Amateur talent show? Top mentors are my students.

The commotion in the cafeteria had lasted for a full ten minutes, with waves of noise crashing against the ceiling.

But the video on the screen continued to play, clearly indicating that the production team had accumulated more than just one or two clips.

When Li Bufan's name appeared on the screen, the cafeteria fell silent for half a second—as if waiting for a harbinger of some disaster.

"Li Bufan - Siberian Husky"

The scene cuts to him chasing a ball in the practice room—his dirty orange hair swings wildly in the frame, knocking over the prop marks that the set up. The caption reads: "Energetic, a master of destruction, and quick-witted."

The cafeteria erupted in laughter instantly.

"Silly dog!!!"

"So fitting!!"

Li Bufan dropped his steamed bun on the table, his mouth agape in an "O" shape: "Who wrecked the house?! I only knocked over a water bottle!"

"You knocked over the props backdrop," a teammate added.

"That was an accident!!"

"You even pulled the doorknob off."

"...The door handle is of poor quality!!"

He Xu leaned against the wall, and the corners of his mouth involuntarily turned up slightly.

The camera then cut to Wang Yijun.

"Wang Yijun - Ragdoll Cat"

The caption reads: "Cool, independent, relies on her looks but insists on using her talent."

In the video, Wang Yijun is sitting on the floor in the corner of the practice room, holding an English novel that he found somewhere, with earphones on his ears, seemingly oblivious to the people playing around next to him.

"...Ragdoll cat." Someone repeated quietly, "Good post."

"Look at him normally, he always has that 'don't touch me' look on his face whenever anyone gets close..."

"But he's really nice to the people in the group, isn't he? Last time Lu Yiming sprained his ankle, he carried him to the infirmary."

"That's why Ragdoll cats are so unique—they look aloof, but once you get to know them, you can pet them however you want."

Wang Yijun sat in the corner, her ears slightly red, but her expression remained unchanged.

Lu Yiming appeared right after Wang Yijun.

Lu Yiming hadn't even swallowed the porridge in his mouth when the subtitles popped up on the screen.

"Lu Yiming - Rabbit"

Caption: "Soft and cute, easily moved to tears, but with amazing explosive power."

The scene showed him squatting in the corner of the practice room wiping away tears. Five seconds later, the camera cut to a close-up of him hitting a high note on the recording set, his voice as clear as a knife cutting through the air.

The contrast between her aggrieved expression and her focused one is striking.

"rabbit!!"

"Lu Yiming, you really are a rabbit!!"

He nearly dropped his bowl of porridge, his ears burning red: "Where am I weak...?"

Nobody believes it.

"Lin Siyuan & Zhao Tianyu – The Meerkat Brothers"

Lin Siyuan and Zhao Tianyu were placed side by side with the caption: "Always looking around, always cooperating, always providing backing vocals for their teammates' raps."

"Why are we meerkats?!" Lin Siyuan screamed in the cafeteria. "Aren't meerkats those little groundhog-like creatures?!"

"You're right," Zhao Tianyu calmly chimed in from the side, "You are the groundhog."

"The same to you!"

The two glared at each other for two seconds, then simultaneously turned their heads away.

The laughter in the cafeteria rose another notch.

He Xu leaned against the wall, shifting his gaze from the screen to survey the reactions in the cafeteria.

Then he noticed someone.

Qi Xunan sat in the cafeteria seat closest to the window, his gaze fixed on the screen. His expression was calm, but there was a focused look in his eyes, as if he were carefully observing someone else's work.

He probably knew he was about to make his appearance.

really--

"Qi Xunan - Fox"

The scene shows a close-up of his relaxed and composed expression on stage. The next second, the camera cuts to a clip of him adjusting the positions of his team members backstage. His movements are as light as a breeze, and his presence is not prominent, but everyone follows his rhythm.

The caption was only four words: "Deeply hidden talent."

The chatter in the cafeteria subsided for a moment.

"...A fox," someone whispered, "It really does look like one."

Qi Xunan sat by the window, his expression calm, with a barely perceptible curve at the corner of his mouth.

The camera quickly switched between the animal sculptures of the contestants, summarizing several trainees who had minor roles but each had their own unique characteristics.

The screen flashed past a pair of twin-like profiles, briefly showing Chen Yi and another contestant.

Then came a close-up shot of Liu Yuxuan—making a face at himself in the mirror in the practice room, and the next second he belted out a solid high note on the recording set, prompting a barrage of comments like "The real monkey!!!"

