Amateur talent show? Top mentors are my students.

He Xu had been cursing for half a week, and the training progress at the entire base was visibly accelerating.

What used to take three days to master can now be done in two days.

The group dance, which used to be loose and disorganized, can now at least maintain a general level of order.

The contestants complained, but privately none of them could say that "He Xu taught poorly"—because his criticisms were harsh, but his teaching was indeed effective.

But some people don't think so.

For example, Liu Xinyang.

He felt like He Xu was about to ruin him with his scolding.

Liu Xinyang stumbled and struggled all the way to the third round, and was then assigned to Zheng Zaiyuan's Group A, with the theme "Breaking the Cocoon".

This dance is significantly more difficult than the previous two rounds. The chorus features a continuous series of floor moves with a dense rhythm and intense power, requiring exceptionally high core strength.

He couldn't keep up from day one.

Of the five people in the group, four were at an above-average level, but Liu Xinyang was the only one dragging the team down.

He was in Class C, and he was a Class C in his first performance. He was just lucky to not be eliminated in the first and second performances.

His teammates were tough, but his opponents were weak. He was placed in a weak group for both performances, which saved him.

But when it came to the third round of performances, the mentor collaboration stage, luck couldn't save him anymore.

He needs to practice ten times what others can do in two repetitions.

When he couldn't get it right, he sat down on the ground, muttering, "I can't do it," "It's too hard," "I definitely can't do it."

When He Xu first joined the crew, he couldn't stand watching for more than ten minutes.

"What are you doing sitting there?" He Xu walked in, his voice not loud, but enough to quiet the entire practice room.

Liu Xinyang raised his head and stammered, "I...I'll rest for a bit..."

"Taking a break?" He Xu walked up to him, looking down at him. "Everyone else is practicing, and you're resting. How long have you been resting?"

"...Five minutes."

"Five minutes," He Xu repeated the word. "Do you know how many eight-beat sequences someone else can complete in five minutes?"

Liu Xinyang's lips trembled slightly, but he didn't reply.

He Xu squatted down, looking him straight in the eye: "You couldn't get up from that floor move in the chorus, right?"

Liu Xinyang nodded, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Why can't you get up?" He Xu asked. "Are you not training enough? Or do you feel that since you can't get up anyway, you might as well not train at all?"

Liu Xinyang's tears finally fell, one by one hitting the floor: "I practiced... I really practiced... but I just can't get up..."

"You practiced? How many times did you practice?" He Xu stood up, his tone unwavering. "I watched you from the doorway for ten minutes. You tried twice, failed both times, and then just sat here. Is that what you call practicing?"

Liu Xinyang sobbed and couldn't speak.

"If you can't do it after others practice five times, then practice ten times. If you can't do it after ten times, then practice twenty times." He Xu's voice rose a little.

"You're here for a talent show, not daycare. If you don't think you can do it, quit now and don't waste other people's time!"

Liu Xinyang's sobs finally turned from suppressed to loud, and he curled up in the corner, his shoulders heaving.

He Xu looked at him for three seconds, then turned to Zheng Zaiyuan and said, "The rest of you, keep practicing. Go over the positioning a couple more times."

After saying that, he turned and left the practice room.

In the following days, Liu Xinyang was always the one who received special attention whenever He Xu visited the "Breaking the Cocoon" group.

"Raise your hand a little higher; your movements are too sluggish."

"Head-on! Is your waist made of cotton?"

"If you can't get up from the floor, don't force it. Practice the basics first. Go back and do a hundred push-ups before you come back."

"What kind of expression is that? Where's your basic facial expression control? If you want to cry, don't go on stage!"

The scolding was indeed a bit harsh, but He Xu felt it was a way to force him to improve.

If you don't practice well and your attitude isn't right, then what's the point of choosing a talent show? You might as well go home and farm.

Liu Xinyang started practicing while crying, but later he stopped crying and squatted in the corner with his knees in his arms, ignoring everyone who called him.

When He Xu came in and saw him like that, he simply ignored him.

If you have this kind of mentality, you'll never make it in the entertainment industry. Why waste your time?

-

Then he was reported.

He Xu was the last in the mentor group to know that Liu Xinyang had tearfully complained about the incident.

He didn't even know he was being "sued".

That afternoon, he had just finished scolding Xu Shutong's group about their positioning, and his voice was hoarse. He carried his thermos cup to the break room.

As soon as the door was half-opened, Shen Yiheng's voice came from inside.

"...Liu Xinyang squatted in the corner and cried for half an hour, saying that He Xu had scolded him so badly that he didn't want to live anymore."

He Xu paused for a moment.

The director's voice followed immediately: "He said He Xu told him to go back and withdraw from the competition, and called him a piece of trash—is that true?"

"I could tell he was faking his crying," Shen Yiheng said, her voice tightening. "But I don't think He Xu would say something like that."

He Xu leaned against the wall outside the door, listening to what was being said inside, his hands clutching a thermos, his knuckles turning slightly white.

Shen Yiheng added, "But no matter what, he has indeed been in a bad mood these past two days, and chasing after someone to berate him is a bit too much."

"Why don't you talk to him again?" the director said. "He is, after all, your teacher; he should listen to what you say—"

"I will talk to him, but he has to cooperate."

Upon hearing this, He Xu placed his thermos on the windowsill and opened the door.

The door wasn't pushed open loudly, but it was loud enough for the two people inside to turn around at the same time.

Shen Yiheng's expression stiffened slightly for a moment, and the director's eyes also flickered.

He Xu stood at the door, his gaze sweeping over Shen Yiheng's face before finally settling on the director's.

"He Xu," the director spoke first, his tone deliberately gentle, "just now, we were talking about—"

"I heard you." He Xu interrupted him, his voice half hoarse. "He said I made Liu Xinyang cry, that he squatted in the corner and cried for half an hour, and that I told him to go back and withdraw from the competition."

He paused, then shifted his gaze from the director's face to Shen Yiheng's.

"Anything else? What else did you say? Tell me all at once, so I don't have to hear it again."

He spoke calmly, revealing no emotion whatsoever.

The director opened his mouth, but was choked by He Xu's attitude. He then turned to Shen Yiheng and gave him a wink.

Shen Yiheng put down his phone, stood up from the sofa, and took two steps forward.

The two were less than three steps apart, and the atmosphere of confrontation made the air in the whole room feel heavy.

"He Xu," Shen Yiheng lowered his voice, with a patient attempt to reason, "I'm not blaming you for what happened with Liu Xinyang. But you have indeed been... a bit too harsh on him these past two days."

"Fierce?" He Xu repeated the word, a slight smile playing on his lips. "You think I was being fierce to him?"

"He squatted in the corner and cried for half an hour, afraid to go back to the dormitory, saying he was afraid you would see him again."

He Xu did not speak.

Seeing his expression, Shen Yiheng's tone softened: "I'm not saying you're teaching wrong, you're definitely teaching right. But when you're scolding someone, can you try a different approach? He's only eighteen after all..."

"Eighteen years old." The smile on He Xu's lips finally vanished completely. "So what if I was eighteen? When I was eighteen, I was already teaching students."

"That's different."

"...How are they different?"