Chapter 36.1: Second Group Training
Shen Xiu didn’t expect that even standing in the last row, he could still be called on by Teacher Xue.
Teacher Xue really was the devil himself!
Or… maybe he just hadn’t hidden well enough?
Shen Xiu quietly scanned the room and realized he was probably right. Even though he was sitting at the far corner of the back row, the back row seats were the highest up.
Shen Xiu: “…”
Upon confirming his location, it was indeed his own lack of caution.
Next time he picked a seat, he’d definitely be more careful!
But… as for the question Teacher Xue asked, which Shen Xiu believed gave him a huge advantage, he answered without hesitation: “Good!”
The trainees: “…”
Shen Xiu already knew how to do everything—why was he still so eager to learn?
Was this what it meant to be a strong person? Constantly refining oneself, striving to become even stronger?
But… all they could think now was: Devil! They’re all devils!
Hearing the expected answer, Xue Yi nodded in satisfaction.
He recalled how Shen Xiu had glanced over the trainees in the front row before answering, and connected that to how Shen Xiu had previously given private lessons to most of them.
It instantly became clear—Shen Xiu must be happy that the trainees were getting the chance to learn more.
Yes, that must be it!
Having come to this conclusion, Xue Yi was even more gratified. He turned to the trainees and sighed with emotion, “Look at Shen Xiu’s sense of dedication!”
Shen Xiu: “…”
Dedication?
Wait a second, what dedication? Why didn’t he know about it?
Isn’t it possible that he just wanted to pick up more skills for free without paying?
Feeling deeply guilty that Teacher Xue had misunderstood his intentions, Shen Xiu spoke up timidly, “Teacher Xue, I didn’t…”
Hearing Shen Xiu’s calm voice, Xue Yi raised a hand to cut him off. “No need to say more—we all understand.”
The trainees in the front row nodded in agreement. “Yes, we get it. No need to explain!”
Wasn’t Shen Xiu just trying to be modest?
But for someone as overwhelmingly skilled as Shen Xiu, there was really no need to be humble in front of them—he was just on a whole different level!
Shen Xiu let out a breath of relief.
As long as everyone understood, then he didn’t need to explain himself further. What a great group of people!
Seeing the trainees’ defeated expressions, Xue Yi spoke again, “But I have some good news for you.”
The trainees perked up instantly.
They were always nervous around Xue Yi during lessons—his words could be absolutely brutal, never pulling punches.
But since they’d spent some time together, they weren’t exactly on their best behavior either.
“What is it? What is it?!”
“Teacher Xue, don’t keep us in suspense—just tell us already!”
“Come on, spill it, spill it!”
“The good news is,” Xue Yi said, “during this five-day training camp, I won’t be your instructor. The ones responsible for teaching you vocals, songwriting, and dance will be your four mentors.”
“What?! There’s actually something this good?!”
“Oh my god, this is amazing! What fantastic news!”
“I declare this the most beautiful thing I’ve heard in ages!”
Watching the trainees joyfully lose their minds, Xue Yi raised his voice, “There’s also bad news.”
Before the trainees could even ask what the bad news was, Xue Yi beamed and said, “That is—on the sixth day, after the five-day camp, I will be your evaluator.”
The smiles on the trainees’ faces froze.
All eyes slowly turned to Xue Yi.
“……”
Utterly crushed!
“Teacher Xue, you’re ruthless!”
“My happiness just—bam!—hit the ground and shattered!”
“Wuwuwu, I declare this the worst news I’ve heard recently!”
“Alright, alright,” said Xue Yi. “I’ve announced everything I needed to. Now it’s time for your lessons to begin, so everyone pull yourselves together. No slacking off, or during the assessment, I might be even more nitpicky than the AI teacher.”
With that, Xue Yi waved at them and walked out of the practice room.
After he left, the four mentors—He Youna, Zhao Jinning, Ye Ning, and Qin Xi—entered the room.
He Youna addressed the trainees, “For the next five days, I’ll be your vocal instructor.”
Ye Ning and Qin Xi then said in unison, “We’ll be your songwriting instructors.”
Right after them, Zhao Jinning added, “I’ll be your dance instructor.”
“Welcome, welcome!”
“As long as it’s not Teacher Xue, we’re good!”
Traumatized by Xue Yi’s sharp tongue, the trainees felt that anyone other than him would be a blessing.
Hearing the trainees’ cheers, the four mentors just smiled without comment.
He Youna continued, “According to the schedule, including today, you have a total of six days of classes. Today and tomorrow will be vocal training, the two days after that are for songwriting, and the last two days are for dance.”
“Now, everyone follow me to the vocal classroom.”
[So… we’re starting this fast? The announcements just ended!]
[What do you expect? This is a hardcore, competitive boy group survival show. Of course they’re going to squeeze in every minute of training before the big test.]
[Ahem, I may not enjoy going to class, but I do enjoy watching others in class. This training setup is great! A well-rounded idol doesn’t need to be perfect at everything, but at least they should have a decent grasp of it all.]
