Before and after dinner, Qin Lu went to find Su Qinglan and carefully explained the issues that Liao Junchen had told him, then patiently corrected some areas after listening to him sing a few times. Afterward, Qin Lu returned to Class A to continue practicing.

The seven of them practiced until midnight. Qin Lu, who had been practicing continuously in the afternoon, only felt tired. He had taken a kind of disguised rest for an hour or two when he went to see Su Qinglan. However, he started to feel sore all over his body, as if his body was heavy and not his own.

Liao Junchen had experience. Even though Qin Lu didn’t say a word, he could tell at a glance that Qin Lu must have suffered because of today’s intensive training.

was also Liao Junchen's oversight. He had forgotten that Qin Lu wasn’t used to dancing everyday like he was.

Liao Junchen raised his hand and patted Qin Lu's shoulder with a “pa” sound, saying, "Let's stop here for today, but make sure to do a complete set of stretches."

Qin Lu endured the momentary soreness in his shoulders and nodded calmly.

On the other hand, Fan Xi hated doing stretches the most. When he heard the word "stretching," he couldn't help but feel a headache, but he had no choice but to do it.

The process of stretching was indeed painful, but it was only difficult to endure for a short time. However, if one were to slack off and avoid stretching, they would surely feel as if they had been beaten up a hundred times the next day, unable to move without pain.

At their age, with their physical condition was at its peak. Otherwise, even with Qin Lu's determination, he wouldn't be able to endure for such a long time.

Liao Junchen had years of training experience, so he took the few people in this stretching class to complete a comprehensive half-hour stretching session, which would at least prevent them from being sore all over and unable to move the next day.

Even Qin Lu couldn't help but frown, showing an expression of patience while stretching. In contrast, Fan Xi, who had gradually started to let himself go after getting familiar with everyone, bared his teeth and yelled in pain.

Fan Xi usually only practiced for three or four hours a day, and had boasted to his parents and friends about his invincible effort.

However, being stimulated by everyone here, he pushed himself with a surge of enthusiasm, enduring the high-intensity training until now. It had been a while since he experienced such intense training, and he felt the exhaustion reaching to the very core of his muscles and tendons, making him miserable.

The camera brother (1) couldn't bear it any longer and had already gone to sleep early on, leaving only a few cameras still recording these sweat-soaked moments.

After the long day finally came to an end, everyone gradually returned to their respective dormitories. Qin Lu tidied up the classroom briefly, putting the plastic bottles together in a bag and tossing it into the trash bin in the corridor before turning off the lights and preparing to leave.

Qin Lu thought that the other classes' participants must have already gone back to their dorms to rest, and he assumed that A-class members were among the last ones practicing. However, after turning off the lights, he noticed a faint light seeping through the crack under the door at the end of the hallway.

Curious, he walked over to take a look. The door was not completely closed, and as he approached, he could hear the squeaky sound of sports shoes on the wooden floor.

Raising his head, Qin Lu looked up and saw the sign "Class-F" hanging on the door of the practice room.

Perhaps someone inside heard the sound outside, as the dancing stopped, followed by the sound of approaching footsteps—

The door was opened, and a tall boy with rolled-up sleeves glanced at Qin Lu's light green C-Class training uniform. He hesitated for a moment and said, "If you're looking for someone, come back tomorrow. It's just me here now."

Qin Lu shook his head, "I just finished practicing and noticed the lights still on, so I came to take a look."

The boy's side face was somewhat obscured by the light from behind him, but after confirming that Qin Lu wasn't there for anything specific, he turned around and stepped aside, saying, "There's nothing interesting to see."

With the classroom now illuminated, Qin Lu could finally see who it was – the last participant to perform in the first recording was Han Suyan, who did radio gymnastics. He was the one who said he would do a hundred repetitions if he couldn't dance properly. It seemed like he wasn't just making empty promises, but was truly determined to follow through.

Originally, Mentor Yin Suli had mentioned considering being more lenient with the last participant before he had stepped onto the stage, due to being unlucky enough to perform last. But Han Suyan decided to decline the opportunity to move from F-Class to D-Class.

He would rely on himself to move up.

Qin Lu didn't leave immediately; instead, he looked at the empty classroom and asked, "Isn't anyone practicing with you?"

Han Suyan glanced at him and replied, "En."

He thought Qin Lu would leave after asking, but the visibly exhausted trainee simply sat down on the floor and said, "I'm not very sleepy yet. I'll watch you practice for a while before I go."

Han Suyan: "..."

He didn't say anything. The mobile phone cut the song to the beginning where the preparatory actions began.

and prepared to start the next repetition, but Qin Lu stopped him, "Practicing another hundred times like this won't lead to significant improvement."

Qin Lu quietly watched him dance to the whole song in its entirety, and stopped Han Suyan when he was about to directly begin the next repetition. “Even if you dance a hundred times like this, you won’t make much progress.”

