I am Really a Superstar 3

by Little Merger

Zhang Ye was originally a mundane college graduate with aspiring dreams to become a star, but unfortunately has below average looks and height. However one day, he woke up and suddenly found himself in a parallel world!It’s like the same world, but wait a minute…many brands, celebrities and even famous works from his world changed and are gone in this new world!

3. 951

I am Really a Superstar #Chapter 951: Rao Aimin comes to visit! - Read I am Really a Superstar Chapter 951: Rao Aimin comes to visit! Online - All Page - NOVEL NEXT

Chapter 951: Rao Aimin comes to visit!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

On the same day, the more the news spread, the more exaggerated it became!

"I heard it was because Zhang Ye took a show from Jiang Hanwei!"

"What? I heard that it was because Jiang Hanwei found Zhang Ye to be an eyesore and wanted to repress him a little!"

"I heard someone say that it was because Zhang Ye had offended too many people and did not know the 'rules' of the industry. After he reached his current status, he did not even pay his respects to Jiang Hanwei as one of the big brothers, so Jiang Hanwei decided to make things difficult for him!"

"Stop making things up! Those are all rumors!"

"Fuck, there's too much information about this news now!"

"Does anyone know what is going on? Does anyone have any information on what is really happening?"

"I checked with a friend in the industry. He said that Jiang Hanwei really did say those words, but no one seems to know what kind of animosity they have!"

"Is this true?"

"It's true and has been confirmed!"

"Can't you see how the involved parties did not come out to refute the rumors?"

"Yeah, if the news were wrong, someone would have come out to clarify!"

"Those applicants have all gone quiet! No one dares to be Zhang Ye's agent!"

The news was confirmed!

Zhang Ye's and Jiang Hanwei's fans fought even harder!

The entertainment industry had been quite peaceful recently, with no major events occurring. As such, this dispute made it to the headlines! Be it the common folk or the media, everyone was delighted to know that there was a feud between these celebrities. Their enthusiasm for it was even greater than for the news of a Heavenly Queen accepting a role on a new movie project and a Heavenly King releasing a new song. This was human nature. Everyone had a gossip side!

The reporters were also flocking over in full strength!

Zhang Ye could not be contacted!

Jiang Hanwei could not be contacted!

However, someone managed to contact Jiang Hanwei's agent.

"Hello, I'm a reporter with the Beijing Times!"

"Oh, what's the matter?"

"Can you tell me what grudges Teacher Jiang and Teacher Zhang have for each other?"

"No comment."

"Wait, I—"

Du du, the call was cut off.

Then the cell phone of Jiang Hanwei's agent was turned off.

But the more it became like this, the more excited the reporters became. Their keen sense of news reporting told them that there was certainly much more to the story. The way it was handled confirmed the authenticity of the news even further!

But as for Zhang Ye?

How would Zhang Ye handle this?

The reporters waited with bated breath!

The atmosphere in the entertainment industry became very tense!

An A-list celebrity publicly issuing a warning against another A-list celebrity!

This was a fight between the gods!

This had not been seen in many years!

Numerous people from the entertainment industry were also waiting to see how Zhang Ye would react. After all, Jiang Hanwei was very special, his status illustrious and prestigious!

Very soon, Zhang Ye made a response!

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This response left the entire entertainment industry in a state of shock!

Zhang Ye had given a call to Yao Jiancai.

"What's the matter, Little Zhang?" Yao Jiancai asked.

Zhang Ye got straight to the point. "Old Yao, you've been around the entertainment industry for many years, so you're quite familiar with how it works. Help me spread these words to the industry!"

Yao Jiancai was stunned. "What do you want to say?"

Zhang Ye answered: "Just help me spread word of my response….Say that I said, 'What are you acting all high and mighty for!'"

Yao Jiancai was speechless. "What are you trying achieve!"

Zhang Ye said: "Just say that!"

"Are you sure?" Yao Jiancai asked nervously.

Zhang Ye nodded. "I'm very sure!"

Yao Jiancai was very familiar with this temper of his long-time crosstalk partner. "Alright then."

Soon after, Zhang Ye's words were spread throughout the entertainment industry!

Fang Weihong was at a loss for words!

Chen Guang was speechless!

Fan Wenli gasped!

The others in the industry were astounded!

"What are you acting all high and mighty for!"—No one had expected Zhang Ye to use this fierce a method to start the war with Jiang Hanwei! They were really going fight!

...

Elsewhere.

Jiang Hanwei's house.

It was a villa. Jiang Hanwei was in the lounge discussing some fight choreography in a movie with two of the martial arts choreographers and a martial arts double on his team.

His agent, Wan Yi, walked over and whispered some words to him.

Jiang Hanwei belly laughed. "Great! Tell him to watch out!"

Wan Yi nodded.

"Brother Jiang, what's the matter?" one of the martial arts choreographers asked.

That martial arts double blinked several times. "Is it about Zhang Ye?"

Jiang Hanwei mocked, "I've been in this business for over 20 years! But a rookie who has only been in the industry for 2 years dares to say such things to me?"

Wan Yi asked, "Brother Jiang, just what is going on between you and Zhang Ye?"

"Stop asking." Jiang Hanwei bluntly said, "This is a blood feud!"

Wan Yi nodded. "I understand. I'll inform the industry and use my social ties to guarantee that Zhang Ye won't find anyone as his agent! No one will want to work for him!"

Jiang Hanwei grunted in approval!

Suddenly, a veteran from the actors' union called.

"Old Jiang."

"Oh, it's Old Bro Zhou."

"I'm calling to sort things out."

"Hur hur, then please stop talking."

"Why are you picking a fight with Zhang Ye? Let it go, alright? I know Little Zhang's agent, Little Fang, quite well. She asked me to help you two reconcile. You're both big shot A-list celebrities, so don't get so ugly. Otherwise, people will laugh at us. If you two continue with this fighting, both of you will suffer."

"Old Bro Zhou, you don't know the whole story."

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"Old Jiang."

"No need to speak further. Ha, I'll buy you a drink when next we meet!"

Following, another person called to mediate things. It was songstress Zhang Xia.

"Little Jiang, it's been awhile, right?"

"Oh, Auntie Zhang. I think we haven't met since that year's Spring Festival Gala."

"I know you and Little Zhang pretty well. Do things have to be like this? Give me some face and let it rest."

"I really can't do that."

"No matter what, you can't stop Little Zhang from getting an agent, right? Isn't this unreasonable?"

"Please don't continue. It's not that I don't want to give you any face, but I really can't do that no matter who tries to mediate!"

Jiang Hanwei fended off all those calls for mediation!

Just like he said, it was useless for anyone to try to mediate!

Jiang Hanwei only wanted to make Zhang Ye looked bad! He had many things he couldn't tell anyone because there were just too many things in the Chinese martial arts world that people did not know about. He had no way of saying it nor did he have the right to say it. Ultimately, he was just a former disciple of the Huashan Sect. As for why he dared to say such things to Zhang Ye, Jiang Hanwei naturally did not think that his own martial arts were better than Zhang Ye's. In his opinion and based on rumors, the two of them would at most fight to a draw (in his own imagination), which was the best case scenario. Of course, as they had not encountered each other before, the actual events could turn out much worse. Who knew if Jiang Hanwei could even take ten attacks from Zhang Ye! But the problem now was that Jiang Hanwei did not plan to fight Zhang Ye in the ring. There was no need for that!

A duel?

A fight in the ring?

What day and age did they live in!

However, Jiang Hanwei was not uncompromising. From a certain perspective, he was not rigid at all. He could not interfere with the affairs of the Chinese martial arts world nor help out in any way, but this was not the Chinese martial arts world. This was the entertainment industry, and he was one of the few celebrities with the highest of reputations! So why was there a need to duel Zhang Ye? This was not the place to duel in the ring. Zhang Ye and he were both A-list celebrities, so they couldn't possibly fight in the ring to decide the victor and make the person who lost admit defeat, right? This wasn't some children's game! This was a lawful society and the usual practices of the Chinese martial arts world were not really applicable here. Every profession had its own rules and regulations. In the entertainment industry, the fight depended more on one's fame, reputation, aggressiveness, and savviness! Despite the fact that Zhang Ye had defeated all the large sects when their strongest were down, he would guarantee that the Zhang fellow would not get past him in the entertainment industry! He was confident that with just a word of his, Zhang Ye would be completely quashed by him. At the least, he could make Zhang Ye be unable to find an agent!

Your martial arts are great? You can fight? What's the use of that!

You may be very good at fighting, but can your agent fight well too?

If I can't beat you in a physical fight, Zhang Ye, then the dozens of brothers of my Jiang Hanwei Stunt Team will be more than enough to take care of your agent! Frankly, I will make your agent get into a small accident and get injured. Even if the police come, they would have nothing on me! Who would still dare to be your agent then? I will beat them whenever I see them! You think I've been involved in the entertainment industry for this long without anything to show for? Saying that I was acting all high and mighty with you? I'll fucking act all high and mighty with you today then! I'll declare my intentions clearly here!

What can you do about it?

...

Back in Beijing.

At Zhang Ye's parents' house.

Very quickly, Zhang Ye received word of Jiang Hanwei's message!

"Just watch out?"

Zhang Ye was tickled by that. He knew that he could not beat me, so he spread the word to deal with my agent instead? Make everyone afraid of applying for the job? But Zhang Ye had to admit that even though Jiang Hanwei's move was nefarious, it was actually very effective. Up until now, there was no more news from those agents recommended by Fang Weihong whom he had contacted earlier!

His mother was so angry that she scolded Jiang Hanwei the entire morning. Finally, she asked, "Son, is there any news regarding the agent position?"

"No." Zhang Ye shook his head.

His father frowned. "Not even a single applicant?"

Zhang Ye responded, "Not even one."

His mother said angrily, "Why are they all so easily scared off? How can there not be any competition to become the agent of an A-list celebrity? There should at least be some people who are not afraid of trouble, right?"

His father sighed. "That Jiang Hanwei can be very arrogant in the industry. I heard that he's a veteran whose code of brotherhood is very strong, and he has beaten up several people in the past. He is similar to Little Ye in that he is the type of person who will beat someone up if he says he will do so. The applicants for the agent position are only trying make a living, so they do not see the need to take such risks. Who isn't afraid of getting beaten up anyway?"

His mother said angrily, "Does he have any regard for the law?"

His father said, "People like them have plenty of underhanded methods they can use!"

Suddenly, the doorbell rang!

His mother shouted to the outside, "Who is it?"

"Grandma, it's me." It was Chenchen's voice!

His mother, who was raging a moment ago, immediately perked up. "Yo, it's Chenchen!"

Zhang Ye blinked!

Rao Aimin and Chenchen were here!

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Chapter 952: Old Rao, why don't you be my agent!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

Noon.

Guests had come to visit Zhang Ye and his family.

His parents opened the door to welcome them. "Chenchen, did you miss Grandpa and Grandma?"

Chenchen made a noise in affirmation, then asked, "Where's Zhang Ye?"

"Him? He's getting changed in his room," his mother answered with a chuckle.

Chenchen bounced to the small bedroom door and knocked on it with her little hand. "Zhang Ye, come out, I'm here."

Zhang Ye's voice came from inside the room. "Soon."

Chenchen knocked on the door again and badgered, "Zhang Ye, hurry up."

"I get it!" Zhang Ye was annoyed.

His father looked at the woman standing at the door. "You must be Little Rao."

For once, Rao Aimin showed a smile. "How should I address the two of you?"

Over at Zhang Ye's rented apartment, his mother had met her twice before, so she knew her. "Anything is fine. Our age gap is not really that large, so you just call us Big Bro and Big Sis."

"OK," Rao Aimin said.

His mother beckoned her in. "Come in, come in and sit."

Rao Aimin had brought along quite a few fruits and gift boxes. "I heard from Chenchen that she gave you two a lot of trouble in the past six months. I didn't know what to get, so I just got a little something for you."

"Aiya, you didn't have to bring any gifts. You're too polite." His mother smiled and said, "When Little Ye was staying at your place, he caused you a lot of trouble too. You even cooked for him and offered him free rent, so we're very grateful to you as well. If not for your help back then, Little Ye would not have become this successful."

They exchanged some pleasantries.

At this moment, Zhang Ye, who had just changed out of his pajamas into casual wear, came out from his bedroom. "Yo, Big Sis Rao, you're here." He patted Chenchen, who had stood at the door for a long while, on her little head when he came out.

They ate lunch at home.

Initially, his mother had wanted to cook for the guests, but Rao Aimin insisted on doing it instead, so his mother did not stop her!

His mother felt it was inappropriate. "How can we let our guest cook for us!"

But Zhang Ye did not mind. "Haha, Big Sis Rao's cooking is much better than yours."

At first, his mother did not believe him, but when the tableful of dishes were served, she was convinced!

The dishes were excellent in color, smell, and taste!

His mother praised, "The food is delicious!"

Rao Aimin said, "I just whipped up a few dishes, so please make do with them."

Without any words, Zhang Ye and Chenchen vied for the plate of red braised pork belly!

"Zhang Ye! Don't fight me!"

"I must!"

"This piece is mine!"

"Eat that piece instead! Don't mess around!"

"But this piece is marbled! I love eating it!"

"I love eating it as well!"

"Zhang Ye! You're not behaving like an adult!"

The two of them always fought during mealtime. Everyone was used to it. Whether it was Zhang Ye or Chenchen, they had not tasted Rao Aimin's cooking for almost half a year now. As such, they naturally couldn't resist!

His parents regarded the meal as secondary and mainly wanted to chat with Rao Aimin.

As they chatted, they got around to Zhang Ye's problems.

His mother said in frustration, "That Jiang Hanwei! Don't you think it's infuriating! My son did not step on his tail, but he went around spreading the word that he wanted to beat up my son's agent! Does that make any sense at all?"

Rao Aimin looked at Zhang Ye. "Jiang Hanwei?"

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "It's that martial arts action star."

"He sounds familiar." Rao Aimin said, "I think I've met him before."

His mother was surprised. "You've met him before?"

Rao Aimin tried to recall, then said, "Many years ago. I don't really remember."

Jiang Hanwei was part of the Chinese martial arts world. Even if he wasn't a Huashan Sect member nowadays, he could still be considered as a non-affiliate, or more appropriately, had "set up" his own martial sect. He was currently doing even better than those people from the large sects, and had a big team of martial artists. Furthermore, Jiang Hanwei was a true martial artist himself and was very skilled as well. It could even be said that he was the most famous person in the entire Chinese martial arts world. Be it his kung fu or his popularity, they were all first-rate. As a result, Zhang Ye was not surprised to hear Rao Aimin say that she had once met him.

His parents were, on the other hand, rather surprised to hear this, because to them, Rao Aimin was just an ordinary woman who owned a lot of apartments. She seemed to not even have a job and just relied on collecting rents for a living.

Rao Aimin asked, "Did he really issue a threat like that?"

Angered, his mother said, "Yeah, it's true! That old bastard! Does he think that my son is a pushover?"

"How is your son a pushover?" Rao Aimin glanced at Zhang Ye.

"Precisely!" His mother said, "Everyone knows that my son is not a pushover, yet he brazenly picked a fight. What do you think he's thinking? Don't you think he has nothing better to do?"

Chenchen looked up and interrupted, "Zhang Ye, show him what you're capable of."

"Show him what I'm capable of?" Zhang Ye said in amusement, "He must show me what he is capable of first!"

His mother complained, "Little Ye wanted to hire an agent because he was getting too busy with work, but that idea has to be scrapped now. The applicants for the agent position are all too scared to take the role now because they're afraid of getting beaten up! Jiang Hanwei's exact words were: 'I'll beat up whoever becomes his agent!' That was enough to scare off all of the potential applicants!"

Rao Aimin said, "With his martial arts skill? Who can he beat up?"

His father replied, "You might not know, but Jiang Hanwei is not just any martial arts action star. He's really skilled and knows real martial arts, and is also very good at it, unlike some others who only know how to put on a show!"

Rao Aimin did not say anything.

Chenchen claimed, "My aunt is more powerful!"

His mother said, "In your eyes, your aunt is definitely powerful, but Jiang Hanwei is—"

"That's enough, Mom. Just drop it," interrupted Zhang Ye

"What do you mean 'drop it'?" His mother rolled her eyes and said, "Can't you see that I'm taking right now?"

Zhang Ye pleaded, "Can you please talk about something else?"

His mother said, "Why would I talk about something else?"

Zhang Ye had no words.

The person sitting in front of you is the grandmaster of grandmasters in the Chinese martial arts world. It sounds like a joke when you keep blabbering about how Jiang Hanwei's kung fu is very good in front of a real grandmaster. Not even Zhang Ye dared to boast about how powerful he had become when facing Rao Aimin!

Chenchen asked, "Zhang Ye, why are you looking for an agent?"

"To assist me in handling my work." Zhang Ye shrugged and said, "Your Uncle Zhang has become more famous now, so there are more people looking for me and giving me work. Even if I were superhuman, I couldn't handle the workload by myself. But even if I could, it wouldn't be good for me to handle it personally. It's hard for me to reject them flat out, so I need someone to represent me in the handling of these issues. Actually, there aren't many important matters anyway. Frankly, it's just to act as a shield for me."

Chenchen suddenly came up with an idea. "Then why don't you get my aunt to be your agent?"

Zhang Ye blinked and smiled. "That would be great, but I'm afraid that your aunt won't agree to it."

Chenchen looked at Rao Aimin and said, "Aunt, you have nothing to do at home anyway."

Rao Aimin looked at her. "Do I look that free to you?"

Chenchen and Zhang Ye nodded at the same time!

Rao Aimin couldn't muster up a reply.

Zhang Ye coughed and gave her serious look. "Honestly, Old Rao, why don't you be my agent? I would now like to ceremoniously and formally extend the invitation to you!"

In fact, a long time ago when someone brought up to Zhang Ye the subject of choosing an agent to help with his work, Zhang Ye had given it careful consideration. The first person who came to mind back then was Rao Aimin. First of all, she always stayed home with nothing to do and had a lot of free time on her hands. Second, she was very familiar with Zhang Ye and knew him very well, even to the point of having slept in the same bed several times. Third, Rao Aimin's temperament, character, and values were nearly identical to his. The two of them were seemingly carved from the same mold—their opinions on many topics were basically the same. If Zhang Ye were to turn into a drop-dead gorgeous woman, then he would definitely become Rao Aimin. And if Rao Aimin were to become a handsome lady-killer, then…Alright, then that would definitely not be Zhang Ye!

In short, Rao Aimin was Zhang Ye's most preferred candidate without any others coming close. But he knew that Old Rao had too high a status for the job, being a renowned…a notorious grandmaster who happened to own many apartments. She did not lack fame or fortune, so what was in it for her to be his agent? And that was why Zhang Ye asked for help from Zhang Yuanqi to help him find an agent at the beginning, as he did not know how to bring it up to Rao Aimin. But now that he had encountered an obstacle in Jiang Hanwei, who caused all those potential agents to turn down his offer, and since Chenchen had innocently brought up the subject, Zhang Ye went along with it!

However, his parents thought otherwise even as he felt this was the most logical way to do it.

His mom and dad recoiled at the thought.

His mother said angrily, "What are you saying! Won't you be bringing harm upon her!"

His father said hurriedly, "That won't do! Absolutely not!"

Zhang Ye laughed and said, "Nothing will happen to Old Rao."

"What do you mean by nothing will happen!" His mother said angrily, "That Jiang fellow has threatened to beat up whoever your agent is! Yet you still want to hire Chenchen's aunt as your agent? The nerve you have! How can you allow such a gentle and beautiful woman to get beaten up in front of you?"

Gentle?

Was this woman all that gentle?

She's only friendly because our family has taken care of Chenchen for more than half a year, and she's showing her appreciation for our kindness. If it were toward any other people, see if she would bother acting gentle! I doubt even their dogs would welcome her at that time!

Get beaten up?

Yes, someone would get beaten up!

But it was unlikely that she'd be the one getting beaten up!

Zhang Ye ignored his parents and kept his eyes on Old Rao. "Just tell me, are you willing to do it?"

Chenchen helped to persuade her. "Aunt, go ahead and take the position."

Zhang Ye was thinking how this rascal was trying to find something for her aunt to be busy with so that her aunt wouldn't need to keep a constant eye on her studies and homework all day long.

His mother pushed him, not understanding why he was behaving so insensibly. She said to Rao Aimin, "Little Rao, ignore him! Let him slowly look for an agent by himself!"

Rao Aimin smiled without saying a word.

Zhang Ye repeated, "If you're willing, just say yes. If not, then forget it. I won't mention this again in the future, so just give it to me straight. Actually, if you become my agent, there isn't really much that you need to do. You just have to help me answer some calls, and deal with some advertisers, the media, and commercial appearances. In any case, I accept nearly none of them, so you can just reject them all. You can stay with family and take care of your kid as you would. None of that would be affected. Oh right, I'll also be giving you a part of my earnings, but of course, there definitely won't be much."

After a short silence, Rao Aimin spoke, not to Zhang Ye, but rather to his parents, "If it were a year ago, I would definitely have ignored him as I have no interest in being involved with the entertainment industry. But now that my younger sister and brother-in-law's issue has been resolved, my years-long burden has been lifted from my shoulders. Your son helped me a great deal, but I won't elaborate on the details. I really owe him a monumental favor this time. And Chenchen being taken care of by your family for the past half a year is also another favor. I am normally an unreasonable person, but a favor must be repaid. It's only proper."

His mother was stunned. "But Jiang Hanwei is…"

Rao Aimin said nonchalantly, "Who does he think he is?"

Zhang Ye was getting excited. "Old Rao, then do you mean?"

Rao Aimin glanced at him and said, "I will accept being your agent for now. When you find a more suitable candidate in the future, I will step down. I'll just be your agent temporarily."

"Hahaha, sure!" Zhang Ye was enthused and excited!

He had done it!

He had really done it!

He really hadn't expected Old Rao to agree to this!

From here on out, they were going to proceed as a damn unbeatable team!

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Chapter 953: Xiaodong's birthday invitation!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

Afternoon.

Old Rao took Chenchen back home.

His mother immediately grumbled, "What are you trying to do?"

"Are you really going to let her take the risk?" His father heavily opposed his decision and criticized, "You're putting Little Rao right out in the open by making her your agent!"

Zhang Ye said, "Aiya, it will be fine."

His mother said, "What are you going to do if something bad happens?"

Zhang Ye said, "I can guarantee both of you that even if someone gets into trouble, she will be fine!"

His mother clicked her tongue and said, "What's with Little Rao? I told her that Jiang Hanwei is a martial artist and an expert one at that. Why didn't she listen!"

Ring, ring, ring!

A call came in!

Zhang Ye looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Wu Zeqing.

He immediately went back into his room to answer the call.

Zhang Ye laughed and said: "Hello, Old Wu. Haha."

Old Wu remarked: "Oh? In a good mood, are we?"

Zhang Ye replied: "Yeah, I just finalized something."

Old Wu gently said: "I just heard about your issue with Jiang Hanwei. What happened? Have you offended someone again?"

"I didn't offend him. Rather, he insisted on standing up for someone and tried to curry favor with them. I can't explain the problem in just a simple few words. I'll tell you in detail if there's a chance later." Zhang Ye had never hidden anything from Old Wu. There was no need to do so either. "I know why you're calling, and I was just about to call you as well. I can handle this problem myself, so please don't interfere. Your position is too high. If you get involved, it won't be fun anymore!"

Old Wu said: "Hur hur, what are you planning this time?"

Zhang Ye chuckled: "You'll find out soon enough."

"Alright then, I won't interfere," Old Wu agreed.

Zhang Ye smiled and said: "Just focus on your work. I'll deal with Jiang Hanwei personally this time!"

After hanging up, Zhang Ye was still in a very good mood because Rao Aimin had agreed to become his agent. After humming a ditty, he didn't feel satisfied, so he took out his cell phone and posted a very "attention-seeking" Weibo message!

The content of the Weibo post was very simple: The agent has been confirmed. Thanks for everyone's "concern"!

The word "concern" was even put into double quotation marks. It was obviously referring to the concern of a certain person!

When this Weibo post was posted, it caught many people off guard!

The netizens expressed their shock at this reveal.

"Ah?"

"He's found an agent already?"

"How'd he do it this fast?"

"Hahaha! Beautifully executed, Teacher Zhang!"

"Jiang Hanwei has just spread the word that he will beat up his agent and Zhang Ye has already found someone?"

"How face smacking!"

"Yeah, who was just saying that no one would apply for the position?"

"Who is it? How can they be so brave?"

"I don't know. Who's the agent?"

"They did not even feel threatened by Jiang Hanwei's words? Who is this divine agent?"

Before long, Zhang Ye's cell phone started ringing!

Fang Weihong said in surprise: "You've found someone already?"

Zhang Ye said: "That's right."

Fang Weihong asked: "Who is it?"

Zhang Ye laughed and said: "You wouldn't know even if I told you."

"Isn't it an agent from the recommendation list I gave to you?" Fang Weihong was extremely curious. She didn't understand how such an unpopular person like Zhang Ye could find an agent from somewhere else. Who had recommended the agent to him? Moreover, there was actually someone who paid no heed to the warnings and had gone against them under such circumstances?

Zhang Xia also gave him a call.

"Grandma Zhang."

"Who did you find?"

"You definitely won't know who it is, haha."

"I'm just afraid that you'll get them into trouble."

"Don't worry, everything will be fine."

"It's good that you found an agent. With your status, you really should let an agent handle things for you. Otherwise, how could you cope with so many things by yourself? How about this? I've known Little Jiang for many years, and I think he's gotten really out of hand this time. I'll help you in trying to talk him around again, so just leave it to me!"

"Grandma Zhang, I really appreciate your kindness, but there's no need to."

"Then how are you going to handle things?"

"I have my ways."

...

At present.

The entire entertainment industry was also wondering!

Who on earth was Zhang Ye's agent?

Even Jiang Hanwei was stunned when he heard the news!

At Jiang Hanwei's house.

He immediately called over his own agent!

Wan Yi said, "Brother Jiang."

Jiang Hanwei looked furious. "Find out who it is! Make sure you find out!"

"Yes!" Wan Yi said solemnly.

Infuriated, Jiang Hanwei swore, "Fuck! I want to see who has the courage to disregard my face! How dare they charge at me at this time? Are they tired of living? Do they really consider me, Old Jiang, a peaceful man? And consider my words bullshit? Search! Who it is, their name, which talent agencies they've worked at! Get me all that info!"

"Understood!" Wan Yi went off to get it done. He immediately made around eight phone calls.

Showing disrespect to Brother Jiang?

You're trying to die!

...

Meanwhile, many industry insiders were inquiring about this news!

Because of a single Weibo post by Zhang Ye, many people's curiosities were piqued!

"Hello, Old Wang!"

"Hey, what's up?"

"Do you know who Zhang Ye's agent is?"

"I don't know."

"Even you don't know anything?"

"No, I'm also confused over this announcement!"

...

"Hello, Old Chen. Did any of your agency's agents resign?"

"No! I've already asked them!"

"What about the others?"

"No news, nothing!"

"No one knows anything? How is that possible!"

"Who knows where Zhang Ye found this person!"

...

Many people used their connections, but couldn't discover anything!

Even Jiang Hanwei, with his influence in the entertainment industry, could not dig up any information!

There was no news!

Be it the well-known agents of the industry or the unknown rookies, there were no signs that any of them were going to be Zhang Ye's agent. Hence, the identity of this person made everyone wonder. It was as if said agent had appeared out of nowhere and suddenly popped into the picture! Everyone was caught by surprise!

Was it because they were exceptionally good at keeping a low profile?

Or was it because they were afraid of Jiang Hanwei, and therefore did not risk showing themselves?

But that couldn't be. Since that person had the courage to become Zhang Ye's agent, Jiang Hanwei would find out sooner or later. There was no point in keeping a low profile like this; rather, it was a sign of weakness, so it shouldn't be the case here. Furthermore, the industry itself was not that big and the people within would know very quickly when something happened. If you did not know? If he did not know? Then someone was bound to know something about it. But even so, there was not a single piece of news regarding this. This probably meant that the person was not from the talent agency business!

A lot of people were already forming their own judgment!

It must be a relative of Zhang Ye's!

His mother?

Or his father?

This was the only possible reason why the industry did not receive any news, and also why that person refused to give any face to Jiang Hanwei! This explained everything!

At a small gathering.

Several new celebrities were whispering.

"This move by Zhang Ye was in truth very beautifully done."

"Yeah, there are a few reasons he had a relative be his agent. First, he can retaliate against Jiang Hanwei. Second, if Zhang Ye's agent turns out to be his father or mother, then no matter what, Jiang Hanwei likely wouldn't go and beat up his parents. Unless there's a deep hatred between them, he wouldn't go to the extent of beating up his parents, right?"

"When you put it like that, it makes sense!"

"So Zhang Ye actually has a strategy!"

"The problem now has been pushed back into Jiang Hanwei's court!"

"This match is very exciting to watch. Let's see which of them can win the next game. Right now, the focus of the entire entertainment industry is upon this fight of theirs!"

If someone could think of this, then others would naturally come to a similar conclusion as well.

But when a lot of the people in the entertainment industry surmised this was the case and thought that Jiang Hanwei would be left in a difficult position, he made another declaration!

He didn't care who it was!

He would keep his word!

These two sentences were leaked by a very reputable director of the industry. That director was very close with Jiang Hanwei, so the credibility of it was almost absolute!

No one could have thought that Zhang Ye would be so stubborn!

And no one could have thought that Jiang Hanwei would be likewise!

At once, the atmosphere of the entire entertainment industry was frozen again!

"Holy shit!"

"They really aren't going to let this rest!"

"What are Zhang Ye and Jiang Hanwei trying to do?"

"Just what feud is there between the two of them?"

"They're both big shot A-list celebrities. Are they really going to fight to the death?"

"Even if Zhang Ye's relative is his agent, Jiang Hanwei will still beat them up?"

"They're locked in battle! Neither is willing to take a step back!"

With things getting out of hand, everyone in the entertainment industry knew about this incident. Everyone was now waiting to see how it would turn out!

It was at this moment that Zhang Ye received an invitation.

It was a call from the popular domestic idol group's team leader, Xiaodong!

Xiaodong immediately said when the call connected: "Zhang Ye, I've been trying to contact you since a while ago, but I never could get through to you. So you're back in Beijing? Perfect. Tomorrow's my birthday. You should come."

Zhang Ye laughed and said: "I don't think I should?"

Xiaodong asked: "Why not?"

Zhang Ye replied: "Don't you know how my social ties are? I don't really know many people, so why should I go?"

"I'll introduce you to them." Xiaodong said without explaining further, "No rejecting, you must come."

Zhang Ye considered it for a moment and thought that it didn't really matter to him anyway, so he said: "Fine."

Xiaodong was very happy to hear that. "Then it's settled. Oh right, I know about the situation between you and Uncle Jiang. Why did things turn out like this between the two of you? I don't care what happened, but I need to reconcile the two of you. My relationship with Uncle Jiang is extremely good. He even took me under his wing. What am I going to do if the two of you are fighting like this? Tomorrow, it'll be fine when I settle things for the two of you tomorrow! Don't you refuse my help! That's that then!"

Zhang Ye was just about to speak.

Du du du.

The call ended.

Zhang Ye shook his head helplessly. He knew that Xiaodong was just being nice. But the conflict between Jiang Hanwei and him was not going to be so easily resolved with just a few words.

On the same day, a copy of the invite list was released!

It was exposed by a small tabloid. No one knew where they got the guest list from!

Xiaodong's Birthday Banquet.

Time: Tomorrow.

Location: Yanqi Hotel.

Below was the list of attending guests. It was a long list comprising several dozen people who were all influential public figures in the entertainment industry. For example, there were the two other members of Xiaodong's idol group, a famous director, a famous screenwriter, several people from their music company, Xiaodong's girlfriends, and a few A-list celebrities like Huo Dongfang, Jiang Hanwei and…Zhang Ye!

When the guest list got out, it struck terror into the hearts of the industry personages!

What?

Jiang Hanwei?

Zhang Ye?

Both of them were going to be at Xiaodong's birthday celebration tomorrow?

What was the meaning of this? Wouldn't the two of them end up fighting?

On top of that, everyone in the industry knew that Jiang Hanwei's skills were all real martial arts. Everyone believed that if the two of them got into a real fight, Zhang Ye would definitely be the one getting beaten up!

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Chapter 954: Car crash!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

On the day of the birthday celebration.

Huairou, Yanqi Hotel.

A long way from the hotel, Zhang Ye was driving and talking on the phone.

"What are you going here for, Old Rao?"

"I want to go and have a look. Wasn't there someone who wanted to beat me up?"

"It's my friend's birthday today, so let me meet them first."

"Just wait for me."

"Hey, you're serious about coming?"

"Of course! Since someone has issued a threat to me, how can I not be there?"

"Check back later, alright? Wait for my call. If you really come, then I doubt the birthday celebration would be able to proceed. The entire event would definitely get disrupted and thrown into disarray!"

Zhang Ye didn't care who Jiang Hanwei was, but he still had to leave some face for Xiaodong.

At the venue.

The birthday celebration was slated to begin at noon, but at around 10 AM, the guests were already gradually arriving. Around the area, several groups of reporters were also here with seven or eight news reporting vans behind them.

Reporters showing up for such celebrity birthday celebrations was not an unusual sight. After all, any small or big events with many celebrities in attendance was still news for them. But today's event clearly did not have an air of normalcy to it. Too many reporters had showed up! There were entertainment reporters from the newspapers, reporters from Beijing Television, and reporters from Central TV News Channel. From the emptied bottles and drink packets lying on the ground, many of these reporters had probably been waiting since early in the morning. Everyone's purpose today was likely the same: They were all here because of the conflict between Jiang Hanwei and Zhang Ye!

"Why are they not here yet?"

"Take it easy. Just wait."

"A car's coming! A car's coming!"

"Eh, that's Chen Guang and Fan Wenli!"

"Let's go!"

"Go, go, go!"

A car was driving over from across the way. When the sharp-eyed reporters saw this, they swarmed it!

The car couldn't move forward as it got blocked.

Chen Guang and Fan Wenli had no choice but to roll down their windows to tell the reporters, "Can you please make way for us?"

One of the female reporters quickly said, "Everyone knows that the two of you are good friends with Zhang Ye. Can you please tell us what is going on between him and Jiang Hanwei?"

Chen Guang gave a wry smile. "I'm not sure either."

A male reporter hurriedly said, "Do you think they'll attend the birthday bash?"

Fan Wenli smiled and said, "I suppose so."

All in all, the couple denied any knowledge of the dispute by giving noncommittal answers.

Behind them, Huo Dongfang's car also arrived.

A large wave of reporters once again surrounded a celebrity's vehicle!

"Teacher Huo!"

"Sect Leader Huo!"

"Do you know anything about the conflict between Zhang Ye and Jiang Hanwei?"

"What are they fighting over?"

"Does Teacher Jiang Hanwei really want to beat up Zhang Ye's agent?"

Huo Dongfang answered with a smile, "It must be gossip. Don't believe it."

A newspaper reporter said, "But hasn't the news already been confirmed?"

"I don't know about that." Huo Dongfang repeatedly shook his head. "Please, everyone, let me through. I need to get inside."

A reporter from a television station asked, "Then who is Zhang Ye's agent?"

Huo Dongfang replied, "I would like to ask the same."

The reporter said in surprise, "You don't know who it is either?"

More and more of the arriving celebrities were stuck at the main entrance.

As the hotel was a semi-open space, Xiaodong had already booked the entire place prior to today. The celebration was considered a private event and guests would require an invitation to get in. So the reporters, who weren't allowed in, could only block the entrance in the hopes of getting their questions answered.

Not long after, Xiaodong and the other two members of her group ran out of the hotel!

Their group's name was "Spring Garden." It was formed of three female members: Xiaodong was the group's leader, with the other two members being Li Xiaoxian and Amy. They were the most popular girl group in the country and their popularity ranking had always been at the forefront of the B-list rankings. They had been popular for many years, and if a good chance or opportunity came their way, they might even rise into the A-list.

The three members had very different styles. Xiaodong was more well-rounded, beautiful, mature, but also full of life. Li Xiaoxian was comparatively quieter, and behaved and spoke appropriately at all times. On the other hand, Amy was more of a wild child who was sassier and sexier than the other two, and had a large number of fans chasing her!

When Li Xiaoxian came out, she said to the reporters, "Can everyone please make way for the guests to enter? Thank you for your cooperation."

Amy said, "Stop blocking the entrance!"

As a result of their appearance, the reporters rushed over and surrounded them.

"Teacher Xiaodong!"

"Is the guest list for your birthday celebration real?"

"When will Zhang Ye and Jiang Hanwei get here?"

"They're both quite close to you, so what do you make of this quarrel between them? Why did you invite both of them to your birthday bash?"

"Who is Zhang Ye's agent?"

"Teacher Xiaodong, reveal something to us, please!"

Their cameras and zoom lenses were all raised and ready.

Xiaodong first signaled to the hotel's security team to clear the area around the entrance, then brought all the reporters over to a different spot so that the guests could get into the hotel without any trouble. She then told them in all seriousness, "First, I would like to clarify something. Zhang Ye and Uncle Jiang are both very dear to me and have both helped me out before. About the argument this time, I dare say that it is only a rumor. At any rate, I haven't received such news. It must have been made up by someone and everyone else circulated it. From what I know, Zhang Ye and Uncle Jiang have never even met before, so how could they clash like that? This whole state of affairs is one big contradiction!"

The reporters all nodded in agreement.

Right, these two men really hadn't ever met before!

So how could things suddenly escalate so relentlessly between them?

Xiaodong continued, "It's true that I invited both Teacher Zhang and Uncle Jiang today. But it's so that they can clarify things to put this matter to rest and keep this ridiculousness from spreading any further."

Li Xiaoxian added, "Right, it's all just hearsay."

Amy said with a laugh, "Don't believe those rumors! Later, when Sister Dong officially introduces Uncle Jiang to Zhang Ye, she'll get them to take a picture together and will send it to you guys! That should be enough to dismiss all the gossip!"

Xiaodong coughed and stepped on Amy's foot.

When the reporters heard this, they got a little confused.

Take a picture together?

Could it really have been a rumor?

All their information was wrong?

Suddenly, someone shouted!

"He's here!"

