Superstars of Tomorrow

In the few days that followed, Fang Zhao spent most of his time in the art and cultural center with the students.

The students also found that Fang Zhao matched the remarkable reports about him. Regardless whether the topic was firearms, mechas or art examinations, Fang Zhao could keep up.

At the beginning, Gu Mang had even been worried that Fang Zhao wouldn’t be able to control the young students. They had all grown up on Planet Yin, which was a much different environment. There were bound to be some conflicting views during the rehearsal process.

Gu Mang was especially wary of a few of the troublemakers and had decided to seek them out for a private chat. However, after observing for two days, he realized that there was no need for it.

Gu Mang didn’t have anything to do so he went to find other instructors to chat.

Rest lounge in the art and cultural center.

“Gu Mang, why do I feel that you have a lot of free time recently?” someone asked.

“I’m not needed at the rehearsal. Fang Zhao is more than enough, so I don’t have much to do besides chatting with you guys.” Gu Mang pulled over a chair and sat down.

An instructor beside Gu Mang raised an eyebrow. “Fang Zhao is directing the whole orchestra alone? You didn’t get anyone to assist him?”

“I did! But there is nothing to worry about. Fang Zhao is handling it personally. He wrote the musical score and even personally conducts during rehearsals.”

“Can’t others share the workload? We also have professional musicians here.”

“It’s not the same. Nobody can compare with Fang Zhao when it comes to understanding the chosen piece.”

A thought occurred to the other instructor and he gave a wry smile. “Those rascals aren’t causing any trouble??”

“They are well-behaved!” Gu Mang replied.

“Tsk, Gu Mang, you can tell that to an outsider, but there is no need to pretend in front of us. Aren’t we all too familiar with the mischief those kids get up to?”

“Eh, I am really telling the truth this time. If you don’t believe me, you can go down and take a look at any time.” Gu Mang chortled.

The other instructors really didn’t believe it. They hurried over to observe the youth orchestra together before returning with surprised looks on their faces.

“A rare sight, right? It’s like they’ve undergone a personality swap. Maybe they’re past that phase now?”

Gu Mang recalled something and began laughing. “Of course it isn’t that simple. Just yesterday, during the rehearsals, a Heavy Mecha student didn’t perform too well so Fang Zhao had a talk with him.”

The other few instructors revealed knowing grins.

Heavy Mechas generally rushed to the front during battle and were bold and fierce. Those who came from this specialization usually had similar personalities.

Sometimes, these brash youths could be too overwhelming. It wasn’t something any random person could handle.

Were those youngsters really that easy to keep in line?

They weren’t the type to give in to others that easily. How could they simply accept the command of an outsider?

Against Fang Zhao, that Heavy Mecha student was the vanguard.

“What did he do?” the instructor asked.

“He hollered at Fang Zhao, saying, ‘Bring it on if you can!’”

“And then?”

“Fang Zhao really took him on.”

“Huh?!”

“In a musical showdown or in…” An instructor put on a boxing stance and threw some air punches.

“Both. They competed with instruments and martial ability. It has to be said, Fang Zhao is really talented!”

“Wasn’t that a tremendous psychological blow to the student?”

“No, Fang Zhao is very considerate. From my observations, there wasn’t any lasting psychological damage. After that, the students were more well-behaved during rehearsal time.”

“I say, those troublemakers need to learn some discipline! Instrument showdowns at the drop of a hat! Who do they think they are?”

“Youths are ignorant. They need to understand that there is always someone better than them!”

“Look at this incident. That student seems to know his place now. They are well-behaved because Fang Zhao can keep them under control!”

“But, back to the topic. I just saw the program plan for them. It isn’t any less intensive than our normal program. I feel exhausted just from watching Fang Zhao handle so many matters all by himself. Can he sustain this?”

In the past, he had seen a number of Fang Zhao’s past deeds on authoritative media outlets. Fang Zhao’s constitution was definitely slightly stronger than that of other artists. But, he had thought that Fang Zhao would have some difficulty dealing with students with military training since Fang Zhao was from the art field.

“Yeah, I see these other invited artists all brought along helpers. Those assistants are well versed in art and can fight, so they should be quite helpful. Did Fang Zhao bring along an assistant?”

Gu Mang had a complex expression. “He did, but his assistant is looking after his dog. His assistant wouldn’t be able to help much anyways since he doesn’t have a music background.”

