After parting ways with Dilraba Dilmurat, Cao Gong entered the practice room to check on everyone's progress.
"Cao Zei, aren't you going to practice today?" A young trainee sporting dreadlocks asked Cao Gong, who had just returned to the practice room.
Cao Gong nodded towards the trainee, saying, "I've been practicing with Zhang PD all day."
"What? You practiced with Zhang PD?" The young trainee immediately jumped up.
"Yeah, I even had a dance battle with Wang Jia Er, the mentor, just now."
"Dance battle? You danced with Jackson? That's… so cool!!!"
The young trainee's excitement baffled Cao Gong.
It was just a dance battle, what was the big deal?
But what was this guy talking about, "so cool"?
"What do you mean, 'so cool'?" Cao Gong, confused, chuckled. "Aren't you guys practicing?"
"No, we are, but this dance is really hard."
"Yeah, Cao Zei, your choreography is too difficult!"
Several trainees grumbled, all of them being those who weren't particularly skilled in dancing.
Cao Gong, unfazed, listened to their complaints.
"You guys think it's hard?" Cao Gong asked the trainees present.
"Yes," the trainees all nodded in agreement.
"Then you guys are all destined to not debut, so just leave. Don't waste your time here."
"Go back and study hard, you might still be able to get into a good university, learn a professional skill, and at least earn a living in the future." These words were like daggers to their hearts.
The trainees who had complained about the dance's difficulty felt their faces flush with shame.
One particularly fiery trainee, unable to contain his frustration, retorted, "Are you saying we won't debut because you say so?"
"It's not that I say you won't debut, it's that you're saying it yourselves."
"You find a dance like this difficult? In your minds, is being an idol boy group so easy?"
"If it were that easy, would Zhang PD need to train for four to five years in South Korea before debuting?"
"You find even the dance for this song hard, that means you're not very good at dancing."
"As a member of a boy group, not being able to dance, is that acceptable?"
"Even if you make your debut, with your dance skills, the audience will be able to tear you apart with their criticisms, driving you to depression."
Cao Gong's words silenced the trainee who had been arguing earlier.
While his words were harsh, they were also brutally realistic.
For those who could dance, they knew that this song's choreography wasn't actually difficult.
Anyone with decent dance skills could handle it.
Only those who were bad at dancing would find it challenging.
"It's mainly because the time is too short, only three days to learn the dance and the song."
One trainee mumbled, continuing to complain.
Hearing this complaint, Cao Gong looked at him, "If you had enough time, everyone would be in the A-class."
"With the same song and the same time, the ones who achieve the best results at the end are the ones who show both talent and effort."
"Those who make their debut are always the geniuses among geniuses, and among those geniuses, it's only those with talent who also work hard that have a chance to debut."
"Only those who can stand out from the crowd like this are truly superior individuals."
"If you could debut just by complaining, then none of us would need to work hard."
"When you decided to come to this competition, you should have considered these issues."
"You're all men, you have to endure the consequences of your own choices, no matter how tough it gets."
"Does complaining help?" Cao Gong, leaning against the wall, watched the trainees.
No matter what, he knew he wouldn't have much interaction with them in the future.
It was obvious that these trainees who were complaining wouldn't make it to the end.
"Clap clap~" At this moment, someone stood up and clapped, saying, "Alright, let's get back to practice."
Cao Gong, leaning against the wall, silently observed them practice.
Even if he hadn't copied Zhang Yi Xing's dance skills, with his previous dancing abilities, it would have been easy for him to master this choreography.
He wouldn't be kidding, he could learn this dance in a day.
He'd have the remaining day to focus on learning the song.
Besides, the assessment was just an assessment, it wasn't like they were going to perform on stage.
As long as you get the dance moves right, even if your timing is slightly off, it doesn't really matter.
"You guys keep practicing, I'm going to leave." Cao Gong said, gathering his belongings and preparing to leave.
"Are you heading back to the dorm already?" They asked, seeing him leave without practicing.
"Yeah, I danced a lot with the teachers earlier, and I haven't eaten dinner yet."
"I'm hungry, I'm going to grab something to eat, take my stuff back to the dorm, and then come back to practice."
"There are too many people practicing here now, I wouldn't have space anyway."
"I'll come back and check in later when you guys are tired."
With these words, Cao Gong left the practice room.
He really hadn't eaten dinner, and now his stomach was rumbling with hunger, so he went to find something to eat.
To be honest, if Dilraba Dilmurat hadn't brought him some milk tea earlier, he would be even hungrier now.
When he reached the cafeteria, he found there was no food left, as it was past dinner time.
With no other choice, Cao Gong could only head back to the dorm to put away the clothes Dilraba Dilmurat had given him.
He then returned to the practice room, just in time for Cheng Xiao, the dance teacher, to start her class for the B-class.
"Cao Gong, why don't you do a demonstration?" Cheng Xiao held the lyric sheet and requested of Cao Gong, "You're one of the choreographers, so show everyone how it's done."
Cao Gong, faced with the request, couldn't refuse.
The center of the practice room was cleared for Cao Gong to perform a demonstration for everyone.
Someone even helped to play the music.
Listening to the familiar intro of the song, Cao Gong looked at the mirror in front of him.
He carefully listened to the melody and rhythm of the music, then naturally and effortlessly started to dance.
While dancing, Cao Gong didn't forget to sing.
He sang each line of the lyrics seriously.
He couldn't let his voice go out of tune, and as he sang, he had to coordinate his dance moves.
Only then would the entire performance look more cohesive and natural, making it more enjoyable to watch.
All of the trainees in the B-class watched Cao Gong perform in the middle.
Cheng Xiao, the dance instructor, watched Cao Gong dance with a sweet smile on her face.
Since she had come to this training camp, this was definitely the best dancer she had seen.
But then again, it was only fair, he was both the songwriter and one of the choreographers for this song.
Cao Gong's performance was truly as expected.
"Alright, did you all see that?" Cheng Xiao asked the trainees.
"Did you notice how Cao Zei danced just now?"
The trainees all applauded, acknowledging that Cao Gong indeed danced very well.