Amateur talent show? Top mentors are my students.

This brings us back to He Xu's second major flaw—his tendency to be impulsive.

I couldn't resist clicking on the notice after registering the children.

He was just casually swiping, but his fingers kept moving downwards on their own.

Registration channel, preliminary selection process, recording arrangements...

Wow, this show even recruits ordinary people?

Wow, you get free meals and lodging without paying?

Wow, even amateurs get paid to win?

It seems like... the benefits are pretty good?

Thinking about how all his students have gone in jail while he's left out as an empty-nest old man; and then thinking that he's just idling around anyway, he might as well go in and cause trouble for others.

So, he couldn't resist doing it again.

By the time he came to his senses, a line of text had already appeared on his phone screen—

Registration successful! Please wait for further notice.

He Xu: "..."

He stared at the line of text for three seconds, his expression complex.

I want to withdraw, but the registration system doesn't have a withdraw button.

I really deserve this.

As a teacher, how can he compete with a group of trainees who haven't even debuted yet for a debut spot?

Isn't this a case of overwhelming force?

But then again, he has always been a low-key person, and apart from those students, very few people could recognize him.

Does this mean he can pretend to be an ordinary person and play dumb to outsmart others?

Wanting to debut is a lie; the real reason is to make others uncomfortable.

-

The back-end is a very interesting place.

On stage, it's a glamorous dream, adored by millions; behind stage, however, lies a chaotic and tumultuous reality.

This is especially true behind the scenes of "Absolute Debut".

The first stage performance is about to be recorded, and the makeup artists and stylists are extremely busy. The trainees from various companies are either nervous or chatting, creating quite a lively atmosphere.

Yang Sheng was the first to discover it.

He was checking his makeup and hair in front of the mirror, muttering to himself as he reviewed his stage movements for his debut performance, when he caught a glimpse of a figure in the corner—

That figure was all too familiar.

I saw him just three hours ago.

Isn't that Teacher He?!

Holy crap.

Yang Sheng's voice wasn't loud, but it was enough to make Song Yingwen and Jiang Yang, who were standing next to each other, turn their heads at the same time.

"What's wrong?"

"A ghost sighting, Brother Yang?"

"Look over there—" Yang Sheng frantically gestured with his eyes, gesturing with his chin towards the corner, "Isn't that the one in black...isn't that him—"

"Teacher Hehehehe?!" Jiang Yang almost spat out the water he had just drunk.

"Shh!!!" Yang Sheng quickly covered his mouth. "Keep your voice down! Teacher He said to pretend you don't know him—"

"No, why is he here?" Song Yingwen was completely bewildered. "What's he doing here?"

The three boys exchanged glances and then turned to look at the person in the corner who was completely unaware that he had caused a commotion.

He Xu just happened to look up at that moment.

And she smiled and glared at them.

It's like saying, "Come on, what's up?"

Then, as if nothing had happened, she moved away and continued looking at her phone.

It was as if they were just three strangers.

"He looked at us." Jiang Yang's voice trembled with nervousness.

"He must have seen us," Song Yingwen said.

"But we have to pretend we didn't see us." Yang Sheng took a deep breath. "So we have to pretend we didn't see him either."

"But--"

"No buts. This is the teacher's order."

The three boys turned around stiffly and mechanically continued their previous actions—one stretched, the other looked in the mirror, their acting was incredibly clumsy.

He Xu took in their reactions from the corner, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

That's a really bad act.

But he didn't plan to go over and say hello.

Since we said we'd pretend we don't know each other, then let's pretend we don't know each other at all.

However, it was his face that drew people to him.

"Hey buddy, let's get to know each other."

He Xu raised his eyelids.

Standing in front of me was a rather flamboyant guy—he had dyed his hair a striking, dirty orange color, had a row of silver earrings in his ear cartilage, and was wearing a flashy tie-dye hoodie.

His whole body screamed, "Look at me! Look at me!"

The boy extended his hand, smiling brightly: "Li Bufan, you've posted some dance videos online, you must have seen them, right?"

He Xu did indeed see it.

She dances urban dance okay, but she loves to show off too much. She does a floor move every thirty seconds, which hurts the eyes to watch.

He Xu smiled and replied, "I've seen it, the dance was good. I am He Xu."

Li Bufan was startled by his unusually deep voice, and his eyes widened involuntarily for a moment.

