I am Really a Superstar

At 8 AM in the morning, a cool wind was blowing on the streets.

After a good night’s sleep, the first thing Zhang Ye did when he woke up was bring Chenchen to Caishikou. He drove into the district where his parents’ home was and randomly parked his car in the not too large open space below their apartment.

“Let’s go.” Zhang Ye unbuckled his seatbelt.

“OK.” Chenchen was still playing on Zhang Ye’s cell phone, tapping here and there on it in a game.

Zhang Ye urged her, “Come on, we’re already here.”

Only then did Chenchen slowly get out of the car.

“Don’t keep playing on my phone until there’s no battery. I still have to take calls,” Zhang Ye said.

Zhang Ye had taken the day off today, or rather, more than half of The Voice’s program team had been give the day off. This was specially approved by the station. After having been kept tremendously busy for two weeks without rest, now that the first episode had been successfully completed, they definitely had to have some time off to recharge and rest. After all, there had to be a balance between work and relaxation. If they actually had to work continuously for three months without a single day of rest, who could take it? That would end up affecting their work negatively instead.

In the district, a few elderly neighbors were already up and going to their morning exercises.

Grandma Cui waved from afar. “Little Ye, you’re back?”

Zhang Ye smiled and said, “Ai, Grandma Cui, how have you been?”

“Rather good, rather good.” Grandma Cui said excitedly, “Our whole family was watching your show last night. It was very enjoyable to watch, the show was great!”

Zhang Ye said happily, “Oh, you have my gratitude.”

Grandpa Li who was just stretching his arm warming up said kindly, “Everyone is talking about your show now. Are the viewership ratings out yet?”

Zhang Ye said, “Not yet.”

Auntie Chen asked, “When will it be released?”

Zhang Ye replied, “It’s not definite. I’m also waiting for it.”

Grandma Cui said, “All the best then. Our neighbors are all supporting you. We even switched on both TVs at home yesterday and tuned them to Central TV Department 1’s channel, hur hur.”

“I did that at my place too!”

“We must support Little Ye’s shows!”

Zhang Ye immediately thanked all his elders before finally bringing Chenchen into the building.

On the way up, Zhang Ye reminded, “Chenchen, when you see them later, remember to greet them as Grandpa and Grandma, understand?”

As Chenchen climbed up the stairs while playing on the cell phone, she said, “OK.”

“OK, that’s enough. Stop playing and return my phone to me.” Zhang Ye snatched it back from her.

Chenchen was not having any of that. “Zhang Ye, give it back to me! Give it back!”

Zhang Ye put it back into his pocket. “You’ve already played for the whole morning, rest your eyes.”

Chenchen said, “Zhang Ye, I want to play awhile more.”

“No.” Zhang Ye avoided her just as they came to the house.

Before he could even knock, the door opened and his mother appeared behind the security door. “I could hear you talking to Grandma Cui from up here. Is this your landlord’s kid?”

Zhang Ye pulled Chenchen into the house. “Yes, she’s Rao Chenchen.” He saw his father and waved to him. “Dad.”

His father nodded back and then also came over to look at Chenchen. “Whoa, such a beautiful child?”

When Chenchen saw Zhang Ye’s parents, she greeted them, “Grandpa, Grandma.”

His mother was already smiling widely. “This child is really cute, she looks just like a porcelain doll.”

“But her nature is like a chihuahua.” Zhang Ye added, “The two of you better not take her to be like any other child. She’s shrewd like an adult.”

His mother did not like him saying that. “Heh, what chihuahua? How can you say that. What a good child. Come here Chenchen. Have you eaten breakfast? No? Let Grandma prepare something for you.”

Chenchen said in her childish voice, “Thank you, Grandma.”

“No need to thank me at all.” His mother liked her greatly and kept looking at her. “What a pretty child. Little Ye, you better hurry up and find a partner so that your father and I can have a grandson, well, a granddaughter would be good too.”

Zhang Ye slumped onto the sofa listlessly. “OK, OK, OK.”

Chenchen suddenly asked, “Grandma, do you have a cell phone?”

His mother asked curiously, “Yes, why?”

Chenchen said, “I want to play on it.”

Zhang Ye’s eyes widened. “Don’t give it to her. She has been secretly playing on my phone for two hours since I woke up.”

But his mother said, “Kids this age always play, it’s fine. Come here, Grandma will give you her phone.”

Chenchen took it from here and immediately found a chair to sit on and started playing.

Zhang Ye said in a speechless manner, “You’ll spoil her.”

His mother said, “It’s just for a while, what are you scared of?”

His father asked, “How have you been? Your mom and I were watching The Voice last night. I don’t really get it but your mom keeps saying it’s great.”

When this topic was brought up, his mother’s attention was perked. “With that intelligence of yours, what will you understand? How can this program not be nice to watch? It’s so good that even I want to go and join the competition. Those contestants were each singing better than the other, especially that Qian Pingfan. His voice was be-all, end-all!”

Zhang Ye laughed. “My show isn’t too bad, right?”

“It’s too good! How’re the viewership ratings?” His mother asked.

“It’s not out yet, I’m guessing they will announce it in the afternoon,” Zhang Ye said.

HIs mother joyfully said, “Alright, let me prepare breakfast for you and Chenchen. We’ll talk about it again after eating.”

Zhang Ye said, “Quickly please. I’m so hungry I could faint.”

