Rebirth from the Ashes

The other groups tried to keep a straight face from laughing, looking at Group F as though they were a joke. However, Group F’s mentor was the biggest joke of them all.

Nevertheless, the groups could not show it in their faces in the presence of so many people and cameras. Fans would not take it too well if their misbehavior was broadcasted.

The host was still waiting. What kind of pep talk was this? There was no need to be so standoffish. A short slogan like that would not cut it.

While the mentors, members, and host were waiting anxiously, the chief director, Su Botao was having a cheery chat with the head scriptwriter. “Yun Xiao has a knack for variety shows.”

Yun Xiao may not say much, but undeniably, he was the center of attention. All eyes were drawn to him every time he opened his mouth.

More than having a knack, he was made for variety shows!

The head scriptwriter climbed his way to the top in showbiz together with Su Botao. As the other half of Su Botao’s dynamic duo, he knew what was going on in Su Botao’s mind. “It’d make the show more exciting and worth watching if he would lead Group F to turn the tide.”

As the heads of the production crew got into what makes a good TV show, the host awkwardly changed the topic since he could not get Mr. Yun Xiao to talk. “Mentors, please take your students to the studios.”

Group F plunged into deep despair. The girls made up their minds to just roll over and play dead as they dragged their feet to follow behind their mentor. Some of them could not resist rolling their eyes at their mentor.

The head scriptwriter was tickled pink by the sight. “The mentor of Group F is not doing anything to boost morale while the students are just letting themselves go. It feels like something big is going to come up.”

Had Yun Xiao a few more words to motivate Group F, the members would not be in such low spirits. It was already hard enough for them to be assigned to Group F but to get an indifferent mentor only made things worse. The double whammy probably left them with nothing to live for. By now, the girls must have packed their bags and one foot out the door.

Packed their bags? One foot out the door?

Not for now.

Group F members recognized their level of competence. Resigned to their fate, they were ready to accept whatever the outcome was, but they were not going to give up on their own accord. Nothing could be worse than what it already was.

Walking ahead was Group C’s mentor, Su Muyan. By the corner of his eye, he was feeling smug as he peered at Shen Xi in the back.

Yun Xiao was such a disgrace. Cosmos Entertainment’s leaders were dumb to send this person here. A good-for-nothing mentor and incompetent students were a match made in heaven.

Group A was leading the pack in front. Su Ruowan and He Lu quietly looked back at Shen Xi while expressing their contempt towards her in secret.

It was not so much He Lu since she was the third student to be assigned to Group A.

Su Ruowan, on the other hand, held a grudge against Shen Xi. Shen Xi’s objection left Su Ruowan hanging for two hours before it was decided she was going into Group A.

How could a piece of trash do this to her? Well, Su Ruowan could not wait for Shen Xi to make a fool of herself. Was she not afraid to be exposed as nothing but a fraud?

Every group went to their respective studio.

Starting from today, trainees had four days to practice National Idol’s theme song before the second evaluation.

Group F walked into the studio, looking all beaten down. Their mentor shut the door to the studio with a bang, nearly hitting the cameraman who was trailing behind in the face.

The girls froze in shock. That was unexpected!

Shen Xi observed the cheerful girls and said, “Those who want to be out on the first round, come forward.”

Rage overtook the girls. Even those who decided to roll over and play dead had their tempers. No one in their right mind was going to quit after coming so far.

It simply never occurred to them that despite how great they thought they were, there was always going to be someone better than them out there.

“Dance.” Shen Xi pointed at the girl on the far left. “We’ll start from you. Show me your best dance moves.”

The girls were thrown into a daze by Shen Xi’s intention. However, no one had the nerve to fly in the face of a mentor. They could only do so in their minds.

From left to right, the eighteen girls of Group F did a short dance.

At first, a few nervously waited for a review. They still carried the hope that Mr. Yun Xiao may be a dark horse, instead of being a fraud as rumored.

Nevertheless, Mr. Yun Xiao kept a poker face and watched them dance one by one without saying a word. Fury tempted the girls to quit and demand a new mentor from the production crew.

They might be tempted but still, no one had the guts!

The last person to dance was Ye Weiyang. Different from the rest of the group, she revered and was grateful towards Mr. Yun Xiao because of what he said to her. Presently, she looked at Mr. Yun Xiao with expectant eyes.

Ignoring her, Shen Xi swept a glance at the row of disgruntled girls and gave an overall assessment. “An appalling hot mess.”

These words stirred outrage among the girls, crushing their last bit of dignity. They were not newbies when it came to dancing, so to be called out like that by an amateur was intolerable!

The rumors must be true. What kind of assessment was that? Mr. Yun Xiao was just fishing in troubled waters. If he was any good, he should prove it to them then!

“We’re sorry we fail miserably. Please teach us your ways, Mr. Yun.” A bold girl stood out.

Shen Xi glanced at her name tag – Han Yan. Her punk-style behavior was quite similar to Song Wenye. She curled her lips, “Before I can teach you, you must first watch the video to the theme song a hundred times.”

A hundred times!

These words threw the girls for another loop. No one was capable of pulling themselves together at this point. This mentor was messing around with them.

There was only one thing on everyone’s mind – Mr. Yun Xiao was playing them. He would be teaching them the dance and correcting their mistakes if he was serious about being their mentor.

Only Ye Weiyang remained trusting towards Mr. Yun Xiao, neither challenging nor questioning.

“You don’t have to watch if you don’t want to. Anyone who can depict the dance accurately after watching it once does not need a hundred times.” Shen Xi gazed at them aloofly.

The girls clenched their fists while trying to hold back the urge to beat Mr. Yun up. They must curb their anger and not act on impulse.

This mentor was getting on their nerves. Why would they be here if they could copy the dance after watching it once? Even Group A members would not be able to depict the dance accurately just by watching the video once!

It was an outrageous request by Mr. Yun!

However, what could they do about it? The girls’ only choice was to bear with it.

“Can you do it after going through the video once, Mr. Yun Xiao?” As the leader among the trainees, Han Yan the punk stepped out to question.