All the performers gathered again in the grand auditorium, but this time, they weren’t on stage. Instead, they were seated in the audience.
The performances were selected for first, second, and third-place prizes. There was also a host of other awards: Best Creativity, Best Collaboration, Best Theme, Best Professionalism, Advanced Collective, Outstanding Collective, and so on. In short, no team was left out, and Xia Zhaoyun’s group, in particular, swept several awards at once.
Each award came with different amounts of prize money and gifts. The girls from the three groups had a bountiful harvest. What made them even happier was that after the ceremony, they received recruitment offers from many organizations.
Water flows downward, and people strive upward. Although they had brought immense glory to the factory, the factory leaders weren’t so rigid as to hold them back.
After all, there was a spot for every person. Once they left, their positions would open up for other girls who needed them more.
So, they all consulted Xia Zhaoyun for her opinion, carefully considering and deciding on their future paths. Meanwhile, Xia Zhaoyun herself received a sincere invitation from the director of the Central Political Department’s personnel office, and the terms offered were incredibly generous!
Their family of four could finally be reunited in the city. The first thing Xia Zhaoyun did was write a letter to Teacher Gao and his wife to share the good news, enclosing a photo of her family.
Xia Zhaoyun mused, ’The darkness will eventually pass. When that time comes, I can use technology to verify if there’s a blood relationship between us. Until then, we’ll keep in touch, and I’ll occasionally send things to make life a little easier for the old couple.’
The situation in the Capital City was still uncertain. Life was a bit harder for the old couple in the countryside, but at least their lives were not in danger.
The work at the Central Political Department was quite demanding. As soon as she arrived, she was appointed as a choreography instructor and would also occasionally serve as the lead dancer, allowing her to fully display her talents and venture further and further down the path of her dreams.
Huo Tianhao and the children were very supportive of her work.
Xia Zhaoyun planned, ’I’ll work hard for a few more years while I’m still young. When the children are older and I’ve reached an age where I can take a backseat, I’ll have a couple more kids with Huo Tianhao to make our home even livelier...’
Sister Yun opened her eyes in the nutrition pod, feeling the usual disorientation. A lifetime was so long, yet extraordinarily short, like a beautiful dream. Now that she was awake, all that remained was a lingering, heart-deep longing.
She pressed her lips together, quietly waiting until she had processed all her emotions. After only a second’s hesitation, she pressed a button, allowing a faint, numbing current to strip away everything that belonged to Xia Zhaoyun, bit by bit.
Sister Yun only ever lived in the present. She never spoke of the future, nor did she dwell on the past.


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