Huo Ren had not yet spoken when a countdown-like cheer erupted from the audience in the back.
Mei Heng shrugged: “Everyone wants to see.”
Huo Ren was momentarily speechless, looking helplessly at the other two people.
Feng Jin nodded: “I want to see it too.”
Pei Ruye also smiled without saying anything.
Huo Ren thought to himself, how did this show effect come to me, feeling somewhat guilty for a moment.
He had never danced with Pei Ruye on stage before.
Even during the instructor’s opening show, they each danced their own parts.
More than being caught dancing a woman’s steps, what he cared about was this very thing.
Pei Ruye was already ready to help him out of the awkward situation, but Huo Ren had already taken off his mask and stood up, smiling somewhat embarrassingly.
“It’s been a long time since I last danced, I might be a bit rusty.”
The man’s adam’s apple moved as he nodded in agreement.
“It’s okay to teach it again.”
A group of stunned trainees had already started to make a fuss inside and outside the venue.
The song “Like Morning Light” itself is light and youthful, almost like it was tailor-made for a school dance waltz.
When Huo Ren and Pei Ruye stood together, the girls below were dazzled to near blindness.
โToo perfect, how come both people are glowing, who do I ship, Teacher X Teacher or Teacher X Student!!!
Pei Ruye looked down at the handsome youth beside him, extending one of his hands.
“Because of the height,” he joked half-seriously: “Come into my arms.”
Huo Ren thought the two of them were crazy, dancing a waltz in front of the camera and the national audience.
Mei Heng cooperated by whistling.
With this joking and playful atmosphere, only the two people closest to each other could feel the ambiguity.
Huo Ren unconsciously took a deep breath for a second, placing his palm up.
“I’m a bit nervous,” he said straightforwardly.
Pei Ruye smiled and embraced him.
“Forgot what I taught before?”
Huo Ren subconsciously looked up, and the moment he looked into his eyes, the violin sound rang out again, and they both glided away like birds.
Classical notes and modern styles mixed together, making each bar seem infused with the scent of vodka.
Swinging, changing steps, retreating, advancing.
At this moment, Huo Ren’s mind went blank, subconsciously being led by Pei Ruye to dance across the half-court.
His palm became slightly damp with emotion, and his breathing unconsciously tensed.
It was as if he was about to fall into endless romantic fantasies again.
Raising hands, spinning, embracing, separating.
The violin and piano sounds were like nightingales flipping through the woods, and the trails swept by their clothes invisibly overlapped, as beautiful as a new moon.
Huo Ren could hardly control his limbs, always looking up at Pei Ruye.
He suddenly remembered the anxiousness of his youth, quietly placing that white rose lipstick in the office.
“โฆI am worthy of you.”
Teacher, nine years have passed, am I now worthy of you?
Three steps of hesitation ended, the music rose and fell, and they faced the camera once more.
Huo Ren unconsciously tightened his grip on his fingers, almost forgetting to let go when they finally stopped.
A huge round of applause erupted from the audience, with trainees both inside and outside the venue all looking shocked.
This danceโwas it really that handsome?!
When Bo Huan and others were rehearsing initially, many onlooking boys also joked about pulling their friends to dance together, but it felt like this dance was still more suited for moments of intimacy with a girlfriend, with average appeal.
But when Pei Ruye half-embraced Huo Ren to dance, the post-modern stage seemingly transformed into the scene of a 17th-century royal ball.
They were both men, straight and full of strength, each with their unique temperament.
During their promenade and spins, it was as if a wolf and a hunter were in a tentative chase, yet with a bit of **’s gentle tenderness, each step fluid and noble, too beautiful to take one’s eyes off.
โIt was hard to tell whether it was because of the steady, precise, and gorgeous steps, or because the two men were just too dazzling.
Huo Ren bowed slightly to the audience with a bit of a blush, trying hard to hide the subtle emotions in his heart.
Just then, Feng Jin raised her hand to ask a question.
“How does it feel to dance with the teacher?”
The audience: Yoooooooooโโ
Huo Ren thought that using official platitudes now would only make things more conspicuous. He glanced at Pei Ruye, and after a pause of a few seconds, he spoke truthfully.
“Very nervous.”
“Why? Afraid of making a mistake?”
“Because…” Huo Ren laughed helplessly: “He’s charming.”
Pei Ruye slowly blinked.
He found that Huo Ren’s recent epiphanies were reaching unbelievable speeds.
He should have been brought onto the show sooner.
As soon as this segment aired, fans supporting various pairings with Huo Ren covered their faces in anguish, while fans of the Huo Ren and Pei Ruye pairing were almost ready to organize their engagement ceremony on social media.
[Hello everyone, I’m the civil affairs bureau, I came by myself!! Huo Ren and Pei Ruye FOREVER!!!]
[Huo Ren and Pei Ruye is real ah ah ahโโI’m spinning and screaming in the living room, scaring the dog into calling an ambulance with its pawโโ]
[The eye contact was too obvious!! Do you need to look at each other that long!! Don’t you get enough on a regular basis, doesn’t it bore you at all!!!]
[Every frame is a critical hit, I’ve been critically hit until I’m bleeding out, I can’t do this anymoreโฆโฆ]
When they returned to the instructor seats, Huo Ren’s face was even hotter, and he had to pretend to be serious and continue explaining other issues to the trainees.
Pei Ruye glanced at him lightly and turned his head with a suppressed smile.
The camera captured this moment perfectly.
The audience, both on-site and watching from afar, clasped their hands over their hearts.
Heyโโ!!! We’re still here!! We really are!!!
