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!

11. 1141

I am Really a Superstar #Chapter 1141: Playing all three of the most complex josekis! - Read I am Really a Superstar Chapter 1141: Playing all three of the most complex josekis! Online - All Page - NOVEL NEXT

Chapter 1141: Playing all three of the most complex josekis!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

With the Magic Sword out!

The board state became a quagmire!

Online, many Go players felt as though their heads were about to explode!

"Holy shit!"

"I can't look at this anymore!"

"This is too confusing!"

"My brain fucking hurts!"

"How on earth do you solve something like this?"

"Where does Zhang Ye get so many weird moves from!"

"If I were Peter, I would definitely fucking want to kill him!"

The Great Slant Joseki had exhausted countless people as they tried to make out its depth. Those endless possibilities and variations would perhaps even confound top players like Xiang Rong, Li Yi, and others. In the end, Peter had a hard time climbing out of it before immediately coming face-to-face with the Magic Sword Joseki. Just what kind of an experience was this? What was for sure was that this was definitely a "fuck my life" kind of moment! It was fortunate that Zhang Ye was facing a machine with no emotions. Otherwise, if a human were sitting across from him at this time, that person would probably fight him physically after the game, regardless of whether they won or lost. This was too fucking mean!

The Magic Sword Joseki: one of the three most complex josekis to play in Go back in Zhang Ye's previous world. Compared to the other 3-4 point josekis 1 , the Magic Sword Joseki was the most complex and difficult one to play against!

After Zhang Ye's large knight's move, Peter became unresponsive!

Chen Ying said in surprise, "Peter has gone into the tank again. It has already been 15 minutes and no move has been made yet. Is this Professor Zhang's strategy? Will it really work?"

Xiang Rong was also a little speechless. "What a strange game this is!"

Chen Ying agreed, "Yes, this joseki might not look like anything much at first glance as there are only four stones in the corner. But it is similar to the large slant from earlier. On a more detailed look, it seems like there's no solution to it! With this joseki played, it is truly time for these two players to have their skills tested. We simply can't predict how this will end!"

The time left on Peter's clock was dwindling!

Its clock displayed just over an hour!

The Americans were getting anxious. They were all screaming inside their heads.

Get him!

Fuck him up!

Increase your advantage!

Everyone was waiting. They were waiting for Peter to make a choice and respond to the move. But as they could not see any expression, nor was there any expression to show, no one really knew the status of Peter!

However, they could all see Zhang Ye's expression. He looked very comfortable even though he was behind by more than a dozen points. He was looking unexpectedly calm!

The Americans clenched their teeth!

But everyone else was feeling reassured!

Zhang Ye's calmness had given them a lot of confidence!

Li Qinqin said, "Can he make a comeback?"

Hu Liang said, "Professor Zhang seems confident of it!"

Xu Han gave a wry smile and said, "We must think of it that way!"

Everyone wanted to see how this joseki would be played out. As it was too complex, many of them had already given up on analyzing it, so they quietly waited as they watched!

Peter had 58 minutes of left on the clock.

Finally, it made its move!

Peter cut across Zhang Ye's large knight's move and began open battle!

Zhang Ye smiled and placed his stone, playing a "reach around" on the outer side!

Peter went silent once again!

Five minutes later, Peter played a stretch above Zhang Ye's stone!

Zhang Ye didn't even think and went straight for a corner position!

Peter went deep in the tank again!

Chen Ying applauded and said, "How wonderful!"

Yu Yingyi was dizzy. "I can't understand anything that's going on!"

Xiang Rong explained, "Professor Zhang has more of the initiative. Although it might look like he did not think much before playing his moves, all of his moves are quite beautiful. It seems like he is coming up with the best responses to every move that his opponent is making in the complexity of this joseki. He's truly a strong player!"

Chen Ying said worriedly, "But the board state that's about to unfold looks like it's going to be a matter of choices. And the choice to be made here is very important, so I wonder how Peter is going to handle it!"

Peter moved again!

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Zhang Ye blinked and replied!

Chen Ying cheered, "Good move! Professor Zhang, what a good move!"

But Xiang Rong said, "That's a joseki trap 2 ."

Chen Ying was startled. "A joseki trap?"

Xiang Rong nodded.

After a slight analysis, Chen Ying broke out in a cold sweat. "It's really a joseki trap! Professor Zhang is trying to lure Peter in!" She thought to herself how he could be so crafty!

However, Peter did not fall for it. It played an extension!

Zhang Ye bumped.

This time, Peter was obviously faster in processing and retreated with its move, purposely staying away from it!

Zhang Ye narrowed his eyes. He went for a push-through move against Peter's expectations!

They were engaged in a closely fought battle!

It was thrilling!

This was not a real battle, and there was no smoke and fire. But on this small Go board, it felt like two grandmasters were crossing swords and spilling blood!

Xiang Rong said, "Peter has no way out. It can only face the fight! It's even more so for Professor Zhang, but this should be what he wants and probably why he played that joseki in the first place! The circumstances are the same as the large slant joseki from earlier. Only one can survive, so unless the other falls, no one can get out. The only thing is we don't know who will remain standing at the end!"

In the spectator room, people were shouting and cheering!

"You can do it!"

"Charge!"

"Professor Zhang, go for it!"

But very quickly, their expressions changed!

Just as Zhang Ye's white stones were bashing his opponent, Peter played a wonderfully magnificent move!

After three minutes of thinking, Peter applied pressure in the corner and cut off Zhang Ye's momentum straight down the middle!

Zhang Ye frowned. His expression of helplessness was captured by the cameras.

The Americans applauded Peter's move!

Alright!

Beautiful!

That was very well executed!

Meanwhile, those who were siding with Zhang Ye could only sigh in unison!

Zhang Ye made his next move!

Peter attacked again!

Zhang Ye played a horizontal stretch!

Peter chased after him!

When Zhang Ye knew that nothing would come out of this, he gave up and got out of the entanglement.

Xiang Rong sighed. "Peter has broken through again!"

Yu Yingyi asked anxiously, "How is Professor Zhang doing then?"

Chen Ying answered, "Professor Zhang has suffered another great loss. The series of exchange in the upper corner has led him to lose at least another ten or more points. Then, there is another group of five or six stones that have been surrounded and are dead!"

Dead?

Another group was dead?

Yu Yingyi despaired!

When the television viewers heard that, they also lost all hope!

They had been down by over a dozen points. And now, they were down by yet another dozen points? Adding them together, wouldn't they be at around a 30-point deficit? What else was there left to play for!

They were going to lose?

There shouldn't be a way to play on, right?

Chen Ying 7-dan said sadly, "Professor Zhang is very much so in danger. Although I'm also rooting for him to win, based on the board state, there's almost no hope."

Xiang Rong also felt the same. "If it were me, I would've resigned by now."

Resign? That would mean conceding the game!

Even Xiang Rong was saying this, so it could be seen just how hopeless things was for Zhang Ye!

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However, Zhang Ye did not do so!

Not only did he not concede, Zhang Ye still looked as calm as ever as he continued playing. This time, he played his move right in the third corner where there were already some stones setup!

Peter immediately replied with a cut!

Zhang Ye pushed deeper!!

Peter did not allow it!

Zhang Ye forced his way in!

Peter pushed him back!

With the Magic Sword Joseki cracked, the remaining computation for the moves weren't that difficult for Peter. It was starting to play efficiently again and almost did not waste any time. Every move was completed within a minute, while it was Zhang Ye's turn to be deep in the tank.

The board state proceeded to the middlegame!

The two sides exchanged another eight moves in that corner!

Although Zhang Ye was still fighting, everyone else thought he was just trying to hold on!

The Americans were confident of their victory. Some of them had already looked away from the play. They didn't think that there was any need to watch as the result had been determined!

The Great Slant Joseki?

The Magic Sword Joseki?

Peter cracked them one after the other and showcased how strong its Go skills were!

They believed, in fact, everyone believed, that Zhang Ye was at a dead end. They didn't think that he had any moves left to play!

But right when Peter played a move at what everyone thought was a great position, Zhang Ye suddenly laughed!

It finally happened!

I knew that you would play this move!

Without any hesitation, Zhang Ye pushed!

At the beginning, no one saw anything particular about it.

But when Peter went deep in the tank again after the Great Slant Joseki and the Magic Sword Joseki, everyone suddenly felt that something was wrong. A bad premonition hit them!

Xiang Rong was startled as he shouted, "It's here again! Professor Zhang is doing it again!"

Chen Ying looked dumbfounded as she just stared in shock at the board!

What in the world!

Again?

You're doing it again?

Hu Liang's legs wobbled!

Xu Han was floored again!

Wu Changhe and Dan Donghe were speechless.

When they noticed the fearsomeness and shamelessness of Zhang Ye's move, everyone silently put that bastard Zhang Ye onto their blacklists!

They knew that they would never want to play against him in the future!

They would absolutely not do something like that!

If they played him, they would probably end up vomiting so much blood that they would die of blood loss!

What kind of move was this?

What kind of playstyle was this?

Americans were only average at Go and were barely seen in international tournaments. Even if there were any, they would have Chinese or Korean ethnicity. But that did not mean that Americans did not know Go. Since the team members could issue a challenge to all humanity on behalf of Peter, they definitely understood Go! When they saw that move by Zhang Ye, and Peter going deep in the tank yet again, the reactions of the Americans could only be described as "what the fuck!" In their heads, they were cursing at all 18 generations of Zhang Ye's ancestors!

Why don't you just die!

Are you finished yet? Fuck!

After the first one, you still had a second?

After the second one, you're now playing a third?

What is this?

Just what the hell is this?

All of the American team members were raging, but Zhang Ye maintained his calm.

The Avalanche Joseki 3 —the third of the three most complex josekis from Zhang Ye's previous world!

1. https/senseis./?34PointJosekis https/senseis./?Joseki AlphaGo's analysis of this joseki https//photo.php?fbid=1635983276436237set=pcb.1635990279768870type=3theater

2. 骗招/piàn zhāo/hamete - Referring to a trap in joseki, typically a tricky but incorrect play that requires skill to refute. https/senseis./?Hamete

3. https/senseis./?NadareJoseki

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Chapter 1142: You're done here, it's my turn!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

The Go players were all stunned!

The netizens were jumping for joy!

"Aiyo, I'm dying of laughter!"

"Pfft!"

"Requesting to view Peter's 'phobias' stats!"

"Did PeterGo crash?"

"How does Zhang Ye come up with such complex josekis at the snap of a finger!"

"It's already the third one! This is already the fucking third one!"

"Just how many does he have left?"

"Who knows!"

"Could he possibly make a comeback?"

"There shouldn't be anything left to play for in this game, right?"

"Is Teacher Zhang spiting the Americans on purpose?"

Five minutes!

Ten minutes!

Fifteen minutes!

Peter seemed to have crashed!

Zhang Ye smiled and looked at the screen. Ever since the start of the game, he had not shown any trace or acceptance of a loss. He was either just very calm or wore a smile on his face that no one could understand. No one knew what Zhang Ye intended to do and felt that he was just trying to mess up the board state on purpose. But they all had to admit that Zhang Ye really knew how to make trouble for Peter. Just with those three extremely complex josekis that no one had ever seen before nor replicable by anyone in the Go world, Zhang Ye had done something to Peter that no one before him could manage. Let alone being able to make Peter "vomit blood," they could not even cause it any trouble. Further, Zhang Ye had won yesterday's game fair and square!

Wu Changhe sighed, "This kid, what's the point of constantly playing those josekis? Even after taking all that trouble to play them, he was still killed off by that P-whatever its name was thingy! Does he even know the difference in scores? He can't catch up!"

Hu Liang thought so too. He yelled at the screen, "Professor Zhang, why don't you at least try to catch up! This kind of joseki is too complex! You might find yourself getting entangled in it!"

"Is he going to lose?"

"Aiyo, I'm dying from the anxiety!"

"Professor Zhang, show your might!"

"Do something like that Hand of God you played yesterday!"

With this Avalanche Joseki played, everyone felt like they were breaking down. But there was nothing that they could do since he had played it!

Zhang Ye could understand why they felt that way. He had brought out all three of his previous world's most complex josekis, all of them within just one game. This was not even seen before in his previous world at any of the official tournaments, and it was practically impossible for something like this to happen. How would most professional Go players react when they saw the Magic Sword Joseki? The Avalanche Joseki? The Great Slant Joseki? They would all be pissing their pants already! It was certainly not something that they would play, and if any one of these complex josekis made an appearance in a game, it would be a feat! So for three of them to appear within one game? That would surely be the death of them!

If that was how a world with these three josekis already in existence would react, then it wasn't necessary to speak of just how a world that had not seen them before would react!

The three complex josekis have all been played!

This was a fucking hell game!

There shouldn't be another Go game as complicated as this one, ever!

Of course, the appearance of these three josekis was a result of Zhang Ye's deliberate guidance. It was easier to accept that the Magic Sword and Great Slant Josekis had been played as the conditions to form the patterns were simpler. But the Avalanche Joseki was much more complicated and would rarely appear due to being much more conditional than the other two. After Zhang Ye's failure with the Magic Sword Joseki, he had to purposely bring the game over to the structure in the other corner. Relying on a bit of experience and luck, as well as his slight understanding of Peter's cognitive principles, Zhang Ye was finally able to lead Peter into the trap!

Come on!

Have a taste of this!

The time left on Peter's clock was slowly dwindling!

The live broadcast camera zoomed in on the digits of the clock as they counted down—there weren't even 30 minutes of left on its clock. Only 26 minutes were showing on the clock! Even though they were in the middlegame, and though Peter was leading by quite a bit, it had very little time left on the clock!

In contrast, Zhang Ye still had an hour and thirty minutes left!

When there were just 25 minutes left on Peter's clock, it made a move!

Peter played a push 1 !

Zhang Ye went with the flow and fought it!

Peter countered!

Zhang Ye called an atari!

Peter gave up on the stone!

Zhang Ye captured a black stone!

Two moves later, Peter called an atari on the side of the board!

Zhang Ye did not allow it!

Peter thought for a good five minutes before placing a stone, which was a crucial move!

Chen Ying could not help but say, "Beautiful!"

Yu Yingyi said, "Peter seems to be playing much faster!"

Xiang Rong said, "Yes, compared to earlier, it's much faster!"

Zhang Ye did not have a good way to deal with this move yet, so he had to retreat from there.

But Peter pressed on!

That resulted in Zhang Ye countering with an atari on his next move!

This move of his was welcomed by applause and cheers from those in the commentary booth, as well as everyone else who was watching the match!

Chen Ying said, "Good! Great!"

Xiang Rong was taken aback as he realized that Zhang Ye did not suffer a loss this time. Not only did he not suffer a loss, he even captured a stone and regained a few points against all odds!

The Qiyuan's people were astonished!

This was the first time that Zhang Ye had made Peter taste defeat in a fight in the corners. But whatever this meant, they were not in the mood to think about it. Neither did their attention deviate to that as the battle on the board was so intense that no one was considering other things!

Only Zhang Ye eyes shifted as he kept smiling!

Perhaps due to its earlier mistake, Peter went deep in the tank for another four minutes before playing its next move, then thought for another 3 minutes for its next move!

Zhang Ye did not seem to need to think and played spontaneously!

Peter played a horizontal stretch!

Zhang Ye preemptively grabbed a position!

Peter hesitated for a moment before rushing to fight for it!

Zhang Ye then played a very unusual ghost move 2 !

Peter considered its moves for another three minutes!

Chen Ying suddenly said, "Peter is about to break the joseki!"

Xiang Rong did not say anything.

Sure enough, Peter's next move attacked straight in. With that, the deadlocked battle in the corner came a temporary end, and Peter successfully escaped. But unlike the previous two times, perhaps due to its internal configuration for time rules, many of its moves were hastily played without much thought at all. This led to Peter escaping the fight in the corner only after taking a loss of four or five points!

Yu Yingyi quickly asked, "How are things?"

Chen Ying smiled and said, "This time, Professor Zhang has played the joseki successfully!"

"What?" Yu Yingyi was pleasantly surprised. "That's great!"

Xiang Rong continued and immediately poured cold water on that by saying, "But Peter still has an advantage in the other territories. There's also still a 25, 26 point difference in the score!"

Yu Yingyi fell silent!

25 to 26 points?

The game was entering the latter half!

Chen Ying sighed. "It won't be easy to catch up. It's almost impossible!"

The mood dipped a little. This corner fight might have been won, but it was unable to affect the entire battle. Professor Zhang might have played splendidly here, but it did not affect the overall board state much!

The Americans heaved a sigh of relief.

They've finally won!

A loss of four or five points? That was fine, it was totally acceptable. As long as they could break the joseki, it was all fine and they would definitely be able to take this game! Subtracting the compensation, they still led by 25 to 26 points? There was still more than half the game left to be played, so it would be very difficult for them to throw the game! Their advantage was clear as day!

The Americans representative smiled as he looked at Zhang Ye.

Come!

What other moves do you have left?

Huh? What do you have left?

However, one of the Caucasians in the group got startled. He looked shocked as he tugged at the representative and pointed at the computer in a fluster!

Chen Ying also realized it!

She shouted, "Something's wrong! Something's off!"

Yu Yingyi was taken aback. "What is it?"

Chen Ying excitedly pointed at Peter's clock. "Take a look at that! Look at Peter's remaining time!"

Yu Yingyi exclaimed, "Two minutes and twenty-two seconds?"

Xiang Rong's eyes lit up. "Peter only has two minutes left!"

The Americans could feel their hearts dropping. This was bad!

Meanwhile, the Qiyuan's people blew up!

Li Qinqin said in shock, "Two minutes! Two minutes more and the main time will end. Every move after that will have to be played within one minute! Peter is out of time!"

Hu Liang said, "Even two hours are not enough?"

Dan Donghe exulted. "It was all spent on dealing with Professor Zhang's three josekis!"

Xu Han gasped, "What is Professor Zhang trying to do?"

Everyone looked at one another and could see the shock in one another's eyes!

The three josekis were played, but Zhang Ye's plan was not to use them to win the game. It was not so that he could fight against Peter. His objective since the start was to make Peter run out of time! But would that still be possible? With such a great deficit of points, could he catch up? What moves did Zhang Ye have left?

In an instant, the atmosphere chilled!

The home viewers were also looking at their television screens in shock!

The American representative panicked but quickly forced himself to calm down. Impossible! He couldn't catch up! Even if Peter did not have much main thinking time left and could only use one minute for the overtime after the main time was over, it could still control the overall board state. Besides, with two of the corners already lost, how can you play on? It was too late for that!

A comeback?

Not even God could achieve that!

Chen Ying's voice was getting very loud. "The board is in a very delicate state! Peter has the advantage and is almost in a winning position, but it has used up most of its main time! It won't be able to make any more in-depth decisions! Is there a way to play on? Can Professor Zhang turn things around? Has this been what he was waiting for all along? What killer moves does he have left that he hasn't shown us? Right now, the entire pride of the Go world is in his hands!"

That's right!

Zhang Ye had been waiting for this moment!

He looked at the computer and smiled. We Chinese have a traditional saying called "You're done here, it's my turn." After hogging the limelight for so long, I guess you should be done here?

It's my turn!

This bro will give you a lesson today!

I'll show you another famous playstyle from my previous world!

1. 压/Yā/oshi https/senseis./?Push

2. https/senseis./?BloodVomitingGame

Chapter 1143: Go can be played this way?

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

At the Xuanwumen Go Club for the elderly.

A group of elderly people was getting impatient.

"He has fallen behind by too much!"

"Yeah, so what if he has more time?"

"I'd rather he exchange some of that time for points. He's behind by 25, 26 points as we enter the middlegame. Even a miracle can't save him!"

"Agreed."

"It will be very difficult to continue playing!"

…

Back at home.

His father was getting very anxious. "What should he do? What should he do now?"

His mother said loudly, "Aiyo, keep quiet and sit down! Keep watching!"

His father said, "How can I stay seated? He's losing by so much!"

…

At Old Rao's house.

Yang Shu said eagerly, "Why isn't Senior Bro getting anxious?"

Rao Aimin glanced at the television. "Him? He's just trying to act cool and mysterious."

Chenchen asked, "Aunt, will Zhang Ye win?"

"How can he win?" Rao Aimin pursed her lips. Although that was what she said, Old Rao's eyes were still glued to the game on the television.

…

The state of the board was approaching the most crucial period!

The board was also in a most dangerous state!

China Qiyuan's people were all waiting to see just what Zhang Ye was planning. Some of them were clutching their chests with racing hearts. They were simply unable to watch any further!

A professional 5th dan female Go player covered her eyes. "I'm can't watch!"

A 6th dan youth player next to her turned his back to the screen, moaning as he did, as if it would help to ease the tension. But in the end, it wasn't useful at all. So he stuck both his index fingers into his ears, afraid that he would hear Zhang Ye suddenly resign!

"Come on!"

"Professor Zhang, you can do it!"

"Come on!"

"May God bless you!"

"Heavenly Father, please let us win! I beg of you!"

The people at the Qiyuan started shouting. This might well be their final cries!

At present, whether it be the Americans, the Qiyuan's people, or the home viewers, nobody believed that Zhang Ye stood any chance of winning. But none of these people knew that they were about to witness a sensational game!

On the live broadcast.

Zhang Ye smiled and made a move. He placed a white stone in the corner which Peter had taken with a move after he had played the Magic Sword Joseki!

This move was very surprising!

So surprising that even Xiang Rong was taken aback!

Xiang Rong 9-dan said, "What?"

Chen Ying even shouted, "Oh my God, what is Professor Zhang trying to do?"

Yu Yingyi did not dare to speak. She just stared blankly at the screen!

Chen Ying felt incredulous. She could not understand Zhang Ye's intent. "This corner was where that fight took place. Professor Zhang has clearly lost the area, with his stones mostly surrounded by Peter's black stones. Not too many of Professor Zhang's white stones are still alive! But we're seeing Professor Zhang's white stone has once again rushed in for an attack. What's the meaning of this? Suicide? A sacrifice? Or has he made a mistake!"

A mistake?

Everyone paled!

He was behind by so much, and he made a mistake?

Peter probably did not expect that Zhang Ye would venture an attack here. Perhaps due to a lack of time, Peter played its move at the very next second!

Peter played a stand against the attack!

Zhang Ye bumped!

Peter called an atari!

Zhang Ye did not allow it!

Then Peter went with a horizontal stretch!

Chen Ying was despairing. "The white stones are sinking deeper and deeper. Professor Zhang is also falling further and further behind in points. That mistake was a fatal one and has put him in a worse state than before!"

Wu Changhe lambasted, "What the heck is he doing!"

Li Qinqin said in surprise, "That isn't like Little Zhang!"

Xu Han remarked, "What is he doing? Why'd he go for that corner?"

Hu Liang shouted, "Those white stones are practically dead! How can he prevent it?"

At this point, Peter had run out of main time, his clock reaching zero!

Zhang Ye played a cut!

Peter's overtime period began!

In these types of competitions, one wouldn't lose after their main time was used up. Instead, the game would enter into play that was similar to "blitz." This meant that every move Peter played would have to be made within one minute. Otherwise, if it exceeded this duration and used up the three allocated one-minute overtime periods, the referee would automatically give Peter the loss based on the rules!

10 seconds.

30 seconds.

50 seconds.

Peter hurriedly played a reinforcing move.

Zhang Ye played a descent!

Chen Ying said loudly, "Why is he still attacking over there?"

Yu Yingyi said sadly, "He's basically giving away his stones for nothing!"

This was where Peter had marked out its territory, and though Zhang Ye's stones hadn't been fully captured, they weren't far from it. But now, Zhang Ye was playing more and more stones at this location, sacrificing them with every move he made. This was something that even a laywoman like Yu Yingyi could understand, but why did it seem like Zhang Ye could not?

The home viewers were also appalled!

"We're done for!"

"This time, we're utterly done for!"

"Teacher Zhang has lost it!"

"Damn, he's almost 40 points behind now, isn't he?"

Zhang Ye was seemingly unaware of it all, and after thinking for five minutes, he played again. He still had time left, so much time that he could play at ease.

Peter played its next move with three seconds left in its overtime period!

The Americans looked at one another with smiles on their faces!

The two international referees were somewhat speechless!

But a miracle happened at the very next second!

Without any warning, Zhang Ye suddenly countered with a white stone that landed on a position no one had expected!

Things instantly became tense!

Peter was stunned!

The timer counted up very quickly!

Peter was forced to play!

Zhang Ye smiled as he lightly clicked the mouse—atari!

With that, many people looked shocked!

Xiang Rong cried out, "He's pressing to capture those live stones with a ladder 1 !"

Chen Ying looked like she had seen a ghost!

The Qiyuan's people and Go players watching the TV were also dumbfounded!

Forcefully trying to capture the live stones through a ladder?

This was too crazy!

This was too overbearing!

As it turned out, Zhang Ye's earlier series of "blunders" were all made to kill off this black stone of Peter's. In their eyes, this was something only a madman would attempt! The price to pay was too great! If anything went wrong, it would lead to doom! It would lead to a very bad end!

Peter couldn't do anything but give up on that stone!

Zhang Ye captured it!

Then Peter played!

Zhang Ye attacked from the outside!

Peter was taken aback and hurriedly retreated!

Then the most critical stone landed on the board!

Zhang Ye smiled as he clicked the mouse again and called for atari once more. The Magic Sword Joseki that had almost been surrounded by Peter's white stones had now been used by Zhang Ye against the AI. This took Peter by complete surprise!

The Americans were stunned!

Chen Ying was dumbfounded!

Everyone watching the game was shocked!

Zhang Ye captured yet another stone. Normally, the loss of this stone should have been acceptable since Peter was so far ahead. It shouldn't have mattered much at all!

But that was not the case this time!

This stone was different from the others!

When Zhang Ye took that second black stone for himself, even the international referees were shocked to the point that their jaws dropped. They stared fixedly at Zhang Ye as though he was a god of some sort!

Hu Liang exclaimed, "Holy shit!"

Xu Han shouted, "What the fuck!"

Wu Changhe was shocked!

Dan Donghe looked astounded!

They had all witnessed an unbelievable sight!

The stones came alive!

Zhang Ye's dead group in the corner had been revived!

Countless people were looking at the Go board, but none of them could believe what they were seeing!

Sacrificing stones?

Suiciding them?

Forcefully trying to capture live stones using a ladder?

And the dead group got revived!

This…this was a divine miracle!

This…this was pure sorcery!

They were all overwhelmed by Zhang Ye's offbeat playstyle!

Even many of the top pros were seeing this for the first time. It could be played this way? Go can even be played this way?!

1. 征/zhēng/shichō - A ladder is a technique for capturing stones. At each step the attacker reduces the defender's liberties from two to one. https/senseis./?Ladder

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Chapter 1144: Humanity wins!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

The living group 1 died!

And the dead group got revived!

This was the famous "Zombie Style" from Zhang Ye's previous world. The playstyle was the claim to fame of the representative figure of the Go world, Lee Sedol 2 !

There was no such playstyle in this world, and no one has ever seen something like it before. So you could imagine the shock they received when they saw Zhang Ye's dead group get revived. The Zombie Style was a very different playstyle and strategy that players would resort to in times of adversity. This sort of strategy required a higher standard of play than the Cosmic Style. It not only required the player to have an awareness of the overall board state and ability to force an attack, but also required a strong understanding of dead groups, a strong concept of thickness and thinness, as well as have good control of the pace of the game. A player would need to be exceptional in all of those areas to be able to play the Zombie Style. This sort of extraordinary playstyle was also practically unwieldable even by those top players who had studied the Zombie Style!

Chen Ying could feel herself going crazy. "He has captured two living stones with a strong ladder! Professor Zhang's white stones in the corner have come back to life! Oh my god! This is truly a stroke of genius!"

Xiang Rong said excitedly, "That was quite beautiful!"

Chen Ying shouted, "Peter did not foresee this move! It didn't see it coming at all!"

Yu Yingyi asked, "What's their score difference now?"

Xiang Rong did a quick calculation. "Including the compensation, he's only behind by about 17 or 18 points!"

After Xiang Rong spoke, Chen Ying remarked, "This is a miracle! It's truly a miracle!"

From a difference of over 30 points, he had caught up to just being slightly behind by a little over a dozen points. Calling it a miracle was quite right, as this was truly unbelievable!

The Americans were panicking!

Why?

Why hadn't Peter prevented that?

This shouldn't have been the case! It was impossible!

Peter was running on an upgraded version of the program! There shouldn't have been anything that it couldn't predict! Suddenly, the American representative glanced at Peter's clock. He blanched and understood what was going on! Peter was out of time! It didn't have any time to do an in-depth analysis before playing its moves!

Shit!

They'd been had!

The Americans only understood at this moment how important time was for Peter. They only just realized that they had all fallen for Zhang Ye's trickery right from the start. Ever since the Great Slant Joseki appeared, they had slowly been walking into Zhang Ye's trap! Zhang Ye had been waiting for just this moment. The three josekis he played had only one objective: to make Peter use up its time!

Watching from home, many viewers stood up!

China Qiyuan's people were also shouting in excitement after being surprised!

Li Qinqin said anxiously in a loud voice, "Can he catch up? Can he really do it?"

Wu Changhe said, "I don't know! I just don't know!"

Dan Donghe was staring hard at the screen while his palms were sweating profusely!

Hu Liang's heart was pounding. "Just about a dozen more points! There are only about a dozen points left to catch up on!"

"Keep going!"

"Go Professor Zhang!"

"You can do it!"

"Yeah! You can do it! You can do it!"

"Get after it!"

"Quick! There's almost no time left!"

Some professional Go players were even shouting at the top of their lungs!

Peter went deep in thought again!

Two…

Three…

At the last second, Peter played a move straight down the center!

Zhang Ye replied with a checking extension!

Peter retreated!

Zhang Ye did not let up and continued attacking with his next move!

Then Peter played a good move. A stone was placed squarely at a critical position and helped the black stones gain a lot of influence in the center of the board where it could advance or retreat easily!

But Zhang Ye did not bother responding to that move and instead played a move near the bottom left corner. He set his sights back on the almost dead Great Slant Joseki!

The American representative shot to his feet!

Hold it off!

Peter!

You have to hold it off!

Chen Ying immediately yelled, "It's back!"

Yu Yingyi felt fired up just watching. "Professor Zhang has started another fight!"

"Will there be another miracle?" Chen Ying's voice was getting louder and louder. "Can it happen again? We can see here that Professor Zhang has begun a siege! What is he planning?"

Peter ignored him and continued taking control of the center!

But Zhang Ye's next stone penetrated behind the enemy lines!

Peter was taken aback and rushed back to cut!

Then Zhang Ye cast a stone away by placing it inside the dead group!

Chen Ying was surprised. "What?"

Yu Yingyi was panicking badly. "Why did he do that?"

Peter did not hesitate and captured Zhang Ye's white stone!

The Americans cheered on the inside!

Alright!

Well done!

However, Zhang Ye just smiled and calmly played on.

Peter played a strong horizontal stretch!

Zhang Ye played a descent!

This descent shocked a lot of people!

The Americans broke out in cold sweats!

Peter retreated!

Zhang Ye went for the kill!

Although he had one of his stones captured, little did anyone know that Zhang Ye's objective was not in that position at all. It was a joseki trap played to open up a position elsewhere. Besides, Zhang Ye only had one objective in mind: to force the living stones into a ladder 3 ! He wanted to swallow all of the black stones over here!

By the time Peter reacted, it was too late!

Zhang Ye called an atari and captured a stone first!

Peter counterattacked!

Zhang Ye brushed it aside and played a hard bump!

Peter reinforced the empty positions!

Zhang Ye called an atari again and took another stone!

A lot of people could feel their blood racing as they watched!

The Qiyuan's people were shouting in shock and surprise!

"Good!"

"Well played!"

"Heavens! Very beautiful!"

"Professor Zhang, attack!"

They would enter to the endgame soon. The Go board was getting very crowded as the positions to play on lessened!

Peter wildly counterattacked around the perimeter, seemingly without any considerations!

Zhang Ye blocked!

Peter struggled and went all out with its next move!

Zhang Ye smiled as Peter played a hard attachment 4 from above!

Right after, Zhang Ye countered with an atari!

If Peter were a living person, it would surely look wan and pale!

When Peter's third stone in the great slant area was captured, those at the venue and watching on TV were so shocked they could not speak!

They came back to life!

About seven white stones came back to life within the dead group!

…

On the Online Go Server.

The online commentator was dumbfounded. "Incredible! What an incredible way of playing! What beautiful captures! Professor Zhang has captured three black stones in a row with ladders! These captures have allowed a portion of the white stones to be revived! Oh my God! This playstyle has to be described as a fantasy! It's literally unheard of!"

…

Beijing Television.

The host said in shock, "What's the difference now?"

The commentator looked even more shocked than the host. Due to the fact that he was a pro Go player, this situation unfolding before him felt impossible. "There's no difference anymore!"

The host was taken aback. "No difference?"

The commentator gasped and said, "There isn't a difference anymore! Zhang Ye is only down by a point or two!"

The host was stunned. "What?"

…

A female Go player screamed, "Ahhhhh!"

Wu Changhe exclaimed, "He has caught up! He's really caught up!"

Dan Donghe's shouts were even littered with curses. "Great showing! That was a fucking great showing!"

"Professor Zhang!" Hu Liang roared.

Li Yi shouted, "We're nearly there!"

Liu Hong 9-dan said, "You're only two points behind! Only two points! Catch up!"

Xu Han led the cheering. "Let's go!"

Everyone responded with cheers!

"Let's go!"

"Let's go!"

"Catch up!"

"Professor Zhang, make a comeback!"

Li Qinqin's eyes were reddening!

Could he do it?

Could Little Zhang really do it?

…

In the game room.

The game was in its closing stages!

Without making any sense, after Zhang Ye revived that small area of white stones, he no longer battled over there. Instead, he went for the center and attacked right away!

Peter played a push-through!

Zhang Ye forcefully attacked!

Peter reinforced its structure!

Zhang Ye attacked again!

Chen Ying stood up. She could no longer sit still!

