Amateur talent show? Top mentors are my students.

At first, Jin Xian was genuinely worried that He Xu would not be able to adapt.

After all, this kid was a contestant one minute and a mentor the next.

The change in his identity was too rapid. Those who had once practiced dancing with him suddenly became the people he was in charge of. Anyone would need a transition period in that situation.

But as it turns out, Jin Xian's worries were completely unnecessary.

He Xu didn't need a transition period at all; he started acting arrogantly almost immediately, even verbally abusing his mentor.

He appeared at the practice building at eight o'clock sharp the next morning, dressed in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, walking slowly as if he were strolling through a vegetable market, pushing open the doors of each practice room one by one.

The first to suffer was the "Breaking the Cocoon" group, led by Jung Jae-won.

"Teacher Zheng, are you serious about that positioning?" He Xu's voice was flat, with a slight drawl.

Jung Jae-won's voice carried a hint of offended disbelief: "How could I—"

"Look at this formation change. On the third beat, the three people on the left will bump into the people on the right," He Xu's voice came from inside. "Did you make that up?"

"...I made it up."

"Didn't you think about this when you were writing this?"

Jung Jae-won's voice carried a hint of uncertainty: "I... I was thinking at the time—"

"I don't care what you think," He Xu said. "Re-edit it. Change the third beat to a crossover, with the left side cutting to the right and the right side cutting to the left, leaving a passage in the middle—I'll come back to check it in five minutes."

The second group to suffer was Xu Shutong's "Crack".

When He Xu walked in, Xu Shutong was teaching the group members how to manage their facial expressions during the chorus. She stood in front of the mirror and demonstrated a look.

A languid, alluring, and textbook-perfect stage presence.

He Xu watched the whole thing from the doorway: "Teacher Xu, your expression was a good example."

Xu Shutong turned her head, her face still bearing that languid look: "Right? I deliberately—"

"But is there anyone in your group capable of doing this?"

Xu Shutong's expression froze.

She turned her head and glanced at the five young and bewildered contestants behind her, feeling that she had a long way to go.

"They haven't even passed the basic facial expression management test," He Xu said as he walked in. "Aren't you making them imitate your look? Isn't that just asking them to be difficult?"

"...Then what do you suggest we do?"

"Start practicing from the basics." He Xu walked up to the five contestants. "First, practice a fixed smile and switch it in one second. Don't make any difficult expressions."

"You...you teach."

He Xu glanced at him and said, "Okay."

Then he turned around and faced the five contestants: "Look at me and do as I say."

He flashed a standard, impeccable smile, then instantly switched to a blank expression: "See that? Smile—stop—smile—stop—when will you be able to switch between smiles in a second without any lag, and then imitate Teacher Xu's look?"

The five of them started practicing, while He Xu watched from the sidelines, occasionally muttering, "Are you expressionless? Can't you smile?"

Xu Shutong stood to the side, watching He Xu explain the key points that she had struggled to understand for half an hour in just a few words, and muttered to herself, "...You should be the tutor."

He Xu turned his head and glanced at her: "Aren't I exactly like that right now?"

Xu Shutong chose to keep quiet.

The third group to suffer was Zhou Wei's group.

When He Xu pushed the door open, Zhou Wei was standing in front of the mirror, leading five people in practicing the chorus, and his singing was very steady.

His movements still had that characteristic stiffness, but at least they were a bit better than last night.

He Xu looked at it for two seconds: "Teacher Zhou."

Zhou Wei stopped what she was doing, turned to look at him with a hint of wariness in her expression: "What's wrong?"

"Your wave is still not right."

Zhou Wei frowned: "I practiced all night—"

"Then you've been training for nothing," He Xu interrupted him. "You're going in the wrong direction. You're using your shoulders to generate power, not your hips."

Zhou Wei opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, He Xu had already walked up behind him.

"I said, let's start from here—" He Xu raised his hand and patted him on the lower back, "You've been working on your shoulders all night, and you've forgotten about your hips."

Zhou Wei tensed up at the slap.

"Relax, relax," He Xu said. "You're tense again. What did I tell you last night? Let your breath flow downwards, and move your body from the bottom up."

Zhou Wei took a deep breath and tried to relax his shoulders.

"One more time."

Zhou Wei redid the wave, and this time it was better than before.

"It's still not right." He Xu was merciless. "Your shoulders are relaxed, but your hips are still stiff. Also, where did your waist go?"

"...I don't have a waist," Zhou Wei said, almost in despair.

He Xu was silent for two seconds, then smiled: "Then I suggest you get it checked out. Everyone has a waist, and so do you."

"you--"

"Let's start over."

Zhou Wei gritted his teeth and did it again.

"Feeling better, let's continue."

Zhou Wei did it again.

"Again."

"Again--"

Zhou Wei finally couldn't take it anymore and stopped. He took a deep breath, turned around to face He Xu, and said, "Can you stop staring at me? Can't you go look at the five of them?"

He Xu glanced at him and said slowly, "Those five dance better than you."

Zhou Wei opened his mouth, then closed it again, his ears turning red once more.

The five contestants next to him were desperately trying to suppress their laughter.

That day, He Xu walked around the practice building three times.

Each group went at least once, and although they didn't stay long each time, their impact was enormous.

By 4 p.m., three groups had changed their choreography, two groups had rearranged their movements, and several trainees had been scolded to tears.

All the trainees in the base had a fear of being dominated by the devilish instructors.

-

At dinner time, Li Bufan sat opposite Yang Sheng with his tray in hand, his expression indescribably complex: "Yang Sheng, I have a question for you—"

Yang Sheng looked up at him and said, "Speak."

"Was He Xu this fierce when he was your teacher?"

Yang Sheng paused in his chewing, then swallowed the food in his mouth and said slowly, "Teacher He was actually quite gentle today."

Li Bufan dropped his chopsticks.

Jiang Yang, who was standing next to him, spat out a mouthful of soup with a "pfft," and was slapped on the back by Song Yingwen, coughing until his face turned red.

"Gentle?!" Li Bufan's voice rose eight octaves. "He made our group's rapper cry—"

"Did you cry?" Yang Sheng asked.

"She cried! She squatted in the corner and cried for five minutes! Brother He Xu just watched her, and after she finished crying, he handed her a tissue and said, 'Are you done crying? You can continue crying now'—is that what you call gentleness?"

Yang Sheng was silent for two seconds: "In the past, when he scolded me, he would scold me for half an hour first, and then teach me while I was crying."

Jiang Yang finally calmed down: "And he scolded me even more fiercely when he was teaching me."

Li Bufan fell completely silent.

He suddenly realized that the few words He Xu had said to him earlier might not even be considered an appetizer.

"What about PD Shen?" Li Bufan suddenly remembered something and lowered his voice, "Wasn't he also trained by Brother He Xu?"

Yang Sheng nodded.

"Was he criticized before?"

Yang Sheng looked at him with a "what nonsense are you talking about" look: "He was scolded much worse than us, you can't imagine. In the two years before he debuted, Teacher He Xu scolded him like he was scolding his grandson."

Even after his debut, people still criticized his stage performances.

Li Bufan's mouth formed an "O" shape: "He even scolded someone as capable as a PD? How did he manage to put up with it back then?"

"Because he's good at scolding." Yang Sheng lowered his head and took a bite of rice, his tone indifferent. "No matter how much Teacher He scolds, what he teaches is always right. After scolding, after crying, after practicing, then comes progress."

Song Yingwen, standing next to him, added expressionlessly, "PD Shen has indeed corrected all the flaws that were criticized back then."

Li Bufan fell silent.

He Xu is indeed a toxic person.