I’m Really a Superstar

Later that morning.

Zhang Ye’s phone was ringing incessantly.

His mother called.

“Son.”

“Yes?”

“Are the rankings going to be published tonight?”

“I think so.”

“How confident are you?”

“Hai, who can say for sure?”

“How can you not know? This is such a big deal!”

“There’s no use in worrying about it. I’m also waiting for the results.”

Zhang Xia called.

“Little Zhang.”

“Grandma Zhang.”

“All the best; I’ll be waiting to see you get to the top.”

“Aiyo, there’s not even a hint of it happening.”

“But there’s still a lot of hope that it will happen. You’re the only person in the entertainment circle who has gotten this close to breaking into the S-list in recent years. If you can’t get up there, there’s even less of a chance for anyone else.”

“Alright, I’ll be counting on your blessings then.”

“And I’ll be waiting for your good news.”

Zhang Yuanqi called.

“Old Zhang, what’s the matter?”

“Can you make it?”

“Heh, like I’d know.”

“All the best; you should be able to.”

“Let’s see what the results are tonight.”

“OK.”

A lot of his family and friends were very concerned.

If the Spring Festival Gala was a big deal to a lot of people, then this battle to reach the summit of the entertainment circle was Zhang Ye’s personal big deal. The result of the Spring Festival Gala was already known, and Zhang Ye had given the entire country’s people a very satisfactory answer. Meanwhile, tonight’s update of the Celebrity Rankings Index would be Zhang Ye’s answer to himself. He was also extremely looking forward to it—reaching the summit of the Chinese entertainment circle was his very first goal since the day he entered the industry.

Now it was right before his eyes!

All there was left was this final step!

Zhang Ye paced around the house for a long time, walking from the study to the bedroom, then from the bedroom to downstairs, and from downstairs to the garden. He was thinking if there was anything else he could do. But he realized that nothing more could be done. Activate the Lucky Halo? That would be useless. Everyone’s popularity score was already fixed. He could only wait for the results now.

…

The news began spreading.

This was also not much of a secret.

There was overwhelming coverage in the news as everyone’s focus turned to this battle at the summit of the entertainment circle.

“All shall be revealed at midnight tonight!”

“The battle for the summit: Who will be the last one standing?”

“Will today usher in a change in the seven S-listers’ spots?”

“Analysis by industry insiders: A difficult to predict outcome!”

“Tonight, anything is possible!”

“The entertainment circle might really be welcoming a new Heavenly King!”

On Weibo.

“It’s really happening!”

“This day has finally arrived!”

“Is it really possible?”

“I think it will be quite difficult to say.”

“Yeah, those seven people haven’t moved from their spots in such a long time.”

“But their opponent is Zhang Ye. Has he not created enough miracles? Everyone never thought that he could do well when he was taking charge of the Spring Festival Gala, but look at what happened. Zhang Ye took charge of it so well that it was heaven-defying!”

“That’s what true ability is.”

“This fellow might like scolding and scamming people, but it has been really emotional to see Zhang Ye climb from his role as a small-time radio host over the years to where he is today. It really has not been easy for him to make it to where he is now. He had to fight against so many obstacles every step of the way. Let’s see if he can finally reach the summit today!”

“Lord Zhang, you can do it!”

“It’s time for showbiz to see some shakeup!”

“The entertainment circle has indeed undergone quite a bit of change in the years since Zhang Ye’s debut!”

“Yeah, I feel very happy whenever I see Zhang Ye causing trouble, and I get in a better mood. This person is really infectious; I like him so much!”

“I won’t scold you today, but I’ll definitely take it up with you another time over the five fortunes. You can do it!”

“My large saber is again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again again unable to endure the thirst!”

…

At the team office of a Heavenly King.

The company was in a frenzy.

“Is the calculation out yet?”

“It’s too difficult to count.”

“It has to be done even if it’s too difficult. We have to know how much Zhang Ye is behind in the popularity score compared to ours!”

“The effects from the Spring Festival Gala are too great! There’s no way we can process all that data!”

“Then estimate it! We can’t just sit around and do nothing!”

“This really came out of nowhere. Who could have expected that Zhang Ye would execute the entire Spring Festival Gala so beautifully? All the momentum that we had going for us has been thrown out the window!”

“What do we do now? He couldn’t possibly be catching up to us, could he?”

“No, it won’t happen. Zhang Ye’s popularity score before it went pending was still too far away from our score!”

“Right, no matter how explosive the Spring Festival Gala was, it shouldn’t push Zhang Ye into the S-list, right?”

“In any case, just prepare for all possible scenarios!”

“Understood!”

…

At the team office of a Heavenly Queen.

“We’re not in danger, are we?”

“Uh, that’s hard to say.”

“Yeah, Zhang Ye is coming on too strongly!”

“That guy’s unstoppable now!”

