Amateur talent show? Top mentors are my students.

On stage, the trainees are glamorous and dazzling; but in a corner backstage, it's a completely different story.

The screams from the stage came through a wall, muffled, like listening to sounds from the shore through water.

Qi Xunan stood in the shadows at the end of the backstage corridor, already dressed in the stage costume for "The Cage".

A black shirt with tightly fitted cuffs and a microphone clipped to the collar, provided by the production team.

His makeup was finished, with a sharp arc drawn at the corner of his eye, making him look even more piercing than usual.

But his hands were trembling slightly.

"Did you understand what I just said?" The agent stood in front of him, lowering his voice even further. "Your parents just called again."

"They made it very clear—after the third performance, you have to go home. If you stand out too much on stage today, they will have the production team cut your scenes directly."

Qi Xunan's eyelashes trembled slightly: "...Delete the footage?"

"The production team is funded by investors, what's so difficult about cutting a few shots?" The agent's tone carried a hint of impatience. "Do you think that just because you're standing on stage, the camera is on you, and the audience sees you, you'll stay on?"

Qi Xunan did not answer.

His gaze was fixed on the floor, his fingers gripping the hem of his stage costume, his knuckles turning slightly white.

"You know your parents' personalities," the agent's voice lowered another half-octave. "They can bring you here, and they can let you go. If you perform well today and the audience likes you, your parents will be even more unhappy—can't you tell what's important?"

The corridor remained quiet for a long time.

Even through a wall, the music and cheers on the stage continued, causing the floor to tremble slightly.

Qi Xunan finally spoke, her voice very soft: "...I understand."

The agent's expression finally relaxed slightly: "Good that you know. When you go on stage later..."

Excuse me for interrupting.

A voice came from the other end of the corridor, carrying a calm and almost self-assured force.

The two of them turned their heads at the same time.

Jin Xian stood at the entrance of the corridor, wearing a neatly tailored dark blue coat, her high heels making a crisp sound on the floor.

Her expression was as indifferent as ever, but her eyes were excessively sharp.

Jin Xian walked over, her steps neither hurried nor slow.

She stood between her agent and Qi Xunan, glanced at her agent, and then turned to Qi Xunan.

"Xunan, you go in and get ready," she said, her tone gentle but very reassuring.

Qi Xunan stood still, glanced at Jin Xian, then at his agent, then lowered his head and turned to walk towards the waiting area.

Only two people remained in the corridor.

Jin Xian's gaze returned to her manager's face, her demeanor composed: "I heard you told Qi Xunan not to dance too well on stage today?"

The agent's expression froze for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure: "Sister Jin, this is an internal matter for our company—"

"Internal affairs?" Jin Xian repeated the word, her tone rising slightly. "But he's standing on the stage of 'Absolute Debut' now, as a contestant under my supervision as a mentor. Every performance he makes on stage is related to me."

"How your company decides his future is your business, but on this stage, on my show, I call the shots."

The agent pursed her lips slightly: "Sister Jin, I'm not trying to interfere with the show's process; I'm just communicating with my artist—"

"Communication?" Jin Xian's lips curved slightly, a very faint smile. "You let him deliberately jump and smash things, is that communication?"

The agent's composure finally crumbled: "Sister Jin, the nature of this matter is not quite what you think. Qi Xunan's family has its own arrangements..."

"I know his family has made arrangements." Jin Xian interrupted him. "His parents invested in this program, and he's one of the investors. He should 'know better' and leave so as not to cause trouble for his family—He Xu told me all of this yesterday."

The agent's pupils contracted slightly.

"He Xu?" His voice deepened. "Did he tell you?"

"He said it." Jin Xian took half a step forward, the distance suddenly closing, and the oppressive feeling doubling. "And he made it very clear—"

Yesterday in the stairwell, how did you pressure Qi Xunan? How did you threaten him? How did you bring up his parents to intimidate him?

The agent's lips twitched slightly: "Sister Jin, He Xu is just a guest mentor; he has no right to interfere—"

"He has no right, but I do."

Jin Xian's tone left no room for argument.

"I am one of the main investors in the show 'Absolute Debut'. Qi Xunan is a contestant on the show, and his performance on stage is related to the show's reputation, quality, and watchability."

"You're letting him throw the game, letting him fake a loss, letting him treat the audience like fools—you're ruining my business."

"But what about President Qi—"

"I'll speak to President Qi myself," Jin Xian interrupted him. "You're just an agent, someone who relays messages and does things for others. Don't try to pressure me by using the investors' influence—I'm an investor too."

The agent's Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

"As for what you just said about 'deleting scenes,'" Jin Xian's voice lowered even further, "you try and see if you can delete them."

The agent's expression finally changed completely.

He looked at the woman in front of him and recalled the rumors about her—Jin Xian had been working her way up in the industry for more than ten years, from a small agent to the founder of a company. It would have been impossible to do that without ruthlessness.

The agent finally lowered her head, her voice much drier than before: "...Sister Jin, I understand."

"Good that you understand." Jin Xian looked away. "You can go back now."

The agent immediately turned and walked away quickly, the sound of his leather shoes on the floor soon disappearing around the corner of the corridor.

Jin Xian stood there, silent for a few seconds, then took out her phone from her pocket and dialed a number.

I answered it after it rang once.

"He Xu".

"Hmm." The voice on the other end was hoarse and flat. "Resolved?"

How did you know it was me?

"The monitoring station can see the corridor entrance." He Xu's tone remained unchanged. "I saw you go in and come out, but I didn't see the rat come out—it probably ran away."

Jin Xian's lips curved slightly: "...You have pretty sharp eyes."

"So, it's all settled?" He Xu said.

"It's all settled." Jin Xian's voice returned to its usual composure. "No one will mention what he said to Qi Xunan anymore."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

"Thanks," He Xu said.

"You're welcome." Jin Xian took a step forward, her gaze falling on the door at the end of the corridor leading to the waiting area. "But there's something you need to remember."

"What?"

You owe me one.

He Xu chuckled softly on the other end of the phone: "Understood, Sister Jin."

Jin Xian hung up the phone.

She put away her phone and turned to walk towards the waiting area.

The moment the door opened, music and screams from the stage flooded in.

Qi Xunan was standing in the crowd in the waiting area, head down, fingers resting on the buttons of his stage costume, silent.

Jin Xian walked to his side without saying a word.

Qi Xunan noticed someone approaching, looked up, and his gaze met Jin Xian's face.

His eyelashes trembled slightly.

"Teacher Jin..."

"Don't be nervous." Jin Xian's voice carried a strange sense of calm. "When you go on stage later, just dance however you want."

Qi Xunan's lips moved: "But—"

"There are no 'buts'," Jin Xian interrupted him. "I'll handle your parents' situation. All you need to do today is perform this dance well on stage."

Qi Xunan looked at her, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, and then he nodded.

I didn't say thank you again.

Now, he doesn't need to say thank you; he just needs to go on stage and dance well.