When Huo Ren woke up, the morning light was still hidden in the tide-like sea of clouds.
He opened his eyes, a bit bewildered, and looked at the chaotic sky for a while before he moved again.
He was still sleeping in Pei Ruye’s arms.
Actually, according to the recovery from the illness, it is very necessary and not too difficult to separate daily life.
Huo Ren still couldn’t tell him his feelings.
Love, infatuation, admiration, various desires that represent the true self.
Only when blindfolded with a black ribbon would he whisper for more, and wrap his arms around the man’s neck to prolong the deep kiss.
But that was not what he and Pei Ruye wanted, they both knew.
The young man quietly turned half a circle, sniffing with an animalistic nature.
Teacher usually wears ocean perfume to the public, but after receiving the lipstick, it became white rose for the private.
Shampoo, hair conditioner, and the faint scent on the fingertips.
So, sleeping in his arms a little longer, one would be enveloped in a rich fragrance, mixed with their pheromones.
Noticing Huo Ren’s movement, Pei Ruye stretched out his hand to caress his cheek, expressing inquiry through body language.
The latter nudged back, indicating everything was fine.
“Teacher,” he knew Pei Ruye only came back at 3 a.m., so he quietly explained, “I’m going to take the students, see you at noon.”
Saying this, he tried to sit up, get out of bed, and change clothes.
Before he could sit up straight, Pei Ruye stretched out his hand and pulled him back into his embrace, rubbing their cheeks together half-asleep.
The force wasn’t strong, but enough to press him fully against his chest.
Huo Ren’s heartbeat sped up at this moment, feeling the other’s breath and warm skin, while wanting to ask more about his thoughts.
But the man seemed still asleep.
He boldly kissed his fiancรฉ’s hand back, reluctant to leave.
Thus, he looked at the man’s profile for a while longer in the twilight.
Straight nose, slender neck.
Collarbone, shoulder line, hair tips, knuckles.
Heroic and handsome, almost every inch precisely hitting Huo Ren’s aesthetic spot.
He couldn’t tell if his preference was innate or he was attracted step by step unintentionally.
Huo Ren lay on his chest for a while, feeling it was getting late, then gently kissed his fingertips, his lips brushed with the scent of white roses.
Then he turned over, got out of bed, and quietly changed into underwear, a shirt, and a loose, flexible tutor jacket in front of the floor mirror.
With Pei Ruye’s arms empty, he half-asleep watched his cold white back and waist, his bowing posture’s protruding curve, before falling asleep again.
The time was 5:30 a.m.
The cafeteria had just opened, most of the pastries were not yet steamed, only a bowl of buckwheat noodles could be boiled on the spot.
But many trainees were already hastily filling their stomachs or walking out quickly with toast in their mouths.
They were somewhat surprised to see Huo Ren, their expressions overtly awe-filled.
“Good morning, Teacher Huo!”
“Teacher, good morning.”
“You’ve worked hardโ”
Half the time had passed, and there were only four days left until the live performance.
This time, eighty to fifty was brutal enough, the assistants of the other groups were busy to the point of exhaustion, and the pressure on the creative group was even greater.
Huo Ren was leading two groups, but the conditions within each were starkly different.
Group B could reserve nearly three minutes of camera time for the program group, letting the audience enjoy the disaster-like state to the fullest.
The first day came with no progress, the election of leaders was difficult, and after the election, there was endless discussion and complaint, then collective wailing about insufficient time.
The second and third days were chaotic and questioning more than substantial actions, even though Huo Ren and the assistants had emphasized many times. There was always someone in the team who would start doubting halfway through writing, first overturning a small section, and later, completely denying and starting over.
With ten people in a team, four or five with strong abilities were engrossed in hard thinking, the rest unsure of what to do, idly working on their physical fitness intermittently.
Creative Group A, witnessing all this, entered the rehearsal stage on the third day.
โHaving a leader is extremely important for a boy group.
Fu Mingnian had a mochi-like warm and sticky personality, seemingly bland like plain water at first glance, but his style was quite sharp and straightforward when it came to business.
He controlled the timeline tightly, composing songs with Bo Huan while also multitasking to manage other members’ schedules.
The first step was to set the order of creation; once the lyrics were settled, one group composed the music while another choreographed the dance, with him as the main control deciding on inquiries from all three sides, becoming the captain who steered the direction and bore all responsibilities.
The second step was to start refining in meetings as the rough shape took form.
Lyrics, dance moves, melody, all three had to operate like gears cutting shapes, perfectly in motion.
As a mentor, Huo Ren controlled the sense of boundaries very well.
He would only provide guidance to Group A at crucial moments, letting the kids fully feel and understand what it means to be in a boy group.
Solo fighting and team battling are entirely different.
But for Group B, Huo Ren never held back his true nature in front of the camera.
He was very strict.
On the first day, when Group B made no progress, he held a meeting.
“Who’s the leader?”
A boy with a good-natured face raised his hand slowly.
“What are you mainly doing now? Have you decided on the core idea for the songwriting?”
The others looked at each other blankly, and the leader of Group B had a stiff face.
Huo Ren didn’t say much, took an A4 paper, and listed the time distribution and daily schedule again.
“The time you wasted today needs to be made up from the spare time in the next two days.”
“If you don’t make it up, it will only further delay the later work plan, and the responsibility can only be borne by yourselves.”
