Amateur talent show? Top mentors are my students.

He Xu turned his head to look at him, waiting for him to continue.

Qi Xunan spoke calmly, as if he were talking about someone else: "My family is very strict."

"From childhood to adulthood, I've always been told what I should and shouldn't say, what I should and shouldn't do."

"I don't need to fight for anything, because it's pointless to fight for it."

He Xu stared at him for a few seconds: "It was no use trying—why was it no use?"

Qi Xunan did not answer immediately.

He lowered his head, staring at his fingers resting on his knees, and remained silent for a long time.

He Xu thought he wouldn't answer anymore.

"...Because my parents won't let me debut." Qi Xunan's voice was very soft, as if afraid that the mirror would hear these words. "They sent me to the entertainment company just to let me 'experience society'."

"The experience is over, time to go home or take over the shift."

He Xu frowned slightly.

What does that mean?

Experiencing society?

Succession?

"They think," Qi Xunan continued, his voice still in that indifferent tone, "that dancing is 'not doing one's proper job'."

He Xu stared at him for a few seconds, several thoughts swirling in her mind, before finally choosing the most direct one to ask: "Then why are you participating in this talent show? Didn't your parents oppose your debut?"

Qi Xunan paused for a moment, as if carefully choosing his words: "They voted for this show."

He Xu: "..."

"They were one of the investors," Qi Xunan added. "They said, 'Since I want to dance, then come and have some fun, experience it. After the show ends, it's time to go home.'"

He Xu looked at him, opened his mouth, then closed it again.

Several seconds passed before he finally found his voice: "So your parents—invested money to get you to participate in this talent show, just so you could 'have some fun'?"

"Hmm." Qi Xunan nodded, his expression so calm it didn't seem like he was talking about his own affairs. "They think this is more 'controllable' than letting me try on my own."

He Xu closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled.

"The world of the rich is really complicated."

"You're being paid by my parents to teach me now," Qi Xunan teased, turning her head to him.

He Xu was speechless, his expression complex, and he was practically uttering profanities.

But he held back.

"...Never mind, I don't dare to criticize the investors."

"You swore at me just a couple of days ago."

"That doesn't count." He Xu straightened up from the wall. "I didn't know before. Ignorance is no excuse."

"Now you know."

"So I'm not cursing anymore." He Xu walked to the door, put his hand on the doorknob, glanced at him, and said, "Your parents spent so much money to let you come and have fun, so have fun."

Qi Xunan sat by the wall, the light shining down from above, casting a faint shadow under her eyelashes.

"I will," he said.

He Xu opened the door and went out, then leaned halfway back in: "By the way—if you really want to debut, don't expect your parents to suddenly change their minds. Instead of relying on them, rely on yourself."

The moment the door closed, He Xu's calm and collected expression vanished as if a mask had been ripped off, and his face completely collapsed.

—What does that mean?

I've been cursing my sugar daddy's son for days.

What's the difference between that and cursing the sugar daddy?

Nobody notified me!

He Xu felt like he was cracking open.

-

When He Xu walked into the practice building the next day, his whole body seemed to say, "No swearing today."

He thought about it for a long time last night.

The things that happened with Liu Xinyang, the things that happened with Qi Xunan, and the things that Shen Yiheng said were all mixed up, keeping him tossing and turning and unable to sleep.

In the end, he came to a conclusion: since the PD said to be gentle, then be gentle.

It's not that He Xu can't be gentle—he's just not used to it.

But it doesn't matter, anyone can pretend.

So he adjusted his expression, trying to appear as approachable as possible, and then pushed open the door to the first practice room.

Five people were practicing the chorus in front of the mirror in the practice room when they heard the door open and turned around in unison. When they saw He Xu, they reflexively tensed up.

He Xu sighed inwardly, then said, "You jumped well, and your positioning was smooth. Just pay a little more attention to the transitions in the second quarter—keep it up."

He even chuckled after he finished speaking.

The five people looked at each other, none of them daring to move.

The lead singer, who had been scolded by He Xu for three days, was the first to react and cautiously asked, "Teacher He... are you not feeling well?"

"no."

"So...you're not going to yell at us?"

He Xu's lips twitched: "Why would I scold you? You danced quite well."

The practice room was silent for three seconds. Then, all five of them turned to look at each other, their eyes screaming – he was definitely planning something big.

He Xu pretended not to see those looks and turned to leave.

The second practice room was for Xu Shutong's group.

When he pushed the door open, the five people were practicing fixed facial expressions. He Xu watched for a while and then said, "Your facial expression management has improved a lot. Keep it up."

One of the contestants crushed his water bottle on the spot.

"Teacher He, you're so gentle today..." Xu Shutong said quietly from the side, "Were you possessed last night?"

He Xu glanced at her, swallowed back the words that were about to come out, "You two in your group clearly didn't film properly, so why don't you care?" and instead said, "No, I just think everyone's been working really hard lately, so there's no need to be so harsh."

Xu Shutong looked at him with an expression that said, "Do you think I'm stupid?", but He Xu had already turned and left.

The situation was exactly the same in the third, fourth, and fifth rooms.

Every practice room went into high alert the moment He Xu entered, and then after he said things like "That's good," "Keep it up," and "Take a break," they all fell into a strange state of bewilderment.

After He Xu left, someone whispered, "Was he trying to torture us in a different way today?"

Someone chimed in, "I'd rather he yelled at me; it makes me afraid to relax."

Someone squatted in the corner: "What if he suddenly explodes and curses me to death tomorrow...?"

As He Xu walked down the corridor, he heard all the whispers that could be faintly heard through the doors.

He was exhausted.

He was clearly trying to be a normal person, but in the eyes of these people, he became "abnormal".

He had lived for twenty-four years, and this was the first time he felt like such a failure as a person.

Therefore, he couldn't help but take his anger out on Shen Yiheng.

At lunchtime, Shen Yiheng sat down opposite him with his tray.

He Xu looked up at him, but didn't say anything, and continued eating his rice.

Shen Yiheng waited five seconds, and seeing that he didn't react, she took the initiative to speak: "How was your day?"

He Xu pulled his chopsticks out of the rice, glanced at Shen Yiheng, then looked away and continued eating.

"good."

Two words, and then nothing more.

Shen Yiheng waited two seconds to make sure he didn't intend to add anything, then asked, "You went to the 'Breaking the Cocoon' group today? How's Liu Xinyang doing?"

"good."

These two words again.

Shen Yiheng's brow twitched slightly: "Did he practice today? He wasn't squatting in the corner, was he?"

"I didn't squat."

Shen Yiheng waited for a while and realized that He Xu didn't intend to say anything more after saying those two words.

He kept his head down, concentrating intently on finishing the nearly empty plate of rice, his chopsticks moving rapidly.

"...Could you say a few more words to me?"