I’m Really a Superstar

On the same day.

The news spread like wildfire.

“Astonishing turnaround!”

“In the Name of the People bucks the trend to take the top spot!”

“A double-win in both reputation and viewership ratings!”

“The biggest dark horse appears in the TV industry!”

“Has springtime arrived for political dramas?”

“Shock! Commercial dramas unable to beat a political drama?”

Back at home.

Zhang Ye’s phone was exploding with calls.

Xu Meilan called.

“Zhang’er.”

“Hey, Sister Lan.”

“Thanks.”

“Haha, you’re welcome.”

“Oh you, you’re great. Congratulations.”

Soon after, Supervisor Ke from the Central Publicity Department also called.

“Teacher Zhang, have you seen the viewership ratings yet?”

“I’ve already seen it, Supervisor Ke.”

“It’s amazing! No one expected that the viewership ratings would be so high. Great work, Teacher Zhang. The higher-ups are praising this production of yours nonstop and giving it their affirmation. We knew that it was definitely the right move to choose you as the director.”

“It was nothing. You all put in the money while I put in the effort. It’s only fair.”

Xiaodong called.

“Teacher Zhang, hurry up and tell me about what happens later on in the story.”

“I can’t do that. It’s a secret.”

“Aiya, you’re making me so anxious.”

“Haha, the next episodes will be broadcasting tonight.”

In the evening, In the Name of the People, Heavens of the Gods, and Age of Kingdoms’ third and fourth episodes broadcast again at the same time. The three dramas were facing off against one another once more!

…

In the Name of the People’s third episode.

Beijing.

Dijingyuan Villas.

On the wall, under the blanket, there were stacks and stacks of money!

“Chief Hou, everything is here. I was too scared to spend a single cent.”

“Does your wife know about this house and all this money?”

“She doesn’t know, I didn’t tell her about it. I was afraid that she’d worry about me. Chief Hou, do you think I’ll get leniently dealt with? My son is still young. What would happen to them if I went to jail for this?”

“If you knew this would happen, why did you do it? You’ve only been chief for four years, but you got greedy—just how much is this?”

“266,576,400,40 yuan.”

“You remember it perfectly, don’t you?”

“I kept accounts. I recorded every single transaction. But I was too afraid to spend it. Not even a single cent.”

…

Meanwhile.

A few of the supporting cast members of In the Name of the People gathered together.

“This is so impactful!”

“The plot is so tense.”

“The storyline is very good too. It’s amazing.”

“It didn’t feel like this when we were filming it. It felt like a very ordinary shoot at the time, with us changing the shooting venue after every few scenes were completed. It was a very rushed process like we were on a guided tour, so how did it end up looking so good? It was the case for yesterday, and today’s two episodes as well.”

“That’s why Teacher Zhang is the director.”

“I just wonder how Director Zhang is so good at everything!”

…

Elsewhere.

At Li Shao’s studio.

“Our episodes today were quite good.”

“Right, we can go higher in the viewership ratings for sure!”

“Can we catch up to In the Name of the People?”

“It will definitely catch up. Actually, there wasn’t much of a difference between us for the first two episodes.”

“That’s right. A political drama has limitations. How many past examples have proven that a political drama does not last? They only managed to do it this time because of the hype surrounding Zhang Ye’s victory on I Am a Singer. The momentum from that led to all the attention on his drama. That was the reason why they managed to secure an opening victory. I don’t believe that every episode of In the Name of the People will get higher viewership ratings than us. Let’s see how long they’ll last!”

“We’ll be able to know that by the end of today!”

…

At Chi Hao’s studio.

Everyone was getting anxious as well.

“Let’s go for first place!”

“We have to catch up tonight no matter what. Otherwise, it will be too late.”

“How can it be possible that our popularity doesn’t match up to Zhang Ye’s? That makes no sense at all!”

“I’ll admit that the first two episodes of In the Name of the People are good. But this is Zhang Ye’s first time shooting and acting in a drama production. It must be full of flaws. They wrapped up filming in just 10 days, so it’s impossible that every episode can be that good. We’ll wait and see. There will definitely be mistakes later, and we’ll be able to catch up!”

“Right, a political drama doesn’t have such a long lifespan anyway.”

…

An hour.

Two hours.

The third episode.

The fourth episode.

Slightly before 10 PM, the three dramas finished their broadcast.

On Weibo, the netizens started predicting the viewership ratings again. The viewership ratings figures had been the focus of everyone. Zhang Ye had won the first battle yesterday after emerging victorious in a way that left everyone gobsmacked. Right now, everyone just wanted to know who would get the last laugh in this second battle.

“Heavens of the Gods was really great today!”

“Yeah, although Li Shao’s acting was a little off, he’s too handsome!”

“That speech at the end was so domineering.”

“Age of Kingdoms was really good too.”

“Chi Hao’s allure is different from Li Shao’s. It’s charming on a different level.”

“It’s going to be a close fight for today’s viewership ratings.”

“Yeah, there’s no reason why Zhang Ye will keep winning against the commercial dramas.”

“Tonight’s results are very critical. It’s likely we will find out how each of the three dramas will do after today.”

“Hai, I still have a feeling that Li Shao and Chi Hao won’t win against Zhang Ye.”

“Surely not, right? Shanghai TV has increased their promotions for the show.”

“Let’s wait for the results and see.”

“They’ll have to get it sorted out this time.”

…

The next day.

In the morning.

Under everyone’s attention, the three dramas’ viewership ratings were finally published!

When the viewership ratings were announced, the media, the industry, and the public were instantly left at a loss for words!

Heavens of the Gods:

Episode three, 1.12%

Episode four, 1.09%

Age of Kingdoms:

Episode three, 1.01%

Episode four, 0.96%

In the Name of the People:

Episode three, 2.67%

Episode four, 2.69%

On Weibo.

“Heavens!”

“W-What’s with this?”

“They’ve gone mad! They’ve fucking gone mad!”

“How could something like this possibly happen?”

Heavens of the Gods and Age of Kingdoms’ viewership ratings plummeted, with Age of Kingdoms’ fourth episode dropping below 1%. This left everyone in disbelief. Meanwhile, the viewership ratings for In the Name of the People practically defied the Heavens for yesterday’s broadcast. The 1.62% viewership ratings for the premiere broadcast was already a figure that no one had expected, yet the viewership ratings had surpassed 2.6%. It even got infinitely close to 2.7%! It had only broadcast four episodes so far!

…

At Li Shao’s studio.

“We’re done for!”

“Motherfucker!”

“Zhang Ye, your sister!”

…

At Chi Hao’s studio.

“What steroids is he on?”

“The combined viewership ratings of Heavens of the Gods and Age of Kingdoms are not even higher than his?”

“Why! Just why!”

…

At Heavenly King Guan Zhaohua’s studio.

“Li Shao lost.”

“Chi Hao lost as well.”

“Don’t tell me that In the Name of the People’s viewership ratings might actually break our record from last year?”

…

At one of the advertising partners of In the Name of the People.

“That was so impressive!”

“We’re gonna earn big bucks this time!”

“I knew that it would be alright as long as we followed Teacher Zhang!”

“We have to invest in Teacher Zhang’s advertisements no matter how much they cost!”

…

Within the industry.

“Hai.”

“The outcome has been determined.”

“Zhang Ye’s comeback has practically frightened everyone to death!”

“I don’t know if it frightened everyone to death or not, but he has definitely frightened me to death!”

…

Some people cried.

Some people laughed.

Some people were hopping mad.

After four years.

The current day’s entertainment industry was once again reminded of Zhang Ye’s fearsomeness!