Amateur talent show? Top mentors are my students.

Shen Yiheng and Han Yu looked up at the same time.

"What do you mean by 'you seem to have gotten much smarter now'?" Shen Yiheng put his chopsticks down on the rim of his bowl, looking as if he'd choked. "Teacher, are you implying we were stupid before?"

"What do you think?" He Xu took a bite of rice, chewed it a couple of times, and said in a flat tone, "You used to complain to me when you lost to Han Yu over braised pork, but after complaining, you'd go and team up with him again. Han Yu was the same; he'd say, 'Whose fault is it that he was slow?' but the next day he'd get an extra portion of meat and put it on Han Yu's plate, pretending it was an extra from the cafeteria lady. You two think I didn't see it?"

Shen Yiheng's ears turned bright red.

Han Yu's hand holding the soup bowl froze in mid-air. His expression didn't change much, but he drank the soup even slower than before.

"That was so many years ago." Han Yu put down the soup bowl, pushed up his non-existent glasses, and said in a nonchalant tone, "Teacher He has a pretty good memory."

"What nonsense do I not remember about the students I've taught?" He Xu glanced at him. "Back then, you threw a tantrum at me for three days because Yiheng took your center position. On the fourth day, you came back to class on your own. I said, 'Weren't you not coming?' You said, 'I came to see how badly others danced.' The tone was like someone owed you money."

Han Yu opened his mouth, but unusually, he couldn't say anything.

Shen Yiheng glanced at Han Yu, a slight smile playing on his lips: "You actually did this back then?"

"Shut up," Han Yu said.

"I was just asking."

"Why are you asking?"

He Xu leaned back in his chair, watching the two of them bicker back and forth, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

The noise from all directions in the cafeteria was overwhelming. The aunt at the food window was shouting, "The braised pork is all gone. The next batch will be ready in five minutes."

Several trainees at the next table were chatting about next week's monthly exam, while an intern was looking for a seat in the corner with a tray of food.

Everything is pretty much the same as it was five or six years ago, except that the person sitting at this table has grown up.

Shen Yiheng took a couple of bites of rice, then suddenly looked up and said, "Teacher."

"Um."

"You just said, 'It's fine as it is now.'" He paused for a moment. "Do you think we're better off now than we were back then?"

He Xu glanced at him, placing his chopsticks on the rim of his bowl. "You two are much busier and more tired now than you were back then. But look at you two sitting together eating today, you hand him chopsticks and he serves you soup, you didn't fight or give each other the cold shoulder—that's good, finally you're not bothered by those trivial matters anymore."

Han Yu lowered his head and chuckled.

Shen Yiheng also laughed, but then stopped laughing and glanced at Han Yu.

Han Yu noticed his gaze and raised his chin slightly: "What are you looking at?"

"It's nothing," Shen Yiheng said. "I just think... well, you're fine the way you are now."

Han Yu didn't reply, and continued drinking his soup with a calm expression, his ears slightly red.

He Xu finished the last bite of rice in his bowl, put down his chopsticks, and stood up.

Shen Yiheng looked up: "Are you finished eating?"

"We're done eating. We have classes this afternoon." He Xu picked up his plate. "You two eat slowly, don't fight over it."

"Teacher—" Shen Yiheng called out to him, "You have a cold, have you taken your medicine?"

"Go back and drink."

"Don't forget again."

"Okay, okay." He Xu waved his hand behind him and carried the tray toward the recycling area.

As he passed the food serving window, the auntie came out carrying a fresh pot of braised pork. Seeing him approach, she put a spoon in the pot and said, "Xiao He, want some more? You didn't eat much today."

"I'm full, Auntie." He Xu put the plate on the recycling rack. "I have classes this afternoon, and I won't be able to jump if I eat too much."

The aunt chuckled, "Then come back after class, and I'll save you a spoonful."

"Okay, thank you, Auntie."

When He Xu walked out of the cafeteria, the wind was still a bit cold, but less so than in the morning.

He zipped his jacket up to the top and walked along the corridor outside the office building toward the practice room.

After walking a few steps, I heard footsteps behind me.

He turned his head and saw Han Yu chasing after him from the cafeteria entrance, carrying a small plastic bag in his hand.

