Amateur talent show? Top mentors are my students.

The moment the lights went out, screams erupted from the players' stands.

Five names flashed across the big screen in turn, each appearance accompanied by a new wave of cheers.

"Jin Xian!!!" — Founder and investor representative of an entertainment company.

"Jung Jae-won!!!" — A famous dancer, everyone who dances urban dances regards him as a god. Lee Bu-fan was the first to jump up from his seat.

"Zhou Wei!!!" — A music producer and singer, a senior figure in the industry. The contestants were excited, but they remained relatively composed.

The screen freezes.

"Xu Shutong!!!"

The appeal of the rising female idol was on full display at this moment—several boys in the front row covered their mouths and stared wide-eyed.

Xu Shutong walked out of the passage in a beige dress, her long hair flowing over her shoulders. She smiled and waved to the players' seats, her gentleness like a spring breeze.

The screams rose another notch.

He Xu frowned, feeling that this female idol, who had only debuted a year ago, looked strangely familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen her before.

Finally, the font size on the big screen was changed to the largest possible size.

"In the three years since his debut, he has sold out more than 20 concerts, his album sales have exceeded 8 million, and he has won the Best Male Singer of the Year award for two consecutive years."

"Shen Yiheng".

The whole place erupted.

It's not an exaggeration, it really exploded.

At least half of the hundred boys stood up from their seats, and the applause, whistles, and shouts mingled together, making the lights on the ceiling of the studio tremble slightly.

"Heng-ge!!!"

"Shen Yiheng!!! Look this way!!!"

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!"

The scene was very chaotic at one time.

Shen Yiheng paused for a moment as he walked out of the passage.

He had clearly anticipated this reaction, but his expression still carried a hint of embarrassment—his lips were slightly pursed, and the corners of his eyes curved upwards, as if he had been burned by this enthusiasm.

He wore a dark red suit jacket, with a low-cut top underneath that revealed his fair collarbone. The stage lights shone on him, making the earring on his left ear sparkle.

He Xu whistled.

Wow, it's only been a little over half a year, and you're dressed so provocatively now?

The whistle wasn't loud and was drowned out by the screams from the crowd; even Lu Yiming, sitting next to me, didn't hear it.

But Shen Yiheng, who was walking onto the stage, paused almost imperceptibly.

He couldn't possibly have heard that whistle.

The contestants' seats were at least twenty meters away from the mentors' seats. With a hundred people shouting at the same time, how could one person's whistle possibly penetrate through them?

But he paused for a moment.

It was as if some kind of instinct was at work—he felt like there were eyes watching him.

It's just an illusion.

He stood still, his gaze sweeping over the players' bench without making a sound.

One hundred young faces, some excited, some nervous, some eager to try.

"Welcome everyone to 'Absolute Debut'."

His voice carried throughout the entire studio through the sound system.

"Before the official start of the first stage, please allow me to give a formal self-introduction—although you may already know me."

A burst of good-natured laughter rang out from the players' stands.

"I am Shen Yiheng, the PD of 'Absolute Debut'."

"My responsibility is to witness your growth and judge your performances together with the five mentors in the days to come."

"The initial stage evaluation rules are very simple. One hundred contestants will be grouped according to their respective companies and go on stage. Each group will present a complete group performance. The mentors will give a grade evaluation based on each person's performance: A, B, C, D, F."

"Without further ado, let's begin the initial stage evaluation."

"First group, please come up on stage."

He Xu leaned back in his chair, thinking that these rules seemed quite familiar.

Which of the boy groups he used to manage hadn't been on this kind of show?

The only difference is that he used to be the one sitting in the practice room yelling at people, but now he's the one sitting in the players' bench waiting to be yelled at.

No, it's waiting for others to get scolded.

He's not here to debut as a celebrity.

The first group to come on stage was a trio from a small company.

The costumes were uniform but of mediocre quality. The dancers were fairly synchronized, but their facial expressions were almost nonexistent—all three had the same expression from beginning to end: nervous.

He Xu dismissed the three of them almost immediately.

He didn't even qualify to be his student.

Sure enough, when the mentors were giving their feedback, Zhou Wei frowned and said, "There was nothing memorable about your performance," and the final grades were two Ds and one F.

