Chapter 89: Different Tastes

By mid-March, the sponsorship was settled.

Yuandfang contributed 80,000, becoming the exclusive sponsor of the inaugural "Yuandfang Cup" Campus Singing Competition.

According to Hu Yong, this deal wasn't a loss.

Li Dong's concerns were beyond Hu Yong's consideration; Hu Yong was more focused on Li Qian.

Perhaps Li Dong underestimated the influence of a grassroots artist. Li Qian's impact in Pingchuan was indeed significant.

Though Fang Qingfei's description of her as a "commoner hero" might have been exaggerated, Li Qian was quite popular in Pingchuan.

Even Hu Yong, a middle-aged man who wasn't interested in the entertainment industry, knew of Li Qian's name, which was telling.

---

On March 18, the registration for the singing competition officially began.

The presence of Li Qian on the promotional posters attracted quite a few sign-ups.

The School of Economics and Management was the largest college at Jiang University, with nearly 5,000 students. On the first day alone, over 300 people registered.

Don't underestimate this number. Last year, a large-scale singing and dancing event organized by the entire university had fewer than 300 participants.

Li Dong was, of course, pleased. Regardless of whether Li Qian was genuinely famous or not, as long as the event went well, it was fine.

If it could attract even more attention, that would be even better. There was a chance that Yuandfang's investment might be quickly recouped.

What surprised Li Dong was that Meng Qiping had also signed up!

When Li Dong saw Meng Qiping at school, he was incredulous. "Fatty, with that horrible voice of yours, you dare to embarrass yourself? Aren't you afraid of scaring people?"

Meng Qiping looked aggrieved and retorted, "You guys just underestimate me! I'm a tenor, do you know that? A bunch of outsiders mocking me. My singing will definitely have an audience!"

Li Dong was speechless. To call Meng Qiping's voice a tenor was to insult the term.

Meng Qiping had the audacity to call himself a tenor with that pig-like voice; he should be afraid of being laughed off.

In the end, Zhang Hao explained with a smile, "Brother Dong, don't ask. Actually, Cheng Nan insisted that Fatty participate. She said she wanted Fatty to win first place. The first prize is 3,000 yuan, you know."

Li Dong almost spit out. Cheng Nan was really bold!

If Fatty could win first place, Li Dong would be willing to write his name backward.

Sympathetically patting Fatty on the shoulder, Li Dong consoled him, "It's okay. Even if you don't win first place, being last is definitely yours."

Meng Qiping shot him a look and mumbled, "Maybe I'll actually win first place."

Li Dong's lips twitched. This guy's shamelessness was becoming unparalleled.

As they were chatting, Bai Su and Cheng Nan approached.

Seeing Li Dong, Cheng Nan quickly asked, "Fatty, have you registered your name?"

Meng Qiping nodded. Before he could speak, Bai Su laughed and said, "Luckily I didn't sign up. Just thinking about singing on stage with this guy makes me want to die."

She still vividly remembered how Fatty sang to her at the beginning of the school year.

Cheng Nan had heard about this from Bai Su but didn't think much of it. "So what? I asked Fatty to sign up precisely because he sings badly. The taste in Super Girl is different. You guys wouldn't understand. I've watched a few times, and the stranger the performance, the more favored it is. Fatty is just right."

Cheng Nan's comment did make sense to some extent.

Only Meng Qiping looked resentful, feeling that his partner didn't like his singing but merely thought it was so bad it was worth a try.

Li Dong was also amused. He hoped Bai Su wouldn't let Fatty win. If that happened, Yuandfang's reputation might be ruined along with the competition.

But worrying about that was premature. Li Dong quickly dismissed the thought.

After chatting for a while, Bai Su asked Li Dong, "Li Dong, since the school year has started for a while, is Yuandfang Supermarket hiring part-time workers this year?"

Li Dong thought for a moment and replied, "Probably hiring. I'm not sure about the specifics, but it seems like they need people for promotions."

He usually didn't pay much attention to these matters. If Bai Su hadn't asked, he might have forgotten.

Bai Su asked, "Could you help us with that? There are still quite a few people in the work-study department who are idle."

Li Dong nodded. This was mutually beneficial, so agreeing was no problem.

Besides, they had collaborated last year, so even the training part could be skipped.

After this, Bai Su slowed her pace and tugged at Li Dong.

Seeing this, Li Dong also slowed down. Once they were a bit away from the others, Bai Su lowered her voice and said, "Shanshan has also signed up."

Li Dong was stunned for a moment, then frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I heard that Yuandfang's sponsorship was arranged by you. Could you see if you can…"

Before she could finish, Li Dong interrupted, "I'm just an intermediary. You're asking the wrong person. Besides, it wouldn't be right to cheat for a small competition."

Bai Su gave him a sharp look and said, "I'm not asking you to cheat!"

"Then what do you mean?"

Li Dong was puzzled. Normally, such a small competition didn't require backdoor deals. It would only tarnish the reputation.

Moreover, Huang Shanshan sang well and had outperformed everyone at the welcome party.

"I just want you to do me a small favor. Can you arrange for Shanshan to meet Li Qian? Li Qian is Shanshan's idol. She was thrilled for several days when she heard Li Qian was coming to Jiang University."

Li Dong scratched his head, feeling a bit helpless. "This isn't something I can handle. Li Qian's schedule is managed by the student council. You're part of the student council, so you're more suitable for this."

Moreover, Li Dong didn't really see Li Qian as a big deal. It wasn't like she had bodyguards; meeting her wasn't that hard. There was no need for backdoor dealings.

Bai Su rolled her eyes, unsure if Li Dong was genuinely clueless or pretending.

Anyway, Bai Su decided to explain, "Li Qian's time at Jiang University is very short. She'll be spending most of her time helping with promotions at Yuandfang Supermarket. I heard Yuandfang intends to make Li Qian their spokesperson…"

Before she could finish, Li Dong interrupted, "Impossible. Yuandfang doesn't need that at the moment!"

Not to mention whether Yuandfang had such a need, Li Dong wouldn't agree to it.

He wasn't foolish enough to have a has-been top ten contestant from Super Girl endorse Yuandfang. 

If he had the intention, he could find a rising star to endorse the brand. Why choose an unknown small-time figure from Pingchuan?

Frowning, Li Dong felt Bai Su's words might be true, meaning Li Qian might go to Yuandfang for commercial performances?

Li Dong cursed under his breath. How did Hu Yong not mention this?

But it wasn't the time to pursue this now. Seeing Bai Su still looking at him, Li Dong sighed and said, "Don't worry. If there's such a thing, I'll help."

Just a meeting, and the other party was already helping Yuandfang with promotions. For Li Dong, it was not difficult at all.

Bai Su found Li Dong's reaction strange but said nothing more.