I am Really a Superstar

In the morning.

The media was still abuzz.

“I Am a Singer comes to an end!”

“The viewership sets an astonishing record!”

“Zhang Ye defies all odds to take the crown!”

“The most popular male idols suffer a collective defeat!”

“A night that will shock anyone!”

“Last night, in the town squares, bars, and restaurants, tens of thousands of people sang along to ‘Thousands of Songs’ in unison!”

“Zhang Ye’s return: Oh, fleeting time, what can you do?”

“Zhang Ye’s song in the grand finals engulf the updates on Moments!”

“All four of Zhang Ye’s new songs storm into the Top Chinese Music Chart!”

On Weibo.

“The viewership ratings have been published too!”

“That is such a frightening figure!”

“Yeah, this is a viewership figure that has never been seen before!”

“I’m afraid that there won’t be any variety shows that can exceed this viewership even in the future!”

“At least it’s not likely to happen for the next 10 years.”

“This is such a perfect ending.”

“I Am a Singer was created in the hands of Zhang Ye, and it came to an end in the hands of Zhang Ye. Perhaps it was fated that he would become the greatest champion upon his return.”

“I love him!”

“Me too! I was initially supporting the hunks, but I turned traitor on their fanbase the moment I heard Zhang Ye sing!”

“I was also reminded of many past events. What a nostalgic feeling.”

“It’s such a pity that we’re gradually seeing less and less of the people from the past generation.”

“Sister Zhang has retired.”

“Chen Guang hardly makes an appearance anymore as well.”

“Old Chen had surgery done on his vocal cords.”

“Yeah, and Spring Garden has disbanded too.”

Zhang Ye’s victory had a very significant effect.

He had triggered the memories of a lot of people regarding past matters and people of yesteryear.

…

Back at home.

Zhang Ye was shaken awake by his daughter.

“Daddy, Daddy, wake up!”

“Eh?”

“Daddy! Daddy!”

“What is it, my dear?”

“Daddy is on TV!”

“Is that so? Don’t you think Daddy is cool?”

“Daddy is cool! Daddy, carry me!”

Zhang Ye crawled out from under the covers and picked his daughter up to give her a kiss. This little girl had become his number one fan. He could hear the television coming from the first floor of the villa, and there was indeed mention of his name on the news. For a moment, Zhang Ye even imagined that he had been transported four years back to when news of him dominated the headlines.

Buzz, buzz.

His cell phone was vibrating without stop. He didn’t know how long it had been ringing for.

After being woken up by his daughter, Zhang Ye couldn’t get back to sleep. He yawned and turned around to grab his cell phone from the nightstand to answer the call.

It was from Ha Qiqi.

On the other end of the line, it was extremely noisy.

“Director Zhang!”

“Sister Ha, what’s the matter?”

“Don’t come to the studio today no matter what!”

“Ah?”

“Our entrance is packed with reporters. There are people everywhere!”

“Whoa, surely not, right?”

“Aiyo, you’re saying that because you aren’t seeing this. The building’s elevator is on the verge of breaking down from all the human traffic, and the reporters and TV station vans are all camping out in the yard and perimeter of the neighborhood, waiting for you to arrive to give them an interview.”

“Turn them all away.”

“I understand. You better not go out onto the streets without your sunglasses either, at least not for a while.”

“Alright, I understand. I’ll leave it to you guys then.”

“Don’t worry, we can hold down the fort.”

Soon after, his cell phone rang again.

It was famous director Li Ke.

“Director Li.”

“Director Zhang, hur hur, the investors have changed their minds.”

“Ah?”

“About the role I reserved for you, they would like you to play the part. The pay this time is quite hefty too.”

“Forget it, my drama will be broadcasting soon anyway.”

“I knew you wouldn’t want it, but I just thought I’d inform you. You’ve become highly sought after now, and many companies have their eyes on you. No one expected you to become so popular again. Congratulations!”

