Rebirth from the Ashes

Chapter 476: What’s Your Real Name

Not one to take insults sitting down, He Lu cockily turned to Han Yan. “Oh, so Mr. Yun Xiao can dance to the theme song? So can we. Do you need us to teach you?”

Standing beside He Lu, Su Ruowan gazed at her fellow trainee in embarrassment before tugging at her, “Don’t say so, Lulu. How can I match up to Mr. Yun Xiao?”

“You learned the dance after two tries,” He Lu proceeded to diss. “How long did it take Mr. Yun Xiao to do so?”

Wanwan was the best out of all the trainees in Group A with her ability to learn the dance after watching the music video only once. She was way better than the two buffoons which Cosmos Entertainment sought all the way from Country H.

Song Wenye was not even worth the mention. She was learning the whole morning before finally getting the hang of it. Song Wenye was the dumbest in Group A. He Lu was sure something fishy was going on for Song Wenye to qualify into Group A.

“Our Mr. Yun Xiao…” Han Yan wanted to get another go at He Lu and was not willing to back down.

Ye Weiyang pulled her aside and cut Han Yan off. She pointed to a direction and whispered, “Mr. Gu Yang and the other mentors.”

He Lu and Su Ruowan took notice as well. No one was brazened enough to carry on the bickering.

The onlooking trainees were disappointed by the ceasefire. They were also curious about Mr. Yun Xiao’s dancing skills.

The person in question had already made it to the cafeteria. Shen Xi snapped a picture of her lunch and sent it to Li Yuan. [Shen Xi: Four dishes and one soup. It tastes alright.”

Li Yuan also sent her a photo of his lunch. [Li Yuan: Eat well.]

Shen Xi found Li Yuan’s lunch to be a bit bland. [Have some meat.]

[Li Yuan: Have some greens.]

Shen Xi buried her head in her phone. [Shen Xi: It’d be perfect if we could mix our lunches.]

One step behind Yun Xiao, Gu Yang walked into the cafeteria and caught sight of him. Yun Xiao was easy to spot by the window since he came ahead of time and was the only one in an empty cafeteria.

Gu Yang thought he saw Yun Xiao smiling. Yes, he was, judging by the curling of his lips and crescent-shape eyes behind the mask.

However, Yun Xiao resumed his usual aloofness after realizing another person’s presence. Gu Yang began to doubt if he was seeing things.

Shen Xi put her phone down on her right. By the sound of bustling footsteps at the cafeteria door, she knew the pack was coming.

The mentors came in, got their food, and sat with her.

The trainees stole a glance at Shen Xi. Whether they believed Group F’s claims about Mr. Yun Xiao or not, the trainees wanted to see the truth for themselves.

At first, they thought Group F would be sacrificial lambs since the production team assigned an irresponsible mentor to them. However, their mentor appeared to have risen to the occasion, leading the formerly laid-back Group C and D to feel the weight of it all.

Group A and B remained unperturbed as Group F was no competition to them. Three days of training would not suddenly elevate Group F to their level.

Everyone’s attention was on Mr. Yun Xiao today. The mentors dropped by at one another’s classes as they were free to go anywhere they pleased.

The mentors went to observe Group F in the afternoon. While it came as nothing more than entertainment to the untrained eye, the experts saw the beauty behind the artistry. Fang Yao and He Sumo could tell that Yun Xiao was a good dancer, but that was it.

The mentors were impressed by Mr. Yun Xiao’s keen perception. His eagle eye was able to catch on even the slightest mistake. Despite being veterans in the entertainment business, they were reminded of their teacher during their school years who could notice any minute foul play.

Xia Mi, on the other hand, was well aware that not everyone was capable of doing the same. A person had to be highly perceptive to every dance move and had sufficient understanding of every student in order to reach that level of observation.

If she had to ask herself, Xia Mi believed she could do it if she put every ounce of energy into it. However, it could be rather draining as concentration could not be let up at any point in time. In contrast, it appeared to be a child’s play to Mr. Yun Xiao.

Gu Yang asked, “What do you think?”

Taking her hats off to Yun Xiao, Xia Mi gave the thumbs up. “He’s good. It’s more than just him getting the basics down. I can’t get to his level if I don’t focus enough.”

Gu Yang nodded. “Me too.”

They could only accomplish what Yun Xiao was doing with maximum concentration. Yun Xiao was nothing short of impressive.

“You know a lot of people in Country H. Does anyone know Yun Xiao?” Xia Mi raised her doubt.

There were only a handful of young men with top-notch dance skills in China. It was unlikely Yun Xiao was unheard of until now.