Xiang Rong's breathing was getting more rapid!

The Americans were staring straight at the board with wide eyes!

It was almost ending!

It was going to finish soon!

Peter made use of its advantageous opening framework in the center to surround two of Zhang Ye's white stones!

Zhang Ye neither panicked nor rushed as he started fighting back from the inside!

Peter played a stone to reinforce its attack!

However, Zhang Ye bumped it back. Next, he played a played a knight's move and the Zombie Style reappeared. It had unexpectedly revived three white stones in the right corner this time as he continued his attack from the opposite direction!

Peter's reinforcing play was too late!

Zhang Ye continued attacking as the revived white stones started to surround the black ones!

Peter fell silent!

It was too quick!

It was way too quick!

Chen Ying finally reacted after three seconds as she looked at the Go board in shock. All of a sudden, tears flooded down her cheeks and she could not stop herself from crying!

Yu Yingyi got frightened. "What's the matter? Teacher Chen, what is it?"

Xiang Rong's hands were trembling!

Yu Yingyi said in panic, "Teacher Xiang? Teacher Chen? What's happening?"

Chen Ying sobbed, "We've won!"

Yu Yingyi was startled. "What?"

Chen Ying cried, "We woooooon!"

Yu Yingyi froze!

1. https/senseis./?Alive

2. https/en./wiki/Lee_Sedol

3. 征/zhēng/shichō - A ladder is a technique for capturing stones. At each step, the attacker reduces the defender's liberties from two to one. https/senseis./?Ladder (etymology on this page should be ignored)

4. 碰/Pèng/tsuke - The contact play or attachment is a move which is played in immediate contact with (that is, directly next to) a stone of the opponent (without being in such a relationship with a friendly stone). https/senseis./?Attach

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Chapter 1145: A hero is born!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

We won?

We really won?

When they heard that on the Central TV Sports Channel live broadcast, all of the television viewers sprang up from their seats and stared at the screen in shock, watching as Zhang Ye and Peter played out the endgame 1 . It wasn't over yet, and many people were still unsure whether Chen Ying 7-dan's claims were true!

One stone.

Five stones.

Ten stones.

Zhang Ye kept smiling.

But Peter's moves were getting more and more pathetic as it started making more and more mistakes!

The moment the match ended, the two international referees fast walked over to verify the game!

The Americans were pale as a sheet of paper!

The room fell eerily silent!

…

Japan.

"The game's over!"

"It's ended!"

How was it?"

"Who won?"

…

Korea.

"What are things like?"

"How did it go?"

"Hurry up and announce the result already!"

…

Over in China, people were even more interested!

"Has he won?"

"Quickly announce the result!"

"Damn, what exactly is the result?"

…

In the game room.

As this was a very crucial match, the international referees had to verify the game several times before finally giving each other a look. The older referee of the two gave a slight smile.

The camera focused on him!

Thousands and thousands of people were watching him on their televisions!

They heard the older referee announce, "In this game, Zhang Ye is victorious!"

2-1!

Zhang Ye had won!

Humanity won!

And he even won by more than 20 points!

In the endgame, Zhang Ye took an overwhelming victory by making a comeback from more than 30 points down to win the game by over 20 points. It was truly a miracle!

Yu Yingyi shouted, "We've won! We've won!"

Chen Ying was still sobbing. "Congratulations, Professor Zhang! This is a historic victory for the Go world! Professor Zhang has helped the Go world safeguard the honor of humanity! He is amazing! Professor Zhang was amazing today! This has got to be the highest level of Go achieved by humans! This has got to be the most unforgettable match of the entire international world of Go! After three days of competition, Professor Zhang has defeated the AI by a score of two to one! Professor Zhang has used the most practical of actions to show machines and those arrogant Americans that humans are unbeatable in Go!"

Arrogant Americans?

The director quickly cautioned Chen Ying through her earpiece!

But Chen Ying was already feeling so fired up that she could no longer contain herself. How could she be bothered with using the proper courtesy? She could only use shouting to express herself!

…

At the Xuanwumen Go Club for the elderly.

A middle-aged man threw the game record in his hands into the air!

An old man looked at the screen all atremble. He was crying!

"We've won!"

"Zhang Ye has won!"

"Victory is ours! It's ours!"

…

At home.

His mother let out an excited shout!

His father couldn't contain his excitement either!

"My son won!"

"Little Ye defeated the computer!"

…

At Old Rao's house.

Yang Shu shouted so loudly that the entire apartment complex could hear her!

"Senior Bro wooooon!"

Rao Aimin rolled her eyes. "That kid really won?"

...

At the SARFT.

Wu Zeqing called Secretary Bai over with a smile.

"Chief Wu?"

"I'll be treating everyone for lunch."

"Ah, alright."

…

At Old Yao's house.

Yao Mi yelled, "He snatched victory from the jaws of defeat! Oh my God!"

Yao Jiancai's wife said, "Little Zhang really did it!"

"He's ascending!" Yao Jiancai's jaw dropped!

…

The live broadcast was still filming!

Chaos reigned at the venue. The moment the result was announced, someone pushed open the door to the game room from outside. Then China Qiyuan's people started streaming in. Wu Changhe, Li Qinqin, Dan Donghe, Li Yi, and Liu Hong were all looking pleasantly surprised!

Zhang Ye stood up and waved at everyone.

He was instantly surrounded by the group of excited people!

Wu Changhe asked loudly, "What are those josekis called?"

Zhang Ye laughed and said, "They're the Great Slant, Magic Sword, and Avalanche Josekis."

Dan Donghe asked, "What about that playstyle at the end?"

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "It's called the Zombie Style."

"What a great Zombie Style! What a great Zombie Style!" Wu Changhe's voice was trembling with excitement. No one could stop laughing. "Hahahahahaha!"

Li Qinqin said, "Little Zhang, you're the best!"

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "It was quite a close call; I nearly lost the game. Fortunately, I did not disgrace everyone."

All of a sudden, in the focus of the live broadcast camera.

Hu Liang took a step forward and grabbed Zhang Ye!

Xu Han swiftly followed!

Tian Weiwei also rushed over!

Over a dozen young people lifted Zhang Ye up at once. No one knew if they had discussed this beforehand or thought of it spontaneously.

Zhang Ye was startled by this. "Hey, hey, hey, take it easy! Take it easy!"

But they ignored him and suddenly tossed him high!

Zhang Ye was scared out of his wits, but everyone was cheering!

"Zhang Ye!"

"Zhang Ye!"

"Zhang Ye!"

"Zhang Ye!"

They threw him into the air!

Then they caught him!

Then they threw him into the air again!

Many of the pro players expressed their excitement in their own way!

"We've won!"

"We've really won!"

A few female players off to the side were wiping their tears away as they cried with joy. They felt too emotional and did not know how to describe their feelings. Perhaps only by crying could they show their most sincerest of feelings. It was probably also the most direct response they could muster! A lot of people were crying!

Even Dan Donghe couldn't help but tear up a little when he saw this!

No one could control their emotions!

Because it was so incredible they couldn't control themselves!

Shinji 9-dan!

Park Yuhee!

Xiang Rong!

All of the top Go players had fallen to this artificial intelligence. Just as humanity was staring at a crushing defeat, Zhang Ye stepped forward and single-handedly saved the Go world after much difficulty. Witnessing this scene, not only did the blood of those in the Go world race, even the television viewers felt fired up and passionate!

The netizens started flooding the servers with their comments!

The flood of comments was so great that it could even turn the Heavens upside down!

"This is so awesome!"

"Zhang Ye, you're so cool!"

"Damn, I didn't like him that much in the past, but today, I've turned from passerby into fan! I'm even going to be a diehard fan!"

"Face-smacking Zhang has shown his prowess again! I knew he wouldn't be pushed around so easily! Who is Zhang Ye? When has this fellow ever been at a disadvantage?! An AI? And it's even an upgraded version? So what if it has been upgraded! Didn't it still get its face smacked swollen by Face-smacking Zhang all the same! Look at the faces of those Americans!"

"This release feels so good!"

"This is so fun!"

"No one else could do something like this! Zhang Ye is amazing!"

"There hasn't been anyone like Zhang Ye in showbiz for the past 500 years, nor will there be another person like him in the next 500 years!"

"Face-smacking Zhang has left Peter in tears in China!"

"Zhang Ye is indeed the better of the two!"

"My idol! Zhang Ye is definitely going to be my idol for life!"

"I want to learn Go!"

"Me too, I'm suddenly very interested in it!"

"Although I don't know how to play Go, tears were inexplicably rolling down my cheeks from watching the game and listening to the commentary on TV! It was so exciting! Teacher Zhang is a real blessing to mankind. Everyone, please don't criticize him in the future! Otherwise, if we encounter this kind of situation again in the future, who would want to step forward for us? Who could turn things around like Teacher Zhang has done? Other than him, no one's capable of doing so! Don't you guys agree?"

"Agreed!"

"Well-spoken! There's nothing wrong with it!"

"Right, let's not criticize him in the future!"

"Just based on this war between humans and machines, I will support all of Zhang Ye's future works!"

"Teacher Zhang was really fucking cool today!"

"Today, Zhang Ye is the hero of the Go world!"

1. https/senseis./?Endgame

Chapter 1146: How lonely it is to be invincible!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

Outside the Qiyuan.

Firecrackers popped. Nobody knew who had lit them, but several strings of firecrackers went off one after another. It sounded like the new year had come again.

Faint shouts could also be heard.

"Face-smacking Zhang is almighty!"

"Face-smacking Zhang is almighty!"

"Face-smacking Zhang is almighty!"

"Go back home, you Americans!"

"Hahahahaha!"

The crowd waiting at the entrance were in a celebratory mood!

Inside.

Zhang Ye's phone was blowing up with calls!

His eldest younger sister's call:

"Brother! You were so awesome!"

"Haha, that's of course!"

"I would like to learn Go too, teach me."

"Man, you don't have the talent, so you should forget about it."

B-list singer Xiaodong's call:

"You were incredible!"

"Haha, I guess I wasn't too bad."

"Damn, who could have thought that you would really win against the AI! The group of us were all watching the live broadcast. Amy, Xiaoxian, and I were dumbfounded from watching!"

He received over a dozen calls!

His friends and relatives each took turns to bombard his phone with calls!

After hanging up on the last call, Zhang Ye was feeling quite happy. He was suddenly overcome with emotion and sang.

"How lonely it is to be invincible.

"How empty it feels to be invincible.

"Standing alone at the summit, the cold wind continues to blow past.

"Who can understand my loneliness!"

The more he sang, the more excited he became.

"How lonely it is to be invincible.

"How empty it feels to be invincible.

"She who hides beyond the horizon, can you hear what I have to relate!

"My loneliness!

"Endless loneliness!"

Zhang Ye did not even notice that there were still some reporters and cameras nearby. He just sang a song from his previous world called " Invincible 1 "!

The reporters were dumbfounded by what they heard!

A cameraman nearly burst out laughing!

How arrogant!

This fellow was too good at putting on a show!

A middle-aged reporter suddenly looked to the cameraman and asked loudly, "Did you get that? Did you record the singing?"

That cameraman was stunned and quickly checked the camera. "Oh, it was recorded!"

"That's great!" The reporters were all excited!

No matter what conduct that was, it was still Zhang Ye's new song!

...

At the press conference venue.

Everyone had arrived.

Zhang Ye was led over together with the Qiyuan's people, as well as the American team members.

The press conference was about to begin, and it was the largest one held over the span of the three games. Almost all of the media outlets that could attend were present. The mainstream Chinese media, television stations, and quite a number of Japanese and Korean reporters, along with some Caucasian reporters from either Europe or America, were all gathered here.

The sea of reporters took to their seats and stared in anticipation as they waited to ask their questions. Some of the reporters could not wait anymore and shot off a barrage of questions!

Dan Donghe pressed both hands down to quiet the crowd. "Can you please ask one by one?"

An assistant from the Qiyuan pointed at a reporter whose hand was raised.

That person stood up and asked the American team, "Peter has lost, so the AI you claimed would surpass the wisdom and intelligence of humans couldn't win in the end. So then, will your side admit that the AI is inferior to the wisdom and intelligence of humanity? Or do you all still insist you are right?"

The American representative said, "I firmly believe that it will be the era of AIs from now on. Today's loss was just a minor setback to the long road ahead. It's not that big a deal at all. We're also very grateful to Professor Zhang for showing us that humans are that skilled. We hadn't believed it was possible. Moving on, we will continue to work on and develop our research on Peter's artificial intelligence! Peter will only get stronger and stronger from here on out!"

Another reporter asked, "Will you all try to challenge Professor Zhang again?"

The American representative said with a sunken expression, "Yes, we will certainly challenge him again. For example, we are currently developing Peter's Xiangqi functionalities and believe that it won't be too long before everyone gets to see it. Compared to Go, Xiangqi is also a rather difficult type of strategy board game. If Peter can defeat humanity in that, then…"

He no longer mentioned anything about Go!

The Americans had changed the subject to Xiangqi!

The reporters were surprised by this. Just as they were about to continue questioning, Zhang Ye spoke up!

Zhang Ye undoubtedly lived up to his nickname of Face-smacking Zhang. He interrupted with a laugh, "Sure, I can actually play Xiangqi too."

The American representative almost fainted!

Several of the American team members nearly vomited blood!

Fuck your second uncle!

How the fuck do you know everything!

Why don't you just die!

Why don't you just go and die!

The Americans were left speechless in the end. They no longer mentioned anything about Xiangqi!

The reporters burst out laughing in their heads

Yu Yingyi was amused in the audience!

Li Qinqin and the others were also in stitches. There was really no one else like Professor Zhang! But there was indeed nothing wrong with what he said. Everyone had witnessed Zhang Ye's Xiangqi skill before and it was really quite advanced!

In the cheerful and light-hearted atmosphere of the venue.

A female reporter stood up. "Hello, I'm a reporter from Xinhua News. Teacher Zhang, you have represented the Go world today and protected its honor by unwaveringly playing out a wonderful game to turn defeat into victory. It left a lot of people covered in cold sweat from watching, but everyone is happy for you. You are indeed worthy of being called the smartest person in the world now!"

Zhang Ye smiled. "Thank you, but you think too highly of me."

A female reporter asked, "What do you think of everyone proclaiming you as a hero?"

Zhang Ye immediately waved it off and kept his smile. He said, "I'm not a hero, I'm really not one. There are many heroes in the Go world, some you can see and others that you don't know about. Everyone here has a dream and has a sincere passion for Go. It's a feeling that most people probably wouldn't understand. I couldn't understand it either in the past, but after being around the Qiyuan's people over the past few days, I've gained a deeper insight." He looked at the Go players from the Qiyuan and said, "There are some people here who retired many years ago but still have the Go world's considerations at heart. They would step forward the moment the Go world faced any trouble. Some of the young players here even studied game records at the Qiyuan until 1 AM. Some of them have had glorious pasts, while others have stayed unknown to those outside the world of Go. But it is these people who have supported the Go world to this stage step by step, so if there are any heroes to speak of, it should be them!"

Many of the reporters were stunned.

Zhang Ye pointed to a man. "Dan Donghe. He made his debut at age 16 and became a world champion in 1984 at the International Go Tournament!"

Applause thundered!

Dan Donghe teared up as he stood and bowed.

Zhang Ye pointed at a second person. "Wu Changhe, once the world number one in Go, led the national team to achieve a historic first in claiming three successive championships. He retired in 1995!"

Wu Changhe gave a soft sigh as he stood up and bowed.

All of the audience was applauding!

Zhang Ye said, "Zhao Hui, an 8th dan Go player. With his teammate seriously sick and absent from an international match, he took it upon himself to step up and face the Japanese team and won the match decider. He retired in 1998!"

Zhao Hui was starting to cry, but he held back his tears and stood up ramrod straight!

Zhang Ye said, "Li Qi, a 7th dan player, previously ranked in the top 20 of the world, and retired in 2005. After his divorce, he volunteered to assist in training the national team for over a decade. In that time, he trained many batches of pro Go players who have gone on to excel in the world stage from behind the scenes! Even now, he has not remarried!"

Li Qi slowly stood up with pride!

The audience kept applauding!

Li Qi's ex-wife cried as she watched the television.

Li Qi's daughter was choking back her tears. "Dad!"

Li Yi.

Xiang Rong.

Chen Ying.

Zhang Ye introduced them one by one.

The reporters were moved. All of them stood up and gave their loudest round of applause! There were many names they had never heard, nor did they know who those people were. But when they listened to Zhang Ye introduce each of their stories, none of the reporters interrupted him nor showed any signs of impatience. They were all very touched, and a few young reporters felt fired up as their emotions surged. There were even two female reporters who could not help but wipe the tears from the corners of their eyes. Their hearts were filled to the brim with emotion!

After he finished introducing them.

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "I'm only a layman who has played three games, so I'm really nothing much in comparison. They are the true heroes of the Go world. Please give them a round of applause!"

The reporters gave another thunderous round of applause!

When the viewers watching TV saw, they were all moved!

Well said, that was really well said!

They are the heroes!

No, all of you are the heroes!

1. Invincible - https/youtu.be/-Ijz0TJbsqI

Chapter 1147: The eternal line of defense for humanity's wisdom!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

Half an hour later.

Zhang Ye's speech ended.

With that, the press conference was also done.

The press conference this time felt more like Zhang Ye's oratory ceremony. The reporters had only asked him one question, but what followed was a long talk by Zhang Ye. He knew what to say and knew what the reporters wanted to know, so he just said everything in a single breath. After all, he and the media had been in such regular contact that they understood each other perfectly. Sometimes, there was even a tacit understanding of a common enemy, such as right now.

Applause was sounding for the umpteenth time. Not counting those domestic reporters, even China Qiyuan's people and the foreign reporters were standing up to applaud Zhang Ye!

Chen Ying was feeling some admiration for him.

Dan Donghe was very pleased.

Yu Yingyi learned quite a lot from Zhang Ye's speech.

Everyone was pretty convinced by Zhang Ye. They knew that it wasn't accidental that he could arrive at where he was today and could sense it from the speech that he had just given. On the contrary, they rather disliked the American team who spoke pompous words and had a condescending attitude toward the wisdom of humanity and Zhang Ye, insisting on their belief that Peter would win for sure. However, even after the results were confirmed, they still seemed like they were not accepting their defeat. Not being able to compete in Go, they shifted their talk to taking on the Xiangqi world instead and tried to justify why Peter had lost during the entire press conference. Compared to Zhang Ye's speech, it was really on a different level. Zhang Ye had not spoken about himself at all and never once took credit for the outcome. Instead, he talked about the veterans and novices of the Go world, as well as the staff working behind the scenes, hailing them as the true heroes!

He was good at speaking?

His emotional quotient was high?

That was absolutely untrue!

The foreign reporters might not know him well, but which Chinese reporter did not understand what kind of person Zhang Ye was? Who would dare to claim that Zhang Ye had a high emotional quotient? If anyone did, they would be the first to get spat on by the others! Zhang Ye's emotional quotient was definitely not high, but the words he spoke all came from his heart. In these days, he had really taken a liking to these lovely people who gave their heart and soul to Go.

Humans were emotional beings. This was unlike machines and perhaps the reason Zhang Ye could win against Peter. And on this point, even if the artificial intelligence were to get developed further and have its computational ability increased and sped up, it would still not be able to learn a thing like emotions.

Everyone dispersed.

The media gradually left to head back to their office to quickly prepare for the news release!

Dan Donghe brought along some people from the Qiyuan and found Zhang Ye. "Professor Zhang, thank you!"

Zhang Ye smiled. "It's what I should do; don't be so courteous."

Dan Donghe tried for the umpteenth time to invite Zhang Ye. "Are you interested in taking up Go? From today onward, your world Go ranking should be number one!"

Hu Liang 7-dan said, "Come join us, Professor Zhang!"

Xu Han said, "Yeah!"

Xiang Rong 9-dan also sincerely invited him. "I've been thinking of retiring for some time now too. I'm already getting old and starting to lose focus whenever I play. pBut our country's young players are not fully mature yet. Tian Weiwei still lacks experience and his playstyle is not stable yet. He can't stand up on his own yet, so I must hold the fort for now. If you do join us, I'll be able to take a step back at last."

"Yeah, Professor Zhang. You are so skilled at Go, it would such a pity if you don't join the national team!" Chen Ying said with a laugh, "If you join us, our national team would dominate everyone else for the next ten years at least!"

This was not drivel. In fact, dominating for just ten years was at the lower end of the estimates. If Zhang Ye were to lead the national Go team, together with Xiang Rong and Li Yi 9-dan, there probably wouldn't be any opponents who could match them. Be it Japan or Korean, be it Shinji 9-dan, Park Yuhee, or anyone else, even if Xiang Rong 9-dan were to retire suddenly, Zhang Ye alone could carry the team and not let them fall.

Zhang Ye quickly waved it off. "I'll pass. But if Peter makes a comeback in the future, just give me a ring. I'll come right over."

Everyone was disappointed.

A Go genius who only came along once a century, the only person who was capable of taking over Xiang Rong 9-dan's position, had actually turned out to be an amateur? He wasn't even considered a professional Go player. This made them all feel a little frustrated. Comparisons really were torturous, and this was certainly the first ever such case in the history of Go!

Dan Donghe knew that Zhang Ye's heart was in a different place, so he didn't try to persuade him any further. He said, "Wherever you might end up in the future, you will always be part of our Qiyuan. If there's anything you need, just let us know!"

Zhang Ye laughed, "Sure."

"Let's go to my place for a meal then." Dan Donghe still remembered what he promised earlier.

Zhang Ye grunted and did not know how to reject his invitation.

As a result, Wu Changhe, who had been silent all this while, suddenly rolled his eyes and said, "Old Dan, what do you mean by going to your place for a meal?"

Dan Donghe said, "Didn't we already agree on that?"

"Who agreed with you?" Wu Changhe harrumphed. "This kid is coming with me. I still have something to settle with him afterwards."

Dan Donghe was having none of it. "I said it first, I asked him to come over first!"

Wu Changhe said, "Who said that you asked him first? I arranged it with him 800 years ago!"

Dan Donghe said, "Were you even born 800 years ago?"

"Why do you care when I was born?" Wu Changhe bickered, "I was born before you, in any case!"

The two of them started arguing.

Everyone else didn't know whether to laugh or cry. They hurriedly tried to calm them down.

In the end, it was Li Qinqin who took Zhang Ye by his hand with a smile. "Let's go, Little Zhang. Come to Auntie's place for a meal." Then she looked at Dan Donghe and said, "Old Dan, I already made food at home."

"Alright then, Sister-in-law," Dan Donghe had to agree. "Professor Zhang, I'll treat you to a meal another day then."

"Sure." Zhang Ye did not say anything else. "I'll be heading off then."

Hu Liang said, "Let's play a practice game some other day."

Zhang Ye said, "No problem."

Xiang Rong said, "Let's have an exchange sometime. We never finished the game game we started."

Zhang Ye smiled, "Sure, at a later date."

"Take care, Professor Zhang!"

"You did a great job!"

"Thank you!"

"If you need any favors in the future, just let us know!"

Everyone waved goodbye to Zhang Ye. Having spent time together over the past few days, Zhang Ye had taken a liking to this group of people who loved Go so deeply, so how could they not change their opinion of him? The rumors regarding Zhang Ye had painted him in a bad light as someone with a bad temper and a vile person who liked scolding people. So they had initially stayed a distance from him even though they respected him. At times, they would even feel uneasy in his presence. But the short time they had together allowed them to understand Zhang Ye better and realize that those rumors were just that, rumors. To those he considered his own, Zhang Ye always treated them very nicely and with a good temper. As a superstar, he never put on any airs around them and could also play Go very well. This made them unable to feel jealous even if they wanted to be jealous of him. They thought of Zhang Ye as a friend now.

...

On the way to Old Wu's parents' place, the newspapers and news reports were starting to appear all over the place!

"Zhang Ye trashes Peter!"

"In the war between humans and machines, humans have prevailed!"

"The ultimate explosion of humanity's wisdom!"

"AI still inferior to wisdom of humanity. Zhang Ye proves the point once again!"

"The savior of the Go world: Zhang Ye!"

"The American team has been sent packing!"

"Zhang Ye's press conference speech: The unsung heroes of the Go world!"

"Zhang Ye says, 'I know how to play Xiangqi too!'"

"Peter will suffer from a phobia of 'Zhang Ye' from here on out!"

"We have reason to believe that as long as Zhang Ye is around, the last line of humanity's wisdom will never be broken through! We should be grateful that a genius like Zhang Ye exists in our world!"

Zhang Ye was once again on fire!

Just a short half a month after King of Masked Singers, Zhang Ye's popularity was once again off the charts!

There were only cheers in the media!

The citizens were also full of praise!

"How awesome!"

"This is Face-smacking Zhang!"

"Hey, Americans, I just want to ask if you have conceded defeat yet?"

"Hahahaha!"

"Zhang Ye was so godly today!"

"I just like the absurdity of Zhang Ye!"

"Yeah, Teacher Zhang's talent and intelligence are really too fucking absurd!"

"If I were those Americans, I would be crying myself home! And I probably won't ever be returning back here ever again!"

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Chapter 1148: Love comes to fruition!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

Later that afternoon.

At a courtyard house in Xuanwumen.

When they entered the northern building, Li Qinqin asked him warmly, "Little Zhang, what would you like to drink?"

"Anything is fine, Auntie," Zhang Ye smiled and said.

Li Qinqin said, "Please don't say that. We have all kinds of drinks here at home that you can choose from."

Zhang Ye replied, "I'm really fine with anything."

Wu Changhe glanced at his wife. "Just get him a cup of hot water."

Li Qinqin stared at him. "How can we serve him hot water?" She then turned to Zhang Ye and said with a smile, "That's right, we actually do have some good tea at home. I heard that just a single gram of it can fetch a price of 10,000 yuan. I don't know if it's true or not, but it's what everyone is saying. Besides, you can't get this tea from anywhere. My daughter brought it back some time ago for us to have a taste. Why don't you have some!"

Wu Changhe put out his hand to stop her. "Hey, that Da Hong Pao is for us!"

Li Qinqin rolled her eyes at him. "You've almost finished all of it already, so why don't you let Little Zhang have a taste."

Wu Changhe's eyes twitched. "We still have some superior Longjing around! Use that!"

Li Qinqin did not listen to him. "I'll just make tea with Da Hong Pao."

Wu Changhe reminded her, "Don't use too many tea leaves! We don't have much left!"

What?

Da Hong Pao?

Zhang Ye was a little taken aback but did not say anything.

Li Qinqin went off to brew the tea, leaving Zhang Ye and Wu Changhe to stare at each other in awkward silence.

Zhang Ye tried to strike up a conversation. "Uncle, is this courtyard house part of your family's property?"

When they were at the Qiyuan, Wu Changhe acted rather chummy with Zhang Ye after he had won the game. But after they returned home, he went back to his uncaring attitude, probably because he still bore a grudge from when he was utterly demolished by Zhang Ye in online Go. He said, "Who else could it belong to if not my family?"

Li Qinqin said as she boiled the water, "Changhe earned some money back when he was playing Go competitively. The value of money at that time was much better and property prices were not expensive, so we bought this courtyard house, as well as a few apartments, some antiques, and calligraphy works. Your uncle is very interested in collecting things like antiques and the such. In recent years, with antiques and property prices rising, we've managed to make quite a bit of money. We're actually just your average family."

Wu Changhe asked, "Is our daughter not back yet?"

"I called her already." Li Qinqin said, "She said that she would knock off earlier today, so she should be back soon. Since you two have some free time, why don't you play a game of Go?"

Zhang Ye was fine with that. "Sure."

But Wu Changhe said in a speechless manner, "Who wants to play him!"

Li Qinqin laughed and said, "Are you afraid of losing?"

"Me? Afraid of losing?" Wu Changhe let out a furious laugh. "I'm telling you, Li Qinqin. It's just that I'm getting on in years. Thinking back to when I, Wu Changhe, was dominating the world of Go for over ten years, was there anyone who dared to challenge me? It's not that I'm bragging, but even I myself would be afraid to face the Go skill that I had at my peak. If I were to return to that era, would a mere AI be a threat to me? Who knows who would win and who would lose!"

Li Qinqin pursed her lips. "Say what you like."

"What do you mean?" Then Wu Changhe looked at Zhang Ye and said, "You just haven't witnessed how good I was back then, you know?"

Zhang Ye hemmed and hawed as he listened to the boasting.

At this moment, the door in the courtyard creaked and footfalls rang out.

Wu Changhe smiled and said, "My daughter is back!"

Zhang Ye stood up and turned around.

Wu Zeqing, who was dressed in a skirt, stepped lightly into the house. She looked at Zhang Ye and smiled. "How about it? I said that you could do it, right? You won today's game beautifully. It was even better than yesterday's game."

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "I had to."

Wu Zeqing asked in concern, "Have you eaten lunch yet?"

"Not yet. The interview got dragged on into lunch time," Zhang Ye said.

Wu Zeqing said, "Let's eat now, I'll cook." Then she pointed at Zhang Ye's attire and said with a smile, "Don't wear such light-colored clothes when you go on camera next time. It doesn't look good on screen. You'd look better dressed in black."

Zhang Ye nodded. "Alright."

Wu Changhe fumed at that. "Daughter, you didn't even say a word to me or your mother after stepping into the house. Is this kid your world?"

Wu Zeqing smiled. She was holding something in her hand and waved it around to her father. "How can that be? I bought edible bird's nest for you and Mom. I got someone to help me bring it over from Indonesia by air."

"That's more like it." Wu Changhe took it from her.

Li Qinqin walked up, taking short strides. "Come, the tea is ready. Come and have a taste."

Wu Zeqing asked, "What type of tea?"

Wu Changhe said angrily, "Your mother is such a wasteful woman. She brewed tea using the Da Hong Pao tea leaves that you gave me that time. Whoa, didn't I say not to use so many tea leaves? Are you crazy? Why did you put in so many tea leaves? Isn't that a little too much?"

Li Qinqin pouted and said to her daughter, "Look at how stingy your dad is. He wouldn't allow others to touch his tea leaves. When I said that I wanted to let Little Zhang try some, he became unhappy."

"But it's so expensive!" Wu Changhe said in distress.

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "Auntie, I can just have some other tea."

Li Qinqin wouldn't allow it. "That won't do. You definitely have not tried this before. Try it, it's a really good tea. I heard that even those CEOs and celebrities couldn't get their hands on it. This tea is even more valuable than gold."

Wu Zeqing laughed helplessly and said, "Mom, how can he not have tasted it before."

Li Qinqin was taken aback. "Did you give some of it to Little Zhang too?"

Wu Zeqing smiled gently and said, "I didn't give him any. In fact, he was the one who gave me the tea leaves. Those Da Hong Pao parent trees on Wuyishan are all his private property. You can only find two types of Da Hong Pao in the market at the moment, and they are either fake or gifted by Little Ye."

Wu Changhe was stunned. "What?"

Li Qinqin was stunned too. "Those tea trees belong to Little Zhang?"

Zhang Ye said in embarrassment, "I bought them while I was on vacation there a while ago."

"Heh, and I was even showing off in front of Little Zhang." Li Qinqin was amused. "So these are his tea leaves. It's really a very good tea! Your dad could never bear to drink it!"

Wu Zeqing said, "If you like the tea, get Little Ye to bring some more over."

Li Qinqin waved her off and said, "That's not necessary, this tea is too expensive. It's just like drinking gold."

But Wu Changhe looked at Zhang Ye as his eyes lit up. "Why would we not want it! Bring a few more catties 1 over. He can't drink all that by himself anyway, so don't let it go to waste."

Zhang Ye was speechless.

Li Qinqin smiled and said, "Why are you so rude?"

Wu Changhe got angry at the very mention. "My daughter has already been duped by him, so why do I have to be polite with him? Even if we uproot his Da Hong Pao parent trees and plant them in our yard, it still wouldn't be enough to appease my anger!"

Zhang Ye cleared his throat. "Uncle, what do you mean by dupe?"

"You are a dupe!"

"How have I duped her?"

"In any case, just bring a few catties over!"

"A few catties? A few catties? Even I don't have that much of it!"

"I don't care!"

"I'll bring you half a catty."

"Two catties!"

"300 grams!"

"1.5 catties!"

"350 grams at the most!"

The two of them started bickering again!

Wu Zeqing and Li Qinqin were smiling off to the side.

Even though they were arguing, things felt completely different from the first time Zhang Ye came to their house!

It was obvious that Wu Changhe had silently approved of the relationship between Zhang Ye and Wu Zeqing from the way he spoke, even though he wasn't exactly willing to accept it.

An hour later, lunch was ready.

As they were eating, Wu Zeqing tested the waters by asking with a smile, "The two of you already know about Little Ye and I. So then, I guess that's how it is?"

Wu Changhe groaned as he ate lunch without saying a word.

But Li Qinqin was very happy. "Little Zhang is quite good, I rather like him."

Wu Zeqing said, "That's great then."

Li Qinqin probed further, "When are you two getting married? Have you decided on a date yet?"

"Not yet. Aren't we seeking both your opinions right now? I haven't visited Little Ye's family either. I think I'll have to make a trip there soon," Wu Zeqing said.

Li Qinqin said happily, "You aren't young anymore and have been single for so many years. Your dad and I are also pretty anxious about you. You two can just decide on a date; there's no need to seek our opinions. Your dad and I will not have any objections."

Wu Changhe rolled his eyes.

Wu Zeqing smiled and said, "Dad, you don't have any objections either?"

Wu Changhe said angrily, "Of course I have objections! But would that matter to you!"

"Then that means there are no objections." Wu Zeqing nodded and said, "Alright, I understand. I will discuss this later with Little Ye."

Zhang Ye was overcome with happiness!

It had not been easy!

It really had not been easy!

The love between this bro and Old Wu has finally come to fruition!

1. 1 catty = 500 grams (half a kilo)

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Chapter 1149: The Celebrity Rankings Index is updated!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

After lunch.

Zhang Ye insisted on clearing the dishes.

