ECG -Chapter 69 The China University Campus Singer Competition

Summer vacation came to an end.

After the incident with Zhao Xiaoyi at Ferrycrossing Bar, Lin Hao told Wu Xiaozhou not to bother seeking out Zhao Xiaojie—Erbao, his classmate—for revenge. It wasn’t worth it.

Although Wu Xiaozhou didn’t really cause Erbao any trouble, the two happened to run into each other alone one day, and he still gave him a thorough verbal dressing-down. Knowing he was in the wrong, Erbao didn’t dare argue back.

On the second night after school resumed, Lin Hao and Wu Xiaozhou treated their old classmate and neighbor, Zhang Sisi, to a big meal at Pizza Hut. Zhang Sisi had been admitted to their university’s dance program, while Li Yibo had successfully gotten into the Provincial University of Technology.

Both of them were genuinely happy for Zhang Sisi. Since neither liked Li Yibo, they hadn’t invited him to dinner. Zhang Sisi knew them too well and didn’t bother suggesting that Li Yibo join them.

While eating pizza, Wu Xiaozhou pounded his chest and bragged about how influential he had become on campus, telling Zhang Sisi to mention his name if she ever ran into trouble. Zhang Sisi laughed so hard she nearly fell out of her chair, saying that a dog would never stop eating crap—that even when he got old, he’d probably still be exactly the same…

That evening, a gentle breeze blew across the campus.

Holding Bai Zhitao’s soft little hand, Wu Xiaozhou walked countless laps around the artificial lake.

By September, the provincial capital’s weather had already turned pleasantly cool.

Bai Zhitao’s heart was overflowing with sweetness. Though Wu Xiaozhou could be a bit reckless, he was tall, handsome, and always gentle and considerate toward her.

It really was true that men and women often weren’t on the same wavelength.

While Bai Zhitao was immersed in romance, Wu Xiaozhou kept glancing at the small grove of trees nearby, wondering when he’d finally get the chance to sneak in there with her.

Sigh… things were progressing way too slowly.

“Oh right, Xiaowu!” Bai Zhitao said.

Wu Xiaozhou responded with a distracted “Mm.”

“Did you see the poster on the bulletin board today?”

“Poster?” Wu Xiaozhou thought for a moment and shook his head.

“The first China University Campus Singer Competition is about to be held. I heard it’s being organized by the national education authorities, and it’s supposed to be a huge event!”

Wu Xiaozhou immediately understood.

“You want to enter?”

Bai Zhitao nodded.

“Then just do it.”

To him, it wasn’t a big deal.

She sighed.

“You know my skill level. I’m not even near the top of our class. And I heard Ding Lanlan and Han Youdong have both signed up too!”

“Who? Big-Butt Han?” Wu Xiaozhou exclaimed.

Bai Zhitao burst out laughing, but her smile quickly faded.

“Those two are the best singers in our vocal performance program. Since they’re both entering, whether I sign up or not doesn’t really matter.”

Wu Xiaozhou knew both girls, especially Han Youdong.

Her nickname was Big-Butt Han. She had a low center of gravity, powerful breath support, and honestly sang very well.

“Wait a minute.” Wu Xiaozhou scratched his head. “Aren’t you and Ding Lanlan pretty close? Did she sign up because she knew you were entering?”

Bai Zhitao shook her head.

“You don’t understand female friendships.”

“So… you two aren’t friends anymore?” Wu Xiaozhou asked, confused.

“I don’t know why either. Ever since school started and she saw the two of us together, she stopped talking to me.”

As she spoke, she pinched him on the arm.

Wu Xiaozhou was equally baffled.

Ding Lanlan was definitely attractive—tall, with those impossibly long legs that seemed to start right below her belly button.

Although he’d noticed her giving him some strange looks a few times, he’d never flirted with her. Meng Pangzi had repeatedly told him that he liked the long-legged girl.

As the saying went, you don’t make a move on a friend’s woman.

Wu Xiaozhou had never entertained any improper thoughts about Ding Lanlan.

Too lazy to think about it further, he grinned.

“I’ve got a way to guarantee you bring home a gold medal.”

Bai Zhitao froze.

What kind of idea could he possibly have?

He’s not planning something crazy, is he? Like breaking Ding Lanlan’s and Han Youdong’s legs?

Absolutely not! That’s illegal!

Thinking this, she hurriedly said, “Oh, give me a break. I don’t need your help. Every time you help, things get even messier.”

Wu Xiaozhou chuckled, pulled her into his arms, and said, “Trust me. If I say I can get you a gold medal, then I can. Come on—give me a kiss!”

Bai Zhitao squirmed shyly.

“Kiss? There are so many people around!”

“Take a look.”

Wu Xiaozhou gestured to both sides.