Some people in the contestants' stands whispered among themselves, "They're so strict..."

He Xu smiled but did not respond.

The second, third, and fourth groups took the stage one after another. Some performed averagely, while others were slightly more impressive, but so far no one has achieved an A.

The highest score was achieved by a group of four where one person received a B, while the others received Cs and Ds.

The atmosphere in the players' stands gradually shifted from initial excitement to tension, with a subtle anxiety permeating the air.

"Next up—Companion Entertainment."

The moment the company name was announced, there was a 0.5-second silence in the contestants' seats, followed by a murmur.

Companion Entertainment.

It's the company where Shen Yiheng works.

It's the company that nurtured Shen Yiheng.

On the mentor's panel, Shen Yiheng's expression remained unchanged.

Xu Shutong joked, "They're your junior brothers."

Yang Sheng, Song Yingwen, and Jiang Yang stood up from the contestants' seats.

All three were dressed in matching black uniforms with a star logo embroidered on the left chest, simple and neat.

Their expressions were serious, without any extra smiles, and they walked in unison, clearly showing that they had undergone rigorous training.

He Xu watched their retreating figures, a slight smile playing on his lips.

The three children were in good spirits today; at least from their walking posture, they didn't seem too nervous.

The three people walked onto the stage and stood in their respective positions.

"Hello mentors, we are trainees from Banxing Entertainment—"

The three bowed in unison, their movements so synchronized it was as if they had copied and pasted each other.

"I am Yang Sheng, I am seventeen years old, and I have been practicing for two and a half years."

"My name is Song Yingwen, I am sixteen years old, and I have been practicing for two years."

"My name is Jiang Yang, I'm sixteen years old, and I've been practicing for two years."

Shen Yiheng looked at them with a gentle smile on his lips: "Junior brothers, don't be too nervous. Introduce your first stage performance."

Yang Sheng took a deep breath, about to answer—

Jiang Yang spoke first, his voice booming like someone shouting slogans during military training: "Heng-ge! I've watched you dance since I was a kid!"

The entire room fell silent for a moment.

Song Yingwen grabbed Jiang Yang's sleeve, his face clearly saying, "Are you out of your mind?"

Yang Sheng closed his eyes and cursed Jiang Yang a hundred and eighty times in his mind.

The contestants burst into laughter.

Xu Shutong laughed so hard her shoulders were shaking. She picked up the microphone and joked, "PD Shen, you've finally been treated like a 'senior'!"

Shen Yiheng rubbed his forehead, the tips of his ears turning slightly red, his tone both helpless and amused: "...I'm not that old, am I?"

"No, no, no—" Jiang Yang realized he had said the wrong thing, his face flushed red, and he frantically waved his hands. "What I meant was, we've been watching Heng-ge's performances since we were trainees. You're our role model! I didn't mean you're old!"

Song Yingwen added quietly from the side, "The more you explain, the worse it gets."

The audience laughed even harder.

Zhou Wei rarely showed a smile, Jin Xian also curved the corners of her mouth, and Zheng Zaiyuan burst out laughing.

He Xu sat in the back row of the players' seats, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Jiang Yang is usually the quietest in the practice room, but he becomes much more open when he's on stage.

Shen Yiheng coughed, bringing the topic back on track: "Alright, alright, so what was your first stage performance?"

Yang Sheng took over, his voice finally steady: "It's a hip-hop style choreography, which the three of us completed together."

"Okay, let's begin."

The music is ringing.

The three of them instantly got into the zone, completely different from how they had been undermining each other just moments before.

In the first eight beats, his strength was on full display.

From the jump to the stand-up, from the wave to the floor movement, the power, angle, and flexibility were all perfect.

The choreography was surprisingly sophisticated—not the kind of uniform, assembly-line style typical of large corporations, but a layered, interactive, and individually expressive piece.

The music suddenly stopped halfway through.

The three people spoke at the same time.

There was no accompaniment, no backing tracks, only three voices overlapping each other, so steady it didn't feel like a live performance.

After singing the last line, the music exploded again, and the three of them landed in mid-air in unison, striking their ending pose.

The entire audience went wild.