9.

The brief relief brought by Pei Yu's visit to the set was like an illusion. As the high-intensity training entered its eighth day, the "Venom" crew encountered an expected bottleneck.

Continuous practice had accumulated a lot of fatigue on the body, the movements began to become deformed, and the details became rough. Even more troublesome, the atmosphere within the team had also subtly changed.

The Vocal transition team member of Class C (named Li Mo) obviously couldn't keep up with the dance progress, especially the continuous floor movements in the second half of the song that required extremely strong core strength. He practiced repeatedly but still couldn't get the point. Either he lacked strength or his movements were slow, which seriously affected the overall uniformity.

"Li Mo, at this point, you need to raise your legs another 15 degrees. Engage your core, not just your waist." Mi Xi paused for the umpteenth time, walked over to Li Mo, and demonstrated it herself. His tone remained calm, but the invisible pressure of the repetition made Li Mo's forehead sweat and his face turn pale.

"Yes, I'm sorry, Teacher Mi Xi, I'll try again..." Li Mo's voice was trembling.

Wuyou leaned against the handlebars, drinking water, glancing over here through tearful eyes, saying nothing. He had a quick temper and couldn't stand being held back, but due to his captaincy and Mi Xi's patience, he forced himself to hold back. The low pressure emanating from his body only made the other two team members afraid to breathe loudly.

During another group practice, when it came to that critical point, Li Mo's movements were still half a beat slow and lacked strength, like a sudden freeze in a smooth picture.

"Stop!" Wuyou finally couldn't help himself and dropped the water bottle to the ground with a loud thud. He walked up to Li Mo, brows furrowed. "How many times have we practiced this position? Muscle memory should have formed by now! Are you even using your brain to remember?"

His voice was filled with obvious anger and anxiety, unlike Mi Xi's calm voice, and his bluntness was a bit hurtful.

Li Mo's eyes instantly turned red after being scolded by him. He lowered his head and clenched the corners of his clothes tightly with both hands. The shame and pressure almost made him collapse.

"Captain..." The dance leader of Class B tried to smooth things over.

"Did I say something wrong?" Wu You was furious. Her tearful eyes no longer looked innocent, but rather sharp. "The first performance is a live vote! One mistake could lower the entire group's score! Are all our efforts for so many days going to be wasted because of just one person..."

"Wu Yo." Mi Xi interrupted him. Her voice was not loud, but it carried a calming power.

Wu You choked, looked at Mi Xi, moved his lips, and stopped talking, but his face still showed dissatisfaction and irritability.

The practice room fell into a suffocating silence. Li Mo's sobbing could be heard faintly.

Mi Xi walked up to Li Mo, without any comfort or accusation, but simply said, "Your force point is wrong. Brute force is useless. Come here, I will teach you the basics individually."

As he spoke, he motioned Li Mo to follow him to the side and began to break down the most basic core strength and leg control of the floor movement, step by step, with extreme patience, as if the previous deadlock had never happened.

Wu You looked at Mi Xi's profile as she was concentrating on teaching, then looked at Li Mo, who was standing next to her with red eyes but trying hard to practice. The anger in his chest seemed to be slowly extinguished by a basin of warm water, leaving only a little inexplicable irritation and... a barely perceptible trace of shame.

He knew that what he said was harsh, but he couldn't bring himself to apologize.

He scratched his hair in frustration, walked over to the speakers, and replayed the music of "Venom." Then he said to the other two team members, "Stop watching. Let's continue practicing our part and go over the details again!"

The atmosphere remained somewhat subdued during the subsequent practice, but the tension had lessened considerably. Wu You, while still displeased, refrained from accusations. Mi Xi spent nearly an hour with Li Mo, repeatedly honing that weak spot until his form finally showed noticeable improvement.

During the break, Wuyou took an unopened bottle of energy drink and walked slowly to Li Mo, who was sitting alone in the corner wiping his sweat. He stuffed the drink into his arms, looked away, and said in a stern tone:

"Hey, this... is for you. Just now... I spoke a little harshly." He finished speaking quickly, his ears slightly red, and without waiting for Li Mo to react, he turned around and walked back to Mi Xi.

Li Mo held the bottle of ice-cold drink and was stunned for a moment. Looking at Wuyou's awkward back, his eyes felt a little hot again, but this time, he couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth.

Mi Xi took in the whole scene and said nothing. She just picked up her water bottle and handed it to Wuyou, who was obviously still upset.

"Drink some water."

Wuyou took the water bottle and muttered softly: "...Am I not suitable to be the captain?"

Mi Xi glanced at him and said calmly, "I know the problem, just fix it."

It was a simple sentence, but it miraculously smoothed out the knot in Wuyou's heart.

He unscrewed the water bottle, took a big sip, and then, as if recharged, he stood up, clapped his hands to all the team members, and tried to make his voice sound more energetic:

"Alright! The break is over! Let's do it again! It will work this time!"

His tearful eyes lit up again with an unyielding tenacity.