"That's Zhang Ye's car!"

"Eh, whose car is beside his?"

"The other one belongs to Jiang Hanwei!"

"They came here together?"

The reporters were startled. They quickly picked up their cameras and snapped picture after picture!

There were even some people who rushed over to stop their cars, hoping to get an interview!

Xiaodong was also startled by this. She hadn't expected the two of them to happen to meet on the way in. But she quickly reacted and signaled to the hotel security to block the reporters. Then she stood there and beckoned for Zhang Ye's car and Jiang Hanwei's car to proceed straight into the hotel and not slow down. She was afraid that the reporters would surround them if their cars stopped there. That would expose a lot of behind-the-scenes issues and she would have no way to mediate the conflict after the fact!

Chen Guang smiled and waved.

Zhang Ye, who was driving, raised a hand in return. He greeted Old Chen and his wife.

Quite a few of the celebrities who were held up at the entrance earlier also waved at Jiang Hanwei's car while nodding and smiling to him. They were all very warm and polite toward his arrival.

"Teacher Jiang!"

"You've arrived?"

"Please go ahead, head in first!"

"There are too many people out here. Let's chat when we get inside!"

"Old Jiang, we must drink together today. I haven't had any with you in a while!"

Jiang Hanwei's car was a black BMW 7 Series. The car window rolled down slowly as he nodded to and greeted his old friends.

The celebrities successively restarted their cars to get ready to drive into the hotel.

At the main entrance, the hotel's security team had already cleared the way for the guests to proceed in.

Zhang Ye had just spotted the person in the car next to his. At the same time, Jiang Hanwei saw Zhang Ye in the BMW X5 beside his car. The two of them were taken aback and exchanged a look about a second long before looking away again.

Jiang Hanwei rolled up his car window and sneered.

Zhang Ye seemingly looked indifferent to this.

The two of them bumped into each other for the first time in this manner!

In the next moment, the two of them "bumped" into each other for the first time as well!

Due to Jiang Hanwei's status in the industry, those celebrities who had arrived earlier did not cut in front of him and instead waited for Jiang Hanwei and Zhang Ye to drive into the hotel first. And between those two cars, Zhang Ye's X5 was the one slightly ahead. Because the road leading up into the hotel's entrance was sloped, and since his car was an all-wheel drive crossover, he was clearly moving more smoothly. As such, according to his travel speed, Zhang Ye should have been the one entering the hotel first, followed by Jiang Hanwei.

But an accident occurred!

The interior of the car.

Jiang Hanwei told his driver, "Pass him!"

His chauffeur was a martial arts choreographer on his team. "Ah?"

Jiang Hanwei repeated, "Pass him!"

The driver challenged, "But there's only enough space for one car to enter at a time!"

"Alright, don't do it then!" Jiang Hanwei said sarcastically.

"Haha, OK, I know what to do!" After confirming his intentions, the driver broke into a smile. "Watch what I can do!"

Suddenly, the BMW 7 Series accelerated and sped forward. The engine revved loudly and scared everyone within hearing range!

After this, everyone was astonished to see Jiang Hanwei's car speeding past the other car. The road leading to the hotel's main entrance was already getting narrower up ahead and could only accommodate a single car at a time, but Jiang Hanwei's BMW still forcefully overtook the other car. Swerving, the rear bumper made light contact with the front of Zhang Ye's car as he cut Zhang Ye off!

They nearly collided!

But Jiang Hanwei's car still managed to get ahead at the end!

Jiang Hanwei laughed.

His driver and two other members of his stunt team also laughed.

Chen Guang frowned. "What are they trying to do?"

Fan Wenli said, "Jiang Hanwei is too hotheaded."

A female celebrity beside them said, "That's so dangerous! There was nearly an accident!"

This passing maneuver was in fact very dangerous due to the fact that the hotel entrance was sloped, not a gentle gradient but shear. The height difference between the top and the bottom of the sloped side was about half a meter, so if the car did not manage to cut in front, it would have gone off the slope and possibly overturn. If it really did overturn, the damage to the car would be secondary while those who were in it would definitely get hurt. They might even be seriously injured!

The reporters were all stunned!

Xiaodong, Li Xiaoxian, and Amy were all getting anxious!

W-What is Uncle Jiang doing!

There are still so many reporters out there!

The other celebrities present were also stunned by what had happened. Some were amused. Those who were amused were the celebrities who had close ties with Jiang Hanwei and knew his temperament very well. You want to drive ahead of Old Jiang? Zhang Ye, do you think you're qualified to do so?

In an instant, the reporters became very excited. It was as though they had just spotted an opportunity to report on a headline piece of news, and tirelessly snapped away on their cameras in the direction of the entrance!

Jiang Hanwei was indeed Jiang Hanwei!

The big brother of the entertainment industry was still as domineering as ever!

Everyone was astonished, but not surprised at this. This was because Jiang Hanwei's temper had always been like this. He had also done similar things in the past as he had today. Jiang Hanwei's name 1 was quite reflective of his character, considerably tougher and wanting to have the glory of being the first in everything that he did. As such, what he did today was very normal to those who knew him well.

Momentarily, everyone's focus was on Jiang Hanwei's car. Some of the reporters were already thinking of how to write today's entertainment news headlines after they got back to their offices.

However, everyone seemed to have forgotten about the person in the car behind Jiang Hanwei. It was the hooligan who had an even worse temper and reputation than Jiang Hanwei!

Zhang Ye was infuriated right there and then!

Motherfucker!

Zhang Ye had always been a reasonable person when handling things. At the National Martial Arts Conference, it was the Huashan Sect who had resorted to underhanded tactics first. Zhang Ye and Rao Aimin nearly lost their lives at the time, so of course they wanted to seek a proper explanation from the Huashan Sect after the event. But you, Jiang Hanwei, you're just a former disciple of the Huashan Sect, so what business do you have? First, you issue a threat in the circle that you are going to beat up my agent, then you warn that you'll still do it even if the agent is my relative, and now you cut me off, and even scrape my car? If it weren't for my wide tires, my car would have flipped and rolled down the slope!

I've given you your fucking face!

Are you fucking done yet?

With a roar of the engine, Zhang Ye's X5 suddenly accelerated forward!

"Ah!"

"Zhang Ye's car is going!"

"What's going on?"

"W-What is he trying to do!"

"Heavens!"

This act caught everyone by surprise!

Jiang Hanwei's driver did not care. Instead, he steered in a serpentine pattern to block Zhang Ye's path, knowing that he wouldn't be able to pass him anymore. It was sheer provocation!

The martial arts choreographer in the front passenger seat turned back to look and said, "There's already no space on the road in front! It's only enough for a single car to pass through the entrance! Does he still want to pass us? Ha, does he intend to fly over us then?"

Zhang Ye approached!

Closer and closer!

In the blink of an eye, Zhang Ye's X5 was right behind them!

This time, it was the people in Jiang Hanwei's car who were panicking!

"Holy shit!"

"Why isn't that bastard slowing down?"

"Fuck!"

"He's about to collide with us!"

"That idiot is crazy!"

Jiang Hanwei was stunned!

The reporters were stunned!

Xiaodong was stunned!

Everyone present at the celebration was stunned!

Zhang Ye floored the accelerator and, scaring everyone out of their wits, rear-ended the BMW 7 Series in front of him. With a loud crash, the rear of the 7 Series visibly crumpled. Meanwhile, Zhang Ye's X5 didn't look like it had a scratch on it. His X5 was not just any ordinary X5, but a specially made bulletproof crossover! Zhang Ye then pushed Jiang Hanwei's car off the side of the slope!

Bam!

Clang!

Jiang Hanwei's car fell off the shear slope side, but did not flip over. The engine died!

In the car, a flurry of curses and swears rang out one after another!

"Zhang Ye!"

"Your grandpa!"

"Fuck!"

"Aiyo, my waist!"

Jiang Hanwei had hit his arm against something and was in so much pain that he blew up in anger!

At this moment, everything seemed to still!

No one expected Zhang Ye to actually crash into the car in front of him!

Chen Guang covered his face with his hands!

Fan Wenli wiped off the sweat on her forehead!

All of the other celebrities were staring with jaws dropped!

So this was Zhang Ye?

This was the infamous hooligan of the entertainment circle?

Holy fuck, what kind of person is he! So it turns out that there is actually someone in the entertainment circle more hotheaded than Jiang Hanwei?!

Zhang Ye then put his car into gear and turned the steering wheel and swaggered in through the hotel's main entrance!

The reporter who had questioned Spring Garden earlier looked at them with dumbfounded eyes. "Are you girls sure...that you can get the two of them to take a picture together later on?"

Xiaodong: "…"

Li Xiaoxian: "…"

Amy: "…"

This was big news!

There was no way it could be contained any longer!

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Chapter 955: Old Rao arrives!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

Online.

News and photos of the incident started appearing all over the Internet!

"Not good!"

"Zhang Ye has caused trouble again!"

"Latest news update! Zhang Ye crashed into Jiang Hanwei's car!"

"This picture was taken at the scene of the crash! Quick, come and see! I'm gonna faint!"

"Fuck, what happened over there? Did they really start fighting?"

"I already said that if the two of them were to come together, something would definitely happen! Now look! Something has really happened! It has really happened just like I said it would!"

"What is that car Zhang Ye's driving?"

"It's the specially made bulletproof version of the X5!"

"How awesome! It's practically undamaged!"

"Why did it collide with the car in front?"

"I heard that it was over getting cut off. Jiang Hanwei cut Zhang Ye off and scraped the front of his car!"

"Zhang Ye is indeed Zhang Ye! Cutting people off? Scraping the front of someone's car? Trying to intimidate people? Zhang Ye does not resort to things like that. He will just take direct action! He will simply go ahead and crash into them! A lot of people have been lending their support to Jiang Hanwei recently. He's hotheaded? He mustn't be offended? Hur hur! Teacher Zhang's fans will surely laugh at that. From this crash alone, it already shows why Zhang Ye is proclaimed by everyone as the 'hooligan of the entertainment industry' instead of Jiang Hanwei!"

"Oh my god!"

"Looks like this will definitely lead to a fight between them!"

"What do you mean by 'lead to a fight'? They've already started the fight!"

"What's the state of affairs right now?"

"I don't know. The reporters can't get into the event!"

...

At the venue.

Inside Yanqi Hotel.

With the main entrance gates about to close, the rest of the celebration attending celebrities hurriedly drove inside. Some of them helped support Jiang Hanwei and company into their cars, checking to see if they were alright!

Zhang Ye had long since walked into the hotel.

When Chen Guang and Fan Wenli arrived on the hotel premises, they stepped out of their car and went inside immediately!

Followed by Huo Dongfang, Li Xiaoxian, and the others!

"Zhang'er! What were you thinking!" Chen Guang jogged up to him!

Zhang Ye looked at the group of them.

Fan Wenli also gave him lip. "Are you crazy? Why did you crash into him? There were so many reporters watching; why couldn't you have picked a better time instead? How can we settle this altercation now?"

Huo Dongfang said in a speechless manner, "That temper of yours is really…hai!"

Li Xiaoxian didn't know how to react. "Teacher Zhang! You! You sure are…"

Amy ran in and hurriedly called out to Zhang Ye, "Teacher Zhang! Leave, please leave! Uncle Jiang and his people are making their way here! Sister Dong wants you to lay low for a while! Let her handle the rest!"

Zhang Ye said in amusement, "Why would I need to lay low?"

Li Xiaoxian said anxiously, "Uncle Jiang knows real martial arts! He was a national wushu champion! You crashed into him just now, so if the two of you get into a real fight, then…"

Chen Guang suddenly remembered this too, so he immediately said, "Yes, yes, you should go and hide for now."

But Zhang Ye simply ignored them. He even strolled to the cocktail table in this banquet hall and took something to drink.

Outside, the others were coming into the hall!

Xiaodong kept tugging at Jiang Hanwei's arm while saying, "Uncle Jiang! Can you give me some face?"

"Absolutely not!" Jiang Hanwei said angrily.

Xiaodong was nearly in tears. "But it's my birthday today!"

Jiang Hanwei charged straight into the banquet hall!

Several of the martial arts choreographers on his team rolled up their sleeves and also entered!

A C-list female director was trying to stop the fight as well. "Old Jiang, let it slide! Just forget it!"

"Let Xiaodong finish celebrating her birthday first!" A celebrity who had a good relationship with Jiang Hanwei spoke up, "This definitely isn't over, but don't act rashly today! There are reporters all around outside!"

A moment later, Zhang Ye and Jiang Hanwei were separated by just a few dozen meters!

Xiaodong was anxiously running back and forth, shouting, "Zhang Ye, leave!"

"Please leave!"

"Aiyo!"

"Why are you still standing there?"

Many celebrities were trying to stop the fight from breaking out as well!

It was complete chaos!

But before Jiang Hanwei and his people could say anything, Zhang Ye was already shamelessly yelling at them!

Zhang Ye pointed at Jiang Hanwei and his entourage. "Do you people fucking know how to drive?!"

What?

What did you say?

When Jiang Hanwei and company heard that, they were both angry and confused!

The other celebrities in the banquet hall nearly faceplanted!

A guy who had forcefully passed them! A guy who had pushed their car off a slope! How could he actually point at them now and ask them if they "fucking knew how to drive"?

Outrageous!

He dares to question if we know how to drive? Then how the fuck did you drive?!

A lot of people felt like vomiting blood right now. A person who dared to shout those words in such a situation was definitely not just fucking thick-skinned! If it were anyone else, even if they grew another layer of skin on their face, they wouldn't daringly shout those words! But Zhang Ye did, and he even did it with such a natural and dramatic sense of righteousness!

Jiang Hanwei erupted, "Zhang! You're playing dirty, eh?"

Zhang Ye stared at him coldly. "Who is playing dirty with who now? You passed me? And even scraped my car? If not for my quickass reflexes, my car would have gone off the side of the slope! With those driving skills, how can you still be driving? Even a woman driver drives better than you! Jiang, you should have let it go when I ignored you. I was thinking that since it was Xiaodong's birthday today, then no matter what, I would still have to give her some face and not bother with you. But why does it seem like you're addicted to condescending to me?"

Saying that, Zhang Ye walked toward them!

Fan Wenli was startled and tried to pull him back. "Don't! Don't go over there!"

Chen Guang also quickly grabbed him!

Zhang Ye said, "I've been watching your antics for the past two days! What'd you say? You wanted to embarrass me? And beat up my agent? And even claimed that you'd beat them up whenever you saw them? Who the fuck do you think you are! Don't talk about my agent. If you so much as lay a finger on me today, see if you can walk out of here standing!"

Chen Guang kept pulling him back. "Alright, enough with the big talk!"

When Xiaodong saw Zhang Ye walking over, she got scared out of her wits and quickly stood between Jiang Hanwei and him. "Zhang Ye, knock it off!"

"I'm talking big?" Zhang Ye pointed at Jiang Hanwei and said, "Ask him if he's willing fight me then!"

Jiang Hanwei laughed smugly. "I'm not?"

Entertained, Zhang Ye said, "Huh. Then bring it on!"

Fan Wenli said, "Alright, alright, knock it off. Stop talking, both of you!"

Everyone thought that Zhang Ye was just bragging because they knew how powerful the wushu champion, Jiang Hanwei, was. In a past interview, Jiang Hanwei performed an astonishing action. He used his hand to actually leave a palm impression on a rock. That was the first time that many people in the country witnessed the legendary concealed power on television, and was also the closest experience to martial arts culture that they had seen. That interview had caused a sensation for a long time, and from then on, everyone knew that Jiang Hanwei was a martial arts expert who was probably ranked in the national top ten!

But Zhang Ye?

Everyone knew that he loved fighting. He had fought a Korean celebrity, some criminals, and even took the role of villain in a martial arts movie! But no one believed that Zhang Ye could beat Jiang Hanwei!

Jiang Hanwei sneered and declared, "Zhang Ye, don't be arrogant! If you want to survive in the industry, you have to follow the rules!"

"What a coincidence." Zhang Ye smiled and said, "I've always been a reasonable person. If you come with good intentions, I will treat you likewise. We'll fight based on our abilities! But since you resorted to underhanded methods with me and even spread the word to warn that whoever dared be my agent would get beaten up every time you see them? Then we're finished with talking! I don't believe you would actually do so!"

Jiang Hanwei asked, "You don't believe that?"

"I really doubt it!" Zhang Ye said.

Jiang Hanwei laughed heartily. "Alright! In a few days, you'll definitely believe it!"

These words were a declaration of his intent!

Zhang Ye's newly recruited agent was definitely going to get beaten up in a few days' time!

Everyone was surprised!

Flustered, Xiaodong said, "Uncle Jiang!"

"It's none of your business, Xiaodong," Jiang Hanwei said. "Don't get yourself involved!"

Xiaodong exclaimed, "How can I not care!"

But Jiang Hanwei ignored her. Since it had come to this, the feud had to reach a conclusion. He turned his head to an industry peer and said, "Call and search again! Find out who his manager is!" Then he looked at Zhang Ye but also told everyone else at the same time, "I'm a man who always keeps his word!"

Zhang Ye wondered, "Is that so?"

Jiang Hanwei looked at him and challenged, "Try me!"

"Alright then, I'll really give it a try today. I'll see if you'll really do as you say!" Zhang Ye shrugged, then said, "You want to beat my agent up? In a few days? You don't have to wait a few days, and you can also stop your bullshitting already! I will get my agent to come here today!"

Jiang Hanwei was surprised, but guffawed, "Sure!"

The other celebrities present at the venue were all dumbfounded!

"What?"

"Get his agent to come here?"

"This…"

"Zhang Ye's gone crazy!"

"There's not even time to hide! Why make your agent come here!"

"Jiang Hanwei is a martial arts master!"

"Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit!"

"This is getting out of hand! Someone might die!"

Chen Guang and Fan Wenli hurriedly went to stop him!

Li Xiaoxian and Amy were also trying to drag Zhang Ye back!

But Zhang Ye had already taken out his cell phone to make a call.

Amy shouted, "Teacher Zhang! Don't get others into trouble!"

Li Xiaoxian said in panic, "How can you let your agent come here and get beaten up? What are you trying to achieve?!"

Everyone was shocked by Zhang Ye's decision and could not understand what he was thinking!

However, Jiang Hanwei said, "Let him make the call!"

The call went through!

Zhang Ye greeted, "Hello."

Rao Aimin replied, "What is it?"

"Come here, now!"

"Where?"

"Yanqi Hotel."

Rao Aimin said, "I'm already here!"

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Chapter 956: Zhang Ye's wondrous agent!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

At the banquet hall.

Everyone had run out of options!

"How did it end up like this?"

"He's really going to call his agent here?"

"Heavens! Quick, call the police!"

"Yeah, or else it'll really get out of hand!"

Jiang Hanwei was still sneering where he was standing.

His colleagues, the three martial arts choreographers, were also quite angry at Zhang Ye. The collision earlier had truly scared them out of their wits. They nearly got injured as well!

One of them said, "Brother Jiang, why are you still entertaining him!"

"Teach him a lesson!" another of them said.

The third person said, "Does he really think that we can be pushed around so easily?"

However, Jiang Hanwei only gave them a look. He did not say anything.

Actually, a lot of the people here did not quite understand why Jiang Hanwei did not make a move as he'd sought the dispute. Others believed there was definitely a grudge between Jiang Hanwei and Zhang Ye. Further, Zhang Ye had just wrecked Jiang Hanwei's car. Based on Jiang Hanwei's past temperament, he would already have tried to fight Zhang Ye. That was why many of them were afraid that a fight would happen and tried to stop it. But as it turned out, Jiang Hanwei did not actually make a move. In fact, he did not seem like he intended to fight with Zhang Ye at all. This perplexed many people. Some of them thought that Jiang Hanwei had considered Zhang Ye's status as an A-list celebrity and was afraid the consequences would be too much to contain, so deliberately held back.

But in truth, only Jiang Hanwei alone knew that he could not possibly fight against Zhang Ye in such circumstances. Because even he did not know who would win or lose if they did and he had no way of judging the outcome. The others might not know about Zhang Ye's skills, but how could he not know? As such, Jiang Hanwei's purpose was always very clear. If he wanted to embarrass Zhang Ye or deal with him, he wouldn't need to duel with him at all. It would be enough to just deal with his agent!

Your martial arts are impressive?

You are the strongest person below grandmaster level?

Alright then! I will just use your agent as an example!

That will be enough of a warning to others! It will be the same as slapping your face when it happens!

Moreover, Jiang Hanwei hated Zhang Ye's agent already. Even though that person knew that he had already spread word in the industry, they were still willing to become Zhang Ye's agent? Was it a relative of his? Or was it his friend? It would be revealed very soon! I will make sure to "fix" you properly today! I will let everyone see just how authoritative I, Jiang Hanwei, am in the entertainment industry. If I say that I will beat your agent up whenever I see them, then I will very much do so!

Zhang Ye hung up.

Within half a minute, a female hotel employee ran in from outside. Surprise written all over her face, she looked around, not knowing who to go to!

Xiaodong asked, "What's the matter?"

That female employee mumbled, "Someone without an invitation is looking for Zhang Ye."

Zhang Ye looked over. "Who is it?"

The female employee hesitated for a moment and then said, "Y-Your agent!"

Everyone looked horrified!

What?

His agent has arrived?

And so quickly too?

Xiaodong immediately said, "Don't let them in!"

Zhang Ye spoke at the same time as Xiaodong, "Let my agent in!"

Jiang Hanwei was thinking just how perfect the timing was. He looked at Xiaodong and said, "Xiaodong, I've already said. This is a personal grudge between Zhang Ye and me, so don't get yourself involved." Then he told the others, "I'm sorry that I had to let everyone witness this today. There's a small conflict that we have to settle first. After that, we will continue celebrating Xiaodong's birthday! I'll subject myself to three shots of alcohol later in apology to everyone. Sorry to have frightened my old and new friends who are here today!"

"Listen to what you're saying, Teacher Jiang."

"It's fine!"

"Settle what you need to."

"Teacher Zhang, you have gone too far today!"

"That's right, I don't blame Brother Jiang for being angry. How could you crash your car into Brother Jiang's car? What if something bad had happened? What if someone had gotten injured because of that?"

Some of them started criticizing Zhang Ye in front of the others.

Jiang Hanwei's standing in the industry was evident. A lot of the people here today were on his side, unlike Zhang Ye, who did not have many friends in the entertainment industry!

Jiang Hanwei smiled as he gave a fist and palm salute. "Thank you, everyone, for your understanding!"

The female hotel employee said nervously, "So should I let that big sis in?"

These words stunned quite a few people!

What?

Big sis?

Zhang Ye's agent was a woman?

Jiang Hanwei said coldly, "Let her in!"

Before they could see her, her voice came from afar.

"No need to let me! I'm already coming in!" That woman's voice was loud and clear!

The expressions on the faces of the Spring Garden's members immediately changed. They quickly rushed outside to stop her. Even though they knew that today's conflict wouldn't end amicably, they still couldn't let Zhang Ye's agent come inside to get beaten up, especially since she was a woman. Zhang Ye could allow it, but how could they allow it!

The other female celebrities who were close with Xiaodong also anxiously went outside to help!

Outside.

The hotel's security guards were furious!

"What's wrong with you!"

"We've said you can't enter!"

"Yeah! And why did you push us!"

The security guards were hopping mad and chasing her.

Only then did Xiaodong and the others realize that the big sis had already barged her way in all by herself! What was going on? Didn't she know that Jiang Hanwei was here today? Didn't she know that Jiang Hanwei had issued a threat that he would beat her up? Why did she still barge in? Was she dying to get in there? W-Why would anyone be that stubborn!

Eh?

She's this beautiful?

The moment they saw that woman, Xiaodong, Amy, and the rest were stunned!

This face!

This figure!

This demeanor!

Even in the entertainment industry where there were many gorgeous women, a woman with such looks was still quite rare. Surely this was not Zhang Ye's relative, right? Zhang Ye only had average looks, so how could he have such a beautiful relative! Then who the hell was she? Where did Zhang Ye find such a beautiful woman to be his agent?

Xiaodong couldn't ponder these questions, so spoke at once, "Are you Zhang Ye's agent? Don't go in, don't go in. They're about to fight in there!"

Unexpectedly, this woman narrowed her eyes. "They've started fighting? Is it intense?"

Xiaodong was fretful. "Hurry up and turn back!"

The woman looked at her. "Who are you?"

Xiaodong was stunned. "You don't recognize me?"

The woman shook her head. "Should I know who you are?"

A different female celebrity was a little angered. "We're telling you to go back for your own good!"

The woman turned to look at her. "And who are you?"

That female celebrity was also quite famous in the entertainment industry. When she heard that, she was slightly shocked!

What agent! You don't even know who the famous celebrities in the industry are? From under which rock did you just emerge! You can even become an A-list celebrity's agent like that?

Amy shouted, "There's someone inside who wants to beat you up! Do you understand if I put it that way?"

Li Xiaoxian was very worried for her. "Hurry up and leave! When Uncle Jiang comes out, you won't be able to leave anymore! Don't listen to what Zhang Ye says. Don't go in. Zhang Ye will only get you into trouble!"

Surprisingly, when she heard this, she looked delighted. "Then all the more I have to go in and take a look. There aren't many people left in this country who dare to speak to me like that!"

She's a lunatic!

This woman isn't normal either!

Several of the celebrities who tried to stop the fight were rather confused by this. Indeed, one would always seek out someone similar to themselves. Why was this woman behaving just like Zhang Ye!

Are there any normal people left around here?

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Chapter 957: Jiang Hanwei frightened into turning tail!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

Many guests heard the voices outside!

Each person in the banquet hall was more shocked than the other!

"She's really coming in?"

"What is she doing!"

"Does she think this is a good place for her to be right now?

"Is she pretending not to know or does she actually not know what's going on?"

"Why does that woman sound like she speaks in the same manner as Zhang Ye? The two of them seem to be made from the same mold!"

"She even wants see how many in this country would dare to speak to her like that? Isn't she talking a little too big? As a small-time agent, you still want to demand that others speak to you in a certain way?"

"She sure talks a big game!"

Everyone whispered among themselves.

Jiang Hanwei and company were incensed to hear this!

A martial arts choreographer took it upon himself. "Brother Jiang, it's not necessary for you to dirty your hands. Leave her to me. Even if I have to risk getting detained for a few days, I must teach her and Zhang Ye a lesson today!"

"This is so infuriating!"

"I'll show her what she gets for disrespecting us!"

Several of the martial arts choreographers were indignant!

In truth, Jiang Hanwei did not plan to fight at this place as he still had considerations about the fallout from such a course of action. To him, this dispute could be resolved without even getting into a fight. Even though he could not intimidate Zhang Ye, how could he not intimidate a small-time agent Zhang Ye had hired off the street? He did not believe that, besides a rash person like Zhang Ye who didn't care about anything, there would be someone in the entertainment industry who dared to challenge him!

The voices were approaching!

"Don't go in!"

"Aiyo, what are you doing!"

"Why can't you just heed the warning!"

Xiaodong and the rest were still trying their best stop that woman, but they were wholly unable to prevent her from barging in!

She was coming in!

There was no backing down now!

Jiang Hanwei shouted again, "Let her in!"

A choreographer said, "Old Jiang, forget it."

Jiang Hanwei waved his hands and said, "I'm not going to forget it! It doesn't matter who tries to intervene today. It won't work!"

A figure suddenly appeared. The woman stood at the banquet hall's entrance, along with Xiaodong, Amy, and the rest still pulling and tugging at her.

The moment they saw that woman, many people were astounded!

"This…"

"She's Zhang Ye's agent?"

"She's so beautiful!"

"Who is she? Who knows her?"

"I don't know, I've never seen her before!"

"Which company is she from?"

"I don't know!"

"Old Sun, you're familiar with this field!"

"I-I've never seen her before either. I don't recognize her at all!"

"What? She's not someone from the talent agency business?"

Everyone was rather surprised and astonished. They started gossiping!

But no one noticed that Jiang Hanwei froze—well and truly froze—the moment he saw this woman. Sweat instantly dripped down from his forehead!

How could it be her?

Why was it her!

Zhang Ye waved at her. "You're here?"

"I'm here." Rao Aimin looked around and asked, "Where is he?"

Zhang Ye smiled as he pointed in a certain direction. "He's right over there."

Rao Aimin looked over. "I heard that someone spread word that he would beat me up whenever he saw me? Is that right? Which idiot said that? Come forward and let me have a look. Come on!"

Idiot?

The moment she opened her mouth, she said the word "idiot"?

Chen Guang was floored!

Fan Wenli was at a loss for words!

Huo Dongfang stared, eyes wide!

Everyone was extremely shocked and wondered if she was really unafraid of getting beaten up.

Jiang Hanwei's three martial arts choreographers flew into a rage at her speech!

"What did you say?!"

"How can you speak like that!"

"You're too arrogant! You're looking for death!"

The three of them denounced her angrily!

Rao Aimin's eyes narrowed. "Oh, so you're the ones?"

Everyone thought that no matter how good a temper Jiang Hanwei had, or even if he would never hit a woman, after hearing those words, he definitely couldn't take them lying down. Her words were simply too provocative and full of arrogance!

However, something unexpected happened!

Jiang Hanwei didn't move a muscle!

His current thoughts could only be described by the word "motherfucker"!

Jiang Hanwei simply could not believe his eyes. He immediately recognized this woman when he saw her walk in. Back during the battle between the three grandmasters in the Zhou Family's headquarters, Jiang Hanwei happened to be present as well because he had work to take care of. He was one of a small number of people who had witnessed that battle, and had even came face to face with her before. He wasn't sure about whether Rao Aimin still remembered him, but he knew that he would definitely not be able to forget this terrifying face and that Swimming Body Eight Trigrams Palm technique in his lifetime! The events from back then were still vividly playing in his mind!

She was Zhang Ye's agent?

Zhang Ye!

You motherfucker!

You've fucking tricked me!

You're making me dig my own fucking grave!

A martial arts director was pointing at Rao Aimin and still swearing, "Don't fucking think that I—"

Suddenly, Jiang Hanwei forcefully pressed down the outstretched arm of that martial arts choreographer!

That person was taken aback. "Brother Jiang!"

Jiang Hanwei inhaled and said, "We're leaving!"

The three martial arts choreographers did not understand. "Ah? What?"

Jiang Hanwei clenched his teeth and turned around. "Let's go!"

Go?

Jiang Hanwei was leaving?

Everyone was stupefied!

What was happening?

What had just happened?

Why did he suddenly want to leave when he was being so aggressive just a moment ago?

Nobody could figure out how to react and had no understanding of all that was going on before their eyes!

Xiaodong was dumbfounded!

Chen Guang and Fan Wenli were shocked!

However, they were about to be in for another shock!

Rao Aimin looked at them and said plainly, "You've been shooting off your mouth at me for as long as I can remember as well as spreading word that you would be dealing with me. But now you're just gonna leave like that? That doesn't make any sense, does it? Didn't you say that you would to beat me up?"

Beat you up?

I fucking haven't lived enough yet!

Jiang Hanwei immediately stopped in his tracks!

"Brother Jiang!"

"What's going on?"

"What's happened to you?"

The three martial arts choreographers could not understand what was occurring!

But Jiang Hanwei did not explain anything to them. The back of his shirt was drenched in sweat. As Rao Aimin did not allow him to leave, he did not dare move a muscle. He turned around to face Rao Aimin and gave a fist and palm salute, apologizing, "I'm sorry, Master Rao!"

Jiang Hanwei actually apologized to her!

Everyone was stunned by what they were seeing!

Rao Aimin glared at him and said, "In the future, don't go around saying things arrogantly. Don't keep wanting to beat people up without any reason. Did you think that you could just beat up anyone you like? I'm Zhang Ye's agent now. If you really wish to deal with me, feel free to come look for me at any time, any place, and any moment. I'll always be up for it no matter how many people you bring!"

Aggrieved, Jiang Hanwei gave her a fist and palm salute. "I would never!"

Rao Aimin asked, "Is there anything else?"

Jiang Hanwei wiped his sweat away. "No, nothing else."

Rao Aimin nodded and said, "If there's nothing else, scram!"

Scram?

Did you just say "scram" to Jiang Hanwei?

Everyone had been dumbfounded by what they were seeing and hearing for a while now!

Finally, without another word, Jiang Hanwei led his group of martial arts choreographers and turned around and walked away!

Xiaodong shouted, "Uncle Jiang!"

Jiang Hanwei didn't so much as turn his head!

"Just what happened?"

"This…Who can tell me what's going on here?"

"Who is that woman?"

"There's something off about Zhang Ye's agent!"

"Jiang Hanwei is a martial arts master! And an A-list celebrity too! So why is he so afraid of her? What sort of background does she come from?"

"Holy shit!"

"Teacher Jiang is leaving just like that?"

Everyone wore expressions of shock!

He would do as he said?

He would beat her up whenever he saw her?

Thinking back on those words that Jiang Hanwei had said, they were all coming back to slap his face now! Nobody could figure out why Jiang Hanwei had suddenly become so submissive after he saw that woman when he was still looking so confident a moment ago. Now he was so scared that he couldn't even make a sound anymore?

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Chapter 958: Her name is Rao Aimin!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

Jiang Hanwei left!

Or rather, he fled!

Meanwhile, the people who stayed behind in the banquet hall were staring at each other in bewilderment. None of them could understand what they just seen, nor did they understand what was going on!

Chen Guang gasped several times. "Zhang Ye!"

"Hey." Zhang Ye looked at him.

"Who is this?" Chen Guang asked.

Zhang Ye laughed and said, "A friend of mine."

Stunned, Fan Wenli said, "Why did Old Jiang leave?"

Zhang Ye simply said, "He probably realized he was in the wrong and suddenly found a conscience."

Found a conscience?

Found a conscience, your sister!

Everyone was floored by his explanation. How do you keep coming up with such nonsense!

Xiaodong and the others also came up to him in surprise. "Zhang Ye, this…"

With the matter settled, the look on Zhang Ye's face also changed. He looked at Xiaodong with apology written all over his face. "I'm sorry, Sister Dong. I must apologize for today's disturbance. I didn't want to cause this much trouble. It's all my fault, so be angry with me if you must. I promise I won't say a word. I know that I've spoiled your birthday celebration."

Just like he said, Zhang Ye had always been a very reasonable person. Of the conflict between Jiang Hanwei and him, Zhang Ye had handled it based on his principles and wasn't afraid to do it that way in any other circumstances. How can you go around threatening that you'll beat up my agent? Go fuck yourself! But, Zhang Ye definitely felt bad about doing that here at Xiaodong's party. After all, she had invited him out of goodwill and whether Jiang Hanwei started the provocation first or not, Zhang Ye still had to apologize to her.

Xiaodong agonized, "I wouldn't have invited the two of you if I had known this was going to happen ahead of time. It's all my fault!"

Li Xiaoxian blinked several times. "Teacher Zhang, are you not going to introduce us to this big sis?"

"Oh, right." Zhang Ye smiled and gestured to Old Rao. "Let me introduce her to everyone. This is my agent from now on, Ms. Rao Aimin. Big Sis Rao is a good friend of mine. She's actually never been a part of our circle. I hope everyone will treat her well."

Rao Aimin?

Everyone looked at her with intense curiosity.

Amy changed the subject. "Let's start the party then!"

Xiaodong quickly added, "Sorry to have kept everyone waiting. Today…hai, sorry about today, everyone. Xiaoxian, Amy, and I will put on a performance for everyone, how's that?"

"Great!"

"Hahaha!"

"I'm looking forward to it!"

"Happy birthday, Sister Dong!"

"Happy birthday! Stay forever young!"

With the subject steered into a different direction, the music started playing and everyone clapped along to it. Jiang Hanwei and Zhang Ye's dispute could only be placed in the back of their minds for now as it was not the main event today!

Spring Garden sparkled onto the stage!

Xiaodong sang, "See the sunlight, it's blinding."

Li Xiaoxian smiled and walked to the center. "My heart beats, dan-ger-ous-ly."

Amy started dancing to the song, singing as she did so. This was the style of their group. They were mainly geared toward the younger crowd, singing about the spirit of youth, love, and other similar topics.

At this moment, Rao Aimin said, "Alright, I'll be leaving now."

"Right now?" Zhang Ye said, slightly taken aback.

"There's nothing left for me to do, right?" Rao Aimin waved. She was leaving like she'd said she would. She didn't mince her words. "I still have to pick up the kid in the afternoon."

"OK," Zhang Ye said.

Several new celebrities had suddenly gone up to Rao Aimin.

"Sister Rao, do you mind leaving your number?"

"Let's exchange contact info, shall we?"

"Big Sis Rao, do you have a business card? If Teacher Zhang produces another show in the future, I wonder if I could be considered for a guest role on it? You don't even have to pay me!"

Rao Aimin looked at them and acknowledged, "Sure."

Seeing that, the people in the room hesitated for a split second before coming over to ask for her contact information as well.

Back when Zhang Ye did not have an agent, a lot of people could not, and had no way to, get in touch with him. Because Zhang Ye's reputation had grown so much, even if a newcomer or some small-time celebrities were able to contact him, it wasn't proper for them to contact him directly. Now that he had an agent representing him, everything had changed. A lot of matters and work could be liaised with Zhang Ye's agent from now on. That made it much more convenient for everyone.

There were even a few rather well-known celebrities who got their assistants or agents to go over to get Rao Aimin's contact information. Some of them wanted it for work purposes, while some were asking out of curiosity. That was because this agent of Zhang Ye's was clearly not an ordinary person, and the reason for that? It was obvious! Just by showing up, she could scare away as big a brother of the entertainment industry as Jiang Hanwei, so how could she be an ordinary person? Therefore, when a lot of these people were asking Old Rao for her contact information, they asked her very politely and formally. They would never act impudently just because she was a new agent in the entertainment industry!

Rao Aimin had gotten into the zone as an agent.

Zhang Ye ignored what was going on with Old Rao as he had his mind on Xiaodong's birthday present at the moment. He had already prepared a present for her. It was a bracelet which wasn't cheap nor too expensive. Zhang Ye had gone to a mall to buy it for her. But after the dustup just now, he knew that this gift wouldn't be enough to make up for things. Zhang Ye felt rather embarrassed.

So what should he give her?

Gift her a song?

Alright, that would work!