Someone in the cafeteria laughed so hard they slapped the table: "Liu Yuxuan is really a monkey! His expression was just awful!"

Liu Yuxuan sat in the middle of the crowd, stood up without any embarrassment, and bowed to everyone around him: "Thank you, thank you, I'm glad you like it."

The person next to him pressed him back into his chair: "Keep it down!!"

But his mouth was stretched to his ears in a wide grin.

Then there was Liu Xinyang, who appeared only briefly—

"Liu Xinyang - Hamster"

Caption: "Timid, easily startled, but very hardworking."

The video shows him squatting in a corner pulling his hair, and the next second it cuts to a close-up of him practicing the same floor exercise in front of the mirror over and over again, his eyes red but his movements never stopping.

Someone whispered, "...He's actually quite hardworking."

The person next to him nodded.

Liu Xinyang sat in the second-to-last row of the cafeteria, head down, fingers twisting the hem of his clothes, his ears turning red.

And of course, there are mentors.

When the other mentors' animal sculptures appeared on the screen, the cafeteria was silent for half a second before erupting into chaos.

"Jung Jae-won - Shiba Inu"

Caption: "Full of energy, bouncy and playful, loves to have fun with others."

The video shows Jung Jae-won demonstrating his moves in the practice room—he dances with even more energy than the contestants, with a smile on his face with every step, and he even gives the contestants a thumbs up after he finishes. He's like a walking sun.

A comment scrolled across the screen: "Teacher Zheng! You're the most dedicated Shiba Inu in the entertainment industry!!!"

"Shiba Inu! Teacher Zheng is a Shiba Inu!"

"No wonder he has so much energy; he could still laugh even when choreographing until 3 a.m...."

"Look at the corners of his mouth when he smiles, isn't it exactly like a Shiba Inu's?"

Next up is Zhou Wei.

"Zhou Wei - Deer"

The caption reads: "Elegant, calm, with an aura of immense presence, but occasionally she gets intimidated."

The scene cuts to his serious and tense expression as he dances—a rare look of bewilderment and tension appears on that perpetually serious face, his shoulders stiff as if he were carrying two mountains.

The cafeteria exploded completely.

"Teacher Zhou is like a deer!!! So elegant!"

"But don't deer get a little panicked when they run? Look at him dancing, hahaha—"

"Teacher Zhou is usually so calm, but when it comes to dancing, she panics like a deer caught in car headlights!"

Zhou Wei sat in the mentor's area—he rarely ate in the cafeteria today.

Upon hearing his own assessment, his hand holding the coffee cup paused almost imperceptibly.

When Xu Shutong's animal sculptures jumped out, the cafeteria was filled with a deafening roar of "Cute!"

"Xu Shutong - Red Panda"

The caption reads: "Looks soft and cute, but is actually sharp-witted and occasionally gets angry."

The scene shows her squatting in the corner of the practice room tying her teammates' shoelaces. The next second, the camera cuts to her puffed-up face, which is full of "I'm not convinced," after He Xu points out her positioning error.

The density of the bullet comments skyrocketed instantly—

"Little panda!! Great post!! She is the real little panda!!!"

"She looks cute and innocent, but she's actually super fierce—look at her expression when He Xu scolded her! She wasn't scared at all!"

Xu Shutong: I may be cute, but I'm not someone to be bullied.

He Xu saw himself appear in Xu Shutong's picture—his lips twitched for a moment, but he didn't say anything.

Li Bufan, who was standing next to him, was laughing so hard he was practically lying on the table.

Finally, Jin Xian was the last performer.

"Kim Hyeon - The Lioness"

Caption: "Powerful, composed, capable of deciding life and death with a single word, yet also gentle."

The image shows her sitting in a conference room, holding a cup of coffee, with a calm expression and sharp eyes.

The next second, the scene cuts to her whispering to the camera, "He Xu, if Banxing doesn't want you, my company will."

The barrage of comments exploded more fiercely than ever before—

"Sister Jin!!! I, the lioness, am kneeling before you!!!"

"She can be truly domineering when she's assertive, and truly gentle when she's gentle."

"She's a true lioness—she's imposing even when she's not angry, but she doesn't hesitate to protect her cubs when it's time to be fierce."

Jin Xian is not at the base today.

But everyone in the cafeteria applauded for her.

After the video finished playing, a line of cursive text froze on the screen:

"The Complete Animal Sculpture Special of 'Absolute Debut'"

The long-lost joy in the cafeteria lingered.