Amateur talent show? Top mentors are my students.

On the afternoon of the same day the three teams were announced, the entire base entered a different rhythm.

The lights in all eight practice rooms turned on at the same time, and the sound from the speakers carried from one end of the corridor to the other.

The drumbeats and melodies collided and intertwined, and the tense atmosphere could be felt even through the door.

He Xu walked down the corridor, holding a list of theme styles for all the groups in his hand. It was freshly printed, and the paper still carried the warmth of the printer.

He glanced down and stopped in his tracks.

Shen Yiheng, Group A: "Dark Night"

Shen Yiheng, Group B: "Chasing the Light"

……

He Xu flipped the list over and over again to make sure he hadn't misread it.

Eight words, each one more cringeworthy than the last.

Dark night, chasing the light, cage, breaking free from the cocoon, embers, echo, prairie fire, crack.

He strongly suspects that the program team copied it from the table of contents of a fantasy novel.

"Your show is really outrageous." He Xu folded up the list and stuffed it into his pocket, complaining to the camera in the corridor, "First there were copyright issues, then the earpiece had an electrical leak, and now even the theme is starting to go crazy in a chuunibyou (delusional) direction."

"Is the next step to put dry ice on the stage and then have a few dragons fly over it?"

Of course, no one heard his complaints.

He Xu stood in the corridor for a few seconds, then stuffed the list into his pocket and started walking towards the practice room.

The first practice room was "Breaking the Cocoon," Jung Jae-won's Group A.

The door wasn't closed properly, and from inside came the sound of rapid drumbeats and several people counting along to the rhythm.

He Xu stood at the door for two seconds and peeked through the crack in the door—five people were practicing their formation in front of the mirror. The basic framework of the movements was just being established and was not very stable yet, but at least the direction was right.

He Xu didn't go in; he turned and left.

The second practice room is "Dark Night", Shen Yiheng's Group A.

The sound system was so loud that you could feel the floor vibrating even five meters away.

As He Xu walked over, he saw Shen Yiheng standing in front of the mirror, leading Yang Sheng and the others in their movements for the chorus.

His movements were three times slower than usual, clearly because he was breaking down the details.

He Xu looked for a few seconds, then remained silent and continued walking forward.

The third, fourth, and fifth cases were all similar. Everyone was in the initial stage, studying the choreography demo frame by frame, or wearing headphones and squatting in a corner listening to songs repeatedly.

The mentors come occasionally, but most of the time the contestants have to process the information on their own.

He Xu did not linger at any doorway for more than a minute.

The door to the sixth practice room was half open.

Before He Xu even got close, he could hear the music coming from inside—"Wait Me," a song from the year Xu Shutong debuted. It had a girl group vibe, a catchy melody, but the rhythm was particularly tricky.

"Echo" group.

He stopped when he reached the door.

Xu Shutong was standing in front of the mirror, leading the five people in a synchronized dance to the chorus.

She was wearing a loose blue T-shirt and her hair was tied in a high ponytail as she demonstrated the movements while counting the beats.

"One, two, three, four, hands up from here—yes—five, six, seven, hips press to the right—eight, hold—"

Her voice was crisper and more rhythmic than when she spoke on stage, and her movements were clean and crisp.

Five people followed behind her, and their movements were quite synchronized.

From He Xu's perspective, it's clear they practiced seriously.

He Xu leaned against the door frame, remaining silent and simply watching.

About ten seconds later, Xu Shutong caught a glimpse of the figure at the door as she turned around, and her movements suddenly stopped.

"Teacher He?!"

The five people turned their heads at the same time, their movements synchronized as if a pause button had been pressed.

He Xu leaned against the doorframe, hands in his pockets, looking relaxed and expressionless: "What are you looking at me for? Continue."

The five people glanced at each other, then turned their heads back in unison.

Xu Shutong looked at him, her eyes brightening slightly, but she still pressed on, "Teacher He has finally deigned to come and inspect our work?"

"It's not really an inspection," He Xu strolled in, found a spot against the wall, and stood there. "I was just passing by and thought I'd check out how well you guys have progressed."

As he spoke, his gaze swept over the five people before settling on Xu Shutong: "Let's continue, go through the chorus from the beginning."

The chorus of "Wait Me" plays again.

He Xu sat in the corner, his gaze sweeping back and forth between the six people.

He did indeed learn the songs and dances of all eight groups a couple of days ago.

But since my ears haven't fully recovered and I haven't danced systematically for a long time, my learning isn't very solid, and I can only remember about 60-70%.

But even if it's only 60-70%, it's enough for him to see the problem.

In the first verse of the chorus, he noticed that some people's hands were at inconsistent heights, some people's shoulders were too tense, and in the third line, one contestant was clearly flustered and lost his rhythm.

But he didn't say anything, only his eyebrows twitched slightly, and then he continued watching.

In the second verse of the chorus, Xu Shutong led the entire group in a formation change—everyone moved three steps to the left and then cut back to the center from the left.

He Xu's gaze lingered on the change in formation.

It's a bit strange.

The chorus ended, and the music stopped.

The six people in the practice room stood still, adjusting their breathing, waiting for him to speak.

He Xu did not stand up.

"Teacher He, how was it?" Xu Shutong turned around, her tone filled with anticipation. "We've practiced all afternoon, it should be alright, right?"

He Xu looked at her and remained silent for two seconds.

Then he spoke up: "Teacher Xu, were your movements in the third line based on the choreography demo?"

Xu Shutong was taken aback for a moment: "Yes, what's wrong?"

"are you sure?"

"I'm sure." Xu Shutong's tone was slightly puzzled. "The third sentence is to go left, and then the fourth sentence is to switch back to the center from the left—"

He Xu reached out and interrupted her.

He stood up, walked to the center of the practice room, and stood in the spot where the six people had just walked.

"All of you, for the third sentence, go to the left," he said. "Then for the fourth sentence, cut back to the center from the left."

He turned and glanced at the queue layout in the mirror, then pointed to the contestant in the second row to Xu Shutong's right: "Don't you feel cramped coming from that spot?"

The contestant blinked, recalled his earlier movements, and then nodded vigorously: "Indeed! Every time I get there, I'm a beat slower because I feel like there's someone in front of me..."

"...That shouldn't be the case?" Xu Shutong blinked in confusion, unable to figure it out even after thinking for a long time.

He Xu didn't look at her, but continued, "If you move to the left from your third position, the whole formation will be squeezed to one side. And if you move to the right—"

He returned to the original starting point and repeated the movement from the third line, but this time he moved to the right.

When he landed on the third step, he stopped and said, "You see, after moving to the right, the formation is loose."

"When the fourth line switches back to the center, everyone has their own path and won't bump into anyone."

He turned around to face Xu Shutong.

"Teacher Xu," he said with a hint of teasing, "you got your positioning wrong. The third line should be to the right, not to the left."