Spring Garden began as singers after all. This was their main profession. If he gifted them a song, it would surely be the most unique and most suitable gift. It would also be able to express Zhang Ye's apology to them.

What song should he gift them?

A song meant for a group?

For a trio?

Eh, that's it! Wouldn't that song be great for them?

Besides, it was impossible that he would ever sing that song, so there was no point in saving it!

Since he had decided, Zhang Ye immediately called a hotel employee over. "Do you have pen and paper?"

"Yes, we do. Please wait a moment." The employee immediately went to fetch the requested items.

Onstage, the members of Spring Garden were still performing the song that shot them to fame.

In the audience, quite a few people had noticed Zhang Ye's actions. They did not know what he was trying to do by asking for pen and paper. What stunt was this fellow trying to pull this time?

Rao Aimin had left already.

When Zhang Ye got pen and paper, he immediately lowered his head and started writing.

Lyrics…

Musical notation…

Finally, the performance onstage ended!

Amid the applause, Xiaodong and her sisters went off stage with smiles on their faces. "Thank you, everyone. All of you present today are my good friends, seniors, and my teachers. I am so happy that so many of you could be here today for me to spend my birthday with. I'm really thankful for that. When any of your birthdays come along, I will also be there as your guest!"

A fellow celebrity who was her close friend walked up slowly and handed something to her. "Happy birthday, Xiaodong."

"Wow, thanks!" Xiaodong smiled.

Then someone else came forward. "Here's your birthday present."

"Thank you, Brother Kai." Xiaodong gave him a smile.

One by one, the birthday presents were presented to her. Soon, she had received almost all of them.

At this moment, Zhang Ye finished writing everything. After giving it a once-over, he smiled to himself. He then got up and walked over. "Sister Dong, I'm sorry for today. This is my present to you. Please keep it safe."

Xiaodong was stunned.

Li Xiaoxian and Amy were also stunned.

Everyone gazed at each other in dismay. Your present? So you requested pen and paper just now because you needed to prepare your birthday present? Damn, how could you be so petty! Just writing some things down and giving it as a gift? You had just created so much trouble by crashing into a car and scolding others, and now you're coming up with such a thing?

But Chen Guang did not seem to think so. He understood Zhang Ye quite well and said with a laugh, "Everyone, don't belittle Zhang Ye's gift. Anything that is written by him has a lot of worth."

Has worth?

True, Zhang Ye was a calligrapher after all!

Xiaodong gave a wry smile. "Zhang Ye, you're apologizing for the third time. It's fine."

Zhang Ye handed the piece of paper to her. "Hur hur, take a look and see if you like it. If you don't, I'll change it for you."

"I'll definitely like it," Xiaodong remarked. She then lowered her head to have a look.

Li Xiaoxian and Amy went over to have a look as well.

Then, shock appeared on the three faces!

This is?

This is a song?

It's a song that Zhang Ye wrote and composed by himself?

Amy became excited all of a sudden. "Sister Dong!"

Li Xiaoxian also gulped at what she was seeing. They of course knew what a composition of Zhang Ye meant. "Woman Flower"? "Wishing We Last Forever"? "I Believe"? "A Letter to Home"? Which of those songs did not get famous and renowned throughout the country! Zhang Ye's songs had even been televised on Central TV's Spring Festival Gala before! Even a big shot celebrity like the Heavenly Queen, Zhang Yuanqi, who had a very good relationship with him, had to promise that she would be a guest on his show before he agreed to write her a song!

They read the lyrics.

Then sight-read the notation.

Xiaodong and her sisters were very musically inclined, so they started humming it in their heads.

Praising your smile,

Your knitted brows break my heart.

I cannot notice me,

I only feel what you feel.

Wherever you go,

Bring my soul along with you.

It's captured in your spell,

What use is leaving it?

You're a zap, you're my light,

You're my only fairy tale.

I love just you.

You are my super star.

You decide, I abide.

There is nothing better here.

Loving just you.

You are my super star.

This…

Xiaodong was utterly surprised!

Amy was very excited!

This song was simply perfect for their group!

Has worth?

They knew clearly that this was not something money could measure! Zhang Ye would never write a song for others for money!

"Zhang Ye!" But the more Xiaodong knew, the more she felt she couldn't accept this gift. She quickly placed the paper back into Zhang Ye's hand and insisted, "This isn't right, this really isn't right!"

Everyone was puzzled when they saw that.

What?

Why was she declining a scrap of paper?

Zhang Ye did not accept it. "Nothing's wrong, as long as you like it."

Li Xiaoxian immediately said, "We like it very much!"

Zhang Ye said, "Then that's enough. Just take it."

A close celebrity girlfriend of Xiaodong's could not bear the suspense. "Xiaodong, what good stuff did you receive?"

Xiaodong gave a wry smile and said, "Zhang Ye wrote us a song for my birthday present!"

Ah?

He wrote a song?

Did he write it on the spot?

Everyone looked shocked. They only just now understood why Zhang Ye had requested pen and paper. So it was because he wanted to write and compose a song for them! Goddammit, how can you be so quick! They hadn't even finished performing their song and you were already done writing the song? And judging from the expressions of Xiaodong and her sisters, this song seemed like it was really good too?

Of course it was a good song! This was the song in his previous world that shot S.H.E to fame, " Super Star 1 ." It was a song that was heard almost everywhere by many people! A song like that was something Zhang Ye would never bother singing himself, even in his next life. So it was more than suitable to use it here as a gift for them.[1.]

A female singer went over quickly. "Show it to us!"

Xiaodong hurriedly put it away. "Absolutely not. This is confidential, highly confidential!"

"But why?" asked the female singer, floored.

Xiaodong pondered for a moment. "For our next album, I'm thinking of using this song as our title track!" She turned around to look at Zhang Ye and said, "I've always been hoping to get a song from you, but was too embarrassed to ask. But today…thank you so much!"

Chen Guang was full of envy. He came over immediately and said, "Zhang Ye, my birthday is coming soon too!"

Zhang Ye: "…"

Then Fan Wenli spoke up too. "Although my birthday has passed, I can still celebrate it again."

Zhang Ye: "…"

Everyone laughed.

In an instant, Jiang Hanwei and Zhang Ye's conflict from earlier seemed to have been played down some.

...

Outside.

A BMW 7 Series with a badly damaged rear was traveling on the road.

Jiang Hanwei sat in the car with a sunken expression. He did not say a single word.

Beside him, his martial arts choreographers were stifling their anger with all they could. Ever since they'd joined the Jiang Hanwei Stunt Team, when had they never gotten their way in the entertainment industry? They had never experienced something that left them so aggrieved before!

"Brother Jiang!"

"Say something!"

"Just why? Why did we have to leave?"

"Yeah, we should have fought her!"

"She's just a woman. What storm can she brew? Now that we left, it's as good as slapping our own faces! How many of our peers will be laughing at us now!"

They simply could not understand it!

Jiang Hanwei was still not saying a word!

"Brother Jiang!"

"Brother Jiang!"

Eventually, Jiang Hanwei got annoyed by their questions. He suddenly lost his temper. "What can we do if we don't leave? Ah? You guys fucking think it's that simple, but do you know who that woman is?"

The three martial arts choreographers asked, "Who is she?"

Jiang Hanwei said in a grave voice, "Her name is Rao Aimin!"

"Rao Aimin?"

"Is there such a person in the entertainment industry?"

"Which talent agency is she from?"

"Is she the relative of one of their bosses?"

"Eh, why does that name sound so familiar?"

After those words were uttered, the three of them suddenly realized. Their looks on faces changed to horror and their voices squeaked in terror!

"Rao Aimin?"

"The grandmaster from the Eight Trigrams School…Rao Aimin?!"

"Holy shit!"

"How's that possible!"

"Th-This is impossible!"

"Why would a Chinese martial arts grandmaster go and work as a celebrity's agent? Much less an A-list celebrity like Zhang Ye, even if it were a fucking international S-list superstar, that would not be possible!"

They were petrified!

On top of that, the cold sweat from the fear they were experiencing had soaked their clothes through and through. When they thought about how they had pointed at a martial arts grandmaster and scolded her earlier, they could feel their legs turning to rubber!

No wonder Jiang Hanwei turned and left!

What could he do besides leaving?

Actually fight her?

Even if she used just one arm, the four of them teaming up would still be unable to beat her!

Jiang Hanwei said, "Who the fuck knows the answer to your question? Like hell I would know why a formidable female grandmaster like her would go and become Zhang Ye's agent!" Right, if he knew that, he wouldn't have spread word even on threat of death. Beating Rao Aimin up every time he saw her? He wasn't trying to court death! He wouldn't even stand much of a chance if he faced Zhang Ye. If he had to face a grandmaster? He wouldn't even try to make a move!

Jiang Hanwei knew that he had made himself look like an idiot this time!

He had been toyed with to his grandma's house by Zhang Ye!

"And there's something else that you guys don't know." Since it had come to this, Jiang Hanwei had nothing he couldn't say. "You aren't exactly members of our martial arts world, so you might not know yet. But Zhang Ye is no ordinary person either. Have you guys heard of the Taiji Fist that has been lost for over a hundred years? The Taiji Fist successor has reappeared in the martial arts community. He made an appearance together with Rao Aimin at the Tianshan Martial Arts Conference some days back. That person was Zhang Ye!"

What?

Zhang Ye is Taiji Fist's successor?

He was the one who allied with Rao Aimin and battled against two grandmasters?

Zhang Ye was the person who defeated all the large sects by himself?

When they heard what Jiang Hanwei had to say, the martial arts choreographers were once again petrified!

One was the successor of Taiji Fist!

The other was a Chinese martial arts grandmaster!

Fuck! Did these two ally and sneak into the entertainment industry as well?

Then who in the circle could fucking do anything about the two of them!?

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Chapter 959: The second successor of Taiji Fist appears?

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

The next day.

It was a cloudy day with heavy smog outside.

After putting on his face mask, Zhang Ye drove off to work. He would be departing from Central TV soon, though it was still some days away. He had taken a slightly longer leave this time and was gone for almost a month. As he was still considered an employee of the Central TV Documentary Channel, he was obliged to return to the office to have a look around and handle some work.

At the station.

Department 14's office space.

"How's everything going with your boyfriend?"

"We're doing alright."

"Bring him here. I'll give you some advice."

"Sure."

Right as Zhang Ye entered the office, he noticed a bunch of his colleagues currently engaged in their own activities. After a long absence, he rather missed these colleagues who had battled alongside him at work. Some of them were eating breakfast, some were sneakily playing games, and some were gossiping in whispers. As no one had noticed his arrival yet, Zhang Ye could not help teasing them a little.

"The boss is here!" Zhang Ye shouted.

In an instant, the office was thrown into disarray!

Little Wang hastily closed her game!

Wu Yi stuffed the last mouthful of a bun into his mouth!

Several of his colleagues who were chattering away abruptly changed the topic of discussion!

"How's everything going with your work?"

"It's quite alright."

"Bring it to me. I'll give you some advice."

"Sure."

When Zhang Ye heard that, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. With the same conversation as before, all you did was fucking replace the word "boyfriend" with "work"? Couldn't you at least come up with something different? As they said, soldiers emulated their general. This saying seemed to be rather true after all. Having worked under Zhang Ye for so long now, this group of colleagues were becoming more and more shameless. Each one competed to be more thick-skinned than the last!

"Ah!"

"Director Zhang!"

"It's Director Zhang!"

Gasps of surprise sounded throughout the office!

At this moment, everyone realized that the person standing at the entrance was actually Zhang Ye. Only then did they know they had been tricked by him. The person who had come in was indeed a boss, since he was the boss of their documentary channel. But as everyone knew, Zhang Ye was different from the other bosses. He was never bothered by their chatting or playing games during office hours.

Little Wang was pleasantly surprise. "Director Zhang!"

Little Li gasped. "Director Zhang is back! Director Zhang is back!"

Ha Qiqi stood up. "Director Zhang."

"We've missed you so much!" Even the manly Zhang Zuo played along with everyone else.

Zhang Ye was amused by this. "Oh, come now. I saw you guys having fun and looking like you didn't want me coming back here. In the future, quit the game more cleanly. Your minimized window can still be seen."

A few of the staff who had been playing games smiled awkwardly.

Then a bunch of people surrounded Zhang Ye and asked him all sorts of questions.

"Director Zhang, how's the dispute going between you and Jiang Hanwei?"

"Yeah, we're all concerned about that!"

"Why is there suddenly no news?"

"Did you really crash into Jiang Hanwei's car?"

"It seems that yesterday, at the birthday party of Spring Garden's Teacher Xiaodong, Jiang Hanwei led his people out before the event even started? What happened there? What exactly was the outcome?"

"Didn't he say that he would beat up your agent?"

"So who on earth is your agent?"

"I think it's a woman, right?"

"Yeah, I saw the pictures the reporters published! But it was a bit blurry!"

"She kinda looked beautiful, right?"

Question followed question.

Zhang Ye replied with a smile, "I have an agent now named Rao Aimin. In the future, if there are any advertisers calling to look for me at the office, you can get them to contact her instead. I'll give everyone her number later. She'll be given full authority to handle all of my affairs from now on."

Little Wang said excitedly, "I've finally been set free! I won't need to answer your phone calls every day anymore!"

Zhang Ye said, "It's been hard on you for the past month."

Little Wang stood at attention. "I was just doing my part for the people!"

Ha Qiqi asked, "Then about the Jiang Hanwei matter…"

"That's done with." Zhang Ye said, "I won't talk about it in detail since it's pointless to do so."

But the more that Zhang Ye did not want to touch on it, the more curious everyone became!

"Please tell us!"

"That's right, Jiang Hanwei has really gone too far!"

"Wasn't he planning to deal with your agent?"

"Director Zhang, quickly tell us about it!"

Everyone continued pressing him for an answer. They understood Director Zhang's temperament and knew that he was someone whom they could easily talk with, so they were not afraid of him and just asked as they thought.

But Zhang Ye waved it off and did not reveal anything. Because to him, even though it was Jiang Hanwei who provoked him and tried to mess with him for no apparent reason, this was still not something to be proud of. Wrecking Jiang Hanwei's car? Scolding him at Xiaodong's birthday celebration? Scaring him away? There was no need to bring this up; neither did it paint Zhang Ye in a good light. Zhang Ye would still combat this sort of internal conflict and scolding within the industry when necessary, but he'd never actually liked doing it. It was just that he had no other recourse since he was provoked first, so he had to react!

But even as Zhang Ye did not wish to talk about it, news of it appeared online!

Little Wang said, "Look, something's going on again!"

"What is it?"

"Jiang Hanwei has spoken up!"

"Is that so? Where? Where?"

Everyone went over to Little Wang and surrounded her.

A day after the incident, Jiang Hanwei had finally issued a response. He had accepted a phone interview with an entertainment news tabloid in Southern China!

The headline: "Jiang Hanwei clarifies his stand: He dislikes people like Zhang Ye!"

Jiang Hanwei said in his phone interview: "I have always disliked people like Zhang Ye and have my doubts about how he's become so popular today. What is wrong with the people nowadays? Next, I would like to clarify a rumor spreading around, saying that I had threatened to beat up Zhang Ye's agent? I never said anything like that! Everyone, please stop spreading such baseless rumors! We have to stop it right there!"

Heated discussions on this topic started appearing on the Internet!

"Everyone has their own likes and dislikes!"

"Yeah, I like Zhang Ye, so what!"

"Me too. I feel happy whenever I get to see Zhang Ye!"

"Jiang Hanwei is clearing up the rumors?"

"That can't be, didn't someone confirm that such a thing really took place?"

"Why has it become a rumor now?"

"Jiang Hanwei has most definitely said those words before! Has he changed his tune?"

"There's definitely something to this that we don't know of!"

"It might really just turn out to be a rumor."

"Rumor, my ass! The two of them were even involved in a collision!"

"Yeah, Zhang Ye crashed into Jiang Hanwei's car due to being cut off, so why did Jiang Hanwei not mention anything about that? What's the reason for his silence?"

"Just what is going on with them? I'm starting to get confused by all this!"

"Don't tell me that the meaning of Jiang Hanwei's interview was essentially him admitting defeat?"

"With Old Jiang's standing in the entertainment industry, even he can't do anything about Zhang Ye?"

"Whatever it is, it's case closed. Let's all just leave. Disperse!"

The development of this affair had gone beyond everyone's expectations. The moment this conflict was made known, some people thought that Zhang Ye would definitely engage in a fierce battle with Jiang Hanwei or maybe even get into a physical fight with him. Needless to say, Zhang Ye's agent who had popped out of the blue would definitely be unable to escape as well, since Jiang Hanwei had always walked the walk. But in the end, nothing came out of it? Jiang Hanwei actually denied saying all those words?

Everyone started making wild guesses about what had really happened!

There was also an increase of all kinds of rumors!

Some said a bigwig from the entertainment industry had stepped in to help mediate things.

Some said it was Xiaodong who settled the dispute for the two of them.

Some even said that after Jiang Hanwei saw that Zhang Ye's agent was a woman, he chose not to do anything as he would not hit a woman.

Would not hit a woman?

Only the tiny group of entertainment industry insiders present that day knew the truth behind all these rumors. They were the only ones who knew that this was not Jiang Hanwei admitting defeating, but that he had been frightened into turning tail due to Zhang Ye's wondrous female agent! And as for Jiang Hanwei's clarification this time, it made them more convinced that Jiang Hanwei was not actually afraid of Zhang Ye since he could still publicly express his dislike for people like him after all that had happened. It was likely that he would still have further conflict with Zhang Ye. Jiang Hanwei mainly wanted to use this interview to refute that he had ever said that he would beat up Zhang Ye's agent. Only those who knew the whole story could understand that this line was the essence of his interview. Jiang Hanwei would rather slap himself in the face by eating his words than not doing so!

Who on earth was Zhang Ye's female agent?

This question caused a big stir in the entertainment industry!

...

Later that morning.

Director Yan Tianfei came over and made small talk with Zhang Ye for a while.

"Director Zhang, is everything resolved?" Yan Tianfei asked.

"Yes." Zhang Ye nodded. "I'm back at work again starting today."

Yan Tianfei reminded, "Be wary of Jiang Hanwei in the future. That man is not to be trifled with."

Zhang Ye acknowledged the advice with a smile and said, "Director Yan, I know that, but I happen to be someone who's not to be trifled with either."

Yan Tianfei chuckled. "It's not that you're not to be trifled with, but that to trifle with you would be a terrible mistake!"

Zhang Ye got engrossed into his work as he helped Ha Qiqi, Zhang Zuo, and the others rehearse the air pollution documentary that was going to be broadcast soon.

Ha Qiqi and Zhang Zuo brought up some of the difficulties they faced in their work.

Troubled, Ha Qiqi said, "We are unable to proceed with some of the statistics gathering and experimental data."

Zhang Ye replied, "If there's something you need, just let me know. I'll be leaving the station soon, and you two are the executive directors this time. As long as I can help out, I will do it if you ask me."

Zhang Zuo said, "About the research lab at Peking University, we would like to…"

Zhang Ye immediately agreed, "Alright, I'll help you get in contact with them. There won't be any problems. I'll call them about it and get them to give you whatever information you require."

Ha Qiqi added, "We can't handle the Meteorological Administration. There's some data they simply refuse to hand over to us!"

Zhang Ye nodded. "OK, I'll help you get it done!"

"And some of the interviews…" Zhang Zuo trailed off.

Zhang Ye said, "Sure, I'll look over them when the time comes."

Zhang Zuo hesitated, "Even if it's you who asks them, it might not work out since they don't accept any TV interviews."

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "Don't forget that I'm an associate professor at Peking University and Media College. Even though my social ties in the entertainment industry are poor, they will still give me some face."

Ha Qiqi laughed. "Great. I'll get Little Huang to get you the information."

Awhile later, Huang Dandan brought the information to him. "Cough, cough, cough, Director Zhang, cough, cough, here you are."

Zhang Ye looked up at her. "You still have a cold?"

Huang Dandan had a normal complexion. "It hasn't gotten better."

Zhang Ye stated, "Before I went on my break, you were already sick, right? Take good care of yourself."

Huang Dandan smiled and said, "Of course. Thank you for your concern, Director Zhang."

They worked the entire morning.

...

Noon.

It was time for the lunch break.

Zhang Ye exhaled, stretched, and stood up as he prepared to go for lunch.

But the moment he stepped outside, he overheard his colleagues whispering among themselves.

"She's beautiful."

"Why did she come all the way here?"

"I don't know."

"I heard that she's been waiting the entire morning."

"Security called us a ton of times. Should we tell Director Zhang about it?"

"I suppose she's a fan?"

"But she doesn't look like one!"

Zhang Ye overheard a little of the conversation and asked, "What are you guys talking about? Who's looking for me? What fan?"

Little Wang was startled. "Uh, Director Zhang."

Huang Dandan scratched her head and said, "Security has been calling since this morning, saying that there was a woman specifically asking for you. She doesn't have an ID badge, an entry pass, or your contact number, so security tried to chase her away. But it seems that she still refused to leave and has been waiting downstairs until now, saying that she must definitely meet you today."

There were many cases of fans chasing after stars and quite a number of people would always come to Central TV to catch a glimpse Zhang Ye, so it was not something new to them. The reason that security informed Department 14 about this issue was probably because she was quite pretty?

Zhang Ye asked, "Did they say why she was looking for me?"

"Uh, they did not," Huang Dandan replied.

Zhang Ye nodded. "Let's go downstairs and grab lunch. I'm treating today."

"Wow."

"Director Zhang is treating us?"

"I'm joining too then!"

"Haha!"

Everyone cheered at that because Zhang Ye was very generous. Whenever he treated them, it was always a sumptuous meal.

They took the elevator down.

20th floor…

10th floor…

5th floor…

Before the elevator door even opened, everyone in the elevator could hear a woman shouting when they were nearing the second floor!

"Zhang Ye!"

"Come out!"

The elevator stopped on the first floor.

The elevator door opened and everyone looked out in astonishment.

There were also quite a number of colleagues on the first floor who were looking at that woman with curious eyes.

Ha Qiqi said in a daze, "That's the woman who's looking for Director Zhang?"

"Why is she shouting?" Zhang Zuo scowled.

There were around four security guards approaching her and trying to chase her out!

"What are you doing!"

"Are you here to cause trouble?"

"Hurry up and leave!"

"If you shout again, we'll call the police!"

Pushed to the breaking point, the security guards nearly took physical action against her!

When Zhang Ye saw this, he quickly stopped them. He always treated his fans with kindness, but this person did not seem to be a fan. "Let me deal with her!"

A security guard turned around in surprise. "Teacher Zhang, you've come down?"

An overweight security guard said, "This person is causing trouble! She's been here since morning!"

Zhang Ye smiled. "No worries, just let me deal with her."

It was a woman in her early twenties. She should be around the same age as Zhang Ye. She was not the type who looked extremely beautiful at first glance, but she would definitely not be ignored in a crowd. She had an elegant aura and was a good-looking person who obviously stood out. This woman was dressed in typical exercise attire. Her shoes looked rather old but were very clean. From this, she probably didn't come from some rich family. Her black hair was styled into a simple ponytail.

The woman also saw Zhang Ye. Her eyes immediately hardened!

Zhang Ye took a few steps forward. "May I know who you are?"

Ha Qiqi, Little Wang, and the others were afraid that Zhang Ye had encountered some crazy fan, so they followed close behind him.

The woman gazed at him. "You've finally shown yourself."

Zhang Ye asked with curiosity, "Why have you sought me out?"

However, Zhang Ye was immediately shocked by the woman's answer. She said, "Zhang Ye, why are you going around misleading others using the name of Taiji?"

Taiji?

What Taiji?

The people around them did not understand what was going on!

But Zhang Ye understood and narrowed his eyes. Those who knew about Taiji Fist and knew that he knew Taiji Fist were pointedly not ordinary folk. Only those from the Chinese martial arts world knew! Zhang Ye did not expect that someone would come looking for him and question him. Was she an enemy? Was she from one of the large sects? She didn't look like one of them! When did I ever mislead anyone?

Zhang Ye turned around and told Ha Qiqi and the rest, "Go ahead and eat lunch on your own. Bring back the receipt and I'll reimburse it for you guys. I have some things to attend to for now."

Ha Qiqi said in surprise, "Director Zhang?"

"Go ahead. I'll be fine," Zhang Ye said.

His colleagues walked off but looked back every step of the way.

Zhang Ye pointed to a makeshift reception room in the corner of the lobby. "Can I have a word with you?"

"Sure." The woman followed him.

In the reception room.

There were only the two of them here.

Only then did Zhang Ye size this woman up carefully. "You're from our martial arts world?"

The woman said, "You can say that."

Zhang Ye wondered, "Why did you accuse me of misleading others?"

The woman stared at him. "It's not like you really know Taiji Fist, right?"

"Why do you think that I don't know Taiji Fist?" Zhang Ye asked another question.

The woman explained, "Because there's only one successor left in this generation of Taiji Fist, and you're obviously not that successor!"

Curious, Zhang Ye inquired, "Who are you?"

The woman regulated her breathing as she looked at him in the eye. Then, she said something shocking. "Taiji, Yang Shu!"

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Chapter 960: Zhang Ye vs. Yang Shu!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

Taiji?

Yang Shu?

Her reply startled Zhang Ye!

Other than him, there was someone else who practiced Taiji Fist in this world? From the reaction of the Chinese martial arts world, Zhang Ye and the rest of the martial arts community had always thought that Taiji Fist was lost since over a hundred years ago! It was impossible that a successor of Taiji would appear ever again. Therefore, when Zhang Ye used his Taiji Fist at the Martial Arts Conference, everyone looked like they had seen a ghost and were shocked beyond imagination as no one could believe that it had really happened!

Yet now, another successor had appeared?

Another person who practiced Taiji Fist?

And even a young woman at that?

And her surname was Yang?

This lineage made Zhang Ye's heart skip a beat. He knew that in his previous world, Taiji Fist had originated from the Chen lineage 1 . However, the Yang and Chen lineages' Taiji were basically inseparable. As for the Zhang lineage's Comrade Sanfeng 2 , he was just a legendary figure used mainly for television and film purposes. Although he really existed, there was no physical evidence that linked Taiji Fist and him together. As luck would have it, perhaps by chance, the Taiji grandmaster of this world who had swept aside the martial arts community over a hundred years ago also had the surname Yang!

Zhang Ye said in surprise, "You know Taiji?"

"Of course." Yang Shu looked at him.

Zhang Ye immediately asked, "Who is your master?"

Yang Shu answered, "I'm not telling."

Zhang Ye looked at her in disbelief. "Are you lying or something?"

These days, many scammers were going around.

When Yang Shu heard this, her eyes turned even colder. "A charlatan like you dares to accuse me of lying?"

"Damn, when did I become a charlatan?" Zhang Ye was bewildered.

Yang Shu reprimanded, "You lied to everyone at the National Martial Arts Conference and made them believe that you practiced Taiji Fist, so doesn't that make you a charlatan? How can you possibly know Taiji!"

Zhang Ye felt helpless.

It's just that you didn't know, since the people of this world had very little understanding of Taiji Fist. If we were back in my previous world, you could grab any old person off the street, and they'd all fucking know how to demonstrate a few modified moves of Taiji Fist for health exercises. You would definitely be fucking shocked if you saw that!

Zhang Ye could only ask, "Then what's your purpose in finding me today?"

Yang Shu smoothed her ponytail and said clearly, "Zhang Ye, your actions have insulted the reputation of Taiji Fist. I now formally issue a challenge to you!"

Zhang Ye was taken aback. "A challenge?"

"Do you have the courage to accept?" Yang Shu asked.

Zhang Ye spread his hands. "Why must we settle this with a fight?"

Yang Shu said with righteous conviction, "Because I want to expose your lies!"

Zhang Ye did not know what to say to this. Actually, he was very curious about the background of this woman sitting before him. Could it be that she really knew Taiji Fist?

Yang Shu added, "Ever since you shot that movie, I've wanted to find you. With just a few moves of Taiji that you recreated from hearsay, how dare you use it to shoot a movie? How dare you claim that it was Taiji Fist? What a joke! You have blackened Taiji Fist's reputation!"

After thinking about it for a while, Zhang Ye finally said, "Alright, there's no problem with exchanging a few blows, but not here. This is where I work, so it wouldn't be good if we fought here. Besides, we couldn't contain the noise to this room anyway. So how about this, I'll take you somewhere where there aren't as many people."

Yang Shu said coolly, "Lead the way."

"Let's go." Zhang Ye pulled the door open and stepped outside. "Get in my car."

As he didn't know if he could make it back in time in the afternoon, Zhang Ye called Yan Tianfei to inform him and applied for time off in advance. Only then did he drive his BMW off onto the road.

In the car.

Yang Shu inspected the interior. "Are you very rich?"

Zhang Ye sighed, "Enough to eat and live comfortably."

Yang Shu made a noise in acknowledgment, then closed her eyes, as though she were conserving her strength for later.

Zhang Ye glanced at her through the rearview mirror and couldn't help thinking that she was a kind of rash person and felt that she didn't often interact with people. As such, Zhang Ye was becoming more and more suspicious of her. It was a big "if" whether she even knew martial arts, let alone Taiji Fist.

Jiaomen East.

At Rao Aimin's apartment.

This was where Zhang Ye had been renting an apartment ever since he graduated from college. Counting the days, it had already been quite a while since he came back here. In the six months that Old Rao had gone away, he had always stayed at his parents' house.

They took the elevator and went upstairs.

Yang Shu asked, "Is this your place?"

Zhang Ye said, "Not really, it's just a rented apartment."

Yang Shu nodded. Then, she suddenly asked, "Do you have anything to eat here?"

"Ha?" Zhang Ye did not know how to react. "Something to eat?"

Yang Shu said, "I just got off the train this morning and haven't had anything to eat yet."

Zhang Ye listened carefully and realized that a rumbling noise was coming from Yang Shu's stomach. Actually, Zhang Ye was also hungry as he didn't have time to eat lunch. "Alright, let me see what I can find."

When the elevator reached their floor, Zhang Ye brought her straight to Old Rao's door.

Bang bang bang.

"Big Sis Rao!"

After a moment, the door opened.

"Big Sis Rao, do you have anything to eat?" Zhang Ye immediately asked.

When Rao Aimin saw that it was Zhang Ye standing at the door, she smacked her lips and said, "You rascal, did you follow the smell here?"

A delicious aroma drifted out from the house. She had clearly just finished making lunch.

Chenchen also came to the door. "Zhang Ye, you're here?"

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "Yo, you're not at school today?"

Chenchen acknowledged, "There's no classes in the afternoon."

Then the two of them suddenly realized that there was a woman standing behind Zhang Ye.

Rao Aimin raised an eyebrow and asked, "Your nectar 3 ?"

As Yang Shu was not from Beijing, she didn't understand that term.

This was Beijing slang and meant something similar to: Your girlfriend?

Zhang Ye quickly said, "Oh, what are you saying! Can we have something to eat first? I will tell you in a little while. There's no way to make this long story short." Then he turned his head to Yang Shu and said, "Come on in."

Yang Shu just nodded and walked into the house, making herself at home.

Zhang Ye gave a casual introduction. "This is my agent."

Yang Shu looked at Rao Aimin and nodded slightly at her. "Hello." She looked around the two-story penthouse apartment curiously and then said to Zhang Ye, "Is your agent very rich?"

Zhang Ye: "…"

Why do you keep asking this question?

And why do you think that everyone you encounter is rich?

Chenchen wondered, "Zhang Ye, who is she?"

Rao Aimin pulled him to the side at this moment, leaving Yang Shu by herself to look around. "Who is she? Why did you bring her here? Do you seriously consider me a cook?"

Chenchen followed them.

Zhang Ye smiled wryly. "She says her name is Yang Shu and that she is the successor of Taiji Fist."

"The successor of Taiji?" Rao Aimin narrowed her eyes in great interest.

Zhang Ye shrugged. "She keeps insisting that I'm a fraud and wants to duel me. I think she mentioned that she only just arrived in Beijing this morning and hasn't had anything to eat yet, so I brought her here to eat something first."

Rao Aimin asked, "Is she really from your Taiji branch of martial arts?"

"I don't know, but it doesn't look like it," Zhang Ye replied.

"Interesting." Rao Aimin snapped her fingers. "Alright, let's go and eat. I'll whip up another dish or two, so don't forget to pay up before you leave. Don't come here thinking that you can freeload."

"Why must you be so stingy?"

Before long, the food was ready.

The four of them sat down at the table and started eating.

The moment they picked up their chopsticks, the atmosphere changed!

Zhang Ye, Rao Aimin, and Chenchen just ate as they usually would, but when they looked at Yang Shu, they were rather taken aback.

Yang Shu ate very quickly, but it was not hurried. Her eating habits were very difficult to describe in words. Her chopsticks grabbed food several times, and in the blink of an eye, her bowl full of rice was emptied. It seemed like she ate more rice than the food itself.

She polished off a bowl of rice just like that.

Yang Shu put down her chopsticks on the empty bowl and did not move.

Zhang Ye said dumbfounded, "Do you want another bowl of rice?"

Yang Shu nodded. "Yes."

So Zhang Ye went to refill her bowl and brought it back to her. "Here."

"Thank you." Yang Shu picked up her chopsticks again and her bowl of rice was rapidly emptied again.

Zhang Ye was stunned. "Do you still want more?"

Yang Shu nodded. "…Sure."

She ate a total of four bowls of rice. Although the bowl was small, every serving was heaped to the brim. Yang Shu alone had eaten more rice than Zhang Ye, Rao Aimin, and Chenchen combined!

Damn!

Just how many days haven't you eaten for?

Zhang Ye said in a polite manner, "Why don't you eat some of the food?"

Yang Shu well and truly helped herself. "Sure." She attacked a dish with her chopsticks.

There wasn't much food left on the table by this point.

Chenchen tried to snatch the remaining food from her. "This piece of meat is mine!"

But Yang Shu had already gripped the piece of meat between her chopsticks.

Chenchen's chopsticks bashed into Yang Shu's chopsticks.

Yang Shu reflexively avoided it.

Chenchen flicked her wrist and fended that move upwards in the opposite direction using her chopsticks.

Yang Shu was momentarily startled. "Eight Trigrams?"

Chenchen had been practicing the Eight Trigrams Palm with Rao Aimin since she was young. Although she wasn't old enough to actually practice the martial arts for real, the stance and moves were still evident. She had been trained and influenced by Rao Aimin over the years!

It was a surprise that Yang Shu could recognize it this quickly!

Zhang Ye and Rao Aimin gave each other a look.

She really was a martial artist?

Her observation skills were definitely there!

Zhang Ye's interest was piqued and he shot out his chopsticks to join in as well. "This is the last piece of pork belly, and I haven't had some in a long time, so why not leave it for me instead?"

With him joining in, Yang Shu could feel a gentle force coming through the chopsticks and nearly lost her grip on them!

Yang Shu's expression changed slightly. "I think we should leave it for the child instead!"

Yang Shu loosened her grip on the chopsticks, then immediately followed with a raising motion and tried to push Zhang Ye's chopsticks away!

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "The child shouldn't eat too much as she might get indigestion, so let me have it instead."

Yang Shu discovered that she wasn't able to push him away!

Zhang Ye's chopsticks were seemingly stuck to hers, clinging to her movements!

"The child is growing!" Yang Shu gripped the piece of pork belly and applied some slight downward pressure while suddenly turning the chopsticks toward Zhang Ye's hand!

"I've been working the entire morning, so I'm quite hungry." Zhang Ye struck out in an arc in the opposite direction as he adjusted his chopsticks into a vertical position just in time to block the tip of Yang Shu's chopsticks!

The forces collided!

The pork belly tumbled through midair!

Yang Shu went after it with her chopsticks!

Zhang Ye pushed away her chopsticks!

Yang Shu blocked!

Zhang Ye channeled some neutralizing power against her block!

But Yang Shu also channeled a stream of neutralizing power through her chopsticks at the same moment!

The chopsticks crashed into each other!

Pah!

A shockwave passed through Zhang Ye's hand and it trembled, but he did not drop his chopsticks!

Meanwhile, Yang Shu's chopsticks instantaneously flew out of her hands and hit the wall behind her before falling onto the ground!

With a quick motion, Zhang Ye grabbed the falling piece of pork belly.

Yang Shu sat there stunned!

But at the next second, Rao Aimin's chopsticks suddenly joined in as well. "I've always wondered how a rascal like you could have practiced your martial arts to such a level. Since today's occasion feels rather suitable, let's spar."

Zhang Ye gave a wry smile. "Oh, I'm not gonna spar with you."

Rao Aimin said, "My injuries are not recovered yet, so you won't be at a disadvantage."

Zhang Ye said in a speechless manner, "Even with your injuries, I'm not going to be a match for you."

"Just try."

"—Fine!"I am Really a Superstar #Chapter 961: Zhang Ye vs. Rao Aimin! - Read I am Really a Superstar Chapter 961: Zhang Ye vs. Rao Aimin! Online - All Page - NOVEL NEXT

Chapter 961: Zhang Ye vs. Rao Aimin!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

Zhang Ye versus Yang Shu.

In just a few quick moves, the outcome was decided.

Next, Rao Aimin suggested sparring with Zhang Ye!

Honestly, Zhang Ye was really quite afraid of her. He had witnessed just how strong Rao Aimin was and knew that he was not a match for her. Even if Rao Aimin had not recovered the injuries she'd sustained at the Conference, Zhang Ye still knew his place in front of her. But since Rao Aimin was the one who'd suggested it, he could not refuse. Thinking back about all that had happened, neither Rao Aimin nor he had not talked about it much after that. It was as though they had a common understanding, or perhaps neither of them liked bothering the other. Who did you learn Taiji Fist from? What happened to Chenchen's parents all those years ago? Neither asked, and they definitely didn't exchange physical blows with each other!

But now, it seemed that Rao Aimin wanted to test Zhang Ye's skill?

Even Zhang Ye was quietly curious of Rao Aimin's martial arts.

Spar?

Then let's go!

In the blink of an eye, their chopsticks touched!

Pah!

A clear, crisp sound rang out!

Zhang Ye pulled back his chopsticks at the moment of contact and dampened the force he put in them before explosively releasing the force again, but by the time he went in for an attack, Rao Aimin's chopsticks were no longer there!

She had shifted to the kun position!

Her chopsticks reappeared in a different place!

Zhang Ye immediately twisted his wrist in that direction!