"Your throat..." Li Bufan started to say, but then felt it was impolite and changed the subject, "It's fine, quite distinctive."

He Xu smiled.

Li Bufan was a little embarrassed by the smile, but his social skills allowed him to quickly regain his composure and sit down next to He Xu as if they were old friends.

"Which company are you from? I've never seen you before."

"I don't have a company." He Xu flipped his phone over and placed it face down on his lap. "I'm just an ordinary person."

"An amateur?!" Li Bufan's voice rose an octave, and several other contestants around him turned to look. "You look like an amateur? Are you sure you're not some company's secret trainee?"

"Sure."

"How long have you been learning to dance? Who taught you? Did you have any performance experience before?"

Li Bufan bombarded him with a barrage of questions.

He Xu turned his head and glanced at him, his upturned eyes carrying a hint of a half-smile.

"A household registration check?"

Li Bufan was momentarily speechless at those three words, then burst into laughter, slapping his thigh and saying, "You're quite interesting! I like you!"

Just as he was about to say something more, a staff member's voice suddenly came over the loudspeaker—

"Attention all contestants, please assemble at the entrance of the studio on the first floor and line up according to your assigned numbers. I repeat, attention all contestants..."

The moment the voice fell, the atmosphere backstage changed abruptly.

Some people suddenly stood up, some tidied their hair one last time in front of the mirror, and some pulled their teammates to take deep breaths.

Nervous, excited, and a little bit of trepidation at the prospect of stepping onto the battlefield.

At the entrance of the studio, one hundred boys lined up in ten rows according to their numbers.

He Xu stood with his hands in his pockets, his gaze lazily sweeping over the entire group.

He quickly spotted Yang Sheng, Song Yingwen, and Jiang Yang—the three of them stood in the first two rows, upright and with their backs ramrod straight.

This contrasted sharply with the other contestants who were whispering to each other from time to time.

He Xu's lips curved slightly.

They are fairly well-mannered.

"Entry order is based on number from smallest to largest. Please keep quiet and enter the studio to take your seats in turn," a staff member announced through a megaphone, the voice echoing in the empty corridor.

The door in front slowly opened, revealing a brightly lit studio inside.

The contestants filed in.

As He Xu walked forward with the group, the entire studio unfolded before his eyes the moment he passed through that door.

The stage lights were all on, and a hundred white chairs were arranged in a tiered manner on the opposite side of the stage, each chair with a number on its back.

There's an indescribable sense of ritual about it.

Or rather, a sense of oppression.

The contestants in front found their seats and sat down. Some looked around excitedly, while others nervously rubbed their hands together.

He Xu found seat number 87—the second to last row on the right, with a great view of the entire stage and the mentors' seats.

He sat down, picked up the bottled water from the armrest of the seat, unscrewed it, and took a sip.

The boy in seat number 88 next to me was a teenager who looked no more than seventeen or eighteen years old. He wore round-framed glasses, had a round face, and exuded a student-like air.

He glanced at He Xu, his eyes visibly brightening. After hesitating for two seconds, he said softly, "Hello, my name is Lu Yiming."

"He Xu".

"Are you... are you also an amateur?" Lu Yiming's voice was a little nervous. "I registered on my own; I don't have a company."

He Xu turned his head and glanced at him.

The child's eyes were so clear, as if he had never been beaten by society, and he was so nervous that his fingers were fidgeting with the armrests of the seat.

"Yes, I'm an ordinary person too."

Lu Yiming visibly breathed a sigh of relief, as if he had found his people, and leaned closer to He Xu: "Great, I thought I was the only complete novice. Look at those people in front of me, many of them are from big companies, and their training uniforms even have their company logos printed on them..."

He Xu followed his gaze.

Sure enough, many of the contestants in the first few rows were wearing training uniforms with the company logo printed on them, and their postures showed signs of training, clearly indicating that they were from legitimate trainee backgrounds.

Meanwhile, "ordinary people" like him and Lu Yiming were scattered in the back seats, like seasonings that had been casually sprinkled in.

"It's nothing." He Xu's voice was low and hoarse, but his tone carried a strange sense of security. "Even those from big companies aren't necessarily good at making moves."

Lu Yiming stared at him with wide eyes, probably not expecting anyone to dare say such things in this kind of setting.

He Xu did not explain further.

Because all the lights in the hall were dimmed, only a spotlight was pointed at the side passageway.

The large screen began to flash, and several well-known names came into view.

The instructors have entered.