"Little Zhang, take a break."

"Auntie, let me do it!"

"Just leave it there, I'll clear them."

"No, no, leave it to me!"

"Aiya, why are you being like that!"

"Where's the sink?"

"There's one in the house and another in the yard."

"Alright, you can go rest for a bit. Leave it to me!"

He stood in the yard and did the dishes. Zhang Ye was not one to usually do chores at home as his mother handled all of that. Old Wu also did not let him touch any pots and pans when he was at her place. But now that he was visiting Old Wu's parents' place for the first time as Wu Zeqing's official boyfriend, Zhang Ye definitely had to impress them a little. It didn't matter if he could clean them properly or not. It was the least he could do to show his sincerity and bearing. He was slow at washing the dishes, but he did it very seriously.

Li Qinqin nodded slightly in approval beside him.

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "Auntie, in the future, if you need any chores done or have anything you need, just give me call. I'll be at your service immediately."

Li Qinqin smiled and said, "OK."

Suddenly, the wind outside picked up.

Li Qinqin looked up. "It's going to rain soon. Let's get inside."

Zhang Ye quickly finished washing the dishes. "OK."

Back in the house, Wu Changhe and Wu Zeqing were chatting as they watched the news.

Wu Zeqing said, "This turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the Go world."

Wu Changhe said, "Yes, what a close call. It was almost like we were caught between life and death at that moment!"

Wu Zeqing smiled and said, "It was really quite dangerous. If the AI had won, Go would start going downhill as a sport. But the Americans clearly never thought that there would really be a person in this world who could face the AI. After Little Ye's win, it's likely that Go will start thriving and get better from here. The news just reported that Go classes for children have been filled up for summer break. This is the start of something new."

Wu Changhe grunted, "That kid has at least done something human for once."

Even Wu Changhe had to admit that it was Zhang Ye who saved the Go world this time!

On the TV, they were replaying Zhang Ye's win against Peter. Suddenly, it switched to a different scene and a song came on.

"How lonely it is to be invincible.

"How empty it feels to be invincible."

Wu Zeqing was startled!

Wu Changhe and Li Qinqin were startled as well!

Pfft!

What kind of song was that!

Zhang Ye said dumbfounded, "Damn, when did they record this?"

Wu Zeqing smiled and said, "Did you sing it?"

Zhang Ye was floored and replied, "I was just singing it at the Qiyuan after winning the game. Why did they record that? And they're even broadcasting it on TV now?"

This song made a lot of people laugh hard!

Everyone was rolling on the floor laughing on the Internet!

"Teacher Zhang released a new song!"

"Quickly watch TV!"

"Hahahahaha!"

"What lousy song is this!"

"Aiyo, I can't take it!"

"How lonely it is to be invincible?"

"What a great song!"

"Pfft, this song is indeed Teacher Zhang's style!"

"What a jokester! He's so cocky!"

"What's the title of this song? I've been brainwashed by it!"

"Requesting review of the Americans' phobia!"

"Teacher Zhang is indeed invincible! Who can understand him!"

"Now that Zhang Ye is at this level, it really does get a little lonely!"

"She who hides beyond the horizon? Who is 'she'?"

"Yeah, who was Teacher Zhang singing the song for?"

When the video clip was released, it got forwarded countless times. "Invincible" went viral and became an instant hit. The lyrics that went "she who hides beyond the horizon" also got discussed by countless people. Everyone was trying to guess who "she" was!

Watching the television.

Wu Changhe grunted, "What a show off!" Go is not a game that is particular about employing masterful moves, but focuses on the strategy, stability, and intense discipline of one's behavior. That was why Wu Changhe and many of the Qiyuan's people couldn't understand why a rash and showy person like Zhang Ye could play the game so well. That in itself didn't make any sense! But Wu Changhe did not seem to realize that his own temper was not any better!

Wu Zeqing chuckled. "I don't think it's a bad thing. When it's time to keep a low profile, he keeps a low profile. But when it's time to let loose, he does so."

Zhang Ye liked what he heard. "Old Wu knows me so well!"

Li Qinqin looked at him and said, "Little Zhang, what's your popularity ranking now?

"Uh, I didn't pay attention to it." Zhang Ye said, "I've been so busy playing Go for the past few days that I forgot to check."

Li Qinqin laughed and said, "Since you won the game today, there'll definitely be a large increase in your popularity."

Zhang Ye immediately checked the Celebrity Rankings Index. He still found himself in third place on the A-list rankings, sitting close behind Ning Lan, who was in second place. Although there were no changes in the rankings, Zhang Ye's popularity score was almost even with Ning Lan's. He had almost caught up to her. Needless to say, there was a boost to his popularity yesterday after he won against Peter in the second game of the final battle between humans and machines. And today, Zhang Ye won again to defeat Peter by a score of two to one. No one knew if there would be any more changes to the popularity ranking!

Thinking of that, Zhang Ye started to greatly anticipate how it would turn out. His original intent was only to help the Go world, and also to gain the acknowledgment of the Wu family regarding his relationship with Wu Zeqing. The matter of how much his popularity could increase by was not even on his mind as Go was just a niche sport, while Go players were only considered small-time celebrities. For example, Xiang Rong 9-dan, the Go world's number one who was also a public figure to speak of. He should be the most glamorous celebrity in the Go world at the moment, but was only an E-list celebrity in the popularity rankings. As for the rest of the professional Go players, they were even less popular and famous. They probably wouldn't even rank among the E-list celebrities!

But Zhang Ye was clearly an exception. Just a single victory in Go had brought him such a massive increase in popularity. That was because many people paid attention to the war between humans and machines!

Would his popularity soar again?

This was really such a pleasant surprise!

…

At night.

The moment he reached home, it started raining.

His mother greeted him. "Son, did you get caught in the rain?"

"No." Zhang Ye smiled.

His father strode out from the bedroom. "Little Ye, you played well! You played really well in today's game!"

Zhang Ye said with a laugh, "I guess so. Whoa, did someone come over? Why is it so messy?"

His mother said, "It was our neighbors. They came over in the evening, and everyone was praising you. They said that you were going to get popular again and might even overtake Ning Lan this time!"

Zhang Ye shrugged. "Who knows."

His mother asked, "Are they refreshing the rankings at midnight?"

"Yes."

"OK, I will wait for it then!"

"Hey, you better hurry off to bed. It's late."

"I'm so happy today that I can't sleep!"

Ring, ring, ring.

Speak of the devil and he will call.

It was Ning Lan. Zhang Ye answered.

Ning Lan immediately said when the call connected: "Hey, Teacher Zhang, you didn't play fair!"

Zhang Ye asked: "What's up?"

Ning Lan laughed and said: "Just look at your popularity score. You claimed you were going on a two-week break. How did I fall for your lie! All of us have been slogging so hard every day and night, yet our popularity only creeps up by a little bit. But when it comes to you, you have it so good. You take a two-week break from work and your popularity is still going up every other day. The way it is increasing really makes no sense at all! I'm about to be overtaken by you!"

Zhang Ye laughed and said: "That might not necessarily happen."

"Today's rankings haven't been updated, but I think it will be difficult for my popularity score to increase by much." Ning Lan said sadly, "I've been cast in three movies this year, but my gained popularity is not even close to what you've gained by playing Go in the past three days. You are really doing things differently, huh? I can only take my hat off to you. Do you know what the people in the industry are saying about you? They say that your luck is so good that you can get popular even without doing anything."

Zhang Ye didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "What do they mean by without doing anything? It's just that you don't know this, but I was nearly annihilated by that Peter. I was this close to losing!"

Ning Lan said: "I will congratulate you first then, although I'm still clenching my teeth in hatred, haha!"

Zhang Ye quickly said: "Don't congratulate me yet. It might not increase by much."

"Don't worry, you will definitely overtake me," Ning Lan said.

That same night.

There were also reports in the foreign news.

The Japanese media: "Chinese genius defeats an AI!"

The Korean media: "The Go world could be welcoming a hundred years of glory!"

The American media: "The most advanced AI in history was dealt a shocking blow by humanity!"

On Weibo.

A lot of netizens were waiting.

"It's almost midnight!"

"Are the rankings updated yet?"

"Not yet!"

"Teacher Zhang's popularity has gone up way too fast. King of Masked Singers only just ended and his popularity is soaring again? I wonder how much his popularity will increase this time!"

"Well, Teacher Zhang is truly very capable after all!"

"Being invincible is indeed lonely!"

People were waiting to find out!

Zhang Ye's close friends and relatives were waiting to find out!

Everyone in the entertainment industry was also waiting to find out!

Everyone was concerned about how much Zhang Ye's popularity would rise by. This was because it was the first time in history that someone could gain popularity from such a niche activity like Go. For show business, this was rather refreshing. So the industry insiders wanted to see if they could learn a thing or two from Zhang Ye's success. Since they were all in the same industry, everyone had to keep learning from one another. But many of them also knew that Zhang Ye's success model was not replicable!

Midnight arrived!

The Celebrity Rankings Index was updated!

The netizens got excited.

"It's here!"

"It's time!"

"Has it been updated yet?"

"Quickly!"

"Is it out yet?"

"Did Zhang Ye overtake Ning Lan?"

After a delay of two minutes, the rankings were suddenly updated!

When they saw the A-list celebrity rankings, everyone online suddenly became silent!

The netizens were astonished!

The industry insiders were tongue-tied!

Even Zhang Ye and his parents couldn't react!

His popularity score had shot past Ning Lan's score. Not only that, Zhang Ye even overtook and replaced that A-list celebrity who used to be in first! The first and third places might only be two spots apart, but it was an entirely different concept altogether. Even the treatment of each one's status was an earth-shattering difference!

The top A-list celebrity!

—This was the result that Zhang Ye had achieved in the Go world over the past three days!

A lot of industry insiders were greatly shocked by how insane Zhang Ye's achievement was!

This is Go we're talking about!

This is only a fucking game of Go!

How does this make any fucking sense at all!

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Chapter 1150: A global mathematical conjecture proved!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

The next day.

Early in the morning.

In the Goof Group.

Xiaodong: "Ahhh."

Amy: "Teacher Zhang has reached number one in the A-list rankings already? Holy shit!"

Li Xiaoxian: "We just saw! Did something so serious happen in the night?"

Chen Guang: "Yeah, Zhang Ye's popularity score has shot him into first place."

Huo Dongfang: "Hur hur, I learned of it during the night."

A director: "Congratulations, Little Zhang."

A famous male actor: "Outside of the S-list, Zhang Ye has reached the top!"

Ning Lan also appeared, clenching her teeth in hatred. "@ZhangYe! Hurry up and show yourself, stop sleeping! Only a red packet can appease my broken heart!"

Xiaodong: "Hehe, Sister Ning has been overtaken."

There were red packets in this world too. However, they only became popular in recent months. Although the specific interface and functions were a little different from Zhang Ye's previous world, the concept was essentially the same.

When Zhang Ye woke up, he saw the messages in the chat group. He smiled and immediately sent out some red packets 1 .

"Wow!"

"Here come the red packets!"

"Snatch them!"

The chat group stirred with activity

Ning Lan has received your red packet!

Xiaodong has received your red packet!

Zhang Yuanqi has received your red packet!

So Zhang Yuanqi had been lurking all this while!

In just a few seconds, all the red packets were snapped up by them. Then everyone was furious!

Zhang Yuanqi: "Your sister!"

Ning Lan: "Your sister!"

Xiaodong: "Your sister!"

Huo Dongfang: "Your sister!"

Amy called out: "How can there be such a stingy person!"

Li Xiaoxian: "My data! I've suffered a loss this time!"

Everyone received a red packet of only one cent!

A smile on his face, Zhang Ye typed: "Thanks, everyone."

Zhang Yuanqi said: "You're at the top of A-list rankings and you're still unwilling to give out generous red packets? You're not going to have a bright future, hur hur. Ning Lan, finish him off and get back your spot!"

Xiaodong: "Sister Ning, finish him off!"

Amy: "Sister Ning, finish him off!"

Huo Dongfang: "Sister Ning, finish him off!"

They copypasted the same message as they thought that Zhang Ye was way too stingy!

After bantering a bit with them, Zhang Ye was in a rather good mood. These past three months had brought the largest ever boost to his popularity. When he had first entered the A-list celebrity rankings, he struggled to stay in them before finally settling near the bottom of the rankings. Then, he suddenly shot up the charts to reach the front spots after revealing his identity on King of Masked Singers. And now, after playing three games of Go, he suddenly found himself at the top of the A-list celebrity rankings. It was a very surreal experience for him. Initially, he had only set a target to get into the A-list rankings at the beginning of the year. Who could have expected that he could achieve this terrific a result? From the looks of it, it seemed like he was only a step away from the S-list rankings!

But of course, that was just what it looked like.

This next step up was really going to require a great effort to achieve!

Zhang Ye was still too far away from the coveted throne of the S-list. It was different from the A-list rankings and was a whole different world and battleground. For example, Ning Lan, who had once reached the top spot of the A-list rankings, only managed to hold on to that position for three months. She couldn't maintain her ranking or take another step forward. That was because even though it might seem like it was only a step away, this step was actually way too big. It was as though a cliff were separating these two ranking lists. There was once someone who remained stuck in the first place of the A-list rankings for several years. But in the end, that person was unable to advance forward. Now that Zhang Ye was in this position as well, it would probably be the same for him too. He was still too far away from the S-list. Zhang Ye might not even be able to hold on to his first place in the A-list rankings during the next few days!

The previous first place celebrity of the A-list rankings was now in second place and was going to overtake him soon. Zhang Ye barely passed him with a microscopic difference in the popularity scores. He could probably catch back up with just a song, half a movie, or two Weibo posts!

His mother had made breakfast.

His father had bought a stack of newspapers home.

Zhang Ye said in a speechless manner, "Why did you buy so many copies?"

His father placed the newspapers on the table. "All these newspapers wrote about you."

His mother said smugly, "My son is at the top of the A-list celebrity rankings. Which newspapers would dare not report about him?! They'd have to dedicate the front page to our son!"

Zhang Ye laughed and said, "How could I possibly get on the front page? It would already be quite good if I manage to get on the headlines of the entertainment sections."

Almost all of the entertainment section headlines belonged to Zhang Ye today. Other than one newspaper firm that was probably not on good terms with him and had deliberately pushed his news further down, all the other newspapers published Zhang Ye's picture in full color, along with a distinct headline on the first page of the entertainment section.

"Zhang Ye Reaches Top of A-list Rankings!"

"Does Zhang Ye have any hope of breaking into the S-list within the next two years?"

"Zhang Ye takes unusual path on his journey of popularity!"

"'Invincible' Storms into Major Music Charts!"

"Getting to the top of the A-list rankings: Perhaps this might be a short-lived high?"

The family ate breakfast together while flipping through the newspapers.

When his mother finished reading the final copy of the newspapers, she seethed, "What do they mean by a short-lived high?"

Zhang Ye explained, "The person behind me has almost caught up. The gap between us is shrinking very quickly."

His mother said anxiously, "Then you'll have to come up with some new works quickly!"

Zhang Ye said, "I'll just see how it goes. You can't force new works out because of something like that, and neither can it be rushed. Getting to this to this level of popularity has already surpassed my expectations."

His father gave a deep nod. "Our son is right. He can't just mess around for the sake of increasing his popularity."

His mother said, "But what if they catch up to you?"

"If they catch up, so be it. At most, I'll just have to catch back up again in the future." Zhang Ye smiled.

These days, Zhang Ye was battle-hardened after going through so many ups and downs in the entertainment industry. He had grown from a newcomer into a veteran of sorts. Having seen so much and gone through so many experiences, he was now more composed than ever, although he would still let fly a curse or two at times and go into a rage. But that was something which was impossible to change since it was ingrained in his character. His temper had become much better as well. At the very least, he was no longer as impatient as before in the way he did and said some things. There were some issues he definitely would not back off on, but there were also some things that could not be rushed.

However, the more he wasn't anxious about it, the more things developed in that direction!

As Zhang Ye finished eating breakfast, his phone started ringing!

On the caller ID: The Dean of the School of Mathematical Sciences, Pan Yang.

Zhang Ye answered: "Hello, Dean Pan, you're looking for me?"

Dean Pan sounded a little excited. "Yes, that's right!"

"What happened?" Zhang Ye said in surprise.

When his parents heard that, they looked over.

Dean Pan said loudly: "It's a great piece of news!"

Zhang Ye: "Oh?"

"Professor Zhang, I now represent the Dale's Conjecture verification team to officially inform you that the proof you wrote has been fully validated after a year of checks by many of our world-class mathematicians!" Dean Pan was so excited that his voice went hoarse. "Dale's Conjecture has been solved by you! It has been solved by a Chinese mathematician! You're not just a world-class mathematician anymore! You can now be considered one of the smartest world-class mathematicians! You're just too fantastic! Professor Zhang! You've brought glory to us!"

It had been proven?

The verification was finally complete?

Zhang Ye could not sit still. "I'll be right over!"

"OK! OK! We are all waiting for you!" Dean Pan said: "We've already notified both the foreign and local media that we will be holding an official press conference this afternoon!"

Zhang Ye had waited for this day for too long!

Peking University had also waited for this day for too long, and so had China!

One of the most difficult mathematical conjectures in the world had been proven by Zhang Ye, a mathematician from China. It was an extremely meaningful day for the global mathematics world. And to Zhang Ye, this would definitely be one of the most memorable events in his life as well. Before Dale's Conjecture had been verified and proven, he was approached to be a recipient of an international math award. That would mean to say that even if there were any mistakes found during the verification process that would displace the entire proof, they were still willing to give him the award. From that, it could be seen just how highly regarded and difficult Dale's Conjecture was to the global mathematics world. But after a year of work by an international team made up of dozens of mathematicians, the proof was finally validated. This contributed to a major increase in Zhang Ye's popularity and reputation. A world-class mathematician had now become a preeminent world-class mathematician!

Just by adding the word "preeminent," the difference in meaning between the two titles immediately became poles apart! All of those preeminent mathematicians of the world and those who came before were considered treasures of humanity 2 . They were all historical legends. And today, Zhang Ye had also stepped up to that most glorious throne of the mathematics world!

He was now coronated with honor!

1. http/blog./2016/01/27/we-chat-about-wechat-5-red-packets-wechats-secret-weapon-in-payments/

2. Similar to https/en./wiki/Living_Human_TreasureI am Really a Superstar #Chapter 1151: Can you be a little bit more mindful! - Read I am Really a Superstar Chapter 1151: Can you be a little bit more mindful! Online - All Page - NOVEL NEXT

Chapter 1151: Can you be a little bit more mindful!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

At 9 in the morning.

On Central TV News Channel, Beijing Television News Channel, Jinshi Morning News Broadcast, and a dozen other television stations, every one of them simultaneously announced an important piece of news: "We interrupt this broadcast with a news update. Our station's reporters have just received news about the proof to one of the famous Math Problems that had caused quite a sensation throughout the field of mathematics. There has been now been a major breakthrough, with an update coming from the World Mathematics Association's Dale's Conjecture verification team. A press conference will be held later today at 1 PM Beijing time in Peking University. Our station's reporters will be following up with details when the event begins and update our viewers on the latest developments!"

They did not say everything in full.

Nor was it thoroughly explained.

But that announcement alone was more than enough!

The common folk were not stupid. How could they not know what this was about?

Then, Zhang Ye's army swept across Weibo!

"Heavens!"

"Oh my God!"

"Zhang Ye's proof has been validated?"

"It's been confirmed?"

"That's really awesome!"

"Teacher Zhang has really freaking become a preeminent world-class mathematician!"

"Has there ever been a preeminent world-class mathematician who hailed from China? There have only been a handful of world-class mathematicians, right? And most of them are dead now!"

"I don't know. There wasn't any classification like this in the past, so there was no such label as a 'preeminent world-class mathematician.' After it was implemented, China has only had Zhang Ye who has been labeled as such. But nowadays, as long as a mathematician can solve a major math conjecture or make an important contribution to the global field of mathematics, they are conferred the title of preeminent world-class mathematician. That title is definitely in the bag for Zhang Ye! There shouldn't be more than 40 people in the entire world who have obtained the title! While those who have this title and are still alive shouldn't number more than 20!"

"How exciting!"

"Yeah, our country's mathematics world shall have a major figure from now on!"

"Teacher Zhang is going to be on fire again!"

"Hahaha, he was already barely holding on to the first place on the A-list celebrity rankings and was almost going to be surpassed. In the end, everything just worked out nicely and Teacher Zhang is finally going to be able to gain a foothold in his ranking! This time, he is definitely going to gain a lot of popularity again. I just wonder if it would allow him to start breaking into the international celebrity's popularity ranking list!"

"Let's wait for the press conference then, it's all only guesses for now!"

"What do you mean it's all guesses? Even a fool can see what's going on!"

"Yeah, why else would they hold a press conference for?"

"Congratulations, Zhang Ye!"

"This is really Zhang Ye's year, isn't it? Haha!"

...

Peking University.

The students were already on vacation, so there shouldn't have been much people around at the school.

But when Zhang Ye drove over, he saw a crowd of cheering people the moment he reached the school gates. There were some people in the crowd that he knew and some that he didn't!

When they saw the car arriving, everyone rushed forward and surrounded it!

When Zhang Ye stepped out of the car, Dean Pan immediately gave him a bear hug. It was an extremely tight hug as he patted Zhang Ye on the back thumpingly. It was obvious that Old Pan was extremely happy today!

Pan Yang said, "Congratulations!"

Zhang Ye nodded. "Thank you."

Han Henian also came forward to give Zhang Ye a hug. "Congratulations, Professor Zhang!"

This was Zhang Ye's former love rival, but that was already a thing of the past. "Thank you, Teacher Han."

Xin Ya, Old Wu's best friend, also came up to him. "I won't be hugging you, but congratulations anyway!"

"Same to you." Zhang Ye said with a smile.

Xin Ya said in a smiling way, "What has it got to do with me? You're from Peking University while I'm from Tsinghua University."

Zhang Ye said amused, "Professor Xin, why are you still so narrow-minded about things?"

Xin Ya rolled her eyes. "You just can't say anything good, can you? Can't you see that I'm just making a joke? Now that you have reached the pinnacle, it has given an invaluable boost to our Chinese mathematics world! Who wouldn't be happy for you?"

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Zhang Ye said, "Thank you."

Over there, a British female mathematician named Jennifer came forward with a smile. She gave him a hug and said, "Congratulations, my Chinese friend!"

Zhang Ye said, "Thanks, my British friend."

Wang Yiming.

Fellow Wan of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

A young German mathematician.

A French mathematician that Zhang Ye knew from before.

And so on and so forth. There were too many of them and they were all present here today to applaud Zhang Ye!

"Zhang, you are really awesome!"

"I welcome you to visit Germany and be our guest!"

"My friend! You're a great mathematician!"

"Congratulations! I knew that your proof would definitely be proven right!"

Many reporters have also gathered around, and the number was only getting more and more. A lot of them rushed over to the school immediately after receiving news about this and had wanted to get first-hand information about the matter. There were even many foreign faces within the reporters, including the Japanese and Americans!

However, Zhang Ye did not take any interviews. The press conference was scheduled for the afternoon, so of course he could not talk about it right now. Therefore, he followed Dean Pan and the others into Peking University and left the reporters waiting outside.

On the way in.

Xin Ya said, "In this past year, we've all really been tired out badly. It's not too bad for us since we're stationed in Beijing, but for those in the verification team who are from other countries, they keep having to fly around. They would head back to their own countries for a few days before coming back here to continue on the verification work again. Don't even think of not giving a treat today, you have to make it up to us for our suffering!"

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "That's of course, it has been hard for everyone."

That French mathematician smiled and said in English, "Zhang, I hear that you're a big star in China. My wife likes Miss Zhang Yuanqi a lot and her movies are really very popular back in my country too. Can you help me to get an autograph from her? I think my wife would definitely be very happy if you could!"

Zhang Ye smiled and patted him on the shoulders, "No-pra-bo-lem!"

The French mathematician was dumbfounded. "What pra-bo-lem?"

Xin Ya was left speechless by that. She translated for them and said, "He just means 'no problem'."

A Russian mathematician who was a burly man laughed when he heard that. "Zhang, you better not speak in English. Your English standard is really too atrocious!"

Everyone laughed.

Zhang Ye rolled his eyes. "Don't talk about me, you're not any better yourself."

The Russian mathematician laughed heartily.

At this moment, Fellow Wan found him. "Professor Zhang, are you interested to join us at the Chinese Academy of Sciences?"

Zhang Ye was taken aback for a bit. "Someone has already asked me that before."

"I know." Fellow Wan said sincerely, "I heard that you rejected the offer, so I'm here to invite you again."

Zhang Ye thought about it for a moment before saying with a wry smile, "Let me think about it again."

Fellow Wan could only say, "Alright, I'll be waiting for your news then."

As there were a lot of people here, Fellow Wan did not speak further about this. The Chinese Academy of Sciences was an academic institution. It was different from those companies or television stations which could use money to attract people to join them. To be able to get admitted into the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the most important prerequisite was ability. The second thing would be that one would have to join willingly. This was not something that could be forced.

...

1 o'clock in the afternoon.

The press conference started on time!

A dense crowd of Chinese and foreign reporters had already filled up the entire venue. There were a lot of video cameras set up for a live broadcast, as countless cameras flashed clickingly across the floor.

Zhang Ye sat down at the middle of the stage.

Fellow Wan, Dean Pan, Xin Ya and those mathematicians of the verification team were all gathered beside him!

In front of the television, the viewers were already unable to wait!

"How many press conferences has Zhang Ye attended in these past few days already!"

"He has been hogging all the news headlines across the country in recent days!"

"That's so impressive!"

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"Quickly announce it!"

"Yeah, we're all waiting!"

Zhang Ye's parents were watching in anticipation!

His relatives were also waiting excitedly in front of their televisions!

Then, there was also Ning Lan, Xiaodong, Li Xiaoxian, Chen Guang, Fan Wenli, Yao Jiancai, Zhang Yuanqi, Wu Changhe, Li Qinqin, Rao Aimin, Yang Shu...

Although they could already guess what it was about!

Although there was already no suspense to it!

But for some reason, everyone was still waiting eagerly in front of their televisions, just so that they could see and hear it for themselves!

Fellow Wan adjusted the microphone before announcing loudly, "This morning, we have finally wrapped up the validation work for Dale's Conjecture. I hereby officially announce on behalf of the verification team that Zhang Ye's proposed proof has been fully validated without any errors!"

In an instant, the sound of applause broke out!

The Chinese reporters were applauding with everything they had!

The foreign reporters also gave a round of enthusiastic applause!

The clapping went on for a very long time. It lasted for a full minute before gradually stopping. Many of the foreign mathematicians were even standing up and giving Zhang Ye the thumbs up! For the past year, Zhang Ye had barely taken part in the verification process as he was the one who had originally proposed the proof, so it wasn't proper for him to get personally involved in it. But at the very least, he would still spend some time to go down to verify some key parts of the proof. After such a long period of contact, these foreign mathematicians had generally gotten to know Zhang Ye better. Even the two American mathematicians who had had a conflict with Zhang Ye before were already having a very harmonious relationship with him. As such, they spared no effort in sending him their blessings and congratulations!

It was time for the QA session.

A female American reporter raised her hand.

Pan Yang who was chairing the conference pointed at her. "This lady here."

The female reporter asked, "Mr. David, can you tell us why the verification process for the proof to Dale's Conjecture has taken so long to complete? Why did it drag on for a year?"

A translator repeated the question in Mandarin.

The American mathematician, David, clearly knew this reporter. "Miss Denise, you might not be familiar with the verification process for a mathematical conjecture. It is very tedious work and requires a lot of meticulous going through. What's more, Dale's Conjecture is different from the other mathematical conjectures in that it is one of the major Math Problems of the mathematics world. As such, the workload would definitely be much greater. Luckily, Zhang has provided us with very clear formulas and detailed notes about it. That has greatly cut down the amount of time that we needed to validate the proof. Otherwise, it would have taken much longer to complete. Zhang Ye is really very great." He looked at Zhang Ye, then said, "He is one of the youngest, most talented and greatest mathematicians that I have ever seen!"

Zhang Ye smiled and nodded at him to express his thanks.

Comrade David was indeed nice!

Then, a barrage of the reporters' hands shot up again!

Pan Yang pointed out at a French reporter.

The French reporter said, "Professor Zhang, there are people who say that the validation of the proof to Dale's Conjecture is a very historical moment in mathematics. They also claimed that you're the hero who saved the Chinese mathematics world by allowing the Chinese mathematicians to have a renewed chance of being seen by the world again. According to what I know, there are already five to six mathematics organizations who have actively sought out Chinese mathematicians to join their new projects or research in the past year. All of that was undoubtedly to your credit. I interviewed a young mathematician earlier and he said that you were the mathematics world's hero. What do you have to say to that?"

That was indeed the truth. In recent international mathematics projects around the world, there has really been quite a number of Chinese mathematicians taking part in them. If anyone claimed that this wasn't because of Zhang Ye, even a fool would not believe that!

Fellow Wan looked towards Zhang Ye.

Zhang Ye did not even think it through and directly answered, "I'm not a hero, I'm really not one. There are many heroes in the mathematics world, some of whom you can see and others that you don't know about. Everyone here harbors a dream and has a sincere passion for mathematics. Speaking about the past, there have been countless mathematicians in China who have done a lot. In the future, there will also be many young mathematicians appearing who will lead the world forward. It was our predecessors who have supported the mathematics world up to this stage step by step, and it will be down to the future generation to lead the Chinese mathematics world forward step by step. Who am I in all of these? I'm not anyone at all. If there are any heroes to speak of, it should be them instead!"

His words were concurrently translated!

When then French reporter heard that, he immediately stood up in awe and started clapping!

The German reporter beside also clapped hard!

Those other foreign reporters who heard it were also praising it inside their hearts!

But the bunch of Chinese reporters nearly fainted onto the ground!

Fellow Wan: "...$%*() !"

Pan Yang felt like vomiting blood!

Xin Ya also very nearly fell off from her chair!

The viewers in front of the televisions were left looking confused!

Those words...why did those words sound so goddamn familiar, huh?

Fuck, didn't you say something similar to this during yesterday's press conference for the war between humans and the machines? And it even fucking sounded like the original speech from then?

Everyone had to take their hats off to him!

They were really left kneeling to him!

Just what kind of an occasion did you think this was? This was a press conference that was going to be broadcasted to the entire world!

Can you be a little bit more mindful!

Can you fucking be a little bit more mindful!

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Chapter 1152: The only dual faculty professor in Peking University!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

The netizens nearly pissed themselves laughing!

There were all kinds of bashing on Weibo!

"That Zhang Ye!"

"How could he still joke around at a setting like that?!"

"Pfft, how can he be so funny!"

"Hahahahaha, that shameless behavior is what I like most about him!"

"Aiyo, how amusing!"

"Teacher Zhang is such an oddball!"

"Yeah, if it were anyone else, who wouldn't speak mindfully on such an occasion? Who wouldn't get nervous and speak cautiously? But just look at him, he even dares talk that much bull in front of the whole world. Didn't he say the exact same thing at the press conference yesterday after the war between humans and machines! Weren't those words what he said about the Go world too? He really isn't afraid that the global mathematics world would get pissed and strip him of his title! I'm already trembling just from hearing it! Only Zhang Ye could do something like this!"

"Hai, this isn't even anything serious!"

"It's not like Zhang Ye has not done anything more ridiculous than this before!"

"Haha, that's just how he is and I've got used to it!"

"If Teacher Zhang were to start behaving seriously, then that would be too uninteresting!"

"I like him!"

"Teacher Zhang has brought glory to our country! So don't pick on him over such minor things!"

"When has a live broadcast involving Zhang Ye not ended up with him causing a big incident? When has he not scolded others? He did not even write a poem or scold anyone this time, so let's just be content. Teacher Zhang has toned it down a lot!"

"Pfft, I'm actually unable to refute the previous poster!"

There were all kinds of reactions to the speech. But overall, everyone was able to accept what happened. If it were any other celebrity or mathematician who said something like that, they would definitely be cursed to death or get doubted by countless people. However, since it was Zhang Ye who did this, everyone realized that they had already gotten used to it and weren't the least bit surprised. Those who facepalmed or vomited blood due to what happened all ended up laughing at it in the end.

Half an hour.

An hour.

The live broadcast of the press conference had concluded.

The press conference was broadcast live across the country. At the same time, it was also relayed very quickly throughout Asia and the international scene!

For such huge news like Dale's Conjecture being proven by a Chinese mathematician, it was impossible that it would not get reported at the international level. There was only issue the issue of how much coverage each country would give to it!

Everyone dispersed.

Xin Ya pulled Zhang Ye aside as she rolled her eyes at him and said, "Can you be a little more mindful of that lousy mouth of yours?"

Zhang Ye was stunned. "Ah? What's the matter?"

Dean Pan also came up to him. "What do you think is the matter!"

Wang Yiming didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "We really have to give it you!"

"What about me?" Zhang Ye was confused.

Xin Ya stared at him and said, "Didn't you realize that when you answered the first reporter's question, your answer sounded somewhat familiar? Huh?"

When Zhang Ye thought about it, it dawned on him. "Yes, yes, it really does feel a little familiar!"

Han Henian gave a wry smile and reminded him. "At the Go press conference yesterday... "

Only then did Zhang Ye realize it. He facepalmed and exclaimed, "Aiya, I think I already used that speech yesterday. Heh, no wonder it felt so familiar. I was wondering why I was speaking so fluidly!" He really did not do it on purpose. This fellow had been too busy recently and everything was coming together at once. With so many reporters questioning and interviewing him, he would even sometimes forget what he had just answered with. "Hai, great wits have short memories!"

"Pfft!"

"Who would refer to themselves as a great wit?"

"Never mind, it's already been broadcast. Let's just leave it as is."

"Yeah, your reputation stinks anyway, so no one will care."

Many of the local mathematicians present started talking about this among themselves.

