Rebirth from the Ashes

Group A had also formed their little clique. The other two members apart from Tong Kejun, Song Wenye, and Guan Rou were pulled to join Su Ruowan and He Lu’s clique.

These two girls were dragged by Su Ruowan and He Lu to take the lift down and walk by Group F’s studio. They were curious about Group F’s situation. By coincidence, they ran into Mr. Yun Xiao.

Su Ruowan was first to greet him with a gentle smile. “Hello, Mr. Yun Xiao.”

Shen Xi glanced at her with a poker face and nodded.

He Lu said hello together with the other girls. As a chatty person with a huge sense of superiority, He Lu confidently walked up to him and said, “Mr. Yun Xiao, I heard you’re really good at dancing. I was wondering if you could offer me some advice about the dance?”

Shen Xi refused point-blank. “I’m not your mentor.”

He Lu was only sounding Mr. Yun Xiao out for the kicks of it. Now, she was sure that Mr. Yun Xiao was nothing but a loser!

Hehehe!

He Lu could not wait for Mr. Yun Xiao’s rejection to come back and bite him!

Su Ruowan scoffed to herself. Any riff-raff could boss around the place with the benefit of pulling strings. Mr. Yun Xiao sure had a thick skin and no sense of tact.

The other two girls made a futile attempt of covering their snickers with their hands as they watched Shen Xi enter Group F’s studio. The girls walked along hand-in-hand with Su Ruowan and He Lu while launching an idle talk in muted tones.

“So it’s true that Mr. Yun Xiao doesn’t know sh*t!”

“Group F has the worst luck! If I were them, I would quit the competition before I embarrass myself on stage.”

“‘I’m not your mentor’, hahaha! I would return to the dorm and pack my bags to get lost if he were my mentor.”

Did Mr. Yun Xiao think he could fob off by saying he was not their mentor? No mentor would turn students down that way. Mr. Yun Xiao must be hiding the fact that he knew nothing, afraid to make a fool of himself.

They were jibber-jabbering when they ran into Han Yan and Ye Weiyang.

Group A’s deed did not go unnoticed. Han Yan scoffed to hear them make a mockery out of her mentor. “You guys really have a lot of time in your hands. Why don’t you use it to work on your character instead?”

He Lu was not one to be messed with. With color draining from her face, she stopped in her tracks. “What are you trying to say?”

Su Ruowan glanced at Han Yan and Ye Weiyang’s name tags. She recognized Ye Weiyang who was in Group F. The other girl was also part of Group F. Were they out to defend their good-for-nothing mentor? These girls were quite loyal despite their mentor being nothing but a letdown to them.

“It’s not that Mr. Yun Xiao doesn’t know anything about dancing. He’s simply unwilling to teach an uncultured backstabber who likes to gossip.” Han Yan displayed her claws.

She was not trying to defend Mr. Yun Xiao. Han Yan did not take kindly to these lame *ss b*tches’ insolence.

He Lu saw red. “Who are you calling uncultured? I’m only telling it like it is. Also, I’m merely pointing out what everyone knows.”

“Lulu.” Su Ruowan gave her a tug. With a crowd forming, she apologetically turned to Han Yan and Ye Weiyang. “I’m so sorry. It is all our fault.”

She really did not want to be dragged into this by a brainless dimwit like He Lu. It would not be held against them if they kept it among themselves, but to bring it out in the open was a dumb move.

Before Han Yan could say anything more, the lot who badmouthed Mr. Yun Xiao made a quick exit. She coldly snorted. “Who are these people? I’m ashamed to be their fellow trainee!”

Ye Weiyang murmured, “Thank you.”

Finding it strange, Han Yan glanced at her. “What are you thanking me for?”

Ye Weiyang grinned. “Thank you for standing up for Mr. Yun Xiao.”

She wanted to come forward and refute them, but she was not a good enough talker to think of a comeback. Han Yan rose to the occasion.

Mr. Yun Xiao was nothing like they said.

The trainees belonging to Group F gradually arrived at the studio. Not knowing what to expect, they gazed at the person sitting and looking through a notebook. This person was their mentor, Mr. Yun Xiao.

The weight of the dead silence in the studio was crushing. No one uttered a word as they waited to hear from Mr. Yun Xiao.

The alarm on Shen Xi’s phone beeped. It was her eight o’clock alarm to remind her of the start of the training. She adjusted her phone to silent mode and came forth with her notebook in hand. Shen Xi looked at the trainees standing in a straight line and said, “For those who watched the theme song music video a hundred times, please step out.”

The girls hesitated for a moment and exchanged a glance before coming forward in unison.

Mr. Yun Xiao would never find out since he was not in the studio anyway. So what if they did not watch the video?

Shen Xi uttered, “There are eight cameras in this room, recording your every moment. There are video proofs.”

More than half of them withdrew in a jiffy. Those who stepped back hid their shame by lowering their flushed faces.

Shen Xi observed the eight girls who stood out. Yes, there were only eight of them. She asked, “Anyone who took the task seriously and watched a hundred times instead of doing it for the sake of doing it, please step out.”

Another seven backed away.

Only one was left standing.

Han Yan.

Han Yan looked to her left and right, but Ye Weiyang was not in sight. That was odd. She turned back and found Ye Weiyang backed up to the last row. “Mr. Yun Xiao, I can testify that Ye Weiyang zealously watched a hundred times.”

Why did she retreat?

She was the most committed of the whole bunch.

Shen Xu turned to Ye Weiyang. “Why did you step back if you watched it?”

Ye Weiyang hawed. “I didn’t watch it a hundred times.”

Han Yan was dumbfounded. What was going on with this kid?

Shen Xi reflected patience. “How many times did you watch the video?”

Ye Weiyang answered, “A little over a hundred. I lost count.”

Han Yan caught on at last. The girl was quite the stickler, fixating on the exact number.

Shen Xi remarked, “Anything more than a hundred is considered a hundred.”

Finally getting the message, Ye Weiyang was abashed by her idiotic reaction. She emerged from the group and stood alongside Han Yan.

The remaining trainees apprehensively waited to get an earful. They knew this was it as it never crossed their minds that their irresponsible mentor would check on them.

What was it going to be? Was he going to give them a telling-off? Was he going to hold it against them for not following through with his instruction? He had no right to criticize them when Mr. Yun Xiao himself was not a perfect mentor.

Amid the restlessness, they chewed out Mr. Yun Xiao in their minds. To their surprise, Mr. Yun Xiao reviewed their shortfalls and details to keep an eye on for the upcoming dance practice instead of coming down at them.

He then closed the notebook with messy scribblings and clapped his hands. “If there’s no further question, we shall begin with the practice.”

Apart from Ye Weiyang who never dabbled in dancing, Group F members had more or less some experience. They were shocked by Mr. Yun Xiao’s detailed analysis.

Mr. Yun Xiao was right on the money in every dissection. He pointed out the flaws and shortfall of their dance, giving them quite a rude awakening.

However, was Mr. Yun Xiao reading out an assessment done by a professional hired by the production crew, or was he truly an ace staying on the down-low?