Han Suyan paused, turned to look in Qin Lu's direction, and lowered his eyes and nodded calmly without showing any offended anger. “Oh.”

There was a hint of humility in his eyes and brows and a desire for advice as he seriously asked, "Then how can I make effective progress?"

Qin Lu blinked and pointed to his C-class training uniform, "I'm just from Class C. Aren't you worried that I might talk nonsense and lead you astray?"

Han Suyan's handsome face remained calm, "Not really worried. I'm already in Class F, and no matter how bad you are, you won't be worse than me. Besides, those who have practiced until how will at least take the stage seriously.”

Qin Lu was taken aback, and then he stretched his arms and stood up.

The teenage boy, though a bit tired-looking, still had a radiant spirit. He followed the music that was still playing, tapped the rhythm, and danced two eight-counts.

"Here, when you exerted force just now, it started from your arms, but actually it actually comes from your shoulders. The force should be smoothly transmitted to your fingertips, rather than using force separately in each part."

"When you turn, it's not just a simple rotation. Try using your core strength to drive your whole body into the turn, and it will look more fluid and visually appealing."

Half an hour later, Qin Lu took the mineral water that Han Suyan handed to him, "Try it again."

As the clock gradually approached two o'clock, Qin Lu watched Han Suyan dance again and nodded with bright eyes, "Much better."

He stood up, shook his hands, and turned around. "I'm going back to rest now. After you finish stretching, come too; otherwise, your condition might be affected tomorrow."

After Qin Lu finished speaking, he walked out. He was also feeling a bit tired after the day.

"Qin Lu," Han Suyan called him from behind, but after hesitating for a while, he didn’t say the latter half of the sentence for a long time.

Qin Lu turned his head, his eyes showing a hint of inquiry. "If you have any other questions, ask Yao Chen tomorrow. I've already told you everything I know."

"...It's not that." Han Suyan looked at him for a while and finally said, "Never mind, just rest early."

Qin Lu nodded, waved his hand, and left.

During the second day's dance class, Mentor Yao Chen stood at the front of the classroom slowly teaching an 8-beat lead dance step by step, and kept watching the students behind him in the mirror to see if they could keep up.

But soon, he noticed that Qin Lu was not only keeping up but also dancing quite well.

In the following days of classes, almost all the instructors noticed that Qin Lu's progress was astonishingly fast. He not only stood out in Class C but also seemed to be gradually catching with the people who were originally ahead of him.

Though the instructors might not be fully aware of how Qin Lu achieved such progress, Su Qinglan, who shared the same dormitory with him, knew it all too well. Qin Lu practiced until late at night every day, only getting about three hours of sleep before returning to the practice room before dawn.

Every bit of improvement was the result of Qin Lu's relentless effort.

Four days later.

The second assessment began. All the students of different levels were required to independently record their assessment videos in their respective classrooms, and they could determine the order themselves. The results of the second assessment would determine the proportion of their appearance in the theme song MV and whether they would get the chance to participate in the first informal performance two days later.

The trainees who were usually lazy and didn’t train well began to sigh, nervous and regretful as the assessment approached. On the other hand, those who had kept up with their training seemed eager and excited to try, determined to use this assessment to advance further.

Qin Lu sat quietly on the floor, hugging his knees, with a calm heart like still water. He had given his best efforts, and regardless of the outcome, he wouldn't have any regrets.

The formal assessment for Class C began. Everyone was hesitant to go first, and Qin Lu's remarkable performance had been evident to all, so everyone's eyes couldn’t help but fall on him.

"Qin Lu, Qin Lu, I'm nervous, you go first!"

"I can't go either. Whenever I get nervous, my mind goes blank. I can remember the dance moves but forget the lyrics. I want to go later and rehearse the lyrics a few more times..."

Su Qinglan was a little unhappy. These people didn't want to go first themselves, but they were pressuring Qin Lu to go first. Being willing to volunteer was one thing, but pushing Qin Lu to go was another matter altogether.

However, Qin Lu didn't mind. He gently held back the little curly-haired boy who wanted to retort and blinked, smiling. "It's okay, I'm ready. I'll feel relieved once I perform."

Su Qinglan looked at Qin Lu's gentle light-coloured eyes and nodded sincerely.

Fine. These people might regret it in a while.

Was it really a good idea to let Qin Lu go first for the assessment? Who knew.

These people couldn't even complete the full theme song while singing and dancing simultaneously. After witnessing Qin Lu's performance, whether they would gain more confidence or be discouraged they would find out soon enough.

- - -

Translation Notes:

(1) Brother, as a reminder, is often used to address males that you might not be blood related to; in this case, dage (big brother/eldestbrother/boss) is used, which is more respectful than just ge (which is often used to express closeness)