Zhang Ye could not keep listening and cleared his throat. "Why would my reputation stink? That reporter asked me if I was a hero. Surely, I can't say that I am one and ask them to quickly kowtow to me, right?"

Everyone laughed in derision!

Who would want to kowtow to you!

Dean Pan laughed and said, "Alright, stop with the bantering already, Professor Zhang. I still have some proper business that I need to speak to you about."

"What is it?" Zhang Ye asked.

Dean Pan gave a hearty laugh. "It's about something good!"

Zhang Ye nodded and said, "If it's something good, I'm all ears."

Dean Pan said, "Alright then, come with me."

After everyone else left, Dean Pan and some heads of the Math Department headed back to their faculty. They went into someone's office where Pan Yang looked around in a drawer before taking something out of it. Then he handed a document to Zhang Ye and said with a smile, "Have a look at this."

When Zhang Ye took a look, he was startled. "An application for a promotion to professor?"

Dean Pan nodded. "That's right."

This professorship was unlike the previous professorship!

Zhang Ye was already an associate professor in Peking University's Math Department. But this application was a recommendation to promote Zhang Ye to a full professorship in the Math Department. There really was a big difference between being an associate professor and a full professor. Be it the pay, qualification, or status in the profession, these two positions couldn't be lumped together. Furthermore, this was a full professorship at the Math Department of Peking University. How many full professors were there in the entire School of Mathematical Sciences? There was practically none who were younger than 45!

Zhang Ye was feeling a little embarrassed. "Hey, is this appropriate?"

Dean Pan said, "If you think you're ready, I'll submit the application. I'm not sure if it'll get approved, but this was unanimously decided by us at the School of Mathematical Sciences after we had a meeting."

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "My associate professorship at that time was also a one-off exception, wasn't it? I've only assumed that position for a year, but I'm up for another promotion to full professor? Won't the others gossip about this? I'm only 25 years old. Which university has a 25-year-old associate professor in their ranks? Not to mention a 25-year-old full professor at Peking University?"

Dean Pan simply said, "If you think that it's not appropriate, let's just drop it."

"Don't! Don't mind me!" Zhang Ye panicked. "Old Pan, since you've already brought out the application form, how can you just take it back like this? Submit it, of course you must submit it! Would I be afraid of people gossiping about this? If I was bothered about people talking bad about me, I would have died 200 times in the past few years!" This statement was actually quite true.

Old Pan?

Dean Pan rolled his eyes!

Zhang Ye joyfully said, "Then it's set!"

Dean Pan said, "We still have to see if the higher-ups agree to it or not."

"You are such a reputable person, so how won't the heads of the school agree to it?" Zhang Ye felt that Old Pan was quite loyal, and would think of him if something good came up. The title of a full professor was going to be more practical and useful than anything else!

…

Later that afternoon.

At Zhang Ye's parents' house.

The moment he reached home, his mother stopped him and chided him!

She even wished she could pull him by the ear. "Why weren't you more mindful of your words at such an important occasion? You can even copy your own thank you speech? Are you intending to drive me to my grave?"

Zhang Ye said, "It just slipped my mind, alright?"

His mother pointed at the computer. "Look at the people online. They're all ridiculing you, and several experts have already criticized your actions. They said that your attitude toward academia is not correct and that you were just fooling around!"

Zhang Ye smiled and shrugged. "I have so many enemies. If I don't get criticized by eighty to a hundred people each day, I might even think that the sun rose from the west. If they want to criticize me, then just let them do it. Why should we care about them? By the way, Mom, Dad." He looked at his parents and announced to them, "They're looking to promote me to a full professor at Peking University!"

His parents exclaimed in astonishment!

His father said excitedly, "Has it been confirmed yet?"

His mother stared and her jaw dropped. "Are you serious?"

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "Yes, but it hasn't been given yet. I assume that there shouldn't be any problems."

His mother said anxiously, "Don't assume things like that! This is an important matter, so has it been confirmed or not yet? Don't make me and your dad happy for nothing!"

"I'm quite certain it'll be given," Zhang Ye said.

His mother instantly beamed with pride. "Good! Good! That's great! I must quickly tell your grandpa and grandma about it!" As she spoke, she went over to the telephone and picked it up and made a call. "Hello, Mom…ai…have you seen the news? That's right. The conjecture has been proven. Little Ye is now a preeminent international mathematician. Also, inform Dad and the others that Little Ye is going to get promoted to full professor at Peking University….It's true! Why would I lie to you!"

In the media, there were already some news reports that were gathered from the grapevine!

Over here in China, no news could stay hidden for long. Everything was linked and the complex web of relationships was just too intertwined. There would always be some people who were just very well-informed about things!

At 5 o'clock in the afternoon!

Peking University finally made a public announcement. "Zhang Ye has been appointed as a full professor at Peking University's School of Mathematical Sciences!"

But to everyone's surprise, that was not the end of it!

Peking University: "Zhang Ye has been appointed as an associate professor at Peking University's Chinese Department!"

After being part of the Chinese Department for two years, he had also been promoted to an associate professor from his lecturer role?

A full professor of the Math Department?

An associate professor at the Chinese Department?

He had now become Peking University's only dual department professor?

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Chapter 1153: Sitting firmly at the top of the A-list!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

News of Zhang Ye was once again carpet bombarding the country!

This was happening for the umpteenth time over the past few days!

"Zhang Ye gets promoted to full professor!"

"China's Youngest Full Professor!"

The youngest math professor in history emerges!"

"Peking University's Astonishing Act!"

"Peking University's Chinese Department confers the title of Associate Professor to Zhang Ye?"

"The first dual department professor in Peking University's history!"

"An unprecedented occurrence: A 25-year-old becomes a full professor!"

"At press time, Peking University has yet to issue a statement!"

A glowing honor has been bestowed onto Zhang Ye!"

"Together with his title of visiting associate professor at Media College, Zhang Ye is perhaps the person with the most professorships in the country!"

The Goof Group blew up.

Ning Lan: "Professor Zhang, time to come out and distribute red packets!"

Xiaodong: "Professor Zhang, time to come out and distribute red packets!"

Huo Dongfang: "Professor Zhang, time to come out and distribute red packets!"

Zhang Ye did not send a one-cent red packet this time, instead giving out a big one!

Amy was the quickest to claim hers and got the highest amount as well. "Wow, thank you, boss!"

Zhang Ye sent a smiley face.

Ning Lan: "Haha, thank you, Professor!"

Xiaodong: "We're rich! Congratulations, Professor Zhang!"

Huo Dongfang: "I've lost count of how many times I've congratulated you these past two days. If we include you being a visiting associate professor at Media College, this is your third professorship title! Not to mention showbiz, even in the academic and education fields, there isn't anyone who has more professorships than you do!"

Zhang Ye sent an embarrassed emoticon and said: "Thanks, everyone."

Xiaodong said in a depressed way, "What's important here is that Teacher Zhang doesn't even conduct any lessons!"

Li Xiaoxian: "Pfft, that's indeed so!"

Xiaodong said wryly: "This is what makes me so speechless. A teacher who doesn't even conduct lessons was actually promoted to a full professor in the Math Department, and an associate professor in the Chinese Department. I don't even know what to say anymore. Thinking back to when I had just graduated, I was thinking of becoming a graduate student, but I didn't manage to make it! But in comparison?"

Fan Wenli: "Congratulations!"

Chen Guang: "Treat us!"

Online.

The netizens also found this to be ironic and ridiculous!

"A full professorship?"

"Impressive!"

"Peking University has really made an exception for him?"

"I feel that Teacher Zhang deserves the full professorship at the Math Department since it was he who solved Dale's Conjecture. But as for the associate professorship over in the Chinese Department? What's with that? Has this guy even been giving any lessons?"

"I think he hasn't been there for a year already!"

"Pfft, that's right!"

"In any case, congratulations to Professor Zhang!"

"Face-smacking Zhang has gained another few titles for his list!"

"If this goes on, no one will be able to stop him in the future!"

"Yeah, Teacher Zhang's qualifications are almost surpassing the Heavens. He's adding on to his titles and protective charms one after another. But what can we say about that? He is really that capable after all!"

"This calls for a celebration!"

"Rejoice and spread the word!"

At home.

Very soon, Zhang Ye received a call from Chang Kaige.

Chang Kaige: the dean of Peking University's Chinese Department.

"Dean Chang." Zhang Ye quickly asked: "What's this about my appointment?"

Chang Kaige said with a laugh: "Are you talking about the title?"

Zhang Ye said: "Yes, I didn't even receive any news about that and I've suddenly become an associate professor?"

Chang Kaige said: "Everyone already knows about your contributions to the cultural world. How many good pieces of work have you come up with over the years? I heard that the textbooks are going through a review and update. Who knows if your essays and poetry might also be included in them this time? So what's the big deal with conferring you the title of associate professor in the Chinese Department? Is that too much for you?"

Zhang Ye said feeling rather awkward: "The important thing here is that I've never really conducted any lessons."

"Giving lessons is not a measure of how knowledgeable one is." Chang Kaige said supportively: "We've long been thinking of appointing you as an associate professor, but the pressure at that time was too great. When you were still around at Peking University, that scolding incident involving the foreign dignitaries had a great effect and caused a lot of anxiety for everyone. So they suppressed and downplayed the incident at that time. But now that you've already been restored to your duties at Peking University and with the momentum brought along by your proof of Dale's Conjecture, the Chinese Department went ahead with the application for you to be appointed as an associate professor. We submitted the application together with Old Pan, and to our surprise, the school heads handled this matter specially and approved of it right away."

Zhang Ye blinked. "The school heads?"

Chang Kaige knew what he was thinking. He advised: "That affair happened so long ago. They suspended you from duty because they had no choice. So you should understand how it is by now? Other than a few people, whether they are the school heads, teachers, or students, they all of see you as one of our own. Therefore, don't feel so bad about it anymore. If you're free, come back often to have a look around and teach some classes. Besides, I believe that the school heads approved of your appointment to associate professor mainly because they also wanted to make it up to you for that time."

That decision back then to suspend Zhang Ye had caused a very great difference of opinions!

Some teachers thought that Peking University had handled it well and that a teacher who led students to scold others should definitely be suspended. Some teachers felt that it wasn't the right thing to do as Zhang Ye had contributed a lot to Peking University after all. Besides, he had done it for the students while the Japanese dignitaries had also behaved quite idiotically. They were at fault in the first place. After Zhang Ye's departure, this incident died down gradually. It wasn't until the incident at the previous student recruitment exercise that everyone was reminded of Zhang Ye's good side again.

If it weren't for him, those college entrance exam scholars would all have been taken away by Tsinghua University! It was Zhang Ye who came charging and smashing cars, snatching the students back while bearing the brunt of the scolding! At that moment, a lot of the teachers and school heads who did not used to like Zhang Ye no longer had any reason to speak ill of him!

The way he handled that incident was very generous and chivalrous!

He was dedicated to Peking University!

Zhang Ye immediately said: "Dean Chang, please don't say that. That incident was down to my personal behavior, and I know that I didn't act in the right way. But I've said what I've said, and even if it happens again, I would still scold them all over again. I've never spoken badly about our Peking University in any situation before, so why would I want to blame them for anything then? Am I such a petty person?"

Chang Kaige nodded in agreement. "Then I have no worries."

Zhang Ye smiled and said: "In any case, thank you."

"There's no need to thank me, I didn't do much at all." Chang Kaige said: "Teacher Su and Old Zeng are always talking about you. Find a day when you're free and let's meet up someday."

Zhang Ye said: "Let's not wait for someday. We should go with the flow rather than try to force things. Let me treat everyone tonight!"

Chang Kaige replied: "Alright, then we must definitely have something good since you're treating!"

"No problem!" Zhang Ye said happily: "I'll invite Dean Pan and the others as well then?"

Chang Kaige said: "You're the boss! We'll show up as long as you invite us!"

Zhang Ye said: "Sure!"

For such a happy occasion, Zhang Ye definitely had to treat everyone. He immediately made some calls and invited several teachers from the Math Department and other departments of Peking University that he knew. Whether it was Su Na or Professor Zeng, he hadn't seen them all in a very long time. Now that he could meet them again, they definitely had to enjoy a good meal together!

…

On the same night.

At midnight.

The Celebrity Rankings Index was updated!

Zhang Ye's name was still clearly at the number one spot of the A-list rankings. He did not budge from it at all while the gap between second place was slowly widening! The validation of the proof to the mathematical conjecture had really come at the right time. It allowed Zhang Ye to gain a proper foothold on his shaky popularity and helped him sit firmly at the number one spot. It seemed like it would be very difficult for him to fall off from there in the short term unless Ning Lan and the other person were to experience a similar explosion in popularity like Zhang Ye had today!

But how many Zhang Yes were there in the entertainment industry?

What he had done was not something that just anyone could replicate!

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Chapter 1154: Zhang Ye's Asian Popularity Ranking!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

Over the next two days, Zhang Ye was so busy with treating all of his friends, bringing them around to enjoy a good meal, that he didn't go back home at all. In recent days, he had caused quite a big stir. First, he prevailed over PeterGo. Then, his proof of Dale's Conjecture was finally validated. On top of that, he was appointed as a full professor at Peking University. He also secured his foothold of the number one spot on the A-list celebrity rankings. With all that coming together and adding in the previously accumulated events, the results could finally be seen now. The entire country's media outlets were making mention of Zhang Ye's name without stop for a few days. This pushed his popularity up by quite a lot, which led to many celebratory feasts!

For example, with China Qiyuan.

For example, with his extended family.

For example, with friends like Yao Jiancai, Chen Guang, and the others.

For example, with his colleagues from Peking University.

And for example, with Rao Aimin, Yang Shu, and Chenchen.

How many meals was that already?

Later on, Dong Shanshan, Yu Yingyi, and the group of his old classmates also arranged to have a meal together with Zhang Ye to throw him a party. But as Zhang Ye was really unable to squeeze any time out from his schedule, they settled for having breakfast together.

At Dong Shanshan's villa.

His old classmates were all seated around the dining table and staring at the fried dough sticks and soy milk on the table, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Zhang Ye said, "Eat, eat, don't stand on ceremony with me. I just bought them, so have it while they're still hot!"

Dong Shanshan laughed and said, "Why would we stand on ceremony with you for over some lousy breakfast?"

Yu Yingyi rolled her eyes. "This is the first time I'm seeing someone treat others in this way!"

Wang He also said in a speechless manner, "Zhang'er, aren't you playing us for fools like this!"

Ma Xufei fumed while glaring, "I object! I strongly object to this!"

He Kui laughed from beside them.

"Hai, I really haven't had much time recently, and you guys are also going to be busy with your own work next week, so we could only decide on this morning to gather together like this. I have other appointments planned for this afternoon and tonight. Since we're all old classmates and know each other quite well, what's there to be so formal about. Don't dismiss breakfast as not fitting of a feast. Soy milk and fried dough sticks are really expensive too," Zhang Ye explained as he rubbed his temples. He had been drinking so much these past few days that his brain was hurting.

Yu Yingyi sighed. "Alright, we'll just have to make do. Squeezing a meal out of Professor Zhang is already an achievement. He's indeed quite busy these days, and I can testify to that."

Zhang Ye laughed. "Right?"

He Kui rolled his eyes. "You two are singing the same tune now, eh?"

Yu Yingyi said happily, "That's right. Just doing the commentary work for those three games that Zhang'er played helped me gain quite a lot of popularity, although this girl might not be comparable to Classmate Shanshan yet. But amongst the country's sports hosts, I'm considered as one of the more popular ones, haha. In the future, if there are any sports events that you all would like to attend, just let me know. Big Sis will help to get the tickets for you guys. It's not that I'm trying to brag, but with just a phone call from me, everyone is pretty much willing to give face to me."

He Kui said enviously, "Right now, it seems like only the three of you are doing well."

Zhang Ye, Dong Shanshan, and Yu Yingyi were the three referred to, of course.

Yu Yingyi said, "Compared to Zhang'er, who dares say that they're doing well."

Zhang Ye quickly said, "Ha, don't you guys tread on me like this."

Dong Shanshan drank some soy milk and gave him a look. "You're at the top of the A-list. Another step forward and you'll be in the S-list rankings. What plans do you have?"

"Hai." Zhang Ye shook his head. "I've not thought of any yet."

Dong Shanshan blinked several times. "You're probably going to get into the international rankings, right?"

Zhang Ye spread his hands. "I'm not even popular on the international stage, so I can't climb onto that list for sure. I don't even have any works that are known on the international scene, so I'll just take it step by step."

S-list.

Asia.

International.

There was still a long road ahead!

…

Meanwhile.

The news of Dale's Conjecture being proven was gradually spreading across Asia.

The Japanese netizens.

"What?"

"Why does this name sound so familiar?"

"Zhang Ye? Isn't that the man who played Go?"

"Oh yes, it's that guy from the war between humans and machines!"

"No wonder! So he's really a mathematician!"

The Korean netizens.

"Dale's Conjecture has been solved?"

"When did it happen?"

"Long ago? So it was him who solved it!"

"Why is this guy so good?"

"Is he really the smartest person in the world?"

…

That night.

A major incident happened again in the Chinese entertainment industry.

Almost without warning, and to everyone's surprise, when the Asian Celebrity Rankings Index was updated, Zhang Ye's name appeared on the Asian C-list rankings!

The Asian Celebrity Rankings Index. This was not a celebrity ranking list under the jurisdiction of China and the SARFT. It was overseen by a different authority and was a list of rankings that one wouldn't be able to get into if they did not have a certain level of influence around Asia. Every person that was in the rankings were well-known stars in the Asian countries and the index was segmented into four grades. They were respectively:

Asian S-list rankings.

Asian A-list rankings.

Asian B-list rankings.

Asian C-list rankings.

The statistics used in the rankings were not based solely on the number of fans that one had. Otherwise, with the population of China being so large, any random B-list celebrity would easily be qualified to be called a big shot around Asia. This rankings index was not that superficial. The number of fans one had was still the main statistical data—that was definitely necessary, of course. But there was also the status of whether their works won any awards, their qualifications, as well as how large their influence around the Asian region was. Combining all of those statistics, it would make it very difficult for someone to gain a place in the Asian Celebrity Rankings Index. This was especially true for celebrities from China and Japan. Currently, the celebrities in the Asian Celebrity Rankings Index were mainly Koreans!

For example, Korean star Lee Anson, who was sent flying by a kick from Zhang Ye, was in the rankings. He was in the Asian C-list rankings!

Lee Anson was actually very popular back then in China, although he was sent packing afterwards due to that incident. However, the base of his popularity was still there. Coupled with him doing quite well back home in Korea for the past two years, and having many fans in Japan and other Asian countries who loved him, those statistics made him a big shot as an Asian C-list celebrity! In contrast, although Zhang Ye was very well-known by everyone back in China and enjoyed a high level of popularity, he was still relatively unknown in Asia. He had never released any major works that were propagated into the Asian region, so his influence in the region was much more limited!

But this time, Zhang Ye had suddenly made it into the rankings!

And it wasn't just at the bottom of the Asian C-list rankings. He had appeared in the middle of the rankings!

There was a celebration across Weibo!

Zhang Ye's fans cheered!

"Damn!"

"He has made it to the Asian Celebrity Rankings Index!"

"He's finally there!"

"Teacher Zhang has blown up!"

"It was definitely due to the Go incident and the mathematical conjecture being proven!"

"Yeah, I was wondering why with Teacher Zhang's popularity in the country, he still hadn't made it onto this index. Look at Ning Lan and Xiaodong of Spring Garden, they've been in the Asian rankings all this time. So why was there nothing from Teacher Zhang? And now, I see that he has finally started his chapter in Asia!"

"Hahaha, congratulations!"

"Teacher Zhang's been having a year to remember since a few days ago!"

"Teacher Zhang can finally become more popular outside of the country! This is worth being happy and congratulated for!"

"Asian C-list rankings? Isn't that a little low?"

"It is a little low. Ning Lan is behind Zhang Ye by a little within China, but she's already a B-lister in Asia. Uh, but we can't really put it that way since Sister Ning's movies have always done very well in Asia. Along with being screened domestically, the box office earnings throughout Asia are also quite good. So of course she has an advantage there! As for Teacher Zhang's works, they're basically only known within the country, so there aren't too many people from the other Asian countries who know about him!"

"You still call that popularity of his low? Don't forget that Teacher Zhang has beaten up a Korean celebrity and scolded those Japanese dignitaries. Don't you remember the stir it caused back then? Just how badly had he been boycotted by those two main countries in Asia at that time? The Asian media was basically unwilling to report any news about him at all. So now that he has made it into the Asian C-list rankings, you should know just how heaven defying Teacher Zhang has been! He's totally unstoppable!"

"He's truly awesome!"

"Tossing flowers in celebration!"

"This is going to be an extremely important step for him!"

"Starting today, Zhang Ye is an Asian star!"

The fans sent in their congratulatory messages!

The media outlets were fighting to get their first reports out!

Zhang Ye's friends and family also called to congratulate him!

He had been getting so many such calls these days that he lost count of how many times he had been congratulated. It felt like everyone was constantly congratulating him one after another every other day!

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Chapter 1155: Establishing Zhang Ye's Studio!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

Several days later.

Zhang Ye finally had some free time.

The news couldn't possibly revolve around him every day. After a few days of hype by the media, everything returned to normal. That was because an even more important event was approaching!

The Beijing Olympics!

There were a little more than two weeks to go before the Olympic Games began!

This was going to be the single largest event in recent times for China. The media outlets had been reporting this for the past few days. They reported on things like who would be the invited guests for the opening ceremony, who would make up the contingent for Team China in the games, which sports stars could not participate due to injuries, and so on and so forth. The Olympics atmosphere was getting hyped up. Although there was still some time until the start of the Olympics, one could clearly sense that there were more and more foreigners around the streets. There were people of all nationalities around.

In all of China, Zhang Ye was perhaps the last one who knew about this. This fellow had only happened to catch a glimpse of the news this morning before finding out about it with a shock!

Zhang Ye wore an exaggerated expression of surprise. "Beijing Olympics?"

His father looked at him and asked, "What's the matter?"

Zhang Ye said, "They're holding it in Beijing this year?"

"Yeah!" His mother said, "Didn't they bid for the rights many years ago?"

Zhang Ye simply nodded when he remembered that this was no longer his previous world. Too many things had changed over here, like the bidding rights for the Olympics and the year that it would be held. Back in his previous world, the bid to be the host country had since long been won, and the Beijing Olympics had been successfully held.

His mother asked, "Oh, don't you have a classmate working at the Central TV Sports Channel?"

"Yeah, Yu Yingyi," Zhang Ye said.

His mother smiled and said, "See if she can get us some tickets for the events."

Zhang Ye said, "I'll ask her. You're interested in going and watching?"

His mother said, "Of course we have to go and watch. It was not easy to win a bid to organize the Olympic Games. Since it's being held in our country, shouldn't we go and give our support? Aren't you going?"

Zhang Ye threw up his hands. "Why would I go and watch it! It's not like you don't know about the relationship between me and the sports world."

His mother smacked her lips and said, "That's true. Which industries have you not offended?"

After the table tennis interview incident, and the resulting scolding battle and skit that called upon the "rejection of prostitution, gambling, and table tennis," the fight between Zhang Ye and the sports world reached a fever pitch. Many of the sports world's executives, coaches, and athletes gnashed their teeth in hatred of Zhang Ye. This was well-known to everyone.

Zhang Ye sat on the sofa and watched the news for a while. After he had a look at some of the famous athletes of this world, he stopped paying attention to the news. He did not really know most of them anyway. He turned to thinking about what he should be doing next. Zhang Ye was feeling a little overwhelmed after his popularity had soared so quickly in recent times, making him the top A-list celebrity in the country, as well as breaking into the Asian C-list rankings. However, he knew that he would have to take it step by step from here. This little bit of achievement was really incomparable to what his target was. The road ahead was a very long one, and he was still too far away from becoming an international celebrity.

What should he do next?

Which direction should he work towards?

Zhang Ye was still undecided. As such, he drove to Rao Aimin's place after he finished eating breakfast. He wanted to ask Old Rao if there was anyone who wanted to work with him recently.

At Old Rao's place.

The moment Zhang Ye stepped into the house, he was given a tongue-lashing!

Rao Aimin pointed at him and said, "I'm telling you, kid, I'm quitting as your agent. Go find someone else who wants this shitty job. Are you trying to tire me out? You're just staying at home with nothing to do and idling around as you like. Meanwhile, I have to take calls for you even when I go to the bathroom! Do you want to die?"

Chenchen walked in. "Zhang Ye, you've angered my aunt."

Zhang Ye said nervously, "What's going on?"

Rao Aimin slid her cell phone to him. "Just look at how many calls I've taken in these past few days."

Zhang Ye had a look at it and also thought that it was a little too much. There were more than a hundred calls. He quickly put on a placating smile and said, "Big Sis Rao, I know it was hard on you. Can't you see that I'm here now because I care about you? Here, take this Brain Gold supplement regularly." He placed the Brain Gold on her coffee table and said, "Oh yes, has there been any suitable work for me recently?"

Rao Aimin said, "Yes."

Zhang Ye's eyes lit up. "What kinda work?"

Rao Aimin pointed at the bathroom. "The toilet broke, get it fixed!"

Zhang Ye was speechless.

At this moment, Yang Shu opened the bathroom door. "Ai, Senior Bro, you're here?" She wiped her hands clean and said, "Master Rao, the toilet has been fixed."

Chenchen gave her a thumbs up. "Old Yang, well done."

Rao Aimin said, "Look at Little Yang! And then look at yourself! Other than posturing for the media every day, what do you know? If you keep stirring up all that commotion, who is going to handle the fallout for you? Won't they just come calling me for answers? You're pretty habitual in giving out my number to whoever you like!"

Zhang Ye lamented, "But you're my agent."

"Just hire someone better qualified already," Rao Aimin said.

Zhang Ye said, "Please endure it a little. I know it's been hard on you."

Yang Shu immediately said, "That's right, Master Rao. It isn't easy for Senior Bro either, so please help him out." At all times, Yang Shu was on his side.

Rao Aimin exclaimed, "Then do you think it's easy for me?"

Zhang Ye said, "How about I give you a higher percentage of the earnings?"

Rao Aimin howled, "Have you ever taken any commercial appearances? How much money can you earn in a year? Depend on your earnings? Then I'd have starved to death ages ago!"

Zhang Ye gave a wry smile and said, "If you quit now, where on earth am I going to find an agent? I don't know that many people, and I don't trust them either."

Rao Aimin said, "In any case, I've already got too much on my hands!"

Suddenly, his cell phone rang.

It was a call from Ha Qiqi.

"Director Zhang!"

"Ai, Sister Ha."

"Where are you?"

"I'm at a friend's place. What's the matter?"

"Everyone has quit their jobs and plans to go join up with you."

"Ah?"

"Will you take us in?"

"What happened? Come over first!"

Twenty minutes later, a group of people gradually arrived at Rao Aimin's house.

Ha Qiqi, Zhang Zuo, Little Wang, Wu Yi, Tong Fu, and some others were all from Zhang Ye's old team. The longest serving member had worked together with him on The Voice, while the more recent ones worked on A Bite of China and the Documentary on Air Pollution in China together with him. This was the best program team in the TV show industry!

Zhang Ye wondered, "Why did everyone quit?"

Zhang Zuo replied, "Old Ha and I did not renew our contracts after it ran out, so we were considered to have left by ourselves. Little Wang was sacked over a minor matter. The higher-ups skipped over Director Yan's authority and got her fired."

Little Wang said angrily, "I only rebuked someone from Central TV Department 1!"

Wu Yi said, "I resigned out of anger!"

Zhang Ye looked at the others.

Tong Fu said, "Since everyone left, I followed suit."

Little He added, "I prefer working with Director Zhang, so I resigned too!"

"Director Zhang, we'll listen to your plan!"

"Yeah, we'll all listen to you!"

"There's no way we can continue working there! All of us used to be on your team, so the higher-ups are always picking on us! They kept making things difficult for us and treated us with a bad attitude. Who would want to tolerate their behavior!"

Everyone started complaining!

Zhang Ye said in a speechless manner, "But you all are the industry's best program team. How can they just let you guys leave like that?"

Ha Qiqi said bitterly, "Director Zhang, not many people know about us even though we are the industry's best program team. To put it bluntly, how can we still claim to be number one if you're not on the team?"

Zhang Ye waved it off. "Take a seat and tell me more."

Chenchen waved to them. "Old Ha, Old Zhang, Old Wu."

Zhang Zuo smiled and said, "If it isn't our Little Leader."

Little Wang said joyfully, "Ah, Chenchen has grown taller!"

Chenchen replied, "Mmm, I guess I did."

Zhang Ye introduced everyone to his assistants. "Some of you might have seen them before and some have not. This is Rao Aimin, my agent. This is Yang Shu, my bodyguard." Then he introduced Ha Qiqi and the rest of the others one by one to Rao Aimin and Yang Shu. "When you weren't around for those six months, I had some trouble juggling my show's production work and taking care of the child. At that time, I brought Chenchen with me to Central TV where everyone helped take care of her. They all treated Chenchen quite well."

Rao Aimin acknowledged him and said lightly, "Stay for the afternoon. I'll make lunch."

Ha Qiqi quickly said, "Sister Rao, there's no need to trouble you."

However, Zhang Ye said, "Don't stand on ceremony with her. Old Rao is a very good cook. You'll all regret it if we don't stay for lunch."

"We? Did I say that I want you to stay for lunch?" Rao Aimin said.

Zhang Ye pretended not to have heard her. He turned to ask Tong Fu, "How did Huang Dandan's surgery go?"

Tong Fu smiled and said, "She's recovering quite well. She even kept saying that she wanted to come and join you, but I stopped her."

Zhang Ye said, "That's good. She should rest up for now, so don't let her get back to work yet."

Little Wang said fervently, "Director Zhang, let's pull off another big one this time!"

"Whoa." Zhang Ye said in amusement, "Are you planning on robbing a bank?"

Little Wang coughed and said, "We can do something on a smaller scale too. We're jobless anyway. If you don't take care of us, we won't have anywhere left to go."

Zhang Ye laughed and said, "Didn't I say this before? If you all don't have anywhere to go in the future, just come look for me and we can plan something. I was so looking forward to you all coming and join me. It's not easy to build another team that has such a deep bond and understanding. It's Central TV's loss that they did not keep all of you in the company. Let me do a headcount. One, two, three, four, five…There's a total of 13 people. Good, so almost the entire team is here."

Ha Qiqi laughed and said, "Basically everyone on the old team is here."

Tong Fu raised his hand. "And some from the new team."

Zhang Ye decided, "Alright, I'll take everyone who wants to join me!"

Ha Qiqi asked, "Then what are we looking at doing?"

Zhang Zuo asked, "Yeah, what should we do?"

They all knew Zhang Ye well. There was a very strong friendship and trust after working together for such a long time. This was not purely about tapping on the interests that each one of them could offer. The reason why everyone came to Zhang Ye the moment they left the Central TV Documentary Channel was not because they had nowhere to go. There were endless people in the industry trying to poach them, yet they were all here because they still wanted to work with Zhang Ye.

Zhang Ye was quite happy that his old team that had swept through the entertainment industry was now reunited. When he thought about Rao Aimin's earlier complaints of being too busy, Zhang Ye suddenly had an idea. This idea was probably one that he had in mind since a very long time ago!

Zhang Ye suggested something astonishing. "Let's set up a studio!"

Ha Qiqi was taken aback. "A studio?"

Zhang Zuo said in surprise, "Aiyo, that is a good idea!"

"Right, all the A-list celebrities have their own studios!" Wu Yi said.

Little Wang clapped her hands and said, "I'll join!"

"Me too!"

"Count me in!"

"Haha, and me too!"

"Follow Director Zhang's lead! And he'll give you meal to eat!"

"A studio is a great idea!"

"I've been waiting for a long time for this day!"

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Chapter 1156: Hiring a bodyguard for the studio?

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

Owning a studio was a sure sign of being an A-list celebrity. Some of the top B-list celebrities would also set up their own personal studios as long as they could afford to maintain one. This was equivalent to a small talent agency that would handle artist related affairs like promotions and PR work. For those slightly larger celebrity studios, they would even incorporate production and distribution functions. The only difference was that an agency was responsible for multiple artists, whereas a celebrity studio usually serviced a single celebrity. This was the main difference between the two.

Zhang Ye asked Rao Aimin, "Big Sis Rao, what do you think?"

Rao Aimin spoke like a layman, "What's the use of opening a studio?"

It would be of great use," Zhang Ye quickly replied.

Rao Aimin asked, "What sort of great use?"

"The great use is of course…" Zhang Ye paused and turned to Ha Qiqi. "Uh, what sort of great use?" He was unable to explain what it was good for.

Ha Qiqi, Zhang Zuo, and the others were floored. How could you not know when you were the one who suggested it?

You're an Asian celebrity, but why are you still so ignorant?!

Little Wang was perceptive of the situation and immediately explained, "Big Sis Rao, the idea of opening a studio is so that everyone would be working around Director Zhang to support him. We would all be working towards the same goal. As for the kind of work it handles, it may include things like being the contact point for people who are interested in having Director Zhang make a commercial appearance, or having specialized personnel discuss and come up with solutions in the event of emergency PR. There would also be people handling requests for media interviews and other similar activities, so you wouldn't be required to take on such tasks in the future. Since you're Director Zhang's agent, you'd only be required to handle the important issues at hand. All the other minor details and work can be delegated to us to handle. As for who would handle which areas of work, we'll discuss that at a later time."

Zhang Ye repeatedly agreed, "That's right, that's right. In any case, you won't have to do much in the future. There won't be anyone chasing or calling you up every other day."

Rao Aimin sneered. "Why should I believe you?"

Zhang Ye said helplessly, "That's really how it is! Why would I lie to you!"

"I'm already been tricked into it by you once," Rao Aimin said.

Zhang Zuo also persuaded, "Sister Rao, with us sharing the workload, our efficiency will be much higher."

Tong Fu said, "Actually, Director Zhang should have already set up a studio long ago. In all of show business, he's the only A-list celebrity who does not have an agency or studio!"

