Amateur talent show? Top mentors are my students.

The technical rehearsal was scheduled for the afternoon of the day before the final.

He Xu arrived at the studio an hour early, holding the program sheet he had revised countless times, still wearing his usual black T-shirt and sweatpants.

But ever since the news of He Xu's solo performance came out, all the staff members looked at him differently—some people would secretly glance at his upper body, then quickly look away, pretending to be adjusting equipment.

He Xu walked behind the monitoring station expressionlessly, slammed the flowchart on the table, and picked up the walkie-talkie.

"Sound team, recalibrate the phase of the main speakers—there was a problem during the second performance, don't let me find it again."

"Lighting team, go through all the spot lights today, not a single one can be missed. I want to see zero mistakes on the final night."

"Stage manager, the rehearsal order for each group will follow the order of appearance in the finals. Notify the waiting area five minutes in advance and clear the area three minutes in advance."

After a series of commands were given, there was a moment of silence on the other end of the walkie-talkie, followed by a chorus of "Received".

He Xu clipped the walkie-talkie to his collar, leaned back in his chair, and looked at the four monitoring screens in front of him.

The studio was much larger than the previous ones—the stage for the final night was expanded to its maximum size, with a curved LED screen in the center and two runways extending from both sides, reaching straight into the audience seats.

The lighting rig has four more rows than the 2G one, and the top is densely packed with spotlights and movable trusses.

He Xu looked down and made a mark on the process sheet, then looked up and saw a familiar figure appear at the entrance of the studio on the screen.

Jiang Yanbai was wearing a black jacket, a baseball cap, and sunglasses, completely covered up.

He swaggered in, sat down in the center of the first row of the audience, then slowly took off his sunglasses and blew a kiss towards the monitors.

He Xu immediately looked away.

At 2:00 PM sharp, the first group of contestants entered the studio.

Yang Sheng walked at the front, his expression more composed than usual.

He walked to the center of the stage, looked up at the row of newly added spotlights overhead, then turned his head and glanced towards the waiting area, as if confirming something.

He Xu picked up the walkie-talkie: "Yang Sheng's team, take your positions. First, go through the entire movement sequence once. I'll only watch the movement; you don't need to add any additional actions."

Yang Sheng nodded.

As the music started, the four people began to move on the stage.

Their movement was more skillful than in the previous days, with each person precisely stepping on their designated spot, and the formation changes were smooth and efficient.

He Xu looked at the monitor screen but did not call a halt.

He pressed the call button only after the third verse of the chorus ended: "Yang Sheng, when the second verse of the chorus reaches point B, Chen Yi is half a step behind—pay attention to that."

Chen Yi stood on the stage and nodded slightly when he heard the words coming from the walkie-talkie.

He Xu turned to the next page of the flowchart: "Next group, Qi Xunan's group, get ready."

When Qi Xunan's group came up, He Xu's instructions became even more concise.

"In the second verse, follow the spotlight closely to the lead singer."

"Give that pause before the chorus an extra half beat."

"Third point in positioning: everyone shift 15 degrees to the left—the current composition is too cramped."

Qi Xunan did not speak, but followed every instruction.

After completing the run-through, He Xu paused for two seconds, then said three words: "That's enough."

As Qi Xunan walked off the stage, he passed the monitoring station and glanced in He Xu's direction.

He Xu didn't look up; he was writing something on the flowchart with his head down.

Qi Xunan did not stop and continued walking towards the waiting area.

When Song Yingwen's group came on stage, He Xu's eyes immediately fell on his right leg.

The kinesiology tape is still on, but it looks a bit looser than yesterday.

He Xu saw it as a good sign that he could now put his center of gravity back in the middle when walking.

But he didn't relax. Instead, he picked up the walkie-talkie and lowered his voice by an octave: "Song Yingwen's team, take your positions. Song Yingwen will only move around today, without making any forceful movements."

Song Yingwen stood in the center of the stage, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he just nodded.

The other three people in the group also knew about his situation, so no one asked any further questions.

He Xu watched them take their positions from behind the monitoring console, then pressed the call button: "Just go through the transition from the verse to the chorus once, no need to skip the whole thing."

The music started.

The four people moved on the stage, their steps were a little slower than the other groups, but they stepped very steadily on every fixed point.

Song Yingwen's movements were clean and efficient. He Xu's eyes followed the landing of his right leg, confirming that there was no unnecessary pressure with each shift of weight.

After the first verse of the chorus was finished, He Xu called for a stop.

"Okay, you can get down now."

Song Yingwen stopped and stood on the stage to catch his breath, then turned his head to look in the direction of the monitoring station.

He Xu didn't look at him. He was looking down at the schedule and drew a circle on it. He added in a flat tone, "We'll do the final tomorrow. That's enough for today's practice."

After the last group of contestants finished rehearsing, He Xu put down the schedule, walked out from behind the monitoring station, and stood at the edge of the stage.

The staff thought he was going to check some equipment details and were about to move closer when they saw him scan the entire room and then say something that stunned everyone—

"This is my rehearsal."

There was a moment of silence in the studio.

Everyone was looking at him.

He Xu's stage—the personal stage of the special guest mentor handpicked by Jin Xian—has been unseen by anyone since its official announcement.

All I know is that the song is Jiang Yanbai's "Ouroboros," and all other information is blank.

What the choreography is, what the costumes are like, and how the overall stage effect will be presented—nobody knows.

Some guessed it would be a lyrical dance, others guessed it would be a high-energy street dance, some said he wouldn't sing because his voice wasn't better, but others felt that He Xu never played by the rules.

And at this moment, everyone finally awaited the moment when the answer would be revealed—at least that's what they thought.

He Xu walked to the center of the stage and stood still.

Then he nodded toward the sound system: "Play music."

When the intro started, everyone in the studio perked up their ears.

The electronic tones spread out in a deep, resonant manner, with the bass drum surging like some kind of giant beast churning in the deep sea.

But He Xu did not move.

He just stood there, listening to the intro flow from the first eight beats to the second eight beats, and from the second to the third.

He didn't move until the chorus was about to start.

He took a step forward and then stopped.

I changed direction and took two more steps.

Then he turned around and walked back to his original spot.

The music played for three minutes from beginning to end, and He Xu completed all his movements on the stage.

His steps were clean and crisp, each step precisely hitting the key moments of the music.

But he didn't jump even once—he didn't make a single movement, not even raising his arms.

After the song was finished, he stood in the center of the stage, his breathing steady, looking at the wide-eyed staff below, and said in a calm tone: "The rehearsal is complete."

The entire room was silent for a full three seconds.

Then a suppressed "pfft" came from the sound team. Immediately afterwards, the lighting team couldn't hold back either, and someone behind the mixing console burst out laughing.

The director was crouching behind the monitoring console, his shoulders shrugging.

Jiang Yanbai sat in the center of the first row, took off his sunglasses, wiped them, put them back on, and then turned to the staff next to him and said, "...Don't laugh, he's just doing this for strategic secrecy."

He Xu stood on the stage, his expression unmoved: "What are you laughing at? This is a matter of principle—the final stage is a secret, no one is allowed to see it."

The young man from the sound team finally couldn't hold back any longer and poked his head out from behind the mixing console: "Teacher He, you went up there, we thought you were going to jump—but you only walked for three minutes?"

"Isn't that a problem?" He Xu turned his head to look at him. "Isn't blocking part of the rehearsal too?"

"But you—"

"No buts." He Xu interrupted him. "I said, I'll only move around, I won't jump. You'll see in the finals tomorrow."