I'm Really a Superstar

On this day.

At noon.

It was the day of eighth episode's recording.

At Old Wu's parents' house, Zhang Ye was playing Go with Wu Changhe in the courtyard after lunch.

"Uncle, hurry up and make your move."

"I'm still thinking, what are you rushing me for!"

"I have to attend my show's recording this afternoon. I barely squeezed out some time to come over for lunch."

"Alright, alright, I'll make my move here, a stretch."

"Then I'll play a push through over here."

"Hey, no, don't play it there!"

"Why would I not play it there?"

"You shouldn't make the move over here. Make a stand over here instead."

"Why would I play a stand there! That would make my group dead!"

"Are you gonna play a stand or not?"

"I'm not!"

"Then I won't play that move anymore!"

"Damn, you're trying to cheat!"

"Who's cheating? Ah? Who are you accusing of cheating?"

"Place it back down! You can't take back your moves!"

"Well, I'm taking it back, so what!"

The two men had only just started on the game, but they nearly came to blows!

Beside them watching, Li Qinqin didn't know whether to laugh or cry. These two grown men's tempers were really the worst when they came together.

In the end, it was still Wu Changhe who lost. He said angrily, "I wasn't in my best form today. I'll definitely slaughter you next time! Just you wait!"

Zhang Ye bade farewell and headed out of the house, saying in doubt, "I'll slaughter you twice!"

"I'll slaughter you thrice!"

"I'll slaughter you five times!"

"I'll slaughter you ten times!"

"I'll slaughter you fifteen times over!"

Li Qinqin sent Zhang Ye to the door and closed it after he stepped out. However, even after the two of them were out of each other's sight, they still shouted over the courtyard door. Now Li Qinqin did feel like laughing.

…

Later that afternoon.

At the recording studio of I Am a Singer.

When Zhang Ye arrived, Hou Ge and Dafei immediately came looking for him.

"Aiya, Director Zhang, where have you been?"

"We were all waiting for you."

"Surely you guys have to allow me to eat lunch, right?"

"Please have a look at this document."

"Alright, I got it."

"We're starting the recording at 2 PM?"

"Yes, there's no change to the time."

As the core leadership of the program team, and with all of the multiple roles that he was juggling, Zhang Ye couldn't even step away for a bit. Every little thing that went on in the program team would require his attention. He had only just come back from lunch but was busy immediately. Even his plan of taking a siesta was wrecked!

But the sense was that everyone was in a good mood today. With the leadership change at Central TV, the main culprit behind their torture was finally gone. There was going to be a reshuffle over there, so I Am a Singer's program team staff were all excited and motivated. They knew that no one would be picking on them in the near future.

Backstage, he bumped into Zhang Xia and Chen Guang.

"Zhang'er." Chen Guang waved.

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "Old Chen, how's the rehearsal going?"

Chen Guang said confidently, "Everything is great."

Zhang Xia asked, "Little Zhang, how's your preparation going?"

Xiaodong also came to join in on the fun. "Director Zhang, what will you be singing today?"

Zhang Ye blinked. "I finished rehearsing, but I'll keep the song a secret for now."

Chen Guang said warily, "Are you going to bring out your killer move? Looks like I had better perform to my best."

"Oh, come on. You're speaking like you haven't been putting your best foot forward the whole time." Zhang Ye chuckled.

Xiaodong giggled. "I've also prepared a good song for this episode. It's bound to give all of you a scare. Director Zhang, you had better be careful. Don't lose."

Zhang Ye said, "Sure."

Zhang Xia smiled and said, "I'm just looking forward to seeing what new song you'll come up with this time. I'll go and practice a little bit more, so I'll see all of you onstage? Good luck!"

"OK."

"See you onstage."

"Do well, everyone."

Soon after, recording began.

They picked lots first.

Dong Shanshan smiled and said, "Before we pick lots, I suggest that we welcome the new singer onto the show. Director Zhang came onto the show too suddenly last week, and everyone was unable to react. Director Zhang stayed onstage the entire time and didn't come to join us last week, so since we're all here now, let's give him an official welcome."

"Welcome, Director Zhang."

"Hahaha!"

"Welcome!"

"Director Zhang, please have mercy on us all."

Everyone was applauding to welcome him.