“No.” Gu Yang shook his head.

He asked everyone he knew in China and Country H about Mr. Yun Xiao, but none of them had any information on him.

Why was there little known about someone who was more than a great dancer.

Apart from Gu Yang and Xia Mi, the rest were not competent enough to discern the full extent of Yun Xiao’s capability, let alone the trainees who came to sneak a peek.

After returning to their own groups, the trainees chatted with their group mates and came to the conclusion that Yun Xiao was merely a good dancer. They were unconcerned as they had their own mentors. To them, Group F still did not pose a threat.

Nevertheless, it was bad news to Group D. They felt the weight on their shoulders as Group F had found the fighting spirit to surpass them. At this rate, it would be their heads on the chopping board.

Xia Mi had an hour with Group F in the afternoon. Mr. Yun Xiao was doing such a good job that she was afraid she might disrupt his pace if she butted in. Xia Mi decided that it was best to return to Group D.

She was about to leave when a voice called her from behind. “Ms. Xia Mi, you’re up.”

Xia Mi turned back and saw Mr. Yun Xiao approaching her. The young man was not even breathless after teaching for an hour. He was definitely in shape. Xia Mi looked Yun Xiao in the eye and said, “Mr. Yun Xiao, you should go in since you’re already doing a great job.”

Shen Xi uttered, “I’m tired.”

Xia Mi choked at the simple and honest answer. Since Yun Xiao did not look the least bit tired, Xia Mi ensued with another question. “Would I be disrupting your drift?”

Shen Xi replied, “No.”

Xia Mi observed the trainees of which some were standing while others were sitting. Compared to Mr. Yun Xiao, they looked like a mess with those flushed cheeks and sweat-drenched clothes. Still, their shimmering hope-filled eyes rubbed off on her.

These girls were working hard towards their dreams. What was her excuse not to do the same? She should be committed to helping them.

After the five-minute break, the practice resumed with Xia Mi.

Xia Mi dared not let up. Matching Mr. Yun Xiao’s pace, Xia Mi taught the students the dance and pointed out their mistakes at the same time.

She was doing okay at first, but the load was starting to get to her. There were times Xia Mi was unable to catch the details or was slow in guiding by a beat.

Halfway through the session, it became too much for Xia Mi to take. To dance and point out mistakes at the same time was pushing her to the limit. It was mission impossible.

She was overestimating herself when she made that earlier statement with Gu Yang. How did Yun Xiao retain high concentration for a whole hour? Xia Mi was tempted to ask out loud if Yun Xiao was human at all.

Group F was puzzled by the sudden halt in practice. The confusion in their faces was as though they were asking why Xia Mi stopped.

For a second, Xia Mi fell into the delusion that she was incompetent. However, on second thought, it had nothing to do with her inability but more with the fact that Yun Xiao had so much on the ball. Meeting the girls’ prying eyes, Xia Mi wanted to tell them in their faces that only a monster could teach them to dance like that!

The session did not strain the trainees as compared to their mentors since they were not required to watch every student in full focus. They only needed to watch themselves and the instructor. After a day of practice with Shen Xi, they were accustomed to her pace.

The only thing they knew was that it was easy to learn the choreography with Mr. Yun Xiao. By right, Ms. Xia Mi should be more skilled than Mr. Yun Xiao as a dancer, and yet something did not feel right when they danced with her.

“Take five.” Xia Mi could not stand it any longer. She turned to glance at Mr. Yun Xiao, but the latter was absorbed on his phone. Did he not watch when she was teaching the students?

The trainees were not burned out by the half-hour dancing. Still, they took the break as instructed. They sipped on their water and reflected how the afternoon session was a breeze compared to when they started in the morning.

Xia Mi took a seat next to Shen Xi and asked, “How long have you been dancing, Mr. Yun Xiao?”

Shen Xi did not think twice. “Thirteen years.”

Xia Mi guessed it right. Mr. Yun Xiao must have begun training as a child to reach the level that he was at now. She followed up with another question. “Mr. Yun Xiao, is this your first time joining a show?”

Shen Xi uttered, “Yes.”

Xia Mi sighed to herself. It was very much like Mr. Yun Xiao to only give a short answer to every question without contributing more. “Have you ever performed at a grand-scale stage before?”

Shen Xi retorted, “Yes.”

More question marks started popping in Xia Mi’s head. She had never heard of a skilled dancer called Yun Xiao performing on a grand stage before. She pondered for a moment before inquiring, “Is Yun Xiao your stage name?”

Shen Xi answered, “Yes.”

Xia Mi’s heart skipped a beat as she blurted, “What’s your real name?”

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