Wu Yi nodded and said, "Yeah! Once he has a team to support him, Director Zhang would no longer need to personally handle any emergency PR or issue any public statements himself! He is an Asian celebrity now, so if he still doesn't have a studio to deal with his affairs, he won't be able to cope once the workload gets heavier! If some foreign projects come along or the foreign media approaches him, he wouldn't be able to handle them with that English of his. It would be for the best if we could have a dedicated translator to handle all of this. Of course, it would take some time for the team to slowly improve."

Zhang Ye said to Yang Shu, "Little Yang, what about you?"

Yang Shu said without thinking, "Wherever Senior Bro goes, I go."

"Good." Zhang Ye nodded. "Then that's that!"

An agent.

A bodyguard.

A chauffeur.

An assistant.

A videographer.

A secretary.

A director.

A technical director.

Business operations.

Counting all that, a team had practically been fully assembled!

His old group of team members were all very skilled and were basically a complete team that transferred straight over from the television station. They were not missing any roles that a complete program team would have. After they transferred over to the studio, there shouldn't be any drastic changes to their roles. At the very least, their job functions in the team would still be unique. Since this was the same team that produced, promoted, and did the public relations for The Voice and A Bite of China, they did not need to waste any time to get to know each other. They were already quite familiar with one another!

Since everything clicked, the matter was settled!

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "Since we've decided to establish a new studio, I'm not sure about how we should get things rolling. If anyone has any suggestions, please bring it up."

Ha Qiqi asked, "Where will the studio be located?"

"Yeah, we have to rent a place for the office and get the business registration done as soon as possible." Zhang Zuo said, "But the rental prices for office space these days are not cheap."

Zhang Ye's eyes fell upon Rao Aimin.

Rao Aimin gave him a look. "What are you looking at me for!"

Zhang Ye asked, "Old Rao, do you have any spare apartments?"

Rao Aimin pursed her lips and said, "No."

"That can't be." Zhang Ye pointed out knowingly, "Isn't that duplex not rented out yet? The one on the top floor with over 200 square meters of floor space."

Little Wang exclaimed, "There's such a big place?"

Wu Yi said in surprise, "Sister Rao owns another apartment?"

Zhang Ye laughed and said, "All the units in this apartment building belong to her. This is quite a good place as the units are dual-purpose apartments that we can use to register as our company's address."

Rao Aimin immediately said, "Dream on, kid. How much are you going to pay me?"

Zhang Ye said, "Don't mention money. That could hurt our friendship!"

Rao Aimin rebutted, "Don't mention friendship. That would hurt my money!"

Zhang Ye was left with no choice. Seeing that she was not willing to give in, he could only say, "Alright then, will it do if I rent it from you at the market rate? I've never come across someone as stingy as you!"

"You should have said so earlier." Rao Aimin looked around and found a key. She threw it to him. "Take proper care of the place. Don't damage my apartment!"

Zhang Ye and the others headed upstairs to view the unit.

When they opened the door, they astonished by what they saw!

Although the unit was not considered big, there were two floors of around a hundred square meters each. It was renovated very well and had a little bit of European style furnishing in it. All of the furniture was also new. Once the beds and cabinets in the bedrooms were cleared and replaced with desks, the office would almost be fully equipped without needing any further renovations. Since their studio would only be operating with about a dozen employees for the time being, they did not require too big an office, like those housed in an office building.

Little Wang praised, "This place is good, this place is good!"

Ha Qiqi also liked it a lot. "There's more than enough space!"

Zhang Zuo smiled and said, "Then let's go ahead with the plan. Starting from today, our company's name will be known as 'Zhang Ye's Studio'?"

Zhang Ye said, "Yes!"

Ha Qiqi asked, "Do we still need to hire any more staff?"

"What roles do we need?" Zhang Ye asked.

Tong Fu coughed. "We still require bodyguards, don't we?"

Yang Shu said, "Aren't I the bodyguard?"

Tong Fu said, "Uh, I'm afraid that one bodyguard is not be enough for Director Zhang. He has offended too many people, after all. Now that he has gotten this popular, if he were to meet with any trouble while participating in public activities, or if the fans get too passionate, or if he gets surrounded by too many reporters, something could easily happen to him."

Ha Qiqi nodded. "Right, so should we hire another two bodyguards?"

Yang Shu didn't like the sound of that. She frowned and said, "With me around, who could get near my Senior Bro?"

Little Wang blinked. "Sister Yang, don't tell me you know kung fu?"

Yang Shu gave a slight smile. "I know a bit of Taiji Fist."

Little Wang said in amazement, "Really? Like the one in the movies?"

Yang Shu scoffed. "The Taiji Fist that you see in the movies are all fake. If you want to learn it, I can teach you. I'm giving lessons daily in the neighborhood below our apartment. Do you want to come? It's free to join. Taiji Fist is a superior type of martial arts. Not only can it strengthen the body, it also can…" She rattled on and on. She launched into a sales pitch on Taiji Fist like what she had been saying to the elderly in the neighborhood every day.

Little Wang said, "You're that awesome?"

Yang Shu smiled and said, "My senior bro is even more awesome."

It was obvious no one understood what she meant.

Wu Yi asked curiously, "Senior Bro? This form of address…"

Zhang Zuo guessed, "You graduated from Media College too? Are you Director Zhang's junior at school? Eh, when did Media College start giving martial arts lessons? I've never heard about that!"

Yang Shu said, "Huh? What junior at school?"

Zhang Ye interrupted, "Alright, there's no need to recruit any more bodyguards. She's enough."

Everyone gave Yang Shu a skeptical look but did not say anything more.

What could such a small woman possibly do?

None of them knew how strong Yang Shu was at this point in time!

Unbeknownst to them, now that Zhang Ye's Studio had been established, the role of bodyguards was going to be the least of their concerns!

With Zhang Ye, Yang Shu, and Rao Aimin around, would there be any in this world who would dare barge in? Even if a martial arts grandmaster were to come attacking, they would arrive standing but leave the place on a stretcher. Zhang Ye's Studio was a much safer place than the Huashan Sect, Shaolin Monastery, and all other large sects. Be it the name of Rao Aimin or Zhang Ye, they were both fearsome existences in the martial arts world who would send anyone running!

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Chapter 1157: The studio officially opens!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

Several days passed.

Zhang Ye's Studio was officially registered and opened for business.

Although the place was not big and there were not a lot of employees yet, with Zhang Ye's reputation staked on it, the company immediately became one of the biggest celebrity studios the moment it started operating.

Zhang Ye's parents came to visit.

Little Wang served them tea and hot water. "Auntie, Uncle, have a seat.

His mother looked around. "Good, very good."

His father commented, "Yup, it's a pretty nice place."

"Where's my son?" His mother asked.

Ha Qiqi smiled and said, "Director Zhang went out to pick someone up. I'll show you around."

His mother nodded. "Alright, let's go have a look around!"

Zhang Zuo asked, "By the way, Auntie, shall we light some firecrackers? So that there'll be a more festive air for the opening?"

His mother waved him off. "There's no need. Little Ye doesn't like it so boisterous, so it's fine as is."

"Grandpa, Grandma." Chenchen skipped over.

"Ai, my little Chenchen. Did you miss Grandma?" Zhang Ye's mother took Chenchen by her hand with a wide smile. "Come, come upstairs with Grandpa and Grandma and have a look."

The first floor was the reception area. There was a sofa, a television, a kitchen where meals could be made, and even a rather large bar. Behind it, the wine cabinet was stocked to the brim with liquor bottles. This cabinet was newly installed by them, and the entire place was dazzling. There was also a small conference room that had been modified from an existing guest room and was separated from the rest of the area. On the second floor, there were a few standalone office spaces. Everyone would be working from here in the future. The phone and internet connection networks had also all been wired in.

Most worth mentioning was the balcony on the second floor. In the entire apartment complex, only the duplex on the top floor had this feature. The balcony was over ten square meters, so it wasn't small at all. It was resurfaced with a fresh lawn, and they had ordered some customized swings that were installed just this morning. Long rattan benches were placed out on the balcony as well. Looking out from the balcony, one could see the city down below and the endless sky hanging overhead. It wouldn't be a problem if they were to hold an occasional gathering out here. The view from here was gorgeous.

Soon after, Zhang Ye returned with Yao Jiancai beside him.

Little Wang quickly said, "Teacher Yao, hello!"

"Teacher Yao!"

"Teacher Yao is here?"

Yao Jiancai laughed and said, "Hello, everyone!"

Little Wang said, "Director Zhang, Auntie and Uncle are both here. They're out on the balcony upstairs."

"OK, I got it." Zhang Ye was all smiles. "Old Yao, how's my place?"

"It's pretty awesome!" Yao Jiancai said, "It's quite cozy here and much better than my agency, that's for sure." He then turned to the bar. "Whoa, you've got this much alcohol here? Shall we open a bottle?"

Zhang Ye pointed at the drinks. "Just have whatever you like, don't stand on ceremony with me."

Little Wang was still employed as the office assistant in the studio. "Which bottle should I open?"

"The cheapest one!" Zhang Ye said.

Yao Jiancai was speechless.

At this moment, another group arrived outside!

Dong Shanshan and Yu Yingyi came in with a laugh.

Zhang Ye was taken aback. "Yo, we have distinguished guests."

Dong Shanshan smiled and said, "You didn't even invite us to your studio's opening?"

"Hai, I hadn't planned on inviting anyone at all. I only sent a message to all my friends to inform them about it." Zhang Ye laughed and said, "I didn't expect that you'd come!"

Yu Yingyi said in amusement, "Since we know about it, of course we'd have to come over to congratulate you."

Dong Shanshan said to the delivery person outside, "Just place the flower basket outside the door. Yes, that's it, thank you."

There were two flower baskets, one each from Dong Shanshan and Yu Yingyi.

Yao Jiancai stretched out his hand and said, "Teacher Shanshan."

"Teacher Yao, it's been a while." Dong Shanshan smiled and shook hands with him.

"This is?" Yao Jiancai had seen the sports commentator before but couldn't remember her name.

Zhang Ye introduced, "This is a classmate of mine and Shanshan's. Gorgeous Beauty Yu, Yu Yingyi."

Yu Yingyi smiled and said, "I dare not call myself 'gorgeous.'"

Dong Shanshan said amused, "But you are fine with 'beauty'?"

"Of course." Only then did Yu Yingyi finally shake hands with Yao Jiancai. "It's our first time meeting, Teacher Yao. Nice to meet you. I've watched all of yours and Zhang'er's crosstalks no less than five times. I still laugh every time I watch them. The two of you are definitely the best crosstalk partners in the industry!"

Yao Jiancai chuckled, "You're too nice. Little Zhang and I only went to take part in the crosstalk competition after we were forced into a dead end."

Suddenly, even more people arrived.

"Is it here?" The trio of Xiaodong, Li Xiaoxian, and Amy came in wondering if they got the right place.

Zhang Ye immediately went up to greet them. "Whoa, you're all here?"

Xiaodong smiled and said, "Teacher Zhang, congratulations."

Zhang Ye gave them a fist and palm salute. "You too, you too."

Amy said, "Our flower basket has been placed outside the door."

"Alright." Zhang Ye said, "Just leave it there."

Xiaodong pointed behind herself and got someone to carry in a box of items. "I brought you a box of red wine."

Amy giggled and said, "Sister Xiaodong has collected all that for many years. She's not even willing to open a bottle for herself."

Xiaodong waved it off. "It's a gift for Director Zhang, I must be willing to give it out!"

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "You're this generous? Thank you."

Li Xiaoxian covered her mouth and laughed. "Sister Xiaodong means to say that since you have your own studio now, we'll be coming over often to have a drink. So she might as well store the wine here."

Zhang Ye said, "So you're taking this place to be a storage place for your wine now? Ha, I get it. Feel free to come over anytime; I'll certainly welcome you. Treat this place as your own from now on."

Yao Jiancai said, "Alright, I'll come over to have a drink every day then."

Zhang Ye rolled his eyes. "I wasn't talking to you."

Everyone laughed.

Chen Guang and Fan Wenli were both overseas, so they specially called to offer their congratulations. Even though they were not here, they sent over some gifts that were pretty heavy. Then, there was also Grandma Zhang Xia. She couldn't find time to come over today, so she purposely got her son to send over a flower basket. There was even calligraphy that was written by Grandma Zhang herself. And Ning Lan, the skit actress Ci Xiufang, Central TV Documentary Channel's Yan Tianfei, Beijing Television's Hu Fei, China Qiyuan, and so on and so forth. In the end, there was even a flower basket sent by the Heavenly Queen, Zhang Yuanqi. The official Weibo of Zhang Yuanqi's Studio also posted a message: "Congratulations on the establishment of Zhang Ye's Studio."

Zhang Ye's Studio also set up its own Weibo and got a verification tag for the account.

For some other industry insiders who were not that close or well acquainted with Zhang Ye, they also offered their congratulations online.

"@ZhangYeStudio."

"Congratulations, Teacher Zhang!"

"Wishing your company's business success in scaling new heights!"

"Hoping you flourish and expand throughout the world."

"Rich blessings for a smooth sailing business."

There were a few of these messages, while the rest were all replies and likes by the netizens!

All of Zhang Ye's good friends in the industry that could be seen had been seen. It might seem like there were a lot of them, but it was really only those few people. He didn't really have any friends in the entertainment industry. Any C- or D-list celebrity probably had a much better social network than he did. Whenever someone's company was established, or whenever someone got married, they could easily invite over half of the entertainment industry to attend. But this sort of turnout could never happen to a fellow like Zhang Ye!

Oh, actually, it shouldn't be put that way.

Zhang Ye felt that if he were to die someday, he could almost definitely attract the entire entertainment industry to turn out for his funeral, and the number of wreaths that he would receive would probably line all the way from his house to Tiananmen Square!

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Chapter 1158: The first big project!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

That night.

Zhang Ye was laying down on the balcony outside the studio and stargazing. He poured himself a glass of red wine. There was a cool light breeze blowing. Eh, but there were just too many mosquitoes.

With a team of his own now, Zhang Ye no longer had to worry about how a lot of things were run. He felt relaxed and at ease now, but had one small regret—he had spent too much! The rental, the renovations, the equipment, the utilities, and the payroll, Zhang Ye had to pay for all that out of his own pocket. With such a large family to support now, he would surely have to improve further from here. He could only bring everyone together and slowly move forward now!

What should he do next?

After resting for so many days, it was time to start work again!

The window opened and Chenchen's head popped out. "Zhang Ye, I'm going to bed."

"Go on then," Zhang Ye said.

"Tell me a bedtime story," Chenchen said.

Zhang Ye rolled his eyes. "Go, go, go get Yang Shu to tell one to you."

Chenchen pouted. "Zhang Ye, you're so lazy." Then she turned around and went off.

Ha Qiqi also poked her head out and said with a bitter smile, "Director Zhang, why are you still lying around? We're almost dying from being so busy."

Zhang Ye sat up. "Hey, I thought that you all had already knocked off. What are you guys still doing here?"

Ha Qiqi said, "Our studio has just opened for business, so there are a lot of people trying to contact us. They're looking for you to collab on movies, TV series, or are trying to ask you for a song, or accept some commercial appearances. We received so many calls that we lost count. But so far, there has been nothing that caught our eye. There was an offer to play the second male lead with a pay of 10 million RMB, but we're totally uninterested in that."

Zhang Zuo also stuck his head out the window. "Director Zhang, at least give us some direction. Just what kind of projects are you looking to work on?"

Zhang Ye said, "A big project."

"What would you call a big project?" Zhang Zuo questioned.

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "The bigger the better, of course!"

At his level, he could already be considered one of the top few celebrities in the country. Although he still couldn't compare to those Heavenly Kings and Queens, he was at the level where he could choose which projects he wanted to take. In the industry, there were those who picked their jobs based on the amount of money offered and would work for whomever paid them more. Then, there were those who picked their jobs based on relationships. If they had a good relationship with the crew, they'd help out over there. Meanwhile, Zhang Ye mainly based his decisions on whatever would bring him more popularity. Whichever project was bigger, whichever one that would allow him to gain more popularity, he would definitely prefer those over the others.

Suddenly, he heard Little Wang shouting, "Director Zhang! Director Zhang!"

Ha Qiqi was startled. "What's the matter? What is it?"

Little Wang came running over. "There's a big project! It's a huge project!"

Zhang Ye said, feeling rather interested, "Do tell."

Little Wang panted, "Someone has asked you for a song!"

Zhang Ye immediately lost interest. He shrugged and said, "Didn't I say that I don't casually write songs for others unless I have a really good relationship with them?"

Little Wang said anxiously, "This one's different!"

Ha Qiqi looked at her. "How much are they offering?"

Little Wang said, "I don't think they're paying anything."

Zhang Zuo didn't know how to react. "They're not paying and want Director Zhang to write them a free song? Do you know how much one song of Director Zhang's can fetch? Even if it were Sister Zhang, she wouldn't ask Director Zhang to write her a song for free!"

However, Little Wang's next words shocked everyone!

Little Wang said loudly, "It's the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games 1 that is asking for the song! It's for the Olympic theme song! They said that it would be used during the opening ceremony of the Olympics!"

"What?"

"What did you just say?"

"The Olympic theme song?"

"Holy shit!"

"That's really a big project, fucking hell!"

"Aiyo, did they really approach us?"

Little Wang said, "Yes, really!"

Everyone became very excited!

It was for the Olympics!

It was for the Olympics that was held once every four years!

The Olympics that would be broadcast live all over the world!

Wu Yi said loudly, "Director Zhang, you must take this job! Even if they aren't paying, you must take the job! This will greatly affect your popularity!"

Ha Qiqi said excitedly, "It's going to add very good credentials to your résumé! If you take this project, you won't have to worry for the rest of your life! I could never have expected that we would be approached with such a huge project so soon after our opening! How many people are competing to get on the Olympic opening ceremony, and still, they wouldn't get a chance at something like that!"

Zhang Ye narrowed his eyes. He hadn't expected that the Organizing Committee would come looking for him. He raised some doubts about the offer. "We're slightly less than two weeks away from the opening ceremony of the Olympics, aren't we? Hadn't everything already been planned long ago for the opening ceremony? They can't possibly be starting to prepare for it at the last minute. How many years ago was it since they won the Olympic bid? How can they possibly be thrown off balance in their planning at a time like this?"

Zhang Zuo was startled. "Yeah, the rehearsals are already about to begin."

Little Wang said, "I don't know about that. I, I didn't ask."

Zhang Ye asked again, "Did they only mention that they wanted me to write a song?"

"Yes," Little Wang replied.

Zhang Ye said, "They didn't mention anything about me singing it?"

Little Wang said, "I…don't think they did."

Zhang Ye nodded. "Are you sure that the call was from the Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games?"

"I've already verified it with them. The caller was the head of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games," Little Wang said.

Zhang Ye said, "Alright, then let them know that since this is not a small matter, I will need some time to consider it."

Little Wang was dumbfounded. "Consider?"

Wu Yi nearly fainted. "You still need to consider for an offer like that?"

"Director Zhang, this is too good an opportunity to be missed!" Zhang Zuo was also nearly driven mad. "This is the Olympics we're talking about! The opening theme song for the Olympics! What is there still left to consider? If you miss this chance, it would really be a big loss. Our country is probably only able to host one Olympic Games in the near future. This is the only chance where we can showcase ourselves to the entire world! Aiyo, just…just what are you thinking?"

But Zhang Ye said, "Little Wang, just tell them that."

"OK." Little Wang could only helplessly obey the orders. She left to make the call.

Then, Zhang Ye said to everyone, "It's not that I don't wish to take on the project. For a huge project like this, even if I have to suffer a big loss, I would still take it on. But think about it for a moment. It doesn't mean that I would get to sing the song even if I wrote it. If I were to promise them so quickly, then when I finish writing the song for them and don't get to sing it during the opening ceremony, who will I go to for answers?"

Zhang Zuo analyzed, "Surely not, right? Since they came looking for you, that would mean that they want you to sing it too, isn't that so?"

Zhang Ye waved his hands and said, "There's nothing impossible about that. After being in the industry for so long and coming across all kinds of people, you can see from the news that I have always been getting into fights over such incidents. How many people have I scolded? For things like this, I am more experienced than any of you. We can't make any promises in a hurry, so just drag it out a little for now. I believe that something has cropped up over on their side, so they needed to change the song at the last minute. Otherwise, based on my relationship with those from the sports world, do you think they would lower their heads and come to me for help? There's definitely something going on here."

Ha Qiqi was convinced. "Director Zhang has a valid point there."

Wu Yi said anxiously, "But what if…"

Zhang Zuo said, "Yeah, don't let the opportunity slip away!"

Zhang Ye said calmly, "Just wait a little and see how it goes. If it's really ours, this chance will never get away. But coming back to the point, if there's really no song to be sung at the Olympics, even if they don't want me to sing it, I would still write one for them. This is a matter of national affairs, and this bro is not such a narrow-minded person. It wasn't easy for China to organize an Olympic Games. The next time it happens again would probably be decades to a century later. We can't allow it to fail in the hands of our generation."

He would still fight for what was needed!

He still had to do what was necessary!

This had always been how Zhang Ye handled things!

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "Alright, it's time to knock off. Everyone has worked hard today."

After everyone left, Zhang Ye stayed around. He laid down outside on the balcony and flipped on a colored lamp. Then he picked up a score and twisted the felt-tip pen in his hand before writing down a few words.

" You and Me 2 ".

Eid Mubarak, everyone!

all the best to your World Cup teams!

1. https/en./wiki/Beijing_Organizing_Committee_for_the_Olympic_Games

2. https/en./wiki/You_and_Me_(Olympic_theme_song)

Chapter 1159: Zhang Ye is going to the Olympic opening ceremony!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

The next day.

There were already stories in the news!

At Jiaomen East, Zhang Ye's Studio.

Little Wang was holding several copies of newspapers in her hands and shouting, "Here are today's papers!"

Everyone gathered around her while Zhang Ye also came over to have a look.

"Olympic Opening Ceremony Rehearsal Delayed!"

"A major problem might have befallen the Olympic opening ceremony!"

"Last-minute change of singers and theme song for opening ceremony!"

"Jiang Hanwei not destined to perform opening theme song?"

"Who will land the Olympic opening theme song?"

On the Internet, the netizens were also extremely surprised by the news!

"How did something like this happen?"

"It's already so close to the start of the Olympics!"

"The foreign Olympic contingents are already gradually arriving to Beijing!"

"Why did the theme song suddenly get changed? What was wrong with the previous one? I thought that they had already confirmed that it would be performed by Jiang Hanwei and Shu Han? Damn, wouldn't Old Jiang and Sister Shu have worked in vain then!"

"I wonder what's going on?"

"They're changing the lineup and song so suddenly?"

"Is there still time for that?"

"Then who's going to take over?"

"This is going to be a very lucrative job. There's definitely going to be a lot of people eyeing this chance!"

"Yeah, heads will probably roll when everyone contends for the song!"

The citizens were very concerned. After all, this was the first time that China was hosting the Olympics. It would be the only time in history that this was happening, so who wouldn't want it to be carried out flawlessly?

The entertainment industry's artists were also very concerned. Who could take the stage to sing the one and only opening ceremony theme song for the Olympics? This was incredibly important for an artist, especially those who harbored thoughts of stepping into the international stage. The lure was too enticing!

At the studio.

Ha Qiqi exclaimed, "So something really did happen!"

The moment she finished speaking, there was a knock on the door.

Little Wang went to answer it. Then, she got a shock. This was because there were seven or eight people standing outside the door in suits. At a single glance, it was clear that they were officials. She didn't know most of them, but there was one person in the group she recognized immediately. This person was very famous!

—Li Ke!

He was one of the most famous film and television directors in China. This "one of" did not refer to being one in dozens, but one in only four people. When mentioning Chinese film directors, he would definitely rank within the top three. Even on the international stage, Li Ke's works had pretty good results. Right now, the post he held was the executive director of the Olympic opening ceremony!

"Is this Zhang Ye's Studio?"

"Yes."

"We're from the Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games."

"Ah, please come in."

Little Wang led the group of people inside.

Zhang Ye also walked up to them slowly.

Li Ke smiled and stretched out his hand. "Director Zhang, I'd been looking forward to meeting you."

Zhang Ye shook hands with him. "I wouldn't dare to call myself a director in front of you, Director Li."

Li Ke was also in the Celebrity Goof Group. He occasionally joined in the conversations, and the two of them had chatted as well. Although they hadn't met, they were not exactly strangers either.

Then, Zhang Ye noticed that the famous lyricist and composer, Wang Zhuishu, was also part of the group. "Old Wang?"

Wang Zhuishu and Zhang Ye had known each other through King of Masked Singers and their relationship was considered alright.

Wang Zhuishu gave a wry smile. "Teacher Zhang, you're really something!"

Zhang Ye played dumb. "Ah? What about me?"

Wang Zhuishu said helplessly, "Let me make some introductions first. This is Qi Yihai, the vice president of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games."

Qi Yihai smiled and said, "Teacher Zhang, I've been looking forward to meeting you for a long time."

Zhang Ye smiled back. "If I knew that President Qi was visiting today, I would have gone downstairs to welcome you!"

Li Ke joked, "So you wouldn't have gone to welcome us if it was just me?"

"Haha, of course I would have, of course I would have," Zhang Ye laughed.

Afterwards, the rest of the people were introduced. Other than one person who did not seem too friendly, probably because he was from the sports world, the others all greeted Zhang Ye politely. If it were just a normal celebrity, there wouldn't be a need to be so polite. However, as they had come to Zhang Ye for a favor, and with his status different from other normal celebrities since he held three professorships from two universities, everyone had to politely greet him as "Professor Zhang" or "Teacher Zhang." They wouldn't address him as "Little Zhang" or directly by his full name.

After a simple exchange of a few words, Zhang Ye got the studio employees to move upstairs, leaving Ha Qiqi, Zhang Zuo, and Little Wang behind with him. Ha Qiqi was now in charge of external communications for Zhang Ye's Studio, while Zhang Zuo was in charge of the internal communications. Meanwhile, the reason for Little Wang staying behind with them was because she had to serve drinks to the guests.

Everyone got seated.

Wang Zhuishu said, "Director Zhang, have you reached a decision yet?"

Zhang Ye blinked. "What decision? Oh, I remember. You mean about the song!"

Wang Zhuishu rolled his eyes.

Zhang Ye said, "May I ask why you all approached me?"

The vice president of the organizing committee looked at him. "Teacher Zhang, I won't hide this from you. There were some problems with the theme song for the opening ceremony. There's a problem with the personnel, as well as with the song. I won't go into detail, but suffice it to say that all the songs that were previously lined up have been rejected. We feel that the lyrics and the melody were completely unsuitable for performing at this sort of an international stage. Like for one of the songs, Chinese elements were too heavily emphasized. This should have been a good thing since it would showcase the charms of our country. But then, it kind of felt unsuitable for the Olympics. After much deliberation, our Organizing Committee feels that we should have something that is a little more international sounding. But there has been nothing suitable so far, and we have already dragged this on for too long."

Wang Zhuishu added, "I wasn't able to help either. I've already written seven or eight drafts for proposal, and so have some of our country's other musicians. A song that is more international sounding is what's making this so difficult. The score for the music is not easy to create, so that's where the problem lies. We were all out of ideas. Then, later, when Director Li mentioned you, I suddenly remembered that writing songs is a specialty of yours. So Director Li and I recommended you to the Organizing Committee."

Is writing songs my only specialty?

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "I can sing well too." His words carried a double meaning.

Wang Zhuishu simply nodded.

Li Ke smiled but did not say anything.

An executive from the sports world frowned.

But it was Qi Yihai who spoke, "I know that. My daughter is a fan of your singing. She likes you so much that she doesn't even listen to me anymore, hai."

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "Did I just get implicated in something that I don't know about?"

However, Qi Yihai said, "I don't like her chasing after celebrities and idols, but you're an exception. I've always admired Teacher Zhang's principles concerning major issues."

Zhang Ye did not know how to respond to that.

So he listened to Qi Yihai continue, "We're getting closer and closer to the day of the opening ceremony. There isn't much time left. Director Li and Teacher Wang told me that if anyone could come up with a new song in a short period of time, then it would only be you, Teacher Zhang. I agree with what they said, so that's why we came over today to pay you a visit. We wanted to know if you can come up with a song for us. Our requirements for the song is that it has to sound like it was written for the international stage in mind, has to have a nice melody, be able to spread positive energy, and also showcases the bearing of our country."

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "Your requirements are not simple."

Qi Yihai said, "That's why we came looking for you."

Wang Zhuishu asked, "Director Zhang, do you think you can do it? It's really urgent!"

Zhang Ye thought about it and told Little Wang, "Little Wang, go to my office and take out the document from the first drawer on the right. Bring that to me."

"OK!" Little Wang very quickly returned with what he wanted.

Zhang Ye gripped the score and placed it on the table. "Everyone, please have a look at this song."

What?

There's already a song?

Damn, isn't that too fast! We know that you're the quickest draw around, but isn't that still way too fast! Are you a machine gun or something?

Everyone was very surprised. Even Ha Qiqi and Zhang Zuo did not know about it!

"You and Me"?

Wang Zhuishu took the score and immediately started humming!

Qi Yihai, Li Ke, and the others watched and listened to him very seriously!

Ten minutes later.

Everyone was stunned!

Li Ke laughed. "Good! It's really good!"

An organizing committee official praised, "This is great!"

Wang Zhuishu banged the table. "This is it! This totally sounds like a theme song that was tailored for the Beijing Olympics!"

Zhang Ye said, "Well, I did write it specifically for the Olympics."

Wang Zhuishu had no reply.

Zhang Ye asked with a smile, "President Qi, what do you think?"

Qi Yihai gave him a thumbs up. "It's impeccable! Teacher Zhang is really as good as everyone says!"

Zhang Ye said, "That's good then."

Qi Yihai was also a smart person. He looked at him and said, "Teacher Zhang, we definitely want this song. You won't have written this in vain. Just tell us what requests you might have."

Zhang Ye said, "I only have two requests. No, I shouldn't say that they're requests since this is a national affair. I only have two wishes. The first one is that I hope to be the one to sing this song since I believe that I should be the one to sing my own song. I could perform it to the best that way. Second, I hope that I am allowed to pick the partner for the part of the female duet."

The person from the sports world immediately said, "No way!"

Zhang Ye looked at him and vaguely remembered from the introduction earlier that his surname was Qian. He was a chief of some bureau it seemed.

Chief Qian said, "The song performers have already been decided. It will definitely be performed by Jiang Hanwei and Shu Han. The two of them rehearsed the opening theme song for a very long time."

Zhang Ye said, "But hasn't the song been switched now?"

Chief Qian looked at him. "We still have to consider the two teachers' feelings."

Zhang Ye asked in return, "If you wish to be considerate of the teachers, I can understand that. You can handle that however you deem fit, but don't use my song to do it. You sound like you're taking things for granted from the way you speak."

"Did I ever say anything like that?" Chief Qian was also getting annoyed. "These Olympics are a matter of national importance. It's a diplomatic mission, so can't you just write a song for someone to sing? Can't you even make a small sacrifice for the country?"

Zhang Ye said, "I can make sacrifices for sure. For my country and its people, I can do a lot of things. Furthermore, it won't just be paying lip service like what you're doing. Everyone knows how much I have done in the past, so don't resort to using moral coercion to pressure me! Why do I have to be the one to do everything and still be the one making sacrifices? Why is it that some people do not have to do anything and still get to bask in the glory of others? In the end, I still have to be insulted like I did something wrong?"

Chief Qian raged, "You!"

Ha Qiqi quickly held Zhang Ye back. "Director Zhang!"

All of a sudden, they started arguing. This had always been Zhang Ye's style. No one present found this to be odd. They all knew just how ill-tempered Zhang Ye could get, and there was nothing they could do about it.

Qi Yihai looked at the two of them helplessly. "I also know about the disagreements between Teacher Zhang and the sports world from back then. So it's still going on? Hur hur."

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "I suppose it's not over yet. Please forgive me, President Qi. I don't mean any harm, but it's just that I'm rather blunt and offend people easily."

Qi Yihai thought to himself, Was that being blunt? It sounded more like every word was cutting! However, Qi Yihai's impression of Zhang Ye was still pretty good. He wasn't a member of the sports world and had been assigned here to lead the committee. He also knew about the cold relations between the sports world and Zhang Ye, but that was none of his business, and he wasn't bothered by it either. What he needed to do was just to ensure that the Olympics would be properly organized and that the opening ceremony could be carried out without a hitch. That was all.

Li Ke was on Zhang Ye's side regarding this matter. "Director Zhang's singing is much better than Old Jiang's, and he's also more popular than Old Jiang."

Chief Qian reiterated, "But in terms of international popularity, Teacher Jiang is much more well-known, and his movies are also quite influential overseas. This is an international stage, so we have to consider all these factors. And his partner for the song, Shu Han will definitely…" He started gesturing.

Li Ke did not like hearing that. "Chief Qian, I think I'm the executive director here?"

After getting snubbed, Chief Qian flushed red with embarrassment!

Zhang Ye also spoke at this moment. "President Qi, you can make the decision?"

"Of course I can," Qi Yihai said.

Zhang Ye nodded. "If the Organizing Committee is really against it and doesn't find me suitable to represent our country on stage, that is fine. Just take the song, and we'll carry on with our lives as they were. It's all fine. This is my country's Olympic Games, so long as I can make a contribution, I won't ask for anything more than that."

Chief Qian said, "President Qi!"

Another person on the Organizing Committee said, "President Qi, we…"

Qi Yihai gave Zhang Ye a look and suddenly said with a smile, "Alright then. Just by those words of yours, I will fulfill your two wishes. Director Li, what do you think?"

Li Ke said, "I don't have any objections."

Qi Yihai said, "Alright, I will let the higher-ups know about this, so it's settled!"

Zhang Ye stood up and put out his hand. "Let's work well together."

