Amateur talent show? Top mentors are my students.

At 7 p.m. sharp, the studio lights suddenly went out.

The cacophony of three thousand people in the audience seemed to be sliced ​​in half at that moment, and then it coalesced again into a lower, more oppressive hum in the darkness.

The darkness lasted for about five seconds.

In those five seconds, the light sticks in the front row lit up—red, blue, gold, and warm orange, forming a cluster of shimmering points of light in the darkness.

Then a spotlight fell straight down from directly above the stage, hitting the very center of the stage.

Shen Yiheng stood in that beam of light.

He was wearing a pure black tuxedo today, with a sharp cut and a silver brooch on his collar that reflected a cold light under the spotlight.

He had no script card, only a wireless microphone.

The entire venue was silent for three seconds, and then erupted into the first wave of noise of the night.

Shen Yiheng raised the microphone, his gaze sweeping across the audience, a standard, gentle smile on his lips.

"Welcome everyone to the finals of 'Absolute Debut'!"

The audience erupted in screams again, louder and more intense than before.

Some people were shouting "Shen Yiheng", some were shouting the contestant's name, and some were clearly shouting "He Xu" between screams.

Shen Yiheng glanced at the name slightly, as if he had caught it, but quickly looked away.

He waited until the screams subsided a little before continuing to speak.

"Tonight, twenty contestants will complete their final performance here."

"And you—every audience member here, and every viewer in front of your screens—will collectively decide who will make it into the seven debut spots."

His voice was steady and powerful, each word sounding as if it had been carefully crafted.

"But before the contestants take the stage, please allow me to introduce the mentors who are here tonight."

He turned to the side and reached out his hand towards the side of the stage.

"First and foremost—music mentor, Zhou Wei."

A spotlight shone on the side of the stage, and Zhou Wei emerged from the shadows, wearing a dark blue stand-up collar jacket, his steps steady.

The applause and screams from the audience mingled together. Zhou Wei walked to his mentor's seat and sat down, his face bearing his usual serious expression, but with a very slight curve at the corner of his mouth.

"Dance instructor, Jung Jae-won."

Jung Jae-won practically jumped onto the stage, his dark red stage jacket gleaming under the lights.

He waved vigorously to the audience, then sat down in the seat next to Zhou Wei and gave an exaggerated "OK" sign.

"Performance coach, Xu Shutong."

Xu Shutong wore a silver-white long dress, her long hair cascading down. When she walked out in the spotlight, she looked as if she were enveloped in moonlight.

She walked to the mentors' seat, bowed slightly to the audience, and then sat down next to Jung Jae-won, her smile gentle and graceful.

"Founder's representative, Jin Xian."

When Jin Xian walked out from the side of the stage, the roar from the audience was more unified than ever before.

She wore a sharply tailored dark gray suit, walked with a calm and confident gait, and sat down on the far left of the mentor's seat with a serene expression.

After all the mentors were seated, Shen Yiheng returned to the center of the stage, raised the microphone, and scanned the audience.

"Tonight, there is one very important mentor who is not sitting in the mentor's seat."

The audience fell silent for a moment.

"Because this mentor insists that he is more comfortable sitting behind the monitor—but I think the audience should know that he is here tonight as well."

Shen Yiheng turned to the side and reached out his hand toward the monitoring console on the side of the stage.

"Let's welcome He Xu, the special guest dance instructor for 'Absolute Debut'."

A beam of spotlight suddenly shone towards the monitoring station.

He Xu was looking down at the flowchart when he squinted as the sudden light shone into his eyes.

He looked up, his expression visibly paused, clearly not expecting this turn of events.

But the audience reacted much faster than he did.

"Aaaaaaahh ...

"He Xu!!!"

"The sun rises in the east!!!"

Screams erupted simultaneously from all directions of the audience, dense and enthusiastic, no less than when the previous mentors appeared.

Someone in the front row stood up and waved their arm wildly in the darkness, holding up a warm orange light sign.

The sea of ​​lights bearing the name "He Xu" suddenly lit up, forming a continuous wave of light that stood out prominently in the ocean of light sticks.

"Teacher He Xu is looking this way!!!"

"Your makeup tonight is absolutely stunning!!!"

He Xu stood behind the monitoring station, still clutching the pen in his hand, clearly not expecting to be called out for introduction.

He paused for a moment, put down his pen, and bowed slightly towards the audience, a small gesture, but enough for those in the front rows to see.

The black shirt shimmered with a subtle silver sheen under the spotlight. The collar was low, and the spotlight cast a sharp shadow below the collarbone.

The audience's reaction escalated to another level.

Shen Yiheng stood on the stage, waiting for the screams to subside slightly before continuing, "Everyone is already very familiar with Teacher He Xu—"

From his initial performance to his withdrawal from the competition, and then his return as a special guest mentor, everyone has witnessed his stage presence, his choreography, and everything he did behind the scenes.

He paused, glancing towards the monitoring station: "Today, he will participate in the final voting with the mentors. Thank you, Teacher He Xu, for your hard work throughout 'Absolute Debut'."

The audience erupted again, the light boards swayed even more violently, some people shouted "Teacher He, you've worked hard!", and some people raised their warm orange light sticks above their heads, swaying them from side to side into a flowing light.

He Xu stood behind the monitoring console, his gaze sweeping over the sea of ​​warm orange lights, and remained silent for two seconds.

Then he picked up the walkie-talkie and switched to the internal channel: "...Sound team, stop laughing, get the sound working. Also, who told Shen Yiheng to add this part? We'll settle the score with him later."

A barely audible laugh came from the channel.

Shen Yiheng withdrew his gaze, raised the microphone, and his voice echoed in the studio: "Next—let's welcome tonight's protagonists, the twenty finalists."

All the stage lights came on.

Twenty people walked up from both sides of the stage at the same time and stood in two rows.

All the stage costumes shimmered under the spotlight, and the boy's eyes were filled with tension and anticipation. His forehead was slightly shiny, and his breathing was even and rapid.

Someone in the front row of the audience stood up, their hand holding up a light stick trembling slightly.

Shen Yiheng and the other contestants stood still, walked up to them, and raised their microphones.

"Tonight, you will take the stage one by one to complete your final performance on the 'Absolute Debut' stage."

"After the performance, the final ranking will be determined by combining the votes of the live audience and the scores of the mentors."

"The top seven contestants will qualify for debut in 'Absolute Debut'!"

He paused, his gaze sweeping from the first row to the third, from left to right, looking at each row one by one.

"Now—I declare the 'Absolute Debut' Grand Finale officially open!"

The loudest roar of the night erupted from the stands, as the light sticks formed a glowing ocean, undulating and surging in the darkness.

The contestants retreated to the waiting area in order, and the stage lights dimmed again to make final preparations for the first group's performance.

He Xu stood behind the monitoring station, his gaze fixed on the four split screens.

The first group is Yang Sheng's group.

In the footage from the waiting area, Yang Sheng is standing at the entrance of the passage, his head slightly lowered, his lips moving silently, probably rehearsing his positioning.

He Xu did not pick up the walkie-talkie.

He doesn't need to say anything now—Yang Sheng is ready, and all the groups are ready.

He only needs to watch.

The studio lights dimmed again, and the LED screen in the center of the stage slowly lit up, beginning to play the VCR of the first performance.

The audience fell silent for a moment, then the sound gathered again as they waited for the first spotlight to fall.

He Xu glanced down at the time—7:22 PM.

His solo performance was scheduled after all the final competitions had ended. Before that, he had enough time to stand behind the monitoring station and watch everyone's performances.

He looked up again and returned his gaze to the screen.

The first spotlight has already descended.