After Being Hopeless at Singing and Dancing, I Exploded in Popularity Due to My Appetite - Chapter 40

Tao Nian was still very busy that day. Fang Wen didn’t see Tao Nian and didn’t get a chance to ask her why the ointment was at Lin Qianman’s door. She was already troubled by the ointment matter, and then she saw Lin Qianman, who was inexplicably happy but just very happy.

She was just like a tired farmer who had watched his piglets grow up and sell for a good price, feeling joyful and relieved.

Fang Wen, who was very perceptive and possessed the most basic ability of a corporate slave—to discern her boss’s mood—quickly understood something.

She couldn’t help but figure it out.

Given that she used Lin Qianman’s money for all her purchases, and although Tao Nian said she would repay her next month when she got paid, Tao Nian’s advertising fees were still being processed, and she only had a salary of a little over 5,000 yuan a month. After deducting food expenses, she probably only had 3,000 yuan left, and she might even have to repay a portion to Zhang Jingyue, so her boss definitely wouldn’t let her ask Tao Nian for money.

This meant she still used Lin Qianman’s money to buy Tao Nian ointment, and then Tao Nian gave the ointment to Lin Qianman.

By analogy, Tao Nian had her use Lin Qianman’s money to buy Lin Qianman an ointment.

Why was Lin Qianman so happy?

Fang Wen, who had never been in a relationship, sighed.

Was this love?

At the same time, she was a little confused.

Why did Tao Nian suddenly want to give her boss scar cream? Was her boss injured?

But her boss hadn’t told her anything, so how did Tao Nian know?

Could this also be love?

It’s truly perplexing.

However, Fang Wen quickly stopped thinking about it. She now had very important things to do.

She was actually just Lin Qianman’s assistant. When she first saw Lin Qianman recording the idol talent show, she was relieved, thinking it wouldn’t be as tiring as filming, and she could probably relax a bit. But unexpectedly, the studio suddenly signed a contestant. Now, Tao Nian was recording the show at the factory all day and couldn’t even use a phone, so Fang Wen also had to take care of Tao Nian and convey the studio’s arrangements.

And these past two days, with the fourth public performance about to air, Tao Nian’s public image had already reversed, and the finals were approaching, yet Tao Nian still didn’t even have an official account.

Not only could the haters not find the main target to criticize, but even the fans couldn’t find a home base. Usually, there was no unified channel for charting and voting; it all relied on the fans who joined earlier to organize. There was no financial incentive whatsoever; it was purely driven by love. Fans voted if they wanted to, and didn’t if they didn’t.

It was fortunate that the number of casual fans of Tao Nian was overwhelmingly large. In the last episode, Huang Li’s dog happened to bite her, and Huang Li’s fans voted for her, otherwise, she might very well have been eliminated.

Previously, not opening an account for Tao Nian was entirely because everyone was criticizing Tao Nian, and the studio was still drafting contracts, unsure of what path Tao Nian should take, so they weren’t in a hurry.

Unexpectedly, Tao Nian actually gained fans later. Although she went off course like a hater, her combat effectiveness was quite strong, and her numbers were large, and Tao Nian became famous. At that time, many people also joked about Tao Nian not having an account, so the studio, watching the direction of public opinion, didn’t open one for Tao Nian.

But now, the finals were imminent, and the show was airing tomorrow. The studio planned to use this opportunity to open an account for Tao Nian. This would be perfect for tagging the show and Huang Li, attracting all the casual fans.

This matter was handled by the studio’s professional departments, so Fang Wen didn’t actually need to worry about it.

What Fang Wen needed to do now was to sift through the photos she took and find some good ones of Tao Nian to upload, to first capture the attention of “looks-oriented” fans.

So Fang Wen sat with her laptop, looking through the photos on her USB drive.

She had been taking photos since she first learned that Tao Nian would sign with Lin Qianman’s studio. There were also many beautiful photos acquired from the show’s accompanying photographers, a lot of pictures. Fang Wen flipped through them one by one.

The first photo released on the account had to be beautiful and recognizable, and to some extent, the style of the photo would represent the path Tao Nian would take in the future, so it had to be chosen carefully.

Training dance in the practice room? No.

Tao Nian’s singing and dancing skills weren’t outstanding, and putting this up would only give people something to criticize.

Playing and chatting with contestants privately? No.

It looked good, and the atmosphere was there, but there were other contestants in the background, which wasn’t very suitable.

With a bit of food residue on her face after eating, looking cute and innocent?

No, Tao Nian couldn’t always go for the cute route, and the studio had already posted a similar one before the live broadcast; it was cliché.

Fang Wen scrolled through the photos, finally frowning.

Even so, it was bad enough that there wasn’t a single suitable photo among two gigabytes of pictures, but why, in nearly two-thirds of the photos, was Tao Nian eating? And in half of the photos, Lin Qianman could always be found!

So, most of the photos showed Tao Nian eating, with Lin Qianman next to Tao Nian, either feeding her or watching her eat…

Fang Wen, who had never been in a relationship, was incredulous. She scrolled through all the photos from beginning to end. Finally, she confirmed she hadn’t misread.

No way, no way. Even though I clearly know the boss came to be a mentor for Tao Nian, I’ve been following her around and thought she was quite impartial. She doesn’t interact much with Tao Nian normally, and wouldn’t vote for a completely chaotic Tao Nian out of personal feelings. She usually gives Tao Nian food but also gives small gifts to other contestants. How could I have not expected Tao Nian’s photos to contain such a high “Lin” content?!