“See? They’re all kissing too!”

Bai Zhitao looked around. Sure enough, in the dim evening light, the vaguely visible couples scattered around the area all seemed stuck together like kissing fish.

Wu Xiaozhou tightened his arms and pulled her firmly into his embrace.

“Don’t… mmm…”

…

As soon as Fatty Meng entered the dormitory, he shouted, “Haozi, good news!”

After returning from the bar, Lin Hao had been lying on the top bunk reading An Actor’s Self-Cultivation. He had borrowed the book from a teacher in the Drama Department, and the more he read, the more beneficial he found it.

Fatty Meng always liked making a fuss over things. Lin Hao remained completely calm and didn’t even lift his head.

“What is it?”

“The Chinese University Campus Singer Competition! It’s the very first one! Our department has already put up the posters!”

Lin Hao wasn’t particularly interested in competitions like this. Recently, apart from attending classes and reading, all of his energy had been devoted to songwriting.

So far, he had uploaded another twenty-four songs to the website of the Chinese Music Copyright Association. There were still far too many great songs waiting to be written down, and he simply didn’t have enough time or energy.

Among them, the copyrights for nineteen songs had already been approved. Since he owned both a scanner and a computer, handling the paperwork was much more convenient. As the saying goes, once bitten, twice shy. Now he uploaded every song immediately after completing it, never daring to stockpile them again.

The dormitory door opened, and Cui Gang walked in carrying his trumpet, followed by Wu Xiaozhou.

Fatty Meng and Cui Gang had spent the evening practicing, while Wu Xiaozhou had been holding Bai Zhitao’s hand and circling the artificial lake for over two hours, diligently “training his legs.”

“What are you guys talking about? Sounds lively,” Wu Xiaozhou asked.

Fatty Meng sat on his bunk and lit a cigarette.

“I was telling Haozi to join the Campus Singer Competition, but he refuses.”

Wu Xiaozhou said, “Don’t force him. If he joins, my Taozi won’t be able to win the Gold Award.”

Fatty Meng and Cui Gang immediately raised their middle fingers at him.

What a guy—putting his girlfriend before his friends!

Wu Xiaozhou chuckled.

“I’m serious, not joking. Haozi, help Taozi out, okay?”

Lin Hao finally looked up.

“Bai Zhitao is entering?”

Wu Xiaozhou sat down on his bed and nodded.

Lin Hao fell silent.

Wu Xiaozhou grew impatient.

“Damn it! Yes or no?”

Helplessly, Lin Hao said, “Fine. But if Bai Zhitao wants to win the Gold Award, she’ll have to listen to me.”

Wu Xiaozhou’s face lit up with excitement.

“Of course she will!”

Lin Hao smiled bitterly.

“You brat. If Bai Zhitao becomes famous one day, do you really think she’ll still want you?”

Fatty Meng sat cross-legged on his bed, picking at his feet. After sniffing his hand, he wore a look of pure satisfaction. Hearing Lin Hao’s words, he grinned.

“Exactly. This idiot is happily pushing her toward stardom himself.”

“Holy crap!”

Wu Xiaozhou exploded in anger and grabbed a pillow from his bed to throw at him.

“Master Wu! Master Wu! I was wrong! I shouldn’t have blurted out the honest truth!” Fatty Meng quickly begged for mercy.

The following afternoon, inside Fan Gang’s professional classroom at the far western end of the fifth floor of the teaching building, Lin Hao, Wu Xiaozhou, and Bai Zhitao sat together on a sofa discussing the competition.

Lin Hao had already looked up information about the Chinese University Campus Singer Competition online.

Perhaps because it was the inaugural event, the competition had initially been limited to popular singing styles and did not include either folk singing or bel canto.

This decision caused significant controversy online. Eventually, the organizers issued a statement on a well-known university forum, admitting that the omission had been a mistake by the organizing committee and confirming that folk and bel canto singers would also be allowed to participate. Only then did the dissatisfaction among many professional music students gradually subside.

The competition was divided into two major categories:

• Professional Division
• Amateur Division

As the names implied, the Professional Division was for contestants from arts and music institutions, while the Amateur Division was for students from other academic disciplines.

However, because folk and bel canto categories had been added at the last minute without creating separate divisions for them, Lin Hao felt the organizers were being rather amateurish.

At the same time, both divisions contained:

• Group Performance Category
• Solo Performance Category

The Gold Award was the highest honor, and each category would have only one winner.

Additional awards included:

• Best Group Award
• Best Stage Performance Award
• Best Original Composition Award
• Best Potential Award

The competition would begin with selections from 115 universities across 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities nationwide.

The second round would be the provincial selections, where each province would receive only three spots in both the group and solo categories.

The national finals would be held in Yanjing (Beijing) in early November.