On the twentieth day of Lin Bei’s stay at Emerald Bay, he finally met the legendary Aunt Li.

That afternoon, she went downstairs to pick up a package. Su Chen wasn’t home, so she stepped out in her slippers, swaying as she walked.

The parcel locker was right next to the community square. After collecting her package, Lin Bei was about to head back when suddenly he heard deafening music.

“Vast and boundless is my love…”

He turned around and saw more than twenty middle-aged women standing in the square, all wearing red T-shirts and rehearsing a square dance. Leading the group was a woman in her fifties—slightly plump but with crisp, precise movements; clearly a seasoned dancer.

Lin Bei had intended to take another route, but the box in his hand suddenly split open, spilling its contents all over the ground.

It was a box of imported snacks that Su Chen had bought—various shapes of cookies, chocolates, and nuts, scattered everywhere.

The music was so loud, and the ladies were so engrossed in their dance, that no one even noticed anything on the floor.

A pair of red dance shoes stepped right onto a packet of chocolate.

“Ah!”

The lead dancer looked down and realized she’d crushed a pack of Belgian-imported chocolate. She quickly stopped, bent down, and picked up the pitiful remains.

“Oh dear, young lady, I’m so sorry! Is this yours?”

Lin Bei stared at the chocolate reduced to powder, his heart aching. This was Su Chen’s favorite brand—each pack cost over eighty yuan.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, Auntie. Please go on,” he forced a smile and began picking up the snacks from the ground.

The lead dancer squatted down to help him. As they picked up the snacks, she kept muttering, “This chocolate isn’t cheap, is it? I’ll make it up to you—I’ll make it up to you.”

“No, really, Auntie, it’s fine,” Lin Bei insisted.

“No, no, no! I stepped on it and ruined it—I have to make it up!” Aunt Li reached into her pocket, pulled out a hundred yuan, and pressed it into Lin Bei’s hand. “Take it!”

Lin Bei couldn’t refuse, so he reluctantly accepted it. But he still felt bad—after all, it wasn’t intentional.

“Auntie, your dancing is really great. Are you the leader?”

“Of course I am!” Aunt Li’s eyes lit up at the question. “I’m the captain of our Emerald Bay Square Dance Team. My surname’s Li—just call me Aunt Li. Which building are you from?”

“Building 8.”

“Building 8? Isn’t that the building where that kid Su Chen lives? What are you to him?”

“I’m his tenant.”

“Tenant?” Aunt Li sized Lin Bei up and down, then gave him a knowing smile. “Oh—so you’re a tenant. That kid never rents to outsiders; how come he suddenly rented to you?”

Lin Bei sensed there was more to those words, but he didn’t dwell on it.

“Maybe he felt sorry for me.”

“Sorry for you?” Aunt Li laughed. “That kid’s got a hard heart—he’s never sorry for anyone. You must have something special about you.”

Lin Bei didn’t know how to respond, so he quickly changed the subject: “Auntie, your dancing is really good, but the music is a bit too loud.”

“Too loud? We’ve always kept it at this volume,” Aunt Li said, pointing to the speakers in the distance. “The property management complained last month, but we only dance during the day, so we don’t disturb anyone.”

“I’m not saying it disturbs anyone,” Lin Bei thought for a moment. “I’m just wondering if you’ve ever considered switching to different music. This kind… the rhythm is too strong; it’s easy to get tired listening to it.”

Aunt Li paused for a moment. “Switch to what kind of music?”

Lin Bei pulled out his phone and scrolled through his playlist. “Auntie, have you ever heard ‘Blue and White Porcelain’? It’s slower, but perfect for square dancing—you can choreograph the moves to be more graceful.”

Aunt Li leaned in to listen, her eyes growing brighter and brighter.

“This is great! It sounds so pleasant! Young lady, can you choreograph dances?”

“I can’t, but I can help you find some ready-made tutorial videos online.”

Lin Bei searched “Blue and White Porcelain Square Dance” on Douyin and sure enough, there were several versions. He picked one with simple moves that suited middle-aged and elderly dancers and showed it to Aunt Li.

Aunt Li watched it three times, slapping her thigh in excitement: “This is it! You’re amazing, young lady! We’ve been dancing to ‘Vast and Boundless’ for three years already—we’re so tired of it now!”

She turned to the other ladies and shouted, “Ladies, come over! We’re switching to a new dance!”

A group of women gathered around in a flurry, chattering excitedly.

“This looks great! The moves are simple too!”

“The music is nice and not noisy.”

“If we dance to this, my husband won’t complain about the noise anymore.”

Lin Bei found himself surrounded, suddenly feeling a bit at a loss.

Aunt Li grabbed his hand. “Young lady, what’s your name?”

“Lin Bei.”

“Lin Bei, from today on, you’re our square dance team’s advisor!”

“Advisor?”

End of Chapter 21: I’m the Square Dance Advisor