Yan Yuanchao was once the pillar of the dance team in the military district's art troupe. Having grown up in a provincial dance school with his mother, he had solid foundational skills, a strong sense of rhythm, and was proficient in both ballet and folk dance.

However, he remained single and without a partner until he left the military district's art troupe. This was quite an unusual situation in the troupe after ten years of service.

Male and female comrades were puzzled by this, and the leaders of the art troupe asked him with concern why that was the case. Yan Yuanchao just smiled and avoided answering, which was also a source of great anxiety for his mother.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the various military district art troupes were referred to as Comrade Art Troupe, Battle Flag Art Troupe, Combat Art Troupe, Frontline Art Troupe, Victory Art Troupe, etc.

Like the art troupes of the Beijing military headquarters, each military district's art troupe was further divided into drama troupes and song and dance troupes. The song and dance troupes were further divided into dance teams, quyi teams, singing teams, and orchestras.

When Yan Yuanchao joined the military district's art troupe, the environment was similar to that of the provincial dance school, surrounded by beautiful girls, especially the young women in military uniforms, all of whom were outstanding and lovely.

Yan Yuanchao was only fourteen when he enlisted and was in the trainee team. Due to his tall stature and solid dance foundation, he graduated from the trainee team ahead of schedule the following year and officially joined the dance team to perform on stage.

Having grown up in a provincial dance school, he was accustomed to seeing male and female comrades dating during rehearsals and performances. He was also indifferent to the jokes made by comrades who were older than him.

At the age of eighteen, the troupe restaged the ballet "The Red Detachment of Women." During one performance, he had the chance to replace the sick lead role, originally played by Hong Changqing, and became famous overnight, officially taking over the role of the male lead in the dance team.

He instantly transformed from a little boy in the eyes of the female comrades in the troupe to a young man, and during practice, they would actively seek him out for practice or ask for his guidance.

In the spacious dance rehearsal room, with large mirrors on the walls and ballet bars surrounding the room, whenever Yan Yuanchao practiced, everyone would come over to practice along with him.

Yan Yuanchao's ballet foundation was taught by his mother from a young age, and it was very standard and solid. He also generously shared his knowledge with his comrades.

As a professional dancer, he viewed relationships between men and women very lightly, as dance was his true love.

Yan Yuanchao had a gentle personality and a kind heart. He spoke at a moderate pace and was never impatient.

Many female comrades liked him, especially the few girls from the dance team who had come up with him from the trainee team. They spent every day together, and more than one had confessed her feelings to him.

He interacted with these girls like an older brother, friendly but not intimate, which was his own bottom line.

Before and after enlisting, he had heard and witnessed many love stories among the young people around him, and the joys and sorrows made him feel that he was not yet ready to bear them, as he was still young and not at the stage of considering personal issues.

In fact, Yan Yuanchao had a little secret; he still had a girl in his heart.

In 1959, when he was just five years old, his mother took him to Beijing for a trip. In fact, his mother was on a work trip with colleagues from the school to observe teaching at the Beijing Dance School. Since she had just lost her husband and was single, she felt more at ease bringing Yan Yuanchao along.

They stayed at the guesthouse of the dance school in Beijing, and during those days, he met a little girl who was one or two years older than him in the schoolyard.

The little girl was named Sasha, spoke Mandarin with a pleasant Beijing accent, but looked quite unique, with naturally curly yellow hair and big blue eyes. She wore a dress and had a pretty hairpin.

Sasha was also very fond of Yan Yuanchao, often holding his little hand to play in the school garden.

They would play house, pretend to be doctors treating him, and teach him how to play new games...

His mother told him that this girl’s father was a Soviet, a ballet teacher at the dance school, and her mother was a piano teacher who had returned from studying in the Soviet Union.

In addition to observing the activities, his mother took Yan Yuanchao to Tiananmen Square, Beihai Park, and even took him to the New China Photo Studio on Wangfujing Street to take a couple of photos.

When the photographer took his picture, he praised Yan Yuanchao's big eyes as particularly beautiful. Yan Yuanchao loved to show off since he was little, and hearing compliments made him particularly spirited during the photo session.

Before leaving Beijing, his mother was particularly happy when she picked up the photos, saying, "Our Yuanchao's color photo has been displayed in the window of the New China Photo Studio."

His mother even had a few copies printed and enlarged.

Yuanchao asked his mother for one of the small photos of himself, and when she asked what it was for, he said, "I want to give one to Sasha!"

His mother readily agreed.

On the evening before leaving Beijing, Yan Yuanchao saw Sasha by the fountain in the school garden. At that time, Sasha's father, mother, and Yan Yuanchao's mother and colleagues were nearby saying goodbye. Yan Yuanchao ran over to Sasha and handed her his photo.

Sasha took the photo, nodded, and affectionately patted his head, saying, "Next time you come to Beijing, don't leave."

Finally, she made a move that surprised Yan Yuanchao and the adults present.

She suddenly hugged Yan Yuanchao and kissed him on the cheek.

Yan Yuanchao was stunned, and seeing this scene, the adults nearby all laughed and even clapped their hands.

The next day, when he boarded the train at Beijing Station, Yan Yuanchao cried like a baby because he wanted to play with Sasha.

In the first few years after leaving Beijing, at the provincial dance school, Yuanchao always asked those who went on business trips to Beijing or came from Beijing if they knew a girl named Sasha, the daughter of a teacher at the Beijing Dance School.

One day, his mother told him that she had heard from others that Sasha and her father had returned to their home country, and her mother did not go but was no longer working at the school. This was during a time when relations between China and the Soviet Union were beginning to become tense.

Although he never heard from Sasha again after that, her image and the words "Next time you come to Beijing, don't leave" were forever etched in Yan Yuanchao's heart.

When Yan Yuanchao left the art troupe at the age of 24, he still had not found a partner, which worried his mother greatly, leading her to speculate wildly, even thinking of the mixed-race girl Sasha from the Beijing Dance School.