Chapter 77 A Competition of Fathers Begins
According to the appointed time, Qin Haodong went to the entrance of the South of the Yangtze River Gallery with the little fellow, but did not see the teacher, Wang Jiani.
After waiting for a while, the father and the daughter saw Wang Jiani arriving in a hurry.
“Ms Wang, we are here, here!” The little fellow waved her hand and kept yelling.
Qin Haodong saw that Wang Jiani’s face was drawn and there were tear marks on her face, as if she had just cried.
He asked, “Ms Wang, what happened?”
“No…nothing, l got up a bit late, sorry.”
Wang Jiani said and managed to show a weak, yet forced smile.
“Come in, Tang Tang is the only one in our class to participate in the competition.”
Qin Haodong nodded and was just about to walk into the gallery with the little fellow, when he saw a group of people passing by.
Among the group of people there was a middle-aged couple, one of who was holding a boy about 4 or 5 year old. Besides them, an obsequious young woman was keeping them company. After them, seven or eight guards dressed in black suits were following.
This young woman was also a teacher of the Gold Branch and Jade Leaf Kindergarten. Wang Jiani took charge of Class 1 of the middle class in the kindergarten, while she took charge of Class 2.
The little boy, called Wang Guan, was a child of Zhao Yanyan’s class, who also came to participate in the competition.
These people took this little boy, Wang Guan as the center, surrounding him to the front of the door. When they came across the door, Wang Guan saw the little fellow in Qin Haodong’s arms and shouted, “Tang Tang, go back home. The championship is mine.”
They were children from the same kindergarten, often playing together, so they knew each other very well.
The little fellow was not convinced, “Wang Guan, you are telling a lie again. Why should you be the champion?”
“I am the champion. I am the champion. Not only can I take the first place in the competition today, but I will also be the champion in the finals. If you don’t believe it, you can ask Ms Zhao!” Wang Guan said very firmly.
Zhao Yaoyao beside said flatteringly, “You’re right. You sing so excellently that the first prize must belong to you today.”
The little fellow was not happy and said, “Ms. Zhao. You’re wrong. Wang Guan is a terrible singer, like a duck. Quack! Quack!”
Wang Jiani spoke to Zhao Yaoyao, “Ms Zhao, we are just the officials of the kindergarten. Bringing children to take part in the competition, we have no right to say who should be the first place.”
Zhao Yanyan looked at Wang Jiani and again glanced at Qin Haodong beside him, full of dismissal in her eyes.
“Such a rare chance to take part in the competition that it should be used to associate with some rich parents, but this young man beside Wang Jiani seems not a rich man at all.”
Although Wang Guan was indeed a terrible singer, his father was Wang Hongbing, a famous major property developer of the south of the Yangtze River, who had agreed to sell her an apartment with a 50% discount.
“Ms Wang, you don’t have to say anything. Today the first place must be Wang Guan’s. Believe it or not, Wait and see.”
“It’s impossible. The competition has not yet begun, how could you be sure who gets first place? Moreover, our classmate, Tang Tang sings definitely well.”
“I have told you that the first place must be for our Wang Guan. Why do you still bother saying anything useless?”
The middle-aged woman who spoke was Wang Guan’s mother, Ma Hong. Her gaze swept around Wang Jiani and Qin Haodong, then she said arrogantly, “What we have is money and my father is the vice director of the Culture Bureau. If the first prize today is not our Wang Guan’s, is it possible that it is yours?”
Wang Jiani said, “Lady, we come here for a singing competition, not to compete on whose family is richer. The first place belongs to the one who sings well. Moreover, it doesn’t depend on your words, but the judges’ final results.”
Ma Hong smiled and said scornfully, “Judges? They will say what we ask them to say. They are all controlled by my father.”
Wang Hongbing said, “Well, Let’s come in.”
After having said that, tens of them entered into the hall arrogantly. Wang Guan didn’t forget to provoke the little fellow, saying, “I am the champion! I am the champion!”
The little fellow was definitely unhappy. He felt hurt and said to Qin Haodong, “Papa, is what they said true? Tang Tang can’t get the first prize?”
Qin Haodong said, “That is not true. As long as Tang Tang sings well, the first place today must belong to you.”
“Great, I must sing well, I must be the first!” The little fellow was excited again.
“Ms Wang, let’s go inside!” Qin Haodong said and brought the little fellow into the hall, Wang Jiani following.
“I really don’t know what these people think. Why do they educate their children in this way,” Wang Jiani shook her head as she walked. “It is good for the children’s development to take part in competitions, but if they spoil their children this way; it could only be counterproductive.”
Qin Haodong said, “Don’t mind it. As long as the little fellow performs well, it is enough.”
Wang Jiani said, “Mr. Qin, you should prepare mentally, because Wang Guan’s parents definetly have a great power. Moverover, no one knows what will happen at this moment.
“Tang Tang is participating here for experiencing the competition. As for the result, it is not too important for her. Moreover, today is a tryout, the top ten contestants can take part in the semi-finals tomorrow night.”
Qin Haodong smiled slightly and knew that Wang Jiani was giving him a warning. It seemed that she lost the confidence for Tang Tang to get the first place.
“Don’t worry, Ms Wang. I believe that the judges are fair. As long as the little fellow sings well, she will be able to win first place.”