Rao Aimin flicked her chopsticks up!

The chopsticks Zhang Ye was using to grip that piece of pork belly were met with such a huge force that even his "listening power" did not help him anticipate the move. As it was too fast, he could only instinctively meet it with a dose of his "neutralizing power"!

Taiji Fist's Neutralizing Power: an advanced skill that only existed in Taiji Fist. Using the traditional martial arts terms to describe it, there were four types of "power" in Taiji Fist. They were "sticking power," "yielding power," "drawing-in power," and "seizing power." Among them, "drawing-in power" and "seizing power" fell under the releasing of power, while "sticking power" and "yielding power" were forms of neutralizing power. During the spar with Yang Shu, Zhang Ye had used neutralizing power which encompassed mainly sticking power. In the current spar with Rao Aimin, Zhang Ye used more yielding power against her while attaching some form of sticking power in the chopsticks!

They came into contact!

The force of it pushed both of their chopsticks back toward themselves!

Clearly, Zhang Ye's chopsticks were pushed further back, but the pork was still in his possession. It was as though the pork belly were stuck to his chopsticks as he tightly gripped it. Even this exchange did not make it drop!

Rao Aimin grinned. "Interesting."

Chenchen shouted, "Aunt, that pork is mine!"

"Alright, let your aunt get it back for you!" Rao Aimin made another move.

Zhang Ye took it on with a smile. "Chenchen, will you die if you eat a little less?"

"I will!" Chenchen said matter-of-factly.

Zhang Ye said in amusement, "If you keep eating, you'll turn into a little butterball!"

Chenchen cheered her aunt on. "Hur hur, you're the little butterball. Go Aunt, you can do it!"

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Rao Aimin's chopsticks came attacking again!

Zhang Ye was about to take her on, but noticed a flash of movement. The opposing chopsticks changed to a different position!

The Eight Trigrams footwork!

It was the Eight Trigrams circular footwork!

Zhang Ye immediately predicted where she would move to and determined her next position. Those 1,000 Fruits of Agility were not eaten for nothing!

It was the qian 1 position.

But Rao Aimin flipped her wrist over and her chopsticks around in the next instant. Then she came attacking in from yet another direction and stuck fast to him—this was the Swimming Body Eight Trigrams Palm. Every move hugged the body. It was impossible to defend against!

Zhang Ye could only meet her with force!

Twirling the chopsticks between his fingers, he swung them at Rao Aimin!

Rao Aimin changed her center of gravity and held him off!

Zhang Ye instantly pressed down!

Rao Aimin used her Swimming Body Palms!

While Zhang Ye used his sticking body techniques!

The two similar yet utterly different styles of martial arts clashed with each other!

Pah!

Both pairs of chopsticks bounced off each other again on contact!

"That should be enough." Zhang Ye rotated his aching wrist a few times and said, "We're just trying this out. Also, you're still injured. In fact, I haven't fully recovered yet either."

Rao Aimin said, "What are you talking about? We haven't even gotten serious yet."

Zhang Ye said, "If we get serious, I'm afraid that we might tear your place down."

Rao Aimin said, "You're talking rather big, eh?"

They crossed swords again with their chopsticks!

Pah!

Dah!

The force got greater!

The speed got faster!

The fighting at the dining table was simply dazzling!

The chopsticks' afterimages were darting all around! The clinking and clunking of the chopsticks resounded through the apartment!

Once!

Five times!

Ten times!

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Zhang Ye suddenly felt rather drained and had no choice but to place his left hand on the tabletop to support himself. Otherwise, he might not even be able to stabilize himself. Old Rao had immense skill!

Rao Aimin was still sitting there ramrod straight without needing to grab onto anything for support!

"Go Aunt, you can do it!" Chenchen cheered!

Beside them, Yang Shu had been watching the two of them the entire time with an astounded look on her face!

One minute passed!

Two minutes passed!

All of a sudden, Zhang Ye felt he couldn't go any further. He added a gentle stream of concealed power into his moves out of nowhere and squeezed the table harder with his left hand that was supporting him!

Whoosh!

The chopsticks moved with a gust of wind!

"Then let's get serious!" Zhang Ye said.

Rao Aimin said, "Alright!"

Her eyes narrowed. Still seriously injured, she did not overextend herself and placed the elbow of her hand that was holding the chopsticks onto the table as a fulcrum. She also channeled a stream of concealed power into her attack!

Bang!

Both pairs of chopsticks collided!

The next second, under the startled gazes of Yang Shu and Chenchen, Zhang Ye's and Rao Aimin's chopsticks that had clashed started splitting in half as though they were flimsy pieces of paper being torn! It also felt like two long, thin strips of tofu had crashed in midair and smashed into pieces!

The chopsticks broke in half!

Rao Aimin's chopsticks flew behind her!

Zhang Ye's chopsticks flew to the ceiling!

Alongside that, the dining table cracked with a loud report!

The legs of the table could no longer support the pressure of both their forces. The table legs made of solid wood splintered apart as the tabletop came crashing to the floor!

It was at this juncture that Rao Aimin's left hand pulled back and caught two plates of unfinished vegetables, with one plate held between her index and middle fingers, while the other one was caught between her pinky and ring finger. Her right hand also moved as she nudged the broken chopsticks over to catch Chenchen's unfinished bowl of rice. All of these movements were executed in one perfectly smooth, flowing motion!

At the same time, Zhang Ye's wrist lowered as he acted similar to Rao Aimin. He caught his own bowl of rice, then shifted his center of gravity slightly behind and shot out his foot to catch an unfinished plate of vegetables. He caught it with the tip of his toes before steadying it to rest on his foot!

The tabletop finally hit the ground!

Thud!

The pork belly that the two of them were tussling over also fell!

The bowl of rice Rao Aimin held between her broken chopsticks was waiting below the falling pork belly right at this moment. Splat! The already cold piece of pork belly landed without any fuss into Chenchen's bowl of rice.

The sparring was over!

Rao Aimin handed the bowl of rice into Chenchen's lap. "Eat up."

The meat still made it into Chenchen's bowl in the end!

Zhang Ye found a spot to set his bowl down, then helplessly shrugged. "Let's make this clear. I'm not gonna pay for the table and chopsticks. I'm poor."

This action had sent Chenchen's pulse racing!

Next to them, Yang Shu wore an expression of shock. Suddenly she exclaimed, "Just who the hell are you two?!"

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Chapter 962: Gaining a junior martial sister out of nowhere!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

Old Rao's house.

The floor was a complete mess.

The watching Chenchen and Yang Shu were shocked from the start until the end by this battle of Rao Aimin versus Zhang Ye on the tabletop!

Chenchen immediately asked, "Aunt, did you win?"

Rao Aimin said, "What do you think?"

Zhang Ye said, "Your aunt didn't even give it her all."

"The two of you…" Yang Shu found it simply unbelievable.

Suddenly, Yang Shu thought of something before she finally managed to react. She stood up from her chair in an instant. "You are Grandmaster Rao Aimin!"

She finally recognized her!

Or more precisely, she had figured it out!

She had never seen Rao Aimin before, but had heard very many rumors regarding her. Moreover, she knew very well just how strong a Taiji Fist expert who had achieved concealed power was. But even so, he still could not beat her? Other than the opponent being a martial arts grandmaster, there was no explanation for this. Besides, everyone knew that there was only one female grandmaster in the entire Chinese martial arts world. According to the rumors, this female grandmaster had a rather close relationship with Zhang Ye!

As such, who else could she be other than Rao Aimin from the Eight Trigrams School?

Yang Shu felt extremely shocked as she never expected that she would encounter an expert who practiced Taiji Fist, nor unwittingly witness a spar between a Taiji Fist master and a Chinese martial arts grandmaster!

Zhang Ye looked at Yang Shu curiously and answered her question from earlier. "I should be asking you instead. Who are you really? And why do you know Taiji Fist?"

Rao Aimin looked at him. "Does she?"

"There's no mistaking it!" Zhang Ye affirmed.

Rao Aimin did not quite understand Taiji Fist, so she asked, "But why does her form look quite different from yours?"

"There are some differences in the moves, but it's really Taiji." Zhang Ye said earnestly, "That, I'm sure of."

Rao Aimin nodded. Since Zhang Ye was the expert in Taiji, if he said it was, then it definitely was!

Yang Shu's kung fu had indeed startled Zhang Ye!

She really did know Taiji Fist!

On top of that, her martial arts were very good and she was probably not too far off from achieving the use of concealed power!

Zhang Ye had not expected that a Taiji expert would suddenly pop out of nowhere like this!

In his previous world, there were many martial sects and styles of Taiji Fist. The most well-known ones were the Chen-style Taiji Fist and the Yang-style Taiji Fist. They specialized in different areas and had slightly different combat methods from each other. In fact, the Taiji Fist Skill Experience Books from the game ring that Zhang Ye had "eaten" were not considered Chen style nor Yang style. It did not specifically belong to any of the Taiji Fist styles. His Taiji forms were seemingly a combination of the different styles of Taiji Fist and drew upon the strengths of each to make up for the weaknesses of each. In other words, Zhang Ye's Taiji Fist covered a huge area and encompassed nearly every style. The other styles of Taiji Fist could be observed in his Taiji Fist as he knew a bit of every one of them. But as Zhang Ye was not a martial arts enthusiast in his previous world, nor learned Taiji, he did not quite understand the differences. As such, he could not tell exactly which style of Taiji Fist Yang Shu's style belonged to in his previous world. However, upon further consideration, it was not actually practical to compare the Taiji Fist styles of both worlds. After all, they were unique in their own ways and should be looked at as they were.

Zhang Ye could see this.

Yang Shu naturally understood as well!

After the two Taiji Fist experts had sparred and saw each other's moves, they knew very clearly that they both belonged to the same branch!

"Who taught you Taiji Fist?" Yang Shu did not care that Rao Aimin was here anymore and fired off, "Why is your Taiji Fist so much better than mine? Who are you really?"

Zhang Ye threw up his hands. "I am Zhang Ye, and that is who I shall always be known as."

But Chenchen exposed him. "Didn't you say that your name was Chen Zhen during the Martial Arts Conference?"

Zhang Ye's face turned red. "…Can you not bring that up?"

Chenchen laughed, "Hur hur."

Yang Shu immediately asked, "Who is your master?"

"I don't have a master," Zhang Ye answered.

Yang Shu said, "That's impossible!"

Zhang Ye returned, "And who did you learn Taiji Fist from?"

Yang Shu clenched her teeth and said, "It was handed down through my family!"

Handed down through her family?

Rao Aimin narrowed her eyes. "What is the relationship between you and the Taiji grandmaster from over a hundred years ago?"

Zhang Ye stared at Yang Shu as he had wanted to ask this question for a while now.

Yang Shu proudly proclaimed, "My ancestor!"

Zhang Ye exclaimed, "Are you serious?"

Yang Shu said, "Of course I'm serious."

Holy shit!

So this woman was the true successor of Taiji in this world!

Zhang Ye wondered, "Then why didn't you show up in our martial arts world all this time? Why didn't you open a training hall? Why did you make everyone think that Taiji Fist was lost for good?"

"I…" Yang Shu looked rather embarrassed. "I have no money to open a training hall."

No money?

Oh, alright.

That was a fair enough reason!

Curious, Rao Aimin asked, "Other than you, is there anyone else who can be a successor of Taiji?"

Yang Shu pondered for a moment and shook her head before saying a little sadly, "My parents have already passed away. I'm the only Taiji Fist successor left now." Then she looked at Zhang Ye. "He's the second person I've seen who knows Taiji Fist. And the forms, skills, and moves of Taiji that he used earlier, I, I haven't ever learned of most of them! My family never taught me them."

Zhang Ye asked, "Why not?"

Yang Shu explained, "My family lived in seclusion and had never been involved with the martial arts community. My parents' generation were not talented at martial arts and only practiced it for the sake of strengthening their bodies. Much of the knowledge that was passed down from my ancestors has been lost. There's probably only about 30 to 40% left of it."

Rao Aimin made a noise in acknowledgment. "Why does he seem more authentic than a true successor of Taiji Fist like you?"

Yang Shu pulled a sullen face, saying nothing.

Zhang Ye started to feel a little uncomfortable. If he did not make something up, there was no way he would be able to trick his out of this. He couldn't possibly claim that he had learned Taiji Fist all by himself from nothing, could he? And so, this fellow said, "By chance, I received a Taiji Fist manual and learned the fist and qi flow techniques in it by myself."

Yang Shu said excitedly, "Where's the manual now?"

"Uh, I lost it," Zhang Ye said nervously.

Yang Shu was instantly disappointed. "That manual was probably handed down by my ancestors!"

Rao Aimin said, "If that is true, then could it mean that the two of you might really be from the same martial arts branch?"

"I guess you can put it that way." Zhang Ye smiled and said, "Those of Taiji are one big family. Other than the two of us, no one else in this world knows Taiji Fist." When he thought of this, Zhang Ye looked at Yang Shu in a much more affectionate way. Such an affection was really difficult to describe using words alone.

Yang Shu hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement.

Rao Aimin taunted, "Then why don't you two battle it out? Whoever wins can proclaim themselves as the true successor of Taiji, and I can help you promote your martial arts when that time comes!"

Zhang Ye had no reply.

However, Yang Shu said, "I'm no match for him."

Rao Aimin said in all sincerity, "Young people should be more confident. This rascal has not recovered from his injuries yet, so it's a great opportunity for you to wrestle back the right of being the true successor of the Taiji Fist. I believe in you!"

"Big Sis Rao. " Zhang Ye said in a speechless manner, "Can you say things that will gain you some karma instead?"

Meanwhile, Chenchen had had her fill and was getting sleepy. "Aunt, I want to take a nap."

Rao Aimin voiced her understanding. "Alright, I'm not going to deal with your Taiji affairs anymore, so settle this between yourselves." Then she led Chenchen upstairs to rest.

Seeing that, Zhang Ye said to Yang Shu, "Let's go to my place."

"OK," Yang Shu said.

...

Next door.

At Zhang Ye's rental apartment.

"It's been a long time since I've come back here, so it's a bit messy. Feel free to take a seat." Zhang Ye quickly tidied the place up a little and picked up the things that were scattered around on the small sofa and his bed.

Yang Shu did not sit.

Zhang Ye asked, "What would you like to drink?"

Yang Shu suddenly looked at him and gave him a fist and palm salute. She shouted a salutation that made Zhang Ye feel awkward. "Senior Bro!"

Senior Bro?

What Senior Bro!

Zhang Ye hurriedly said, "Please don't call me that."

Yang Shu insisted, "It doesn't matter where you learned your Taiji Fist. The two of us are still practitioners of Taiji. You said so earlier yourself that those of Taiji are one big family. And now we're the only two left in this world who know Taiji Fist. Since you're slightly older than me and your martial arts are also slightly…much better than mine, you are naturally my senior bro!"

"Just call me Zhang Ye."

"Yes, Senior Bro."

"You can also call me Old Zhang."

"OK, Senior Bro."

Zhang Ye smacked his lips. "Forget it, just call me whatever you like."

Yang Shu replied in a serious tone, "Senior Bro, now that we are the only two left of Taiji, we have a very heavy burden to bear. We are tasked with glorifying the martial art of Taiji Fist again. In the past, I always thought that I was the only person left to shoulder this heavy burden. But now that I've met you, I know that this is something that concerns both of us. My only dream in this lifetime is to make Taiji Fist become famous everywhere. I've decided that I won't be leaving anymore now that I'm here in Beijing! I know that you must have the same thoughts as me, so let's work hard, hand in hand, toward that goal!"

Ah?

Bear a heavy burden?

Tasked?

I've never had such a fucking thought!

Zhang Ye coughed and said, "I think it's better to take it slow."

"Senior Bro, can you teach me Taiji Fist?"

"Don't you already know how?"

"What I know is not complete."

"Oh, sure then."

"Senior Bro, please lend me some money."

"What for?"

"I don't have any food money."

"Uh, is 2,000 yuan enough?"

"Yes."

"Alright, here you go."

"Senior Bro, I don't have a place to stay."

"Ah? Then what're you gonna do?"

"Can I stay here at your place?"

"Stay here?"

"Yeah. Isn't your house empty?"

"…Fine."

"Senior Bro."

"Big Sis, what else?"

"Oh, nothing. I just wanted to call you that."

"…"

He had gained a junior martial sister out of nowhere, but lost his wallet and apartment in the process. Zhang Ye was still reeling from the turn of events. Without knowing how, things had somehow fucking become like this!

When he first saw Yang Shu, Zhang Ye felt that she was a rash person. But it was only now that he realized his instinct was right. This woman truly considered him family!

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Chapter 963: A subordinate in trouble!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

At night.

Zhang Ye only got home after 8 PM.

His mother asked, "Why'd you just get back?"

"I've took a friend out to sightsee." Zhang Ye felt exhausted. "We visited the Forbidden City 1 , Qianmen Street 2 , and the Summer Palace 3 . Quickly get me something to drink."

His mother handed him a drink. "Who's your friend?"

"A friend from out of town." Zhang Ye did not elaborate.

He essentially did nothing the entire day except accompany his newly gained junior martial sister on a sightseeing tour of the capital. Besides, he could not really turn her down. Her parents were no longer around and she had traveled very far to look for him, even acknowledging him as "family" after that and addressing him as "Senior Bro." No matter how thick-skinned Zhang Ye was, he couldn't just leave her alone. After all, it was true that there were only the two of them left in their generation of the Taiji branch of martial arts.

His father lowered the television volume and looked at him, saying, "You ran around the country for a while a month ago, so why are you still not acting proper now that you're back?"

Zhang Ye acknowledged, "Alright, I'll work properly tomorrow."

His mother badgered, "Your popularity isn't moving much."

"Is that so?" Zhang Ye had not been paying attention to it recently.

His mother said, "You're still at the bottom of the A-list celebrity rankings. That's what you get for not having any new works for the past month. If not for that car crash between you and Jiang Hanwei creating some buzz, that previous A-list celebrity, who is now first place in the B-list rankings, would have overtaken you. Aren't you worried?"

Zhang Ye grunted. "OK, I know what to do."

Back in his room, he gave the Celebrity Rankings Index a quick browse.

Sure enough, his popularity score was almost falling off the A-list rankings again. This was mainly because Zhang Ye had not released any new works nor had any exposure for the past month when he went to attend the National Martial Arts Conference. Actually, it was only Zhang Ye who would dare to do something like this. If it were any other A-list celebrities who did not appear on the news for a month? Nor take part in any events, shows, or interviews that would give them onscreen exposure? That would be as good as digging their own grave! For a celebrity, having constant exposure to the public was something that was even more important than their lives!

Moreover, the competition at this tier was very fierce. If your popularity did not keep growing, it would just drop lower. Would any celebrities at this tier be easy to deal with? All of them had fairly large fan bases, so it wouldn't be surprising if any one of them became famous overnight and jumped onto the A-list. That was why Zhang Ye's position was still quite precarious and why he would definitely like to get out of this unstable position as soon as possible and keep increasing his popularity score. It wasn't easy for him to get onto the A-list rankings, so he couldn't just give it back so easily. As there were numerous B-list celebrities behind him eyeing him, he knew that he could not remain stagnant.

He decided to go to bed first.

When he rose in the morning, he would carefully plan and look for something to do next.

He fell asleep immediately when he laid down.

One hour.

Three hours.

Some time in the night, his cell phone suddenly rang!

Zhang Ye subconsciously rejected the first call and went back to sleep. However, it rang again and Zhang Ye wondered to himself who could be calling in the middle of the night!

He looked at his watch and saw that it was 3 AM!

Then he looked at the caller ID and saw who was calling. Ha Qiqi?

Zhang Ye became slightly more awake. If it were reporters or nuisances calling at this time, he would not bother with them at all. But as Ha Qiqi was his deputy who had always been a composed person, and now that Zhang Zuo and she were directing a new documentary on air pollution, Zhang Ye knew that Old Ha would definitely not call him at 3 AM if it weren't something serious. And she'd even called twice?

He immediately answered: "Sister Ha, what's the matter?"

Ha Qiqi said in a slightly listless voice: "Director Zhang, sorry for disturbing your sleep."

"It's fine. Please speak." Zhang Ye sat up in bed.

"I…"

"Just what is it?"

Ha Qiqi said: "They didn't want to tell you this, but I feel that I have to tell you about it no matter what." She paused and fell silent for a few seconds. "Can you make a trip to the hospital? Something has happened to Huang Dandan!"

Huang Dandan?

Tong Fu's girlfriend?

Zhang Ye hastily asked: "What happened to Little Huang?"

"She was just diagnosed with lung cancer."

Zhang Ye's mind reeled as he sat on his bed in shock. "Impossible!" He threw aside his blanket and got out of bed before asking in a raised voice: "Which hospital? Which ward? I'll be right there!"

He put on his clothes!

He went downstairs and drove off!

On his way there, Huang Dandan's face kept appearing in his mind. He had a very deep impression of this subordinate of his. Little Huang didn't start on The Voice's program team, but rather was an employee of the documentary channel. When Zhang Ye went over, he chose her and her boyfriend, Tong Fu, along with some other employees of Department 14 and established the program team for A Bite of China. When they were filming A Bite of China, as female member of the team, Little Huang had followed their group of men and overcome the treacherous mountain hikes without a single complaint. She was even tougher than most of her male colleagues, and from time to time, she could even liven up the atmosphere as the happiest person on the team. Everyone liked her presence very much!

Lung cancer?

Zhang Ye could not accept it!

...

3:30 AM.

At the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Beijing Cancer Hospital.

When Zhang Ye finally arrived at the hospital, Yan Tianfei's secretary had just arrived as well. The two of them went upstairs together and saw quite a few people around the ward. All of them were Department 14 staff!

Ha Qiqi was talking to a doctor.

Zhang Zuo and Wu Yi were clenching their fists in anxiety.

Tong Fu was squatting by himself in a corner, in a daze and not speaking. The moment Tong Fu saw Zhang Ye, his nose wrinkled and his eyes suddenly welled with tears. "Director Zhang!"

Everyone looked over!

"Director Zhang!"

"Teacher Zhang!"

"Little Huang is…she's…"

Little Wang teared up as she had always the closest to Huang Dandan.

Zhang Ye said loudly, "What the hell is going on?"

Zhang Zuo said, "After you left yesterday afternoon, Little Huang started coughing violently when we were eating out for lunch. At first, we didn't think much of it because Little Huang hadn't been feeling well due to her month-long cold. But later on, she suddenly choking and her face turned blue. We then realized it was serious and rapidly sent her to a small hospital nearby. After they examined her, the doctor advised us to transfer her to a different hospital. Only then did we learn that something was wrong! In the end, they had her sent here to the Beijing Cancer Hospital. She did her checkups and lab tests during the day. A portion of the test results just came out!"

Zhang Ye said angrily, "Why didn't anyone tell me sooner?"

Ha Qiqi said, "Tong Fu and Little Huang said that you were busy and didn't want us to tell you!"

"Something this big has happened and you guys still want to keep it from me? You guys are something!" Zhang Ye was angered for real. He said to the physician, "Doctor, you're positive that it's…lung cancer?"

The physician recognized Zhang Ye, but did not act surprised at seeing him at a time like this. He said, "We've diagnosed her on the whole. It'll take until tomorrow morning for the rest of the test results to come out."

Zhang Ye took a deep breath and asked, "What stage is it at?"

The physician said, "The preliminary diagnosis shows that it's at the early stage."

Zhang Ye quickly asked, "Early stage? Then she can get completely cured?"

The physician hesitated for a second. "She first has to get surgery. After that, it'll depend on the patient's will to live. Just because the cancer is at an early stage doesn't mean she be cured. It's just that the five-year survival rate for early stage lung cancer is higher than at the later stages."

Survival rate!

These words were heart-wrenching to those present!

Zhang Ye clenched his teeth. "She's only in her twenties!"

The physician sighed. "I know."

"Little Huang doesn't even smoke!" Zhang Ye said in a questioning tone.

The physician nodded. "She doesn't."

Zhang Ye asked, "Does her family have any history of such a disease?"

The physician said, "No."

Agitated, Zhang Ye said, "Then how could she have lung cancer? That doesn't make any sense at all!"

That's right!

Why?

No one in Department 14 could understand!

The physician looked around at them. "According to the clinical and pathological diagnoses, it is lung cancer. We can at most inform her family members that this is lung cancer with no known cause. We won't tell them anything more than that. However, based on my clinical knowledge and some of the pulmonary tests, I can tell all of you this with certainty." He suddenly took out a few of the x-ray films and laboratory reports and said, "I'm 90% certain that the cause of Ms. Huang Dandan's lung cancer is due to the air pollution around us, or what we colloquially refer to as…smog! She doesn't smoke nor have any family history of lung cancer, and is also very young. But she still has to breathe every day, every moment, and the pollutants in the air will follow her respiratory tract into her body and damage and infect her—this is the cause of the so-called lung cancer with no known cause!"

Zhang Ye asked, "Can you confirm that?"

The physician nodded. "The number of similar cases have been multiplying in recent years." He pointed to a nearby ward. "Over there are two cancer patients who got admitted here today before your case. They had the same circumstances—they did not smoke, had no family history of cancer, and did not work in hazardous environments, but they still got diagnosed with cancer all the same. Tell me, why do you think that is? Besides, I checked and know that Little Huang's hometown is in Shanxi. That province is known to be heavily polluted."

The physician changed the topic. "It's quite late. The other patients still have to rest, so don't have too many people stay behind. Go home for now." He then walked away.

He left behind a group of Department 14 staff who felt very angry!

Air pollution?

It was actually caused by the air pollution that they had been investigating for the past month!?

The ward's door opened.

A female employee of Department 14 came out and wiped away some tears from the corners of her eyes. "Little Huang wants everyone to go inside."

Zhang Ye immediately stepped into the ward. "Little Huang!"

The lights were on inside the room. Huang Dandan was lying on the bed, her face haggard and pallid. She had an oxygen mask on to help her breathe. "Director Zhang, why are you here too? I've told them not to tell you about this."

Zhang Ye said, "How can I not be here! Rest assured, Little Huang. Don't worry too much. The doctor said that you're at the early stage of the cancer, so you'll definitely recover! We'll always be by your side!"

Little Wang said, "Right!"

Ha Qiqi said, "We're all here for you!"

Wu Yi said, "Everyone will always be by your side!"

Zhang Zuo said, "Just rest up and don't think about anything else. We will come and visit you every day!"

Looking at Huang Dandan's condition, everyone's heart ached.

However, Huang Dandan shook her head. "I can bear this. You don't need to be by my side or come here."

"Dandan!" Tong Fu was nearly in tears.

Huang Dandan looked at everyone and suddenly said, "Can you guys promise me one thing?"

Zhang Ye said, "Whatever you say!"

Ha Qiqi quickly said, "However many requests you have, we'll definitely give you our word!"

Huang Dandan's tone became very determined all of a sudden. "I overheard what the doctor said just now. Don't worry about me. You guys must take my place and produce the air pollution documentary. We can't let the citizens stay in the dark. Don't let the same thing happen to other people, alright?"

"Dandan!" Little Wang teared up again.

Zhang Ye straightened his face as he said through set teeth, "Alright, I promise! I will make sure that everyone gets to see this documentary!"

"Thank you, Director Zhang." Huang Dandan fell asleep content.

After the group left the ward, they went downstairs.

Zhang Ye stood in the lobby and suddenly announced loudly to everyone of Department 14, "From today onward, from now onward, our Department 14 will fight to the bitter end against…air pollution!"

"Fight it!"

"Motherfucker!"

"To the bitter end!"

"To the bitter end!"

The people of Department 14 were furious!

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Chapter 964: Barred from broadcast!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

7 o'clock in the morning.

At Central TV.

The other channels and departments were not at work yet. Many of their offices were still empty, but Department 14's office was already working at full capacity!

Every staff member was present!

"Where's the script?"

"We're making copies of it now! It'll be ready immediately!"

"Get the Ministry of Environmental Protection's number!"

"I have it here!"

"Who's going to interview Chief Xu?"

"Me! I'll go!"

"Director Zhang? You're going to handle it yourself?"

"Yes!"

"Then I'll get it arranged for you immediately!"

"Director Ha, the animated short is ready. Can you take a look to see if it's OK?"

An hour later.

The Central TV employees gradually arrived for work. When those who passed by Department 14's office saw what was going on inside, all of them, without an exception, froze in their tracks. They discovered that the people of the Documentary Channel were all seemingly different today. They were all busy working. No one was playing games or idly chitchatting. Each person seemed like a sharp sword, looking very persistent, tough, and angry!

What was going on?

Just what was going on?

A curious person from Department 13 went over and asked, "Old Wu, what are you guys…"

Someone who knew what had happened quickly pulled that person back. "Don't bother asking. Something happened to their department's Huang Dandan!"

"What happened to her?"

"Lung cancer."

"What did you just say? How could that happen?"

"Yeah, she's still so young!"

"How'd you know?"

"I heard it from someone this morning. Apparently, it was caused by the smog!"

"This…"

"No wonder! No wonder the people of Department 14 are working so hard!"

"Smog? Is the smog really that harmful?"

"It can even cause lung cancer?"

"Why didn't I know about this? They didn't report it on the news either?"

"I know that the smog is pretty bad, but no one has ever told me that it could cause lung cancer? And how could the chances of it developing be so high? I saw Huang Dandan just yesterday!"

"I don't know."

"Is the smog really that harmful?"

In just one afternoon, the news had spread all around Central TV!

Several heads of other departments came looking for Yan Tianfei to show their support.

Some of the channels even suggested to hold a fundraiser for Huang Dandan out of goodwill, but were rejected by Yan Tianfei and Tong Fu. Huang Dandan traveling around the country to the regions most affected by the smog was an aggravating factor in the lung cancer developing. As a result, Huang Dandan's case was considered a workplace injury. Yan Tianfei had already gone to the relevant departments to check out the procedures to take. The medical expenses were all submitted so that Huang Dandan and her family wouldn't need to have any additional burdens. Yan Tianfei had taken care of all this already.

...

One day.

Two days.

Three days.

The staff of Department 14 were all working harder than the other. Under this high intensity work pace, in only three days, they had finished the latter half of the documentary that spanned four episodes. Together with the work done in the previous month, the entire documentary was completed!

In the end, it was Zhang Ye who took on the responsibility of editing the show. He had edited out the parts which were most controversial and did not follow his previous world's version of Chai Jing's Documentary on Air Pollution in China. He also chose a different way of presentation for the broadcast and added in some of his own content. The overall edit made it quite different from the original as he was afraid that it would not pass for broadcast, which was why he had taken out the most controversial parts of it in the first place, although not all of it could be edited out and had to remain in the final cut.

On this day, the documentary was completed!

Ha Qiqi heaved a sigh of relief. "It's finally done!"

"I'm gonna pass out from exhaustion!" Zhang Zuo had nearly collapsed.

Little Wang said excitedly, "This is great. I'll call Dandan and tell her!"

Tong Fu asked anxiously, "Director Zhang, when can it get broadcast?"

Zhang Ye asked, "What's the matter?"

Tong Fu said, "Dandan's surgery is scheduled for next week, so I hope that she can get to watch it before then!"

Zhang Ye immediately said, "Alright, let me speak to Director Yan about this."

Zhang Ye went to Yan Tianfei's office and discussed the documentary with him. After Yan Tianfei finished watching the final cut of the documentary, he was extremely satisfied with it. He immediately submitted for approval in the hopes that they would be able get it out for broadcast by next week while they concentrated on the promotions this week!

However, what no one expected was that the next day, the decision of Central TV was announced abruptly: Department 14's The Pollution Problem does not pass muster and has been barred from broadcast. All related work and promotions of the documentary would be stopped with immediate effect as well!

Department 14 reacted explosively!

Ha Qiqi slammed her hands on the table. "How could they make a decision like that!"

Zhang Zuo glared into the distance and said, "Why are they barring it from broadcast? Why?"

Little Wang said, "What on earth happened?"

Everyone was in disbelief. The many days of their efforts to rush out the documentary before Huang Dandan's surgery was now met with Central TV's decision to bar it from broadcast? There wasn't even an option to make changes to it and was instead shut down upon submission?

A decision like this was an extremely rare occurrence!

It had occurred just a handful of times at Central TV!

Yan Tianfei was furious and went to find the station head. When the people of Department 14 learned about this, they all followed Yan Tianfei!

The Station Head's office was packed with a lot of people!

"Why?"

"What regulations did we violate?"

"This is a public service documentary!"

"Station Head, why aren't we allowed to broadcast the documentary?"

Nobody could accept this!

The station head who oversaw the approval board looked at them, frowned, and said, "I watched the documentary. If you people only mentioned that the smog was harmful, no one would have batted an eyelid. But why must the source of the smog be brought into it as well? Pollution caused by the burning of coal? Pollution caused by steel making? That isn't going to be acceptable!"

Yan Tianfei said in annoyance, "Why not?"

The station head said, "You're asking me why not? Can the country not burn coal? Can the country not produce steel? What's the point of bringing up those things? It will just create a very negative impact all around! If this actually triggers a societal upheaval or conflict, who will be responsible for it? You? Can you bear that responsibility? Even Central TV couldn't bear this responsibility, much less you!"

Zhang Ye came into the office from outside. "If we don't mention the source of the air pollution, what is the point of making the documentary? What should we tell the audience? Tell them that the smog is harmful! That it is very harmful! That it is extremely harmful! But we have to keep the source of the pollution a secret, we can't tell you about it. So don't bother with taking measures against this. Even if the smog is heavy, you still have to breathe it in. Even if the smog is heavy, there's nothing you can do about it! Is that how it goes?"

The station head said in displeasure, "In your documentary, you claimed that the smog was the cause of lung cancer. But do you have any scientific grounds for saying that? Do you? If you do, show it to me!"

Zhang Ye looked at him. "A lot of the organizations that investigated this found that there is a correlation between the degree of air pollution and the number of lung cancer cases!"

The station head shook his head. "I'm asking you now, do you have any scientific grounds for saying that? What grounds do you have? A national report? Where is the report then? You said that the smog was the cause of lung cancer and a variety of other respiratory diseases, and could even cause pathological changes? You're fearmongering! Everything these days has to be based on science!"

Yan Tianfei shouted, "So many people died in the past in other countries due to smog. Tell me then, how did those people die?"

The station head said, "I don't know how they died, and neither do I care. All I know is that you people are fearmongering. There are some topics that people like you should never touch, even if it's for a documentary that you're doing! If it isn't handled well, things will boil over!"

Zhang Ye could not take this anymore. "Due to the smog, a lot of people have already died. Everyone can see this, yet you're asking me to fucking provide you with evidence? Asking if we have any scientific grounds for our claims? Have you gone blind? Do I look like a scientist to you? Then let me ask you! Does traditional Chinese medicine have any scientific basis to it? Explain to me the scientific principles behind it! Explain to me the scientific purpose of taking someone's pulse! Explain all of that to me!"

The station head clearly had no answers to his questions, but he did not approve the broadcast of the documentary either!

Further, the station issued direct punishment an hour later!

The leaders of Department 14 have led others to cause trouble!

Zhang Ye is suspended for a month!

Yan Tianfei is suspended for a month!

The entire Department 14 staff shall have their monthly bonuses deducted!

A large-scale punishment like this almost never happened at Central TV, but it seemed like the station was very determined in their way of handling things this time!

Yan Tianfei slammed his hands on the table and cursed!

The entire Department 14 also cursed!

"Fuck!"

"How could they bar the documentary from broadcast just like that?"

"The statistics that we collected were all from professional institutes!"

"Right, how did it become fearmongering?"

Zhang Ye was exasperated!

He had already taken great care dealing with this problem!

Others might not know it, but he did. In his previous world, Chai Jing's Documentary on Air Pollution in China had stirred up a lot of trouble, causing turmoil at almost every level of the country's hierarchy. A lot of people had been shocked by the documentary and become afraid of the smog for the first time in their lives. But there were also a lot of people who had questioned it and relentlessly found ways to raise doubts against Chai Jing and her documentary!

That was why Zhang Ye had been treading so carefully!

Calling for capital reform? He did not include that!

Calling for reduced coal usage? He did not include that!

Statistics from foreign institutes? He did not include that!

Above all, he did not call for any urgent economic restructuring of the nation!

He had removed all of the controversial points of Chai Jing's documentary so that he could make a purely public service documentary that would inform the citizens of the harmfulness of the smog and where the smog originated! Zhang Ye was careful, cautious, and on guard at every turn, but he never thought that the documentary would still get barred from broadcast!

Little Wang said anxiously, "I told Dandan over the phone that the documentary has been completed. But now, what are we going to tell her? We won't be allowed to broadcast it? We can't get it out for broadcast?

Tong Fu said angrily, "During the past few days that Dandan's been hospitalized, she's kept asking about the progress of the documentary. She…She…"

Everyone fell silent. With Central TV issuing the ban, Department 14 had no way to broadcast it. This was the ironclad truth!

What should they do?

There was no way out!

Director Yan was suspended!

"Director Zhang!"

"Director Zhang, what should we do?"

Ha Qiqi looked at him.

Zhang Zuo looked at him.

Everyone from Department 14 looked at him.

Zhang Ye did not say anything. He walked back into his own office and called Wu Zeqing. After explaining everything to her, he wanted to listen to her opinion.

"You want my opinion?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll tell you that it's best not to broach this subject. It's very sensitive so it'd be best to stay as far away from it as possible."

"Alright, I understand."

"But if you insist on it, you have my support."

"Thank you."

Old Wu's words revealed a lot to him. At her level of work, she definitely came into contact with many people and knew many things!

This was a minefield!

Whoever touched it would be done for!

Whoever touched it would die!

The strong reaction from Central TV said it all!

But!

Zhang Ye had always believed that in the long passage of history, such matters could not stay hidden for long. No one might talk about it this year or next year, but what about a hundred years later? Two hundred years?

Someone would definitely have to be the first to do it!

Someone would definitely have to make the sacrifice!

Zhang Ye poured some tea he'd brewed for himself and took a sip of it before closing his eyes to think. He thought about it for a long time.

He…was willing to be that someone!

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Chapter 965: Let me bear the burden of these criticisms!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

On the same day.

The news was already reporting on this matter.

"Zhang Ye's new documentary has been banned!"

"Nothing to follow up with after A Bite of China!"

"A documentary on air pollution? Barred before broadcast!"