Suddenly, his cell phone rang. It was a call from Dong Shanshan.

“Hello, Shanshan,” Zhang Ye answered.

Dong Shanshan immediately asked when the call connected, “Tell me about the viewership ratings.”

Zhang Ye said, “It’s not even out yet.”

Dong Shanshan said, “What about the preview report?”

“I didn’t see it either. There’s no preview report this time. We’ll have to wait for the direct report in the afternoon,” Zhang Ye said. “You’re already the fifth person to call me and ask about the viewership ratings today. At least you’re calling me in the morning. That Old Yao called me at 3 AM, what the heck.”

Dong Shanshan laughed, “That’s true. How many industry insiders are not concerned about the situation regarding the viewership for The Voice now? All of the TV stations and industry insiders are paying their full attention to it.”

Zhang Ye said, “Surely not?”

Dong Shanshan said, “What do you mean by surely not? Do you know how many TV stations have done concise research and analysis on The Voice internally? Your new program has not only shocked the audience, even the industry is in an uproar because of it. As Executive Producer Hu Fei put it this morning, it is a phenomenal variety show that should be thought of as a textbook example. Didn’t you go on the Internet? There are many people and media outlets online who are predicting the viewership ratings of The Voice!”

After hanging up, Zhang Ye lowered his head and spotted seven or eight sets of newspapers lying on the coffee table. They were all this morning’s newspapers. It didn’t even warrant a question. It must have been his mother who bought them. Zhang Ye immediately picked one up and started browsing through them. Every newspaper’s entertainment page had news of The Voice in it.

“Central TV Department 1’s Ultimate Comeback!”

“All-around Praise for The Voice of China!”

“Zhang Ye vs Industry Peers, Comes Away with Another Victory!”

“Just What Will Viewership of The Voice be? Can Zhang Ye Get Last Laugh?”

“The Voice of China: Grand Gathering of Music! Carnival Created by Zhang Ye and Central TV Department 1!”

“The Voice’s Shocking Launch! New Model for Variety Shows Maybe Born!”

“The Voice Creates 100 million RMB Wealth for Central TV Department 1!”

“Zhang Ye Once Again Creates Legend!”

“Traditional Big Brother Central TV Working Hand in Hand with Zhang Ye to Redeem Throne as Variety Big Brother? “

Zhang Ye adjusted the newspaper a little. “Whoa, all the articles are praising me?”

His father said, “Your mom didn’t buy those that didn’t.”

Zhang Ye: “…”

Checking online, there was also all kinds of news about The Voice being published.

There was an article that was written like this. It read as follows:

I’ve never hidden my admiration for Zhang Ye, just like how Zhang Ye has never hidden his ambition for the arts. We’re seeing Zhang Ye’s new work once again, and also seeing Zhang Ye fighting with his peers once more. How many times has it been? I don’t believe that it’s only me, but many others who probably have already lost count as well. Before the broadcast of The Voice, there were many people from the television industry who joined in the boycott and denouncement of Zhang Ye. Even after the program has been broadcast, after they have witnessed such an exciting show, there are still those who are harboring hopes that The Voice’s viewership ratings will not meet expectations somehow, wanting to call The Voice a show that’s good but has no appeal. I have to say this, but do people like this think they can surpass Zhang Ye? Do they think they can also produce a world-class program like that? Dream on! This is the reason why China’s variety shows are all going downhill!

I’m sure I will get critics regarding this article, that I will be scolded or insulted. But I’m not afraid. All I want to ask is, which of our own Chinese variety shows have the potential to move out of the domestic market? Just tell me, which one? In all these decades, none has been able to do so! All we have are foreign, imported shows that we spend large sums of money to purchase licensing and spend all our energy on trying to promote them! But now? Zhang Ye’s appearance has changed the entire situation. There are already people overseas who have seen Zhang Ye’s Talk Show and at least two foreign teams are already discussing importing the talk show to their shores. I’ve received news that foreign television stations are already prepared to make an offer to buy Zhang Ye’s copyrights, our Chinese copyrights, to the show. There’s even a possibility of Zhang Ye becoming their consultant to the show. When all these will be confirmed is just a matter of time!

What no one has been able to achieve in decades of our domestic variety world has been achieved by Zhang Ye. Only he has been able to do it!

So isn’t it worth it for us to support a person like that? Is it not worth our effort to go and love and protect him?

But what is the truth of all that is happening? They are saying that Zhang Ye has stolen all the limelight for himself and wrecked people’s careers. The industry and many of his peers are all boycotting him! It’s all a huge mess!

I really want to laugh at this!

But at the same time, I feel like crying!

Is The Voice not worthy of its title sponsorship and joining fees? Based on what reason is it not worthy of it? Please do not compare it to those shows and standards of yours! You all think that The Voice’s viewership ratings will not be good because the variety show market is in a downturn? The market is too small? The market is too saturated? That’s basically a pack of bull! If your viewership ratings are not good, that only goes to show that your shows are not crafted well enough! It only shows that your standards are not good enough! Those are all excuses that you all are using to cover up your failures! But what I believe in, or am willing to believe in, is that The Voice will definitely give us fully satisfactory viewership ratings. If you don’t believe so, let’s just wait and see. I have every confidence in The Voice and even more so in Zhang Ye!

—The End!

After reading it, Zhang Ye was elated.

Well said!

Very well said!

Just look at those words, just look at those paragraphs, it’s all extremely professional!