"What are we going to do?" Jiang Hai leaned against his car, gazing up at the sky, helplessness creeping into his voice.
Though he and Bernice had been joking around earlier, the reality was that they still had to figure out the show. Unlike Jiang Hai, Bernice was quite thoughtful.
Since she had agreed to perform on stage, she was determined to do it.
But considering Cindy Clive wouldn't include her in the program, Bernice had to come up with other plans.
She thought it would be best to sing and dance on stage. After finishing their coffee, she said she wanted to check out the video store.
Jiang Hai had no clue about places like that and initially just wanted to head home.
Bernice said that was fine — she'd pick them up in the evening. Since going back and forth would take an hour, Jiang Hai wouldn't get much rest, so he didn't plan to return now. Still, accompanying Bernice to the video store sounded a bit boring.
"What should I do? What kind of show can I put on? Maybe a crosstalk?" Jiang Hai muttered softly, still leaning against the car and watching the clouds drift by.
"Hey! What are you doing here?" Suddenly, a surprised voice called out beside him. Jiang Hai turned to see none other than Delia George.
At the sight of her, Jiang Hai instinctively wanted to run, but he couldn't.
Last time, things hadn't gone so well between them in the bathroom of Hodge-Selsey's house.
Back then, he'd been hot-headed and said something about integrating into American life — but that didn't mean he could just throw away his principles.
If it were just Kelly Soren, Jiang Hai might have been less worried, but Delia had a boyfriend. While Jiang Hai wasn't a bad guy, he wasn't a jerk either. Seeing Delia now, he felt a bit guilty toward Bavetta Jean-Dro — she didn't seem to hold any deep grudges against him.
Since then, Delia had messaged him a few times, but Jiang Hai only replied at first, telling her it wasn't a good idea for them to keep in contact. Delia seemed to respect that and stopped reaching out.
And yet, here they were running into each other again. Winthrop really wasn't that big.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Jiang Hai smiled and asked, since he couldn't just turn and leave.
"I came into town to buy some things. Christmas is coming, you know? I need to decorate." Delia smiled and lifted a pouch she was holding. Jiang Hai glanced over.
She was buying Christmas ornaments. In the U.S., Christmas was a major event — if a family could afford it, they would definitely set up a Christmas tree, usually a real one. Since soil erosion wasn't serious in most places, the forests were abundant. People didn't hesitate to cut a small evergreen tree — fir, cypress, or pine — shaped like a pagoda, to decorate for the holiday.
What hung on the tree could be unusual too — food, candies, carvings symbolizing America, and small toys. Jiang Hai had seen many vendors selling these in town.
"Oh, by the way, are you going to the Christmas dinner too?" Jiang Hai asked.
"Of course! Some girls from the horse farm are putting on a show — a horse dance, which actually comes from the East. My dad just killed the horse!" Delia laughed at the mention of the dinner.
"Yes, I saw it when I first met Old George. If your boyfriend dares to treat you badly, your dad will kill him," Jiang Hai joked. "But I signed up to perform too, though I have no idea what I'll do. Look at me — do I have any talents or advantages?" He asked desperately.
"Your advantages? You're young, rich, good-looking, and have a great personality," Delia said, teasing. But the more she talked, the more Jiang Hai's head throbbed. That wasn't exactly helpful.
"Say something I can perform on stage — something realistic," Jiang Hai said seriously.
"You could perform your basketball skills!" Delia suggested after thinking a moment.
"Basketball skills?" Jiang Hai scratched his head. His current basketball ability was almost like something out of a fantasy novel. There was an anime from the island country called Kuroko's Basketball, and he'd heard some of the fan fiction in China was pretty wild.
Those were all nonsense, but his actual skills had a bit of that unreal quality.
For example, he could shoot a three-pointer from anywhere on the court with ease.
His defense within the three-point line was absolute — his speed was even faster than the ball itself. Even if multiple opponents attacked him, he was invincible defending inside that line.
And then there was his intimidation factor — when he unleashed the "dragon's power" inside him, it was actually a kind of spiritual aura that could unnerve opponents.
He could also fake out defenders, causing them to fall, then score easily.
He could even dunk from the three-point line, performing 720-degree spins, windmill dunks, or between-the-legs dunks without breaking a sweat.
Basketball had been a pastime for Jiang Hai last year, but now he wasn't planning to rely on it.
If it weren't for those two basketball experiences, he might have already passed the elite level and not be struggling so much now.
"Anything besides basketball?" Jiang Hai scratched his head again. He really didn't want to use basketball for the show, even if it would impress the crowd.
