Amateur talent show? Top mentors are my students.

When He Xu pushed open the door to the director's office, the room was filled with the smell of instant coffee mixed with the smell of people working overtime late into the night.

The director was sitting behind his desk with a pile of documents in front of him, engrossed in writing something, when he heard the door open and looked up.

"He Xu, please sit down."

He Xu didn't sit down, but leaned against the door frame: "What do you want? I've finished all my work, and I've submitted the choreography plan for the finals. You should have received it by now."

"Received, received—" The director put down his pen, rubbed his hands together, and put on a smile that He Xu had gradually become familiar with, a smile that said "I need your help." "Um, there's one more thing I'd like to discuss with you."

"You said the same thing last time, and then made me the stage director." He Xu said expressionlessly, "What is it this time? Did the sound team leave? Did the lighting team all resign? Or has the production team been sued by some copyright holder again?"

The director's smile froze on his face, his lips twitching slightly: "...Can't you just hope the production team does something good?"

"I call this being prepared." He Xu strolled in slowly, sat down in the chair opposite the director, crossed his legs, and said, "Speak, what is it? I'm listening."

The director rubbed his hands together: "Ms. Jin Xian's idea is this—on the night of the finals, in addition to the contestants' performances, we'd like to add a special segment. You, as a special guest mentor, will have your own personal showcase."

He Xu leaned back in his chair, put his legs down, and tilted his head forward slightly: "...A solo stage?"

"Yes, a solo stage." The director repeated, his tone slightly ingratiating. "Three minutes long, any format, singing or dancing is fine, feel free to improvise."

"Was it Jin Xian who suggested it?"

"It was Ms. Jin Xian who suggested it." The director nodded. "She said you are the biggest surprise of the show since it started, and the audience likes you too. Letting you go on stage on the final night is a treat for the audience."

He Xu paused for two seconds: "That's exactly what she said?"

The director opened his mouth, his expression subtly stiffening for a moment: "...The original words were, 'That kid He Xu owes me a favor, so let him go on stage and dance as a way of repaying the debt.'"

He Xu chuckled, a hint of knowing satisfaction in his voice: "Then what did you mean by 'giving the audience a treat'?"

"That's just embellishment, embellishment," the director said matter-of-factly. "The content is the same, just worded differently."

He Xu leaned back in his chair and tapped his fingers lightly twice on the armrest.

He wanted to say he wouldn't do it.

After withdrawing from the competition, he stayed behind the scenes, working as a stage director, dance instructor, and technical consultant, but never thought of standing on that stage again.

When he was a contestant, he stood on the stage, was followed by lights, had cameras zoomed in on his face, and had his name shouted by the audience.

The feeling wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either.

But it's different now.

The stage on the night of the finals is a place where those kids risked their lives to stand.

He's already withdrawn from the competition; he's no longer a player. What would it mean if he stood up again?

But Jin Xian asked him to repay the favor, and he couldn't refuse.

That person helped him resolve the issue with Qi Xunan's agent, without him having to utter a single extra word.

He Xu was silent for a few seconds, then spoke: "...Will you pay more?"

The director was stunned, as if he hadn't expected him to ask that question at the end.

He blinked, then nodded vigorously: "Add! Add! Of course! Teacher Jin Xian said that as long as you agree, we'll definitely add!"

He Xu was speechless: "...She certainly knows how to calculate. I owe her a favor once, and she immediately makes me perform on stage. The interest she charges is even more outrageous than loan sharks."

The director rubbed his hands together, smiling obsequiously: "Teacher Jin Xian said that we can't let your favor go to waste."

He Xu sat in the chair, his gaze fixed on the director's face, which seemed to say, "Please."

After a few seconds of silence, he leaned back in his chair and let out a very soft sigh that was somewhere between helplessness and resignation.

"……OK."

The director's eyes suddenly lit up: "You agreed?!"

"I agreed," He Xu said calmly, "but I have conditions."

The director's smile immediately faded, and he sat up straight: "Go on."

"First, I'm not singing." He Xu held up one finger. "You all know the state of my voice, so don't expect me to sing on stage. It's pure dance, three minutes long, with no vocal parts whatsoever."

The director opened his mouth, but seeing He Xu's uncompromising face, he swallowed his words and said, "...Okay."

"Secondly, I'll choreograph it myself. Don't send me any choreography team, and don't let Zheng Zaiyuan interfere." He Xu raised his second finger. "I'll choreograph it myself, arrange it myself, and dance it myself. You just need to handle the copyright."

The director's lips twitched slightly: "...If you don't let Teacher Zheng see it, what if—"

"There's no 'what if'," He Xu interrupted him. "I've been dancing for ten years and choreographing for five. I know better than anyone what I can and cannot do on stage."

The director paused for two seconds, then nodded: "...Okay. Anything else?"

"Third—" He Xu held up his third finger, his gaze fixed on the director's face, "Don't you guys release any publicity about my appearance on stage beforehand. No trailers, no countdowns, no mystery guests—nothing like that."

The director blinked, looking troubled. "But Ms. Jin Xian said—"

"Teacher Jin Xian said what she wanted to say, and I said what I wanted to say." He Xu's voice rose half an octave. "I went on stage to repay a favor to her, not to generate hype for your show. If you released it in advance, and fans blocked me at the entrance of the practice building, how could I possibly practice my dance?"

The director opened his mouth, then closed it again.

He glanced down at the unsigned proposal on the table, then looked up at He Xu's uncompromising face, and finally said in a resigned tone, "...Fine. As you wish."

He Xu stood up from his chair and pushed it back under the table: "Then it's settled—by the way, how many people can sit in the audience on the night of the finale?"

The director paused for a moment, then said, "...Three thousand people."

He Xu was silent for a moment, then smiled slightly and said, "Okay, I got it."

As He Xu turned to leave, the director added from behind, "By the way, your ear isn't fully healed yet, don't push yourself too hard."

"Okay." He Xu opened the door without turning his head. "You're a father now?"

"I care about you!"

He Xu waved his hand, and the door closed.

The lights in the corridor were on as usual. He Xu leaned against the wall outside the door, thinking about the conversation they had just had.

A personal stage.

He hasn't stood on stage properly for a long time.

The last time was probably the first public match before I withdrew from the competition.

He held a handheld microphone, barely able to hear anything in his left ear, and danced the entire dance on stage.

The memory that stage performance left him with was a mixture of tinnitus, pain, and adrenaline.

Not very pleasant.

But this time is different.

This time, he went on stage as a mentor, so he didn't need to compete with anyone, didn't need to worry about bumping into anyone while moving around, and didn't need to worry about being penalized in the vocal evaluation.

He can jump however he wants.

This is a stage that belongs only to him.

And—it costs extra.