“Haha, thanks.”

Yao Jiancai.

Ning Lan.

Hu Fei.

His cousins.

Calls from his family and friends arrived without a break. After Zhang Ye had arrived home yesterday, he immediately went to sleep and couldn’t be contacted by a lot of people. As such, the congratulatory calls only started coming in today. A lot of them found it hard to believe and even found it difficult to accept that Zhang Ye had won on the show.

Zhang Ye was kept busy with taking calls for the rest of the day.

At night, Amy’s call came.

“Hi, Amy.”

“Teacher Zhang, you’ve totally defied all common sense!”

“Haha, not really. However, isn’t this call from you a little late?”

“Pfft, are you blaming me for not congratulating you earlier?”

“Of course not, it’s good as long as I get a congratulation from you. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Well, Teacher Zhang, there’s actually something I’m looking for you for.”

“What is it?”

“Um…well—”

“Speak up. What’s the matter?”

Amy stammered, unable to express herself.

Then another voice came from the other end of the line.

“You’re so slow. I’ll tell him.” It was Xiaodong’s voice.

Zhang Ye laughed and said: “Sister Dong? The two of you are together right now?”

“Yes.”

Zhang Ye said: “Didn’t Spring Garden disband?”

Xiaodong rolled her eyes. “The group has disbanded, not our friendship.”

Zhang Ye said: “Fair.”

Then Xiaodong said: “There’s something we’re looking for you for.”

“Just speak,” Zhang Ye said.

Xiaodong replied: “Actually, we wanted to solve this matter by ourselves, but we couldn’t resolve it for the past two years. We thought of many ways and sought out many people we thought could help, but none of it worked. So we have no choice but to approach you.”

Zhang Ye laughed. “So what is it?”

But Xiaodong said: “I won’t talk about it yet. Let’s rewind to the time when you held your final concert. Didn’t you promise to invite me, Amy, and Xiaoxian to perform?”

Zhang Ye was taken aback. “I guess so?”

“And you even said that you wanted to sing metal with us?”

Zhang Ye coughed and said: “I think I did say that.”

“But in the end, you invited none of us. Was there something like that?”

Zhang Ye exclaimed: “That’s because I got into big trouble at that time. I figured I shouldn’t drag you guys down with me.”

“But do you admit to not inviting us to perform?”

Zhang Ye gave a dry laugh. “I’ll admit to that.”

Xiaodong said: “Then you must help us out with this problem.”

Zhang Ye laughed and said: “Alright, shoot.”

Only then did Xiaodong say: “It’s about Amy’s contract with the talent agency. This matter has been left hanging for the past two years without getting resolved. The talent agency has basically shelved her and isn’t helping her find any work or allowing her to leave, which as good as freezing her. Amy has always wanted to leave the agency and go solo, but she can’t. They’re not letting her to leave no matter what. Even if we let her contract run out, it’ll still be some time before that happens. By that time, Amy’s popularity will have dropped even further.”

Zhang Ye asked: “You’re requesting that I help Amy settle her contract dispute?”

On the other end, Amy finally spoke: “I just need to cancel the contract. It doesn’t matter even if I have to pay compensation.”

Zhang Ye said in amusement: “Why did you guys think of approaching me?”

He heard Li Xiaoxian speaking this time.

“Because you have a lot of influence.”

Xiaodong said: “Teacher Zhang, we’re depending on you to help us out with Amy’s contract issue.”

Zhang Ye could understand there was something going on here. He couldn’t help but ask: “Sister Dong, aren’t you holding a solo concert soon? Why are you in such a rush to deal with Amy’s contract?”

There was silence over there.

Then they said something shocking.

Xiaodong, Amy, and Li Xiaoxian said in near unison: “We’re hoping that our Spring Garden can make a comeback.”

Zhang Ye was stunned and then chuckled. “Alright, I’ll help you out with this for sure!”