Another instructor shook his head and lamented, “Fang Zhao is really too young and lacks experience! He should have brought along a helper. I see others have assistants who help with planning and instruction, while his assistant is actually busy walking the dog!”

“One assistant and two bodyguards, actually. They’re all looking after his dog. I don’t know what he is thinking. I just can’t understand how the minds of young people work nowadays,” Gu Mang said.

“He is but a slave to his dog!”

“I heard that dog is worth a lot!”

Gu Mang sighed. “Who knows. When I was over there, I saw him checking messages about his dog. During breaks, he even calls to ask about it!”

At this very time, Fang Zhao, the person being discussed by all these instructors, was in a call with Nanfeng.

It was currently break time, but Fang Zhao wasn’t actually calling to check in on Curly Hair’s behavior.

This morning, Planet Yin’s spaceport inspection team had come looking for Fang Zhao. They wanted to invite Curly Hair to the spaceport. Some spaceport service dogs were having their examinations. The inspection team wanted Curly Hair to come try it out to compare him against Planet Yin’s service dogs.

Fang Zhao wasn’t too bothered about the examinations. His main concern was whether Curly Hair would be able to keep his mouth shut once he became excited. He had sent all three of Nanfeng, Zuo Yu and Yan Biao to watch Curly Hair, but he still didn’t feel at ease. He had requested Nanfeng to send an update every half an hour.

Nanfeng spoke to Fang Zhao via video chat. “Hello, Boss, we are still at the spaceport. Everything is fine here!”

The spaceport wasn’t a place where video calls were freely permitted. Cameras weren’t allowed to be turned on there. Video calls could only be taken in designated area.

Nanfeng was surrounded by four walls, and there weren’t any items that suggested he was in a military facility. Even the table, chairs and lights were all generic models.

“Has the examination started yet?” Fang Zhao asked.

“Not yet. It appears there was some issue at the mines, so they were sent on an impromptu mission. They just got back half an hour ago,” Nanfeng explained the situation to Fang Zhao briefly.

“The majority of service dogs here on Planet Yin are large-sized. There are only two medium-sized dogs, and none that are small-sized. Curly Hair is the smallest over here. However, our Curly Curls isn’t afraid of them! He even went up to greet them!”

Nanfeng beamed as he recalled the scene just now. “Boss, do you know? Curly Hair doesn’t pale in comparison to those impressive looking Planet Yin dogs. He really makes us proud.”

There was a subtle change in Fang Zhao’s tone. “…He what?”

Nanfeng was beaming with pride and wasn’t able to detect the change in Fang Zhao’s tone.

“Nothing much. Curly Hair just went over to greet those Planet Yin dogs.”

“How did he do that?” Fang Zhao asked.

“He just went over to sniff and lick the lead dog. Don’t worry, Boss. They didn’t fight. It really was just licking.”

“How did the dog that was licked react?” Fang Zhao asked.

“Like it was scared. It tucked its tail back and even yelped. Afterwards, it avoided Curly Hair whenever they met.” Nanfeng sounded very pleased. “Our Little Curls is just so impressive!”

In Nanfeng’s opinion, everything was rather ordinary. Some large service dogs could be capable and still have timid natures. Some could even be afraid of small dogs.

Fang Zhao raised an eyebrow. He didn’t let Nanfeng continue and said, “Put Curly Hair on. I want to speak to him.”

“Alright! Come, Curly Hair. Boss wants to talk to you.” Nanfeng directed the communications device lens towards Curly Hair.

Curly Hair came over with a droopy tail and whimpered as though he had a guilty conscience.

Fang Zhao stared at Curly Hair without saying anything. Curly Hair’s ears drooped down.

Then, Fang Zhao said two things.

“Behave.”

“Watch your mouth.”

Nanfeng shuddered from the two seemingly ordinary commands.

Scary!

Certainly, Curly Hair had just been reprimanded again! Perhaps he would be sent to face the wall later!

Nanfeng was puzzled as to why Curly Hair was reprimanded.

Why is Boss being so strict towards a dog?

Wasn’t it just a lick?

“What did he do wrong?” Nanfeng whispered to Zuo Yu.

“I don’t think he did anything wrong,” Zuo Yu replied.

What was wrong with a dog licking another dog?

Nothing was wrong with that!