Qi Yihai laughed heartily and shook his hand. He said, "You'll have to start making preparations immediately. With the time extension, we're only three days away from the rehearsal for the opening ceremony."

Chief Qian looked annoyed!

The other Organizing Committee members looked at one another!

Let Zhang Ye sing the Olympics opening theme song? Isn't that as good as slapping the face of the sports world! Who didn't know that Zhang Ye had scolded a large number of coaches and athletes of the sports world? He even deliberately used a skit to insult them. But now? He was going to represent the sports world and perform onstage? Would that work out? Hai, whatever. Since President Qi had decided, it was all set. They just had to make the opening ceremony happen, and everything would be decided in the best interests of the country.

Meanwhile, those people from Zhang Ye's Studio nearly screamed from the excitement!

He had done it!

He had really done it!

Director Zhang was going to represent the country and take to the stage for the Olympic opening ceremony!

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Chapter 1160: International Superstar Lillian!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

On the same day.

The news was leaked.

"Olympic Opening Ceremony Song Confirmed!"

"Zhang Ye to open the Games with a rendition of the theme song!"

"The Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games unanimously agrees to use Zhang Ye's song!"

"Zhang Ye joins the opening ceremony to replace Jiang Hanwei and Shu Han!"

"The Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games has verified the authenticity of this news!"

When the netizens saw these headlines, all of them expressed their disbelief!

"Teacher Zhang?"

"Damn, surely not, right!"

"How can it possibly be him!"

"I don't believe this!"

"I don't believe it either, it can't be him!"

"I have a friend working with the Organizing Committee. I heard that this matter has been confirmed, and their management already held a meeting to approve Teacher Zhang's song. He'll be the one performing it as well!"

"Pfft, but don't they know about his relationship with the sports world?"

"Yeah, Zhang Ye is going to open the games with his performance? Can it get any more ironic than that? Would those people from the sports world agree to this? I was thinking earlier how this slice of pie could land in anyone's plate but Zhang Ye's. After that fearsome war of words with the sports world during the new year, there hasn't been much of such large-scale scolding battles in showbiz! Goddammit, what kind of song could Teacher Zhang have come up with to make the Organizing Committee decide this?"

"Who knows!"

"This is going to be really interesting!"

"Yeah, we'll have a good show to watch again, hahahaha!"

"I feel that Zhang Ye is quite a suitable candidate for this!"

"Why?"

"Because Go can also be generally considered as a form of sports? Teacher Zhang is the greatest Go player in the world right now, and he can also sing well, so it's very normal for him to get chosen!"

"Uh, there's a point to that."

"Did Professor Zhang turn on the 'hogging the headlines' mode again?"

Immediately, some of those athletes who were involved in the scolding battle against Zhang Ye awhile back started protesting!

The head coach of the table tennis team angrily expressed on Weibo: "How can they use someone who is so disrespectful to sports as the singer of the opening theme song? I simply cannot understand this!"

A table tennis player: "Unacceptable!"

A badminton player: "Zhang Ye is representing the country and singing? This must be a mistake!"

But afterwards, the table tennis team's head coach deleted that Weibo post, perhaps because the Organizing Committee had talked to him?

Actually, they couldn't be blamed for feeling so shocked!

Even Zhang Ye's friends and relatives were finding it hard to believe!

A phone call from his mother came chasing after him for answers!

"Little Ye!"

"Mom."

"Did you get asked to perform the Olympics opening theme song?"

"Hur hur, yes."

"Has it been confirmed?"

"Of course."

"Aiyo, that's great! You're my good son!"

"So I'll be quite busy during this time and probably won't be home for a while."

"That's fine! No problem! Just do what you need to and quickly finish the song. You'll need to practice too, so please don't come home until everything is done! You must sing well at the opening ceremony! It's on the world stage!"

"I understand."

Ning Lan also called him in shock!

"Sister Ning."

"Zhang'er, are you serious?"

"The Olympics theme song you mean? It's true."

"How did you do it?"

"They didn't have a song, so they came to look for me to write one."

"Will you be performing it as well?"

"Yes, probably because they were moved by my charm, haha."

"What charm do you have! By the way, my new movie will be screening soon. Do help me to advertise it a little on your Weibo when the time comes."

"No problem."

Chen Guang's call:

"Just what song do you have?"

"Haha, it's a secret."

"You're really too fearsome, I suppose Jiang Hanwei must hate you to the bone now!"

"You say it like he didn't hate me before this."

"I am just in shock. How could it be you!"

The calls kept coming in from his friends. While everyone was in disbelief at the news, they were also very happy for him. That was because everyone knew it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be able to perform a song for the Olympic opening ceremony in their own nation. There likely wouldn't be another such chance in several decades. Even the Heavenly Kings and Queens did not get selected; even a veteran like Jiang Hanwei whose social network spanned far and wide in the industry was not chosen. All of that showed just how fierce the competition was to perform the theme song. This was not something that could be achieved with just popularity and social ties. Sometimes, it also needed some luck, and Zhang Ye happened to get the role!

The Go battle!

The mathematical conjecture!

King of Masked Singers!

There was no doubt that those three battles had led Zhang Ye to where he was right now!

If Zhang Ye did not know how to compose songs, if he did not use his astonishing singing skills to become the champion of King of Masked Singers, if he didn't make an appearance during the war between humans and machines, if there wasn't an announcement that Dale's Conjecture had been proven by Zhang Ye and spread his name across the world a little, then it could probably be said that this chance to sing the theme song at the opening ceremony would not have come his way. None of those factors could be missing from the equation. It was all down to Zhang Ye slowly building up his popularity and fame that helped the Organizing Committee to decide to use him in the end!

This was perhaps what luck was about!

This was also the result of Zhang Ye's hard work all this time!

The Olympic opening ceremony. There was without a doubt the largest platform that Zhang Ye would ever perform on so far. Although it was only one song, it was enough. This was the best chance to show himself to the entire world!

…

Later that afternoon.

In the studio.

Zhang Ye was alone in his office browsing through some information. He was currently trying to choose a partner to sing with, someone who would be sharing the Olympic stage and performing the song alongside him. Back in his previous world, that version of " You and Me 1 " performed by Liu Huan and Sarah Brightman was simply too amazing. Zhang Ye's singing style was quite different from Teacher Liu Huan's style, but he was also quite inclined to finding a foreign female singer to perform with. Only then would the charm of this song be brought out. But the problem was that Zhang Ye did not know anyone. He did not know who he could look for!

Joss?

Molly?

These were the more well-known female singers of this world!

But thinking about them, Zhang Ye could only shake his head and strike them off his list of choices. These two people did not have a clear attitude towards the Chinese. One of them was less mainstream and was rumored to be hard to get along with, so he would surely have to avoid getting such international celebrities. Zhang Ye would not dare to invite them no matter how popular they were. He had to play it safe first and foremost. His ideal choice would be someone who liked the Chinese, followed by their popularity and singing skills. But it wasn't easy to find international celebrities who were friendly towards the Chinese these days.

Who should he look for?

Who would be the most suitable?

After browsing for a long time, a name finally appeared in front of Zhang Ye's eyes.

The office door opened.

Ha Qiqi said anxiously, "Director Zhang, the Organizing Committee is rushing us again."

Zhang Zuo stood up and said, "They called three times and were asking if you had anyone in mind. The day of the rehearsal is almost here, and it's a race against time!"

Zhang Ye smiled. "I've picked someone."

Ha Qiqi blinked. "Who?"

Everyone looked over!

Zhang Ye calmly answered, "Lillian."

Everyone was shocked!

"Huh?"

"What?"

"Who did you say?"

Zhang Ye repeated, "I said, Lillian."

Ha Qiqi gave a dry laugh and said, "Director Zhang, are you joking with us?"

Zhang Ye said slightly irked, "I'm not joking."

Zhang Zuo was dumbfounded. "Which Lillian?"

"The most famous Lillian in the world of course." Zhang Ye said.

Everyone was speechless.

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "What's the matter? Is there a problem?"

Little Wang wiped her sweat away. "W-Would we even be able to invite her?"

Wu Yi said, "This woman you're talking about is too much of a big shot!"

Zhang Zuo said with a forced smile, "She's not only too much of a big shot. She's simply too…This woman you're talking about ranks in the top twenty of the international superstars!"

Everyone thought that Director Zhang was being too bold!

But what Zhang Ye said next left them unable to rebuke him. "It's not like we're the ones who will need to spend money to invite her, right? We have the Organizing Committee for that. Let them invite her, let them spend the money, what do we have to worry about!"

Everyone was floored!

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "It's settled then. Make the call!"

Ha Qiqi had to acknowledge him. She turned around to make a call to the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games.

As expected, when the person over at the Organizing Committee heard it, they reacted in exactly the same way as them!

The person from the Organizing Committee said: "Who did you say?"

Ha Qiqi replied: "Director Zhang says he would like to invite Lillian."

The person from the Organizing Committee nearly vomited blood!

Lillian?

What the heck!

Are you trying to bankrupt us!

1. https/youtu.be/03FiOS4WMmk

Some might like it, some might think it's pretty normal, some might not like it...but this is it

I prefer the next one :)

Report chapter CommentsI am Really a Superstar #Chapter 1161: 'Beijing Welcomes You' makes its debut! - Read I am Really a Superstar Chapter 1161: 'Beijing Welcomes You' makes its debut! Online - All Page - NOVEL NEXT

Chapter 1161: 'Beijing Welcomes You' makes its debut!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

Not long after.

A call from the Organizing Committee arrived.

Vice President Qi Yihai immediately said: "Teacher Zhang, pick someone else."

Zhang Ye said: "Lillian is the most suitable person."

"This person you picked is too difficult to get." Qi Yihai kept shaking his head. "We don't have the budget for that. It's really difficult to invite an international superstar like her."

Zhang Ye said: "Can't you play the emotional card?"

Qi Yihai said: "She might not buy it."

Zhang Ye blinked. "What about the sentimental card?"

Qi Yihai thought about it. "You're suggesting that we use her grandmother as a reason?"

Zhang Ye said: "I'm not suggesting that. This is the job of the Organizing Committee. I am only offering some advice, that's all. I don't care about the other things, nor do I have power to do so."

Qi Yihai couldn't come up with a reply.

Lillian was British and around the age of thirty. She was a famous singer and actress, as well as one of the top two international stars. Almost no one would not know who she was at the mention of her name. Even Zhang Ye, who was not from this world originally, had heard of her name on multiple occasions over the years, so it was obvious just how famous she was. Compared to someone like Zhang Ye who couldn't even make it out of Asia, her popularity was way, way higher than his. She was definitely a legend in the industry!

Worth mentioning was the fact that Lillian's paternal grandmother was Han Chinese. Although Lillian had the standard British look, she had a quarter Chinese blood flowing in her. This was the reason why Zhang Ye chose to invite her. Although Lillian didn't seem like she came to China often, nor had she held any concerts here before, according to reliable sources, she knew how to speak Mandarin. It was rumored that she could speak up to eight languages, so it was even rarer to have someone like her. Of course, no one really knew whether this rumor was true. It could just be the media cooking up news. The media these days said whatever they wanted. If you could say "yes," or "baka," they would immediately claim that you were proficient in many different languages.

They spoke a little more.

Finally, Qi Yihai was left with no choice. "Alright, we'll try. But I can't guarantee anything. We can only try our best to invite her!"

Zhang Ye said: "Thanks."

Qi Yihai laughed. "But I have a small favor to ask."

"What is it?" Zhang Ye asked.

Qi Yihai said, "Can you write us another song to be used for the promotion of the Olympic Games?"

Zhang Ye was taken aback. "Isn't there already one? The one that was performed together by the six celebrities?"

Qi Yihai said, "Yes, the promotional song was released some time ago, but it didn't have that great an effect. Its propagation was so-so and not many people have heard it. We studied why it was like that and believe that it was down to the content of the song, so we hope that you can write us another one. This time, we want it to be better and more effective. We've contracted close to a hundred influential celebrities in the country to perform this song together in a music video."

Zhang Ye asked: "When do you need it by?"

Qi Yihai said: "The sooner the better."

Zhang Ye nodded. "Alright, I will get it to you by the afternoon."

Qi Yihai was stunned. "But it's already afternoon."

"I know," Zhang Ye said.

Qi Yihai was very happy. "Alright, that's what we admire about Teacher Zhang the most. You're always so efficient. You've given us a great deal of help this time, so let me thank you on behalf of the Organizing Committee!"

Zhang Ye smiled and said: "I'll be waiting for your good news too then."

"Alright!" Qi Yihai said.

After hanging up, Zhang Ye got to work.

A promotional song?

Which song should he use?

It looked like there was only that one?

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…

An hour later.

The Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games received the musical score from Zhang Ye via fax.

After the professional music team and officials of the Organizing Committee saw it, they all applauded and praised it. Almost immediately, it was decided that they would use this song!

"How awesome!"

"Yeah, does he not need any inspiration to create a piece of music?"

"He really can write any kind of song!"

Very soon, the organizing committee got started with the production work for the promotional song's music video. It was obvious that they couldn't get close to a hundred celebrities into the recording studio to film the music video. That would be too chaotic, and also impossible to schedule. After all, they were all big name celebrities in the country and were very busy with work. Therefore, the music video was filmed in batches. Every person or group would record a short segment before it got edited together in post-production. This was a diplomatic mission, so it was specially handled and arranged. The celebrities were also very accommodating and got down to work without objections. Everyone was giving their best for the Olympic promotional work!

And so, a music video that included scores of celebrities only took a day and a half to complete. All of it was done before the opening ceremony rehearsal!

On TV.

Online.

On the radio.

They were all playing a song called " Beijing Welcomes You 1 "!

Lyrics: Zhang Ye.

Composer: Zhang Ye.

Xiaodong: "Greet another rising sun, the air a brand new, fun one."

Li Xiaoxian: "Changing air but constant interest, tea's full for everyone."

Amy: "Our doors are always open; we're waiting to embrace you."

Shu Han: "A hug and we'll be close as glue, this place you'll come to love."

Zhang Ye: "Beijing welcomes you, we've got everything ready for you."

Chen Guang: "The flowing charm is full of spirit and energy."

Fan Wenli: "Beijing welcomes you, so let's share a breath under the sun."

Zhang Xia: "And write a new beginning on this land."

There were the new generation singers.

There were the Heavenly Kings and Queens.

There were the veteran singers.

Gathering so many big names together to sing the same song was something that had never happened before. It was the Beijing Olympics that brought them together!

The people who heard it all shouted in satisfaction!

"Great song!"

"This is so good that I'm gonna die!"

"This song is such a classic!"

"Yeah, compared to that promotional song called 'Be Victorious,' this is so much better. The feeling of the song is also good as it portrays our intent to welcome guests from all over the world!"

"The lyrics and melody are by Zhang Ye!"

"Awesome!"

"I'm looking more and more forward to watching Zhang Ye's performance during the opening ceremony!"

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"I wonder what song he'll sing?"

"I don't know, they're keeping it a secret!"

"Yeah, the lockdown on the news this time is really strong. What's more, we don't even know if the song will be sung by Zhang Ye alone or as a duet with someone else. In any case, I'm anticipating it!"

On this day, "Beijing Welcomes You" spread all across the country!

Whether it was the lyrics, melody, or the array of stars singing, this song had reached an unprecedented high. Riding the wave of hype surrounding the Olympics, it immediately took the number one spot across all the major music charts. It was simply unstoppable. In a short period of time, the music video had been watched 600-700 million times!

Then, almost without any warning!

A piece of news that would excite anyone was released!

An announcement was made concurrently on News Simulcast, Xinhua News, and the official website of the Olympic Games Organizing Committee: "The international superstar, Lillian, has accepted the invitation of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games. She will be arriving in Beijing a day before the opening ceremony and will be performing the theme song with Zhang Ye during the Olympic opening ceremony!"

Screams!

Astonishment!

Craze!

The people were all getting excited!

"Ahhh!"

"My God!"

"Lillian? That Lillian?"

"I'm a braindead fan of Lillian! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Lillian will be coming to Beijing? She'll be performing with Zhang Ye?"

"How's that possible!"

"The Organizing Committee is so awesome!"

"Yeah, they're so great!"

"Even Lillian has been invited?"

"Lillian, my goddess!"

"Hey, hey, hey! They're really upping the stakes this time!"

No one did not know Lillian!

This news was too shocking and exciting to everyone. Lillian would be attending the Beijing Olympic opening ceremony. She was being so respectful!

Compared to the people's enthusiasm, the local show business was kind of stunned. They were all aware of how famous Lillian was but had never worked with her before. In the past, there were Chinese entertainment companies who had wanted to invite her to the Mainland to hold a concert, but those invitations did not even get a response! Li Ke, one of the country's most famous directors, even invited Lillian to guest star in one of his movies. It was only a guest role that would take at most a day of filming and paid 40 million RMB, but Lillian still rejected it.

This was an international superstar!

A person whose presence was revered by all!

And now that she was coming to China, the first person she'd be working with turned out to be Zhang Ye? This made many of Zhang Ye's foes in the industry burn with hate!

However, Zhang Ye, who was at the center of it all, remained quite calm. After all, he couldn't truly be said to be from this world. He had never heard Lillian's songs when he was young, nor watched her movies. He only caught up on those when he got here, so it was very difficult to grasp the admiration that people from the industry had gradually developed for her. That was why his feelings for her weren't that strong. But if he was going to work with Angelina Jolie from his previous world, he would probably be excited to no end. That was because he grew up watching her movies, and his admiration for her had gradually developed over a decade or two!

Thus, Zhang Ye was very calm when Qi Yihai called.

"It's settled!" Qi Yihai said.

Zhang Ye smiled and said: "Alright, thank you for your hard work, President Qi!"

Qi Yihai gave a bitter laugh. "We spent a lot of effort this time and specially flew a team over to Britain to speak to Lillian and her talent agency. The process was extremely difficult, so I won't talk too much about that. But the good thing is that we managed to invite her, although she can't take part in the opening ceremony rehearsal tomorrow due to a scheduling conflict. She can only arrive one day before the actual opening ceremony, so I hope there's enough time for you two to get things sorted out before then."

Zhang Ye said: "There'll be enough time. We're both used to performing live, so that won't be a problem for us. But of course, she'll have to learn the song first."

Qi Yihai said: "That's for sure. We've already sent the song to them. Or rather, if it weren't for this song of yours, Lillian's team would probably not have agreed to it so readily. They were also very happy with it. Since she can't make it tomorrow, it won't be necessary for you to join in the rehearsal either. We'll just head straight into the opening ceremony performance. The stage has been set up. We're just going to wait for the performance now. I'm really starting to look forward to the opening theme song performance on the day of, so don't disappoint us!"

1. Beijing Welcomes You - https/youtu.be/kYuYWOOtPt0

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Chapter 1162: Before the opening ceremony!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

Ten days later.

There was only a day left until the Olympic Games began!

On the streets and alleys of Beijing, more and more foreigners could be seen walking around. They were all touring the Forbidden City, Summer Palace, and other tourist attractions. The foreign contingents had started arriving some time ago and checked into the Olympic Village. Under the constant bombardment by the media, the atmosphere surrounding the Olympics had reached its peak. There was practically no other news being reported other than the Olympics, like the latest updates on the athletes and the opening ceremony.

It was likewise in the foreign media.

The South Korean media: "Ahn Yoonhee suffers an injury in training and could miss the Beijing Olympics!"

The Japanese media: "Famous swimmer Obata chosen as the contingent's flag bearer!"

The North Korean media: "The motherland's contingent vows to surpass China and America in the gold medal tally for first place!"

The English media:

Lillian to attend the Beijing Olympic opening ceremony!"

The Canadian media: "The most beautiful woman in Britain, Lillian, will be performing the Olympic theme song!"

This was a day that belonged solely to the Olympics!

The entire world had their eyes on Beijing!

…

In the Olympic Village.

At the main stadium of the Olympics.

After many workers finished remodeling the performing stage, they added some final decorations and confirmed that everything was in place. On the enormous big screen, some unrelated visuals were displayed to test the camera angles and equipment. Judging from the tense atmosphere, they were in full preparation mode for the main event.

But Zhang Ye was totally at ease. He sat in the audience and took a call.

"Son, get hold of a few more tickets!"

"Didn't I already get them for you and dad?"

"It's not enough. Big Sis Zhou from the neighborhood came to me and asked if she could have one too."

"Heh, do you think I'm selling cabbages in the market? Even I can't get so many tickets for myself."

"Try to ask for a few more. Everyone would like to attend the opening ceremony. And there's your Auntie Chen and Auntie Li too. All the neighbors came to ask me, so how can I not get the tickets for them?"

"Oh, alright. I will try to ask for more."

"Oh, and get Lillian's autograph as well!"

"I haven't even met her in person yet, and I'm not sure what time her flight will arrive either."

"Just ask for it!"

"OK, I understand."

A little while later, he received a few more calls.

Liao Yiqi called.

"Teacher Zhang."

"Ai, Classmate Spinach."

"Can I ask you for a favor?"

"Don't put it that way. Just tell me what you need."

"Can you can me an autograph from Teacher Lillian?"

"Oh damn, you want one too?"

"Yeah, I've liked her for many years!"

"Sure, I'll ask for you when I get the chance."

"Thank you so much! Haha, let me buy you a meal someday. Just choose the place!"

Then Grandma Zhang Xia called, asking for the same thing.

"Grandma Zhang."

"Little Zhang, has Lillian arrived in Beijing yet?"

"I don't think she's here yet."

"Can you get me an autograph?"

"Whoa, you want one too?"

"My granddaughter likes her very much, almost to the point of being fanatical. She asks me every day, so I really have no choice but to ask on her behalf. You're the one who can get closest to Lillian, so of course I have to ask you."

"Sure. I'll get one for you."

"Thank you, hur hur."

This was not the first time he was receiving these calls. Over the past ten days, he had been taking countless calls from his friends on his cell phone or on the office line at his studio. Most of them were regarding the international superstar, Lillian. This led Zhang Ye to discover in shock that he had so many friends and their families who were Lillian's diehard fans. For example, Yao Jiancai's wife, Chen Guang's eldest niece, Amy, as well as his own three sisters. It could be seen just how charming Britain's most beautiful woman was. This made Zhang Ye look even more forward to working with her. He wanted to see just what kind of a person this legendary international superstar was.

Executive Director Li Ke led a group of the staff past him.

Zhang Ye greeted him and asked, "Director Li, has she arrived yet?"

Li Ke looked at his watch. "She should be here soon. Her flight arrived two hours ago, so she's probably already on the way."

Zhang Ye nodded. "Alright, I'll go for a smoke then."

Li Ke said in a speechless manner, "This place doesn't allow smoking. I need to go handle some work, so I'll tell you when she's here. The duet that you two will be performing is the most important segment of the opening ceremony, so it must be perfected by today. We've readied a place for you two to rehearse. I'll be off now."

Zhang Ye waved goodbye and got up to head out of the stadium.

Outside, there were people working everywhere, as well as security personnel deployed. Together with a large number of volunteers, it wouldn't be nice if he lit a cigarette here. So he walked on. Some of the volunteers secretly came looking for Zhang Ye to get his autograph. There were also some workers who quietly came over to take pictures with him. Other than times when Zhang Ye had urgent matters to attend to, he would rarely reject such requests. Once he satisfied everyone, he put on his sunglasses and found an empty corridor.

He looked to the left, then to the right.

There was no one around. Great, this place would do!

Zhang Ye took a cigarette and a box of matches out. He struck a match and lit the cigarette before starting to smoke in satisfaction. This fellow had been constantly talking about how he wanted to quit smoking and drinking, but that was just pure talk. He had never, ever taken any action to do so. He had smuggled in the matches with much effort. The security checks when coming into the Olympic Village and Stadium did not allow any lighters to be brought in. They were very strict with the checks, even on those who were working here. Zhang Ye already knew all this as he had been here several times, so he just stuffed the matches inside the cigarette pack. After all, the security personnel would not really check him so thoroughly since he had status. That was the only reason why he managed to smuggle it in.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps from behind!

Zhang Ye quickly flicked the cigarette away and extinguished it under his feet. This was not something to be proud of at all in the first place. If Zhang Ye was exposed to have been smoking in the Olympic Stadium even though he knew it was against the rules, it would surely be sensationalized in the news. He was just about to leave when he realized that the click-clack of the high heels was beside him.

"Hey."

A woman's voice sounded.

Was she calling out to him?

Zhang Ye turned his head as a reflex and was surprised. It was a very tall Caucasian woman whose auburn hair was very conspicuous. She didn't look very old but was not young either. She had a pair of sunglasses on that were even more oversized than Zhang Ye's, so he couldn't really make out her exact age.

A foreigner?

Which country's athlete was she?

Or could she be a foreign coach?

Zhang Ye looked at her and stammered in his broken English, "Y-Y-You are c-c-calling me?" He pointed to himself.

The ginger woman smiled and said, "Yes."

Zhang Ye blinked and said, "How…helping…you?" Even his grammar was a mess!

The redhead was taken aback. "What?"

Zhang Ye was still throwing out what he was trying to express word by word. If a foreign athlete needed help, he couldn't just ignore it. But this fellow's English could only be described as atrocious. It was so broken that not even a Chinese citizen would be able understand him, let alone a foreigner!

While Zhang Ye was figuring out which words to use, the redheaded foreigner said something very surprising!

She smiled and said in the Beijing dialect 1 , "I say, bro, your English isn't all that put together. I think it's better that you stick to using Mandarin. You must be a Chinese friend, right?"

Zhang Ye was dumbfounded!

The redheaded woman elegantly took out a cigarette and waved it at Zhang Ye. "It's nothing, actually. I just wanted to see if I could borrow a light since I saw you smoking. My lighter was nipped during the security checks."

Dumbfounded, Zhang Ye threw his matches to her.

The ginger woman caught it in midair. "Haha, thank you."

After she lit her cigarette, she leaned back against the wall and started smoking. Then she threw the matchbox back to him.

Zhang Ye caught it, but he was still in a state of shock. It was like he had seen a ghost. Can you imagine a Caucasian woman speaking the Beijing dialect fluently? Damn, your Pekingese is even better than mine! Nipped? You even know how to use that word?

Was this woman some kind of god?!

Zhang Ye was shocked beyond belief!

1. The Beijing dialect (Pekingese) is very similar to Mandarin. https/en./wiki/Beijing_dialect

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Chapter 1163: Hello, fellow smoker!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

In the corridor.

She was smoking gracefully while holding a cigarette pack between her fingers. Zhang Ye glanced at the words on it but did not know what brand it was. It was likely that this was a foreign brand for women as the cigarettes looked very slim.

Zhang Ye lit up another cigarette and said, "Did you grow up in Beijing?"

The redhead turned to look at him. "No, but my Chinese teacher is from Beijing."

"I see." Zhang Ye said in admiration, "You really learned it well."

The redheaded woman laughed. "I guess. I do have some talent for languages."

Zhang Ye gave her a thumbs up.

Now she asked, "Are you an athlete?"

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "No, I'm not."

"A volunteer?" she asked.

Zhang Ye shook his head. "I'm not that either. I'm just nobody to be concerned about."

She said, "Are you a local?"

Zhang Ye said, "That's right."

"I can hear it," she said with a smile.

Zhang Ye said in amusement, "If I didn't see you and just heard your voice, I would've thought that you were a local too."

She smiled.

The two of them began to chat, lulls here and there.

Fellow smokers enjoyed one of the most intimate relationships in the world. Be it men or women, young or old, it was not a relationship that was separated by geographical boundaries. Once they came together, even without having to say a word, they would instantly know if the other person needed a cigarette or a light with just a simple gesture to which the other person would unconditionally provide. After that, they would be thick as thieves and puff as they talked about everything under the sun.

They finished smoking their cigarettes.

The Caucasian woman shook the cigarette pack in her hand. "Do you want to try mine?"

Zhang Ye did not stand on ceremony with her. "Sure, I'll have one." As he took one, he passed his cigarettes to her. "Have you tried this before? It's flue-cured tobacco."

The Caucasian woman took a cigarette from him like it was the most natural thing in the world. "I haven't. I'll give it a try. When I start work in a while, I won't have time for a cigarette break. I better have a few more while I still have the chance."

"You're right about that." Zhang Ye laughed.

The two smokers were each more hardcore smokers than the other as they lit up another cigarette.

But midway through their second cig, the fire alarm above them suddenly blared, perhaps due to the corridor being filled with too much smoke!

Ring ring ring ring ring ring!

It was followed by the distant shouting of employees and security guards!

"Huh?"

"What's the matter?"

"Where's the fire?"

"What's happening?"

"It's coming from Zone 2!"

Zhang Ye and the redheaded woman were caught off guard. They had not expected that the fire alarm would be so sensitive. When they heard distant footfalls sprinting over, the two of them instantly gave each other a look of understanding before turning and diving into a janitorial closet!

Zhang Ye slammed the door shut!

The redhead stubbed out her cigarette.

They could hear footsteps outside the closet!

The redhead put her finger to her lips. "Shh."

Zhang Ye understood and nodded. He also did not wish to get caught red-handed as this was not something to be proud of.

They could hear sullen voices outside the door!

"Who was it?"

"Who was smoking in here?"

"Don't they know that smoking is not allowed in the stadium? How did they bring a lighter in? What was security doing! What if something serious happens as a result of their carelessness?"

"Find the person! They definitely wouldn't have gotten too far!"

"Aren't they trying to make trouble like this!"

Hearing the scolding outside, Zhang Ye was too embarrassed to make a sound.

When the footfalls trailed off, the redheaded woman asked, "Are they gone?"

Zhang Ye pressed his ear against the door and listened. "They're gone."

The redheaded woman smiled and said, "We nearly got caught by them."

Zhang Ye said, "The alarm went off with just a few cigarettes? How can this piece of crap be so alert? When did the alarms in this country become so sensitive?"

"Next time, let's find a place with a window. This wouldn't have happened if the smoke dispersed outside." The redhead smiled at him. "I've got to run. Do you wanna meet up for a smoke in a bit?"

Zhang Ye said, "Yeah, but why don't I give you the matches?"

The redhead said, "How could I possibly? Why don't we do it this way? Let's arrange to meet again at this place in two hours? I reckon I'll be busy until night. I sure won't be able to bear it if I don't smoke a few."

Zhang Ye nodded. "Alright."

After the fellow smokers set a time to meet, they departed and went their own ways.

Zhang Ye pretended like nothing had happened as he strolled back to the stage. When he got back, someone came looking for him anxiously!

It was Assistant Director Zhou from the opening ceremony program team. "Professor Zhang, where did you go?"

Zhang Ye blinked and said, "I went to the bathroom just now."

Assistant Director Zhou hurriedly said, "Let's go, they've already arrived!"

"Who's arrived?" Zhang Ye had totally forgotten.

"Teacher Lillian's team!" Assistant Director Zhou pulled Zhang Ye along as they quickly walked toward the other end. "Her team arrived a long time ago, and everyone is waiting for you!"

Zhang Ye said evenly, "I've also waited for them for a long time, so why can't they wait awhile for me? Director Zhou, we don't need to be in such a rush."

Assistant Director Zhou didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "You're really great. I think you might be the only person in the world who's not taking things with Teacher Lillian seriously!" He knew what Zhang Ye was like in that he was way too good at offending people, so he reminded him out of worry, "I'm telling you, Professor Zhang. This collaboration was only made possible because the various parties have all spent a great deal of effort on making it happen. It was not easy to get Teacher Lillian to come to Beijing. We don't care if you offend other people, but please don't ever, ever offend our foreign guest!"

Zhang Ye said in a speechless manner, "Listen to what you're saying. Am I that kind of a person?"

Assistant Director Zhou thought to himself who else would be that kind of person if you were not!

In an office.

When they opened the door, the room was full of people.

The Chinese side consisted of Executive Director Li Ke and the officials of the Organizing Committee. Meanwhile, the other side were all Caucasians and probably from Lillian's team. However, Lillian herself was nowhere to be seen.

Zhang Ye came in. "Director Li."

Director Li grumbled, "Did you go and smoke just now?"

An Organizing Committee official said, "Professor Zhang, were you the one who caused the alarm to go off earlier?"

Zhang Ye said in surprise, "Ah? What alarm? I don't know. I was just in the bathroom and didn't hear any alarms. What happened?"

The person from the Organizing Committee said skeptically, "It wasn't you?"

Zhang Ye played dumb and said, "What about me?"

"Oh, it's nothing then." The person from the Organizing Committee dismissed him with a wave.

Li Ke said, "Let me introduce you. This is Teacher Lillian's team." He was also meeting them for the first time, so he could only give a brief introduction.

At this moment, the door opened again!

A redheaded woman walked in.

Immediately, a Caucasian woman from their side asked her something in English, probably about why she had been gone for so long.

The redhead smiled and said in English, "It wasn't easy finding the bathroom."

Then, the redheaded woman saw Zhang Ye.

Zhang Ye saw her as well.

When the two of them spotted each other, they were stunned!

A person from the Organizing Committee smiled and pointed at Zhang Ye, speaking in English, "This is Teacher Zhang Ye, who will be performing with Teacher Lillian." Then he introduced her to Zhang Ye as well. "This is Teacher Lillian. Would you like to get to know each other a little?"

Zhang Ye took off his sunglasses with a blank expression.

The redhead also took off her sunglasses!

A jaw-dropping, stunning face that made everyone stare in astonishment was revealed. She had auburn hair, a tall figure, and big eyes with a color of European origins. Her skin was also frighteningly fair, although it was not the kind of delicate fair skin that Asians had, but the kind that was unique to Caucasians. Most worth mentioning was the view of her chest. There was once a study that compiled the statistics of countries with the biggest women's breasts sizes around the world. Britain topped the list and was indeed worthy of its reputation, as could be seen here!

This was the most beautiful woman in Britain?

This was one of the top international superstars in the entertainment industry?

It was her?

It actually turned out to be her!

Lillian stretched her hand out with a smile while she continued to look at him.

Zhang Ye could not help but laugh as he stuck out his hand and shook her hand.

A thought cropped up in their minds.

Hello, smoking buddy.

Chapter 1164: Because I'm his mother!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

The next day.

