Chapter 291: Talent Show

Chapter 291 Performance Showcase

"The New Year's Eve performance has never been related to us in previous years. Our clinic doesn't have any performers."

Li Zhen had no talent herself.

Yang Juan and Head Zhao were hopeless cases.

They couldn't carry a tune to save their lives, let alone dance or do anything else.

"Oh, I see," Ye Xiaoxiao mused.

Seeing Ye Xiaoxiao’s reaction, Li Zhen asked, "What's up, Xiao Xiao? Do you want to perform too? Honestly, all you get is some applause—there’s no prize money or anything."

Of course, Ye Xiaoxiao didn’t lack that little bit of money.

That made it even less worth doing.

Ye Xiaoxiao smiled gently.

"I wasn’t thinking of performing on stage. I was just curious about who else would participate."

"Definitely the young folks. The teachers and kids from the nursery will perform too. As for the military, we don’t have any entertainment corps here, but getting those guys to do a group sing-along is still possible."

Though there weren’t many fancy acts,

with things being what they are, entertainment options were already scarce. Even something as simple as singing a song or reciting a poem made for a nice little show.

As for Ye Xiaoxiao, even if she wanted to perform, there weren’t any instruments here.

She'd just have to watch like everyone else.

In the evening, dinner was served in the cafeteria.

Everyone ate first, and after the meal, they worked together to move the tables and chairs to the sides, turning the center into a small performance space.

No one was forced to stay and watch, but no one wanted to leave either.

So the spacious cafeteria became jam-packed.

Those who couldn’t find seats stood—they were all just there to enjoy themselves anyway.

Ye Xiaoxiao had been sitting with Li Zhen, but soon Li Zhen wandered off.

When Ye Xiaoxiao turned around, the person beside her had become Lu Hanchuan.

Since this wasn’t a formal meeting, Lu Hanchuan didn’t need to wear his military uniform the whole time.

He was wearing a black puffer jacket, toning down his military look.

But that was only relatively speaking—the moment Lu Hanchuan sat down, people had already started stealing looks.

Ye Xiaoxiao was holding a bag of candy in her arms.

Because Li Zhen had mentioned that the nursery children would also perform, she planned to pass out the candy to them after the show.

She expected to wait longer, but to her surprise, the third performance was the children’s dance.

These children were all under ten years old, each like little radishes, skipping around cutely.

When it was over, Ye Xiaoxiao waved to them, and the children lined up to receive candy.

Normally, these children adored Ye Xiaoxiao, but today they acted a little skittish when approaching her.

At first, Ye Xiaoxiao thought they were just shy, until she happened to glance back at Lu Hanchuan.

"..."

The reason the children snatched their candy and scurried away, looking frightened, was because of Lu Hanchuan.

Ye Xiaoxiao smiled and leaned closer to Lu Hanchuan, whispering something in his ear.

Lu Hanchuan didn’t respond, but he lowered his head and gave her a doting look.

Their interaction was perfectly normal.

But to some onlookers, it seemed like intentional PDA.

Take Jiang Leyin, for example. This was her last New Year's at the base.

She had hoped to leave on a happy note, but the sight before her was too hard to watch.

Jiang Leyin took a deep breath. She was here to perform today and also to announce that she's leaving.

After living here for so many years, even if recent times hadn’t been pleasant, she had genuinely cared for many people here and wanted a proper goodbye.

Ye Xiaoxiao’s happy smile had almost got to her earlier.

When it was Jiang Leyin’s turn to perform, she sang a song.

A military song.

When men sang it, it was filled with heroic passion; when women sang it, it became soft and flowing.

Jiang Leyin sang the whole song, earning hearty applause.

After finishing, she didn’t leave the stage immediately but bowed deeply to everyone.

"Thanks for coming out today. Besides performing today, I also have something to share.

After the New Year, I’ll be leaving this place. During my years working at the base, I appreciated everyone’s support. Thank you—I’ll always cherish the wonderful memories from the Nalan Base."

Most people had no idea Jiang Leyin was leaving.

The sudden announcement left many at the base sad to see her go.

Even though the recent spy incident had really hurt her standing, when saying goodbye, everything else seemed trivial.

Over the years, Jiang Leyin had helped many at the base.

It was natural for others to care about her.

"Dr. Jiang, where are you headed? We’ll miss you."

"Dr. Jiang, please don’t go."

Ye Xiaoxiao looked at Lu Hanchuan, surprised. "Jiang Leyin got transferred—was it because of what happened?"

Lu Hanchuan: "Nalan Base needs to be completely secure. The recent spy incident has drawn attention from higher-ups. They'll probably send more armed police troops soon."

After all, Lu Hanchuan and his team were here on other business.

Once their tasks were completed and Lu Hanchuan left, they'd have to tighten security even more.

Ye Xiaoxiao couldn't care less where Jiang Leyin was going.

The other woman's sappy act was kinda cringey.

So Ye Xiaoxiao said to Lu Hanchuan,

"I want to go outside and light some fireworks."

There wasn't much else to do here anyway.

The candies had been handed out, and the show's pretty much done.

Without proper sound equipment or microphones, Ye Xiaoxiao felt these shows were worse than a high school talent show.

Only the good vibes were special.

Now that the mood was killed, she just wanted to leave.

Lu Hanchuan stood up and took Ye Xiaoxiao's hand. "Let's go. Grab your hat and gloves—it's freezing out."

Just as they stood up, Jiang Leyin stopped them.

Ye Xiaoxiao figured she'd heard wrong.

Jiang Leyin's departure had nothing to do with her.

But then she heard Jiang Leyin first thank Lu Hanchuan, for his care.

Ye Xiaoxiao looked up at Lu Hanchuan, giving him the side-eye.

"What kind of 'care' are we talking about?"

Lu Hanchuan: "..."

She's just making small talk.

He had always just been doing his job—aside from Xiao Xiao, no one else got his special attention.

It's not like he was bored.

After thanking Lu Hanchuan, Jiang Leyin turned to Ye Xiaoxiao.

"Word is Dr. Ye's got many talents. I wonder if Dr. Ye could sing a song to send me off?"

Ye Xiaoxiao almost blurted out, "The audacity."

"Just go already—who said I'd sing for you?"

But she quickly understood Jiang Leyin's intention.

The other woman had had everyone crying with that army song.

This was clearly throwing down the gauntlet.

Lu Hanchuan caught the shade and was about to speak.

But Ye Xiaoxiao yanked her hand back and flashed a sweet smile at Jiang Leyin.

"Of course. I'll sing 'Farewell to You' for Dr. Jiang, wishing you safe travels and all the best," she added pointedly.