I Don't Want to Hold You Back

[What are Si Di and Yu Ning doing?]

[Honestly, playful Si Di is just too handsome. So vibrant, sunny, and energetic—he's practically the pinnacle of youthful charm in recent years.]

[Yu Ning isn't bad either. He's so soft and adorable, and the two of them are kind of sweet when they mess around together...]

[Si Di × Yu Ning... I'm thinking about what their CP name should be. Dead Fish CP? Hell CP? Or Jade... Jade Emperor CP?]

[A naming genius! I bow in admiration!]

[Why are all the CP names involving Si Di so terrifying? Si Di and Yu Ning are Dead Fish CP, while Si Di and Qin Wei are Dichlorvos CP. If Si Di formed a CP with Lu Chen, would it be Dead-End CP?]

[Following that pattern, Si Di can form a CP with me too. My name is Gui*, so we'd be Dead Ghost CP. [laughing tears][laughing tears]]

The comments were flooded with all kinds of bizarre names.

Just as the chat was in full swing, vocal instructor Zhao Yi walked in.

The side hall immediately fell silent, and all the trainees stood up and bowed.

"Hello, Instructor."

Their voices were far from uniform.

But every one of them was enthusiastic.

Si Di was among them. Aside from his instinctive hostility toward Qin Wei, he respected all the other instructors.

Even Li Si, who had publicly mocked him, received a polite rise from him.

The vocal class was highly professional.

As one of the country's top pop singers, Zhao Yi's popularity had declined quite a bit over the past two years, but his professional ability remained formidable.

Many people couldn't reach the high notes, yet after a few pointers from him, they could easily raise their pitch by several notes.

Si Di wasn't very knowledgeable in this area. He could barely even make sense of sheet music.

So throughout the class, he quietly listened.

After the lesson, Zhao Yi had the trainees sing one by one.

Those with better aptitude could barely stumble through it. Those with poorer aptitude still couldn't even find the tune.

When it was Si Di's turn, the usually silent young man stepped forward and cleared his throat.

Zhao Yi gave him a simple accompaniment on the piano.

At the right beat, Si Di began singing precisely. His low notes were powerful and steady, his high notes clear and bright, and his rhythm was completely accurate.

Admiration appeared in Zhao Yi's eyes. Unable to resist, he adjusted the key and suddenly raised it by half a step at the high-note section of the second pass.

Si Di noticed something was off and looked at Zhao Yi.

Zhao Yi lifted his chin, signaling him to continue.

He was clearly increasing the difficulty.

Si Di's understanding of singing was limited to the vocal classes that came with his university acting program.

With the arrow on the string, he had no choice but to let it fly.

When he reached the high note, Si Di could only give it a try. He adjusted his breathing and came in on the beat!

He made it—and did so with ease!

The abrupt key change didn't sound jarring in the slightest. He transitioned gradually, handling the details exceptionally well!

After the song ended, Zhao Yi nodded in satisfaction. For the first time, he praised someone. "Very good, Si Di. Keep this up. Forget Class A—I think you'll definitely have no problem getting into Class B."

The trainees around them all turned to look at Si Di.

Those from Classes C, D, and F were full of envy.

Those from Classes A and B, however, looked guarded.

The show's rules were cruel. Each class had a fixed number of people: ten in Class A, twenty each in Classes B, C, and D, and the remaining thirty in Class F.

If someone moved up, someone else would be squeezed out.

The instructor's praise for Si Di was also pressure on the trainees in Classes A and B.

The afternoon was dance class.

Dance instructor Qian Er had already praised Si Di highly during the initial stage performance. He favored him, so naturally, he called on Si Di frequently during class.

Si Di himself rose to the occasion. In just one afternoon, breaking down and piecing together each movement, he actually mastered the intricate dance for the theme song.

He had a good memory.

He also had strong comprehension.

After practicing twice in the dance studio that evening, he had memorized both the lyrics and the choreography.

But having just transitioned from actor to singing-and-dancing idol, this level of training was a little too much for him.

After dinner that night, he showered and went to bed early.

At seven the next morning, the eighth set of radio calisthenics blared from the loudspeakers right on time.

Si Di had practiced dancing the day before, and after a night's sleep, his body ached even more. He turned over, intending to keep sleeping, but when he opened his eyes, he discovered that eighty percent of the huge dormitory for a hundred people was empty.

Gripping the bedrail, Si Di had originally wanted to ask Yu Ning what was going on, only to find that Yu Ning wasn't in his bed either.

His quilt was folded neatly.

The little bear Yu Ning had twisted out of a towel yesterday was still sitting on top of it.

Had he not come back all night?

Puzzled, Si Di climbed down, washed up, and headed for the dance studio.

The livestream hadn't started yet, but there were already many people in the dance studio. Facing the wall of mirrors, they practiced the theme song choreography again and again.

Yu Ning was among them. Like everyone else, the back of his cute sportswear was soaked through, his hair damp, and the loose strands on his forehead clumped together.

Even so, none of them stopped.

Si Di walked over and pulled Yu Ning aside. Looking at the beads of sweat on his face, he asked in confusion, "You practiced all night?"

Yu Ning's cheeks were flushed. Panting lightly, he said, "Yeah. The stupid bird flies first. We agreed to go to Class A together, so I can't hold you back."

After saying that, he turned to watch the dance movements of the person beside him, adjusted for a moment, and resumed practicing.

Honestly, the person next to him was dancing wrong too.

When both arms opened and rotated in opposite directions, they were supposed to pause sharply on each beat. But this person had poor control over his limbs and couldn't catch the rhythm, so he could only whirl them through in one smooth motion.

As a result, the intended sense of rhythm and power vanished completely.

Yu Ning's singing was decent, but dancing was his weak point. When he whirled his arms through in one motion, he was even half a beat slower than the others.

Si Di felt a pang in his chest as he watched. With a sigh, he pulled Yu Ning to one side and demonstrated the arm rotation himself, slowing it down beat by beat.

"There needs to be a pause in the middle, like this. Make your arms a little mechanical, turn them one beat at a time, and the power comes out. Don't just spin them straight through like that—you make it look like you're practicing tai chi."

Yu Ning copied his method once, and it was obviously much better, though the rhythm was still off.

Si Di clapped twice and counted, "One, two, three, four," in time with the beats as he demonstrated the dance again.

Following his rhythm, Yu Ning did it again.

Though he was a little flustered, he finally managed to keep up with the beat.

Si Di patted his shoulder. "If you don't know something, ask me. Don't keep practicing by yourself in silence. And hey, debuting is precious, but life is more precious. Don't practice yourself to death. You still need to rest when it's time to rest."

Yu Ning lowered his head and pursed his lips. A little embarrassed, he said, "I don't want to waste your time. There are only seven debut spots out of a hundred people. I don't want to hold you back, and... even if we're friends, once we stand on this stage, we're competitors. How could I let you teach me...?"

This kid was a little too honest.

Why did he have to be so selfless sometimes?

Si Di stared at him for a few seconds, then sighed helplessly.

"We agreed to go to Class A together. If you fall behind, that's what would really hold me back. While I'm teaching you, I'm practicing too. Next time, don't charge ahead on your own. Ask me if you don't know something."

After saying that, he turned around, tapped out the beat a few times, and began singing the theme song at half speed.

He sang while dancing in slow motion.

Yu Ning watched his back, his eyes warming. He took a deep breath and chased after Si Di's movements, practicing with all his strength.