Amateur talent show? Top mentors are my students.

The public outcry reached its peak after Shen Yiheng spoke out, and lingered at that peak for three whole days before slowly showing signs of subsiding.

But a decline does not mean the end.

He Xu's name has transformed from an "amateur contestant" into a phenomenon-level topic of discussion.

His identity, his experiences, his injuries, his withdrawal from the competition—every aspect of him has been analyzed and chewed over countless times.

Some people feel sorry for her, some admire her, some regret her, and some are still criticizing her.

However, most of the criticism has been drowned out by the much larger voices speaking up for him.

But He Xu couldn't see any of these things.

He doesn't have a cell phone.

To be precise, it was Han Yu who took it.

"You're not allowed to look at it for the next couple of days." Han Yu stuffed his phone into his pocket, his tone somewhat commanding. "Why would I want to look at that? Aren't you bothered enough already?"

He Xu leaned back on the sofa, glanced at him, and didn't say anything.

I didn't have the energy to say anything.

So he really didn't watch it.

He knew nothing about the trending topics, the statements, Shen Yiheng's long post, or Jin Xian's attempt to steal him away.

All he knew was that Han Yu had moved in and taken over his sofa.

The rental apartment is small, with one bedroom and one living room, and the kitchen is so small that you can barely move around, but it is clean.

He Xu is not particular about his lifestyle, but he is not sloppy either.

Everything was neatly arranged, with each item having its own place.

Before Han Yu arrived, this place had been empty for quite some time—ever since He Xu joined the show.

The air was filled with a stuffy smell, as if no one had lived there for a long time.

It took Han Yu an entire afternoon to tidy up the place and make it look presentable.

The trash cans were emptied, the refrigerator was wiped clean, the stove was polished until it shone, the floor was mopped three times, and even the windows were opened to let in fresh air.

He Xu leaned back on the sofa, watching Han Yu busy himself around his house.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say, "You don't have to do this," but swallowed the words back.

He was afraid that if he opened his mouth, he would say something even more offensive.

For example, "Go away," "Leave me alone," or "I'm not worth it."

He's so good at saying those things.

They're so good at it that they can just blurt things out without much thought.

But in front of Han Yu, he didn't know whether he should say it or not.

He Xu sat at the dining table, watching Han Yu put the mop back on the balcony, then go into the kitchen, open the refrigerator, and take out a few eggs and a bunch of greens—newly bought a couple of days ago.

"What do you want to eat tonight?" Han Yu's voice came from the kitchen, with a deliberately relaxed tone. "Porridge? Or noodles? You can't eat anything too hard right now, so porridge is fine. I'll make it a little thicker."

He Xu did not answer.

Han Yu peeked out from the kitchen doorway, glanced at him, and then withdrew.

The water in the pot was boiling, bubbling away. Han Yu poured the rice in, turned the heat down to low, and stirred it slowly with a spoon.

After stirring for about ten minutes, He Xu's voice came from the living room.

"Han Yu," he said.

"Um."

"Go back. Go about your business, don't worry about me."

Han Yu put down the spoon and turned to look at him.

"What am I busy with?"

"Aren't you writing songs? For a boy band's album?"

Han Yu remained silent for a second.

"A few more days won't make a difference."

He Xu turned his head and glanced at him.

It felt like being moved, yet also like resisting.

"If you do this... it will put pressure on me," He Xu said.

"What kind of pressure?"

I can't repay the favor I owe you.

Han Yu frowned.

He turned around to face He Xu.

"He Xu, when did you become so pretentious?"

He Xu didn't say anything.

"When you used to scold me, you never thought about human relationships or anything like that. You would scold me and that would be the end of it. You never felt like you owed me anything."

"That's different," He Xu said.

"How are they different?"

"...I used to be your teacher."

Han Yu froze, seemingly not expecting him to say that.

"Before?" Han Yu's voice lowered. "What do you mean?"

He Xu didn't reply, lowered his eyes, and rested his fingers on his knees, his knuckles turning slightly white.

"You mean—" Han Yu walked up to him, "that you're no longer my teacher?"

He Xu's eyelashes trembled slightly.

"If I didn't acknowledge you," Han Yu's voice finally rose, carrying an emotion that had been suppressed for too long and was finally breaking free, "why the hell would I have come to pick you up? Why would I have cooked porridge for you here? Why would I have—"

He stopped.

His Adam's apple bobbed violently, as if he were forcing something back down.

He Xu looked up at him.

Han Yu's eyes reddened.

"He Xu," Han Yu called his name.

"You taught me for three years."

"Three years, more than a thousand days and nights."

"How many times have you yelled at me? How much have you taught me? You slammed your fist on the table at the company three times for my sake—and you're saying all of this is 'in the past'?"

