Amateur talent show? Top mentors are my students.

Shen Yiheng paused almost imperceptibly, then continued forward, stopping abruptly at the front.

Han Yu stopped beside him, his hands in his jacket pockets, his eyes holding an indescribable scrutinizing look.

"Brother Yanbai," Shen Yiheng spoke first, his voice steady, "What brings you here?"

Jiang Yanbai turned his head to look at him, a smile still on his lips.

But the warmth in his smile noticeably dropped by half a degree: "What? Can't I come?"

"No, it's just a bit of a surprise." Shen Yiheng walked over and stood on the other side of He Xu. "You didn't say you were coming."

"I came to see Xiaoxu," Jiang Yanbai said, his tone carrying a natural and matter-of-fact intimacy, "not to see you."

This statement was made casually, but every word precisely treads on a subtle edge.

Shen Yiheng gently rubbed his hand without saying a word.

Han Yu spoke up from the side, his voice even more subdued than Shen Yiheng's: "Teacher Jiang, it's been a long time. You came back from America without even telling us beforehand, so we could have prepared."

"Prepare what?" Jiang Yanbai turned to look at him. "I'm not here to participate in your show."

"Then what are you doing here?" Han Yu asked, his tone neither hostile nor warm.

Jiang Yanbai's gaze swept across Han Yu's face, then across Shen Yiheng's face, and finally landed on He Xu.

The corners of his mouth curved slightly, carrying a sense of composure as if to say, "You two still want to stop me?"

"Didn't I say I was coming to see Xiaoxu and would take him out for a meal?" he said. "We haven't seen each other for three years, catching up isn't too much to ask, is it?"

Shen Yiheng's brow twitched slightly: "He Xu has a debriefing meeting later—"

"A debriefing meeting?" Jiang Yanbai turned his gaze to He Xu. "What debriefing meeting?"

Before He Xu could answer, Han Yu chimed in: "The routine debriefing after the third round of performances must be attended by the directing team, the technical team, and the mentor team."

"Then you guys go ahead and do your thing, Xiao Xu, come with me." Jiang Yanbai said matter-of-factly, then turned to He Xu, "I haven't seen you in three years, you can't just abandon me to attend that meeting, can you?"

He Xu glanced at Shen Yiheng, then at Han Yu, and finally at Jiang Yanbai.

Three pairs of eyes fell on him at the same time, like three spotlights of different color temperatures.

He Xu paused for two seconds, then slowly said, "I don't need to go to the debriefing meeting. Anyway, I've finished my work and submitted the process sheet, so it doesn't matter whether I go or not."

Shen Yiheng's brow twitched slightly: "He Xu..."

"When did you start meddling so much?" Jiang Yanbai interjected from the side, his smile completely gone.

Shen Yiheng's lips tightened even more: "Brother Yanbai, I'm not concerned about him."

"Then what are you?" Jiang Yanbai tilted his head. "He was a guest I invited away. Are you blocking my way because you're afraid he'll run off with your teacher?"

He pronounced the words "your teacher" very clearly.

Standing next to Shen Yiheng, Han Yu suddenly spoke up: "Teacher Jiang, He Xu's ear hasn't fully recovered yet. He should have gone to bed early tonight."

"If you take him out to eat, he'll be up all night following you around, and his voice will be hoarse again tomorrow."

He spoke calmly, as if stating a fact.

But every word seems to be deliberately emphasizing something.

Jiang Yanbai glanced at him, her gaze even colder than when she looked at Shen Yiheng: "Han Yu, when did you become so caring?"

"I always have," Han Yu said. "You just didn't know it."

The air between the two suddenly became tense.

He Xu stood in the middle, glanced to the left and right, and then took a deep breath.

"Alright," he said, his voice not loud, but with an unyielding firmness. "Can you three stop attacking each other in front of me?"

All three people looked at him at the same time.

"I'm going to have dinner with Jiang Yanbai, I'll be right back. I won't be attending the debriefing meeting, either of you can lead it for me." He Xu's gaze swept from Shen Yiheng's face to Han Yu's. "You two, just go about your business."

After he finished speaking, he turned to Jiang Yanbai and said, "Let's go."

Jiang Yanbai's lips curved into a smile, a smile completely different from the one he had given Shen Yiheng and Han Yu earlier—a genuine, warm, and even slightly smug smile.