"The decline of Zhang Ye?"

"Central TV Documentary Channel no longer able to replicate the miracle of A Bite of China!"

"Why did a public service documentary get barred from broadcast?"

On Weibo, many netizens were not having any of it!

"What is this?"

"Barred from broadcast? Fuck! I didn't even get to watch it!"

"What is this about it getting barred before its broadcast?"

"I've been looking forward to Zhang Ye's new documentary all this while. Although this documentary was not directed by Teacher Zhang, it was still made by him. Why is it gone?"

"Give me back my documentary!"

"Central TV is so awful!"

"I think there's some news that you guys might be still be unaware of?"

"What news?"

One of the program team members of A Bite of China was diagnosed with lung cancer several days ago!"

"Ah?"

"What?"

"Hai, she's just twenty-something. Teacher Zhang did not plan to be involved with this documentary initially as he was already about to leave Central TV. But he came back to take charge of it because that team member's lung cancer was seemingly caused by the smog."

"Surely that can't be true?"

"Can smog really cause lung cancer?"

"Are you serious? Don't scare me like that, alright?"

"An employee of Department 14 has been diagnosed with cancer. Why is Central TV still barring them from broadcasting the documentary? They really aren't sympathetic, are they? Would Teacher Zhang agree to that?"

"This makes me want to watch the documentary even more now! The news has often talked about being more aware of the smog and saying that the air pollution is harmful. But why do they not explain to us why it is harmful? Or tell us how they're going to govern and manage it? What's the meaning of that! Everyone's in a fog! They know that there is the smog, but no one knows what the hell it is! Was Teacher Zhang trying to tell us? And then got barred from broadcasting it?"

This topic was heatedly discussed on the Internet!

A lot of people were cursing at Central TV, but there were also a lot who did not know what had happened!

In this world, the study of PM2.5 was still in its infancy. There were a lot of things regarding it that most citizens did not understand, with about 95% of them not even knowing that they should have the habit of wearing a face mask outside on a smoggy day. Nobody thought much of this issue and were not nervous about it. This was also the reason for Zhang Ye and Department 14's urgency in making this documentary. But now it was all in vain!

...

At Central TV.

In the Documentary Channel's office.

It was almost time to knock off, but no one was preparing to leave yet. Everyone stayed behind and kept cursing and scolding. There were even some people who talked about wanting to quit their jobs!

"This is too much!"

"Dandan is gonna get surgery soon!"

"How are we going to explain it to Dandan? How do we break this to her?"

"We can't just leave it as that!"

"Right! We must think of a solution!"

Ha Qiqi dropped something heavily onto the table and said, "I'll go see the station head again!"

"Let's go together!" Zhang Zuo couldn't stand it anymore either!

"Let's go together!"

"Yeah, together!"

Everyone responded angrily!

They asked themselves if they had done anything wrong to deserve this!

They asked themselves if any of their statistics were not obtained from a professional institute!

But why did it end up with the station head accusing them in this way? And punishing them too? Why could they not inform the citizens of where the smog originated and how harmful it could get? Why couldn't they let the citizens know the truth?

They did not understand!

So they were very angry!

Across the room, Zhang Ye had just come out from his office.

"Director Zhang!"

"Come with us!"

"Let's go and see the head!"

"I don't believe that we can't justify our position!"

The people of Department 14 were in a state of frenzy.

But then, Zhang Ye looked at everyone and said, "Don't bother looking for him. There's no point in doing so either. Without approval from the station, we'll never get the go-ahead to broadcast our documentary."

Ha Qiqi said, "But!"

"No buts." Zhang Ye waved his hand. "It's time to leave and go on home, everyone. There's no need to contemplate the documentary issue any further."

Zhang Zuo stared at him wide-eyed. "Are you saying we should just let it be?"

Zhang Ye said, "What else can be done? The footage has already been taken away by the station's people."

Little Wang could not believe that Zhang Ye was saying something like this. "Director Zhang, what's with you? This, this isn't your style. If this were the past, you'd definitely…"

Zhang Ye said, "I'd definitely what? The station has already indicated to us that our documentary would cause more harm than good. I have nothing I can do, so we can only leave it as is for now. Everyone, let's stop kicking up a fuss already and head on back home."

Ha Qiqi was angered by this. She shouted, "Director Zhang! Then who's gonna be responsible for Dandan's cancer? Dandan's been laying in her sickbed without airing a single grievance. All she wants is to prevent what happened to her from happening to anyone else! She just wanted our documentary to inform the citizens so that they'd know about the harmfulness of the smog! Yes, I accept that the station head's words were right. Even if some of the statistics we obtained were genuine and from official institutes, but there are no scientific grounds to them! Statistics are just statistics and can only be used for scientific interpretation. They can't be considered scientific fact! But even if it really turns out to be wrong, even if the smog is actually not harmful at all, we still want to make this matter public! We still want to scare the people into thinking! To make them learn about the smog and let them be afraid of it. Even if we have to face a lifetime of criticism, we're willing to accept it!"

"Right!"

"All of us are willing to accept it!"

"We're not afraid of getting scolded! In the past year, haven't we already been scolded a lot?"

"Director Zhang, we cannot just let this be!"

"This documentary is the fruit of everyone's labor!"

Zhang Zuo stared straight into Zhang Ye's eyes. "You promised Dandan personally! You said that you'd make sure everyone gets to see this documentary!"

Tong Fu clenched his fists. "Director Zhang!"

Zhang Ye looked at all of them. "Are you guys finished?"

No one spoke.

Zhang Ye nodded. "OK, if you are, then head on home. Let's not bring this up again. Go back home and pack up your feelings. We still have to prepare for the next documentary, maybe something about gourmet or animals. Any subject is fine."

Ha Qiqi suddenly asked, "Is this coming from the bottom of your heart?"

Zhang Ye threw up his hands. "Then what do you want me to do?"

"Director Zhang, I was wrong about you!" Ha Qiqi turned around and left!

Zhang Zuo hesitated for a bit before giving a long sigh. He walked off as well!

Zhang Ye abruptly said, "There's something else. Right now, there's a lot of attention on our documentary from the media and the people. There's huge ruckus online, so we can't just stay quiet and offer no explanation about it. We'll apply to the management for a venue to hold a press conference regarding this issue. It'd be best if the venue is a large one so that we can fit in all the media outlets and reporters for the press conference. At that time, I will personally go onstage and give an excuse for the barring of our documentary from broadcast."

Ha Qiqi did not even turn her head. "Got it!"

Zhang Ye felt reluctant. "This will be very important."

Zhang Zuo turned around and said, "I'll write a report for it tonight."

"OK." Zhang Ye nodded.

Little Wang said angrily, "You still intend to clear it up? Give an excuse? What's there to excuse! What's there for us to explain! We did not do anything wrong in the first place! Director Zhang, why, why are doing this!"

Tong Fu looked at Zhang Ye. "Are you still the Director Zhang I know?"

Little Wang pulled at Tong Fu. "Let's go!"

Gradually, everyone left the office!

Everyone wore the same expression of disappointment!

Soon, Zhang Ye was left in the office by himself.

Outside, it had turned dark. Smog blotted out the moonlight. When he looked out through the window, the night looked gloomy in a rather depressed and somewhat lonesome manner.

Zhang Ye quietly walked over to the office's main door and closed it. Creak. The sound of the door closing was particularly loud in the silence of the office. He walked back in, and suddenly bent over and turned on a computer, then another, and a third one. These computers had previously been used to store the data for the air pollution documentary, but were wiped clean after the people from Central TV's management came over in the afternoon.

He turned them on.

Typed on the keyboard.

Zhang Ye performed a series of complicated operations on them. If there were any technicians present, they would know that Zhang Ye was recovering the files and data that were still retained on the hard drives!

Five…

Ten…

Twenty…

Little by little, the data were restored!

One by one, the sections of video and interview material reappeared on the screens!

All of a sudden, Zhang Ye thought of those words Ha Qiqi uttered to him before she left. He couldn't refrain from chuckling, and felt quite proud of her at heart. Make the people learn know about the smog? Let them know so that they would be afraid? Even if they had to face a lifetime of criticism, they would accept it?

Well said!

That's my team!

You're all good people!

However, this is no trifling matter. This is a major issue that will tear a hole in the sky! How could I let you guys face these criticisms? How could I let you sacrifice yourselves? All of you are still powerless right now. If you guys offend someone, or if someone tries to find trouble with you guys, how could you handle it? You have wives and kids, husbands and parents. When it comes to handling the pressure from such criticisms, can any of you truly bear it?

Forget it.

It's no coincidence that I'm not afraid of trouble, have never been afraid of offending others, and am always very controversial. So I don't care if I'm charged with another count. I'm your boss. If anything happened, could I let you guys take the blame? All of you have really underestimated me, Zhang Ye!

So let me bear the burden of these criticisms instead.

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Chapter 966: The press conference begins!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

A few days later.

Saturday.

On the day of the press conference.

Morning, at the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Beijing Cancer Hospital.

"Dandan," Tong Fu said.

Huang Dandan shook her head. "That's impossible!"

Beside her, Little Wang said with a sunken expression, "Director Zhang really said that."

Huang Dandan said in disbelief, "Don't you guys know what kind of person Director Zhang is?"

"I know." Tong Fu grit his teeth and said, "But he's really going to stop caring about this. He instructed us to not get involved nor bring it up again. Even when we wanted to go and protest against the heads a second time, he stopped us from going!"

Little Wang said in resentment, "Our documentary definitely can't make it to broadcast anymore as the footage has been deleted. The press conference will be held today, and we'll be explaining to the reporters and public the reason why the documentary was taken down. It's 7 AM now. In two more hours, the press conference will begin!"

Huang Dandan kept shaking her head.

Tong Fu said, "I can actually understand Director Zhang's decision. He will be leaving Central TV soon, so if he gets into trouble at this stage, it'll greatly affect him. Since we already know that our documentary will likely offend a lot of people, nobody would want to get themselves involved in such a mess. Director Zhang also—"

"Don't speak any further!" Huang Dandan interrupted him angrily. "All of you, please leave!"

Little Wang said, "Dandan, why are you—"

Huang Dandan ignored her. "Please go back!"

"Th-Then we'll head on to work. Rest up and listen to the doctor." Tong Fu had no choice but to leave with Little Wang and another colleague who was also visiting.

"What should we do?"

"Just give Dandan some time alone."

"Hai, she definitely can't accept that either."

"This time, Director Zhang is really—"

"Don't. Director Zhang has done a lot for everyone."

"Let's go back then. There's still a lot of things to handle at the press conference venue."

...

Meanwhile.

At SARFT HQ.

Wu Zeqing walked into the office building.

"Eh."

"Chief Wu!"

"Chief Wu, good morning."

"Ah, Chief Wu!"

Many people were momentarily stunned. Today was Saturday, as well as public holiday. Besides, didn't Chief Wu attend a meeting in Shanghai yesterday? Didn't she originally plan to return on Sunday? Then why did Chief Wu come back to work today? Uh, did something happen at the office? Why wasn't there any news of that then?

The employees started gossiping.

Soon, Wu Zeqing's secretary, Bai Li rushed back in a hurry.

In the office.

Bai Li was quite surprised. "Chief Wu, what made you come back today? Wasn't the meeting in Shanghai slated to end on Sunday?"

Wu Zeqing said nonchalantly, "There might be something happening today, so I came back in advance."

Bai Li exclaimed, "What's going to happen?"

Wu Zeqing did not answer her. She just said, "If something happens today, tell me immediately. I will be in my office the entire day."

Terrified, Bai Li said, "Uh, OK."

Just what was going on?

Even Chief Wu had to come back in anticipation of something?

Was a disaster going to occur?!

...

At Central TV.

At the press conference venue.

"I'm from the Beijing Times."

"Oh, please enter."

"I'm from the News Channel and this is my reporter pass."

"Alright, please enter."

"I'm with Tianjin TV."

"Welcome. Please enter."

The reporters and camera operators were gradually admitted into the venue. Some of them were setting up their equipment and testing their video cameras, while others were exchanging words in twos and threes.

"Why is it being held at such a big venue?"

"I heard that there will be over a hundred reporters attending."

"That many?"

"Yeah. Department 14's new documentary was rejected, so a lot of people are focusing their attention on them."

"That's true. We still don't know the reason behind it."

"We'll probably find out in a while."

"I heard that the entire Department 14 was punished and even warned!"

"Due to what reason?"

"Who knows! Isn't it just a documentary about air pollution? How big of an affair could it be?"

"It seems that the smog can cause diseases."

"Come on, that's all nonsense, no? It is the same as pesticides on vegetables. No matter how much you try to wash them away, the veggies won't be 100% clean. There will still be some residue left in the vegetables. Even though the residue is poisonous, a small intake of it won't affect the body, so nothing will happen. The issue of the smog is likely the same, and it doesn't happen every day anyway. Today's weather looks just fine to me."

"Yeah, if the smog really is hazardous, the station would already have gotten us to investigate and do a report on it, but have any of you received instructions to do so in the past two years?"

"Nope."

"We didn't get such instructions from our station either."

"I did receive one, but our investigations showed nothing. The officials did not even give us a proper definition of what smog is. There were some similar cases overseas as well, but their circumstances should be different from our country's. This PM2.5 issue was only brought up recently, in the past two years."

Even a lot of the reporters working on the front lines had only a passing knowledge of it.

This was the current state of this world's knowledge and understanding of smog. It was a very different from Zhang Ye's previous world. The people of this world were still at the preliminary stage of discovery regarding smog. Ignoring the fact of how hazardous it was, nobody even seemed like they knew if the smog was harmful to their bodies.

Not far away.

Ha Qiqi, Zhang Zuo, and the others were busy working.

But from the looks of it, everyone from Department 14 seemed to be going about their work very listlessly. There was no hint of the fire or anger from before. They all appeared to have become rather apathetic to everything.

Zhang Zuo asked, "How many people have not arrived yet?"

Wu Yi said, "Almost everyone is here. There's just one or two who aren't."

"Then let's get ready to start," Ha Qiqi said, expressionless.

Beside them, several heads of Central TV walked by for an inspection. They looked at the staff of Department 14. "So how's the preparation going?"

Zhang Zuo looked upset. "It's all done."

Deputy Station Head Zhou said, "When it's time for the QA session, don't mention anything about getting barred or the like, as it doesn't sound nice. Today's press conference is mainly to give a proper explanation to the people concerned about this issue. Don't bring up any unrelated things, understand?"

A different supervisor criticized, "In the future, don't commit such a big mistake! Even Zhang Ye knows how severe this is, yet you people are still not over it?"

The station heads then made their rounds once more, albeit not seriously, before leaving. With the footage deleted, there was no way they could broadcast it even if they wanted to. They did not believe this group of people could give them any more trouble.

Once the station heads left, the look on the faces of the Department 14 people turned even more unsightly!

A big mistake?

What big mistake did we commit?

Someone spoke up, "I think Director Zhang is still backstage. Can someone go and get him?"

No one answered.

Ha Qiqi just said, "Whoever wants to go, go."

Zhang Zuo sighed, "Old Ha."

Wu Yi gazed at Ha Qiqi. "It's actually hard for Director Zhang too. Director Zhang is tired of it this time and does not want to fight them anymore. We have to try to understand."

Ha Qiqi turned around and walked away to oversee the work elsewhere.

Tong Fu walked up. "But he personally promised Dandan!"

Zhang Zuo patted Tong Fu on the shoulder. "Little Tong, I know that you aren't in a good mood, but the implications of this business are too great and aren't things we can change. Director Zhang has difficulties as well."

Tong Fu said angrily, "He can ignore it, but why must he stop us from taking this into our own hands?"

Zhang Zuo sighed, "Hai."

Suddenly, a silhouette appeared at the entrance!

The people of Department 14 cried out in shock!

"Dandan!"

"Aiyo!"

"What are you doing here?"

"Why'd you come here instead of staying at the hospital?"

"Your surgery's soon!"

Tong Fu was stunned!

Ha Qiqi hurriedly ran over.

Huang Dandan said calmly, "I just came to take a look."

Ha Qiqi reprimanded, "The documentary has been axed, and Director Zhang's not going to do anything about it. What's there to look at? Go back quickly and get some rest!"

Tong Fu was also very anxious about her. "Huang Dandan!"

But Huang Dandan turned a deaf ear to them and stubbornly stood there without moving!

It was time!

The press conference was about to start!

Backstage.

There was only one solitary person here at this moment.

For the past few days, not a single person of Department 14 knew what Zhang Ye was doing. After he got suspended, he just stayed at home and did not show his face at the office. No one called Zhang Ye either. It seemed like the entire team had become strangers with him overnight. A lot of them were still angry at him.

Zhang Ye looked at his watch and lightly exhaled. He looked in the mirror and adjusted his shirt collar before he smiled and walked out satisfied and resolute!

I'm not a stern person, nor am I a likeable character. I'm not one to have an exhaustive plan, as I'm not a deep schemer. I don't know how to behave in a way that everyone will agree and be satisfied with. My EQ is not high and my IQ is just the same. I often make mistakes and am sometimes impulsive. I have many shortcomings, though I know them all!

You can doubt me!

You can scold me!

You can insult me!

You can bite me!

None of that matters to me!

But if you don't allow me to speak?

Then that is unacceptable!

That is…truly unacceptable!

Do you people think that by deleting the footage, you can seal my lips?

Do you people think that a documentary can only be shown on televised media?

Hur hur, then I guess you people have never before witnessed a documentary being broadcast live at the venue, right?

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Chapter 967: Zhang Ye's Documentary on Air Pollution in China!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

Thud.

The venue's door was closed by the staff.

This announced the start of the press conference!

The reporters roused themselves and looked at the stage. They looked around for the host of the press conference or Central TV Documentary Channel's supervisor.

"It's beginning!"

"Where's Zhang Ye?"

"Where is he?"

"Eh, why isn't anyone coming out?"

"Who's hosting the press conference?"

All of a sudden, the venue's lights went out!

Click!

Click!

Most of the lights turned off!

Only a few of the dim stage lights remained lit!

The venue instantly darkened!

"Huh?"

"What's going on?"

"Why did they turn off the lights?"

"What's the meaning of this?"

"Hey, what are you guys trying to do?"

The reporters were startled. Everyone started questioning Department 14's staff about this. This setup bewildered them as they had never attended a press conference that was held in this way. Why did they turn off the lights?

However, the employees of Department 14 were also startled by this. They did know understand what they were seeing. They hadn't received any prior notice and wondered how the press conference could be held with the lights off.

Wu Yi quickly said, "It's probably a fault with the lighting system!"

"Quick, go and take a look!" Yan Tianfei's secretary was here as well.

Little Wang said, "B-But I don't think anyone's backstage?"

Someone else wondered, "The lighting was preprogrammed. I don't think there's a lighting technician around today?"

"What's going on then?"

Ha Qiqi sensed that something was wrong!

Zhang Zuo and the others also felt it!

The next moment, however, a vertical beam of light abruptly shot down from above and illuminated the rostrum on the stage. In the dusk of the venue, this light was quite conspicuous!

In an instant, the venue fell silent!

Everyone looked up at the stage in surprise!

From backstage, a silhouette slowly walked out.

One step.

Two steps.

Three steps.

"Sometimes, in the middle of the night, I turn on the light. I see the light shining and motes of dust, and sometimes even some irritating bugs flying toward the light."

The man's voice rang out before his face could be clearly seen.

Zhang Ye walked up to the rostrum. He did not gaze at the stunned faces of the hundred-odd media reporters in the audience. He just stared straight up at the beam of light as he walked toward it until he came to a stop in the center of it. "But there's something that I cannot see, the fine particulate matter floating in the air. It's smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter. It has a high refractive index which allows them to absorb a large amount of visible light, leaving us with a very low visibility of the places surrounding us. In time, people began giving this phenomenon a name, which I think is called 'smog.'" He smiled and reached out to grab something, but grabbed only air. "I've always been very curious about smog and wanted to know what it really was. It's right in front of me, yet I can't see it."

The venue was dead quiet!

No one could react to what was happening before their eyes!

This opening, this speech stunned everyone!

Ha Qiqi stared, eyes wide!

Zhang Zuo could feel goosebumps cover his body!

Huang Dandan excitedly balled her fists!

Little Wang's eyes reddened, tears threatening to spill out!

Director Zhang!

You…

Zhang Ye took two steps to reach an onstage master console that was set up beforehand and tapped on it. "There's only one way that I can drag it into my sight."

The big screen behind him lit up.

A picture of an apparatus appeared.

Zhang Ye smiled as he pointed at it. "This is a PM2.5 sampling apparatus that I borrowed from the Environmental Sciences Department at Peking University. Professor Wang from their department told me that this instrument is extremely precious and that there are only ten of them in Peking University, so they couldn't loan it out. So I handed him a 68-yuan 1 bottle of wine and he immediately said that I could have the apparatus as a gift."

A female reporter in the audience burst into laughter!

A few other reporters couldn't hold in their laughter either.

Zhang Ye spread his hands and smiled as he said, "I've always thought that the smog was very mysterious and wouldn't show itself to just anyone. But later, I found that with an apparatus like this, which I exchanged for a bottle of wine, by placing a pristine sample of film in it, the smog would automatically show itself to me."

The screen flashed.

One by one, photos featuring scenes of Zhang Ye's daily life appeared.

There was a timestamp.

There was a location.

There was a figure of the PM2.5 values at that second.

Zhang Ye said, "This is from two days ago when I carried this apparatus around for 24 hours."

Two days ago?

So you did not come to work for the past few days because you were doing this?

At this moment, without exception, everyone from Department 14 looked deeply touched!

Ha Qiqi almost sobbed! Director Zhang!

Then, a shocking picture popped up!

The reporters gasped in shock!

"Ah?"

"This!"

"This is?"

Zhang Ye smiled. He pointed at the screen and said, "This was the sample of film that was taken out at the end of the day."

The film sample in the picture had turned completely black!

It was the same color as coal!

"Why is it like that?" a female reporter asked in disbelief!

"This…this is what the smog is?" A male reporter was also shocked!

One of the reporters nearly jumped up. "Impossible!"

Zhang Ye looked at him and said with a smile, "Yeah, I didn't believe it at the beginning either. However, I went to look for my Peking University colleague, who is still that Professor Wang from the Environmental Sciences Department, and gifted him yet another bottle of wine, and had him help me analyze the sample that I'd collected. I wanted to know what was really in it."

The picture changed.

A densely packed group of chemical names appeared!

Zhang Ye raised his hand and pointed at the screen. "These are the results of his analysis of the film sample. There are a total of 15 types of carcinogens, including the strongest carcinogen in the world, benzo[a]pyrene. Do you know how many times above the national standards it was measured at? It exceeded it by 14 times!"

It caused an uproar!

Carcinogens?

Exceeded the standards by 14 times?

Zhang Ye said, "I didn't believe it, so I carried the apparatus around and went out again yesterday to do another test. Then I hurried back to Peking University to look for Professor Wang and had him help me analyze the film sample again. This time, the result was…the benzo[a]pyrene levels exceeded the standards by 17 times! I was astounded. I thought my initial test was wrong, but how could the results of the second test exceed the standards by an even higher figure? Professor Wang said to me, 'Professor Zhang, did you go shopping this time?' I told him I did. Professor Wang replied, 'If you'd walked around a little longer, the result would have exceeded the standards by much more!'"

Everyone looked up at the stage in horror.

Zhang Ye shrugged. "I knew that Peking University had recently built a laboratory. As all of you know, since I'm part of Peking University, I'm in a relatively favorable position for some things. So I spoke to Professor Wang and asked if I could volunteer myself for the Key Laboratory of High Concentration Particulate Matter, and if they could measure my body for data so that I could better understand and inform the people of this. But Professor Wang shook his head and said that there was no way. So I asked why. I told them that I wasn't afraid of this. Signing a liability waiver was fine too. If anything happened to me afterwards, I would not hold them responsible for it, so just let me do it."

Everyone was rendered speechless. They didn't think that Zhang Ye would actually risk his life like this!

Continuing, Zhang Ye said helplessly, "Professor Wang hesitated for a long time before telling me, 'There's no need for you to go inside the Key Laboratory of High Concentration Particulate Matter. In fact, the outside air you breathe every day is much more polluted than the air inside the lab!'" Looking at everyone, Zhang Ye said, "It was at that moment that I realized all of us are actually living inside a lab that is constantly exposed. This is what the smog is, and that is who our enemy is. We can't see it, but it's all around us!"

Many of the reporters were aghast!

Many of them were also stunned by today's presentation!

Wasn't this a press conference? Weren't they going to explain why the documentary was taken down? Why did it become something like this? What was going on?

Documentary?

You're actually showing a goddamn live broadcast of the documentary?!

No one had seen anything like this before! These reporters had never even heard of something like this!

On the other side of the venue.

The emotions of the staff of Department 14 got a bit out of control!

Tong Fu wished he could slap his own face. "Director Zhang!"

Wu Yi said, "This…"

Little Wang wiped her tears away. "So it turns out that Director Zhang did this much in the past few days! And we didn't even know about it! We didn't know anything at all! I, I even spoke harshly to Director Zhang! I had thought, had thought that Director Zhang did not care about us anymore!" As Little Wang talked, her tears fell faster!

A staff member said, "Goddamn me!"

"I should have known!"

"Yeah! When has Director Zhang ever been afraid of trouble!"

"Why did he choose to do this by himself? Why didn't he tell us about it? He even told us to stop kicking up a fuss over it? And told us not to be involved anymore?"

Ha Qiqi's lips were trembling. "He was afraid that he would get us into trouble! He intended to bear all of the criticism by himself! All of us…we have wronged Director Zhang!"

"Director Zhang!"

"I, I…"

Chapter 968: A never-before-seen documentary!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

This was an unprecedented press conference!

This was history's first live premiere of a documentary!

Zhang Ye calmly stood onstage and faced all the reporters who wore different expressions, his expression unchanging. "So how does the PM2.5 enter our bodies? How does it destroy our bodies from within? With the assistance from the experts at the Environmental Sciences Department of Peking University, we created a short video to explain."

The big screen lit up.

One after another, cartoon characters appeared onscreen.

"Hello, I am a PM2.5. I have many siblings, such as the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and various heavy metals, all of which carry a sharp weapon. In the game of attacking humanity, we very rarely lose. At the first stage, the nostrils, nasal hair, and nasal discharge stop foreign objects from entering. 90% of the particles that are larger than 10 microns in diameter will get stopped here, but that won't stop me. At the second stage, the throat in the upper respiratory tract has tiny hairs called cilia which beat in coordinated waves 20 times per second. But because of my lightness, the trachealis muscle—which contracts when irritated—will try to stop me, although that is not enough to defeat me. At the third stage, the lower respiratory tract has passages called bronchi, which branch out like a big tree and conduct air into the lungs. This is our favorite ski slope of all, as we fight our way in against the cells, lymphocytes, and others. As a side effect, humans suffer from various inflammations caused by us."

This was an animation that they had prepared earlier to be used in the documentary.

Ha Qiqi, Zhang Zuo, and the others were once again shocked!

The Central TV News Channel's reporter was also rather startled!

Weren't all these resources already deleted?

Didn't Central TV send a team of people to take them away?

Why do you still have it? H-How did you get them back?

Only then did the staff of Department 14 realize just how much Director Zhang had done behind their backs! Director Zhang had begun planning for this press conference since the day the documentary was barred!

"Our large force finally reaches the end of the branches of the bronchi, which is where the alveoli are. Humans have over 300 million alveoli in each lung. Once we block off these alveoli, they cannot breathe. But in here exists our most fearsome enemy—the macrophages. They are specialized to engulf and digest foreign substances, and are also known as internal scavengers. This is going be a tough battle. But we outnumber them, and our core is difficult to break down as well. Together with the heavy metal toxins, the macrophages find us hard to digest, so easily die. This is how the human immune system breaks down. We also have a group of warriors, the ultrafine particles measuring no more than 0.5 microns in diameter. They are able to penetrate right through the membrane of the alveoli into the bloodstream, damaging and constricting the blood vessels, which in turn causes increased blood pressure and leads to internal clotting. We can even make use of the pulmonary circulation to enter the core of the human body and carry out attacks against your heart, causing myocardial ischemic damage, arrhythmia, and heart attacks."

"Shiver in fear, human!"

"We're in every breath you take!"

The animation ended with the ringing of wild and savage laughter!

A lot of the reporters were holding their breath, too afraid to even breathe!

How could it be like this?

How can this be possible!

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "While we were drawing up this animated short, a colleague of mine was present. She was extremely scared. She told me that she has a two-year-old at home, and asked how this would affect her child in the future. I wondered the same, so I went to ask Peking University's Professor Wang about it. I said, 'Old Wang, shouldn't we expose our children to the smog so that they start adapting to it? Isn't there a saying going around these days? Don't make your kids lose at the starting line.'"

This made many of them want to laugh out loud.

But a lot of the people in the audience could not bring themselves to laugh.

Zhang Ye spread his hands. "Professor Wang told me that there was simply no basis for a statement like this. For every day that you're exposed to smog, it will be a day of damage done to your body. There's no such thing as adapting to it! So I asked him, 'What should we do, what can we do? And what about children?' Professor Wang hesitated for a while before giving me a suggestion. He said that we could only reduce the number of times that we went out on smoggy days." Looking at the reporters in the audience, Zhang Ye laughed and said, "I thought about that and felt that it wasn't such a bad idea after all. At worst, we could just stay home during smoggy days. That would surely do, right?"

That's right.

Just reduce the number of times you go out.

The reporters listened carefully and thought about it as well.

However, Zhang Ye spoke again. "Later, I realized that I had overthought things. I contacted our country's Ministry of Environmental Protection and obtained some internal statistics."

What statistics?

The reporters were taken aback.

Without warning, another short video started playing on the big screen!

The music played. It was a background track that sounded very heavy as a time lapse of images flashed on screen. It was the PM2.5 readings of various medium to large cities!

Shijiazhuang:

Days with air pollution in the past year: 267 days

Tianjin:

Days with air pollution in the past year: 189 days

Shenyang:

Days with air pollution in the past year: 192 days

Taiyuan:

Days with air pollution in the past year: 184 days

Chengdu:

Days with air pollution in the past year: 107 days

One by one, astonishing numbers appeared before the crowd's eyes!

The reporters were all stunned. How was this possible? Had the smog already reached such a state? But why didn't they know about it? Why couldn't they feel it in their daily life?

In this world, the people had a very limited understanding of what smog was. They really did not know what it was!

Zhang Ye pointed at the screen and gave a wry smile, saying, "In many of the cities, the number of days per year that the air was polluted on a large scale was close to 50%, and in some places, more than 50%. Don't go outside? Unless we don't work, don't go to school, don't go to the market, and don't go shopping, how else can we avoid going outside? When I got ahold of this data, I found it quite perplexing and was also extremely surprised by it. Why? Because I did not understand why it was like this. Wasn't smog only a thing that came up in the past two years? So why did it seem like the entire country was suddenly shrouded in it overnight? Why didn't we have it in the past? Why didn't I know about it in the past?"

That's right!

There was no such thing as smog in the past!

Zhang Ye's words hit the bullseye. Everyone was thinking the same thing and could not understand it either. This smog seemed like it had suddenly dawned on them in the winter of two years past. There was no forewarning at all!

But Zhang Ye's next reveal made all the reporters at the venue gasp!

Zhang Ye said, "Professor Wang told me that the smog had always been around. But I said that was impossible. Was I blind or something? Why didn't I know about it before? Then, Professor Wang had me to go through some news articles from some years back."

On the big screen, an image from a newspaper was shown.

It was the front page news from ten years ago that appeared on the Beijing Times.

There was an airplane.

And heavy fog.

Zhang Ye said, "Professor Wang asked me, 'What do you see?' I said, 'Fog, right?' Professor Wang said, 'Have a look at the headlines of that day's news.'"

The image changed.

Some more words appeared over the top of that image. The news headlines was revealed!

"Massive delays at capital's airport due to fog!"

Fog?

It was fog?

The reporters were stunned. A chill originating from the bottom of their hearts spontaneously arose!

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "In fact, since ten years ago, or even earlier, smog had already existed. But it was not referred to as smog at that time, but called…fog!"

The reporters were horrified!

Even the staff of Department 14 could feel a chill in their hearts after hearing this. Actually, they were involved in the production of this documentary from the beginning and had conducted interviews at many places. They had created a lot of clips for the documentary and knew about all the things Zhang Ye was talking about. They already knew and understood the subject as they were the ones who'd handled it in the first place. But for some reason, when they saw Director Zhang standing onstage and relating the story, they still felt the same shock as the reporters. It was in truth even more shocking than when they first learned of all this knowledge!

This was Zhang Ye!

One of the top hosts in the domestic industry!

Organized, logical, controlled, appealing—he was just so good at all of it!

The Department 14 staff had full reason to believe that even if their original documentary were to be broadcast, the effects after the broadcast would definitely not be as good how Zhang Ye was currently giving his speech! This was on a completely different plane! This was an oration expected of one of the top hosts in the country!

It was extraordinarily charismatic!

"Lung cancer," Zhang Ye suddenly said. "These words can terrify anyone. I never expected something like this to happen to someone close to me." He smiled and said, "I've always thought that only us smokers got lung cancer. But one day, I realized that I had it all wrong. I have a female colleague who's a year younger than me. She's the joy of our office and treats everyone very well. She's also very motivated, and does not smoke, drink, or have any family history of the disease. However, she was recently diagnosed with lung cancer. I got very angry at that time and questioned the doctor, 'Why! What'd she do to deserve that! Do you know how old she is?' The doctor said to me, 'I can only tell you that the lung cancer was the result of an unknown cause. But I formed an opinion that it was due to the air pollution'!"

Huang Dandan's tears fell.

Ha Qiqi held one of Huang Dandan's hand in hers.

Little Wang held Huang Dandan's other hand and cried together with her.

Air pollution?

Lung cancer?

The reporters were once again shocked!

This information that Zhang Ye had thrown out wrecked their perception of smog knowledge!

Zhang Ye looked at them. "Therefore, I wanted to investigate this. I needed to understand where the smog came from! I wanted to find out who the responsible parties were!"

Coal!

Steel!

Pollution!

For the entire afternoon, without a script nor any assistance, Zhang Ye kept on talking about the subject.

...

Outside.

At a meeting room in Central TV.

The regular meeting had just ended and the heads gradually vacated the premises.

Oh right, is Department 14's press conference over yet?"

"Uh, I don't think so."

"It's still not over?"

"Uh-huh."

"It's already been over an hour!"

"I don't know."

"Why is it taking so long?"

...

At the venue.

A spinning Earth appeared on the screen.

Zhang Ye looked into the audience. "Thousands and thousands of babies are currently in their mothers' wombs or being birthed. These rivers, skies, and lands should belong to them. We have no right to consume without restraint. We have no right to grumble without restructuring. We have the responsibility to prove to them that a world illuminated by energy can be both clean and beautiful."

He faced the big screen.

Focused on that rotating Earth.

A smile hung on Zhang Ye's face. "Every time I see this planet spinning in the dark of space, I feel a nameless attachment and warmth. Someday in the future, I'll leave this world, but my family and children will still be living on it, so I'll still be involved. That's why I watch over it, just like I watch over you. That's why I protect it, just like I protect you."

The music faded out slowly.

Further and further out.

The press conference was over.

Everyone sat in their seats, unable to move!

Suddenly, Ha Qiqi started to clap with all her might!

Little Wang clapped!

Zhang Zuo clapped!

Tong Fu clapped as hard as he could!

In an instant, a round of applause broke out!

Every one of the reporters present at the venue stood up, feeling a sense of shock, confusion, and fear…and gave their most respectful applause to this never-before-seen press conference!

This was Zhang Ye!

This was Department 14's new documentary!

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Chapter 969: Stay true to yourself!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

The lights came back on.

The doors opened.

The press conference ended and Zhang Ye walked off the stage.

But none of the reporters left!

"Teacher Zhang!"

"Teacher Zhang, please stay!"

"Please accept an interview!"

"Teacher Zhang!"

"Please wait a moment! Wait a moment!"

Numerous reporters piled forward in excitement. Several of the male reporters seated in the back rows even stepped over the chairs ahead of them to get to the front as everyone rushed forward in a frenzy!

However, Zhang Ye did not answer any questions or accept any interviews. He just turned around and left through the backstage.

Noticing this, the Department 14 staff in the back quickly went forward to hold off the reporters. They shouted, "Please go back. Everyone, please head back."

When a few of the reporters saw this jostling, they knew they would not get to interview Zhang Ye today. They were highly aware that something big was about to happen, so they immediately turned around to find their colleagues who were filming the press conference and ran outside with all their might, carrying their video cameras and cameras with them!

When some of the other reporters saw this, they came to their senses!

"Let's go!"

"Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

"Let's return to the station!"

"Quick, contact the editor-in-chief!"

"Drive the car over here first!"

This press conference, no, to be precise, this documentary was very astonishing, so they had to return to their office immediately to seek the opinions of their bosses. For breaking news of such scale, it was impossible that it would remain a scoop. It all depended on their speed now as they competed to see who would get it published first and gain the advantage!

But even though they were fast, they would definitely not be faster than those from the Central TV News Channel. This was because they did not need to drive back to their office at all. It was just right upstairs!

As this documentary was ordered barred from broadcast by the Central TV heads a few days ago, the people of the Central TV News Channel clearly would not dare to act on their own. They quickly reported this matter to their superiors.

With that, the whole of Central TV was stunned!

Deputy Station Head Zhou pounded the table and jumped to his feet. "What? What did you say?"

Deputy Station Head Li stared and said, "C-Can you repeat that?"

The female reporter from the news channel said bitterly, "Zhang Ye has publicly released the documentary by presenting it in a live conference format! Th-This is the recording from the press conference."

They watched it as quickly as they could.

It was fast-forwarded.

And fast-forwarded again.

They took just five minutes to finish watching it!

The station heads immediately paled!

"What has gotten into Zhang Ye this time?"

"He's about to leave. Why is he still meddling?"

"This is pissing me off!"

"This is outrageous!"

"He actually had the courage to say all that with all those reporters around?"

"The documentary's footage was deleted. But he, he turned it into a live conference?"

"We cannot allow this to get broadcast!"

"This was a press conference held by Central TV! We'll be doomed if it gets broadcast!"

"Go and tell the Station Head!"