He Xu's lips moved, but he was interrupted before he could say anything.

"You said, 'I used to be your teacher,'" Han Yu's voice finally trembled slightly, "and what about now? Now I'm not your student anymore? I'm no longer a member of Banxing? I don't even have the right to call you 'teacher' anymore?"

He Xu's fingers curled slightly.

"...That's not what I meant," he said.

"So what do you mean?"

He Xu remained silent for a long time.

"Han Yu," he finally spoke.

"Um."

I thought you hated me.

Han Yu felt as if he had been punched.

He stared at He Xu, his lips moving several times before the voice finally escaped his throat: "...I hate you? When have I ever hated you?"

"When you left the companion star," He Xu's voice was very soft, "you said, 'Isn't all of this your fault?'"

Han Yu's breath hitched.

"Isn't that what you said?" He Xu said.

Han Yu opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but found that he couldn't.

He remembered that day.

From the day my companion star left.

He stood at the company entrance, carrying a bag, when He Xu chased after him, calling his name.

He turned around and saw He Xu running towards him, panting, his hair disheveled by the wind, and his eyes red.

He Xu said, "Han Yu, wait a minute—"

He said, "Teacher He, you don't need to pity me."

He Xu said, "I'm not pitying you."

He said, "Then who are you? Didn't you cause all of this?!"

Then he turned and left.

There was no turning back.

Not even once.

He thought He Xu would understand.

He thought He Xu knew he wasn't telling the truth.

As a result, He Xu took it seriously.

"...That wasn't the truth." Han Yu's voice was hoarse, like sandpaper. "You should know that wasn't the truth."

"I know that wasn't the truth," He Xu said. "But you know what—some things, even if you know they're not true, you'll start to believe them if you hear them too often."

Han Yu pursed his lips into a thin line.

"After you left, I kept thinking, did I really do something wrong?"

"I thought about it for a long time, but I couldn't come up with an answer. Later, I stopped thinking about it because it was useless. You were already gone, and it was too late to say anything."

"It's not too late," Han Yu said.

He Xu turned his head and glanced at him.

"I said, it's not too late," Han Yu repeated, his voice a little steadyer than before. "I'm right here now, are you still going to kick me out?"

He Xu looked up into his eyes.

There was a moment of silence.

In the kitchen, the porridge was bubbling and gurgling.

He Xu finally spoke up: "Han Yu, what you said is even more pretentious than what I just said."

Han Yu ignored him and remained standing in front of him expressionlessly.

It's as if he won't leave until he hears the answer he wants.

The porridge churned even louder, as if it were about to boil over the edge of the pot.

"Alright, alright, I won't kick you out, okay?"

Han Yu finally smiled slightly, turned around and went back to the kitchen, turned off the stove, ladled out the porridge, and brought it to He Xu.

"eat."

He Xu looked down at the bowl of porridge. The consistency was just right, and the rice grains had already bloomed. The steam blurred his features.

He picked up the spoon, scooped up a mouthful, and put it in his mouth.

hot.

Han Yu sat down opposite him and watched him drink the porridge spoonful by spoonful.

The shadows of the two people were stretched long by the old chandelier above the dining table and cast onto the white wall opposite.

The living room was quiet, with only the soft sound of a spoon hitting the rim of a bowl.

"He Xu," Han Yu said.

"Um."

"What are your plans next?"

He Xu paused for a moment while chewing his porridge.

"What? What should we do?"

"You withdrew from the competition, and you turned down all the choreography work," Han Yu said, looking at him. "You can't just stay here like this forever, can you?"

He Xu put down the spoon and leaned back in his chair.

"I don't know," he said. "I'll tell you when my ear is better."

Han Yu stared at him for a few seconds, his Adam's apple bobbing as if he were considering something.

"So, what you said before... about choreographing for me, does that still stand?"

He Xu looked up at him.

"To be counted".

"Okay then." Han Yu took out his phone from his pocket, swiped a few times on the screen, and then pushed the phone in front of He Xu.

The screen displays a waveform of an audio clip, with the filename "galaxy_demo_v4".

"The new song, tentatively titled 'All Stars,' is written for a five-member boy group. The music video hasn't been filmed yet, and the choreography hasn't been finalized either." Han Yu's voice was very calm, as if he were talking about business. "You choreograph it for me, and we'll talk about it after your hearing has recovered."

He Xu stared at the waveform and remained silent for a moment.

"Aren't you afraid I won't be able to make it up?"

"You can't make one up?" Han Yu's lips curled slightly. "You wrote one up for Shen Yiheng's 'Blade' in one night. Is my song harder than his?"

He Xu glanced at him.

"A provocation tactic?"

"As long as it works."

He Xu didn't reply and pushed the phone back.

Send it to my email.