Wang Jiani opened her mouth but did not speak. However, she obviously didn’t agree with Qin Haodong’s statement.
Qin Haodong did not continue, but turned to say to the little guy, “Tang Tang, which song are you going to sing today?”
The little fellow said very mysteriously, “Secret. Wait and you will know it, Papa.”
“So mysterious… you don’t want Papa to know it in advance?”
“Yes. This is the only secret for you!” The little fellow said with a smile.
At 9 o’clock in the morning, the competition started on time. The little fellow was on the 6th, and the 5th in front of her was Wang Guan.
Very soon, it was Wang Guan’s turn. As soon as he showed up on stage, there was burst of hand-clapping from the audience before he started to sing.
The song that Wang Guan sang was Little Nazha which was very popular. However, Wang Guan sang it in a broken way which was extremely terrible, almost ruining the image of the song in the minds of the people present.
Some in the audience secretly pouted, others could not help but laugh, and some directly blocked their ears.
However, Wang Guan on the stage enjoyed his own singing very much and was excited. No a word of the whole song was on the tone.
Finally, he finished and the audience felt relaxed. Under the guide of Wang Hongbing, the Wang family applauded warmly again, and roared their appreciation.
Papa, what he sings is too terrible to hear,” The little fellow frowned and said.
Qin Haodong said, “It doesn’t matter. The next one is Tang Tang, and Tang Tang will sing a good song for everyone.”
At this time, the host on the stage called, “Please welcome the 6th participator Tang Tang. Her song is “I am looking for my father.”
Qin Haodong, standing near the stage, was shocked. He didn’t expect that the little fellow had chosen this song. No wonder she wanted to keep it secret from him.
Tang Tang steppend on the stage. She was never shy when facing a large audience stage and she sang loudly.
“I am not afraid of rain, nor afraid of snow,
“Even in the falling snowstorm,
“As long as I could see him, see him everyday,
“No matter how heavy the snow is, I am not afraid,
“I wanna, I wanna find my father,
“Wherever I go, I want my father…”
The little fellow’s voice was sweet, singing very emotionally. Eyes with trails of tears, thinking of the children’s ridicule, the desire for her father, she cried as she sung.
Looking at the little fellow who performed heartily on stage, Qin Haodong was filled with guilt. During the past few years, he owed his daughter too much; his eyes unknowingly became misty.
The audience present was touched by the little fellow’s performance. When the song ended, many people’s eyes were filled with tears.
After a short silence, there was a lively applause on the scene. There was no harm without comparison. Both of them were little performers coming for the competition, but the little fellow sang infinitely better than Wang Guan just now.
After stepping down the stage, the little fellow still had tears on her face, but she jumped into Qin Haodong’s arms cheerfully. “Papa, the song that Tang Tang has sung for you? Can I get first place?”
Qin Haodong kissed and kissed his daughter’s smooth face. He said lovingly, “Tang Tang is the best, the first place is definitely yours.”
Wang Jiani did not expect that the little fellow could perform so well that she said with excitement, “Tang Tang, you sing well. You will be a big star in the future.”
“A big star like Ouyang Shanshan?” the little fellow asked, her eyes blinking.
“Much better than her,” said Wang Jiani.
“Great, I want to be a big star, I want to be a big star!”
The little fellow smiled more and more happily.
On the other side of the hall, Wang Guan seemed to feel the threat from Tang Tang and said uncertainly to Ma Hong, “Mom, can I still win the championship?”
Ma Hong said, “Of course, you are from the Wang family. No matter how well they sing, it is in vain.”
One morning passed by, all of the twenty constestants had already performed on the stage. Now it came to the verdict from the judges.
Today, the tryouts didn’t adopt the way of grading directly on stage, but grading after all the performances had finished. Each judge scored the contestants one by one and then the scores would be summed up to the final score.
The seven judges got together and whispered, and their faces were embarrassed. Among the total of 20 little contestants, the other 18 people could be scored very easily, but it was difficult to score the little fellow and Wang Guan.
The little guy sang the best. According to strength, she was undoubtedly the first place in the field, but Wang Guan was from the Wang family. Although his singing was terrible, Wang Hongbing had already greeted these judges one by one before the competition. Moreover, Wang Guan’s grandfather was the deputy director of the Culture Bureau, who these people must respect.
In the end, the referee made a final decision. According to the original plan, he announced that Wang Guan won the first place in the competition, and that contestant number six, Tang Tang was second.
However, he did this against his own heart, but let the deputy referee to announce it on the stage.
The deputy referee was secretly unhappy, but he had not other choice because he was the deputy. What he could do was to obey the arrangement and he took the microphone to go onstage.
Fortunately, he had years of experience, and had practiced the ability to say what he didn’t what to say.
“Today each contestant gave an outstanding performamce, especially Wang Guan. It is rare that at such a young age he has a style of the deep, husky voice, performing a children’s song with features of R&B.
“After a unanimous decision, the first place in today’s competition is the contestant number five, Wang Guan!”
Just after he finished, the scene immediately boiled, mixed with discord and clatter.
“What the fuck! Such a foul move! So shady…!”
“How could they say that such a terrible voice is a deep, husky voice? Could it be more false?”
“None a word was in tune. How could they say it sounded like R&B? Who do you think you are?”
“I have heard that child number five was from a very rich family, that his father is a real estate developer. It seems that the competition of fathers is at play!”
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