Chapter 907

At Central TV.

After Zhang Ye came out of Central TV Live News, he saw Ha Qiqi, Zhang Zuo, and the others already waiting outside for him.

When they saw Zhang Ye, everyone congregated around him.

Zhang Zuo said, “Director Zhang, I was caught in a traffic jam on the way here. Congratulations!”

Zhang Ye smiled and said, “Thank you.”

Wu Yi hurriedly said, “We watched your live interview just now at the office. You did really well!”

“That poem was really good!” Ha Qiqi sighed.

Little Wang even said, “Director Zhang, I nearly cried listening to that poem!”

Zhang Ye looked at his assistant and said in amusement, “Aren’t you a little too easily moved?”

Department 14’s Huang Dandan replied, “It’s not because we’re easily moved, but that the poem was truly touching!”

Zhang Ye smiled and said, “Alright, let’s head off now. I’ll be treating everyone to lunch. Let me call Director Yan to see if he has time to join us. We should all have a get-together.”

But Zhang Zuo suggested, “Director Zhang, if it’s a hassle, we can skip the get-together today. I think you should still have some matters to attend to for now. Who knows when the previous A-lister, Li Yu, might catch up to you again?”

Little Wang, realizing the situation, agreed, “Yeah, that’s true!”

Tong Fu said, “I just checked. Your popularity score and Li Yu’s popularity score are pretty close!”

Ha Qiqi considered for a moment before saying, “Director Zhang, let’s just skip today’s meal and take a rain check. There’ll be plenty of opportunities for a get-together later. Now that Li Yu has been nudged down to the B-list, he’s sure to take action. He definitely won’t do nothing and there might still be a popularity battle to fight tonight, so you should be careful.”

Zhang Ye smiled and said, “Let’s go. We should just do whatever we want to do. If I get nudged back down, there’s nothing I can do about it. If it’s mine, it’s mine. I can’t force the situation either.”

“I’m Unfamiliar with this World,” the poem he had just recited, was thought to have originated from Bei Dao. But after some verification, it seemed like it wasn’t Bei Dao’s work at all. It was more likely that it was just a fan’s pastiche instead. As for who the original poet of this poem was, Zhang Ye couldn’t figure it out either. He loved this poem regardless, but had never been able to find a suitable occasion to bring it out. However, he was able to fulfill that wish today and that made Zhang Ye feel like he was finally freed! He was like an alcoholic who had not had a drink in a month and was able to finally grab a bottle of Erguotou to drink to his heart’s content. As such, he felt like he had been set free from his chains, and at this moment did not really care about that battle for the A-list spot.

He would just do whatever needed to be done.

And say whatever needed to be said.

And after that? Whatever goes!

…

On Weibo.

A lot of netizens were crying out and clamoring!

“I like this poem so much!”

“That’s right! I really like it!”

“Why did the live interview end so quickly? Zhang Ye, say a few more words!”

“Central TV News Channel didn’t allocate much time to Zhang Ye at all!”

“If Teacher Zhang were to come up with such poems every day, how great would that be!”

“I’m unfamiliar with this world. / But this isn’t the cause of my weakness. / I still have a lot of courage, / renouncing loss, the gods, the Heavens, and the Earth.”

“I was really touched! I was really touched by this!”

“This poem is absolutely the best!”

“The poem was really wonderful, but the key is that Zhang Ye’s life is wonderful in the first place!”

“That’s right. If this poem were recited by someone else, it would never have brought about the impact on me like it did when Zhang Ye recited it! Because this poem is talking about Zhang Ye and his life, so if it were any other? Who could have the same great of ups and downs like Zhang Ye has had in his lifetime? Zhang Ye’s path in the entertainment industry was truly much harder than anyone else’s! That he could journey to this point, I’m not the least bit surprised. No one knows more about determination than he does!”

“This poem is really awesome!”

“Teacher Zhang is really awesome!”

After “I’m Unfamiliar with this World” was broadcast live, it immediately began to set off a wave on the Internet. There were not a lot of people who forwarded this poem, because most of the netizens felt that if this poem were written text alone, it would be wholly unable to express the impact it had on them. As such, that short ten-minute interview on Central TV Live News was forwarded like crazy instead!

10,000!

50,000!

100,000!

The comments instantaneously filled up to the point of shooting through the roof!

…

Hong Kong.

Li Yu’s personal studio.

“Hurry up!”

“Send them a reminder again!”

“We must get this taken care of by today! There’s no time left!”

“If we don’t hit back today, our chances of getting back onto the A-list will only get slimmer and slimmer!”

“Teacher Li, we have already communicated with our partners in mainland China. Regarding the micro movie, ‘The Shooting,’ that you took part in last month, they’ve agreed to move the release date to today!”[1.]

