher was later scolded by the principal."

"No wonder we danced so well, but in the end we only won third prize."

"The first prize is the secretary's class. Today is a good day."

In the tense high school campus, a tango dance is against etiquette, but it is also a beautiful memory for these students.

"Then do you know why so many people wanted to be my dance partner, but in the end only you succeeded?" Xu Duanran continued to ask.

"Why else? Of course I defeated all the boys in the class and made them quit on their own initiative." Zhang Mingyang said helplessly. This is what only teenagers can do.

"Actually, even if you do nothing, I will definitely choose you as my dance partner."

The music was intense, Zhang Mingyang pushed Xu Duanran out and then took it back.

When the two got close again, she continued: "I told the teacher that we grew up together and I'm not used to others being my dance partners. If it wasn't you, I would go on strike."

"Really? How do I remember that what you told me at that time was that you had to make sacrifices for the sake of the class, so you reluctantly became my dance partner." Zhang Mingyang retorted.

After hearing what he said, although Xu Duanran had a smile on his face, the corners of his mouth were full of bitterness.

Why couldn't she take that bold step?

Tell him loudly that I only want you to be my dance partner. I only want you and no one else can.

"I remember I told you the reason why this song is called "One Step Away", do you still remember?" Xu Duanran asked.

"Because the piano and violin in the song are always one beat apart?"

Only then did he finally remember that this was what the eldest lady told him.

Xu Duanran nodded and continued to ask: "Then tell me, are we always just one step away?"

Once upon a time, there was only one step between Zhang Mingyang and her, and what stood between her was her timidity and cowardice.

Now, she took a step forward, but there was still a step away from Zhang Mingyang. There was a person in the middle, that person's name was Xia Xingruo.

Just like the piano and violin in the song, they are always one beat apart.

The music was coming to an end until the next piece of music was played, but Xu Duanran still had no intention of letting go.

Zhang Mingyang stopped on his own initiative. He picked up Xu Duanran's school uniform tied around her waist, and patiently helped her put it on and tidy up her clothes.

He spoke slowly, his voice was very low, but his tone was extraordinarily gentle: "We don't miss a step, because we are brother and sister, childhood sweethearts who grew up together, and are each other's best friends in the world."

Gentle rejection is often more lethal. They can be in any relationship, but they are not lovers.

Xu Duanran finally understood that the difference between her and Zhang Mingyang was no longer just one step, but thousands of miles away.

The moment the two separated, there was applause from behind.

"Sister, brother-in-law, you dance so well, just like on TV!"

Zhang Mingyang's voice was very low, and there was music playing, so Xu Linyou didn't know what the two of them said just now.

She just felt that her sister and brother-in-law were a perfect match, and there was no one in the world who was a better match for them.

Zhang Mingyang stepped back and turned around, took Xu Linyou's hand and said, "It looks good. Let your sister teach you when you grow up."

"Okay! When I learn how to dance, I will dance with my brother-in-law!" Xu Linyou said excitedly.

Zhang Mingyang scratched the little girl's nose and replied with a smile: "That won't work. When you learn how to do it later, you have to dance with the boy you like."
To be continued...