I’m Really a Superstar

Within the venue.

The decor was exquisite and brilliant.

The Asian Charity Banquet was into its umpteenth year. It was held on a nearly annual basis and was always a grand affair. However, it was slightly different this year as it would be partially broadcast live. The red carpet event would not be shown, with the signal only coming on when the main auction event began. Be it for the Korean, the Japanese, or the Chinese sides, as well as the rest of Asia, the live broadcast would all be done over the Internet.

Four types of people were present at the event.

The staff.

The celebrities.

The reporters.

And businesspeople from all different industries.

They would all come together and share a feast.

After the red carpet event was symbolically held, the Chinese celebrity team was met by staff from the Asian Red Cross Society and brought to two adjoining tables to be seated.

Chen Guang was also attending the event for the first time as his popularity last year wasn’t high enough. He craned his neck around. “There’s really quite a lot of people from the business world.”

But for Xiaodong and the others, they had been present at this event every year in recent times. “Yes, we’re mainly depending on them for the charity auction bidding. There are businesspeople from China as well as other countries.”

Huo Dongfang laughed and said, “I can see quite a few people that I know. Is that the boss of Northern Pharmaceuticals? And isn’t that Sun He Wine Industry’s CEO? Eh? Even Boss Qian is also here?”

Amy said in surprise, “Boss Qian?”

Li Xiaoxian looked over. “Qian Haitao?”

Big Qi also said in surprise, “You mean the richest man in China?”

The list of those from the business world was also very glamorous. There were many influential CEO’s attending the event, and even the richest man in China was here. As the biggest annual charity event in Asia, the Chinese businessmen were all extremely supportive of such events, whether it was for their corporate image or for their own personal ideals.

Many of them were old acquaintances and started chatting the moment they came into the building.

Zhang Yuanqi, Xu Meilan, Ning Lan, and Jiang Hanwei also went over to greet the people they were familiar with.

Zhang Ye didn’t really know anyone here and wasn’t interested in getting to know them either. So he sat by himself, humming and messing around on his phone, showing zero awareness or interest in expanding his network. As someone who was an Asian A-list celebrity, he was easily the only one who acted like this in the entire building.

Big Qi asked, “Teacher Zhang?”

Zhang Ye looked over. “Ai?”

Big Qi laughed and said, “What item did you prepare for the auction?”

Zhang Ye asked in return, “What did you guys prepare?”

Rather embarrassed, Big Qi replied, “Well, I painted an ink wash painting ¹ to put up for the auction.”

Impressed, Xiaodong said, “Oh, Brother Qi even knows how to paint?”

Big Qi laughed and said, “Haha, I just know a little bit. I learned when I was young, but of course I can’t compare to professionals. I’m just in it for the ride but didn’t know what else I could bring for the auction.”

Li Xiaoxian gave a bashful smile. “We’re not here today to compare how pro we are. We just have to show up to aid the cause and do our part for the donation drive.”

Amy said, “But you still have to know a little. Otherwise, if we lower the standards of the auction, that would be so embarrassing.” Then she giggled and said, “Xiaoxian, don’t worry, if no one wants what you wrote, I’ll bid for it so that you won’t look bad.”

Li Xiaoxian slapped Amy’s arm. “You’re always cursing me.”

Amy laughed, “Hahahaha.”

Zhang Ye asked, “What did you write, Xiaoxian?”

Li Xiaoxian answered in a reserved manner, “It’s just a simple calligraphy piece. I’ve always liked it.”

Huo Dongfang said, “Eh, doesn’t Teacher Zhang also know calligraphy?”

Big Qi asked, “What’s Teacher Zhang’s calligraphy like?”

Zhang Ye smiled and said, “Not too bad, I guess.”

But Li Xiaoxian said, “How is it only not too bad? Brother Qi, you just haven’t seen Teacher Little Zhang’s calligraphy before.”

Big Qi said interested, “Really?”

Zhang Ye waved it off. “I’m just writing whatever. It’s not meant to be displayed.”

Actually, they did not really know much either and were just praising him. No one knew how skilled Zhang Ye’s calligraphy had gotten. In fact, a lot of people did not even know that Zhang Ye knew calligraphy at all.

Zhang Ye said, “The auction item that I brought is just some tea leaves.”

Chen Guang’s eyes lit up. “Da Hong Pao?”

Zhang Ye said happily, “Yeah.”

Amy clapped. “Nice, then our Chinese celebrity team will definitely be getting the top honors today. The items that we brought to the auction are basically just filler, but Teacher Zhang’s item is on a different level. It’s the best tea since ancient times, and it’s something that only Teacher Zhang has. It’s such a valuable item.”