“Very good!”

“That’s great! We’ve finally got that settled!”

“There won’t be a problem then!”

“We’ll definitely regain the A-list spot tonight!”

“Right!”

“That’s right!”

“Let’s go! Everyone, let’s put in our best efforts!”

Li Yu was a celebrity active in the Greater China region. He was a well-known actor and a Cantonese singer. He had debuted for over a decade already and had even received a prestigious domestic film award for best supporting actor. Of course, Li Yu was still best known for his singing. His popularity in Hong Kong was practically unmatched and he’d released over a dozen albums. Almost half of the songs he had released were well-known tunes that everyone could hum along to. He also had the title of “Little Singing God.” The once big shot A-lister had ruled the A-list Celebrity Rankings for many years, even though he had not been able to break through any further in both the acting and singing fields. Thus, he just kept circling around at the bottom of the rankings, but had never dropped off from the A-list rankings before!

But today, Li Yu had been replaced in his A-list spot by Zhang Ye. His team was suddenly coveting the return of the position!

This was a battle!

A battle of life and death!

It was a battle for honor!

…

2 o’clock in the afternoon.

The long promoted micro movie “The Shooting” was unexpectedly released in advance. It even premiered first on the Internet through an online video hosting site and was free to watch!

This was a sequel to one of Li Yu’s previous movies!

It was also Li Yu and his company’s way of testing the waters of the micro movie art form!

It was suddenly getting lively on the Internet!

“Heavens!”

“They’re premiering the micro movie so soon?”

“That’s great! I’ll go and have a watch!”

“I like Li Yu!”

“A veteran A-list celebrity’s strength is definitely not something that a person like Zhang Ye who only knows how to scold people every day can match!”

“They’re contending with each other already?”

“Li Yu and Zhang Ye have sounded the gong for their popularity battle!”

“‘The Shot’ was a classic! So the sequel is definitely a must-watch!”

“Zhang Ye’s in danger now!”

“Yeah, Teacher Li’s team has made their move!”

Many of the Greater China citizens were practically in full support of Li Yu.

“Who is Zhang Ye?”

“I don’t know, I’ve never heard of him before!”

“I only recognize Teacher Li Yu as an A-list celebrity!”

“Tonight, the outcome will be decided!”

“Teacher Li, go for it!”

The entire entertainment industry was watching!

From a subjective perspective, there was no such thing as a higher or lower art form. Some people might like this celebrity, while the others might prefer that celebrity; this was very normal behavior. But objectively, Zhang Ye and Li Yu were actually two very different types of celebrities. Alright, actually Zhang Ye’s style was basically just different from everyone else and he had always been a unique one. Zhang Ye’s current popularity score on the popularity rankings was just a little higher than Li Yu’s, almost to the point of being negligible. The two’s overall popularities were nearly identical, with Li Yu being much more popular in the Greater China region, while Zhang Ye was ahead in mainland China. Therefore, if they started contending, it would be very difficult to say who the eventual winner would be.

The micro movie was released and only ran for 31 minutes.

But the moment it was released, the reviews online were extremely good!

“It’s really quite good!”

“Ahhh, it was great!”

“Li Yu is so handsome! My idol!”

“It’s indeed a classic! It continued the high quality of ‘The Shot’!”

“It’s such a good watch!”

“Recommending it! Recommending it with everything I’ve got!”

“The ending really deserves praise! What a turnaround!”

“Hahahaha, Teacher Li is going to return to the A-list!”

“Yeah, I have a feeling that might be so!”

The views on the micro movie climbed at a very fast rate and it was trending highly as well!

Last but not least, a lot of Li Yu’s good friends who were also big shot celebrities in Greater China came to support him too. They all rallied behind him and helped promote his new film, “The Shooting”!

With that, there were even more people who went to watch it!

“Wow, so many celebrities have appeared for Teacher Li?”

“Teacher Li has a really good network!”

“Much better than Zhang Ye’s!”

“Pfft, thanks, Captain Obvious. You can randomly pick any celebrity in the entertainment industry and I’m sure their network will be better than Zhang Ye’s!”

“Zhang Ye’s position is now up in the air!”

“Yeah, the A-list will be changing again!”

…

At a restaurant in the vicinity of Central TV.

In the restaurant’s private suite.

Little Wang was getting anxious. “What are we gonna do! What are we gonna do!”

Huang Dandan was also anxious about the situation. “Why was Li Yu’s micro movie released ahead of time?”

“They must have done it to compete with Director Zhang!” Wu Yi said.

Central TV Documentary Channel’s Director Yan Tianfei suggested, “Little Zhang, why don’t you go back first? We’re almost done eating anyway, so maybe you should get back to work?”