Fang Wen was in a daze. She switched to another USB drive to look at the photos she took of Lin Qianman.

This one was fine; not two-thirds of them had Tao Nian.

One hundred and one contestants, plus three mentors. In nearly two months here, she had taken four gigabytes of photos.

Tao Nian only accounted for one-fifth.

Which was only sixteen more photos than Lin Qianman’s solo shots.

Which meant, half of the group photos were in the room at night, with Tao Nian eating and Lin Qianman watching her eat.

Fang Wen: “…”

She couldn’t help but look at them one by one.

This one was Tao Nian biting an iced chestnut, with chestnut crumbs on the corner of her mouth, like a little squirrel, very cute. At that time, Lin Qianman was playing with her phone, saw Tao Nian like this, glanced at her, looking very gentle.

She thought this scene was very loving, so she took a photo.

This one was the day Zhang Jingyue was showering Lin Qianman with exaggerated compliments in front of Tao Nian. When Tao Nian saw Lin Qianman, she told her how much Zhang Jingyue liked her. Lin Qianman was still walking forward, glancing at Tao Nian with a helpless expression.

Also very loving, and both were very cute, so Fang Wen took another photo.

This one was a certain hand-crafting contestant teaching Tao Nian how to fold paper stars. It was a very simple little star, but Tao Nian seemed to be seeing it for the first time. She held the crumpled, wobbly little star that was just a rudimentary shape, her eyes sparkling, insisting that Lin Qianman look at it. Lin Qianman could only humor her and say it looked good.

Also very loving. The light stood on the little star, reflected by the shiny material on the outside of the folded paper, creating a very atmospheric feel.

…Thinking about it, she genuinely thought each one was beautiful and loving at the time. Tao Nian was like this in front of her too, so she didn’t feel that Tao Nian was different towards Lin Qianman. How did these two look increasingly ambiguous when viewed together now?!

Finally, Fang Wen gave up on trying to understand this profound question, simply attributing it to her getting so caught up in shipping a CP that everything seemed ambiguous. She resisted the urge to anonymously post in the “QianNian” fan club and painstakingly selected a few solo photos of Tao Nian to send to the studio.

On Lin Qianman’s birthday, very early, fans arrived.

Not many, just a few major fans, carrying cameras and backpacks, and holding flowers.

Fang Wen went to the door to greet them, took their belongings, and led them to see Lin Qianman.

Then the fans took photos, watched Lin Qianman take out postcards and posters from her backpack to sign, and gave their handmade gifts and letters to Lin Qianman.

Ever since Lin Qianman became a mentor on this show, her fans had felt a bit upset. Although they all watched it later, they still felt that this show was not worthy of Lin Qianman, and Lin Qianman was out of place in it.

Of course, they also knew that Lin Qianman, as a skilled actress, didn’t need fans to dictate her work, so they didn’t ask.

They just silently observed everything around them, fearing that Lin Qianman would be neglected.

It was then that the door suddenly opened a crack, and a head poked in. A pair of eyes blinked, surveyed the room, and then abruptly retreated.

Lin Qianman was still signing autographs and didn’t see this scene. But the “Eel” fans, who had been observing carefully: “…”

Outside the door, Tao Nian rubbed the egg in her palm and told Zhang Jingyue: “There’s someone inside!”

Zhang Jingyue gasped, covering her face: “I knew Sister Lin’s fans were here!”

She pulled Tao Nian, whispering: “Let’s go back first, and go over after the Eel fans leave.”

Tao Nian looked bewildered, following Zhang Jingyue, about to leave.

The “Eel” fans in the room watched Tao Nian peek in and then disappear, exchanged glances, and frowned.

Although Tao Nian’s public appeal was quite good now, and everyone laughed when mentioning Tao Nian, and some Eel fans even started to become Tao Nian fans, today’s visitors were all major fans of Lin Qianman, focused on Lin Qianman’s career. They were already very dissatisfied with this Idol 101 show that brought Lin Qianman down to Earth, and even more so with Tao Nian, who had been causing trouble by using Lin Qianman’s fame from the beginning.

They had also publicly accused the production team online of exploiting Lin Qianman to promote Tao Nian.

Now, seeing Tao Nian act like this, they were even more enraged.

Tao Nian followed Zhang Jingyue for a few steps when she ran into Fang Wen, who was carrying a large box, in the hallway.

Fang Wen saw Tao Nian and seemed to understand something: “If you want to go, go. Go eat cake.”

Fang Wen’s idea was very simple.

Tao Nian was also an artist under the studio. Although it hadn’t been officially announced yet, the contract was signed, and everyone would eventually know. There was no harm in learning more now.

Besides, given Tao Nian’s relationship with her boss, there might be even more intimate actions in the future. It was better to let the fans know a little now, a gradual desensitization was better than a sudden change.

Tao Nian held the egg, bewildered, and followed Fang Wen inside.

The “Eel” fans watched Tao Nian return, her eyes darting around the room.

The room had already been decorated. Balloons were taped to the walls, flowers were arranged on the floor, and chibi figures of Lin Qianman, made by fans, were placed on a small table in the corner.

Tao Nian looked at each item.

Finally, her gaze settled on the large cake on the table in the center of the room, and she swallowed.

“Eel” fans: “…”