“I did some calculations and found that our Heavenly Queen Sister should not have much to worry about. Even though there’s not much difference in the popularity scores of the seven Heavenly Kings and Queens, we’re not at the lowest spot.”

“Yeah, it should be those two Heavenly Kings who should be the most worried.”

“Are you guys saying—are you guys saying that Zhang Ye is really going to jump in?”

“Ai, who can be so sure of that. But based on Zhang Ye’s current popularity and status, he’s truly capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with the S-listers. Let’s just wait for the results.”

…

At a talent agency that a Heavenly King was signed with.

It had been a state of emergency everywhere in the company for the past two days.

“Go and arrange another event!”

“It’s too late!”

“Can’t we bring forward the premiere of the movie that will be shown in several days?”

“We can’t do that. The SARFT already approved the movie’s screening schedule.”

“Goddammit! Who was the one who said that Zhang Ye wouldn’t be able to catch up the other time! Who said that the battle for the summit was already a foregone conclusion? Zhang Ye’s popularity score is still pending. Who knows what kind of a ranking he’ll get after the update! We only have this one Heavenly King in our company’s lineup helping us gain a foothold in the industry. If that spot gets taken away, everyone else is going to be affected as well! Hurry up and get moving. I want everyone to think of ways to drum up our Heavenly King’s popularity!”

“Yes!”

“President Zhou, I have an idea!”

“What is it? Speak quickly!”

“Let’s pull some underhanded method and bring Zhang Ye down. We’ll make him—”

“Fuck off!”

“Ah, President Zhou?”

“Are you fucking trying to be funny or what? You want to bring Zhang Ye down with some underhanded methods? Don’t you fucking know who Zhang Ye’s wife is? You’re not afraid of dying, huh? Do you think that the company’s circumstances are still not messy enough? Do you think that the face smacking that we received from the industry-wide boycott the other time was not harsh enough? Old Hong, Old Hong! What on earth made you hire someone like that?! Right now, immediately, I want him out of my sight! I don’t want to see this fool anymore by this afternoon!”

“Understood!”

…

The industry was in chaos!

The entertainment industry was in chaos!

Those Heavenly Kings and Queens’ teams were all preparing for any eventuality!

A lot of the heavyweights of the industry were unsettled!

If it were someone else, they would still be able to deal with them. The waters of the entertainment circle ran too deep, and there were many sinister things going on within. Fake news, harmful rumors, obstruction, backstabbing. In many of the crucial ranking battles in the past, there was always a lot of fighting going on behind the scenes. The celebrity teams and entertainment companies spared no effort in executing their “deadly plans” and enacted scene after scene of palace dramas that would leave anyone stunned and shocked. Why were the best dramas on Chinese television always those about power struggles within the palace? That was because they didn’t need to learn anything about it. They would only need to act as themselves and that would be good enough! But this time around, it wouldn’t work. Those tricks would work on anyone in the entire entertainment circle, except Zhang Ye!

His wife was the SARFT’s leader!

His wife was Wu Zeqing!

Do him in with a deadly plan? Entrap him?

Do you think that they are sick of living?

Therefore when pitted against Zhang Ye, all they could do was to compete fairly!

A storm was brewing!

The winds were howling!

Many of the celebrities in the industry could only stare wide-eyed at this most thrilling drama in ten years which was about to take place. There was going to be a change soon, this time it was really going to happen!

…

At night.

It was getting closer and closer to midnight.

The outside world had blown up and no one could sleep soundly.

The attack by the Heavenly Kings and Queens’ fans was getting fiercer and fiercer as their spears all pointed at Zhang Ye.

Controversy!

Doubt!

Attacks!

There was no peace at all.

However, at the home of the person in question, it was as quiet as it could get. It didn’t seem like anything had happened and felt just like any other night.

In the garden of the villa.

Zhang Ye and Wu Zeqing were admiring the moon.

“Little Ye, are you cold?”

“I’m not cold, what about you?”

“Hur hur, I’m not cold either.”

“I initially hoped to rest well over the Lunar New Year holiday so that I could spend more time with you. But it looks like whatever the outcome is, I’m not likely to be able to rest much.”

“Do what you want to do; it’s alright.”

“Haha, but it’s a little tiring.”

“It looks to me like you’re enjoying this, though.”

“The happiest event in this bro’s life is marrying you, my beautiful wife. Even if I can’t get to the top today, I have no regrets.”

“It’s midnight.”

“Oh, is it?”

“Just hit midnight.”

“Alright, let me check it out.”

“Is it up yet?”

“…Yes, it’s up.”

“It’s pretty good.”

“Mhm.”

The Chinese Celebrity Rankings Index was updated. Zhang Ye’s name had astonishingly appeared within the ranks of the S-list!

On the fourth day of the new year, at midnight.

Zhang Ye ascended to the summit of the Chinese entertainment circle!