Some in Group B were still distracted looking at the excellent contestants of Group A during the meeting, now couldn’t help but interject: “But we don’t know how.”
“Yeah, Teacher Huo, we don’t know how to write songs, seven days is not enough…”
“Writing lyrics is so hard, the leader also said today he didn’t know what to do.”
“Is it because no one taught you?”
“There is, but…”
But it’s so complicated that I don’t want to learn it at all.
Can’t we just sing what others have written? I shouldn’t have joined this group from the start!
Huo Ren pursed his lips and remained silent for a few seconds.
“Today’s lessons have already been fully taught, and the process is very clear.”
“What you lack now is not ability, but attitude.”
“Now, out of ten people, how many know what they should be doing?”
Not a single person raised their hand.
Huo Ren frowned, looked around, and his gaze fell on the leader again.
“This is your dereliction of duty.”
The young man already dared not meet his gaze, now awkwardly defending himself: “They all didn’t want to be the leader, I had no choice…”
The others felt somewhat guilty and dared not say anything more.
Huo Ren’s gaze turned cold, knowing this group of people would be difficult to succeed.
Unwilling to put in the effort, endure hardship, or take responsibility.
Talking more was meaningless.
The camera captured this second of his cold face, when suddenly another person’s voice called out.
“Teacher Huo, we’d like to ask you about the music arrangementโ”
Shi Jianian appeared not far away, and in front of everyone in Group B, handed Huo Ren a coffee pudding.
His grey-blue eyes blinked, with a hint of a smile.
“Please, stay a little longer.”
With his arrival, not only did he defuse the tense atmosphere, but he also successfully took Teacher away to help his own group.
Watching the cameras follow them away, the members of Group B collapsed onto the table, deflated.
“What do we do now…”
“I don’t know…”
“Should we change the leader? Anyone wants to come?”
“…”
After overcoming the adjustment phase, Group A absorbed knowledge rapidly like a sponge.
Bo Huan had solid basics, and Han Yang was a music composition major. Every night, the two of them held small classes for their teammates, and many other boys from different dorms came to listen.
Shi Jianian and Chen Yuanqing both had good dance foundations. On the first day, they completed the entire four-minute dance routine, then kept refining it.
Even Ma Lu, who couldn’t help much, was running around like a logistic support, supplying coffee, stationery, and checking the schedule, also managing to borrow several musical instruments.
When Huo Ren came over again and started teaching while playing the piano, he delved deeper and hit the core more.
A group of young men, holding their notebooks, watched dazzled, wishing they could record and review the video three times over with a camera.
Although Huo Ren had played the piano many times in previous performances, his live performance and singing attracted even more attention.
Several groups of students were in classrooms upstairs and downstairs, but as soon as they heard that God Huo was on the twentieth floor today, they all rushed over to listen to his singing.
โA group of seventeen or eighteen-year-old boys gathered in bunches by the windows and doors, watching this legendary figure with faces full of admiration and enchantment.
Just as they were sneaking around, suddenly someone spotted something, tugged at a companion, and they all whooshed away.
Those who couldn’t run in time were caught red-handed by Pei Ruye and Mei Heng strolling over.
“Teacher Huo is very handsome,” Pei Ruye said with a light smile. “Be careful not to fall through the window.”
The boys stuttered, nodding their heads; it was too late to run away now: “We just wanted to, to learn…”
“Oh?” Mei Heng glanced at his watch. “Are you planning to skip my class?”
“Noโteacher, I really didn’t climb the wallโlisten to me explainโ”
Inside the classroom, the atmosphere was harmonious, with no one paying attention to the commotion outside.
Huo Ren was focused on teaching while playing the piano, occasionally circling lines of their lyrics, discussing how to revise and improve them.
When he played the piano, there was a bit of the artisan spirit taught by Bo Jue.
Unlike the artists of this restless era, he resembled more a cultured and rigorous teacher.
Some students couldn’t keep their concentration, glancing at Huo Ren from time to time, drawn to him like moths to a flame.
Teacher is so amazing.
How does he know everything?? Good at dancing, strong at songwriting, and his voice is so clear, it’s like he’s born with a natural autotune!
Mei Heng stood by the window for a while, glancing sideways at Pei Ruye.
The latter was still gazing at Huo Ren, surrounded by students, unembarrassed even as his friend stared at him.
“Huo Ren is born to be a top-tier artist.”
He looked at the slender figure, his tone unconsciously tender.
“Deeply focused, steady in action, strong in ability, high self-demand.”
“More importantly, he’s a natural spotlight magnet.”
Able to attract the camera, draw attention, captivate the entire world’s notice.
Mei Heng, leaning against the window, listened to that segment of singing and playing, and patted his old friend’s shoulder.
“You’re about to fall.”
Pei Ruye touched his forehead with a bitter smile.
“I’ve already fallen.”
Author’s Note:
Good morning, everyone~
I’m still adjusting my schedule recently, so I’m updating 3,000 words today, and I’ll gradually get back on track _(:ะทใโ )_
I was going to return to Wuhan for the New Year, but the epidemic is quite severe, so I had to cancel and stay in Shanghai at the last minute.
I also want to remind friends in Wuhan, the virus spreads through eyes, mouth, and nose, so please wear goggles in addition to masks when going out, and promptly disinfect the goggles with alcohol after returning home.
Wishing everyone a safe New Year, love you all.
Poor author ๐ฌ so close to the finish line, then a damn pandemic steals your group’s name…