I am Really a Superstar

…

At Zhang Xia’s house.

“Mom! Teacher Zhang, he’s—”

“He’s amazing!”

“Yeah! I’m so pumped!”

“That kid is amazing!”

…

Dong Shanshan’s house.

The old classmates were clamoring!

“He’s so fucking awesome!”

“Those high notes, those vocals!”

“That’s what you fucking call singing!”

“My blood is racing with excitement! What should I do!”

…

At Xiaodong’s house.

“Xiaoxian, why are you crying again?”

“I can’t help it.”

“This is the real Zhang Ye! He’s really come back!”

“I wonder how many people are still willing to accompany him on his journey!”

…

At a male idol’s studio.

“How could this happen!”

“H-He’s still so good at singing?”

“Hasn’t he been in jail all these years?”

…

At an entertainment company.

“Who said that he can’t write songs anymore?”

“I don’t know. Someone claimed so on the Internet.”

“Utter crap!”

“I have a hunch that Zhang Ye will start something big again now that he’s back!”

“Surely not, right? Everyone admittedly knows that the entertainment industry is now in the age of the male idols, right? Ning Lan, Zhang Yuanqi, Zhang Xia, Yao Jiancai, all of them have already taken a step back, haven’t they?”

“But he’s not the same.”

“Ah? How is he different?”

“Because he’s Zhang Ye!”

“Even if it’s him, in this day and age, he can’t win against the male idols, right?”

“Who can say for sure?”

…

Backstage.

In the respective rooms of the three hot, young male stars, there was applause all around.

“Well done!”

“This is such a nice song!”

“What a great song!”

Cameras had been placed in all of their rooms.

However, their mood right now couldn’t be in a more tumultuous state.

So this is Zhang Ye?

This is the most legendary celebrity of that era?

When Zhang Ye was calling the shots years ago, they hadn’t even debuted yet. Naturally, they knew who Zhang Ye was, had listened to his songs and watched his variety shows, and even read his novels and poetry as well. But to deal with him face to face, this was really a first. Honestly, they were all quite shocked. If they were a little unsure because of Zhang Ye’s first song, then his second song had truly scared them!

It was truly amazing!

For the celebrities of that era, none could emerge from the rest of the competition without having some real skills!

However, they still did not think that the current Zhang Ye could compare on this stage with them. After all, the level of popularity between him and them was too different.

They were very popular currently.

While Zhang Ye had been away for too long and was in the twilight of his popularity.

Zhang Ye might enjoy a greater popularity than Guan Xue, who was also a has-been singer. At her peak, Guan Xue was only a domestic A-list frontrunner, while Zhang Ye had peaked at the summit of Asia once before. If they thought about it that way, all of this would feel more acceptable. But compared to them, Zhang Ye’s current popularity was clearly far from theirs. The three of them and their teams, as well as their talent agencies, all firmly believed it to be that way.

An employee entered.

“Teacher Little Hai.”

“Yes?”

“It’s your turn.”

“OK.”

Hai Yifei took a deep breath and gave a confident smile before he strode out of the room.

…

Zhang Ye came backstage.

He was the first to finish performing in the second round, and he was alone in the room. He sat down and had a drink, then looked up at the television as he slowly waited for the other contestants to take the stage. He had already done all that he could do. He had no regrets. All he was waiting for was the results. It wasn’t because Zhang Ye placed a great importance on winning or losing, but that he wished to know how many people were still willing to accompany him for the rest of his journey after listening to his song.

That was much more important to him.

That was way, way more important to Zhang Ye.

…

On the live broadcast.

Hai Yifei’s singing drifted out.

On Weibo, Hai Yifei’s fans were canvassing for votes from wherever they could.

“Let’s vote!”

“Vote for Haihai!”

“He sings great!”

“Wow, he even rapped in his song!”

“This is the critical period where only three out of four will advance! Hurry up and cast your votes!”

…

Next.

It was Qu Dong’s turn to perform.

It became even more boisterous on Weibo.

“What the heck was Hai Yifei singing? I still find Ququ to be a better singer!”

“Don’t listen to Zhang Ye and get cheated of your tears. Give your votes to Qu Dong!”

“Haha, surely our Ququ doesn’t need our canvassing of votes, right? He has so many fans, so even if only two out of ten fans were to vote for him, he would still have more votes than the other contestants, right?”

“Yes, yes!”