[I have a conspiracy theory. Knowing how the production team loves setting traps for the trainees, I really don’t think this is just a simple training camp—there’s definitely something fishy coming later!]
The viewers chatted away in the livestream while the camera followed the trainees as they moved to a different practice room.
In the vocal classroom, as the trainees settled into their seats, He Youna barely needed to search—her gaze immediately landed on Shen Xiu, who had taken a seat in the back left corner.
Just as Shen Xiu found a spot he was satisfied with, he felt a gaze fall on him. He instinctively looked up.
The next second, freshly seated Shen Xiu locked eyes with He Youna, who stood at the front of the classroom.
Shen Xiu: “…”
Why was the teacher staring at him?
Could it be… she noticed how quickly he swooped in to grab a corner seat in the last row?
Of course—
Teachers never liked students sitting all the way in the back during class, right?
But… Shen Xiu realized that every fiber of his being resisted the idea of sitting in the front.
In the end, he caved to his instincts.
‘Sorry, teacher. Please forgive me!’
He Youna hadn’t expected Shen Xiu to notice her glance right away.
‘Such sharp observation skills,’ she thought.
Then her eyes flicked to where he was sitting, and the corners of her lips curved slightly. Shen Xiu looked all cool and aloof, but he clearly paid attention to the little things.
Unlike the practice room on the 10th floor, where the seats in the back rows were tiered, the vocal classroom had a flat layout. Shen Xiu must’ve considered his height—easily over 180 cm—knowing that sitting in the front might block others’ view, so he’d immediately chosen a seat at the very back.
Meanwhile, Shen Xiu, feeling like he was sitting on pins and needles, saw Teacher He—who’d just locked eyes with him—suddenly lower her head and let out a soft laugh.
In that moment, he was so embarrassed he wanted to grab a shovel and bury himself.
‘Teacher He must be laughing at me for scrambling to grab a back-row seat…’
Shen Xiu paused in deep thought for two seconds and had to admit—it was kind of childish.
He Youna began, “Over the next two days, I’ll be teaching you vocal techniques, including projection, high notes, low notes, breath control, articulation, and so on.”
“Of course, this is a short-term intensive course, so I’ll only go over each point once, systematically. I won’t repeat myself. You’ll need to pay close attention—if you still can’t get it after I explain, I won’t hold back in pointing it out.”
The moment Shen Xiu heard that she would only explain things once, he immediately pushed aside all his lingering embarrassment. Sitting up straighter, he focused completely, tuning out all the background noise that might interfere with his concentration.
It was as if, in that moment, the only people in the classroom were him and Teacher He.
——
The three-hour theory class flew by in the morning, and during lunch, the trainees chatted while eating.
He Youna had lectured with a calm and gentle voice all morning, which lulled the trainees into a sense of security. Inevitably, they began comparing her to Xue Yi.
“If only Teacher Xue were half as gentle as Teacher He!”
“Listening to her is like a spring breeze—I could take ten more classes like that!”
But in the afternoon, when He Youna began the hands-on vocal training session…
It took less than thirty minutes for those same trainees—who had praised her at lunch—to start questioning their life choices.
The once-gentle Teacher He was now absolutely wrecking them in the vocal classroom.
“Why can’t you hit that note? What even is that pitch? Forgive me if I’m ignorant, but I’ve never heard anything like it before. Shen Xiu, come up here and show him how it’s done!”
“Did you leave your ears at home? Didn’t I just say you need to ground your breath? Shen Xiu…”
“No, no—grounding your breath doesn’t mean vanishing! Where is your breath? Did you eat it?! Shen Xiu! Again!”
“Wow—already cracking on that note? Shen Xiu, up!”
“What kind of bizarre slurring is that supposed to be? Shen Xiu!”
“I’m dying—hitting high notes doesn’t mean imitating a rooster, okay? Shen Xiu!”
“Tsk. Why is your voice shaking? You think I’m going to eat you? Shen Xiu!”
The trainees shrank like quails, all thinking the same thing:
No, you’re not going to eat us—but you sure know how to verbally murder us with passive-aggressive sass. Terrifying!
On the second day, the dynamic in the vocal classroom remained unchanged: the trainees were in shambles, and He Youna continued her ruthless slaughter.
Shen Xiu, along with the others, shared a single thought: Terrifying. Absolutely terrifying.
What Shen Xiu still couldn’t wrap his head around was—why did Teacher He call on him every single time she roasted someone?
By the final day, she didn’t even bother letting him sit down.
He was just stuck standing beside her at the front of the class, locked in awkward eye contact with the poor souls below.
Shen Xiu: “…”
He was so embarrassed, he wanted to launch himself into space and never come back.
It was suffocating—so suffocating that by the end, Shen Xiu was completely numb.
In just two days, all 78 trainees felt like they’d been dragged through hell and back. But the viewers? Oh, they were thriving.
[LMAO, these past two days I’ve only remembered two words: Shen Xiu!]
[Teacher He might as well just say, “Three, two, one—cue Shen Xiu!” 😂]
[What can we say? Boss Shen’s learning is scarily perfect—he remembers every single thing the teacher says. That kind of ability? Unreal. Respect.]