"Hurry!"

"Let the Station Head know! Tell him that something terrible has happened!"

...

Backstage.

The employees of Department 14 stood in front of Zhang Ye.

Huang Dandan looked at him. "Thank you, Director Zhang."

Zhang Ye smiled. "Since I promised you, I would've gotten it done even if the sky collapsed. There's no need to thank me for it. You must now recuperate and get ready for your surgery. I'll be waiting for you to get back and help me in the future."

"Director Zhang! I…" Tong Fu flushed.

Ha Qiqi said, "We thought that you were…"

Zhang Zuo said angrily, "Why didn't you let us know about something so important!"

Zhang Ye laughed and said, "It's just as you said. It's precisely because this is such an important matter that I knew I had to bear the responsibility on my own."

"We could have all borne it together!"

"That's right!"

"We could have all borne it together!"

"Why are you bearing this responsibility by yourself!"

"You're looking down on us, Director Zhang!"

Everyone had something to say, but they were in fact all very touched. Before the press conference, everyone had given up all hope and even entertained the thought of quitting. But when they saw Zhang Ye appear onstage and give his opening speech in such a composed manner, it set their pulses racing!

Director Zhang was still the same old Director Zhang!

He had never let them down before!

Zhang Ye looked at everyone around him. He spoke, "It's not that I'm looking down on you guys, it's just that it's not necessary to drag all of you down together with me. I've always been unpopular and have offended so many people, so I'm not really bothered by it. But all of you are different. Every one of you still has a future in the industry, so why would I let you become notorious like me and get hated on? There's no need since we're a team. Haven't our roles always been clearly defined? You guys are responsible for producing the documentary while I handle the offending!"

Ha Qiqi said, "Director Zhang, I'm sorry. Back then, I even—"

"It's me who should be sorry," interrupted Zhang Ye, "as I didn't let you guys know about my plan. Actually, when I heard everyone saying that you wanted to make this documentary public even if you had to face the music, I felt rather touched and proud, knowing that you guys didn't disgrace me."

...

At a newspaper firm.

Everyone was up to their ears in work!

A lot of them were on the phone, while many of executives and employees of the newspaper firm had surrounded a monitor, which was replaying the footage from Central TV Department 14's press conference!

They finished watching it.

A reporter who was present at the press conference said, "Chief Editor, c-c-can this be published?"

Another reporter said, "Zhang Ye has revealed the source of our air pollution to be caused by the steel mills, gas stations, vehicle exhaust emissions, corporations polluting, and even coal-fired heating. I-If this gets published, wouldn't it cause chaos?"

Everyone was very uncertain about this and waited for the chief editor to speak.

A deputy editor said, "This can't be published, right?

A different editor said, "So what if we know the source of the air pollution? Can we stop people from using heating? Can we ban all the steel mill production? Stop industrialization?"

An executive of the newspaper firm had a different view. "When did Zhang Ye say that he wanted to stop industrialization?" When did he say that he wanted to stop people from using heating? If coal-fired heating causes pollution, we can just aim to reduce the burning of coal and increase the proportion of gas heating instead! For pollution caused by steel mills, we can order the standardization of environmental protection facilities, increase crackdown efforts on offending corporations, and encourage citizens to report lawbreaking corporations! For pollution caused by vehicle exhaust emissions, we can increase the penalties. We can issue fines to all those heavy vehicles that exceed the limits! How is that called being unable to do anything about it?"

That deputy editor said, "But the citizens won't think of it that way! They will surely call for the complete eradication of steel mills! And refuse large and heavy vehicles from entering into cities! The citizen are always ignorant. If they see this documentary, then—"

"Alright, everyone, stop arguing." The chief editor finally spoke up.

Everyone looked at him.

The chief editor laughed in extreme helplessness. "Honestly, I have gained a sudden sense of admiration for Zhang Ye. At least he dares to speak up and tell the truth. The whole truth and nothing but the truth!" After a short silence, the chief editor gave his orders. "Just report it. We'll publish it as is! Hand the recording over to Old Hu. I will personally write the rough draft for this afternoon's edition of the paper!"

"Chief Editor!"

"Why?"

"Are we really going to publish it?"

"Ah?"

The chief editor suddenly looked at them. "Why not? Why can't we publish it? Zhang Ye, as a host and documentary director, has done for us what we media personnel could not do. These kinds of reports should have been written by us in the first place; it should've been us who exposed such news to the public. But look now, a documentary filmmaker has beaten us to it instead. Don't you guys think it disgraceful? Well, I find it disgraceful! I find it extremely disgraceful! I know the higher-ups probably won't approve of such reporting. But as journalists, we must sometimes have a backbone!"

Everyone went silent.

The chief editor said, "We should let the people know about this issue as they have the right to know!"

A female editor smiled. "The chief editor is right. I've finally understood why there are so many people who like Zhang Ye. He reminds us of our past selves every so often. There is a popular phrase going around these days: 'Stay true to yourself.' I suppose that Zhang Ye will never understand this phrase because everything he's said and done these past few years has been true to himself. He has never forgotten, but most of us have probably forgotten ourselves."

"Then let's publish it!"

"Fuck yeah, let's do it!"

"Right, you're speaking as if we're afraid of trouble!"

"I will contact Old Hu immediately and get him to publish the video in full on the newspapers' website!"

"Chief Editor, let me help you with the first draft!"

"Let's do it! Let the sky fall! Zhang Ye's there to hold it up!"

The entire newspaper firm immediately got down to work!

At the same time, the other newspaper firms and television stations were getting ready to publish the news!

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Chapter 970: Let's clear up this day a bit, just a little

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

A video appeared online without any warning.

The headline read: Zhang Ye's Documentary on Air Pollution in China.

Another headline read: "Department 14's latest documentary."

And another headline read: "What exactly is smog?"

It just started popping up this way.

A lot of people were caught completely off guard!

"What?"

"The documentary?"

"Didn't it get banned?"

"Yeah, didn't Central TV ban it from being broadcast?"

"What's going on then?"

"Didn't they hold a press conference this morning to make an explanation about the ban? Then where did the documentary come from? This must be fake news, right? Is it clickbait? They're just trying to lure us into reading the reports, right?"

A lot of people did not believe the headlines as there has been too much fake news recently.

But many of them still could not hold back from clicking. And when they did, they were stunned!

"Damn!"

"Look! Quickly, look!"

"Look at what?"

"It's really true! This…this is Zhang Ye's new documentary!"

"How is that possible? It wasn't even broadcast on TV!"

"Go and take a look for yourself! It's not a documentary that was meant for television broadcast at all! The documentary was released live at the press conference instead! Oh my god! Teacher Zhang is too amazing!"

"Ah!"

"What?"

"Let me see, let me see!"

The first batch of viewers just kept on howling excitedly like that!

But when they finished watching the entire documentary that was filmed live at the press conference, which lasted over an hour, all of them got mad without exception. They could not believe it, as shock was written all over their faces!

"How is this possible!"

"Th-This is what smog is? These are the enemies that we've been facing on a daily basis?"

"This is too shocking! Too shocking!"

"This…this…"

"Share it! Hurry!"

"Right, we have to let everyone know about this!"

"Old He, quickly come and see this!"

"Old Wang, stop playing your games already. Have a look at this!"

"Motherfucker! This is too much! These polluting enterprises have really gone too far!"

"So that was why they banned it from broadcasting? Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"

"Start sharing it!"

"Right, share it for Teacher Zhang!"

In the blink of an eye, the Internet blew up!

This documentary struck like a thunderbolt and lit up the Internet with a bang!

On Weibo.

"What's the matter?"

"What's happening?"

"What's everyone watching?"

"Why is everyone so excited? What happened?"

"Let me have a look too."

On the discussion forums.

"What is this video about? Why is getting so many views?"

"A documentary? Why did it get posted here? This is a stock trading forum."

"Holy shit! This documentary…"

"Heavens! Is this for real?"

"Is this what smog is? Fuck their grandpas!"

"So they've been keeping that from us all this time?!"

"Fuck! I want to swear at someone! I really want to swear at someone!"

On Tieba.

"Why didn't they tell us?"

"Why didn't they tell us before?"

"If I had known, I would have worn a face mask!"

"My wife died from lung cancer last year! Fuck!"

At a filming location.

A call from Fang Weihong suddenly came in. "Sister Zhang."

Zhang Yuanqi said pleasantly: "What's the matter?"

Fang Weihong said solemnly: "There's a video online that I think you should watch."

Zhang Yuanqi: "Hmm?"

Old Chen's house.

Chen Guang's face was one of shock. "This…"

Fan Wenli also looked somewhat pale. "This is the smog?"

Chen Guang said, "It has…already advanced to such a stage?"

Songstress Zhang Xia was at home watching this documentary. She watched it twice and fell silent.

At Beijing Television.

Dong Shanshan was stunned.

Hu Fei wore a sunken expression.

Hou Ge, Xiao Lu, and the others were all enraged!

At Yao Jiancai's house.

Yao Jiancai's wife gasped. "Why didn't anyone ever tell us about something so terrible? Why?"

Yao Jiancai gave a wry smile. "Little Zhang has ripped a great big hole in the sky this time!"

Yao Mi said, "Why do you say that it's ripping a hole in the sky? Teacher Zhang just reported the truth!"

Yao Jiancai said, "It's not like no one has investigated this before. There are also some people who know about this as well, so why must he go and spill the beans? This kid is an imbecile!"

His wife disagreed with him. "Yes, he is stupid. No one is more stupid than him in the entire entertainment industry! That time when Lee Anson pushed a fan after the Spring Festival Gala, if it were anyone else, they would not have bothered stepping in. But Zhang Ye did! When Beijing Television's Wang Shuixin caused Father Wei's death, if it were anyone else, they would not have done anything. But Zhang Ye did! When the Japanese delegation visited Peking University and acted arrogantly, if it were anyone else, they would not have dared to say a word. But Zhang Ye did! He never had anything to gain out of any of that, and even caused many people to start scolding him! They've been scolding him from the year before last until last year, and then from last year again until this year. You said that he is an imbecile? I totally agree! He is the stupidest person I've ever seen in the entertainment industry. But, but deep down in my heart, I just can't help but admire and respect him! Do you know why I feel that way?"

Views of the online video were increasing rapidly!

Every refresh brought about an increase of a million views!

There were two video hosting sites that even crashed from the heavy load of traffic, leaving their entire site crippled!

This was an unprecedented kind of virality, as no other documentary had ever managed to create such a shocking and influential impact within an hour of its release! No, perhaps it wasn't just for documentaries. Even for movies, music, or videos, none of them had ever hit such a level of craze!

Central TV was angered!

The entertainment circle was stunned!

The entire country had been turned upside down due to this live documentary conference!

Confusion!

Panic!

Anger!

Madness!

All sorts of emotions were spreading rapidly among the people!

"@EnvironmentalProtectionMinistry Why didn't anyone take control of the pollution issues? Why?"

"Steel manufacturing corporations that have flouted the law, you all better own up!"

"Right, you all owe everyone an explanation today!"

"Who approved those heavy vehicles that failed the emissions tests and allowed them to be on the road?"

"Requesting that the relevant departments thoroughly investigate this! Why should we pay the price for your irresponsibilities? What makes all of you think that you can profit off of our health? Teacher Zhang is right! You motherfuckers! What is that I smell in the air? It's not the smell of smog, it's the smell of the goddamned money from pollution!"

The populace exploded in anger!

An emotion rooted from the thoughts of getting deceived and having the truth withheld erupted!

"Where can we buy face masks?"

"They're available online!"

"Remember to buy the protective face masks that Teacher Zhang emphasized in the documentary. If it's just a normal cloth-type face mask, it won't be effective no matter how many layers it has. It won't work at all!"

"There's a private steel factory near my place that has broken the law. How do I report them?"

"Didn't Teacher Zhang already mention that?! Just report it to the police, as well as call the Ministry of Environmental Protection!"

"Right, let's report them all!"

"If one person is not enough to make a difference? Then are ten enough? If ten are not enough? Are 10,000 enough? Fuck, I doubt nobody won't care if so many of us report the violations!"

"Let's all take action together!"

"Motherfucker, we can't let them go about flouting the law any longer!"

"Smog! You motherfucker!"

"Corporations contributing to smog! You motherfuckers too!"

But at this moment, something happened that no one expected!

"Ah, I can't play the video anymore?"

"What do you mean you can't play the video anymore?"

"I can no longer load the documentary on dot net's site!"

"Damn! The video that was posted by the official website of Tianjin TV can't be played either!"

"It's been deleted!"

"It's the same for me. It says that the video has been taken down!"

"What happened?"

"Fuck!"

"Someone has made a move!"

"Zhang Ye's Documentary on Air Pollution in China has been taken down!"

Two hours after the incident started, the video was gradually deleted off the servers on a wide-scale. The reports by several mainstream media outlets regarding the documentary also disappeared suddenly!

The citizens were enraged!

Central TV Department 14's people also exploded with anger!

Ha Qiqi slammed the table. "How'd they take it down so quickly!"

"It's only been out for two hours!" Zhang Zuo said in anger.

Little Wang said, "They're totally bullying us!"

But Zhang Ye was not surprised. He just laughed it off and said, "Didn't we already expect that? Then what's the fuss about?"

Tong Fu anxiously said, "But a lot of the people have yet to watch it!"

...

The SARFT.

Wu Zeqing's office.

Bai Li hurriedly ran in. "Chief Wu, something really has happened! At the press conference held at Central TV, Zhang Ye…"

"I already know about that," Wu Zeqing said calmly.

It was at this time that Bai Li finally knew why Wu Zeqing had rushed back a day earlier during an important meeting at Shanghai. She understood now what Chief Wu meant when she said that something might happen today! It was Zhang Ye again! So it was over Zhang Ye's troublemaking again!

Why?

What was the relationship between Chief Wu and Zhang Ye?

Bai Li did not ask, and neither did she have the courage to ask. "That documentary's been taken completely offline!

"On whose instructions?" Wu Zeqing looked at her.

Bai Li hesitated before saying, "It was the instructions of Deputy Chief Chen who is at the meeting in Shanghai. It seems like he received a call from the higher-ups and later gave the order directly to all the online video hosting sites and TV stations."

Wu Zeqing nodded. "I understand."

Bai Li said, "Chief Wu, ma'am…"

But Wu Zeqing did not say anything to her. Instead, she picked up the telephone on her desk.

...

10 minutes later.

The Internet was still in an uproar!

"How can they delete it?"

"I haven't even watched it yet!"

"Isn't this too much?!"

"Ah! It's back up!"

"What?"

"Yeah, the video is back online! We can watch it now!"

"Aiyo, it's been restored on dot net as well! The documentary is back online!"

"This is great!"

"Wh-What on earth is going on here?"

Everyone was confused!

The employees of Department 14 were overwhelmed by this surprise!

"It's been restored?"

"It really has been!"

"What happened?"

"Holy shit!"

"Who's helping us out?"

Ha Qiqi, Zhang Zuo, and the others could not understand. How could they have any supporters?

Zhang Ye was also taken aback, but soon realized who it was. A warmth overcame him, and he momentarily felt rather apologetic. He would not ever regret what he had done today as he did not implicate Yan Tianfei nor his subordinates from Department 14. But there was someone who had been supporting him from behind and fighting alongside him! Zhang Ye did not wish to drag her down, but he knew that this was not going to be possible, so he felt quite sorry for her.

After he went back into his own office, Zhang Ye made a call.

"Old Wu," Zhang Ye greeted.

Wu Zeqing replied: "Mhm."

Zhang Ye hesitated for a moment. "It'll be fine if you can't make it work. Just leave it."

But Wu Zeqing smiled. "You've said it, and it has also been published, so how can we just leave it?"

"But for you…" Zhang Ye was afraid that she would be held responsible.

Wu Zeqing gently said: "Haven't the responsibilities between us always been very clear? You're in charge of the talking, while I'm in charge of letting you talk. Now that you've done your part, leave the rest of the battle to me."

When Zhang Ye heard this, he laughed. "Alright!"

Wu Zeqing said: "But I can only help you fend them off for at most a day."

"A day? That's good enough." Zhang Ye looked outside. He looked at the downcast sky outside and said: "We can only do so much anyway. Let's clear up this day a bit, just a little."

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Chapter 971: Breaking 100 million views!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

A call came in.

It was from Zhang Ye's former boss at Beijing Television, Hu Fei.

Hu Fei: "Little Zhang, you are way too ballsy!"

Zhang Ye laughed. "Not too bad, right?"

Hu Fei also laughed and said: "This time you've torn a hole in the sky!"

"This was exactly what I wanted," Zhang Ye said.

Hu Fei said: "I'm calling just to tell you that no matter what, your former colleagues at the BTV Arts Channel are all proud of you!"

Zhang Ye was surprised. "Thank everyone on my behalf."

But Hu Fei said: "It's us who should be thanking you this time."

...

On the Internet, the commotion was still ongoing!

"That's too frightening!"

"Is there anyone who has not watched it yet? Quickly share it with them!"

"Ah!"

"It's gone! It's gone again!"

"Damn, why was it deleted again?"

"What's going on? Didn't they restore the video just now?"

"Why did it get taken down again?"

"What are these people doing?"

"Ah, it's up again!"

"It's up again! It's up again!"

"Ah, it's gone again!"

"Ah, it's up again!"

...

At an online video hosting company.

In the general manager's office that was responsible for liaisons.

The phone kept ringing. Ring ring ring, ring ring ring.

Director Yan picked up the phone with a smile and said in a friendly tone: "Hello, Chief Wang….Yes, yes, yes….OK, OK, OK….You're very right, we'll take it down immediately….OK….OK….There won't be any problems….We'll handle it as the executives instruct."

The call ended.

Director Yan called his secretary over at once. "Quick, take down the documentary on air pollution!"

The secretary nodded and went to get it done.

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A few minutes later, the phone rang again.

When Director Yan saw the caller ID, he quickly answered the call with a smiling face. "Hello, Division Head Sun….Yes, yes, yes….OK, OK, OK….You're very right, we'll immediately restore the video….OK….That's for sure….We must give our fullest support to public service documentaries!"

The call ended.

Director Yan called his secretary over again right away. "Quick, restore the documentary!"

The secretary grunted, "Yes."

Ten minutes later, yet another executive called!

Restore it back!

Take it down!

Restore it again!

Take it down again!

Finally, Director Yan was enraged!

Fuck your third uncle's grandma! This is fight between you gods! Who have I offended to deserve this?!

Similar situations occurred at numerous online video hosting companies and other media outlets. Some people even turned off their cell phones and went into hiding. Some of them put on two faces, trying not to offend anyone. Some were so frightened by the situation that they simply feigned illness and checked into the hospital!

At this moment, the industry was in a state of extreme shock!

A fight had started! The executives above them had started to fight!

The entire country was turned upside down all because of a documentary!

...

On the same day.

It was as though some people had discussed beforehand as they suddenly popped out of nowhere together!

A medical professor publicly issued a statement to condemn Zhang Ye. "Don't get deceived by Zhang Ye. He is completely misleading the public. He says that smog is related to lung cancer? That smog can cause lung cancer? Science has not shown any links, so what is he talking about?! Isn't that trying to deceive the people?!"

"Fuck off!"

"How much evidence has already indicated that there is a correlation between smog and lung cancer? How many organizations have conducted research that show that smog is a possible cause of lung cancer? No scientific links? That's right! Indeed, there are no organizations that have successfully researched how smog causes lung cancer. But we're misled exactly by people like you! By simply saying that science has shown no links that smog causes lung cancer, what signals are you trying to send to the people? The first impression that everyone gets is that there is nothing harmful about smog! That smog definitely does not cause lung cancer! You all are tricking people!"

"Deceiving the people? The ones who are deceiving the people are the lot of you!"

"You people come forward to make a statement when we have yet to bother with you?"

"Idiots!"

The people were enraged!

Elsewhere.

A scientist from the Chinese Academy of Sciences fired shots publicly at Zhang Ye. "It's just scaremongering and complete nonsense! What's the point of saying all this? What motives do you have? Have you thought of the consequences? The air pollution is an inevitable product of human development. It is the price to pay for societal development. We must definitely govern it, but how do we do it? Are we really going to stop the steel mills from operating? Do the people really have to stop using heating? Are we going to scrap all the cars? Do you want to revert back to a primitive society?"

Another scientist from an atmospheric pollution research facility posted: "@Zhang Ye Stop talking nonsense if you don't know anything. Governing and controlling the air pollution is not as simple as you think. There are many complicated issues behind it. Right now, I am seriously doubting the motives for Zhang Ye to create this documentary!"

A steel company's CEO posted on Weibo mockingly: "Zhang Ye is still driving his BMW X5, right? Get rid of your car first before talking to me about other things!"

The netizens were fuming!

Countless people immediately gathered around online!

"Get rid of his car? Why should he need to dump his car!?"

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"What kind of fucking logic is that?"

"Based on what you said, people who are calling for charitable activities to be performed would have to donate their houses first, don't they? Are they all going to have to sell their houses away? So that they can devote themselves into a career of public welfare? Fuck!"

"Why are there idiots like you in society?"

"Let me tell you this! Teacher Zhang Ye is not a scientist. He is a documentary director and a host. Must he come up with a solution to solve the air pollution issue by himself? And he even has to find a way to do it so that everyone would accept it? Using the most proper way? Only then is he allowed to speak up? Only then can he announce the truth? Fuck you all! Isn't that what you experts and scientists must think of instead? Zhang Ye has shown the truth behind the smog to all of us. Even though what he can do is limited, he has already done his best to declare war against air pollution. What about you all? I would like to ask just what you people are doing! You people are unable to think of ways to govern the air pollution or come up with any research findings, so you started to scold him instead and nitpick? Fuck you!"

Thousands and thousands of criticisms came flooding in!

Several experts and scientists were instantly stunned from being scolded!

Immediately, another group of experts and academics came forward to cast their doubts on the documentary. They brought up claims of data fraud, baseless reports, and scaremongering. These accusations were all targeted at Zhang Ye!

But the next moment, they were drowned out by the criticism!

Their entire screen was filled with criticism!

Every time it refreshed, thousands more would come flooding in!

When someone jumped out to scold Zhang Ye, they would get scolded off!

When another jumped out to scold Zhang Ye, they would get scolded off too!

Zhang Ye's fans and even majority of the populace were all standing on Zhang Ye's side!

Zhang Ye was unlike Chai Jing from his previous world. There was no dispute about his nationality and his documentary did not involve any foreign organizations either. Moreover, for a Professional Korean Insulter like Zhang Ye and his case of chasing away the Japanese delegates with his scolding, to say that he was an agent of some foreign powers 1 plotting to destroy China's development? They would probably not believe it themselves either! Zhang Ye's background was extremely clean; there was no disputing it! And most importantly, Zhang Ye's popularity was much higher than Chai Jing's in his previous world. He also had a much greater influence than her. Furthermore, the people of this world were basically uninformed about the smog, so even Zhang Ye had probably not expected them to give him their support with such little reservation!

The documentary was taken down again.

After a while, it was back up again!

The views on the video were soaring!

Five hours passed very quickly!

To the shock and horror of the industry insiders, the total views of Zhang Ye's Documentary on Air Pollution in China had already broken 100 million!

This was insane!

This was fucking insane!

"Carry out strict inspections on the offending corporations that cause pollution!"

"Hand over the murderers!"

"Who are the ones sacrificing our lives to make money?"

"We will not remain silent anymore!"

"Hand over the murderers!"

"Return us our white clouds!"

"Return us our blue skies!"

On this day, seven of the top ten Weibo hotly discussed topics were related to either Zhang Ye, the smog, or Department 14!

On this day, the regional centers 2 of the Ministry of Environmental Protection from all over the country received a total of 110,000 calls and over a thousand complaints lodged by the populace against the organizations that had violated the emissions standards!

On this day, environmentalists and the people surrounded an organization that had issued fake emission level certification labels for heavy vehicles, which had violated the emission standards and was exposed by the documentary. After a full three hours, they witnessed the CEO of the organization and a group of people involved in the case getting taken away in police vehicles!

On this day, the people awakened.

On this day, a lot of things happened.

On this day, Zhang Ye raised his head up in the streets and felt that today's sky…seemed a little more blue than before!

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Chapter 972: Who in these lands don't appreciate you!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

The next day.

At home.

Breakfast was ready.

Zhang Ye did not need to be woken up today. He had gotten up early by himself and washed up before coming out to the living room. When the steamed buns and millet congee was served, he immediately sat down at the table and started eating heartily.

"Mom, the congee tastes quite good!" Zhang Ye praised.

His mother was rather speechless. "Why do you sound like you're in a such a good mood?"

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "It's not too bad."

His mother stared at him and said, "But everyone says that you've gotten into big trouble this time!"

"I only spoke the truth, did what I wanted to, and did what I had to." Zhang Ye smiled and said, "I have a clear conscience regarding it, so what do I have to be afraid of?"

"Well said!" When his father heard that, he nodded vigorously. "That's my son!"

His mother rolled her eyes. "What's so good about that? Just look at it." She picked up a dozen newspapers that she had bought just this morning and threw them onto the table. "That documentary of yours has caused chaos everywhere! Those corporations, the people from the relevant industries, and the experts, which of those people are not cursing at you now? With the way it's going, in another three to five years' time, everyone in the entire world will have been offended by you at least once!" Taking a breath, his mother continued, "But fortunately, your popularity still went up!"

On top of the pile of newspapers that were thrown onto the table, a bright red headline read, "Zhang Ye's Popularity Ranking Rises"!

During yesterday's midnight update of the latest Celebrity Rankings Index, Zhang Ye had used an unprecedented way of releasing his documentary to push himself off the bottom of the A-list Celebrity Rankings. In just one night, he rose up one place and even got within distance of the next spot above his new ranking. He was now getting closer to Jiang Hanwei, the martial arts star who had been popular since over a decade ago. He might not even be that far off anymore! Jiang Hanwei had taken over a decade to reach his current position. Including the time he took to get into the industry, he might have even taken 20 years or more! But what about Zhang Ye? He only took two years to get to where he was today!

What sort of notion was that?

This was something that had dumbfounded the entire entertainment circle!

In one night!

In just a single night!

Zhang Ye had gotten even more popular again!

From a certain perspective, Zhang Ye's Documentary on Air Pollution in China, which was released yesterday, had already greatly surpassed his previous documentary—A Bite of China—in terms of popularity and attention! Some industry insiders had given their evaluations about A Bite of China after it ended its broadcast run. They said that there would be no other documentary after A Bite of China that could surpass it, not even if it were another documentary made by Zhang Ye. However, in a short span of two months, Zhang Ye had used this new documentary to shock the industry and country again.

Could a documentary even be released this way?

Such a dogmatic public service documentary could even attract such topicality?

Every point that it raised was too shocking!

Every point that it raised was never seen before!

...

At Central TV.

Although Zhang Ye was suspended, he still came to work.

Compared to the sensation and controversy caused by the documentary, Zhang Ye's popularity ranking rise was no longer able to attract any attention. Today, everyone was still discussing that documentary. In their discussions, Zhang Ye's name kept coming up, as well as the name of Central TV.

"I really have to give it to him!"

"He even dares to publish that documentary without any scientific basis to back it up?"

"Zhang Ye's way of thinking is totally different from everyone else!"

"But the way he put it yesterday sounded so convincing. I was there at the press conference and listened to Teacher Zhang talk about the subject onstage. It really terrified me so much that I'm unable to describe that feeling. I guess this is probably what it means to be charismatic. He's really such a unique celebrity of the entertainment circle that I doubt there will ever be another like him! As of yesterday, I became Teacher Zhang's fan!"

"There are definitely some issues with what he has brought up. It's just not scientific at all."

"Then why are you still wearing a face mask today?"

"Uh, I was scared into doing so."

"And that is to Zhang Ye's credit!"

On his way to work today, Zhang Ye had a smile on his face. This was because he could see many people on the streets wearing face masks. He felt an indescribable feeling. Was it satisfaction? Or was it gratification? Zhang Ye just felt that his words had been effective in scaring the people awake, so perhaps that was the reason for the smile on his face. Even if he were to get more criticism, he believed it would be worth it.

Yan Tianfei also came to work today.

In the hallway outside Department 14, Zhang Ye and Yan Tianfei bumped into each other. When their eyes met, they both suddenly laughed out loud.

Yan Tianfei said, "I knew that you would not let me down, Teacher Little Zhang."

Zhang Ye said, "Thank you, Director Yan."

"You're welcome," Yan Tianfei said.

Zhang Ye said, "If it weren't for you, the management would not have allowed me to hold the press conference."

Yan Tianfei said cheerfully, "We've worked together for so long now. Do you think that I don't know what you're like? We have an unspoken understanding of each other."

Zhang Ye had earlier asked Ha Qiqi and the others to request for approval from the management regarding the press conference. The reason he wanted to hold it was because the people and media had their concerns about it, so he wanted to give a proper explanation to them. But that reason to hold the press conference was actually quite far-fetched, and since Zhang Ye and Central TV's relationship was in such a bad state, why would they allow him to do it? Why would they need to give him face? So this matter was actually handled by Yan Tianfei. It was he who helped Zhang Ye fight for the press conference to be held. That allowed Zhang Ye the chance to stand onstage and deliver the documentary! Before the press conference, in all of Central TV, perhaps only Yan Tianfei knew what Zhang Ye might be planning. Just as Old Yan had said, there existed an unspoken understanding between the two of them.

In the office.

The colleagues all gathered around.

Ha Qiqi said angrily, "Director Zhang, our documentary…was still deleted in the end!"

Zhang Zuo added, "A document was issued from above to affirm your contributions toward public service, but the reason for taking down the video was that it lacked proper scientific evidence."

Zhang Ye smiled. "Alright, I understand."

Little Wang hesitated for a moment before saying, "Will you…get into any trouble? The people you have offended this time are all people who have much at stake. They will…"

Zhang Ye said happily, "You make it sound like the people I have offended in the past were all just ordinary folk or something."

When he said that, Little Wang gasped, but also grinned.

This was Director Zhang. He would never let anything, no matter how big, bother him. He only cared about whether he could say what he wanted, but as for the consequences, he never considered them at all.

The tone of events was set!

It was set the moment the documentary was taken down!

How intense would this game get? How serious had the matter become? What were the executives' attitudes toward it? What were the relevant departments' feelings about it? A lot of people still did not know as they could only get a glimpse into what was happening through the news reports. It was difficult to get an overall picture and discover the truth behind it. But there was one thing that everyone found out immediately, and that was the attitude of Central TV. A document released by Central TV caused a commotion once more!

On the same day.

Central TV had called for an emergency meeting.

After the meeting, Central TV made a decision and publicly indicated that they would disavow Zhang Ye's documentary due to its imprecision. They made it clear that the release had nothing to do with Central TV and that it was Zhang Ye's personal decision to do so. Finally, Central TV announced that they would terminate Zhang Ye's one-year contract with them with immediate effect!

In plain speech, he was fired!

Actually, Central TV was just afraid of trouble. They had truly been terrified by Zhang Ye and finally realized something. Freeze him? Ban him? Those actions were totally meaningless. As long as Zhang Ye remained in Central TV, this fellow could cause a million other problems for them. Furthermore, all those problems would be on an extremely shocking scale. Hold him back by keeping him with them? Fuck your grandpa! It's better that you just hurry up and leave! Every second that we keep you, we'll just be living in constant fear!

This lunatic!

This was the craziest guy of them all!

Right now, Central TV just did not wish to see Zhang Ye a moment longer!

But the netizens were enraged!

"What the hell?"

"Firing Teacher Zhang at a time like this?"

"Everyone knows that Teacher Zhang's contract is coming to an end and he will be leaving soon. But to fire him at this point in time? What's the meaning behind that?"

"They're such fucking bullies!"

"Fuck! What has Zhang Ye done to you guys?"

"Central TV's reaction is too extreme, isn't it? No one at the top has said anything yet, but you people already can't wait to draw a line between yourselves and Zhang Ye? Are you trying to place all the blame on him?"

"I could turn a blind eye when Central TV wanted to forcibly take away the copyrights of The Voice! I could turn a blind eye when Zhang Ye was frozen! When Central TV transferred Zhang Ye to the documentary channel? I could still turn a blind eye to that! But I'm unable to do so anymore this time! Teacher Zhang should be allowed to leave in a blaze of glory! He should be able to strut out of Central TV's gates with his chest held high! By doing this, you're making it look like Teacher Zhang has done something wrong! It's like you're painting him as a failure! What is this? What the hell is this?"

"Damn, I'll never tune into Central TV's channels anymore!"

The netizens' reactions were very strong!

It was the same for the people of Department 14!

"Director Zhang!"

"This…this…"

"How could they do this!"

"They did this on purpose!"

But only Zhang Ye did not seem angry. Instead, he looked rather happy. "I was going to leave anyway, but I was waiting for my contract to expire. It's great that it was terminated in advance, so it's time for this bro to quickly find another job!"

Ha Qiqi flatly said, "I'll quit too!"

Zhang Zuo said, "Me too!"

Little Wang shouted, "Let's all quit together!"

Zhang Ye laughed and said, "Just continue working for now and wait for my message. If there're any good projects coming up, I'll contact everyone. At that time, we can whip up another storm and score another big one, haha!" With that, he turned around. "Alright, I'm off."

After he packed his things.

Zhang Ye leisurely walked out of the office.

Outside Central TV, group of reporters were already camping there as they'd received the news in advance.

"He's coming out!"

"Zhang Ye is coming out!"

"Teacher Zhang!"

"Were you fired?"

"What do you have to say regarding this incident?"

"I heard that you've already been banned?"

"A lot of the TV stations that contacted you before to join them after your contract ran out seem to have all withdrawn their offers now? There's no more news about it? Is it true that you have been banned again?"

"What are you planning to do for your next project?"

"If there's no job that comes knocking on your door, what will you do?"

"Teacher Zhang, what is your opinion of Central TV?"

"Do you feel very wronged over how things turned out?"

"The documentary has been taken down and you were fired by Central TV too. What would you like to say most at this moment?"

A lot of them were pointing their microphones and audio recorders at Zhang Ye while surrounding him and not letting him leave.

Zhang Ye knew that if he did not give them a response here, he wouldn't be able to leave. He turned around to look at the Central TV Tower, then looked at the reporters with a smile. "Who told you guys that I feel wrong? Who said that I feel bad because of this?"

Today's weather was a little odd.

Clearly, spring had already arrived, but the skies were constantly downcast. There were even some snowflakes drifting down gently, and mixed among them was some rain falling from the sky.

It was snowing?

It felt like a farewell to Zhang Ye!

Zhang Ye smiled and suddenly thought of a poem from his previous world.

He looked at the reporters, then looked up at the gloomy sky that seemed to be starting to clear up. Zhang Ye softly opened his mouth.

"Vast snow clouds darken the skies.

"The blowing north winds drive the geese and snow.

"Worry not that close friends won't appear on the road ahead.

"Who in these lands don't appreciate you?"

This was Zhang Ye's current mood.

This was the poem he was gifting himself.

" Sending off Dongda 1 " from his previous world had been changed to "Sending off Myself" by him!

Zhang Ye then swaggered away.

He left the group of reporters frozen in place!

Worry not that close friends won't be on the journey ahead!

Who in these lands…don't appreciate you?

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Chapter 973: Zhang Ye's apartment gets wrecked!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

Today.

Zhang Ye had officially departed from Central TV.

The poem he recited when he left had caused a sensation throughout the country!

When a video was released and the news reported about it, the netizens, who were enraged by Central TV's sacking of Zhang Ye just a moment ago, all started cheering for him in the next moment!

"That was so cool!"

"Yeah, Zhang Ye was really cool there!"

"Worry not that close friends won't appear on the road ahead? Who in these lands don't know about you?"

"How domineering! Teacher Zhang's brazenness just shot through the roof! Hahahahaha!"

"Right, this is Central TV's loss!"

"Those idiots! Where else can you find celebrities such as Zhang Ye!? How could there still be people so anxious to suppress him all the time? Freeze him? Fire him? I'm laughing so hard! What a useless bunch of idiots!"

"I really like this poem a lot!"

"Composing a poem when he departs from a job has become routine for Teacher Zhang."

"How charming!"

"This is who Zhang Ye is!"

"That's right, this is exactly who Zhang Ye is!"

"Teacher Zhang! There must be someone in this world who understands you. Who in the world could possibly not appreciate a person and celebrity such as you?

"We are all your close friends!"

"Right, we all are!"

"Teacher Zhang, thank you!"

"Thank you, Zhang Ye, for letting us know the truth!"

"We all know how much you have sacrificed for the benefit of so many people! We all will remember everything that you did! We are not eloquent as you, so there are some things which we do not know how to properly say to you. But if you see this, I would like you to know that a lot of people have always been extremely grateful to you. You've helped and inspired a lot of people—we salute to you!"

"We salute to you!"

"We salute to you!"

"We salute to you!"

In an instant, Weibo was filled with these four words!

The "Salute to Zhang Ye" post on Weibo reached the front page and stayed firmly in the headlines. Numerous people followed up by posting their comments of "We salute to you" on Weibo as well!

This showed the people's gratitude for Zhang Ye!

Since they couldn't really do much for Zhang Ye, they could only express their gratitude to him.

Expressing gratitude might seem like a simple gesture. But at times, the weight behind it was immense!

...

At a newspaper firm.

This was the first newspaper firm that decided to publish the video of Zhang Ye's press conference and reported on it. At the time, they had a huge disagreement internally and there was an argument about the news for a long while. In the end, it was the chief editor who gave his approval to publish the news.

The editorial department had already seen that Weibo post.

The chief editor smiled at one of the editors and said, "Didn't you say that the people were all ignorant?"

That person looked slightly embarrassed.

The other people from the editorial department kept quiet as well.

The chief editor pointed at that Weibo post and said, "Just look at this. The people are actually not stupid at all. There's no need for others to tell them who has treated them well or done things for them. They all know it themselves."

A reporter sighed. "But Chief Editor, there are still some things that we cannot say without proper consideration, and not everything should be told to the people. Like the example of the smog news this time. You have seen for yourself. The entire country is in disarray, the commotion online has blown up, and a lot of departments in the government offices had to call for an emergency meeting during the night. In the end, Department 14's documentary was still taken down. The people might know the truth now, but a lot of officials were dismissed and many businesses got shut down. Meanwhile, Zhang Ye had to take on all the pressure himself and got fired, and someone might even take revenge against him. His future is probably over and he still has to bear the criticism from his doubters. Tell me, did Zhang Ye win? I don't think he did. In fact, he has lost!"

