I am Really a Superstar

The venue was being prepared.

The promotions were ramped up.

The troll armies were flinging insults at each other.

Day by day, it was getting closer and closer to the broadcast of the two shows.

On the day that Central TV Department 1 suddenly announced their broadcast time for Sing!, Beijing Television swiftly followed with an announcement for I Am a Singer\'s broadcast time!

The same day!

At the same time!

Not a second earlier or later!

When this news was released, everyone in the industry was shocked!

Meanwhile, the netizens were feeling pumped up and delighted by the news!

Lately, these two shows were the most anticipated variety shows with no others coming close. In the history of the variety world, there hadn\'t been any shows that carried out such widespread publicity campaigns like it didn\'t cost a thing. Everyone knew that it would be the best choice for these two most anticipated shows to broadcast at different times so they could avoid directly competing with each other. But Zhang Ye did not do that as he chose to broadcast at the exact same time and on the same day as Sing! It was just like what had happened with A Bite of China. This was Zhang Ye and he had always done things in this way. He would either choose not to fight at all, or go all out if he did!

The countdown began!

The desperate struggle between the two shows was finally starting!

Who would lose?

And who would win?

No one could predict it!

…

Noon that same day.

At home.

Zhang Ye\'s parents were busy preparing lunch.

When the doorbell rang, his mother tossed off her apron and wiped her hands clean. Then she hurriedly went to open the door with a smile on her face. "Coming, coming."

Wu Zeqing was standing outside. "Auntie."

His mother smiled and said, "Ai, Little Wu, come in quickly."

"Little Wu, you\'re here?" His father also came out of the kitchen with a smile.

Wu Zeqing smiled. "Uncle, you\'re busy?"

His father said, "Lunch is almost ready. Go and call Little Ye over."

Wu Zeqing asked, "Where is he?"

"He\'s lying in his room. He\'s been tired out by work the past few days," his mother said happily.

"OK, I\'ll go and get him." Wu Zeqing went to his bedroom and pushed open the door. "Little Ye?"

Zhang Ye was lying on the bed and mumbled, "You\'re here?"

Wu Zeqing smiled. "Is the show going to be broadcast soon?"

Zhang Ye said, "I was actually planning it for a little later but had to match Sing! pushing forward their broadcast date. I had to put in some overtime at work as a result. The good thing is that just about everything is ready. We\'ll begin officially recording I Am a Singer\'s first episode tomorrow. Hai, I haven\'t really had much sleep the past few days. The executives at the station are the ones who chased me home so I could rest well today. How could I rest? I can\'t even sit still for long."

Old Wu said, "Alright, let\'s have lunch first."

They started eating.

The whole family was seated at the dining table eating lunch.

But Zhang Ye was preoccupied with his thoughts. He didn\'t even take two bites before putting down his chopsticks.

His mother stared at him. "Eat."

Zhang Ye whined, "I have no appetite."

Wu Zeqing could sense what he was thinking about. "Are you feeling nervous?"

"Not exactly." Zhang Ye sighed, "But I\'m under a lot of pressure."

His father said, "You? Under pressure?"

Zhang Ye rolled his eyes. "Of course. Do you know how many people I\'m supporting?"

Zhang Ye was the type of person who was very mentally strong. In normal circumstances, he would hardly feel any stress and was more carefree. But now that he had reached this position where his popularity was getting higher and higher, the people who depended on him for their livelihoods were also increasing. No matter how strong he was, he couldn\'t possibly feel no pressure. What if he lost this battle? What if he didn\'t manage to do well? How would he answer to Beijing Television? How could he recoup the 200 million in title sponsorship fees that Wu Mo had pumped in? What about his staff at the studio? The higher he climbed, the more he couldn\'t afford to lose. He was no longer a general without an army. It was just that he rarely displayed any of such worries and stress in front of others.

Zhang Ye had been in such situations in the past. Back then, it was always Wu Zeqing who pointed him the way forward. So he looked at her. "Old Wu, you oversee the entertainment circle and have come across many shows. You have read the content approval report for I Am a Singer, right? I\'ll tell you about the specifics of the show segments again. Let me know what you think of it after and whether it can win against that copycat version of The Voice. Listen, the show will have seven designated singers…"

Before he could finish.

Wu Zeqing cut him off. "I don\'t want to listen to that."

Zhang Ye was taken aback. "Why not?"

"Because I don\'t have to listen to it." Wu Zeqing smiled and grabbed some food for him. She said, "Who are you? You\'re Zhang Ye, the best program director in the industry. The shows you produce will definitely be number one in the country. This is something that you don\'t even have to have a doubt about—no one can beat you, none of the major satellite channels, not even Central TV Department 1. As long as you put your mind to it, as long as you do it seriously, no one in the industry is a match for you."

Zhang Ye cheered up. "Phew, about that, can you not worship me to such an extent?"

His mother rolled her eyes. "Rascal, stop being conceited."

"What you need now is rest and a good meal." Old Wu grabbed some more food for him and said, "The battle will officially start tomorrow, so eat up."

Zhang Ye smiled. "OK, I got it."

Old Wu was truly capable!

It only took her a few words to bring Zhang Ye\'s fighting spirit back up!

Everyone knew that Zhang Ye was one of the toughest people in the entertainment circle. But no one knew that behind this toughness, there were times he would hesitate and doubt himself. There were also moments of weakness and confusion. Luckily for him, he had Wu Zeqing by his side. She always pulled him up in those critical times.

Zhang Ye didn\'t actually think that he was a very strong person. It was only when Old Wu was beside him that he could feel invincible and indomitable!

After lunch.

His cell phone rang. It was a video call.

As Zhang Ye had been forced to go on leave today, the I Am a Singer program team would only hold a video call with him to seek his instructions when something cropped up at work.

The video call connected.

Everyone started updating him on their work.

Zhang Ye acknowledged them one by one.

Finally, Xiao Lu said nervously to him: "Teacher Zhang, will we really be able to do it tomorrow?"

Many of the others in the video call kept quiet. Each and every one of them had the same expression as Zhang Ye had earlier. There was anticipation, tension.

Zhang Ye thought for a moment before giving them a long speech through the phone\'s video camera. "I know that we\'re really disadvantaged right now. On number of contacts, Central TV has a better network than us. On influence, Central TV\'s influence is much greater than ours. On the size of the audience base, Central TV has many more viewers than we do. On the show, Sing! has a greater accumulated following and popularity. That\'s why for our battle with Central TV Department 1, it would be bullshit if I said that I\'m not feeling pressured."

Xiao Lu gave a wry smile.

Dafei had a frown on his face.

Hou Ge was breathing hard.

Han Qi kept rubbing her hands together to hide her unease.

Zhang Ye smiled. "But we have an advantage too."

Advantage?

What advantage could we have?

Everyone stared at Zhang Ye in the video call.

Zhang Ye emphasized each word he said. "Our advantage is: We! Have! Never! Lost! Before!"

Xiao Lu was inspired!

Han Qi raised her head!

Hou Ge and the others were jolted!

Those words were so domineering!

Only Zhang Ye would dare to speak like this!

In the entire industry, only Zhang Ye could say something like this!

Yes! They have never lost before!

To be precise, it was Zhang Ye who had never lost before!

Talk Show?

The Voice?

A Bite of China?

King of Masked Singers?

He had never lost!

And that was their greatest advantage!