[Could it be that Pei Ruye has already succeeded, can some micro-expression experts analyze whether this is a secret crush or an open one??]
[Damn, suddenly so jealous of Pei Ruye, he saw the most tender side of my Huo Ren, now comparing it with his mature side is just!!!]
[These two men are too provocative, such a serious and upright Huo Ren deserves to be bound by the wrists with a tie and thenโโ]
Following the performance of the eight groups, the core first round of popularity ranking was announced as scheduled.
This time, the ranking was updated in real time, with eighty percent coming from cumulative votes from outside the venue and twenty percent from the votes of the instructors and the audience on-site.
After a brief adjustment, all eighty trainees were in place, appearing on four large screens.
The youthful faces were all trying to smile, encouraging each other.
[ใChosen by the GodsใFirst Round Popularity Voting]
1. Shi Jianian
2. Fu Mingnian
3. Zhu Xizhi
4. Gu Shaochu
5. Bo Huan
6. Chen Yuanqing
7. Han Yang
8. Fang Chengran
…
The four instructors took turns reading out the students in different segments, filling up the quadrants of heaven and earth anew with both new and old faces.
More and more trainees found their new positions, and many others anxiously awaited.
Unexpectedly, Ma Lu’s popularity soared to the nineteenth place.
When he first joined the group, he only had a few hundred followers on Weibo, but after a few episodes, his followers had surged to seventy thousand.
This was indeed a dark horse.
Although Ma Lu, due to his strength, only got two lines in the song “Like Morning Wind”, he always voluntarily took on the role of a gear-like logistic support, secretly taking very good care of every member.
He was ordinary yet genuine, unexpectedly enabling many viewers to empathize with him.
[Isn’t Ma Lu just like me at the sports meet, always passing out waterโโ]
[His dance progress is so fast, he couldn’t dance when he first arrived, right?]
[Only Ma Lu and Yangyang from the original Corona group practiced dance until 2 a.m. every night, go for it, my two favorites!!]
“Progressing very fast.” Mei Heng said in surprise: “It seems you have a good connection with the audience.”
The alpaca-like young man was also stunned, nodding stiffly as he received the score sheet, looking at it over and over again.
“I will work hard!” He clenched his fist and bowed: “Thank you, everyone!”
Thirty people were eliminated on the spot, some knew the results as soon as they heard their scores, only able to hug everyone goodbye with teary eyes.
Those who remained tried to suppress their joy, softly comforting friends who had to leave.
In a blink of an eye, only fifty people remained on the stage.
“For the next round, from fifty to thirty,” Huo Ren said solemnly, “we will, for the first time, employ a comprehensive evaluation in the boy group mode.”
“External popularity votes will account for 60 percent, and capability assessment will account for 40 percent.”
“For the first time, as a boy group, you will jointly perform the famous works of us four instructors.”
Upon hearing this, the trainees looked up, and a wave of exclamations filled the venue.
We can dance to our idol’s signature songs!!
This time it’s really like experiencing being in a boy group! So nervous, so excited!!
The four revolving doors opened again, and each instructor stood silently beside a lamp at the door, with different work titles lighting up above them.
Mei Heng “Dust and Noise”
Feng Jin “Cross Alliance”
Pei Ruye “Cold Light”
Huo Ren “Night Fire”
As soon as the words “Night Fire” appeared, almost the entire venue erupted into a frenzy.
Who hadn’t heard of “Night Fire” written by Huo Ren before the popularity of this CP name?!
It was Corona’s leading track, a symbol of a mythological era, and a classic that brought countless awards to this legendary group at the time!!
Now that Corona has disbanded, “Cold Light” and “Night Fire” have long remained in recordings from many years ago, today they finally have the chance to return to the stage!!!
“In Corona’s early albums, a lot of the choreography work and dance instruction was essentially done by Teacher Pei,” Huo Ren felt somewhat uncomfortable addressing him by his surname, yet his expression remained humble and respectful: “Thank you, Teacher Pei, for bringing us so many excellent works.”
“Not only that, we are fortunate to have two special guest instructors to provide completely free, ungrouped guidance.”
He stepped aside and gestured, and two figures quickly emerged from the silver and red mist.
One had a cold demeanor and a tall figure, with scrutinizing eyes like a fox.
The other was calm and handsome, casting shadows like bamboo, wearing a dark suit adorned with kirin patterns.
“Xie Lianyun!!! Thank you for finally appearing ahhhโโI’m going to cryโโ”
“Jiang Jue!!! Jiang Jue actually came to do a variety show, what a good day, I’m going to hype up Honglu Station!!”
“When can Corona reunite completely, I’m already crying, I miss them so much wuwuwuโโ”
The trainees were so stunned they didn’t know whether to first look at the celebrities or the song choices, their hearts racing with nervous excitement.
They’re all so amazing!! Who to choose this time!! I heard both God Huo and Goddess Feng are super fierce, so anxious…
As Mei Heng explained the rules at the front of the stage, Pei Ruye and Huo Ren stood behind him, not clearly visible in the shots.
“After the recording, wait for me in the makeup room.”
Huo Ren nodded casually: “Talking about the grouping or the new song choreography?”
The man spoke softly.
“Nothing much, just want to help you wipe off your lipstick.”
First kiss it off, then slowly wipe it away.
Author’s Note:
*New Year’s red envelopes will be distributed in bulk around February 1st, thank you for your comments O3O
These days I’ve been restless, taking especially long to get into the writing mood, sorry for the late updates…
After finishing tomorrow’s update, I’ll go touch the fish on ABO TUT
Woah woah woah I would be blushing watching that that live hahaha