"How about kung fu?" Delia frowned, unsure what else to suggest. Besides knowing Jiang Hai was good at basketball, she didn't know what other skills he had. Then she remembered the rumor that people from the Far East all knew kung fu.
Since Jiang Hai was from China, maybe kung fu could catch some eyes.
"Kung fu?" Jiang Hai frowned, considering. Actually, he did know some.
Besides the fighting techniques Bell had taught him, Jiang Hai had picked up some martial arts by watching Bernice fight. Though he hadn't studied seriously, with his current memory, he could probably remember all of it if he focused.
Besides, Azarina seemed to know some kung fu too, so he could just play a few routines for show — enough to bluff the audience.
"I hadn't thought of that. Thanks! That's a great idea." Jiang Hai clapped his hands and smiled at Delia, who returned the smile, surprised he actually knew kung fu.
"Hey, Delia!" Just as she was about to say more, a man stepped out of a parked Chevrolet and called her loudly. Jiang Hai recognized him — Bavetta Jean-Dro.
Since Jiang Hai had cheated a bit last time, he greeted Bavetta with a wave and a nod.
Bavetta didn't know about the cheating. He just saw Delia talking too much with Jiang Hai and called her over. But when he saw Jiang Hai, he was stunned for a moment.
He nodded stiffly to Jiang Hai, and Delia stuck her tongue out at Jiang Hai.
Though something improper had happened between her and Jiang Hai, he had made it clear he wouldn't continue. Since he was unreliable, Delia had to rely on her boyfriend.
She smiled mischievously at Jiang Hai, then turned and ran to the car. After whispering to Bavetta, she waved goodbye to Jiang Hai and went back to decorate her home.
Once she left, Jiang Hai wanted to go home immediately.
At last, he had an idea for his performance.
He really wanted to go back and practice, but as soon as he got in the car, he remembered Bernice, Xiaoya, Darlene, and Marianne were waiting for a ride. He sighed and sat there until noon, when Bernice returned with a stack of DVDs.
She planned to sing and dance if she couldn't perform otherwise. She wanted to be the star.
Jiang Hai just shrugged and let her have her way. Then they went to lunch together. Darlene and the others went with Cindy Clive and didn't return until about four in the afternoon.
Fortunately, the DVDs Bernice bought were mostly music videos of singing and dancing. Jiang Hai spent the afternoon watching them with her. The songs were all in English, though some singers were European or American, while others were Asian.
Jiang Hai had always had some prejudice against South Korea before, noting many girl groups released English versions.
He admitted those groups were persistent — money must have been tight at home, so they came to the U.S. to make it.
But realistically, only a few South Koreans were developing in the U.S., mostly acting in TV dramas or movies. Only Psy remained as a singer, though Jiang Hai heard he was nearing bankruptcy.
Groups like Gay Dog and the Thigh Era had basically failed.
Honestly, Jiang Hai thought the only way to succeed was to go to China. Though he didn't want to admit it, China was where the money was. As long as performers were beautiful and danced sexily, there would always be an audience willing to pay.
Despite himself, Jiang Hai had to admit there were many fans in China.
Back to the main point: when Xiaoya and the others returned, the three girls were excited. It was their first time performing a stage play. They had already found actors for the snowman, the reindeer, the snow giant, and more.
With roles assigned, they planned to rehearse lines starting tomorrow. From now on, they would be very busy.
Jiang Hai drove home and discussed the plans with everyone.
He wanted to learn martial arts from Azarina to perform on stage. To his surprise, Azarina only knew how to kill, not martial arts... Luckily, Bernice came to the rescue. When she heard Jiang Hai wanted to show off on stage, she offered to teach him a boxing routine she knew.
Bernice was still picking songs, and the three girls were heading into town but had no driver. Azarina volunteered to protect them and be their driver, which made Jiang Hai feel more at ease.
The next morning, after Jiang Hai finished feeding Xiao Xia, only one of the five women in the house remained.
"Come on, get ready. It's time to start training." Bernice, wearing headphones and listening to music, looked at Jiang Hai seriously.
"Anytime." Jiang Hai smiled back and took his starting stance, meeting her gaze.
"Not bad. Let's begin. The first move is the dragon coiling tiger distance!" Bernice said, surprised and amused to see Jiang Hai's boxing stance was exactly like hers. It seemed he had learned a lot from her before.
But even if it was stealing, she didn't mind. Now she wanted to see how much Jiang Hai could pick up!
(To be continued.)