Li Mo also stood up, tightly gripped the bottle of drink, his eyes became firm.

Bottlenecks still existed, but a certain barrier was quietly melted away through sweat, patience, and an awkward apology. For the first time, the five members of the "Venom" team truly felt like a team that needed to overcome difficulties together.

————

The gloom of the bottleneck period finally dissipated, thanks to Wuyou's awkward apology and Mi Xi's calm mediation. The team atmosphere was no longer as tense as before. Although the fatigue remained, there was a tacit understanding of mutual perseverance.

As night fell, the lights in the other groups' practice rooms gradually went out, leaving only the lights in the "Venom" group still on. The music had been turned down, and the five of them were still refining the details.

"Li Mo, pay attention to the extension of your arms, yes, that's it!"

"Bobby (Class B dance leader), please make the turning point more clear!"

"Xiao Fang (dark horse of Class F), expression! Don't forget to manage your expression!"

Wuyou held a small notebook filled with the problems he'd discovered during the practice session, pointing them out one by one. Since taking on the role of captain, he'd become surprisingly conscientious and responsible. While his tone still occasionally tinged with arrogance, everyone had gotten used to it and even found this kind of captain a bit... endearing?

Mi Xi, on the other hand, was more like the team's anchor and technical coach. He spoke little, but whenever he did, he got to the point, demonstrating moves with the precision of a teaching template. He noticed that after Li Mo completed that once-difficult floor routine, his left knee stiffened unnaturally.

After another round of joint training, everyone collapsed on the floor, gasping for breath. Mi Xi walked over to Li Mo and squatted down. "What's wrong with your knee?"

Li Mo was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect to be discovered. He felt a little embarrassed: "No, it's okay, just a little sore. Maybe I didn't use the right strength before and twisted it a little."

Mi Xi didn't say anything. She reached out and gently pressed a few spots around his knees. Li Mo immediately took a breath of cold air.

"It's a slight ligament strain." Mi Xi judged, then stood up and walked towards her backpack.

Wuyou also came over, frowning: "Is it serious? Do you want to go to the infirmary?"

Li Mo quickly waved his hands: "No, no! Just take a rest!"

At this time, Mi Xi took out from her backpack... a box of individually wrapped ice packs and a roll of elastic bandages.

Everyone was stunned. Even Wuyou blinked. Who would carry this with them?

Mi Xi ignored everyone's surprised looks, skillfully opened an ice pack, and handed it to Li Mo: "Apply it for twenty minutes. If it still hurts tomorrow, you must go to the infirmary."

His tone left no room for doubt.

Li Mo took the cool ice pack and touched his swollen and painful knee. He sighed in relief, and a warm feeling welled up in his heart: "Thank you, Teacher Mi Xi..."

Mi Xi hummed, then began treating his right wrist—which was also slightly red from prolonged support on the ground. He applied a plaster to himself, his movements as practiced as if he had done it countless times.

Wuyou watched Mi Xi's profile as she bent over to tend to her wounds. The light cast a shadow beneath her long eyelashes, a quiet and focused expression. He suddenly realized that this seemingly aloof and distant "Venom Beauty" actually understood the hardships of training better than anyone else, and was more attentive to the health of each team member than even he, the loudmouthed captain.

He silently placed his unopened bottle of pain-relieving spray next to Mi Xi.

Mi Xi paused and looked up at him.

Wuyou immediately looked away, pretending to look at the ceiling, muttering, "...a gift from the sponsor, one extra bottle."

Mi Xi looked at his hypocritical expression, the corners of her lips curved slightly, and she whispered, "Thank you."

Late at night, the only sounds in the practice room were the hissing of ice packs and gentle panting. Five people sat or lay, too exhausted to even talk, yet a silent sense of cohesion quietly grew.

"Um..." Li Mo suddenly spoke in a low voice, breaking the silence, "Thank you, Captain... and Teacher Mi Xi. I will work harder and will never hold you back!"

His eyes were full of gratitude and determination.

Bobby also laughed: "Yeah, our 'Venom' group is going to rock the stage!"

Xiao Fang nodded vigorously: "Yes!"

Wuyou looked at his teammates, their fighting spirit rekindled. Any guilt he'd felt for his impatience during the day completely dissipated. He raised his chin, trying to look dignified, but his tears ruined his demeanor. "Good to know! We'll continue tomorrow. No one is allowed to slack off!"

After he finished speaking, he secretly glanced at Mi Xi and found that Mi Xi was also looking at him, with a faint smile in her eyes.

Wuyou felt his ears burning and he quickly turned his head away.

Humph, what are you looking at!

My heart felt like being gently brushed by a feather, a little itchy, and a little inexplicably... happy.

The bright moonlight outside the window illuminates the young people in the practice room, striving for their dreams. Pain and sweat are their medals, while the trust and support they quietly build between them are the most solid steps to their throne on the stage.

The venom in "Venom" is quietly condensing the most deadly and dazzling light in the darkness.