The chief editor thought for a moment, then looked at that reporter. He smiled and said, "At least this time, the truth has won, hasn't it?"

When everyone in the editorial department heard that, they gave it some thought.

Yes.

At least the truth has won!

...

At a villa.

At Chen Guang and Fan Wenli's home.

Chen Guang thumped the table and praised, "This poem was written so well!"

Fan Wenli nodded. "But the trouble that Little Zhang has caused this time might only be beginning. The documentary has been taken down and he has departed from Central TV as well, so it looks like things ended, but it is actually far from finished. A lot of people are probably staying silent for now, but who knows when they'll jump out to attack Zhang Ye again."

Chen Guang said, "Hai, I'm actually very similar to Zhang Ye. I'm also very righteous and unafraid of trouble. But why am I not as popular as him?"

Unexpectedly, Fan Wenli's response stabbed into him like a knife.

Fan Wenli giggled and said, "Because you don't know how to compose poems."

Chen Guang could say nothing.

Fan Wenli smiled and said, "He was clearly fired from Central TV. But in the end, Little Zhang used a poem to announce his departure to the world and left coolly like a winner instead, making the entire country's people cheer for him. He is the only person in the entire entertainment industry who is so talented and has such charms. Can you even compare?"

Chen Guang coughed. "Forget it. I'll just stick to writing my new song."

...

At night.

At home.

The moment he opened the door when he reached home, his mother asked, "It's time for you to look for another job?"

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "You already know about it?"

"You don't say." His mother pointed at a stack of newspapers on the table and said, "I bought a newspaper by the by and there's news about you. You're still in the mood to compose a poem?"

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "Wasn't leaving my job just a matter of time anyway? It's fine that they made it sooner."

His mother said, "I'm just afraid that it won't be easy for you to find another job now!"

"Never mind that. Things will eventually sort themselves out," Zhang Ye said indifferently.

His mother asked, "I also heard that there are people looking to take revenge on you?"

Zhang Ye shrugged. "Let them come! I'll be waiting!"

Having just said that, his cell phone started ringing.

Ring ring ring, ring ring ring. It turned out to be Chenchen's number. That little rascal had previously taken the latest model of a high-end phone from Zhang Ye and even made him buy her a SIM card afterwards.

Zhang Ye answered the call. "What's the matter?"

On the other end, Chenchen's voice sounded neither fast nor slow. "Zhang Ye, my aunt asked you to make a trip here."

Zhang Ye asked: "What for?"

Chenchen said: "Someone smashed the windows at your place."

Zhang Ye was startled. "Which place?"

Chenchen said: "The place where your junior martial sister is staying."

Only then did Zhang Ye manage to react. "What? Dammit! I'll be right there!"

The call ended.

His mother asked anxiously, "What happened?"

"It's nothing. I have to head out for a while!" Zhang Ye did not explain to his parents nor did he want to let them know. He quickly drove away and headed straight for Rao Aimin's place.

It was only a ten-minute drive.

When he arrived, police vehicles were already parked downstairs.

"Ah!"

"Little Zhang is back!"

"Teacher Zhang!"

"You're finally back!"

Many of the neighbors and residents who knew Zhang Ye from the time he lived here had gathered in the area and formed a crowd to catch a glimpse of what had happened. When they saw him, chatter broke out.

Several of the policemen also looked at him.

An old policeman called out, "Teacher Zhang."

Zhang Ye walked over briskly. "Hi, what's going on here?"

The old policeman asked, "You are the resident of the apartment?"

Zhang Ye immediately said, "Yes, I rent the place."

A moment later, he spotted Rao Aimin and his freeloading junior martial sister, Yang Shu.

Zhang Ye shouted, "Are you alright?"

Yang Shu asked, "Who are you referring to?"

"You, of course," Zhang Ye said.

Yang Shu said, "Oh, I'm fine."

He was just glad that no one was hurt. Zhang Ye looked up and saw that both the windows at his rental apartment were completely shattered. It looked very serious!

Zhang Ye immediately cursed, "Fuck their grandpas!"

If it were any other public figures cursing and swearing openly in public, people would sure have taken videos of it and posted them online. It would definitely cause a heated discussion and some news too. But as it was Zhang Ye who did the cursing, the people around did not even have look surprised and just watched calmly. It would definitely be big news if it were any other celebrity who cursed, but since it was Zhang Ye? That would not even be news. Even if they sent videos of him cursing to the media outlets, no one would run a story on it.

The policeman tried to placate him. "Teacher Zhang, please don't worry. No one was hurt and there wasn't much monetary damage either. We have already caught the culprits and will investigate the matter properly!"

Zhang Ye was stunned. "You caught the culprits?"

"They are over there." The policeman pointed.

Zhang Ye noticed three young men being handcuffed and led into police vehicles by the cops. From what he remembered, very few people would stroll around the area at night. In addition, the neighborhood was not in an enclosed location. There were several exits and the security guards did not conduct 24-hour patrols either. The three of them could have easily ran off after smashing the windows, so how did they get caught?

Zhang Ye asked, "Were they caught by the neighbors of the neighborhood?"

The policeman gave him a strange look. "No."

A different young policeman gave an admirable look at a woman and said, "She was the one who caught them. When we arrived, two of the three criminals were already beaten unconscious and the other one laid on the ground, unable to get up."

He followed that gaze to Yang Shu.

Ah?

It was Yang Shu?

Zhang Ye was shocked. "You were walking around the neighborhood at the time?"

Yang Shu looked at him and said, "No, I was at home."

Zhang Ye said in surprise, "Then how did you catch them?"

Yang Shu pointed to the windows upstairs and said, "I was watching TV at home when the windows suddenly got smashed by someone. I looked out from upstairs and saw these three people trying to get away, so I jumped down and went after them."

When the people around them heard that, they were all floored!

What?

You jumped out from the windows?

Damn, how many floors is that!

Zhang Ye nearly vomited blood. "Do you not want to live anymore?"

Yang Shu explained, "There are those air conditioning units hanging out from the windows outside, so I used them to break my fall as I made my way down."

Rao Aimin shook her head repeatedly and said, "This junior martial sister of yours is really reckless!"

Yang Shu was puzzled and justified, "I had to catch them no matter what since they smashed Senior Bro's windows. Otherwise, how was I going to answer to him?"

Chenchen came over quietly and glanced at Yang Shu. "Are you dumb?"

Yang Shu stared at her. "You're the one who's dumb."

"You're definitely the dumb one!" Zhang Ye got angry. "They're just 2 fucking window panes. I can buy four of those with 50 RMB! Are you out of your mind? You actually jumped down from such a high place? What if you fell and broke your leg? Huh?"

But Yang Shu said stubbornly, "I would still catch them even if that happened! What gave them the right to smash your windows?"

Zhang Ye said, "You could have at least taken the stairs!"

Yang Shu gazed at him. "If I went by stair, they would surely have gotten away."

Zhang Ye was exasperated by her.

Several policemen wryly smiled. One of them said, "Comrade, my dear…big sis, can you please act according to your abilities the next time you play hero? What you did just now was really too dangerous! Y-You're risking your life that way!"

Yang Shu replied, "But I was acting according to my abilities."

The police were speechless.

Hai, just what sort of person was this!

Teacher Zhang Ye was already a wondrous enough person, but who could have thought that the resident in his apartment was also such a fucking wondrous person as well!

You're even brave enough to jump down from such a high floor?

And actually fucking did it too? And you're even fine after all that?

The criminals with bruised and swollen faces were sitting inside the police vehicle and crying silently. They had truly been dumbstruck today. They just thought of escaping after smashing the windows and that was exactly what they did that. But they never could have expected that at the next second, someone would actually jump out of the windows and catch up to them, even giving them a good beating. The three of them still looked like they had seen a ghost!

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Chapter 974: Tang Bohu's "Deathbed Poem"

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

In the neighborhood.

The apprehended criminals started to shift the blame.

"Comrade Policeman! We've been wronged!"

"That woman started beating us up the moment she jumped down!"

"Yeah, see how badly she's beaten us up! Arrest her! Quickly arrest her!"

"Sh-She's such a bully!"

When these three people started protesting, before Yang Shu and the police could even react, the onlookers and neighbors used their spittle to drown the culprits! Some of these neighbors only arrived after Yang Shu had rounded up the criminals, but some of them had witnessed the entire scene unfold in front of them.

A grandma said, "Ptui!"

A grandpa said, "I saw you three little bastards throwing stones at Teacher Little Zhang's windows. My apartment is right below Little Zhang's place and one of the stones nearly even hit my apartment windows. How dare you all claim to be innocent? This is what you three deserve! You deserved to get beaten up by this young lady! I'm an eyewitness to the entire situation! Comrade Policemen, it was they who did it! I saw it with my very own eyes! When that young lady jumped down from above, the three of them wanted to fight her. In the end, they were all taken down by her!"

"Right, I saw it too!"

"These sorts of people ought to be shot!"

"How awful!"

"Smashing Teacher Little Zhang's apartment windows? Why don't you three go to hell instead!"

"Yeah, Little Zhang is such a good person!"

"Arrest them! Lock them up for eight to ten years! Don't let them out!"

"They were definitely sent here to retaliate against Teacher Zhang!"

"That's right! Teacher Zhang has revealed too much of the truth this time in his air pollution documentary. Too many people have been offended!"

The crowd was in a frenzy as everyone pointed at those three people and shouted at them!

The three criminals still protested.

Zhang Ye looked at the three of them who smashed and broke his apartment's windows, then sneered at them. He thought to himself that they should just be content with the outcome for now. Don't you three know who you bumped into? The person you encountered was a martial arts master who wasn't too far from achieving concealed power, and also the true successor to Taiji Fist. Oh, right! Perhaps you didn't know this, but even though this apartment was rented by me, the owner of the apartment is staying just across the hall. You were trying to wreck a martial arts grandmaster's property, so you should be counting your blessings for being able to sit there unscathed!

Zhang Ye walked up to them. "Not happy about it? Shall we have a chat then?"

The three criminals immediately wilted and dropped their tough act!

"Close the car door!"

"Quick, close the car door!"

The incidents involving Zhang Ye beating up people had been reported in the news on more than one occasion.

A few of the police officers hurriedly tried to stop him. "Teacher Zhang, don't lower yourself to their level. Please don't lower yourself to their level." He turned around to the person in the police vehicle and said, "Quickly, start the car. Get them out of here for now!"

The police car drove off but the crowd watching the commotion still did not disperse.

The police officers looked at Zhang Ye. "We questioned those three people just now, but they did not reveal anything at all. Teacher Zhang, can you try to remember if you have offended anyone? They clearly came here with a purpose since they already knew your address. This was a premeditated crime for sure, so we have to investigate their motives for carrying out the act."

Zhang Ye glanced at them, then said, "Who I have offended?"

"Yes, please let us know in detail." A cop had already taken out pen and paper to take down notes.

Zhang Ye simply nodded and said, "The Writers' Association, the literary world, the Redology world, the education world, the mathematics world, the calligraphy world, the crosstalk world, the Koreans, the Japanese, oh, and the entertainment circle, the scientific community, the steel making industry, and the coal industry. I have offended all of them before on the whole and probably some other industries that I can't remember right now."

The police officers wiped at their sweat.

The neighbors around them were amused. "Pfft!"

Actually, the police were just following protocol when they asked him that question, but when Zhang Ye answered them, they eventually remembered something that made them not know whether to laugh or cry. This was Zhang Ye they were talking about. He was the hooligan of the entertainment circle. Just listen to the way this fellow had chosen his words when asked about who he had ever offended. He did not answer by saying what people he had offended or offering up any specific names. The moment he opened his mouth to talk about it, all the different types of industries, communities, or circles got mentioned! Yes. This fellow had really offended way too many people. There were so many that not only could they not remember who, even Zhang Ye himself could hardly remember them. If there was really a need to come up with a list of people he had offended, they might not be able to complete the list even if they were given three days and nights. The amount of people he had offended would number in the millions, if not the tens of millions. Asking Zhang Ye such a question was meaningless in the first place!

An old cop coughed and asked, "Then, to put it another way, who have you offended lately?"

Zhang Ye gave it some thought and said, "Probably someone involved in the incident regarding the air pollution documentary, I guess."

The old cop acknowledged, "I understand."

After a while, the rest of the police left.

The neighbors around him cautioned Zhang Ye out of good intentions.

"Teacher Zhang, you must be careful."

"We will help you keep a lookout!"

"Right, just be careful for yourself. They might be trying to take revenge against you!"

"Those bastards!"

"You have really offended too many people this time!"

Zhang Ye smiled and gave a fist and palm salute to them. "Thank you everyone for your concern, thank you!"

Back upstairs.

Zhang Ye and the others came back upstairs to his rental apartment.

Yang Shu said unhappily, "Senior Bro, I didn't do anything wrong. Why did you criticize me?"

Rao Aimin signaled Zhang Ye with her eyes and gestured her chin at Yang Shu.

Chenchen looked at Yang Shu like she was looking at some fool.

But right now, Zhang Ye could not bear to scold her at all. He stood beside one of the broken windows and peered down. At this height, even he could not guarantee that he would not get injured. Although his martial arts were much better than Yang Shu's, he had never before jumped from such a height. He could not understand how it would feel to do that. Looking at his junior martial sister who he couldn't really take seriously, Zhang Ye felt quite touched at this moment. She might be a little rash, dumb, and foolish, but when she encountered trouble, she was still rather capable at handling it! Speaking of which, she and he had become fellow disciples for just a few days, but look at what she was already doing for him. She was not careless at all, as she'd rather jump down from a height to ensure that she could capture those three criminals and give Zhang Ye an explanation.

It was at this moment that Zhang Ye truly saw her as his junior martial sister!

Zhang Ye said, "I'm not criticizing you. I was just worried that you'd get into trouble. If something like this happens again, you must be more careful. Don't be rash anymore, understand?"

Yang Shu nodded when she heard him say that. "I understand."

Rao Aimin looked at him and said, "What is it? Is it really connected to the air pollution documentary?"

"I'm quite sure it is," Zhang Ye said.

...

Such news was definitely not going to be containable.

Before long, the news was reporting on it and the Internet blew up again!

"What?"

"The windows of Zhang Ye's home were smashed?"

"Damn! Damn! Damn!"

"They're totally trying to provoke him!"

"No, it is definitely a warning, a threat!"

"Motherfucker, who the fuck is responsible for it?"

"Nobody knows. The police station is still carrying out their investigation. I heard that the people involved were hired by someone to cause trouble, but they didn't manage to find out who was behind it!"

"It's clearly connected to the air pollution documentary!"

"Those bastards! The retaliation has already started this soon?"

"Is Teacher Zhang alright?"

"I heard that he's fine. He wasn't around when it happened."

"The audacity of those people! Teacher Zhang, you must be very careful!"

At this moment, a rather popular Weibo user with the handle of BigV said: "@ZhangYe Be careful. I just heard from some friends about this and it seems like there's someone who has spread the word that they would be dealing with you soon. It might not only be a single person. I even heard that someone has explicitly said that you could start preparing your will in the meantime! I don't know how true that is, but just be careful anyway."

The netizens were getting anxious.

"Then what can be done?"

"Yeah, what can we do?"

"Can Teacher Zhang really handle this by himself?"

"Th-These people are way too lawless!"

"Prepare his will? Fuck!"

"Do you guys think that the rumors are true? If it is, the police better be informed!"

"Right, we need to quickly protect Teacher Zhang!"

At the apartment.

Zhang Ye's friends started calling him anxiously.

"Zhang'er, did your apartment get wrecked?"

"It was only a few window panes."

"Did you see what they said online? Someone spread the word that they would be dealing with you soon!"

"I haven't read that yet."

"Quickly go and have a look then!"

Zhang Ye went online and had a quick browse. He saw those comments and simply laughed it off. He immediately posted: "You people want to deal with me? I'll be waiting."

Following that, he threw out yet another Weibo post that stunned the entire country!

A will?

Hur hur.

Zhang Ye typed coolly:

"Those born in this world must sometime retire.

"Why not return to the land o'th' expired?

"This world and the other are two the same.

"It's just wand'ring 'round in a foreign shire."

The world-famous poem by Tang Bohu from his world, "Deathbed Poem," was thrown out by Zhang Ye!

This was Zhang Ye's attitude to the threats!

It could be seen clearly from this poem!

"How awesome!"

"Teacher Zhang!"

"I give you a perfect score for this poemmmmmmmm!"

"Why not return to the land o'th' expired? It's just wand'ring 'round in a foreign shire?"

How domineering!

How fucking cool!

Chapter 975: Zhang Ye comes to the music industry?

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

A few days later.

Everything was back to normal.

The window panes at his rental apartment in Jiaomen were replaced. After the police had finished investigating, they connected it to an official and a few corporations. In the process, Lu Yuhu had intervened and helped to expedite the investigations after Rao Aimin called him. Afterwards, the involved personnel were all either taken away or locked up. In the following days, no one else came to seek revenge against Zhang Ye. They could have been waiting for the right opportunity, or perhaps it was the brazenness of the "Deathbed Poem" that shocked them into inaction, or it might even be due to the attention from the media and citizens regarding the case that made them take a backseat for now and not dare to get on the bad side of Zhang Ye at this sensitive time.

In any case, incidents as a result of the air pollution documentary gradually subsided.

No subject could be heatedly discussed forever.

The criticism lessened.

The controversy lessened.

The topicality dropped.

The news no longer reported on it.

Zhang Ye and that sensational Documentary on Air Pollution in China was not seen on the Weibo trending page anymore, while the video of the documentary's press conference also disappeared from the Internet. It was as if it had never existed before.

But a lot of people knew that even though the footage was gone, the legacy of Zhang Ye and his documentary would forever stay with the citizens. Everyone's environmental awareness and their attention to the smog could no longer be compared to before. Before going out on the streets every day, whether it was going to school or going to work, the first thing that a lot of people would do was to open their windows to have a look at the skies. They would check their cell phones for the day's PM2.5 index before deciding on how they would get to work, if they should go to the park, or whether to wear a face mask—all of this were a testament to Zhang Ye's legacy.

Some people might not feel grateful for Zhang Ye.

Some might even scold him.

But Zhang Ye did not care. To him, this outcome was good enough.

...

At home.

Zhang Ye was still living his daily life as normal. These days were the most relaxing he had had so far this year. He would go out for a jog after waking up, take a leisurely stroll in the neighborhood, and then come back home for breakfast. Sometimes when he felt like it, he would brew a pot of Da Hong Pao and enjoy the tea, watch television, go online, or water the plants. It couldn't get any more comfortable and relaxing than this. He was a free man right now without a job to hold him down, so of course he could do whatever he wanted.

While he was enjoying his freedom, his mother was having none of it.

His mother criticized, "Hurry up and find a job already."

"There's no rush." Zhang Ye lowered his head and sipped some tea, even smacking his lips in satisfaction.

His mother said, "It's no rush for you, but I'm worried."

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "And why are you worried?"

His mother angrily took away the open Da Hong Pao tea box and locked it away in a drawer. She said in annoyance, "If you don't go back to work soon, whatever tea leaves we have left at home will be used up by you! Do you know how much that cup of tea you're drinking costs? Do you?"

His father rolled his eyes.

Zhang Ye was floored. "Oh, so you're just worried about the tea leaves?"

His mother said, "Enough with the drinking and get back to working."

"Alright, alright, I know what to do," Zhang Ye said in a speechless manner.

Look for a job?

That was easier said than done!

The situation that Zhang Ye was currently facing was quite similar to the previous time, yet a little different. Back when Zhang Ye had been banned, it was just like now. No companies dared to hire him and no television stations dared to employ him either. But the circumstances now had one difference. The attitude that the entertainment circle adopted toward Zhang Ye was very strange and ambiguous. A lot of the television stations wished to have him in their ranks and a lot of films wanted to have him in their casts, but no one dared to take this risk because none of them could grasp how the higher-ups viewed Zhang Ye. At this moment, there was no clear indication from any of the agencies or officials that they wanted to ban Zhang Ye. Even the SARFT did not say a word about it, yet Zhang Ye's documentary was taken down and the news about him was controlled. These actions could not help but convey a certain attitude that left even the entertainment industry unable to comprehend things, much less Zhang Ye himself. As a result, everyone just stuck to observing the situation for the moment.

Zhang Ye called Rao Aimin. As his agent, she was now basically in charge of all work affairs relating to him.

"Hello, Old Rao."

"What?"

"Has anyone contacted me about a job yet?"

"There's not a lot."

"Isn't that still a few then?"

"A TV station was looking for you to take a behind-the-scenes role, but will not allow you to get onscreen. Are you willing to take that job?"

"Why would I want to take that job!"

"An animated film wants you to voice act for them, and the money is good too, though there's one requirement. If there are going to be any problems or if the higher-ups disagree with your participation in the film, they will get someone to replace you and only pay you 10% of the agreed pay. Do you want to take that job?"

"Take, my ass!"

"Therefore, there are no offers."

"It's only these two?"

"What did you think? There aren't even any businesses looking for you!"

"Damn, can I really be that unpopular?"

"You've torn a hole in the sky this time. Even if there are people cheering and saluting you, do you think that those people from the film companies and TV stations would be convinced? Do you think they're stupid? Right now, everyone is still trying to get a read on the ambiguous attitude from the higher-ups toward you."

After hanging up, Zhang Ye felt very helpless about the entire situation.

In the past, Zhang Ye had planned not to do documentaries anymore after leaving Central TV or take any hosting jobs in the interim. Having done so for such a long time, he was beginning to get tired of it. Besides, it would be difficult to continue progressing as a host. From a purely popular point of view, he had already reached the pinnacle of his field. There would be limited developmental opportunities in it and the audiences probably preferred to see something new too, so Zhang Ye knew that he urgently needed to change. He wanted to try out something that he had never done in the past so that it could help him further his popularity. At the level of the A-listers, every step was filled with difficulty. If he were to solely rely on making shows and being a host, even if every one of the shows he hosted were extremely well-received, it wouldn't make much of a difference to his popularity. As the entertainment industry of this world was quite similar to his previous world, he knew that there wasn't a place for a host among the Heavenly Kings and Queens. That level was not a place that a host could just work hard towards, moreover, an average-looking celebrity like him?

He had a bigger goal. He knew that he couldn't stay in the same spot and rest on his laurels!

He needed a change.

But right now, more than needing to change, he needed to sustain himself first. If there wasn't even a single job looking for him to be a host, whatever talk of changing or breaking out would just be empty talk!

Ring, ring, ring.

It was a call from Xiaodong.

When Zhang Ye answered the call, he heard a few people laughing happily. It was likely that all three members of the famous idol group of the country, Spring Garden, were on the line.

Xiaodong said: "Teacher Zhang, thanks!"

Zhang Ye wondered: "For what?"

One of the other members of the group, Li Xiaoxian, said: "The demo of our new song has been released. It's the one that you wrote and composed for us, 'Super Star.' It was just released yesterday but has already been heard by over 10 million listeners! It's at least two times more listeners than our last album's title track!"

Amy giggled: "Heehee, the full version will be out in a few days."

Zhang Ye laughed and said: "Congratulations to you girls then."

Xiaodong took the phone. "Teacher Zhang, when the full version gets released, we might need you to record a short video to support us. It could be you offering us a congratulatory message or perhaps you talking about your inspiration when writing the song. You must help us when the time comes, OK?"

Zhang Ye smiled and said: "I can definitely do that for you girls, but I think it's best not to use my video clip to promote you. I'm in big trouble at the moment, so I don't want it to spill over to you."

Xiaodong asked in worry: "About your air pollution documentary, is it really that serious?"

Zhang Ye said: "I have yet to get a job offer still, so what do you think?"

Xiaodong squeaked: "Uh…"

Li Xiaoxian said: "If there's anything we can help you with, just let us know."

Zhang Ye replied: "No one can help me with this problem, hur hur. But I appreciate your kind thoughts."

Online.

Spring Garden's new song had attracted quite a good response!

"It sounds so nice!"

"Xiaodong is too cute!"

"I like Li Xiaoxian! She's so graceful!"

"The song is really good!"

"When will the full version be released! I can't wait anymore!"

"This song's melody is fantastic! Although there isn't any intension, it sounds really vibrant! It matches up great with the style of Spring Garden! Who wrote the song? Was it by their exclusive songwriter, Qi Hailong? It doesn't sound like it. This great a song does not sound like Qi Hailong's work!"

"Ah, it's Zhang Ye!"

"What Zhang Ye?"

"Lyricist and composer!"

"Damn, it was Zhang Ye who wrote the song for them?"

"How unexpected! Teacher Zhang doesn't usually write songs for just anyone. His songs are usually reserved and meant for people like the Heavenly Queen, Zhang Yuanqi! And he might not necessarily give her his songs either!"

"But this song doesn't sound like Teacher Zhang's style?"

"What kinds of styles do Teacher Zhang's works not cover? Haha!"

"True that. Zhang Ye is really a very awesome person!"

"I heard that Zhang Ye has not found a job yet?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen any news regarding him for a few days already."

"Hai, the incident with the air pollution documentary this time has really affected him greatly!"

"Hehe. Actually, with Zhang Ye's talent, he can think about getting into singing. What do you guys think of my suggestion? Shall we drag Teacher Zhang into the music industry!?"

"Your idea is good, but I think you're overthinking things."

"Pfft, with Zhang Ye's lousy voice, how do you reckon that he'll be able to sing?"

"But he still managed to get onto the Top Chinese Music Charts once."

"Wasn't that owing to the special circumstances of Beijing TV's Spring Festival Gala? That 'A Letter to Home' depended on its emotional factor, lyrics, and the crosstalk to gain a place on the charts. But if you really analyze Zhang Ye's singing and voice, that song is really impossible to listen to. Moreover, Teacher Zhang isn't really handsome either, so it's definitely a no-no."

"Yep. I can still accept a host with the looks of Teacher Zhang, but if he were to be a singer? I doubt that would work. The people won't accept it, that's for sure. And besides, Zhang Ye has always been a comedic celebrity. Scolding others and talking nonsense are his trademarks. Can he stand on a stage quietly and finish singing a song? He definitely can't!"

"Stop talking about the impossible. Zhang Ye will never join the music industry as a singer."

"Haha, I was just tossing the idea around, that's all. Of course I know that Teacher Zhang won't come to the music industry as a singer!"

"But if Zhang Ye were to really come, the music industry would certainly become a very lively place!"

"Yeah! Wherever Teacher Zhang goes, trouble ensues! Everything that happened in the past can tell us one thing—no industry can stand up to Zhang Ye's antics!"

Just because of a new song by Spring Garden, the netizens were all happily conversing!

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Chapter 976: A new job?

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

That afternoon.

Someone knocked on the door.

Dong Shanshan had come to visit and even brought some fruit and health supplements with her.

His mother beamed. "Hi, Shanshan, you've come?"

Dong Shanshan smiled and said, "Aunt, Uncle."

"Come in, come in." His father went to welcome her. "Why did you buy so many things again?"

His mother pretended to be unhappy and said, "I've told you before that you don't need buy anything when you come visit. Child, why are you always so polite to us? Come, come on in."

Dong Shanshan looked around, searching for someone. "Where's Zhang Ye?"

A voice came from the bathroom. "I'm sitting on the throne."

Dong Shanshan covered her nose and said, "Hurry up. I have something important to discuss with you."

"OK," came the reply from inside.

As the weather warmed, Dong Shanshan dressed prettier. She was wearing a long skirt today and had tied her hair back in a simple ponytail. Her black hair seemed to have been dyed, sporting brown highlights.

As the door was not closed, an old neighbor standing outside stuck her head in to have a look.

His mother blinked and said, "Third Sister?"

The woman said in pleasant surprise, "Aiyo, it's really Dong Shanshan!"

Dong Shanshan turned around and smiled to her. "Hello."

The woman came into the house uninvited. "I really like your show. Can I take a picture with you?" She took out her cell phone as she said this. "Old Zhang, take a picture for us."

His father smiled and said, "Sure."

Click! Click! The shutter sounded.

Zhang Ye came out of the bathroom and said in amusement, "Third Aunt, how come you haven't asked to take a picture with me?"

The woman glanced at him. "I watched you grow up from a baby. So what's the point of taking a picture with you? I won't disturb you guys any longer. I'll be off now." She then clutched her cell phone and left in delight.

Dong Shanshan had gotten very popular now as more and more people knew about her, to the point that they could already identify her by name. Apparently, a big company had recently approached her for a major endorsement deal. Inside of one year, her value had increased severalfold. Although Zhang Ye was much more popular than her, his social ties were obviously not on the same level as hers. Dong Shanshan had a clean background with no scandals nor stains on her reputation. Every company would be willing to approach her, and she was the favorite of every television station that knew her, unlike Zhang Ye, whose reputation was stained and sullied and was an out-and-out troublemaker of the entertainment industry.

After chatting for a bit in the living room.

Zhang Ye led Dong Shanshan into his bedroom.

He closed the door and sat down on the chair, pulling out a chair for her as well. But Dong Shanshan did not sit down on it. She smoothed her skirt before sitting down on the end of the bed.

Zhang Ye asked, "You don't have work today?"

Dong Shanshan shrugged. "Don't you know that Do You Remember is going to be taken off the air soon?"

"Taken off the air?" Zhang Ye was stunned.

Dong Shanshan explained, "Last year, when The Voice came out, it propped up the market for singing shows. But the audience's demands also became higher along with that. Although Do You Remember and The Voice do not fall under the same category, it was inevitable that it'd be affected. Last month's viewership ratings of Do You Remember dropped again. Although it has maintained the standard of around 0.75% of the viewership ratings, the station still decided to stop broadcasting. Brother Hu and the program team staff also felt the same regarding the decision. Nobody wishes to be stagnant. They all hope to make a new show so that we may make a push. Who doesn't wish to get the number 1 spot in the nationwide viewership ratings at least once in their lifetime?"

"Number 1 spot in the nationwide viewership ratings?" Zhang Ye laughed and said, "That's no easy feat."

Dong Shanshan bluntly said, "That's why I'm looking for you."

Zhang Ye gave a wry smile and said, "You really think highly of me?"

"That's right." Dong Shanshan considered him. "We don't have the talent to achieve it, but you do. If you could even get the number 1 spot in the nationwide viewership ratings and trample on all the variety shows with a documentary, who else should we look for but you? I'm here to invite you to make a comeback and offer you a job as well."

Zhang Ye narrowed his eyes. "Is this your station's intention as well?"

Dong Shanshan smiled. "Yes, so will you take the offer?"

Zhang Ye said honestly, "But I don't really feel like making another show."

"Then what are you going to do?" Dong Shanshan said, "You still haven't found a job yet, right? Can't you tell the industry's attitude toward you now? They're all trying to keep as far away from you as possible. From what I know, no TV stations are brave enough to accept you, the 'Mess,' since they're all afraid of trouble."

Zhang Ye asked curiously, "Then why do you guys have the courage to ask me?"

Dong Shanshan smiled and said, "You know our Station Head, don't you? The old lady said that when Beijing TV was faced with difficulties, it was you, Little Zhang, who buried the hatchet and came to turn things around. You stayed up day and night without sleep and came up with the Quit Smoking PSA. Now that you, Little Zhang, have met with some difficulties, there is no reason for us not to offer you some help—oh, those were her exact words." Then she said, "The Station Head is a very good person. She has actually always been meaning to invite you back to join us."

Zhang Ye went silent for a moment. "Thank her for me."

"You should thank her yourself. I'm not qualified enough to speak directly with the Station Head since I'm not as important as you." Dong Shanshan said, crossing her legs, "The management has said that if you agree to go back, you would be placed with the same old team of Brother Hu and the others to re-establish a program team for a singing show. But this time, we must make it a big affair. The funding will not be a problem, so long as you are handling it personally. They are willing to invest a lot of money into this. You'll assigned as the executive director and executive producer. As for the hosts, we can have a man and a woman, so we can finally team up and appear onscreen together this time."

Zhang Ye asked, "What if an order is issued for me to be banned?"

Dong Shanshan replied, "If you can't be the host, we'll invite you as our guest."

"What if I can't even be a guest?" Zhang Ye asked.

"We can give it a try first. If there's really no way out, we can talk about it again when the issue has died down. The show can be pushed back for a month or two. The higher-ups can't possibly keep their eyes on you forever, right? There'll surely be a day when things pass." Dong Shanshan then used the tip of her high heels to nudge Zhang Ye's slipper. "So how about it? Give it some consideration."

This was a huge help indeed. With no one in the industry daring to involve themselves in this, Beijing Television had actually stepped up and offered him a position? It was even a rather good position and they were willing to delay the show just to wait for him? Just from the intention of this alone, Zhang Ye had to accept it. This was undoubtedly a timely assistance for him and he knew that Beijing Television was definitely taking a huge risk on him!

However, it was difficult for Zhang Ye to change his mind once he had decided on something. He really did not want to be a host in the short term. However, if he was going to be the host or appear on camera, then it would be pointless for him to be the program's executive director. A behind-the-scenes job was obviously not possible to support the minimal exposure required of an A-list celebrity.

He considered for a few minutes.

Zhang Ye said, "Shanshan, thank Brother Hu and the Station Head for me. I think I'd rather not cause any trouble for you guys."

Dong Shanshan said, "You're really not going to join us?"

"Let's forget about me being the executive director and host. But I'm willing to help with the planning of the show." Zhang Ye laughed and said, "Don't worry. I'll accept the job as the producer. For you, Brother Hu and the Station Head, I'll definitely come up with a good show for everyone."

"Why don't you reconsider it?"

"There's no need to."

"You really do not want to team up with me as hosts?"

"That's not what I mean. It's just that I'm getting tired of being a host. I have to put on a cheery face every time I go onstage, and I don't even get to say what I really want to say. It's really getting meaningless, so I just want to have a change of scenery for a while."

"Then what will you do?"

"I don't know."

"Alright then, inform me immediately when you have found a new job."

"Why?"

"I would like to see who would be so bold as to employ you."

"Damn, listen to the way you're putting it."

"What? Isn't that so?"

Indeed.

Who would be so bold as to invite him to join them at such a time?

At present, it was very difficult for Zhang Ye to get an appearance onscreen as even any news related to him was being controlled and restricted. Though he was a big shot A-list celebrity, what was the point of hiring him if he was unable to appear onscreen?

Hai.

What should he do?

What could he do?

Chapter 977: King of Masked Singers attacks!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

In the following two days, Zhang Ye kept thinking about what show he should make for Dong Shanshan and the others. He could easily list out many potential shows, but none were suitable once he gave it some serious thought.

They wanted a singing show, but it was impossible for Zhang Ye to bring out many of the most successful singing shows that he had. It wasn't that he was reluctant to use them, but that he wanted to keep them for his own use in the future. Although Zhang Ye did not plan to do any hosting work in the short term, it didn't mean that he would stop doing it forever. He would still get back into it and bring out those successful variety show one by one when the time came, so he needed to keep them for himself. As for the remaining second-tier singing shows, Zhang Ye found them to be unsuitable as well. He felt that he couldn't bring them out as it might lead to only average viewership ratings. If that were to happen, Zhang Ye wouldn't look good either, and he might also interfere with the plans of Dong Shanshan and Beijing Television.

This was tricky!

Which show should he use?

Zhang Ye was in a dilemma as he paced around the house.

His mother was getting annoyed. "You don't have a job, so why are you still thinking about other people's problems?"

"Since they came looking for me, I feel that I should give them some help." Zhang Ye said, "She's my classmate, and Beijing TV has been quite good to me too."

His mother asked, "What about your job then?"

"I'm still looking." Zhang Ye gave her a perfunctory answer.

His mother shook her head and said, "How many days has it been now? If you still don't appear onscreen soon, everyone will forget about you."

But his father said, "There's no rush. Things will eventually sort themselves out."

"You put it so lightly!" His mother stared and said, "How will things sort themselves out now? Everyone is pissed at my son after he offended that many people. How can it be sorted out? That lousy air pollution documentary would have been better off not made. His popularity might have soared, but his future is in shambles!"

His father frowned. "The air pollution documentary was made for the good of the future. Why should he not have done it?"

"Good of the future, my ass." His mother said in annoyance, "If it was for the good of the future, why is he still unable to get a good job right now? So what's good about it?"

Zhang Ye said, "Will the two of you knock it off? Don't worry about me. I know what I'm doing."

Back in his own room.

Zhang Ye was also actually feeling unsure about the situation.

Well, whatever. Let's play a lottery draw first and get a change of perspective. The air pollution documentary had given Zhang Ye a large amount of Reputation Points recently. He had gained another bout of Reputation Points after having spent it all during the National Martial Arts Conference and no longer had to worry about running low. Time for the lottery draw!

He brought up the game ring's virtual screen with great familiarity.

Should he play the Lottery Draw (One)?

Or the Lottery Draw (Two)?

Zhang Ye's mind was actually not on this. He just played the lottery draw to get a change of perspective. He wasn't really thinking much and simply tapped on the Lottery Draw (One) without even activating the Lucky Halo.

Purchase.

Begin.

The wheel began to spin.

Without looking, he instantly bought some additional stakes!

Total Additional Stakes: 500. He spent a total of 50 million on that. This was now considered small change to Zhang Ye. He was just playing the lottery draw for the sake of it.

It spun and spun.

The needle slowed.

Ba da. The needle stopped in the Stats Category region.

Zhang Ye was startled when he saw this. Please don't. Why is it this again? He had received the Fruit of Stamina, Fruit of Strength, and Fruit of Agility from the Stats Category during the National Martial Arts Conference and had already maxed out his stats of these three Fruits in the Lottery Draw (One). To level up further in those three stats, he would have to try to get the Lottery Draw (Two) versions of the Fruits. If he were to receive them again in the Lottery Draw (One), that would be as good as a waste since those Fruits wouldn't add any more stats for him. Even if he was just drawing for the sake of drawing this time, 50 million Reputation Points were still no small sum. If they went down the drain just like this, Zhang Ye would feel the pinch.

The Treasure Chests (Small) appeared!

Zhang Ye opened up the treasure chests in an uneasy mood!

[Fruit of Charm (Voice)] 500: Permanently increases the player's voice's charm.

What?

Fruit of Charm?

Voice?

