Amateur talent show? Top mentors are my students.

What truly brought He Xu to his senses was the overseas phone call.

It's 9 a.m. in Los Angeles, which is midnight in China.

The call came from seven of He Xu's students—NOVA—who hadn't been in touch with him for a long time.

When his phone vibrated, He Xu was in a deep, drowsy state, as if he had slept for too long and was now even more exhausted. His consciousness was wrapped in a thick quilt, floating in a gray area between sleep and wakefulness.

He rolled over, trying to bury his face deeper in the pillow, but the phone kept ringing.

He groped his way to the bedside table with his eyes closed, his fingers touched the cold edge of the phone, pressed the answer button, and held the phone to his ear: "...feed."

There was silence for about 0.5 seconds, then it exploded.

"Teacher He!!!!"

Jiang Yang's voice burst out from the receiver, high and bright, carrying an excitement that had been suppressed for too long and was finally exploding, making He Xu's eardrums go numb.

He held the phone ten centimeters away: "...Why are you shouting so loudly?"

"Teacher He! We got it!! We got it!!" Jiang Yang's voice didn't lower at all; instead, it rose even higher. "End credits song! A Hollywood movie! Teacher He, did you know about this?!"

He Xu kept his eyes closed, his mind slowly starting to recover from sleep, and it took him about two or three seconds to successfully decode the sentence.

End credits song.

Hollywood movies.

He opened one eye, staring at the blurry light and shadow on the ceiling. His voice was still hoarse, but slightly clearer than before: "...Carter contacted you?"

"Aurora Media contacted us this afternoon! They said the film production company contacted them directly!" Jiang Yang's voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement. "They said it's the end credits song, composed and written by an internationally renowned master, and they want us to sing it! Mr. He, did you know—"

"I know." He Xu rolled over, switched the phone to his other ear, his voice hoarse from just waking up. "Carter mentioned it to me before, saying he might consider it. But I didn't expect him to act so quickly."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then Lu Yiming's voice came through, tinged with a hint of caution: "Teacher He... so did you help us get this?"

He Xu leaned against the headboard and paused for a moment: "He brought it up himself, I just didn't refuse."

"That's what you got for us!" Jiang Yang's voice boomed from behind again, brimming with self-righteousness. "Teacher He, you really were thinking of us over there too!"

"I didn't mean to—"

"Brother He Xu!" Li Bufan's voice squeezed in from the other end of the phone, clearly having snatched the phone. "Do you know how excited we were when we got the call?! We were in the dance studio, everyone went crazy! Even Wang Yijun, that stoic guy, was laughing, you believe it or not?"

He Xu held the phone a little further away: "...What time is it where you are?"

"Midnight."

"You called me at midnight?"

"We calculated the time difference! It's already nine in the morning where you are! We wanted to wait until you woke up before calling!" Li Bufan's voice carried a smug "we're so thoughtful" tone. "Who knew you'd answer the phone sound like you'd just woken up—you didn't just get out of bed, did you?"

He Xu paused for a moment: "...I finished work early yesterday and slept for a long time."

"How long did you sleep?"

"...None of your business."

Li Bufan laughed even louder: "He Xu, are you exhausted from training?! You actually slept until now? You usually get up at five or six to go for a run!"

Just as He Xu was about to retort, "What business is it of yours what time I get up?", the person on the other end of the phone changed again.

Yang Sheng's voice was more composed than Jiang Yang's and Li Bufan's, but He Xu could hear the emotions he was trying to suppress: "Teacher He, thank you for the end credits song."

He Xu leaned against the headboard and closed his eyes briefly: "No need to thank me. It's because you guys are talented enough that Carter was willing to give you a chance. If he's not satisfied with your work, nothing I say will matter."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then Song Yingwen's voice drifted in from the side: "Teacher He, when are you able to return to China?"

He Xu's eyelashes fluttered: "...It's not decided yet. Filming here will take a while longer, and there might be reshoots and promotions later. What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, I just wanted to thank you in person."

He Xu's lips curved slightly, a very slight curve, but he felt it himself.

"Don't just think about thanking me," his voice returned to its usual flat tone, "Sing the end credits song well, don't embarrass me. If you mess up a piece by an international master, I'll lose face too."

"Don't worry, Teacher He!" Jiang Yang's voice rang out again from somewhere, as if squeezing back into the microphone's range. "We'll definitely sing well! Just you wait and see! When the film is released, we'll treat you to a front-row seat at the premiere!"

He Xu chuckled: "Alright, I'll be waiting."

They chatted for a few more minutes about random things—Jiang Yang asked if he had seen any Hollywood stars, Wang Yijun asked if he had been yelled at by the director on set, and Qi Xunan asked about his injury, obviously having heard about it from Yang Sheng.

He Xu gave a brief reply but didn't hang up. It wasn't until someone on the other end shouted, "Time to sleep, we have a schedule tomorrow," that Jiang Yang finally hung up amidst a chorus of "Goodbye, Teacher He."

After the screen went dark, He Xu sat against the headboard for a while.

He held the phone in his hand, the screen still warm from the call. He glanced down at it—the call lasted twenty-one minutes.

He was just about to turn off his phone and go back to sleep when it vibrated again.

This time it was a message from Carter, just one line with a screenshot:

"The ending theme song has been decided; NOVA has already confirmed it. I'm quick with my work so you don't have to worry."

The screenshot is a confirmation email between the production company and Aurora Media, with a schedule attached below, marking the recording dates and post-production milestones.

He Xu stared at the line of text for two seconds, then typed: "You're quick on the uptake. I just woke up and heard you've already finalized things."

Carter's reply came almost instantly: "This is business, efficiency matters."

He Xu replied with a single word: "Okay."

Then he added, "Thanks."

Carter didn't reply, but sent the classic "ദ്ദി" emoji.

He Xu put down his phone, leaned back against the headboard, and stared at the ceiling for a while.

He felt a strange sense of satisfaction.

That feeling was similar to the satisfaction he felt when he mentored students at Banxing, but it was also quite different.

It's more fulfilling than simply putting an end to a worry.

Then he heard footsteps at the door, followed by knocking.

"He Xu? You're awake?" Jiang Yanbai's voice came from outside the door, tinged with a hint of probing. "I just heard you on the phone—are you hungry? There's some hot porridge downstairs."

He Xu held his phone and glanced at the closed door.

He realized he was indeed hungry.

I've slept too much; it seems like I need to replenish my energy.

He threw off the covers, got out of bed, walked to the door, and opened it.

Jiang Yanbai was standing in the corridor, holding a steaming cup of water. When he saw He Xu open the door, his expression visibly relaxed, but he still forced a smile and said, "Didn't you tell me to get lost? Why did you come out?"

He Xu reached out and took the glass of water, took a sip, and then said, "I'm hungry."

Jiang Yanbai looked at him and smiled slightly: "The porridge is in the kitchen, serve yourself."

He Xu carried his water glass downstairs, pausing as he passed Jiang Yanbai, his tone still languid from just waking up: "...Thank you."