Zhang Yuanqi and the others came back to the table at this time.

Ning Lan heard what they were talking about. “How much did you bring?”

Zhang Ye said, feeling pinched, “Five grams.”

Amy was floored.

Xiaodong was speechless!

Nobody knew whether to laugh or cry!

Xu Meilan said in a stunned manner, “Only five grams?”

Zhang Yuanqi laughed. “This guy is such a cheapskate that it’s incredibly difficult to just get five grams of Da Hong Pao off of him. The sun rose from the west today!” It was still Sister Zhang who knew him best.

But Zhang Ye did not like hearing that. “Did you guys think that I brought cabbages to auction off? That the tea leaves I bring would have to be measured in catties? This tea of mine only goes by the gram. Five grams of tea leaves is enough to make a pot of tea.”

Everyone scoffed.

Zhang Ye harrumphed. “Don’t think that I’m being cheap here. I only have a few tea trees that don’t even produce a few catties of tea leaves a year. If each and every person wants some of them and I gave away half a catty each time, would I have any left? How many of you haven’t had some of my tea?”

Li Xiaoxian covered her mouth and giggled. “It’s pretty good indeed.”

Amy instantly changed her tone as well and gave him a thumbs up. “Lord Zhang is a loyal friend!”

Zhang Ye said, “That’s more like it.”

Big Qi was envious. “Lord Zhang, I haven’t tried it before.”

Zhang Ye laughed and said, “Alright, come and get some from me when we get back.”

Big Qi immediately said, “How generous! Then I’ll help myself!”

Chen Guang said, “We can’t depend on Zhang’er’s tea leaves to bring home the top honors then. It’s only five grams, so even if it goes for a high price per gram, it won’t be much money. I guess the enormous responsibility will still have to go to Sister Zhang or Sister Lan.”

Amy said excitedly, “Right, we have to auction off an item for the highest possible price!”

Ning Lan said, “It would look good on us if we can get first place.”

Xu Meilan laughed. “Alright, then Old Zhang and I will give it our best.”

Zhang Yuanqi checked her watch. “It’s almost time for the live broadcast, right?”

“Yes, it’s starting right away,” said her female assistant beside her.

…

Online.

Quite a few people in Asia were already waiting at their computers.

The Japanese netizens.

“Has it started yet?”

“It’s about to.”

“There will be a lot of celebrities today.”

“Yeah, let’s see who walks away with the highest honors.”

“It was Korea last year, wasn’t it?”

“It’s time for our Japanese celebrity team to get it this year.”

…

The Korean netizens.

“It’s starting, it’s starting!”

“From the pictures taken earlier at the red carpet event, there seem to be a lot of new faces, doesn’t there?”

“Yeah, the Asian Celebrity Rankings Index is always changing, every day, so the people attending it each year are always quite different from the past years.”

“This year’s most expensive auction item will definitely be ours.”

“Haha, that’s right.”

“Let’s see what these Asian superstars will put up for auction this year.”

…

The Chinese netizens.

“Have you guys seen the photos?”

“Zhang Ye walked down the red carpet with Sister Zhang.”

“Haha, look at that fellow acting like he’s all famous. It’s just because he is overseas and people don’t really know him yet. If this were back home, everyone would be booing him for sure.”

“Hurry up and begin already! I’m just waiting for the live broadcast to start!”

“They are doing real-time interpretation on the stream this year, right? It’s getting more and more advanced these days.”

“It’s time for the Chinese celebrity team to showcase their talents!”

“Come on, let’s get the top honors!”

“We have to depend on Sister Zhang for that!”

…

The Asian Charity Banquet had always been held very successfully. Through promotions, hype, and the branding, it had slowly built itself into a grand charity banquet in all of Asia. It attracted great attention, and people all over the region welcomed it greatly! There were even people who started treating this banquet as a variety show, with it trending higher and higher each year as everyone guessed who would take home the top honors. Under these circumstances, many Asian stars and businesspeople started participating in the event willingly. With this virtuous cycle, the Asian Charity Banquet got better and bigger each year. The attending celebrities and entrepreneurs also garnered quite a bit of attention from it.

Furthermore, this was attention from all of Asia!

The celebrities and entrepreneurs who won the top honors would also receive a special reward from the organizer, on top of the huge amount of attention they would get, as a form of appreciation for their contributions to philanthropy. As for what the special reward was, it was always different each year. But from past experience, this special reward often had great value attached to it and was priceless.

Everyone wondered what it would be this year!