On the day of the Olympic opening ceremony.

There was wave after wave of excitement online!

"Cheering y'all athletes on!"

"Go for first place in the gold medal tally!"

"Eagerly awaiting the opening ceremony!"

"Lillian, my goddess!"

"This is going to be Lillian's debut performance in China!"

"There are only two more hours to go! I can't wait!"

"Lillian! I love her so much!"

"Hey, didn't we forget about Teacher Zhang?"

"Why should we care about Teacher Zhang! Even if you don't follow that guy, he'll still stir up something big every now and then, and you can see him on the news every other day. But it's different for Lillian. This is her first time coming to China to perform. It's going to be a historic moment!"

"Pfft, that's true."

"I'm still looking forward to hearing Zhang Ye's new song."

"They kept it under wraps really well. No one knows what kind of song they'll be singing."

"Lillian seems to have just arrived in Beijing yesterday. I wonder if they can pair well together? I'm very worried about them."

"I'm also very worried. But what I'm worried about is that bad temper of Zhang Ye's. Hopefully, he won't end up fighting with Lillian's team. We all know that when Zhang Ye flies into a rage, he doesn't give a damn about anyone!"

"Dammit, previous poster, don't jinx it!"

"Now that you brought it up, I am starting to get a little worried!"

…

At the venue of the Olympics.

Little did they know, Zhang Ye and Lillian were getting along splendidly.

The two of them were in a lounge with a window that had access to the open air. As this place was in a very remote area of the Olympic venue and everyone was busy with the ongoing events at the main arena, hardly anyone came over here. The lounge's window was open at the moment, and smoke was constantly dispersing out from inside.

Zhang Ye had a cigarette in his mouth as he pointed at the music score and said, "Let's do it according to how we did it in yesterday's rehearsal."

Lillian held a cigarette between her fingers and said, "Alright, maybe I'll go an octave higher over here."

"You're still going higher?" Zhang Ye said, "I guess that's fine, but I'm not going an octave higher. My next register up doesn't sound good, although I can still reach it if I want to."

Lillian nodded and said, "Then it's settled. After our smoke, let's run through it once more."

Zhang Ye said, "OK."

On the day of the opening ceremony, in all the years of the Olympics, probably the only ones who dared to smuggle in matches and secretly smoke at the stadium were Zhang Ye and Lillian!

…

In the Olympic Village.

As there was still plenty of time left for the athletes to proceed to the stadium where the opening ceremony was to be held, the athletes from the various countries stayed in their respective apartments to chat, train, or rest.

At the Chinese table tennis team apartment.

"They're definitely ruining the theme song by letting Zhang Ye sing it."

"His singing is so terrible to listen to!"

"I wonder why they let him sing a duet with Lillian!"

"Just watch! If he ruins the song, it'll reflect so poorly on our Chinese people!"

At the Chinese gymnastics team apartment.

"Why is everyone on the Internet talking about the theme song that Zhang Ye and Lillian will be singing?"

"Because Lillian is an international superstar!"

"Actually, Zhang Ye isn't bad either."

"What do you mean he's not bad? He's totally a hooligan!"

Many of the athletes and coaches who were involved in the scolding battle with Zhang Ye were grumbling and complaining. The skit on Beijing Television's Spring Festival Gala, "Playing it Up," had caused many of those in the Chinese sports world to become Zhang Ye's "enemies for life." They would not be satisfied if they did not criticize him some!

…

The Central TV live coverage had already begun!

There were a total of three people in the live coverage studio and one of them was Yu Yingyi. If Yu Yingyi's popularity had not soared because of the Go war between humans and machines some days ago, she would not have had the opportunity to take part in this Olympic live coverage event. At most, she would have been assigned to conduct interviews on the ground rather than being placed within the live coverage studio as one of the hosts.

The famous commentator, Zhao Zhi, said, "We can see that every country's leader has entered the venue."

Yu Yingyi smiled and said, "According to the information we received, the Beijing Olympics has the highest participation of world leaders in all the years that the Olympics have been held. It is also going to have the highest number of countries around the world who are broadcasting the Olympics on television and giving the most coverage of events in the history of the games. That is the beauty of sports and the charm of the Olympics!"

It was getting closer and closer to the opening ceremony!

The stadium was filled with several tens of thousands of people, and nearly all seats were occupied. This was astonishing and pumped everyone up! It was the first time that China was hosting the Olympics. As a first time host, they warmly welcomed every country's delegation to the country. With so much attention from the whole world focused on them for the first time, this was not something that they had experienced before. The Chinese were all hoping that this Olympics would go down in the annals of history!

Zhao Zhi said, "Today is a historic moment!"

Another commentator said, "Yeah, I'm already getting excited."

Yu Yingyi said, "Let's switch to a view of the grounds, where we will be interviewing the live audience."

They switched over to the cameras on the ground.

A Central TV reporter appeared on camera.

He smiled and said, "Thank you to our hosts in the studio. I'm currently at the National Stadium, which is the main venue of the Olympics. Everyone can see that the seats are full. Over here, the majority of the audience are locals. But we also have some foreign friends who specially came from overseas to support their countries' athletes. I will now interview some of them to understand what their expectations for this opening ceremony are." He turned around and walked into the audience.

The cameraman followed.

The live broadcast was being televised across the country.

The Central TV reporter pointed his microphone at a foreign woman and said, "Hello."

She was part of a group that consisted of other foreigners. When they saw the camera, they immediately waved and screamed madly at it.

The reporter asked in English, "What do you look forward to most during the opening ceremony?"

That foreign woman immediately yelled, "Lillian! Lillian, of course! She's my idol for life! I love her!"

The Central TV reporter found a Chinese young adult next. "Hello."

The young adult faced the camera nervously. "Hello."

The Central TV reporter asked, "The opening ceremony is about to begin. What do you wish to see most?"

The young adult answered without any hesitation, "I only wish to see Lillian!"

The reporter asked, "Why?"

The young adult gave a shy smile and said, "Because she is my goddess! I've listened to all of her songs and watched all the movies she acted in!"

The reporter laughed and said, "It looks like you are a diehard fan of hers. Alright, thank you."

After that, the Central TV reporter interviewed a few more people.

"Lillian!"

"Lillian, of course!"

"I'm only here to see Lillian!"

As expected, everyone talked only about Lillian!

…

The people watching the live broadcast on TV were amused.

"I only want to see Lillian, no one else!"

"Did you expect that I would want to see Zhang Ye? We're already bored of him! Haha!"

"How can Teacher Zhang compare to our Lillian!"

"You can ask a hundred people and they'd all tell you that they're here to see Lillian as well."

…

At the stadium.

The Central TV reporter smiled into the camera and said, "It looks like this most beautiful woman from Britain is far too popular. I'll keep asking around to see if there's anyone with a different answer."

He found an auntie to interview.

The auntie was on her cell phone, her head down.

The Central TV reporter walked up to her and said, "Hello, auntie."

She was taken aback. "Hmm?"

The reporter asked, "Who do you most look forward to seeing during the opening ceremony?"

The auntie answered, "Zhang Ye."

That Central TV reporter was jarred by her answer. "Great, we finally have someone saying something different. So why are you looking forward to seeing Zhang Ye? Is it because you're looking forward to hearing his new song?"

The auntie said, "Nope."

The reporter probed, "Then is it because his duet partner is Lillian?"

The auntie said, "Nope."

The reporter asked dumbfounded, "Then why are you looking forward to seeing him?"

The auntie looked at him as though he were a fool of some sort. "Because I'm his mother!"

The reporter stumbled and nearly fainted!

The audience watching the live coverage laughed hysterically!

"Aiyo, I can't take this anymore!"

"Hahahahahahaha!"

"How funny is that!"

"Can it be any funnier than this! Pfft!"

"This freaking answer is going to be such a classic line!"

"I nearly pissed myself laughing!"

"Hahahaha! I'm in stitches!"

In the live coverage studio.

Zhao Zhi said in a stunned manner, "Is she really Professor Zhang's mother?"

Yu Yingyi stopped holding back her laughter. "Yes, I saw Auntie when I was attending university. After this many years, she still looks as young as ever."

When the audience heard that, they laughed even harder!

Just how coincidental could it get!

In a stadium with several tens of thousands of people, the reporter had actually interviewed Zhang Ye's mother and even asked such a silly question!

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Chapter 1165: An Olympic theme song that astounds the world!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

At Zhang Ye's maternal grandma's house.

His relatives nearly collapsed from laughter.

His first uncle said, "Look!"

His second aunt said, "Big Sis is on TV!"

His third uncle said, "It's Central TV's live coverage of the opening ceremony!"

The interview segment was recorded and went viral on social media. Many of the common folk were amused every time they watched the gif due to the reply, "Because I'm his mother." This caused Zhang Ye's mother to become a meme just an hour before the Olympic opening ceremony was to commence. She enraptured everyone and nearly dampened the serious atmosphere surrounding the Olympics!

They were indeed mother and son!

Each was funnier than the other!

The netizens were laughing so much they couldn't close their mouths. They were loving this!

…

But this minor episode was not enough to distract from the main event.

An hour later, the Olympic opening ceremony finally began!

The entire world was watching it unfold on the live broadcast!

The entire audience stood up!

Everyone had their hands in the air!

"Five!"

"Four!"

"Three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

As the entire audience counted down with the sunset to welcome the arrival of the night sky, it was lit up by countless fireworks launched into the sky! This was not the Beijing Olympics that Zhang Ye was so familiar with back in his previous world and was an entirely new opening ceremony over here. There were no fireworks that formed the footsteps "walking" in from a distance 1 , but a new choreography that consisted of golden stars exploding open in the night sky before extinguishing and then reigniting!

The golden stars rose higher and higher!

Every ignited firework exploded with a circumference larger than the one before it!

The 3D effect was incredible and the visuals were stunning. Just this fireworks show at the start of the opening ceremony amazed the entire world's audience!

The audience at the stadium had an even more intense experience. Just looking up into the sky, they could see dazzling, huge, golden stars exploding one after another over their heads!

Now the music played!

The Olympic theme song's melody floated through the stadium!

A light flickered to life in the middle of the stadium that had just turned dark. The spectators were stunned to discover that there was a large model of the globe that wasn't there before. There were a myriad of colors on it, depicting the oceans, continents, and countries of the world. It looked exceptionally beautiful under the lighting and was even spinning slowly without pause. There were two shadowy figures standing on a stage atop the globe. When the light worked its way over to them, their faces were illuminated for everyone at the stadium, as well as all over the world, to see.

Zhang Ye was standing on the left!

Lillian was on the right!

Piercing screams echoed throughout the stadium!

In the audience, Zhang Ye's parents were staring fixedly at the stage!

Zhang Ye's three sisters jumped up from their seats to wave and cheer!

The hosts on Central TV's live broadcast stopped talking!

All over the world, people who were watching TV also went silent!

At center stage!

Zhang Ye and Lillian stood atop the globe and looked at each other and smiled.

Zhang Ye's hand was trembling a little, not because he was nervous, but because he was excited. He had never before been on such a big stage with so many people listening to him sing. All he could see around him were lights, cameras, and tens of thousands of shadowy figures. He could not see their faces, but he knew that the entire world was watching him at this moment. He also knew that many of them were waiting to see him make a fool of himself. However, the more it was this way, the better his state of mind became and the more fighting spirit he had.

He lightly raised his microphone and shook everyone with his Mandarin singing!

"You and me, from one world.

"We are family.

"Travel, dream, a thousand miles.

"Meeting in Beijing."

He was singing in the tenor register!

His range went very high!

The live audience was startled!

The home viewers were also dumbfounded!

They had never heard Zhang Ye sing like this before, they really had not!

Even Li Ke and his program team who were in the wings were stunned by the singing. Even during the rehearsals, they did not hear Zhang Ye sing it so well!

Zhang Ye smiled as he raised his other hand in a welcoming gesture.

"Come together.

"Put your hand in mine.

"You and me, from one world.

"We are family."

The stadium exploded!

Shouts!

Applause!

Screams!

All kinds of sounds were mixed together!

Then, Lillian raised her microphone. When she sang in English, she pushed the atmosphere to its peak again. It gave countless people watching TV goosebumps!

"You and me, from one world.

"We are family.

"Travel, dream, a thousand miles.

"Meeting in Beijing.

"Come together.

"Put your hand in mine.

"You and me, from one world.

"We are family."

The two of them looked at each other.

Then Lillian sang again.

Simultaneously, Zhang Ye raised his microphone.

"You and me, from one world.

"We are family."

They harmonized!

Lillian had switched to singing in Mandarin!

The foreign audience was stunned!

The stadium audience went crazy!

The two of them smiled as they sang.

"Travel, dream, a thousand miles.

"Meeting in Beijing."

Lillian sang in English, "Come together."

Zhang Ye sang in Mandarin, "Put your hand in mine."

They sang together in English.

"You and me.

"From one world.

"We are family!"

The atmosphere hit a fever pitch!

"Ahhh!"

"This is so awesome!"

"Lillian sang in Mandarin!"

"Zhang Ye actually sang in English!"

"It's so good I'm crying!"

"They sang so well!"

With this song, they had astounded the entire world!

…

The British netizens.

"How moving!"

"That Chinese singer is really good!"

"Was the song written by him?"

"What's his name?"

…

The Japanese netizens.

"The lyrics were really well written!"

"It's no wonder Lillian would accept the invitation to take part in the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics!"

"This song is absolutely world-class!"

"Zhang Ye? Isn't that the Go player?"

…

The Thai netizens.

"How nice!"

"I never expected there to be such a nice opening theme song!"

"It's really quite nice!"

…

On Central TV's live broadcast.

The famous commentator, Zhao Zihao, said, "How wonderful. Teacher Zhang Ye and Teacher Lillian's duet has officially commenced the start of the Beijing Olympics. This is the first time on the international Olympic stage that China has been heard. This is the Beijing Olympics. We have arrived!"

Yu Yingyi also exclaimed, "This is so amazing!"

…

There were only cheers from the Chinese netizens!

Many of the overseas audiences and media were also full of praise!

The song?

The performance?

Their singing skill?

The lyrics?

It was all impeccable!

With this, the athletes and coaches from the sports world who had a feud with Zhang Ye and were grumbling about him singing the Olympic theme song no longer uttered a word! It was at this moment that many people realized why the Organizing Committee had chosen Zhang Ye for the performance. They finally understood why the organizing committee had chosen to use Zhang Ye's song, "You and Me," despite the opposition of those in the sports world!

That was because the opening theme song could only be this!

No other song could top this!

Both Zhang Ye and Lillian had performed the opening theme song brilliantly!

1. https/youtu.be/lQchkyWef18?t=27m45s

Chapter 1166: Soaring in the Asian popularity rankings!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

The opening theme song ended!

The applause in the stadium was deafening!

As there were still many performances lined up behind them for the opening ceremony, Zhang Ye and Lillian hurried off the stage. When they reached backstage, staff from the Organizing Committee and program team were already waiting there for them.

Bba bba bba bba!

Someone led the applause for them!

"You sang wonderfully!"

"Nothing else comes close to this song!"

"It sounded much better than during rehearsal!"

"Teacher Zhang, you're great!"

"Teacher Lillian, thanks for coming here from so far!"

"On behalf of the Organizing Committee, I thank you for being here!"

"You've both contributed a near perfect opening theme song for the Beijing Olympics!"

"Professor Zhang, Teacher Lillian, you did a great job!"

Actually, most of the Organizing Committee's staff were here for Lillian. They had already received news that she would be flying away from Beijing tomorrow. As an international superstar, Lillian's schedule was packed to the brim, and she was already practically booked well into the next year. This was why they were very grateful to her for pushing back her work to specially fly to Beijing to sing in the Olympics.

Lillian and the supervisor shook hands. "It's my pleasure."

The supervisor from the Organizing Committee said, "I hope we can work together again in the future."

Lillian smiled and said, "Sure."

As there were still many events lined up and work left to be done, the staff members departed very quickly. The opening theme song, "You and Me," was the most important segment and had kicked off the opening ceremony to a good start. Many of the Organizing Committee's people heaved a sigh of relief knowing that the work left was just going to get easier from here. They knew that the Beijing Olympic opening ceremony would surely finish without a hiccup. They should be able to hold a satisfactory performance for the entire world to see!

They could hear the music coming on in the stadium from backstage.

There were still going to be performances by troupes, an all-star combined singing segment, speeches to be given, the Parade of Nations 1 , and so on and so forth.

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "Shall we go to the front to watch the ceremony?"

Lillian shrugged. "I'll be leaving on a flight tomorrow. This is my first time visiting China, so I would like to go visit some places."

Zhang Ye was taken aback. "Whoa, you're leaving this soon?"

She said, "Yeah, there's still a lot of work waiting for me."

Zhang Ye said, "But I haven't even managed to play host to you."

Lillian said, "Why don't you recommend a few places that look pretty at night?"

"What's the point of recommending?" Zhang Ye said, "I'll bring you around instead! It's not like you know anyone here."

Lillian laughed. "Sure, then I'll follow you around?"

Zhang Ye snapped his fingers and said, "Leave it to me. I'm really familiar with the place."

Lillian said with some anticipation in her voice, "Alright. Let me get changed first."

"I'll get changed as well, so I'll see you in a bit. I'm going to take you all over the ' Four-Nine City 2 ' for your enjoyment." Zhang Ye didn't intend on going around in this stage costume of his either.

An hour later.

The opening ceremony was still ongoing, and there were still fireworks being launched.

Meanwhile, Zhang Ye and Lillian had already gone to Gulou, Wangfujing and Tiananmen Square 3 during this time.

Zhang Ye had changed into a casual outfit of a T-shirt and shorts. In the dark of the night and with his sunglasses on, there was almost no one who could recognize him. Lillian had also changed into her casual wear. She was in a long, white dress and wearing black, eight-centimeter stilettos. But even though it was just an ordinary long dress, it still looked absolutely stunning on her. With her figure that was even better than a model's, and matched with her flaming auburn hair and Caucasian appearance, everyone would definitely do a double-take when they saw her.

"What a beautiful foreigner!"

"Damn, it's a goddess!"

"Ah, is that Lillian?"

"What? Lillian?"

"Heavens! What is she doing here?"

"Is that Zhang Ye beside her?"

"Teacher Zhang! My prince!"

There really were some people who managed to recognize them!

Five bodyguards and staffers on Lillian's team immediately came over to stop anyone from getting too close. Zhang Ye and Lillian had no choice but to hurry elsewhere. With such a famous international superstar beside him, there would be no way to move around after being spotted.

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "You're too famous in this country."

Lillian gave him a look and said, "I think you're the one who's more famous."

"Compared to you, what am I?" Zhang Ye shrugged.

Lillian chuckled. "Is that so? Well, at the least, I've heard of you overseas."

At this, Zhang Ye was stunned. "Hah? You've heard of me?"

Lillian lit a cigarette and started smoking in the car. She laughed and said, "Yes."

Curious, Zhang Ye asked, "Where'd you hear about me?"

Lillian replied, "My grandmother mentioned you once. She's from Beijing, and I learned my Mandarin from her. She has been paying attention to you all this time."

Zhang Ye was flattered. "Thank your grandma for me."

"Sure, I'll pass the message along when I get back." Lillian smiled. "If you ever come to Britain, remember to phone me. I'll definitely take care of you. You're the first friend I made in China."

Zhang Ye responded in kind, "OK. If you come to China again, I'll arrange everything for you. It was a little too rushed this time, so I couldn't really bring you anywhere fun."

Lillian said, "You must."

"That's right, please help me sign a few autographs."

"Huh?"

"I've been asked to request for some."

"So you're doing all this with a motive?"

"Of course. I can't just take you around without getting something in return, can I?"

"Hahaha, OK."

It was getting very late.

After getting the autographs and exchanging their numbers, the two fellow smokers cemented their friendship and parted ways. Neither of them knew when they would meet again.

It could be soon?

Or it could be a long time from now.

But they would definitely meet again. Zhang Ye was very confident of that. That was because he knew that he would definitely get to her level someday. He would surely step out from Asia and onto the international stage to stand at the top of the entertainment industry—this was what his goal and beliefs had always been.

…

On the same night.

The opening ceremony ended.

The news gradually reported on it.

"A Perfect Opening Ceremony!"

"An opening theme song that earned the praise of the world!"

"Lillian and Zhang Ye dazzle and appear hand in hand!"

"Host's slip of tongue while commentating!"

"The different styles of each nation's delegation!"

"Lillian and Zhang Ye spotted smoking at Gulou!"

"Eyewitnesses say that Zhang Ye and Britain's most beautiful woman were seen at Wangfujing!"

"The start of a friendship between Lillian and Zhang Ye?"

The netizens were commenting on things as always.

"Lillian's a smoker too?"

"You didn't know? Lillian has always been a smoker."

"The photos are proof. Pfft, these two standing by the roadside and smoking make for the perfect picture!"

"So Teacher Zhang brought Britain's most beautiful woman out sightseeing? I'm so jealous!"

"I guess Zhang Ye's popularity is going to grow again this time?"

"It sure will. He has sung for the entire world!"

"It looks like Zhang Ye has reaped the greatest benefit this time at the opening ceremony! He's really too lucky. If it weren't for the Olympic opening ceremony requiring a song change with only a few days to go, the theme song would never have become Zhang Ye's to sing. Then, all the more he wouldn't have had the chance to team up with Lillian for it!"

Midnight passed.

The Chinese Celebrity Rankings Index was updated.

The majority of the rankings did not change much. Yu Yingyi, who was one of the hosts for the opening ceremony, moved up several places in the rankings, while a few celebrities who were part of the all-star singing segment experienced a big boost to their popularity scores. Other than them, Zhang Ye was the one most worth mentioning. He was still in first place on the A-list rankings, but his surge in the popularity score had left the person in second place far in his wake. He was getting closer and closer to becoming a Heavenly King of the S-list rankings!

However, Zhang Ye's greatest popularity change was on the Asian Celebrity Rankings Index!

The moment the Asian Celebrity Rankings Index was updated, a lot of people were completely dumbfounded!

Zhang Ye, who had only been in the middle of the Asian C-list rankings, had gone on to be a forerunner on it within one night. He was not far from the Asian B-list rankings! What did this mean? It meant that with just one song at the Olympic opening ceremony, in just those four minutes required for the song to be performed, Zhang Ye's popularity score in the Asian region greatly soared!

1. https/en./wiki/Olympic_Games_ceremony#Parade_of_Nations

2. Beijing is also known as the Four-Nine City. The imperial city had four gates: Tiananmen, Dianmen, Xianmen and Donganmen. Meanwhile, the inner city of Beijing had nine gates. They were Zhengyangmen, Chongwenmen, Xuanwumen, Chaoyangmen, Fuchengmen, Dongzhimen, Xizhimen, Andingmen and Deshengmen.

3. https/en./wiki/Gulou_and_Zhonglou_(Beijing) https/en./wiki/Wangfujing https/en./wiki/Tiananmen_Square

Chapter 1167: The crowd goes ballistic!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

The next day.

It was the first day of the Olympic Games.

The staff of Zhang Ye's Studio were in a celebratory mood the moment they arrived at work. The studio was established with the core mission and aim of pushing Zhang Ye to a further and higher place in the industry. Everything was centered around Zhang Ye's popularity and image, which was why when Zhang Ye had been selected to sing the Olympic opening theme song after the studio had just been operating for a few days, and with his performance with Lillian being very successful, it helped him leave a good impression on the world's audience and get all around praise from many people. With that, his popularity in China, as well as Asia, soared. This made the studio staff extremely excited and full of hope for the future.

The business operations were also starting to get busy.

The phone lines in the studio were ringing nonstop. Some of the calls were from television stations or reporters seeking interviews, and some were invitations to collaborate on all kinds of projects.

A little after 9 in the morning.

Zhang Ye arrived at work.

Ha Qiqi and the others immediately gave him a status report. The tabulated data and information were given to Zhang Ye with very detailed statistics. This was the advantage of having a team. "Director Zhang, your Weibo followers increased by a million overnight. 'You and Me' was really successful. The live performance music video has already reached number one on the Top Chinese Music Chart, and the second placed song, 'Beijing Welcomes You,' is also your song!"

Little Wang exclaimed, "Mighty, Mighty Director Zhang!"

Wu Yi laughed and said, "Your ranking also went up in the Asian popularity charts!"

Zhang Zuo said, "Yes, a lot of the foreign media has mentioned Director Zhang's name in their reports as well. This is quite a historic breakthrough for us, even though it's unlikely that the foreigners will become your fan with just one song. But at least it's good that you've shown yourself on the world stage for a start."

Zhang Ye had a look at the statistics and said with a laugh, "Great work, everyone."

Ha Qiqi smiled and said, "Your reputation now is great. All the news reports about you at the moment are fairly positive, so I suggest that we build up your reputation during this period. We have to strike while the iron is hot in order to turn around that past negative image of yours. That will help the media and public change their impression of you."

Zhang Ye blinked. "Why do that?"

Zhang Zuo replied, "We analyzed earlier during a meeting that your next target would definitely be to reach the S-list rankings. Only by getting into the highest rankings domestically and becoming a Heavenly King can you continue progressing further in the Asian and international scene. Therefore, our target for you is to first get to the top within China. According to past information, all of those who manage to get into the S-list and become Heavenly Kings and Queens have one thing in common. That is, their reputation and public image are all fantastic without an exception! For example, Zhang Yuanqi and the other Heavenly Kings and Queens. It applies to all of them. That was why we concluded that the prerequisite to reaching the S-list rankings was that, and exactly what you're lacking in and also where you're unable to compare to against the Heavenly Kings and Queens. We can work hard toward that target from now on, although it's unlikely that you'll reach that level anytime soon. But at least we can see whether you can go further with a better reputation and image."

Having a team was just different.

Zhang Ye nodded in agreement. "OK, that makes a lot of sense."

Ha Qiqi smiled and said, "Then let's head in this direction with our PR campaigns? If there are any charity or public service events to attend, you'll have to accommodate them for us."

"Sure, just decide as you will." Zhang Ye did not have any objections.

After confirming his direction for the short term, everyone started getting to work.

Meanwhile, Zhang Ye made his rounds in the office before subsequently looking at his watch and leaving to drive off.

His image? Alright then, he would have to watch his public image a little more carefully during this period of time then!

…

On the live broadcast of the Olympics.

There was global coverage worldwide.

The first day of events had already begun.

The Chinese netizens were getting extremely excited. Everyone was looking forward to Team China's performance at the Beijing Olympics.

During every previous Olympics, Central TV Sports Channel's viewership rating would outdo all the other programs by a large margin. During this period of time, everyone would only pay attention and have eyes for the Olympic Games. Further, it was even held in Beijing this year in their own backyard. As the hosts, everyone's enthusiasm was even greater than it had ever been. There were people who were camping at their televisions, and some who took time off from work to attend the events!

On Weibo.

"Looking forward to the first gold medal!"

"Who will get the first gold?"

"Come on, athletes!"

"There are so many events with a gold medal up for grabs today!"

"Haha, the fencing event has already started!"

"The qualification round for shooting has started as well!"

"I predict that we'll get at least two gold medals on the first day!"

"There's a chance of getting three gold medals too. There are a lot of events that we're good at on this first day!"

The media was also busy doing a gold medal analysis for China!

Shooting?

Fencing?

Or would it be some of the other events?

A lot of those in the media had prepared their reports beforehand. All they were waiting for was for Team China to score their first gold medal on this first day of the events before publishing their news reports!

…

At the live coverage studio of the Olympics.

The shooting event was taking place.

Commentator Zhao Zhi said, "Dear viewers and friends, we're about to begin with the Women's 10-meter Air Rifle event 1 . China's athletes, Qi Xue and Li Chen, placed first and third respectively in the earlier qualification round to qualify for the finals. In the next round of this competition, the first Beijing Olympic gold medalist will be crowned. Can the Qi-Li duo take the first Olympic gold for Team China? Let's wait and see!"

A former Olympic champion, Zhang Chuxia, was also present in the live coverage studio.

Zhao Zhi said, "The competition is starting!"

Zhang Chuxia shouted, "It's the first shot, come on!"

"Good one! Qi Xue has shot a 10.2 2 ! Oh, Li Chen has made a mistake on her first shot. She has only scored 9.2 points for her effort. But that's fine, there's still a chance!"

The second shot.

The fifth shot.

The eighth shot.

After several more shots, the results were wilder than anyone's expectations!

Li Chen was performing very badly today and was no longer in the running for a medal. Meanwhile, Qi Xue had fallen to third place after committing a very serious mistake on one of her shots. She was now 2.1 points away from the first place!

Zhao Zhi said, "Things aren't looking too good!"

Zhang Chuxia said, "Let's see how the last few shots go. The team has been too nervous!"

"You can do it, Qi Xue! All the way!"

Whoosh!

After the shot was taken, everyone gasped loudly!

It was over!

The gold medal was no longer possible!

In the end, Qi Xue could only manage a bronze!

Zhao Zhi said, "What a pity!"

Zhang Chuxia sighed, "Hai, the pressure was too stressful."

Watching TV, the home viewers were also crying out in pity!

…

In the next few hours.

The mood of the viewers and China's delegation could only be described as being down in the dumps!

They lost the shooting gold medal!

They lost the fencing gold medal!

They also lost the swimming gold medal!

"First Gold Still Not Here!"

"What is wrong with the Chinese team?"

"Only Hope of First Day Gold Rests on Weightlifting!"

"Go for it!"

"Come on, this is our backyard we're talking about!"

"Don't be too stressed, just do your best!"

"Our weightlifting team should be the favorites for gold, right?"

"Yes, this event should not have any surprises!"

"Come on, get the first gold already! Let's give everyone a boost to their spirits!"

According to the preliminary statistics, Central TV Sports Channel's Olympics coverage had already reached an astonishing 43% viewership! That was to say, for every 100 televisions in the country, close to half were tuned in to the live broadcast of the Olympics. The viewership ratings of the Olympics coverage in other countries around the world were very good as well and were maintained at a very high level everywhere. If they were to translate the ratings to individual viewership numbers, this would probably be the highest rated Olympics meet in history!

And because of that, all the more the Chinese viewers were looking for that gold medal to boost their morale!

There was only weightlifting left!

They had to win gold!

…

At night.

On the live broadcast.

A commentator said, "We're going to bring you the live coverage of the Men's 62 kg weightlifting event next. Li Jiaxi, the defending world champion who is representing China, will be taking on the other athletes very soon. In this event, the Chinese athlete has the absolute strength to win. But he still has to be very wary of the North Korean athlete, who is expected to be a strong rival!"

The competition venue was packed to bursting.

There were a lot of Chinese flags in the stands and wave after wave of cheers could be heard from the crowd!

Zhang Ye was wearing his sunglasses as he arrived late for the event. He had quietly sneaked in through the staff entrance.

His third sister waved. "Brother!"

His second sister exclaimed, "Aiyah, why have you only just arrived?"

Zhang Ye laughed. "I was blocked at the entrance by reporters. Has it started already?"

"Soon," his eldest young sister said with a sunken expression. "This is the last chance to get a gold medal today. I hope nothing goes wrong!"

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "Don't worry, he's got this."

His first uncle and aunt said, "Little Ye, get seated quickly."

"Alright." Zhang Ye sat down.

He had actually been at the Olympic venue the entire day. He first brought his parents to watch shooting before taking Chenchen to catch fencing afterwards. In the end, there were no gold medals won in those events. Zhang Ye was also getting very anxious. Although the country's obsession with getting gold was somewhat extreme, this was still a competition after all, so who wouldn't wish to win a gold medal here?

Zhang Ye shouted, "Come on!"

The people around him also started shouting.

"You can do it!"

"Go Li Jiaxi!"

"Get our first gold medal!"

"We're depending on you!"

The live broadcast cameras suddenly turned to face Zhang Ye.

In the live coverage studio, both of the commentators were laughing.

"Hur hur, they've given Zhang Ye a profile shot. We can see that Teacher Zhang has also brought his family to watch the events. Oh, there's someone there wearing a hat. If I'm not wrong, that should be the singer, Han Fang. Eh, Director He is here too? Look. He's nodding at Zhang Ye. Looks like our celebrities are also very concerned about the Olympics."

"It's starting. They're going to begin with the snatch 3 !"

"The first one up is the South Korean athlete."

"The second to go will be the Australian athlete."

After several people, it was finally the Chinese team's turn!

"Oh, it's Li Jiaxi's first lift and he's already trying for 162 kg!"

"Let's see how this goes. Come on! Li Jiaxi! You can do it!"

"Good one, now lift it up!"

"Great!"

The entire venue was cheering!

Zhang Ye shouted, "Good showing!"

The three sisters were also shouting excitedly!

"Oh, the North Korean athlete upped the weight to 166 kg and has succeeded in lifting it as well!"

"Li Jiaxi will also be attempting 166 kg this time, but the snatch is not what he's good at. Let's see how this one goes….Oh! He did it! He succeeded!"

The crowd erupted into applause again!

The two commentators' startled and surprised reactions made the viewers watching the live coverage feel extremely jittery as well!

When the snatch was completed, Li Jiaxi and the North Korean athlete tied on weight lifted and advanced into the clean and jerk tied for first place!

Li Jiaxi's first clean and jerk ended unsuccessfully before he managed a 190 kg lift on his second attempt!

Meanwhile, the North Korean athlete actually requested to lift a weight that seemed impossible for him on his third attempt—190 kg. In all his previous competitions, he had never attempted such a weight!

Zhang Ye's third sister cursed, "I hope it drops and crushes his feet! Crush his feet!"

Zhang Ye said to her, "Whoa, you're really ruthless!"

The third lift was also going to be the North Korean athlete's final lift. He only had this one chance to succeed!

The North Korean athlete grappled with the bar and brought it up to his chest. The enormous weight was pressing against him so heavily that he was trembling. It was obvious that he was almost about to give way. But suddenly, the North Korean athlete exerted his strength and jerked the bar over his head. However, his hands were not steady and his legs kept wobbling about. After bracing for a moment, he dropped the bar onto the ground!

The commentator said agitatedly, "He didn't hold still!"