“Ah, I was actually thinking of voting for our Ququ too. But when I heard Zhang Ye perform his song just now, I don’t know what came over me, and I ended up giving him my vote instead.”

“Fuck, me too.”

“The previous two posters, can you get a hold of yourselves?”

“We know we were at fault, but Zhang Ye sang really well.”

…

Finally.

Qi Liang took to the stage.

“Qiqi’s performance today is so awesome.”

“Yeah, his singing has always been among the best in the music industry.”

“Indeed, it’s really awesome. B-But I still gave my vote to Zhang Ye.”

“What? Shuishui, you’re a senior member of Qi Qi’s fan club, how could you!”

“*cries* Actually, I was Zhang Ye’s hardcore fan four years ago. When I heard those two songs by Teacher Zhang today, I just couldn’t hold back my tears anymore. *kneels* Please forgive me!”

“This is so depressing. Shuishui has betrayed us!”

“Can’t blame Shuishui for that. I also gave my vote to Teacher Zhang. There are some things I thought I had forgotten about, but when I saw Teacher Zhang again, I realized that I wouldn’t be able to forget those things all my life.”

…

The second round of performances came to an end.

Hai Yifei, Qu Dong, and Qi Liang had all returned backstage.

Hai Yifei smiled and said, “Teacher Zhang, I’ll have to seek some pointers from you in the future.”

Zhang Ye smiled back. “Sure, sure.”

Qi Liang also said, “Brother Hai, you sang really well.”

Hai Yifei said, “Thank you.”

Qu Dong said, “This is so stressful.”

Hai Yifei said, “What’s there for you to be stressed about? I should be the one who’s stressed.”

Zhang Ye didn’t really say anything.

It was mainly the three young men who were exchanging pleasantries. At least on the surface, it looked like they all had mutual respect. But as for what they were thinking, only they themselves knew. But from this exchange, one thing could be verified. The three of them still acknowledged each other, while there was some level of subconscious ostracizing of Zhang Ye. Perhaps they had judged early on that Zhang Ye wouldn’t qualify for the culmination battle of the grand champions next week.

The contestants gathered and sat waiting for the final result.

They were all looking at the television.

The live audience was looking at the host.

The viewers were also staring fixedly at their TVs.

…

Host Cui Na stepped out onto the stage.

Cui Na said, “I hereby announce that the voting for the second round of I Am a Singer’s battle of the grand champions has ceased, and the final results have been sent to this tablet in my hand. So then, let’s have a look.” She lowered her head to take a look and was slightly taken aback. Very quickly, she hid her expression and looked up again. “Next, I’ll be announcing the name of the contestant who will be leaving in the second round. Unfortunately for him, he will also lose the qualification rights to take part in the culmination battle next week.”

It was quiet.

A lot of people did not even dare to breathe.

In the media.

Among the celebrities of the entertainment circle.

At the various celebrity studios.

At the entertainment companies.

Among the public.

Countless people pricked their ears up.

They heard Cui Na say, “The contestant that will be leaving our stage after the second round is—” With a long pause, she finally read out the name. “Hai Yifei!”

…

At Zhang Ye’s maternal grandma’s house.

His three sisters were jumping with joy!

“Ahhhh!”

“Our brother has won!”

“Hahahahaha!”

…

Dong Shanshan’s house.

“Holy fuck!”

“Zhang’er has advanced into the top three!”

“Heavens!”

“This fucker has actually defeated one of the young guns?!”

…

Chen Guang’s home.

“Holy shit!”

“I didn’t hear it wrong, did I?”

“No, you didn’t! Hai Yifei has been eliminated!”

“Zhang’er is too fearsome!”

…

At Xiaodong’s house.

“Awesome! Th-This is so awesome!”

“This is the first time I’ve heard of a celebrity from our time defeating a male idol!”

“Yeah, this is the first time it’s happened!”

“Teacher Zhang has really advanced?”

…

Hai Yifei’s studio.

“How is that possible!”

“This, this—”

“How can Haihai possibly lose to Zhang Ye in terms of popularity! How is that possible?!”

…

Online.

Countless netizens were also dumbfounded!

“Wasn’t Zhang Ye supposed to be the one to get eliminated?”

“How can this be?”

“Just how many fans does Zhang Ye still have!”

“That is too surprising!”

“That’s one of the most popular hunks around! And he actually won against him?”