He put his arm around He Xu's shoulder and said, "Let's go."

The two turned and walked towards the exit of the corridor.

Shen Yiheng and Han Yu stood there, watching the two figures being stretched and shortened by the corridor lights.

"He did it on purpose," Han Yu said first, his voice very soft. "He knew we were both there, so he pulled that stunt."

Shen Yiheng didn't speak, his gaze still fixed on the receding figure.

"...He Xu went with him because he is He Xu's friend." Shen Yiheng finally spoke, his voice a little deeper than before.

Han Yu turned his head and glanced at him: "Just keep brainwashing yourself."

Shen Yiheng lowered his eyes and ignored him: "Let's go, we still have to hold the debriefing meeting."

"Go ahead and drive it." Han Yu turned around, took two steps in the opposite direction, and said, "I'm going back."

Shen Yiheng stood there, watching Han Yu's figure disappear around the corner of the corridor, and then looked in the direction He Xu and the others had left.

I couldn't help but clench my fist.

-

As He Xu walked out of the corridor with Jiang Yanbai's arm around his shoulder, he could still feel those two gazes on his back.

One of them was from Shen Yiheng, carrying a suppressed, subtle dissatisfaction.

The other one was Han Yu's, colder and quieter, like a frozen lake in winter.

He Xu did not turn around.

Jiang Yanbai turned around.

He turned his head and smiled at the two people in the corridor.

That smile carried a deliberate, composed provocation, as if silently saying, "I'm taking them away. You'd better stay put."

Then he pulled He Xu closer to him, lowering his voice, "Xiao Xu, why have you gotten so thin?"

He Xu turned her head to look at him, her expression a little wary and scrutinizing: "Jiang Yanbai, can you please stop being so mushy the moment we meet?"

"Is that what you call cheesy?" Jiang Yanbai said matter-of-factly. "I haven't even said anything more cheesy yet."

"Then don't say it."

"I'm telling you, if you're so capable, then don't listen to me."

He Xu shut up.

The two walked through the main passage of the base, past the brightly lit side door of the studio, and past the busy staff and the lighting crew who were packing up their equipment.

Someone recognized Jiang Yanbai, stopped abruptly, and almost dropped the cable in their hand.

"Jiang...Jiang Yanbai?!"

"Holy crap, isn't that River?! That celebrity!"

"Why is he on our show?!"

"Is that Mr. He Xu next to him?!"

The murmurs slowly gathered behind them, expanding in concentric circles like ripples.

Jiang Yanbai did not stop, nor did he even glance at those people.

He simply waved his free hand casually behind him, the movement as nonchalant as if he were swatting away a mosquito.

He Xu felt uncomfortable under those gazes and twitched his shoulder slightly, trying to break free from Jiang Yanbai's arm.

Jiang Yanbai sensed it and tightened his grip on her arm: "Ignore them."

"You make it sound so easy," He Xu said in a low voice, "It was me who was filmed, not you, okay?"

"Let them take the pictures then," Jiang Yanbai said casually. "I haven't shown my face in China for three years. If I have dinner with you tonight, I'll probably be trending on ten different social media platforms."

"You're quite good at patting yourself on the back."

"This isn't embellishment; it's the truth."

He Xu fell completely silent.

The parking lot is outside the side gate of the base, and the lighting is much dimmer than that of the main passageway.

Jiang Yanbai's car was a black Maybach, parked in the far corner, so understated that it almost blended into the night.

He opened the passenger door and tilted his head towards He Xu: "Get in."

He Xu stood by the car door for two seconds and said, "Couldn't you have driven a more ordinary car?"

"This is already my most ordinary car." Jiang Yanbai leaned against the car door and looked at him. "If you think it's too flashy, next time I'll drive my old Land Rover."

"You still keep that Land Rover?"

"I kept it." Jiang Yanbai chuckled. "You threw up in my car once, and I had the interior cleaned. I've kept it ever since."

He Xu's expression stiffened slightly for a moment, then he looked away, bent down, and sat in the passenger seat: "I was fucking drunk back then... That was so many years ago, why are you bringing it up?"

Jiang Yanbai closed the car door, walked around to the driver's seat, and started the car.