Amateur talent show? Top mentors are my students.

"stop."

The music stopped abruptly.

The four people stopped abruptly and turned to look at him.

He Xu walked over and stood in front of Yang Sheng: "During your group dance in the chorus, everyone was looking at themselves, and no one was looking at the people next to them."

He turned around and faced the other three group members: "You are dancing a synchronized dance, not each of you dancing your own dance."

"During the third beat, all four of you turned at different angles. Didn't you realize that?"

The three people looked at each other, their expressions somewhat bewildered.

Yang Sheng stood to the side, his lips pressed into a thin line, his fingers slightly curled, as if he wanted to say something but swallowed it back.

He Xu noticed his gesture: "Go on."

Yang Sheng paused for a moment: "...I know where the problem is. But I've practiced for a long time, and I don't know how to explain it to them clearly."

He Xu looked at him, his gaze shifting from scrutiny to understanding.

"You know how to jump, but you don't know how to teach them," He Xu said. "But now you're the captain, and you have to get everyone on the same beat."

Yang Sheng's Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

He Xu didn't say anything more.

He walked to the center of the practice room, facing the four people: "Look at me."

Four pairs of eyes fell on him at the same time.

"On the third beat, where should you look when you turn your body? Look at the shoulder of your teammate next to you. Once you see that shoulder line, your body will naturally follow his rhythm."

He gave a demonstration; the movements weren't large, but the angle and rhythm of the turn were so precise, it was as if it had been programmed.

"Did you see it clearly?"

The four of them nodded in unison.

"Come on, let's start from the third beat and do it again."

When the music started playing again, He Xu retreated to the wall, but did not lean against it.

He stood two steps away from them, his eyes following the movements of each person.

"Yang Sheng, you turned half a beat too early."

"Chen Yi, don't look at the floor."

"When the third beat lands, everyone, step on the ground quietly—you're not here to smash the floor."

The voice wasn't loud, but every sentence landed precisely on the spot where correction was needed.

Once, twice, three times.

By the fourth time, the four people finally got their turning angles right.

When Yang Sheng stopped to catch his breath, he turned his head and glanced at He Xu by the wall.

He Xu was looking down at his phone, writing something in the notes app, when he felt that gaze. Without looking up, he said, "What are you looking at? Keep going."

Yang Sheng looked away, but the corners of his mouth curved slightly.

-

When He Xu left Yang Sheng's practice room, he had been inside for almost an hour.

He walked to the corner of the corridor and bumped into Li Bufan.

Li Bufan was walking over from the other end of the corridor with a glass of water in his hand. His dirty orange hair had grown longer than before, and the black roots were now quite visible.

He saw He Xu, stopped abruptly, and spilled half a mouthful of water from his glass: "Brother He Xu?! You've finally come out of seclusion?!"

He Xu glanced at him: "...What's with that expression? I'm not dead."

"You haven't been to the practice building for almost a week!" Li Bufan's voice rose. "We all thought you'd passed out from practicing in some practice room!"

"Are you cursing me?"

"I care about you!"

"You have a rather unique way of showing concern for people," He Xu said, walking past him. "How's your group's training going?"

Li Bufan immediately caught up, his steps as fast as a husky that had been released: "It's pretty good! Teacher Xu came yesterday to help us go through the choreography, and it's basically all done—except for the double-person turn in the chorus, Zhao Tianyu and I are still stumbling a bit."

"If you stutter, then practice." He Xu turned his head and glanced at him. "You're telling me this because you want me to teach you how to stop stuttering?"

Li Bufan's eyes lit up: "Really?!"

"Can't."

Li Bufan's expression instantly fell: "Brother He Xu—"

"Let me look at all the groups first," He Xu interrupted him. "You're at the back of the line, don't rush."

Li Bufan opened his mouth, then closed it again.

He Xu did not stop and continued walking forward.

He went into the second and third practice rooms, staying in each one for anywhere from twenty minutes to an hour.

Some groups are progressing quickly; he only needs to add a couple of sentences at key points to continue moving forward.

Some groups were slow, so he simply disassembled the entire movement sequence and led them through it again, eight beats at a time.

He didn't yell at people like before, but his "I told you to do it" aura remained unchanged.

The contestants remained tense in front of him, but there was something new in that tension they hadn't felt before.

At least they've started asking questions.

"Teacher He, I can't seem to get the movement right during the chorus. Could you help me take a look?"

"Teacher He, when I move around, the distance between me and the people next to me is always too large. Is there something wrong with where I place my feet?"

"Teacher He, I always get out of breath at the end of the dance. Are there any techniques?"

He Xu listened to those questions, and the corners of his mouth curved up almost imperceptibly.

He didn't answer every question directly, but he said what needed to be said.

By the afternoon, the entire practice building was filled with a more solid and resonant musical sound than before.

The drumbeats are denser, the movements are more stable, and the positioning is smoother.

It was as if something had been tightened up again after He Xu returned.

He Xu stood in the corridor, listening to the music and rhythms coming from the practice rooms on both sides. He picked up his phone to check the time and then walked to the next practice room.

He had walked for a while when he was suddenly stopped by a voice.

"Teacher He."

He Xu turned his head away.

Qi Xunan stood at the corner of the corridor, wearing a practice uniform. Her hair was shorter than before, and she looked much more energetic.

His expression remained calm, but there was something different in his eyes than before.

It's like the relief of letting go of some burden.

He Xu looked at him, waiting for him to speak.

Qi Xunan walked up to him and stopped, paused for two seconds, and then said, "...My parents have agreed to my debut."

He Xu raised his eyebrows slightly.

"After Teacher Jin Xian spoke with them, they relented." Qi Xunan's voice was softer than usual. "I don't know the specifics, but the result is—they won't stop me anymore."

He Xu looked at him, remained silent for a few seconds, and then nodded: "That's good."

"Yes," Qi Xunan said, "So—I wanted to say thank you."

He Xu looked at him for a few seconds, then smiled slightly: "Why thank me? It was Teacher Jin Xian who helped, it has nothing to do with me."

"You're the one who let her know," Qi Xunan said. "If it weren't for you, she wouldn't have known about it."

He Xu did not respond.

He raised his hand and patted Qi Xunan on the shoulder lightly: "Alright, stop being so sentimental. Good luck in the finals."

Qi Xunan's lips finally curved into a smile.

That smile was subtle, but it was more genuine than any expression he ever showed on stage.

"Yes," he said. "I will."

He Xu withdrew his hand, turned around, and continued walking forward.

Light streamed in through the window at the end of the corridor, falling on the floor and illuminating the entire corridor.

He thought that everything seemed to be moving in a positive direction.

—I just don't know how Kim Hyun did it, but it's good to be rich.