"Hey! You brat, stop pulling me! I haven't thrown away the trash!"
Zhang Yunchen tossed the popcorn bucket Shang Shujue kept looking back at longingly into the trash. At that, Shang Shujue finally stopped looking back, even gave him a thumbs-up, and seized the opportunity to give him money.
"Great job, Zhang Yunchen! Go see finance at the company later and collect your bonus. I'll let them know right away."
Zhang Yunchen knew Shang Shujue wanted to help him, and warmth filled his heart. Just three days ago, he had still been a poor little thing no legitimate entertainment company would sign.
Now, because of Shang Shujue's change, he had become an artist at Jinyuan Media. Not only did he get a fixed base salary of 6,000, he even received the five social insurances and housing fund, plus song royalties and copyright revenue shares. Life was getting better, and he felt more spirited too.
"Zhang Yunchen, come on, let's head in too. You haven't trained for very long, so there are some details you need to polish. Yu Zeqi and I will help you work on them."
Xu Jiaqiao slung an arm around Zhang Yunchen's shoulders, patted his shoulder, and led him inside, brimming with energy and treating Zhang Yunchen entirely as a friend.
Although Zhang Yunchen was still a little embarrassed, he no longer rejected his kindness as he had before. Instead, he nodded and thanked him shyly. "Okay. Thank you."
Hearing him call his name, Yu Zeqi glanced back. Seeing the two approaching like close buddies, he smiled and stopped to wait for them, his baby-fat cheeks rounding a little.
Everyone entered the dance studio together and began loosening up. They turned the music player back on and continued practicing the dance along with the practice video.
Shang Shujue did not join them. He sat on the sofa to the side and leaned back lazily, casually taking a bag of golden sunflower seeds and a white plastic bag out of his pocket.
He tore open the packet, grabbed a handful of golden sunflower seeds, and held the plastic bag as he watched them dance and cracked seeds. The scene in the dance studio became particularly bizarre.
One side was fired up and bursting with energy, while the other was lazy and carefree, like a retired old man. The sight automatically set soothing, refined Peking opera music playing in one's head. The fit was simply too perfect, and so was the contrast.
After all, this season's trainee survival show theme song, "Set Off Together Happily," was a highly energetic, rhythmic song, completely at odds with Shang Shujue's old-man air.
Nobody had expected Shang Shujue to genuinely just watch them dance after coming in, with no intention of dancing himself. For a moment, they were speechless and did not know what to say. They could only smile and get back to practicing their dance.
Although they only had three days to practice, most of them were fairly talented. After watching once or twice, they had basically memorized all the dance moves.
It was just that they were each dancing on their own now, making them look a little out of sync. Watching their nimble movements, Shang Shujue nodded unconsciously, then accurately picked out one clumsy contestant among them who had little talent.
It was Bai Xiaoze. Everyone else danced very smoothly, looking clean and pleasing to the eye, while his dancing looked stiff and jerky, like a robot. His limbs seemed uncoordinated, and he danced in such a flurry that his arms and legs were all over the place.
Although Shang Shujue could not dance once he got onstage, that did not mean he did not understand how to dance, did it? After all, he had entered the entertainment industry through dance before switching to acting.
Bai Xiaoze's dancing really defied description. For a moment, he seemed unable to even tell his left hand from his right. If he went onstage like this, netizens would definitely hurl the most vicious abuse at him until he became depressed.
"Bai Xiaoze, come here."
Shang Shujue put his unfinished sunflower seeds back into the packet, then took a bottle of mineral water out of his pocket, unscrewed the cap, and took a large gulp before calling Bai Xiaoze over.
"Ohhh~ Brother Jue, you called? What do you need?"
Called out by his full name, Bai Xiaoze stopped with an inexplicably guilty feeling, rubbed the back of his head, and walked over to him, sitting beside him without any ceremony.
"Don't sit yet. Stand up and show me an S-wave. You can start with any part of your body. Come on... move."
Shang Shujue did not let him sit for long before hauling him up and immediately asking him to demonstrate a separate part, leaving Bai Xiaoze a little bewildered.
"Uh... Brother Jue, I haven't been learning dance since I was little. There are lots of technical terms I don't understand. What was that English word you just said? Ess... ess what?"
Bai Xiaoze looked at him with innocent bewilderment but a strong thirst for knowledge, his eyes innocent and bright. His ears and cheeks had reddened from being singled out to dance a separate part.
"..."
Looking at Bai Xiaoze's innocent expression, Shang Shujue fell silent for a long while, then gently covered his forehead and suddenly curled his lips into a smile.
"An S-wave is a wave. You use any part of your body to make a waving motion."
After explaining, Shang Shujue found that Bai Xiaoze was still a little confused. He simply looked up at the people around them, then fixed his gaze on their practice video.
"There, look at the part in the theme song where they shake their shoulders and swing their arms. That move, connected to the next one, rippling like a wave-that's an S-wave. Try dancing along to that section."
"Oh, oh! Got it, got it."
Bai Xiaoze finally understood what Shang Shujue meant, so he moved a little farther forward. Everyone who had been dancing made room for him.
"Bai Xiaoze, I'll put on the BGM for you."
Zhou Zheng even enthusiastically restarted the song for him, grinning happily, looking like someone who never minded making a spectacle bigger.
Bai Xiaoze could not help looking back to glare at him, but still obediently began dancing to the theme song's rhythm.
Zhang Zhichen and the others stood to the side drinking water, watching Bai Xiaoze dance like a robot along with the music.
When he reached the S-wave section and looked as though he could no longer tell which way was north, south, east, or west, they could not help making indescribable faces.
"I always knew dancing was Xiaoze's weakness, but isn't this a bit ridiculously weak...?"
"Uh... there's absolutely no talent to speak of. Don't tell me all he did for his stage performance was sing?"
"I think that really was it..."
As they muttered quietly at the side, Shang Shujue wore an equally indescribable expression. Then he waved a hand, telling Bai Xiaoze to stop.
"Okay, okay, okay. Bai Xiaoze, you'd better stop dancing. Seriously, you have no talent for dance, so don't waste your time. I think you're better suited to going back to school and taking the college entrance exam."
The moment Shang Shujue finished speaking, Bai Xiaoze's expression soured. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, looking a little hurt and angry. "Brother Jue, you're going too far. I know I dance badly, but you can't say that about me."
"I'm praising you for being smart. Poor physical fitness and uncoordinated limbs aren't your fault. They say people like that are very talented in the sciences. Rather than wasting your time here, wouldn't it be better to go back, take the college entrance exam, and get into a 985 or 211 university or something?"
Shang Shujue took out his sunflower seeds and started cracking them again. There was no mockery or disdain on his face. He was simply stating a fact and offering sincere advice.