Zhang Ye remembered that he had gotten this item in a past lottery draw. The very first time he received it, it was several Fruits of Charm (Eyes). After that, he received several Fruits of Charm (Voice). Although he didn't eat many of them at that time and the effects were not that obvious, it was still somewhat effective.

He had received it again this time?

Eat! Eat! Eat!

Without another word, he just ate them!

One by one, he put the Fruits into his mouth!

Finally, Zhang Ye gave it a try and said something, "Ah, ha, wu."

As a result of that, even he himself jerked back a bit when he heard it. He could feel that his voice had clearly become quite different. The difference was even quite a big change. Although anyone who heard him talking would still know that it was Zhang Ye, his voice now included a rather magnetic tone. Compared to his previous dry and low voice, there was more depth and a greater three-dimensional feel to it! There seemed to be not much of a change, yet at the same time seemed like a huge change. So this was the effect of 500 Fruits of Charm?

How awesome!

This stuff is great!

Zhang Ye was a celebrity and charm was naturally a very important attribute for him. Furthermore, a host like him depended greatly on his speaking abilities! For something like that, having more of it would never be too much. According to the experience he had with the strength, stamina, agility variants of the Fruits, eating 1,000 Fruits should max out the stats?

Alright, then let's max it out!

Thinking of this, Zhang Ye simply activated the Lucky Halo (Upgraded) as he wanted to max out his stats using the Fruit of Charm (Voice). He just wanted to do so in advance, upgrading whatever stats that he could since all of these were definitely of use and likely to be of help in the future.

The Lucky Halo was activated.

A bright, pulsating glow rippled outward!

-100,000!

-100,000!

His Reputation Points were quickly dropping.

Zhang Ye also quickly pressed the lottery draw and added 500 additional stakes to it!

The wheel started spinning!

The needle kept colliding against the wheel's pegs revolution after revolution!

Maybe the Lucky Halo went on strike today, or maybe it was normal circumstances. When the needle slowly came to a stop, it did not stop in the region of the Stats Category. Instead, it landed in the Skills Category!

What?

Zhang Ye gave a bitter smile and quickly deactivated the Lucky Halo.

Thinking about it, even though this Lucky Halo was the upgraded version, it could only fulfill whatever Zhang Ye's maximum luck potential was. It couldn't help him achieve whatever results he wanted just because he wanted something very badly! Or get something specific that he asked for! That would not be realistic and Zhang Ye knew that he had expected too much.

Ai, this lottery draw might just be a waste of Reputation Points after all.

500 Treasure Chests (Small) appeared.

Zhang Ye could do nothing but take a deep breath before opening them. However, when he saw the items inside, he was instantly stunned, unable to react and frozen in place.

[Singing Skill Experience Book] 500: Enhances the player's singing technique.

Singing Skill?

Also known as singing technique?

Such a skill experience book actually existed?

1 book…

10 books…

100 books…

The 500 skill experience books were devoured by Zhang Ye. They dissolved into glowing light particles and the learning surged straight into Zhang Ye's brain!

First he received the Fruit of Charm (Voice)?

Then he received the Singing Skill Experience Books?

Fuck, where is this headed? Are you trying to make this bro become a singer?

Although he didn't max out his stats, it still wasn't a small sum with 500 of each item. This was absolutely enough to qualify him as a professional singer, wasn't it? He probably would not get to the level of Zhang Yuanqi, Chen Guang, or Fan Wenli, but it should be at least enough to bring him into the world of professional singers, right? Uh, although he wouldn't actually know for sure since he had not tested it out. This lottery result had really made Zhang Ye's jaw drop. He had just been playing the lottery for the hell of it, but who could have guessed that he would receive those two items?

Singing?

Become a singer?

Zhang Ye had entertained this thought before, but his singing had never been good, not as a child and not now. Although he didn't sound terrible, he had never practiced singing before either. Sometimes at home, he liked singing a little bit, but he knew that he didn't really sing well. As such, he had dismissed this thought.

But now?

What was the meaning of this?

This bro can finally become a singer too?

Just this thought alone was enough to excite Zhang Ye. Damn, why can't I sing? I've been a calligrapher, a mathematician, and even excelled as a crosstalk comedian and skit actor, so why can't I sing? Wasn't this a great chance to have a change of scenery like he wanted? Uh, but how should he cross over? No one dared to let him appear onscreen at this point in time! He had no team to produce a music album either! Even if he could produce one, would the higher-ups allow him to release the album? It was too uncertain, but based on the current atmosphere, it was highly unlikely! Although there was no clear indication of a ban, but by not allowing Zhang Ye to appear onscreen, that was essentially the industry's attitude on the matter. Someone in the higher-ups must have spread the word, but probably did not mention the word "ban" due to fear of negative feedback and backlash by the citizens. But this was fundamentally no different from a ban—and that was the reason why Zhang Ye found himself in such circumstances that he couldn't even get a job!

Couldn't appear onscreen?

Couldn't make mentions of his name?

Couldn't release any new works? Well, no one could know that it was him at least?

Suddenly, Zhang Ye's eyes lit up!

I got it!

How could I have forgotten about that!

Zhang Ye suddenly remembered a show. After worrying over what show he would help Dong Shanshan and the others make and about his job situation, he finally thought of this show. He immediately felt himself brighten up. Alright, it shall be you!

That's right!

There was no other show more suitable than this!

Although Zhang Ye wasn't sure he could truly sing yet, this fellow had always done things without a second thought. He would just do something once he thought of it. He was someone who would execute things immediately!

He called Dong Shanshan right away.

The call connected.

On the other end, Dong Shanshan said: "Zhang'er, what's the matter?"

Zhang Ye laughed and said: "I've thought of the new show for you guys."

Dong Shanshan's ears perked up. "Oh? What is it about?" Then she hurriedly turned to her colleagues who were noisily talking around her and said, "Quiet down for a bit. Zhang'er has thought of something for our next show."

Hu Fei ran over. "I want to hear about it!"

Xiao Lu said excitedly, "That's great! We've been waiting for some time!"

Dafei said, "Switch to speakerphone, Sister Dong."

"Alright, I'll put it on speaker." Dong Shanshan switched the call to speakerphone.

Hu Fei said: "Little Zhang, we've been waiting for your call for many days."

Everyone in the office quieted down.

They were all looking at Dong Shanshan's cell phone in extreme anticipation. This was because Zhang Ye was on the line. He was that legendary figure who used a documentary to sweep away the entire television show industry!

Zhang Ye said: "It is according to your requirements of a large-scale singing show that can fight for first in the viewership ratings."

Hu Fei took a breath and asked: "What's the show called?"

Zhang Ye smiled and replied: "We'll tentatively call it—King of Masked Singers!"

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Chapter 978: The return of Zhang Ye!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

The next day.

At Beijing Television.

In the program team office of Do You Remember.

Hu Fei, Dong Shanshan, Hou Ge, Hou Di, Dafei, Xiao Lu, and the rest of the program team were seated in the office. They looked up at Zhang Ye, busily writing on a blackboard that he had pulled over as he spoke bombastically.

Zhang Ye drew a picture on the blackboard. "The Do You Remember set can be reused, but we cannot scrimp on the funding for it. It still requires many changes, like the expansion of the stage. What we have right now is not going to work. We must change the overall atmosphere of the set to become darker as it is currently too bright. These changes won't be terribly difficult as it should be quite simple to implement them without requiring us to do too much work. Then, about the production budget for the show, this time we will need at least 100 million as the base amount!"

Everyone was dumbfounded.

"Ah?"

"100 million?"

"Do we need that much?"

Hu Fei was also very astonished by this figure and silently wiped at his sweat.

Their Beijing Television was not considered an elite station among the provincial television stations. Their viewership ratings were quite good, but not actually that high. That was the reason why their variety shows were more conservative as they did not have as much money as Central TV. As such, they had never been willing to put such a large sum of money into their productions. When they heard the proposed figure of 100 million, everyone became a little flustered.

Dafei asked, "Teacher Zhang, just what kind of show is this?"

"Yeah, King of Masked Singers? We don't really get it," Xiao Lu said.

Hu Fei added, "How would they be masked? Who would be masked?"

No such show had appeared in this world before, so everyone was confused by it.

But Zhang Ye had forgotten this detail. "OK, I didn't explain it clearly. Let me talk about the show's content first. The core of the show will be to invite some celebrities, singers, actors, or hosts—perhaps even some athletes if necessary. The only requirement is that they must be well-known and can sing well. Then we get a designer to design some masks, headdresses, or costumes to cover up the faces and/or easily identifiable parts of these celebrities. We'll have them face off against each other on the same stage, with the winner not required to unveil themselves and moving on to the next round, while the loser can choose whether or not to take off their mask. As for how the specific elimination and advancement system works, I will explain in detail later. At the same time, we'll invite those heavyweights of the industry as judges and guests of the show. We can make them the guessing panel, where they'll give their reviews and try to guess the contestants' true identities!"

Everyone was once again dumbfounded!

A few newcomers on the program team were slack-jawed!

King of Masked Singers?

So that was what it meant to be masked?!

Zhang Ye said, "The selling point of the show is this: If these celebrities were standing onstage, we would know who they are. But if they have a mask on, and we can only hear their singing voices, we would have to guess their true identities while enjoying their singing. That's what makes it explosive!"

Hou Di swiftly brought up a problem. "But a lot of singers have very special and unique voices."

Zhang Ye replied, "We can ask them to slightly alter their way of singing, or to change their vocal placement a little, all of which can be easily achieved."

Hou Ge raised another issue. "But won't they be exposed the moment they speak?"

Zhang Ye laughed. "There are voice changers nowadays, which we can directly connect to the microphones. After the voice changer is in effect, even our own parents couldn't recognize our voices."

Hu Fei stood up agitatedly. "Celebrity face off? What if those singers who've been famous for a long time are concerned about losing to the newer singers? They might find it embarrassing and decide not to take part, no?"

"Use the appearance pay and tempt them. Besides, I just touched on that." Zhang Ye said, "The loser can choose to keep their mask on and just depart from the stage. As long as their identity stays hidden, as long as the internal team keeps it confidential, no one will find out who they are. Regarding this point, we'll need all of the staff to work together, but I suggest that only the director alone knows their true identity. We just won't tell anyone else. And make them wear their mask during the rehearsals and recording! We must not allow their identities to be exposed! If we allow that to happen, our show's selling point will lose its support! That is most definitely not acceptable!"

Zhang Ye's explanation was already enough to form the structure of the show!

Everyone listened in awe, looking at each other at times and seeing the surprise in each other's eyes!

A rookie gaped and asked, "In the past, singing shows have always had the structure of a talent show. We've always had amateurs taking to the stage to showcase themselves. But I have never, ever heard of celebrities taking to the same stage and competing against each other before. Th-This is too big a clash! No one has ever done something so excessive before! Would anyone really come and participate?"

Zhang Ye laughed and said, "Don't worry about that."

Everyone gasped.

A celebrity face off? Compete on stage? Only Zhang Ye would dare to come up with something like that! This idea had probably not even crossed the minds of others before! No wonder it required 100 million RMB in production fees. How much would it cost just to invite those participants? Then there was still the stage setup and the guessing panel of industry insiders?

That would be too excessive!

Wouldn't he be going for broke this way?!

This would surely turn the music industry upside down!

A woman rookie said, "I-Is that really going to be alright?"

Dong Shanshan suddenly raised her head. "I think it will be good!"

Hu Fei suddenly slapped his thigh. "Good? This will be great!"

Instantly, many of the program team staff felt excited. Just imagining Zhang Ye's description of the show and stage was already making their blood course!

Whether it was creativity.

Whether it was the scale of the show.

Whether it was the competition format.

Whether it was the professionalism.

All of them were unheard of in a variety show in the history of television shows!

In the past, every show that Zhang Ye proposed could not be understood by others when they first heard the proposal, and they would always think that it would not work out. Like for Do You Remember. What was so good about a show that required people to remember the lyrics? Like for Zhang Ye's Talk Show, what in the world was a talk show anyway? Like for A Bite of China, what kind of waves could a documentary set off? But as always, the results proved that Zhang Ye was right. His vision and knowledge were much greater than anyone else's. He was light-years ahead of the industry!

But today, when Zhang Ye brought up the King of Masked Singers show, almost no one doubted him. When they heard the summary of the show, they immediately knew that it was going to be spectacular!

Hu Fei was in a great mood. He laughed heartily and clapped Zhang Ye on the shoulder. "Sure enough, Teacher Little Zhang, we really needed you to take charge after all! You can come up with an idea for a show so easily. That's what makes you different from everyone else! Who else in the entire industry could have come up with a show like that? Just how does your mind work!"

Xiao Lu also exclaimed, "We can finally work alongside Teacher Zhang again!"

"With you back, we're all feeling very confident again!" Dafei went up and gave Zhang Ye a long-awaited bear hug. "We really missed you! Teacher Zhang, welcome home!"

Hou Ge went over. "Welcome home!"

Hou Di also gave him an emotional bear hug. "Teacher Zhang, we've waited for your return for a long time! Welcome home!"

Zhang Ye had gained his fame at Beijing Television, but was also driven away by Beijing Television. He had had his share of grudges, gratitude, and friends in this place. Too much had happened in these two years.

But now, Zhang Ye had returned.

He had returned and brought with him a television show that could possibly set the entire country alight.

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Chapter 979: On fire even before the broadcast!

Translator: Legge Editor: - -

King of Masked Singers.

It did not exist in this world.

This was a world-class television show from Zhang Ye's previous world that was extremely successful and known throughout Asia. The original Korean version of the show swept the viewership ratings chart everywhere it was broadcast, unable to get dethroned by any other shows. It could be said that this was one of the representative works among variety shows. However, even though mainland China's domestic broadcast version of King of Masked Singers did quite well in the viewership ratings and was very popular with the viewers too, it was still lacking quite a bit when compared to the original Korean version. It could be considered a show that didn't translate well from a particularly successful franchise, which was a pity.

Zhang Ye had analyzed the reasons for this, and the reasons were probably numerous.

For example, the competition format: The Korean version required their contestants to reveal their identities upon getting eliminated, while the winner of one episode's match would have to accept a challenge from a different singer the next episode, with the winner of the challenge taking the throne as the Masked King. There were a lot of differences in the details of the show. The Chinese version would have the winner of a competition reveal their identities and then retire from the overall competition until the finals were held. In terms of the format, the Korean version was clearly more logical and interesting. Zhang Ye didn't know the motives behind the change in the Chinese version, but he deemed it a failure.

Another example was the masks: The Korean version went for full battle regalia, with the contestants covered from head to toe in a mask and costume. They were so well concealed that even if their own parents were standing in front of them, they would not be able to identify them. This undoubtedly increased the suspense of the identity and made it interesting by making it hard to guess their identity. Meanwhile, the Chinese version had masks that revealed too much of the contestants' features, while the costumes were designed with aesthetics as the priority. Some of the contestants would have their legs revealed, some would have their arms revealed, some would have their double chins seen. Their close friends in the industry would not even have to listen to their singing to know their true identity, yet they had to act like they didn't know and look like they were finding it difficult to guess who it really was. There was basically no point in designing it that way.

And then there was the issue of the number of eliminated contestants. Korea had many more artists, while the domestic market in China was unable to muster up enough due to various circumstances. They could not implement an elimination of all contestants other than the winner as there were not enough artists in the country who could sing well. Even if there were, not everyone would be available, and thus, the show's freshness was not as good as the Korean version. This was something that Zhang Ye had considered too.

Listing out all the pros and cons.

He made the necessary changes and went mainly with the Korean version of the show, while retaining some standout points of the Chinese version. After all, each country's situation was different and he couldn't just copy it wholesale without changes.

The amended changes were as follows:

1. The winner would not reveal their identity.

2. The losing contestant could choose whether to take off their mask.

3. The number of eliminated contestants needed to be increased, but would be adjusted based on the number of contestants.

4. The masks and costumes must conceal the entirety of the contestant.

These changes were something that Zhang Ye was trying out, but he was still very confident. For such a highly popular show form his previous world, he couldn't possibly give up on it just because the Chinese version was not produced too well. From the results of the Korean version of King of Masked Singers, this was definitely a variety show which had the potential to become popular in the entire country! The Korean version of King of Masked Singers even surpassed the viewership ratings of the Korean version of I Am a Singer! Just what kind of notion was that? And besides, even if the Chinese version of King of Masked Singers wasn't produced too well, its viewership ratings were still very high. If there weren't any other world-class variety shows competing in the same time slot, the results would definitely have been even better! Even if a world-class variety show was produced badly, its results were definitely not something that any other normal variety shows could match. It would still be spectacular!

...

The program proposal was quickly submitted to the station.

The director of Beijing Television was shocked!

The station heads were also shocked!

The moment they read the proposal, many of the heads of Beijing Television felt extremely excited. They had not expected that after the era of The Voice, during which singing shows were done to death, someone could still come up with something as original as this. The station heads only felt more relieved when they found out that it was Zhang Ye who put forward this proposal. They gave wry smiles as they thought of how Zhang Ye was without a doubt the best guy in the TV show industry. It was probably only Zhang Ye who could surpass Zhang Ye!

The station immediately gave their approval!

The program proposal?

Approved!

100 million?

Approved!

They did all that without objection!

After the success of Beijing Television's Spring Festival Gala, the ambitions of the station grew. There was only one request and expectation of this show: Take the nationwide viewership ratings' top spot!

Beijing Television had always came up short in the area of variety shows. Once upon a time, many years ago, disregarding the nationwide viewership ratings' top spot, the number of times they were ranked top in the daily viewership ratings could be counted on their fingers. And this was even due to those days having no other good shows scheduled. As for their results in the nationwide viewership ratings for variety shows? There was no way they could compare! There was simply no place for them in the top few spots!

But right now, today, Beijing Television was feeling full of confidence. Everyone could feel a sense of simmering strength. They could all feel a sense of surety deep down inside!

Because that person had returned!

Because that legendary host who used to be part of their station had finally returned!

...

Do You Remember's program team.

Hu Fei received the approval order and came back to the office. "The management has approved it!"

"This is great!"

"They're really going to allocate us 100 million?"

"Holy shit!"

"This is the real deal now!"

"If we mess it up, we're going to be screwed!"

"Don't say such discouraging things! We have Teacher Zhang on our side!"

"True, true, true! We have Teacher Zhang around!"

Everyone was chattering excitedly. Every one of them here had, in fact, never been part of such a large-scale variety show before. Who would be content with working very hard every day on a show that would not get famous? But anyone would be willing to make a hit! And today, that chance had arrived!

Zhang Ye said helplessly, "Please don't expect so much of me, everyone. I'm only here to help. Everyone needs to work hard on it together." He looked at Hu Fei and said, "Brother Hu, what are the expectations of the management?"

Hu Fei smiled and said, "Nationwide viewership ratings' top spot."

Zhang Ye nodded. "Which day do we broadcast on?"

"Feel free to choose."

"Time slot?"

"Feel free to decide."

Zhang Ye said, "Alright, I understand."

They could get however much funding they needed; they could ask for any day and time slot for broadcast as they wanted. Such treatment was unprecedented. Almost everything was given the green light!

Everyone knew that this was not due to the hard work that the Do You Remember program team had put in for the past year. It was purely based on the reputation of Zhang Ye as the best television program director and producer in the industry!

Zhang Ye immediately started giving orders. "Let's hurry up and make full use of the time. If the show can begin earlier, then let's push it out earlier and not drag things out. Start publicizing the show and put up a front for now. But don't reveal the content of the show. We'll explain in detail when the production work is done, so as to prevent others from copying us. Dafei, take a few people with you and start identifying the suitable candidates. Then write up a list and invite them one by one. Remember to keep it secret!"

Dafei replied, "Roger!"

Zhang Ye looked at Hou Ge. "Hou Ge, there's a lot of work to be done for the stage setup, so I'll leave that to you. You must supervise it well and get the workers to quickly finish the task!"

Hou Ge thumped his chest. "Leave it to me. Don't worry!"

Zhang Ye said, "Shanshan."

Dong Shanshan smiled. "Here."

Zhang Ye said, "The host this time shall be you, and the style…"

Zhang Ye had a great presence. Wherever he stood, everyone would listen and wait for their instructions. But suddenly, Zhang Ye froze midway as he was talking. He looked at everyone in embarrassment and said, "Eh, I don't think I'm the executive director this time."

Dong Shanshan was amused. "You've finally realized?"

Zhang Ye smiled sheepishly. "Hai, I was too used to it. I'm sorry about that, Brother Hu. You're the executive director, so I think it's better for you to delegate. I will just keep to my planning and not involve myself in other things."

But Hu Fei said, "Your delegation was pretty good. This show is yours and the experience you have in organizing a large-scale variety show is more than mine. You're still the most suitable candidate for the executive director position as well as the host…."

"I mentioned it to Shanshan already." Zhang Ye waved his hands and said, "I'll forgo the position of executive director since I'm involved in some trouble. It's probably a bigger mess than you guys think it is, so it's better not to have my name linked to the show's executive director role. Whether our show can successfully be allowed to broadcast is still a big question mark, so it's better to have it this way. I'll just handle the planning and earn a commission through the copyright. If there are any other matters that I can help with, I will definitely do so. However, I must definitely not take the role of executive director."

Everyone kept on persuading him.

But Zhang Ye did not agree and still rejected them.

First, he did not wish to cause any trouble for his old friends.

Second, he had something more important that he needed to do!

...

Before long, the news was released.

Some of it was purposely publicized by Beijing Television, while some was unintended. Afterwards, news of Zhang Ye's return to Beijing Television quickly gained wings!

"Someone saw Zhang Ye outside Beijing TV!"

"What?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Zhang Ye's going back to Beijing TV!"

"For real?"

"What do you mean for real? The news has already talked about it! Go and have a look for yourself!"

"Zhang Ye's new show lands on Beijing TV!"

"Sources say it will be a singing variety show!"

"Title yet to be decided, but production cost set for 100 million!"

"Zhang Ye to be executive producer of new show, but not executive director!"

"Beijing TV's new show to be fully produced by Zhang Ye. Dong Shanshan confirmed as show host!"

"Hahaha!"

"After so many days, Teacher Zhang's new show is finally coming!"

"Do You Remember is going to stop broadcasting? Teacher Shanshan's influence is really great. Even Zhang Ye has come to produce a show for her! Why don't I get to have such an awesome ex-classmate!"

"Support!"

"I'm anticipating this to death!"

"Why isn't Zhang Ye going to be the host!"

"I heard that it's because he's been banned from the industry! They won't allow him to be onscreen!"

"Just what kind of a singing show will it be? Please explain!"

"But singing shows are already overdone. What is there to look forward to? Could it be the second season of The Voice? That can't be, otherwise Zhang Ye himself would be the host, right?"

"An entirely new show?"

"As long as it's made by Zhang Ye, I must watch it!"

"Start broadcasting already! I can't wait any longer!"

"Yeah, the days without Zhang Ye in the variety show industry have been way too boring!"

It was bustling online!

A lot of people were making a racket and looking forward in anticipation!

King of Masked Singers was on fire even before the broadcast!

No, to be accurate, the audience did not even know what the show was about or what it was going to be titled, but the show was already on fire before the broadcast!

Why?

There was no reason why.

It was simply because this was Zhang Ye's new show, that's all.

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Chapter 980: Stop pretending to be an oil worker, you!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

A few days later.

At home.

Zhang Ye received a call from Chen Guang.

"Zhang'er, King of Masked Singers has invited me."

"I know. I was the one who recommended you."

"The show's content has been explained to me by the production team. It sounds really good. It's making my pulse race a bit. But I have some big concerns that are holding me back from joining."

"You can sing so well. What do you have to worry about?"

"Don't you know how many people are in the music industry? Those newcomers are all better than the last at singing. Their vocals are so good, so how can I not be worried?"

"They can even sing better than you?"

"If we're all going to be masked, then that might just be the case. Since we can't depend on our popularity and our looks, we'll purely be pitting our singing skills. Besides, the choice of song plays a very important role too. Hai, but you don't know about singing, so I can't really explain it to you. Forget it. I think I need to mull this over. If I can't participate, I'm fine with being on the panel of guest judges. The production team has also given me that choice if I don't choose to participate in the actual competition."

"Sure. Give it some consideration then."

"Lemme ask you this. Will the show succeed?"

"This show is produced by me. Whatcha think?"

"Alright, I understand."

...

At Beijing Television.

The last episode of Do You Remember finished broadcasting. The actual recording was completed a week ago, and the Do You Remember program team was officially renamed to the King of Masked Singers program team today. It still consisted of the original team as its base, but over a dozen other employees were transferred from other departments to join them as well.

The King of Masked Singers program team officially began production work.

In the office space, each person was working without rest.

Hu Fei was making a call. A woman was on the other end of the line.

"Teacher Li, I am Beijing Television's Hu Fei."

"Yes, hello, Director Hu."

"Regarding what we discussed two days ago, have you made a decision yet?"

"I'm still thinking. I'm not ready to make a decision yet."

"If it's about the appearance fee, we can still increase it some more."

"Don't misunderstand. It's not about the appearance fee. I think this show is really good and personally I would like to join. But I'm afraid that the pressure would be too great on me, which is why I have some hesitation."

"With your talent, you definitely won't have a problem on this stage. You're the first celebrity I called because I've always loved your songs."

"Thank you, Director Hu. Then…"

"Come join us. We'll definitely keep your identity a secret!"

"Well…fine."

"Great. So it's decided?"

"Ai, I'm going to have to go all-out this time."

He hung up.

Hu Fei laughed loudly. "I got one!"

Dong Shanshan blinked. "That woman?"

"Right, it's that woman!" Hu Fei and she were speaking in riddles.

When a few of the rookies on the team heard this, their curiosity was piqued. But they didn't have the courage to ask who it was, although they knew that this woman was definitely someone extremely popular and a big shot from the expressions on Hu Fei's and Dong Shanshan's faces!

Dafei suddenly exclaimed from where he was, "Brother Hu, I reeled in one as well!"

Hu Fei hurriedly went over. "Who?"

"That actor," Dafei said mysteriously.

But Hu Fei seemingly understood and kept saying, "Good, good, good!"

Dafei said, "But it's only rumored that his singing is very good, as no one has actually heard him before. So I was a little worried and requested that he send us a demo."

Hu Fei nodded and said, "Right, if it were a professional singer, that wouldn't be necessary. But for celebrities from other industries, it's better to play it safe by asking for a sample of their singing. Otherwise, if we spend money inviting them and it turns out that they can't sing well, it wouldn't be too appropriate to replace them at that time. It'd also be too late to do so."

Dafei said, "Let's listen to it."

Hu Fei beckoned to everybody. "Come here, everyone. Let's listen to it together."

The program team staff all came over.

The audio clip, which was simply titled "demo," was played.

Right at the start, a melodious male voice drifted out.

"I once loved a woman.

"Her smile, ever so innocent.

"One day…"

Everyone was astonished!

"That was really good singing!"

"This is great!"

"Is this an actor? Isn't this just like how a professional singer would sing?"

"Who is this? Brother Fei, please tell us!"

"Yeah, you're making us so curious! Who is it?"

"I can't identify him by his voice at all!"

Dafei simply smiled knowingly. "That's classified."

Hu Fei approved, "It's confirmed! This teacher has made the grade!"

Dafei said, "Alright, I'll go and contact him immediately!"

Hu Fei reminded, "Remember to keep it a secret!"

"Understood!" Dafei promised.

One…

Five…

Eight…

The number of approved celebrities kept growing!

This greatly exceeded the expectations of the program team staff. They had initially thought that it would require a great deal of persuasion and talk to convince those celebrities to join. But as it turned out, when they explained the show's internal workings to the celebrities, a lot of them became very interested upon hearing how the show worked. There was even a veteran singer who hadn't appeared much in public for over ten years who agreed immediately when invited! The celebrities weren't dumb. For some shows that were destined to have very little viewership, they wouldn't join even if they were offered a lot of money for the appearance fee. But if they heard about a show they believed would get extremely popular throughout the country, even if the program team did not invite them, some of them would surely come looking for the program team instead. Even if the appearance fee was low, they would surely agree to join. And this King of Masked Singers by Zhang Ye was clearly such a show!

"Brother Hu, I have a demo here for you to listen to."

"Coming."

"How is it?"

"This is good! This sounds really clean!"

"Then should I contact them?"

"Who is this?"

"A celebrity who came up through the ranks of a talent show."

"Go ahead!"

Suddenly, Dafei fell silent while holding a stack of papers of the recommended participants.

"What's the matter, Brother Fei?" a rookie named Han Qi asked.

Dafei asked curiously, "Who recommended this person? Why is there only a contact number on it? There's no name?"

Han Qi was one of the few staff members of the program team who had access to this recommendation list. "I don't know, it wasn't me." Turning to another colleague, she asked, "Brother Sun, did you put them in?"

Sun looked over the list. "It wasn't me."

Hu Fei also came over to have a look. "Give them a call and ask who it is. The people on this list are all celebrities and big shots."

So Dafei handed the paper to Han Qi. "I still have a lot to do here. You can handle it."

"OK." Han Qi got very excited. The chance to have direct contact with a celebrity could count toward her qualifications. She immediately called the number.

...

At home.

Ring, ring, ring.

Zhang Ye's other phone started ringing. This was the new cell phone he had gotten from the Central TV annual staff party's lucky draw. Just a few days ago, he had slotted in a new SIM card he had just bought.

Zhang Ye purposely disguised his voice and answered: "Hello."

"Hello, Teacher. How are you?" On the other end, Han Qi spoke with caution.

"Ah, I'm good."

"I'm calling from the King of Masked Singers' program team. Has anyone contacted you before this?" Han Qi somehow felt that this voice was very strange.

"Yes."

"Someone has already done that?"

"Yes."

"Apologies, but we don't seem to have a record of your name. May I know who you are, sir?"

"Just an ordinary person."

"Uh, what's y-your surname, sir?"

"It's confidential."

"How old are you this year, sir?"

"Not old."

"What's your occupation, sir?"

"I'm a worker."

"Ah! You're a worker?"

"Yes."

"Huh. Th-Then are you sure you were invited to participate on King of Masked Singers?"

"Yes."

"If you're not a professional singer, we require that you send us a sample of your singing. Can you provide us with that, sir? You can just send it to our email."

"Sure."

"Thank you very much."

"You're welcome."

The call ended just like that.

Zhang Ye smiled to himself. He wasn't purposely trying to keep it from Hu Fei and Dong Shanshan, but had to do so because he needed to participate anonymously.

A sample of his singing?

Was this a screening?

Then what song should he choose?

Zhang Ye hesitated for a bit, then chose a song at random to record his sample. He did not have any professional equipment at home and did not know how to play any instruments either, so he chose to sing a cappella for the recording. At most, he might need to do some post-processing to it, but he could do that at home anyway. As this was just a sample clip, there wasn't really a need to do any major fixes to the recording.

After clearing his throat, he began.

This was the first time Zhang Ye seriously tried to record his singing, so he felt rather diffident. But when he opened his mouth to sing, even he was taken aback by his own voice!

...

Back at Beijing Television.

The King of Masked Singers' program team.

Han Qi said in a speechless manner, "Who could have recommended him? Why did someone contact him?"

"Did you find out who it was?" Hu Fei looked over.

"He wouldn't say!" Han Qi said angrily.

Dafei was surprised. "Wouldn't say?"

Han Qi said, "He didn't want to reveal anything at all. When I asked him what his profession was, he actually told me that he was a worker!"

"Pffffft!" Xiao Lu, who was drinking some water, did a spit-take. "A worker?"

Hu Fei didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "The names on this list are all big shots. How can there be any ordinary workers on it? Was he just teasing you?"

Han Qi said angrily, "That man was so awful. He spoke in a strange, gravelly voice, like he was afraid that someone would recognize him. It's like he thinks he really is some big shot or something."

Hou Di pondered this for a moment. "If he really did try to disguise his voice while talking, then he might really be a big shot. Perhaps he might actually get recognized easily if he speaks in his natural voice?"

"Ah?" Han Qi was startled. "Are you sure?"

Xiao Lu was cramping up from laughing. "Would a big shot call themselves a worker? This is clearly a prank on our Little Han! Hahahaha, I'm dying of laughter!"

Han Qi started blushing and became even more angry. "I asked him to send us a demo. I want to hear for myself just what kind of a worker he really is!"

A rookie suddenly said, "Oh, an email just arrived? Is it this one?"

Han Qi quickly ran over and pointed at the screen while gnashing her teeth. "Yes, yes, yes, it's him!"

Hu Fei laughed and said, "Come, let's all have a listen."

Dafei was getting very curious. "I really want to find out who this could be."

"I wanna listen to it too." Xiao Lu scrambled over as well. "Heehee, which big shot is so playful that he's willing to tease our rook?"

Han Qi's face was getting hot. "Sister Lu, please don't ridicule me."

Xiao Lu said, "Sure, sure, sure. Big Sis will help you denounce him. Will that do?"

"Yeah!" Han Qi replied.

Having encountered such a weird person!

Everyone in the program team came over in delight upon hearing about this amusing incident.

The rookie clicked on the email attachment and started playing the recording.

There was no melody.

There were no instrumentals.

Everyone was surprised. Was it a cappella?

However, when the singing started, everyone was shocked by the vocal weight and technique. As the tune played, Xiao Lu got the goosebumps!

"Land as pretty as a picture!

"Our native land built on the backs of steeds!"

It was bel canto! But the voice was magnetic and sounded very young! What song was this? An oldie? But it couldn't be. Otherwise, why hadn't they heard of it before? Was it an original?

Damn!

Who was it?

Which famous person of the music industry was this?

The timbre of some singers' voices was recognizable right at the first word they sang. Although this man seemed to be purposely disguising his voice, those seasoned vocals could not be concealed! Everyone in the program team had already heard quite a few demos submitted by the celebrities and professional singers. But they had to admit that this unknown big shot's singing that was playing right now was definitely one of the best they had heard today!

The vocals.

The technique.

The control.

All of them were at the professional level!

A lot of them were drawn into the singing as they listened!

Hu Fei exclaimed, "Who is this!"

Dafei shouted, "Damn!"

Xiao Lu said, "This is a heavyweight contestant!"

Han Qi stood there dumbfounded, slack-jawed. She didn't expect this tight-lipped celebrity she was just on the phone with to actually sing this well!

Following this, however, everyone was floored!

The lyrics this man sang next made everyone feel like they were going to vomit blood!

"Land as pretty as a picture!

"Our native land built on the backs of steeds!

"How glorious it is to be an oil worker!

"Wearin' a hard hat and trav'lin' the world!"

Pfft!

Pfft!

Pfft!

Everyone in the office burst out laughing!

"Snow from Tianshan falls overhead!

"Facing the Gobi's desert storms!

"Greeting the rising sun on the banks of the Jialing River!

"Sending off the sunset at the foot of the Kunlun Mountains!

"Fearing nothing!

"And no one!

"Let it thunder and snow!

"I offer oil to my homeland!

"Wherever the oil is, that is where my home shall be!"

Han Qi's legs wobbled!

Offering oil to the homeland?

I'll offer your little sister's oil!

"Fluttering red flags welcome rosy clouds!

"Heroes whip their horses of war along!

"How glorious it is to be an oil worker!

"Wearin' a hard hat and trav'lin' the world!

"Erecting oil rigs in the vast grasslands!

"Bottom of clouds cover the wells!

"Underground crude oil meets the sky!

"My native land blooms with the gift of oil!

"Fearing nothing!

"And no one!

"Looking over the world with our great ambition!

"I offer oil to my homeland!

"With oil for my homeland, my heart blooms happily!"

The song ended.

The demo finished playing.

Everyone in the office was looking at each other!

Suddenly, Hou Di slapped his thigh and collapsed onto the table, belly laughing. "Hahahahaha hahahaha!" He was sprawled out on the table, unable to get up!

Dafei burst into laughter!

Xiao Lu was crying with laughter. "Aiyo!"

Only Han Qi looked embarrassed. She nearly burst into tears!

Hu Fei couldn't help but pat Han Qi on the shoulder. "It's been confirmed. You were the victim of a joke."

Han Qi was angered to tears. "Brother Hu—"

"Hahahaha!" Hu Fei couldn't hold it in any longer and started laughing too.

A worker?

You're a worker?

Bull fucking shit!

As a big shot celebrity and a professional singer with such good singing, why on earth are you pretending to be an oil worker!

You even offer oil to the homeland?

Why don't you dig some coal for your homeland instead!

At this moment, everyone had determined the nature of this voice's owner!

Just look at the other invited participants! Which one of them were not taking this competition seriously? Which of the interested participants of their show did not send in a serious sample of their singing that would exhibit their best points? But this guy? Not only did he not give his name, he even claimed that he was a worker? He even made up some song about offering oil to the homeland? Most importantly, he still fucking sang with such excellence?

This was an old pro!

This fellow was definitely a seasoned pro of the industry!

But who could it be?

Why couldn't they figure it out from his singing?

Dafei said, "Brother Hu, what do we do about this person?"

Tears streaming down her face, Han Qi said, "Must we invite him?"

"What reason is there to not invite someone who can sing with such skill?" Hu Fei said with excitement, "No matter who recommended him and whether or not he wants to reveal his identity, this man…must definitely be invited onto the show!"

Han Qi groaned, "Ugh."

Dafei nodded. "Alright, understood!"

Han Qi spoke hesitantly, "Brother Fei, I…"

Dafei made a decision and said with a snigger, "Little Han, you'll be in charge of contacting this guy. We'll leave it to you to call him, notify him, and take care of his costume from now on."

Han Qi said tearfully, "Brother Fei, can you not?"

"Hahaha, you can consider this to be part of your training!" Dafei said, "Usually, someone who's such a hooligan has self-confidence, and is a very big shot in the industry. Getting few more connections will do you no harm. I'm doing this for your own good, Little Han."

Han Qi was skeptical. "Seriously?"

Dafei said solemnly, "Of course."

Han Qi made a noise in acknowledgment and moped, "OK, alright. I'll do my best."

Due to the special nature of the show, every participant on King of Masked Singers would need to have a dedicated assistant to take charge of their makeup, costumes, masks, communication, and other related tasks. But no matter how Han Qi thought about it, she felt like she had been deceived. Having been assigned to such an unreliable singer, she felt that her future was utterly bleak! But even she had to admit that this man's voice and singing were really amazing!

Just who could it be?

Was there even such a person in the music industry?

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