After following the round-faced boy out of the practice room, Ouyang Guang remembered that he didn't know his name yet.

"I'm Zhang Haomin from the actor department," the boy seemed to see his confusion and took the initiative to introduce himself. "I heard you are from Country Z?"

"Senior, hello! I am Ouyang Guang"

Ouyang Guang nodded and remained alert. Ever since the Han Geng incident, he kept his distance from Korean trainees.

"Don't be nervous," Zhang Haomin lowered his voice, "Teacher Li Zaiyue looks fierce, but he is actually a good person."

Ouyang Guang didn't comment. The two came to a small classroom on the fourth floor, and Zhang Haomin patted him on the shoulder: "Come on! See you later."

When I opened the door, I saw Li Zaiye sitting in front of the podium reading documents. He was a middle-aged man in his forties, always dressed in black, with sharp eyes that seemed to be able to see through people's hearts.

"Ouyang Guang," Li Zaiye said without even looking up, "Have you finished last week's homework?"

Ouyang Guang nodded stiffly. He had practiced the "extremely angry" line many times in private, but he always felt extremely awkward every time.

"Let's start." Li Zaiye put down the documents and crossed his hands on his abdomen, like a noble waiting for the drama to begin.

Ouyang Guang stood in the middle of the classroom and took a deep breath. He had to secretly use his mobile phone to look up the dictionary before he could fully understand this line, which was about a man's roar after discovering that his wife had cheated on him.

"How many times have I told you this!" Ouyang Guang suddenly raised his voice, and his voice exploded in the classroom, "This is not the result I want!"

He recited the lines mechanically, waving his arms like a puppet. Although his voice was loud enough, his whole body was as stiff as a board. When he read the last line "I will never forgive you", his tone was as flat as reading the weather forecast.

The classroom was completely silent. Lee Jae-yeol's expression changed from expectation to despair, and finally to a long sigh.

"Ouyangguang," he rubbed his temple, "you are not angry, you are constipated. What is anger? It is the suppressed emotions that erupt like a volcano! It is every cell in the body screaming!"

Ouyangguang stood there, feeling his cheeks burning. He didn't know what anger was - the feeling he had just felt when he was provoked by Senior Zheng. Should he be allowed to show it in public? He might as well just quit the company.

"Do it again," Lee Jae-hyun ordered, "this time imagine that the thing you value most is destroyed."

Ouyangguang closed his eyes and tried to calm down. What did he think of? Maybe he was scolded for his language barrier and etiquette in the company; maybe he was laughed at for his non-standard movements in the dance class; maybe it was the gossip of other trainees; maybe it was the noise that Park Junhao deliberately made when he returned to the dormitory late at night every day; maybe it was the longing for his family when he was alone in H country...

"I will never forgive you!" This time, his voice was trembling with real emotion. "This is not what I want!"

The performance was better than before, but still not up to Lee Jae-yeol's standard. During the half-hour class, Ouyang Guang was asked to perform the same lines repeatedly until his voice became hoarse. When the bell rang, he fled the classroom like a prisoner who had been granted amnesty.

In the corridor, Ouyang Guang leaned against the wall and took a deep breath. Acting classes always exhausted him. The feeling of being forced to expose his emotions was more uncomfortable than dancing for three hours straight.

"Xiao Guang, are you still alive?"

Kim Seung-hyun appeared beside him without him noticing, holding two cans of hot coffee. He handed one to Ouyang Guang: "Here, refresh yourself."

This trainee, who arrived three months earlier than Ouyang Guang, was one of the few Koreans who was friendly to him.

Ouyang Guang took the coffee and felt the warmth in his palm. He whispered thank you, pulled the ring and took a sip. The bitter liquid slid down his throat, making him a little more sober.

"Teacher Lee Jae-hyun is like that to everyone," Kim Seung-hyun consoled him. "I heard that he used to be an actor in a musical troupe and he's very strict."

Ouyang Guang did not comment and continued drinking his coffee.