Zhang Ye smiled and said, “No need, let’s continue eating.”

Yan Tianfei’s secretary said anxiously, “You’re acting way too calm.”

Zhang Ye threw up his hands and said, “Didn’t Central TV Live News interview me just now?”

The secretary said in a speechless manner, “That was just a ten-minute live interview. Besides, you only recited a poem. How do you expect that to be able to compare to a movie by an A-list celebrity from Greater China?”

…

Li Yu’s studio.

The team members were nervous and busy with their work. There was even someone who was tracking Zhang Ye’s Weibo and followed any news regarding him so that they would be able to take countermeasures if he took action.

Then, an hour passed. Followed by two more hours.

But Zhang Ye didn’t move a muscle, doing absolutely nothing!

“What’s going on?”

“Zhang Ye did not post anything?”

“No!”

“He did not do any promotions?”

“No!”

“How can his team’s public relations be so bad?”

“Sis Xu, I heard that Zhang Ye does not have a team!”

“Ah?”

“He doesn’t even have a manager!”

“Ah? Why didn’t his management agency assign one to him?”

“He, he doesn’t have an agency either!”

“What?”

“That’s how it is.”

“—Are you serious?”

“Yeah, everyone in mainland China’s entertainment industry knows about this!”

“No agency? And not even a team or a manager? Then how did he get all the way into the A-list? Did he fly up there? Never mind him, we’re almost definitely going to get our spot back! He just appeared on Central TV Live News for an interview and recited a…cryptic poem? Then he better forget about contending with us anymore!”

“That’s right!”

A lot of the people here did not really understand modern poetry, so they used the word “cryptic” to describe the poem.

…

Goof Group.

The messages kept popping up in the chat group.

Chen Guang said excitedly: “The battle has begun!”

Huo Dongfang: “@LiYu @ZhangYe Are you two online?”

There was no response from Zhang Ye. He wasn’t online.

But the seldom online Li Yu actually appeared this time. He was also one of the participants of this group. “Old Huo, looking for me?”

Huo Dongfang: “Yu-zai, long time no see.”[2.]

Li Yu: “I’ve been very busy lately, so I haven’t released any new works in a while. And since I dropped off the A-list, I had to quickly get my micro movie released in advance.”

Fan Wenli: “The micro movie is quite good. I’ve already watched it twice.”

Li Yu: “Thanks, Wenli.”

Ning Lan was also online. “Yu-zai, you’re really unlucky to have met with Zhang Ye this time.”

Li Yu said: “I know about Zhang Ye, he’s very popular in mainland China.”

Xiaodong appeared too. “Both of you, do your best.”

Ning Lan asked: “Let’s hold a poll. Who does everyone think will win today?”

Xiaodong: “I know both Teacher Zhang and Teacher Li, so I’ll abstain.”

Huo Dongfang: “I’ll stick with Yu-zai. After all, he’s brought out his micro movie as his ace in the hole!”

Fan Wenli added: “Yeah, especially when it’s the sequel to the classic movie, ‘The Shot.'”

Chen Guang said: “Director Zhang’s on thin ice.”

Ning Lan laughed: “Yu-zai, I believe in you too.” Then she wondered: “But why is Zhang Ye not taking any action? He went completely quiet after the live interview? And only recited a poem on it?”

The people in the chat group were all chiming in with their opinions.

Most of the people still believed that Li Yu would be able to reverse the situation today.

But at this moment, Zhang Yuanqi actually made a rare appearance in the chat group. “Don’t underestimate his poems. They have always been one of Zhang Ye’s most powerful weapons!”

“Yo, Sister Zhang!”

“You think Zhang Ye can maintain his ranking?”

“Zhang Ye’s poems might be powerful, but after all is said and done, they’re not mainstream.”

“Yeah, no matter what, a micro movie is still a movie. It’s the most mass-marketed and mainstream art form that the people would have no reason to reject.”

…

At night.

With great anticipation, midnight arrived!

The latest Celebrity Rankings Index had been updated!

But when everyone from the entertainment circle and the citizens saw the rankings, the results caught a large portion of them by surprise. Some people even had their jaws drop as they stared at the rankings!

There were no changes to the list!

The two of them had an increase in their popularity scores!

But Zhang Ye was still on the A-list while Li Yu was still on the B-list. Furthermore, the previous popularity score difference in the tens of thousands had now been stretched by a bit more, to a difference of almost a hundred thousand points!

This outcome greatly shocked many people!

How could this be?

Why was it like this?

TL Note:

[1. Micro movie – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micro_movie]

[2. “Zai” is an affectionate term/honorific added behind the last name of a male person. One famous example is Wah-zai, also known as Andy Lau.]