The former weightlifting champion said, "We've won, we're the champion—"

But at this moment, the North Korean athlete suddenly jumped up excitedly and let out a howl onscreen. He rushed off the stage to his coach, and they shared a hug!

The commentator said in surprise, "What happened?"

The former weightlifting champion said in disbelief, "What? The referees gave a single red light and two white lights 4 for the result. Did he succeed? The North Korean athlete managed the lift? If the North Korean athlete also succeeded in lifting 190 kg, then with their attempts being the same weight and his body weight being lighter than Li Jiaxi's, he would get the victory!"

The crowd at the venue was stunned!

The Chinese team's coaches were also stunned!

One of the coaches was so mad that he immediately went to appeal the result. However, the weightlifting event for this Olympics did not allow for appeals. The referees sent the Chinese coach back to where he came from.

The commentator said, "What an extremely odd call that was!"

The former weightlifting champion said, "Yeah, it's simply unbelievable!"

The commentator said, "But Li Jiaxi still has a chance! If he can manage to lift 191 kg for his final attempt, he'll still be crowned as the champion! Go Li Jiaxi! Come on, Team China!"

All of the pressure was now on Li Jiaxi!

The next second, Li Jiaxi took to the stage with the entire crowd cheering for him!

Standing in front of the bar, Li Jiaxi roared to encourage himself. Then he squatted down and gripped the bar. He clenched his teeth and adjusted his breathing!

Up!

The commentator said, "Good one, now bring it up!"

The former weightlifting champion shouted, "Come on!"

The commentator said loudly, "Bring it up! Bring it up!"

Li Jiaxi cleanly jerked and raised the barbell over his head. But as it was incredibly heavy, his legs slightly gave way under him. For a moment, he did not manage to stand still. After he adjusted his footing a little, he held the position. He trembled as he held the bar over him and stayed in that position for two seconds!

The crowd went crazy!

Zhang Ye said, "He's won!"

His eldest younger sister's eyes were brimming with tears. "He's won! We won!"

The director and singer in the stands also stood up and yelled!

The commentator became even more excited. "He's won! Li Jiaxi managed to withstand all that pressure and succeeded! He withstood—" The commentator was suddenly stunned. "What? Wait a moment. What's happening?"

The entire venue fell silent!

The referees seemed like they were discussing something!

Then the North Korean athlete and coaches jumped for joy and hugged as they cheered!

The Chinese athlete, Li Jiaxi, stood there looking stunned!

For his lift, two of the three referees gave a red light!

It was a failed lift!

This lift did not succeed!

The referee team consisting of an Australian, a South Korean, and a Canadian had given a judgment that dumbfounded everyone!

The North Korean athlete had won the gold medal!

Li Jiaxi could only come in second!

Third place went to an Australian athlete. This was also a breakthrough for Australia in weightlifting!

The Chinese coaching team was enraged as they rushed up to the referees!

The crowd was furious as they started yelling angrily!

"Motherfuckers!"

"What the hell are they doing!"

"What kind of judgment is this?"

"Are you all playing dirty now?"

The Central TV commentator also exclaimed, "What's going on here? Can anyone tell me what's going on?"

The former weightlifting champion said angrily, "This has got to be an incorrect call! This doesn't make any sense at all! Let's see how their negotiation goes. The Organizing Committee's people have joined in the discussion as well!"

At the referees' panel in the venue, the referees were whispering to each other!

The Australian referee kept waving his hand!

The South Korean referee also looked like he was saying something.

Finally, the outcome was decided. The referees did not change their decision!

The North Korea athlete roared and beat against his chest to show that he was the champion!

Li Jiaxi could only walk off the stage silently. His eyes reddened as tears flowed down his face!

The commentator said, "A man does not cry easily! But at this moment, our Olympic hero is crying here in Beijing. We don't know what we can say anymore!"

The former Olympic champion said, "This is too unreasonable. If the referees were being strict and insisted that Li Jiaxi's lift was against the rules, then that lift by the North Korean athlete would be a 100 percent against the rules too! It just doesn't make any sense to have different standards for different athletes! What's with that? What are the referees doing?"

The commentator sighed. "The results have been decided. We must accept this outcome!"

But the former Olympic champion said, "I can't accept this! If this was because of us not being good enough, then such a result would be fine. If we have been erratic in our performance today, we can also let that go. But tell me, what's with this? I really can't accept something like this! I believe that many others are feeling the same too!"

The live coverage was still being broadcast!

There was still the medal ceremony to be held later on.

Suddenly, Zhang Ye stood up and pointed at the referees, yelling, "Idiots!"

This voice was so loud that it was deafening within the enclosed area of the arena!

That famous television drama director, He Qidong, also stood up when he heard that. "Idiots!"

The singer, Han Fang, scolded, "Idiots!"

Zhang Ye's second sister: "Idiots!"

His third sister: "Idiots!"

More and more people started standing up!

More and more of them pointed at the referees and scolded them in anger!

At this moment, all the Chinese in the stands were enraged!

The infamous "Peking University Scolding" was now echoing in an Olympic setting!

That Australian referee looked over to the stands, knowing that the crowd was scolding them. However, he just smiled and did not say anything. The South Korean referee also had an indifferent look, while the other referees also behaved like nothing had happened. After the competition ended, they even started chatting and laughing with one another.

This behavior made the Chinese people even angrier!

They clearly had something against the Chinese team!

For a time, the scolding in the stands got even louder!

"Idiots!"

"Idiots!"

"Idiots!"

When Zhang Ye's eldest younger sister saw Li Jiaxi crying, she nearly cried as well. "This is so infuriating! I'm so pissed off! Isn't that as good as bullying? They can't do things like that!"

What kind of temper did Zhang Ye have?

This fellow was someone who would blow up at the slightest provocation!

He hated this sort of injustice the most in life. "These foreign bastards!"

Not far away from him, Director He Qidong said, "They're doing this on purpose!"

This judgment call was simply too blatant. There was basically no way it could have been an incorrect judgment!

"Fuck their grandpas! How dare they act in this way? Alright then!" Zhang Ye turned around and stomped off. He simply said to his uncle and auntie, as well as his three sisters, "I'm going outside for a bit!"

"Where are you off to?"

"Brother?"

His three sisters were also quite taken aback by this.

In the blink of an eye, Zhang Ye had walked out of the competition venue.

If it were a matter of skills, it would have been fine!

If this Olympics were held in another country, then so be it!

But this was Beijing! This was the Beijing Olympics!

In our territory and on our doorsteps, did you all think that I would fucking let you bully us? Fuck all of you!

1. https/en./wiki/ISSF_10_meter_air_rifle#World_Championships_Women

2. Every scoring ring is 5 mm wide and sub-divided in 0.5 mm ( 0.1719 MOA) increments in 10 "subrings". Like the other scoring rings the maximum of 10.9 is derived from an additional set of 10 "subrings" within the center 10-point circle, increasing in 0.1 point value as the rings approach the center of the target.

3. https/en./wiki/Snatch_(weightlifting)

4. https/en./wiki/Olympic_weightlifting#Official_procedure

Chapter 1168: The referees get beaten up!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

Meanwhile.

Some countries were celebrating their victories.

Some countries were reflecting on their results.

But the Chinese delegation and the common folk of the country were all enraged by the Men's 62 kg weightlifting event. Even most of the media outlets in China were annoyed at the results!

"China ends first day of events without gold medal!"

"The Chinese delegation repeatedly misses out on gold!"

"An incorrect call in weightlifting?"

"Li Jiaxi painfully loses the gold medal!"

"Team China's gold medal stolen by referees!"

"A failed appeal? Did the refs go blind?"

"The Australian referee had already made an incorrect call against a Chinese athlete four years ago! "

"Four years ago, it was Ding Lei. This time, it's Li Jiaxi?"

"Just how has Team China offended this Australian referee?"

The weightlifting medal presentation had not even begun yet, but the news reports were already spreading everywhere!

Central TV's live coverage had switched from the venue to broadcasting the live coverage studio. The scene of the audience scolding "idiots" in unison at the venue was really unsuitable to continue being shown on live television.

The venue was very chaotic.

The weightlifting team's head coach had already gone to the Organizing Committee's officials to lodge a complaint. This Olympics was organized by them, but to have the foreign referees so blatantly and deliberately make such misjudgments on the first day of the events, who could bear it?

They were clearly smacking their faces!

They were clearly smacking China's face!

The first day events of the Olympics had ended. When the many coaches and athletes of the different sports for Team China heard about this incident, they all went to watch the replay of the weightlifting event. Then many of them started to step forward in anger!

The table tennis team's main players posted on Weibo: "Li Jiaxi deserved to be the champion!"

The badminton team's assistant head coach criticized sternly: "Li Jiaxi did not lose because of himself or his opponent, but because of the referees!"

The men's weightlifting team's coach: "Strongly questioning this decision!"

And celebrities from all over spoke up too!

Yao Jiancai's Weibo: "This is goddamn match fixing!"

Huo Dongfang's Weibo: "This corruption is too blatant, isn't it?"

Chen Guang's Weibo: "What the hell is this?"

Famous director, Li Ke: "This is the Beijing Olympics! Do you have any respect for us? Shouldn't they ban these types of referees?"

Grandma Zhang Xia: "Why couldn't they initiate an appeal against the decision?"

The Chinese athletes were all criticizing it!

The celebrities were all criticizing it!

The netizens were also criticizing it!

"Bastards!"

"How can they be such bullies!"

"Did they gang up on us?"

"I'm so angry! That was such a shocking and maddening decision!"

"Four years ago, there were already issues raised about some of the referees deliberately targeting our Chinese team. At that time, the relevant organization penalized them for their actions. So why is it that a portion of those people can still appear in the Olympics ref pool? How can they blatantly cheat the Chinese team of its chances like this? Who gave them the authority to do something like that? Who allowed this to happen and condoned their actions that have seriously damaged the spirit of sportsmanship? Such referees should be banned for life!"

"Fuck! This is really making me want to beat someone up now!"

"Even an idiot can see that we were the ones who should have won!"

"That last lift was a proper one! There was nothing wrong with it!"

"Well scolded, Zhang Ye! They're really a bunch of idiots!"

"I also saw Zhang Ye leading the scolding on the live broadcast!"

"What's the use of scolding them? The gold medal has already been lost! This is too difficult to stomach!"

"When Li Jiaxi cried on the live broadcast, my wife cried along! This is too depressing! My heart aches for him!"

This incorrect call was very controversial!

Whether it was the Chinese delegation or the citizens, none of them were having it!

Some foreign media outlets also gave a very objective assessment after watching the competition.

A British media outlet reported: "Unable to understand the decision behind the Men's 62 kg weightlifting event. It looked like the winner should have been the Chinese?"

In the Spanish media: "A huge controversy in the weightlifting event. After viewing the slow-motion replays, the North Korean athlete's lift at the end clearly ran afoul of the rules. Meanwhile, the Chinese athlete's lift was thought to be a good one after analysis by several professionals. All of them said that there were no issues with it and that it should not have been faulted."

The Portuguese media: "In the finals of the weightlifting event, the referees made a big mistake. However, the gold medal has already been awarded and won't be changed!"

The Russian media: "After four years, the Chinese weightlifting team has again fallen victim to the same Australian referee in the finals of a different weight class!"

A lot of the foreign media also expressed their shock and disbelief at the matter. This sort of a clear-cut incorrect call could only be committed by an amateur referee. How could something like this happen in the Olympics?

But the award ceremony was already over!

The gold medal winner could not be changed!

That was this world's rules for the sport of weightlifting!

Yet at this time, the Australian media continued adding fuel to fire!

An Australian media outlet said openly: "The Chinese audience is making a spectacle of themselves in the stadium by verbally abusing the referees. Such behavior makes us very worried about this year's Beijing Olympics. The outcome of the competition cannot be changed, and this is what it means to compete in a sporting event. The results are unpredictable, so why don't they try to accept it and learn from their mistakes?"

After the competition.

An Australian reporter interviewed the Australian athlete who won the bronze medal.

The athlete shook his head and expressed, "I'm very disappointed with the behavior of the Chinese today. They delayed the proceedings of the competition for so long just because they couldn't take a loss. I think we should be the ones protesting instead!"

That made a lot of people even more furious!

On Weibo, there were wave after wave of criticism!

"They even want us to just accept it?"

"Fuck your grandpa!"

"The Australian ref deliberately made a bad call against us and they're asking us to learn from our mistakes?"

"Fuck your grandpa!"

"Ptui!"'

"What dogshit is this!"

"Ahhh! I'm so mad!"

"I'm gonna blow my top!"

"They're being way too arrogant!"

The incident blew up!

But other than cursing and swearing, the athletes, coaches, and citizens could do nothing about it. They were all full of pent-up anger that could not be released anywhere!

A similar scene had happened four years ago. At that time, after the gold medal was lost, the incident died down after some time. Could the same thing happen again at this year's Beijing Olympics? The referees would just be let off with a pointless warning and punishment before everything went back to how it was?

Of course, this affair was not over yet!

Even if everyone else agreed to it, Zhang Ye wouldn't!

…

Night had fallen.

But the lights were still shining brightly within the Olympic stadium.

Zhang Ye used his special staff pass that was issued to him for yesterday's opening ceremony to gain access to the place through the staff entrance. He strode into the area where the crowds were not allowed to enter. Even though the competition events for the day were over, this place was still restricted!

Across from him at the exit of the stadiums, five referees were walking out.

The leader of the group was that Australian referee who took charge of the weightlifting event earlier. Beside him were the other foreign referees involved in today's event!

"#$%*()."

"...%$*()!"

They were saying something, probably in English, but Zhang Ye could not understand them as they spoke very fast. Well, with that English of his, he probably would not understand even if they spoke slowly.

The Australia referee was beaming.

The South Korean referee had a calm look on his face.

Beside them, there was a referee who looked a little worried.

All of them wore different expressions and were heading out of the stadium toward Zhang Ye.

Zhang Ye did not even look at them as he slowly strode in their direction swinging his arms. He was even humming and singing the song "Beijing Welcomes You."

The atmosphere felt really normal.

The workers and volunteers who were passing by did not sense anything peculiar either. It was the same for those weightlifting referees. The Australian referee suddenly took a look at his watch before saying something in English to the others. The five of them nodded and quickly picked up their pace. They probably had to rush off somewhere as there was still a lot of work to be done post-competition.

But right as they were passing Zhang Ye!

They were passing him but did not make it past him!

Zhang Ye was still humming the tune when he suddenly stuck his leg out. The Australian referee, who was walking very quickly, didn't even have time to react and tripped. He lost his balance and felt like his body's weight was arrested as he fell forward! He yelled while flailing about, hoping to grab onto something. As a result, he grabbed onto the South Korean referee beside him and pulled him down as well! Then another referee, who was behind them, knocked into Zhang Ye's shoulder "accidentally." He felt a very strong impact collide with his shoulder as he fell over with a horrified look and landed on top of the other two referees without warning!

The Australian referee's face smashed against the ground. His nose instantly started bleeding!

The South Korean referee fell over as well and his arm snapped against the ground. He clutched it and shrieked in pain!

The third referee fell onto his back!

The fourth referee was knocked into a table next to him!

After the fifth referee fell down, he even got crushed under two other referees who were clearly heavier than 80 kg. His eyes rolled back as he nearly fainted from the pain!

One second!

In just a mere second!

As they passed each other, only Zhang Ye made it past them while the five referees cried out loudly as they found themselves sprawled out on the ground. None of them stood back up!

It was too fast!

It was really did happen in just the blink of an eye!

It was so strange it was scary!

When many of the volunteers and workers, as well as some of the other foreign referees and athletes around them, heard their screams, many of them either looked over to see what was going on or rushed over!

"Damn!"

"What happened here?"

"The weightlifting referees got beaten up!?"

Several female volunteers screamed!

Meanwhile, Zhang Ye's figure had drifted away. All that was left of the incident was a chaotic crowd that had gathered around the five weightlifting referees wailing in agony!

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Chapter 1169: The surveillance footage gets brought to light!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

It was extremely chaotic onsite!

The five referees were lying on the ground all swollen and bruised. They were wailing and in so much pain they could not get back up on their feet. All of them had been stunned by the fall!

"Ah!"

"Fuck!"

"My leg!"

"Help! Help!"

The Australian referee was crying out for help.

However, just as the volunteers and Chinese athletes around were about to instinctively help him up, they realized who he was and stopped in their tracks. Instead, they took out their cell phones to record the dumbfounded weightlifting referees!

"The refs got beaten up!"

"They're the referees from the weightlifting event!"

"Quick, come and see this!"

"Record it!"

"Damn, who did this?"

The security guards came running over as well!

Some employees on the Organizing Committee also rushed over!

"What's going on?"

"How did something like this happen?"

"What went on over here?"

"Hurry, help them up first!"

"Where's the medical staff? Let them have a look!"

"They're fine, they didn't suffer any fractures!"

More and more people gathered. Even some of the media arrived to take a look!

Everyone who saw it could only feel a sense of shock and disbelief. This was an Olympic venue, a place with the highest security. How could something like this have happened? How could do it? Who could be so brazen? Who could be so bold!

The media was dumbfounded!

The Organizing Committee staff were dumbfounded!

The local and foreign athletes were dumbfounded!

Beating up referees at an Olympic venue? No one had come across something like this before!

…

Back at home.

His parents were cursing at the television!

His father said, "Good thing we didn't go watch the weightlifting event tonight, else I'd have been so pissed off!"

His mother said, "Those foreigners are such bastards! How dare they pick on us in our backyard? Who gave them the guts to do that? Who gave them the authority?"

The criticism on the Internet was still going on!

The entertainment industry was criticizing it!

The Chinese media was criticizing it!

The netizens were criticizing it!

"Is there no place to reason this out?"

"These people should just die!"

"Brothers, let's dox 1 those fellas!"

"Someone's already identified those five refs!"

"Fuck, who wants to go with me to confront them?"

"Fuck! Let's go fucking beat them up!"

"Yeah, we won't take this lying down!"

"Count me in! I'll go as well! I've really been enraged today!"

"Go? How are we going to go? That is a restricted area in the Olympic grounds. Can any of you even make it inside?"

"So we're just going to do nothing about it then?"

Ever since the weightlifting event finished, the people cursed and scolded, for a full hour. But all of a sudden, countless news reports appeared. It had come so suddenly all the netizens were caught unawares. Everyone was tongue-tied!

"Five weightlifting referees assaulted!"

"An unexpected incident in an Olympic stadium!"

"Referees fall and injure themselves, or perhaps it was caused by someone else!"

"Police Investigating!"

"Could the surveillance footage shed a light on what really happened?"

"Just what happened in the stadium?"

On Central TV Sports Channel: "Oh, we have just received a piece of news…"

Beijing Television: "An incident has taken place in an Olympic stadium. Let's take a look at a video footage!"

A video recorded at the scene was shown!

The five weightlifting referees who were earlier on television in all their swagger looked miserable in the video clip. Some of them were bleeding from the nose, and some of them had bumps on their heads as all of them laid on the ground crying out in pain!

With this, it became very lively on Weibo!

In an instant, the video clip was Liked over 200,000 times!

The netizens were so delighted they seemed to be welcoming the new year!

"Wow!"

"Hahahaha!"

"This is too awesome!"

"Serves them right! They fucking deserved it!"

"What goes around comes around! Who does Heaven forgive?"

"What a release! This is such a goddamn release!"

"Aiyo, I'm laughing like crazy! This feels so good!"

"Damn, the referees got beaten up in an Olympic stadium? I thought that place was out of bounds to the regular people? Who beat them up then? Just what is going on here? Let me Like this a million times first before I go check it out!"

"Could it have been a volunteer who did it?"

"Haha! All I want to say is, well done!"

"Which hero did this? Let us prostrate in worship to that person!"

"That was too goddamn brilliant!"

"This is the greatest piece of news I've seen this year!"

Yao Jiancai Liked the Weibo video. "Haha!"

Zhang Xia gave it a Like too!

Zhang Yuanqi's manager also hit Like!

Huo Dongfang Liked it!

A Heavenly King Liked it!

A certain Heavenly Queen posted a winking emoticon in response!

The Beijing Times forwarded the post!

The official Weibo of a Beijing district police station Liked and forwarded it before immediately deleting all traces of both!

The people did not have much qualms about their reactions to the incident, but the entertainment industry celebrities and officials had to be careful about what they did or said. That was because they were public figures and anything they said could be seen as wrong. But they were also using their own methods to express their attitudes regarding the incident!

Zhang Ye's father was startled. "The referees were beaten up?"

His mother yelled in approval, "Well done! Well done!"

How truly satisfying!

The incident made so many people feel very happy!

Although there were also many experts and media putting on a show by stepping forward to criticize such actions, the general public was not bothered. Everyone was just intrigued by who could have done this and if it was done by one of the volunteers or workers. Or perhaps, one of the Chinese athletes or coaches?

The foreign media was also giving a lot of attention to this matter!

"Police investigating and checking surveillance footage!"

"According to eyewitness accounts, no fighting in the stadium!"

"Injured referees lodge complaint to Organizing Committee!"

"Were they beaten up? Or was it just an accident?"

"The truth shall be revealed soon!"

…

Later that night.

At Zhang Ye's Studio.

Zhang Ye drove back here hastily. When he came in through the door, he saw that Ha Qiqi, Zhang Zuo, and the others were actually still in the office. They were all chattering and watching television.

Zhang Ye was taken aback. "Whoa, working overtime?"

Ha Qiqi quickly said, "Aiyo, Director Zhang, why did you get back this late?"

Zhang Zuo said in a good mood, "We just saw some news that made all of us so happy that we don't intend to go home yet."

"This wouldn't be included in the overtime pay, right?" Zhang Ye said stingily.

"Why are you bringing up overtime pay, Director Zhang? You're too much of a penny-pincher." Little Wang said joyfully, "Have you watched the news yet? Something big has just happened! Those weightlifting referees got injured!"

Zhang Ye shrugged and said, "Of course I know."

Wu Yi laughed heartily. "They're currently investigating which hero did it!"

"That was so cool!" Little Wang said, "I hope the surveillance cameras did not manage to record anything. Otherwise, that person might get into trouble. If it's an athlete from our country, they're likely to get banned from competing."

Zhang Ye laughed and said, "Don't worry, an athlete didn't do it."

Ha Qiqi immediately said, "Director Zhang, quickly go and give the Weibo post a Like. We're currently working on gaining you a good public image, so you shouldn't miss out on latching onto an opportunity like this."

Zhang Zuo nodded. "That's right, you should say a few words on your Weibo or at least post a status update."

But Zhang Ye waved it off. "No need."

"Why not?" Ha Qiqi was taken aback.

Suddenly, the scene on Central TV's live broadcast changed. It was still showing a recap of today's Olympic Games events before it cut back to the studio. Then the host said, "We interrupt this broadcast to report that we have just received an important update on the injured referees. We have gotten our hands on footage that will reveal what happened at the scene."

The video footage was shown on the broadcast!

The country's citizens were jolted!

"Who did it?"

"Quick, let's have a look!"

At present, the number of people watching and waiting in anticipation was uncountable.

Ha Qiqi, Zhang Zuo, and the others also crowded around the television.

Then, the figures of five referees appeared in the surveillance footage, the exact ones who had been injured in the incident. They could be seen walking in a hurry and were even chatting and joking with one another. The next second, a key figure appeared in frame. As the two sides approached each other, right as they were passing each other, what happened was not as described by the news involving a violent beating or a fight scene as imagined by everyone!

It happened in a flash just as they passed each other!

The young man in the surveillance footage maliciously stretched out a leg to trip one of them!

The next instant, the country's citizens were dumbfounded as they saw the five referees chaotically fall to the ground!

The young man had his hand in his pockets and even sounded like he was humming a song. The surveillance footage then got a close up shot of the young man, leading to everyone in the country reacting like they had their tails stepped on!

Ha Qiqi turned around in shock!

Little Wang shrieked!

Zhang Zuo and Wu Yi also stared in shock at Zhang Ye, who was standing behind them!

It was Director Zhang!

The person in the footage was actually Director Zhang!

Everyone in Zhang Ye's Studio nearly fainted!

Ha Qiqi stood up by supporting herself with the table. "Director Zhang, it was you?!"

Zhang Zuo was nearly in tears. "Director Zhang, didn't we already agree on generating a positive public image for you? We just talked about it this morning!"

Zhang Ye was also feeling a little embarrassed. "I was too impulsive."

Ha Qiqi said angrily, "No, you did it knowingly!"

Zhang Ye gave a hollow laugh. "You all should already know this temper of mine. I won't do it again."

Everyone in the studio could only give each other looks and sigh. Alright then, it looked like they would really have to get back to work and put in some overtime. They should have known better that it wouldn't be that easy being a part of Zhang Ye's management team. Everyone in Zhang Ye's Studio smiled bitterly as they prepared to welcome the impending storm!

1. https/en./wiki/Doxing#Human_flesh_search_engine

Chapter 1170: The Leg of God!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

At Zhang Ye's parents' house.

His parents were watching the news in high spirits.

"It's been revealed!"

"They're showing the surveillance footage!"

"Eh, doesn't this person's back look a little familiar?"

"Damn, isn't that Little Ye!"

His parents were stunned!

In the Olympic Village.

Many of the athletes and coaches were watching the live broadcast as well.

"Beautiful!"

"That was such a godly trip!"

"Ah!"

"Zhang Ye!"

"Fuck, it's Zhang Ye!"

All over the country, scenes of people getting dumbfounded were playing out. When they saw that figure of a person and Zhang Ye's face, when they saw that malicious leg stick out, everyone wore a look of shock at first before it turned to one of amusement. Everyone realized that they were not surprised at all. The person who did it was Zhang Ye? That was perfectly within expectations for him. Zhang Ye had more than enough past cases when it came to such disreputable behavior. He had always been a person whom everyone hated and loved at the same time!

Weibo exploded once again!

But this time, the netizens were all one-sidedly giving their Likes to Zhang Ye!

"Aiyo, what the heck!"

"It's Teacher Zhang!"

"Ahhh! It's Zhang Ye!"

"This is cracking me up!"

"I was wondering who had the balls to attack the referees in an Olympic stadium!"

"Yeah! I was rather shocked to know that there was a hero who took things into their own hands! So it turned out to be Teacher Zhang!"

"I'll give him a Like! I'll give Teacher Zhang a year's worth of Likes for that!"

"I've watched the video five times. It's so awesome!"

"That leg trip was simply perfect!"

"Tripping five people over with a leg! Oh my god! How did Zhang Ye manage that?"

"Who knows! That leg trip was just too godly, damn it!"

"How shocking! This is the goddamn Leg of God!"

The leg he stretched out in the video was too wicked and too precise. It was like he had used a computer to accurately work out the required force and execution angles as he lightly tripped one of them to send all five referees sprawling out onto the ground. It really dumbfounded countless viewers. Even many of the foreigners had been shocked by this video clip. If there was a tripping event in the Olympics, then this person would definitely deserve to be the champion. Have you ever seen anyone who could trip five people with just a light swipe of their leg? This leg was simply…

Yes!

It was the Leg of God!

As Zhang Ye had played that amazing "Hand of God" during the "war between humans and machines" against PeterGo, the audience got their inspiration from there and aptly gave a resounding name to this move—the "Leg of God"!

It was so awesome!

It was quite the release!

"Teacher Zhang is so impressive!"

"As expected of Zhang Ye!"

"Zhang Ye, I just love that fiery temper of yours!"

"Zhang Ye is so domineering!"

"I've always scolded Zhang Ye in the past, but I must give him a Like today!"

"There's nothing to say. That leg trip was too good!"

"Zhang Ye put his leg out and tripped them for our nation!"

"He tripped them with such style! You can see how good he is just from that trip alone!"

"Hahahaha! I knew it must be him! Who else could do something like this other than Zhang Ye? No one else would have the guts besides him!"

"This is what I call a real man!"

"Just with that trip alone, I'll only be convinced by Zhang Ye in showbiz!"

"Aiya, don't cause any more trouble. Why aren't you guys worried for Teacher Zhang? The police are investigating the affair. This is very serious, so Teacher Zhang better not get implicated somehow!"

"Previous poster, stay calm."

"Haha, what are you so worried about!"

"Zhang Ye has done so many things in the past that are even more extreme than this, but have you ever seen that fellow get into any trouble? He's still doing as well as ever! It's not like he's beaten anyone up. He only tripped one of them, what's the big deal? Teacher Zhang has been through a lot, so don't worry about him. He knows what he's doing. Do you take him for a pushover?"

"But it'll still affect his image."

"Does he have an image to begin with?"

"But if the foreigners start criticizing him…"

"You're so funny, big sis! This is Zhang Ye we're talking about! When has Zhang Ye ever been afraid of anyone criticizing him? He's just like a rock in the privy—hard and stinky!"

"Alright, I'll stop worrying."

There was a heated discussion on the Internet!

Though to be more accurate, everyone was delighted at the reveal!

Meanwhile, the media reports could not possibly be so blasé. Even if some of the Chinese reporters were applauding this action, they couldn't write that in their reports!

The Chinese media: "Zhang Ye appears in surveillance footage!"

The British media: "The culprit is the singer of the Olympic opening theme song?"

The Australian media: "Shock! Indignation! Objection!"

The South Korean media: "Was the Chinese superstar retaliating?"

The Canadian media: "Unbelievable! A never before witnessed behavior!"

The Chinese people were not surprised as they all understood Zhang Ye very well!

But the foreigners were very dumbfounded. No one could imagine that the Chinese celebrity who had represented Beijing to sing at the opening ceremony with Lillian would actually trip someone over like this!

What the hell was that?

What kind of a person was he?

And what did he fucking sing in the opening theme song?

You and me, from one world. / We are family!

From one world, your sister!

We are family, your sister!

Why was what you sang and what you did an entirely different thing altogether!

Now that they listened to the song again, it really made many of the foreign media and athletes unsure about how to react!

When those injured weightlifting referees saw the video, they finally understood why they had been injured and how they had fallen down. They became so indignant they immediately lodged a complaint and protested to the higher-ups. They requested for the assailant to be seriously punished so that they could be given a fair answer!

However, the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games did not show any indication of issue them with one and only said that the matter had already been referred to the police.

Sensing that the Organizing Committee was not proactive on the issue, the five referees became furious!

But if they stopped to think for a bit, they were the ones who had deliberately done something as insulting as making an incorrect call in an event at the Beijing Olympics that caused the Chinese team to lose a gold medal. That had affected the Chinese athletes physically and psychologically. The citizens were also angered that this decision was not made in the spirit of sportsmanship. Now that something has happened to you all, you're demanding that the Organizing Committee give you a fair answer? You are demanding for an explanation to be given? Does that make any sense! Aren't you all expecting a little too much! Do you all think that the world revolves around you?

Further, this issue had nothing to do with the Organizing Committee!

Who was Zhang Ye?

A coach? He wasn't!

An athlete? He wasn't!

He wasn't even a worker here!

Zhang Ye was not under their jurisdiction at all. He wasn't an official of the Olympics and had only come to perform the Olympic opening theme song as a guest, so anything after that had nothing to do with them. If they really wanted to say anything, then he would at most be considered as a normal audience member. What authority could the Organizing Committee possibly have over him?

So those referees could only pin their hopes on the police!

A lot of people were also curious about how the police would handle this matter!

…

In the studio.

There was a knock on the door, and they saw four police officers standing outside.

Little Wang's expression changed. "You all are?"

The old policeman who was in charge showed his credentials and said sternly, "Hello, we're from the Chaoyang District Police Station, is Zhang Ye around? We would like to ask him some questions."

Zhang Ye walked up to them. "I'm here."

The old policeman nodded at him. "Hello. Regarding the incident that took place at one of the Olympic venues today, we have identified that you were involved after checking the surveillance footage. Is that correct?"

Zhang Ye said, "It was me."

Ha Qiqi immediately said, "Please talk to our lawyer about this. We won't be answering any questions for now!"

But Zhang Ye waved her off. "It's fine." Then, he said to the police officers, "Ask away."

The old policeman said, "Thank you for your cooperation."

Zhang Ye smiled. "It's my duty."

The old policeman asked another question. "At 8:10 PM tonight, did you go to Olympic Venue No. 3 because you lost your way? Or did you go there for other reasons?"

Zhang Ye answered honestly, "I went there to look for the five referees, of course."

"Director Zhang!" Ha Qiqi tugged at him.

The old policeman acknowledged him and turned to the policeman beside him who was recording the statement. "He lost his way."

That young policeman nodded and recorded it.

Zhang Ye: "…"

The studio staff: "…"

The old policeman looked at him. "In the surveillance footage, you were seen sticking your leg out. Was it intentional? Or unintentional? Did you trip over something on the ground? And lost your balance thus making you stick your leg out to steady yourself?"

Zhang Ye spoke the truth, "I definitely did it on purpose. I was there for them."

"OK." The old policeman turned to the younger policeman and said, "He tripped over something at the time, so he stuck out his leg as he tried to regain his balance."

The young policeman recorded the statement.

Zhang Ye: "…"

Ha Qiqi: "…"

Zhang Zuo: "…"

Five minutes later, the police were done with their questioning.

They had recorded a statement that was completely different from what Zhang Ye answered!

The old policeman said, "There wouldn't be any criminal liability for this issue. Those referees did not suffer any serious injuries. It was mostly just scraped skin and the like. The surveillance footage wasn't that clear either. At most, you'd be asked to cough up the medical expenses as compensation, but that wouldn't cost much anyway. Alright, if there are any new developments to the case, we might come over again or ask you to come down to the police station to assist with the investigation. Since we're done questioning, that's all for today. We won't be disturbing you all any longer. We still have other matters waiting for us to handle when we get back."

Ha Qiqi hurriedly said, "Let me see you all off!"

"There's no need," the old policeman said with a smile.

Ha Qiqi whispered, "Thank you."

The old policeman waved at her. "We're just doing our jobs. There's nothing to thank me for. We're off then."

As Ha Qiqi was the head of external affairs in the studio, she walked the police officers downstairs and saw them off from there.

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