"Wait a minute." Han Yu walked up to him and handed him the plastic bag. "Shen Yiheng asked the cafeteria lady for this. She said you didn't eat enough at noon and wanted to have something to eat in the afternoon."

He Xu glanced down at the plastic bag, which contained bread, milk, and oranges, and took it. "Why are you delivering this?"

"Shen Yiheng asked me to deliver it." Han Yu said this with little change in expression and a flat tone. "He's lazy."

He Xu looked at him for two seconds, then suddenly smiled.

"What are you laughing at?"

"It's nothing," He Xu said, stuffing the plastic bag into his coat pocket. "It's just that the way you two are getting along now is a bit different from before."

Han Yu leaned against the corridor wall, his hands in his jacket pockets: "How is it different?"

"You two used to be close because you were young and naive. Later, as you grew older, you fell out over debuting, and I thought you'd never make up. Now..." He Xu thought for a moment, "Now it seems like you two can talk to each other again, which is great."

Han Yu paused for a moment, his gaze falling on the window at the end of the corridor, where a gray sky and bare trees stretched out.

"Maybe it's because we're all older now," he said. "There are things I can say now, and things I can let go of now."

He Xu looked at him but didn't ask any further questions.

Han Yu withdrew her gaze, turned her head to look at him, and asked, "What time is your class this afternoon?"

Two points.

"Then you should go back and rest for a while." Han Yu straightened up. "Don't stand in the corridor in the wind; your cold isn't better yet."

"Okay." He Xu patted the plastic bag in his coat pocket. "Thank Yiheng for me."

"Tell him yourself." Han Yu turned and walked towards the cafeteria, then turned back after a couple of steps. "Oh, right."

"Um."

"What you said at the dinner table just now—" Han Yu paused, "was quite annoying."

He Xu leaned against the corridor wall, a smile playing on his lips: "I'm telling the truth."

"The truth is annoying." Han Yu waved his hand and walked away without looking back.

He Xu stood in the corridor, watching Han Yu's figure disappear at the cafeteria entrance, and then took out the plastic bag from his pocket and glanced at it.

The milk was freshly heated, and the oranges were saved by the cafeteria lady for herself; she picked out the biggest one for him.

He put the bag back in his pocket and turned to walk towards the practice room.

I haven't finished preparing for the afternoon class yet, so I need to go through the process during lunch break.

He took a couple of steps when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He took it out and glanced at it; it was a message from the NOVA group.

Li Bufan posted a photo, an overhead shot of the table in the cafeteria—Shen Yiheng and Han Yu were sitting at the table eating, facing each other. Shen Yiheng was putting a piece of meat into his mouth, while Han Yu was drinking soup from a bowl. In the background, several trainees were peeking out.

The caption reads: "Brother He Xu was just eating with the PD and Brother Han Yu in the cafeteria! The three of them were sitting together, and I took the picture! The PD and Brother Han Yu are actually eating together!"

A string of others followed.

Jiang Yang: "You secretly filmed the PD?? Aren't you afraid of being scolded?"

Li Bufan: "I took the picture from behind a pillar, so they didn't see me."

Yang Sheng: "Don't do this kind of thing again next time. It would be very embarrassing if you got caught."

Qi Xunan: "The footage is quite clear. But why is Teacher He only showing half of his shoulder?"

Li Bufan: "Brother He Xu is sitting by the window, so this is the most I could capture from this angle."

Jiang Yang then asked, "By the way, why are you going to the cafeteria near Banxing? Isn't it far?"

Li Bufan declared confidently, "The braised pork at Banxing Cafeteria is the best in the entire park!"

Lu Yiming changed the subject: "Teacher He, is your cold better? Why are you back to teach today?"

Song Yingwen: "You should get some rest."

Wang Yijun: "He went to his class at Banxing today, so he should be feeling a bit better."

He Xu stared at the message for two seconds, then typed in the group: "Li Bufan, if you take any more photos without my permission, I'll confiscate your phone."

The group chat went silent for a moment.

Then Li Bufan sent a long string of ellipses.

Jiang Yang sent a string of "hahahahahaha".

Yang Sheng posted a message saying, "I'll say it."

He Xu put his phone back in his pocket and continued walking towards the practice room.

I still have afternoon classes to attend.