Amateur talent show? Top mentors are my students.

But no matter how wonderful life is, it's a fact that your body can't take it anymore.

He Xu himself didn't actually feel that anything was wrong.

He was really busy and really tired, but he felt that this was within the normal range.

During the promotional period, who isn't tired? The seven members of NOVA are in the practice room until the early hours of the morning every day, and Shen Yiheng is working non-stop for tour rehearsals. What's wrong with him, as a teacher, making a few more trips?

But his body was more honest than he was.

The first time I fell asleep was at a promotional meeting for Aurora Media.

Jin Xian sat at the head of the long table, while the publicity director explained the schedule for the Spring Festival period in front of the projection screen.

He Xu sat to Jin Xian's right, with a flowchart spread out in front of him and a pen in his hand.

He was listening attentively and even asked a couple of questions about the choreography for NOVA's music show performances.

Then, when the PR director got to the third slide of the PPT, He Xu's gaze slid down a little from the screen.

He was thinking, "I'll just close my eyes for a moment, and then open them again in a couple of seconds."

When I opened my eyes again, there was already page seven on the projection screen.

He Xu blinked twice, sat up straight, and glanced down at the flowchart in front of him—

There was a line of Jin Xian's handwriting on it, written in pencil, very lightly: "Sleep when you're sleepy, I'll wake you up after the meeting."

He Xu turned his head and glanced at Jin Xian.

She was leaning back in her chair listening to the marketing director explain the budget allocation, her expression exactly the same as usual, without any sign of anything amiss.

But He Xu looked down at his shoulder and saw a dark gray cashmere shawl on his shoulder, which wasn't his.

Jin Xian's.

He Xu took the shawl off his shoulders, folded it neatly, and placed it on the table, saying softly, "...Sister Jin."

Jin Xian turned her head to look at him, her expression indifferent: "Awake?"

Why didn't you call me?

"What do you want?" Jin Xian turned her gaze back to the projection screen, her tone flat. "I've been staring at those two dark circles under your eyes for forty minutes now. Are you here for a meeting or to look like a panda?"

He Xu didn't reply, but picked up the water glass on the table and took a sip.

Jin Xian added, "Go straight to sleep after the meeting. I'll have Da Zhou keep an eye on the afternoon rehearsal for you."

"Need not--"

"I'm in charge," Jin Xian interrupted him, her tone leaving no room for negotiation. "Your voice is hoarse."

He Xu was taken aback.

He did feel a bit dry in his throat, but assumed it was because the air conditioning in the conference room had been on for too long and didn't think much of it.

"You've caught a cold, haven't you?" Jin Xian asked. "Don't you feel it?"

He Xu paused for a moment, then lowered his head to continue drinking water, and did not argue further.

He still went to the rehearsal room that afternoon.

Da Zhou was practicing with NOVA in front of the mirror when He Xu pushed the door open and his expression clearly fell: "He Xu, President Jin said you're off today—"

"I'll just take a look and then go back."

The result of "Let me see" was that he sat in the corner of the practice room for forty minutes before being forcibly kicked out by Da Zhou.

The second time was at Shen Yiheng's MV rehearsal.

He Xu sat behind the monitor watching the camera positions. During the break while the lighting crew adjusted their positions, he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes for a moment.

When he opened his eyes again, he found that it was already dark and most of the people in the rehearsal room had left.

Shen Yiheng squatted down next to him, holding a cup of hot water in his hand.

"Teacher, you've slept for almost an hour." Shen Yiheng's tone was calm, but his brows were furrowed. "How many times has this happened?"

He Xu took the hot water and drank a sip, his voice a little muffled than usual: "...It's nothing, I'm just sleepy."

"...Then drink the hot water and go back to sleep early." Shen Yiheng knew he couldn't persuade him, so he could only say helplessly in the end.

He Xu finished drinking the hot water and stood up to stretch.

My cold is getting worse.

It started with a dry throat.

He Xu thought it was because he had talked too much, so he drank two more glasses of warm water and didn't pay much attention to it.

My nose was stuffy when I woke up the next morning.

He stood in the bathroom blowing his nose for a long time, and before leaving, he filled a thermos with hot water and put it in his bag.

When they arrived at Aurora Media, Da Zhou glanced at him and asked, "What happened to your nose?"

"It's a little stuffy, but it's okay."

Da Zhou's expression changed slightly.

He Xu went into the practice room to go over the positioning with the seven members of NOVA. After saying a few words, he realized his voice sounded off.

He usually speaks with great force when he curses, but today his voice was muffled, with a slightly hoarse and drawn-out tone at the end, as if something was stuck in his throat and hadn't been swallowed properly.

Li Bufan was the first to recognize it.

As he moved, he glanced at He Xu, slowed his movements by a beat, and almost bumped into Jiang Yang.

"Brother He Xu, what's wrong with your throat?"

"Nothing's wrong," He Xu said. "Let's keep going."

But it couldn't be hidden.

Over the next two days, He Xu's cold symptoms became more and more obvious.

The cough went from being an occasional cough or two to coughing every now and then, and the runny nose wouldn't stop.

His voice became increasingly hoarse, and the last syllable of his words was almost inaudible, leaving only a muffled, intermittent breathy sound.

But what really made everyone uneasy was something else—

That voice sounded so much like it used to.

It looks just like when his voice was bad.

That low, hoarse voice, muffled in the throat, each word seemingly forced out from the depths of the chest.

Yang Sheng was the first to not be able to stand it.

That afternoon, He Xu went to Aurora Media to rehearse NOVA's moves. He stood in front of the mirror and said a few words, then coughed for a while. When he continued to speak, his voice was so hoarse that it was almost just a breath.

Yang Sheng stood in the line, turned his head to look at He Xu, and his expression slowly turned unpleasant.

After going through the positioning once, He Xu said "Let's do it again," but Yang Sheng didn't move.

"Teacher He."

"Um."

Your throat...

"It's just a cold, it'll be fine in a couple of days."

Yang Sheng didn't reply, but his gaze remained fixed on He Xu's throat, his lips pursed.

Li Bufan chimed in from the side, "Brother He Xu, you're having trouble speaking, so stop—"

"I told you it would be fine in a couple of days," He Xu interrupted him. "Let's do the positioning again."

The seven people did not continue walking.

He Xu glanced at them and noticed that everyone's expression was quite subtle—

Yang Sheng pursed his lips, Li Bufan frowned, Jiang Yang's eyes revealed a determination to say "go see a doctor" at any moment, and even Wang Yijun's expression was not very calm.

He Xu paused for a moment, then asked, "What are you doing?"

"Teacher He," Lu Yiming's voice came from behind, "you should go to the hospital to get checked out."

Which hospital should I go to for a cold?

"You've already had throat surgery, so a cold will make a difference." Yang Sheng's voice was serious. "What if—"

"What if what?"

Yang Sheng did not finish what he was saying.

But everyone knew in their hearts what came after that "what if".

What if the vocal cords are damaged again?

What if the surgery was all for nothing?

What if his voice goes back to how it used to be?

He Xu looked at their faces, remained silent for a few seconds, and then softened his tone: "It's just a cold. I know my own body. Don't worry about it, keep practicing."

The seven people eventually practiced, but everyone was in a bad state throughout the rehearsal. They were clearly tense, as if they were ready to stop at any moment and take He Xu to the hospital.