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "Alright, thank you, everyone. But save the plea for mercy. I was one of the lower ranked contestants on the last episode, so it'd be great if I don't get eliminated today."

Xiaodong threw a jab out. "However low you're ranked, would you be any lower than Amy?"

Amy replied, "…Sister Dong, can I hit you?"

Everyone laughed.

The lot picking segment began. There were cheers and cries.

Xiaodong had picked #1.

Chen Guang was #2.

Zhang Xia got #3.

As for Zhang Ye, his luck was pretty good. He managed to pick #7, which meant that he would be the last one to sing.

Today was the eighth episode, as well as the knockout round that took place every other episode. The singers might all look very relaxed as they joked and laughed, but it would be a lie if they claimed they weren't nervous. The ones who did well would have to maintain their momentum and try to aim a little higher to not disappoint the viewers. Meanwhile, those who didn't do so well the previous episode would have to give their all in order to stay in the competition. They would have to pull out all the stops with their performances, or they'd soon be bidding farewell to this largest and most popular stage in the country.

Everyone wanted to stay until the end!

Everyone wanted a chance to be part of the grand finals!

For this reason, every one of the singers would do their very best!

At the front of the house.

The studio was packed full.

"I'm really looking forward to it!"

"Let's get started quickly!"

"Gogogogo!"

"I really like Zhang Xia!"

"I super love Xiaodong and Amy!"

"I only like Zhang Ye!"

"Haha, I'm also looking forward to Zhang Ye's new song!"

"Is he really not going to sing the same song twice?"

"Yeah, Zhang Ye has never sung the same song onstage."

"With Sing! as good as dead, there's only I Am a Singer to look forward to now!"

"The viewership ratings peaked last week. It's the knockout round this week, and with Zhang Ye joining the show, it's definitely gonna go one step further. I wonder how it'll do."

"The song that Zhang Ye sang last episode was a real piece of work!"

"Hahahaha, but it was very nice to listen to!"

"He's definitely going to sing properly this time."

"Yeah, it's the knockout round, of course he has to do his best!"

"Yeah, Zhang Ye's ranking at the moment puts him in a dangerous spot."

"Teacher Zhang, we'll be cheering you on!"

Even before the singers came out, the audience was very excited about the show. Quite a lot of people were shouting the names of the singers they liked and cheering them on.

The lights converged to a spot on the stage.

Zhang Ye came out smiling, holding a microphone.

The applause burst through the roof!

Standing still, Zhang Ye looked at everyone as he articulated, "Hello, everyone. Welcome to the stage of I Am a Singer, brought to you exclusively by our title sponsor, the leader in health products, Brain Gold. I am the executive director, Zhang Ye. Oh, and the host. Oh, and also a participating singer—hai, let's not talk about that. If I say any more, I'm going to start crying."

The audience laughed.

Zhang Ye said, "Today is the knockout round, and one of our singers will soon exit this stage. That person could be either me, Teacher Amy, Teacher Zhao Wuliu, or Teacher Chen Guang. On this stage, anything is possible. So, as the new replacement singer looking to avoid elimination, I've decided to seek the advice of our highly experienced Teacher Amy on how she successfully avoids elimination every round."

Avoiding elimination?

Highly experienced?

The audience was cramping up in laughter!

Backstage, Amy nearly fainted!

Zhang Ye said solemnly, "Teacher Amy told me something that I thought was very beneficial."

What did she say?

What did Amy say?

The audience was dying to know.

Then Zhang Ye said, "To summarize what she said to me—" Suddenly, his expression changed as he took out a cue card and said, "Thank you to the leading health supplement brand, Brain Gold Company, for being the title sponsors of our show. Thank you to Hubei Pharmaceuticals' strong support for us. If you're going to use a computer tablet, use Lilai's eight-inch tablet with multi-core technology. Honey Sweet fruit juice, so sweet that you can feel it in your heart!"

Pfft!

Fuck you!

Was that it?

You're doing it again!

The audience doubled over in laughter while jeers rang out. "Yiiiii!"

That feeling and atmosphere made it seem like they were watching a crosstalk performance!

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "There, I've brought out those ads in the most inconspicuous of ways, so my job here is done. So then, shall we hand the stage over to our seven singers? Let's welcome the first singer."

Pfft!

Are you really inconspicuous?!