An office building in a district of Shanghai.
As an office building located near the core business district, this entire building is filled with studios and companies related to the entertainment industry.
When Xiao He followed Liu Rulan to swipe her card and enter the building, he noticed that there were many people coming and going at this time, including some idol stars from a boy band and girl group who were somewhat famous.
Although they weren't dressed as coolly and meticulously as they had on stage before, many of them still exuded a remarkable aura. Their physiques alone were among the best in the industry, and they walked with an air of effortless coolness. Even in simple sports T-shirts and trousers, they somehow radiated a trendy, runway-worthy style.
Arriving here, Xiao He felt like he was bridging the gap between the entertainment and fashion industries. The artists here were more like "stars," while he, with his rustic appearance, was just an "actor."
Wearing a hat and mask, Xiao He was completely overlooked among the group of handsome men and beautiful women. On the contrary, when Liu Rulan walked in the building, people often took the initiative to greet her. Even when waiting for the elevator, people would deliberately step aside to let Liu Rulan go first.
When they looked at Xiao He beside Liu Rulan, a look of sudden realization appeared in their eyes, and they then greeted Xiao He.
It felt like Liu Rulan was more popular than Xiao He; people recognized the manager first, and then recognized Xiao He as the artist.
However, there was no other way. Liu Rulan had mentored Su Shengxi in the early days, and Su Shengxi had also transitioned from idol to actor. Overall, he was already among the most popular idol stars at the time, a figure that many latercomers in the Chinese entertainment industry could not surpass. When Su Shengxi was mostly known as an idol, Liu Rulan had a lot of contact with these people, and they all knew each other.
Xiao He was initially reserved, but after Liu Rulan greeted more than a dozen handsome male idols and beautiful young female idols in one go, he felt less pressured and could even nod to them with ease.
—As for whether he knew him or not, that falls into Xiao He's area of ignorance.
Finally, Liu Rulan led him to a studio on a floor of an office building via elevator and opened the door to a practice room.
The young female teacher inside the door was wearing a very figure-hugging sports vest and cargo pants, with her hair tied in a high ponytail, and her makeup was beautiful and exquisite, with a touch of internet style.
At this moment, she is calling out the rhythm while demonstrating to the students behind her in front of the mirror.
Hearing the noise, the female teacher turned to look at Liu Rulan, then smiled. After calling out the beat, she clapped her hands and said to the others in the practice room, "Now practice freely. I'll check everyone's movements in a bit!"
Then she walked towards Liu Rulan.
"Hey, how long has it been since you last came to see me?"
She opened her arms and gave Liu Rulan a tight hug.
Liu Rulan smiled as she hugged him back, saying with a hint of resentment, "You know how busy I've been lately. Look, it's almost the end of the year again, and all sorts of events have piled up. There's just too much to do."
After the two parted ways, they exchanged a few more words. Then Liu Rulan looked at Xiao He and introduced him, saying, "This is Wen Huiyan, my good friend. She currently works as a dance teacher at this studio."
"She has strong choreography skills. Many well-known and popular dance moves in the industry are her creations. The program you performed on stage this time was also choreographed by her."
Xiao He immediately raised his hand to greet her: "Hello, Teacher Wen."
"Hello, Teacher Xiao! I really like you! I've read all your works!"
Wen Huiyan shook hands with Xiao He happily, then glanced at Liu Rulan with a hint of resentment: "I asked Liu Rulan for your autograph before, but this guy is too busy and hasn't brought it to me in so long."
Liu Rulan smiled helplessly: "It was my fault, I apologize."
Xiao He also took out a pen and said, "It's alright. It's my honor that Teacher Wen likes me. If you don't mind, I can sign a few more for you on the spot."
"That's wonderful!"
Wen Huiyan immediately cheered up, then winked at Xiao He, teasing him with a hint of goodwill amidst her charm: "He's a very obedient younger brother, I think our time together will be very pleasant from now on."
Xiao He: "...Then I'll thank Teacher Wen in advance."
-
This course was basically a one-on-one private lesson. Wen Huiyan went through the movements with Xiao He, then reinforced his memory, practiced repeatedly, and finally practiced with the other people who came on stage later, and everyone lined up their positions.
When Xiao He said he couldn't dance and had never had any dance experience, Wen Huiyan was already mentally prepared to fight him like a door. However, she didn't expect that Xiao He was quite flexible and not a completely stiff wooden board. He was able to complete many of the more flexible moves after watching them once.
Moreover, Xiao He was quite uninhibited; he could twist his hips, turn around, and lift his feet whenever he wanted. He truly treated this matter as a job and maintained a learning attitude, demonstrating strong learning ability.
The entire stage performance lasted only a little over three minutes, and the dancing time on stage was less than two minutes. Xiao He had been dancing with Wen Huiyan all morning and had memorized almost all the movements. Wen Huiyan had also adjusted some of the details. Basically, when it was time to eat, everyone could leave work on time.
When class ended, Wen Huiyan's expression towards Xiao He could be described as amiable.
As someone who has dealt with idols for many years, she has seen far too many students of varying abilities, most of whom can only be described as a disaster.
They're all joking and dancing around from beginning to end, occasionally striking what they think are cool poses in front of the mirror—that type is pretty normal. Then there are those who chat and joke during class, pointing out each other's actions, making fun of each other, and laughing—that type is also tolerable.
There's another type that's absolutely deadly: someone jumps around and suddenly lights a cigarette, smoking while jumping along, leaving Wen Huiyan completely helpless.
Wen Huiyan was incredibly kind to have met such a student with such a good attitude and excellent learning ability.
"Xiao He, I'll have them come over tomorrow to practice your movements. You'll all jump together then, and I'll go over the details with you all."
Wen Huiyan said.
"Okay, thank you, Teacher Wen."
Xiao He packed his things, said goodbye to Wen Huiyan, and then prepared to leave the practice room.
Just as Xiao He reached the elevator, he heard someone call his name from behind.
"Brother Xiao!"
Xiao He stopped in his tracks.
Does he have any acquaintances here?
The voice did sound somewhat familiar.
Xiao He turned his head and saw a young man with green hair excitedly greeting him.
Uh, the face looks somewhat familiar, but I can't quite place it.
However, Xiao He's attention was more focused on the other person's head.
Yes, the stupid things he did back then, even after all these years, people are still going to dye their hair that color!
Dude, take my advice, this thing really depends on modeling!