"Do you know why he takes special care of you?" Kim Seung-hyun said mysteriously, his eyes twinkling with gossip. "I heard that Director Kim specifically instructed to cultivate your acting ability."

Ouyang Guang frowned: "Why? I'm not from the acting department."

"This is where it gets interesting," Kim Seung-hyun looked around and lowered his voice, "The company may want to launch an international group, and they need all-round talent. Do you know Luna Song? She was originally in the actor department, but now she has been transferred to the idol department to prepare for her debut."

Ouyangguang remembered that Zhang Yixing also mentioned Victoria Song. "So?"

"So you might be part of the plan!" Kim Seung-hyun said excitedly, "I bet Director Kim has other plans for you, but why would you take acting classes when you're not in the acting department?"

Ouyang Guang was skeptical about this speculation. He had little interest in these internal speculations of the company and now just wanted to find a place to rest quietly for a while.

"Oh, by the way," Kim Seung-hyun suddenly remembered something, "Be careful of Park Jun-ho, his cousin is in the media department, and he has been collecting negative news about Chinese trainees recently."

This news made Ouyang Guang feel nervous. Park Junhao had indeed been hostile to him since the first day, but he had never expected that there was such a relationship behind it.

"Why are you telling me this?" Ouyang Guang looked into Kim Seung-hyun's little eyes.

Kim Seung-hyun shrugged: "I think the company's attitude towards trainees from Country Z is unfair. Besides..." He smiled slyly, "It's always right to invest in potential stocks. What if you become famous in the future?"

Ouyang Guang couldn't help but smile. Kim Seung-hyun's speech made people feel a little sincere.

"Oh! Class is almost over! I have to go to class D vocal music class, bye bye ~ see you in the afternoon!" Kim Seung-hyun suddenly braked, and the straps of his schoolbag drew an exaggerated arc in the air. He ran backwards while waving at Ouyang Guang, almost hitting the wall at the corner, but flexibly turned around to avoid it, like a rabbit that was always dancing.

Ouyang Guang shook his head helplessly: "This kid is always making noises..." Before he finished speaking, Jin Shengxian's angry voice came from a distance: "Xiaoguang! Remember to have lunch together in the cafeteria later--"

In the corridor, Ouyang Guang looked at the figure jumping and skipping away, and suddenly he felt that even the hot and humid air had become a little lighter.

He subconsciously touched the strap of his schoolbag, where was still pinned the "SM Internal Intelligence Manual" that Kim Seung-hyun had forced upon him yesterday - in fact, it was just a notebook filled with all sorts of practice room strategies and teachers' preferences scribbled on it.

In the morning vocal class, when Ouyang Guang walked into the classroom, the conversations of several C-class trainees came to a halt. He walked to the last row without looking around, and the sound of him putting down the sheet music was like a crisp slap in the face.

"Ouyang Guang," Teacher Park called on him, "Sing this part again."

He stood up, tapping the edge of the sheet music with his slender fingers. When he sang a wrong note, he didn't even frown, but just adjusted it in the next measure. Director Jin in the back row of the classroom had a sharp look in his eyes, but he didn't even change his breathing rate.

"Your breath control has improved a lot," Mr. Park commented after he finished singing. "The transition in the third paragraph is still not smooth enough, and the pronunciation needs more practice. The emotional expression is not enough."

Ouyangguang bowed and thanked him. When he walked back to his seat, he noticed the looks exchanged by several boys in the front row - the kind of looks that said "see, he's not that great." He sat down expressionlessly and silently noted the problems pointed out by Teacher Park.

After class, Director Jin stopped him in the corridor. Ouyang Guang stopped and turned around, still wearing the polite and distant mask.

"I heard that you go to the practice room at six o'clock every day?" asked Director Jin.

Ouyang Guang nodded: "Yeah." He didn't say a single extra word.

Director Jin looked at him meaningfully and said, "It's okay to work hard, but don't push yourself too hard."