I'm Really a Superstar

The next day.

A day after the movie was taken out of theaters.

On the Web.

“738 million USD!”

“It’s ranked 96th place on the global box office rankings of all time!”

“This is truly heaven-defying!”

“The Chinese movie has created a miracle!”

“It’s the first time a foreign movie has defeated a Hollywood movie in history!”

“The final box office earnings that Commando 2 took in was only 398 million USD. It didn’t even cross 400 million!”

“China finally has a world-class movie director.”

“That’s right. He’s the only Chinese director who can compete with Hollywood’s might!”

“It is hard to imagine, but you have to admit, China has really risen.”

“For a Nobel Peace Prize laureate to have a military movie that climbed into the all-time global box office rankings, is it a joke or did it really happen? Shouldn’t a Nobel Peace Prize laureate be committed to the cause of peace? Shouldn’t they all be dedicated to philanthropy? Why is he completely different from all the others! Ever since he got onto the international celebrity rankings, he’s been beating up people at awards ceremonies, promoting military strategies on television, and filming military movies. Is this something that a Nobel Peace Prize recipient should be doing?”

“Pfft, the people from the Nobel Prize Committee are probably regretting awarding him the Peace Prize!”

“Zhang Ye? I’ll remember him.”

“I’ve remembered it as well. He’s a weirdo.”

“International showbiz is gonna get interesting.”

Netizens from all over the world commented one after another.

Zhang Ye’s international popularity blew up again. Many foreigners who did not know Zhang Ye before were now starting to learn of his name through this incident. Those who had heard of Zhang Ye in the past were now becoming more familiar with him through this topic as well. From the discussions of the foreign netizens, it was very obvious that everyone used to refer to him as “that Chinese guy,” and hardly anyone could name him. But now, the foreigners were all typing out Zhang Ye’s name every few lines, so this showed just how much his popularity had grown.

…

Back at home.

In the villa.

After being busy for close to three months, Zhang Ye was finally able to get some rest. When he got home last night, he immediately laid down and fell sound asleep. He did not wake up until this morning.

His back ached.

His feet ached.

His neck ached.

He was aching everywhere.

Old Wu asked, “Are you up yet?”

Zhang Ye said, “I want to sleep a little more.”

“Hur hur, but aren’t you already awake?”

“I can’t get up, I want to lie down for a while longer.”

“I have to go and buy some groceries to make lunch.”

“No, let me hug you for a while more.”

Sisi said, “Daddy, play with me.”

Zhang Ye said, “Daddy can’t move anymore.”

Zhang Ye closed his eyes and hugged his wife. He did not want to get up, nor did he allow Old Wu out of the bed. He placed his hand over her stomach and put his leg over hers, mumbling shamelessly about not letting her get up.

Old Wu smiled and massaged his head and neck. She knew that he must have been utterly exhausted during the past few months.

The television was on.

The news on it was all about Wolf Warrior 2.

The last day of the box office earnings yesterday had allowed a Chinese movie to break the monopoly that Hollywood had on the global box office rankings. With this, they were finally able to make their name and voice known to people from all over the world. This incident had caught countless Chinese media outlets and industry insiders off guard, and the news started blowing up yesterday.

On the television: “This is the first time a Chinese movie has left an impression on the world, so let us remember this historic moment and remember the name Zhang Ye as well!”

Astonishment!

Mania!

Disbelief!

There was jubilation everywhere!

—This was the atmosphere in China at the moment.

Zhang Ye narrowed his eyes at the television screen. “Turn it off. I’m getting tired of listening to that racket.”

Old Wu chuckled. “But I haven’t.”

Zhang Ye asked, “Have the international celebrity rankings been updated yet?”

“Let me see.” Old Wu browsed online and said, “Not yet.”

Zhang Ye said, “How inefficient!”

He had been waiting for today’s international celebrity rankings to be updated. To him, his work this time had been completed. He had given his country a huge gift, given the whole world a huge shock, and given Hollywood a slap to the face. He had achieved all that he wanted to do. All that was left were his personal affairs he was most concerned about, such as his international celebrity ranking, his achievements, the news about him, how many awards he could get—all of which were directly dependent on how much popularity he had. This was also an important indicator of his results. After putting in so much blood and sweat for close to three months, it had better not be for nothing.

Noise suddenly came from downstairs.

His parents and parents-in-law were here.

Only then did Zhang Ye and Old Wu get up to go downstairs.

Li Qinqin said with a smile, “Little Ye, why didn’t you sleep in for a while longer? You’ve become a national hero. Did you see the news yet?”

Zhang Ye smiled. “Mom, tell me, in what way do I look like a hero?”

Li Qinqin scanned him from head to toe, then covered her mouth and laughed. She said, “You totally look like one.”

Zhang Ye threw his hands in the air. “I dare not be called a hero. I’ll be thanking the Heavens as long as no one scolds me.”

“Who still dares to scold you now?” His mother said in amusement, “Take a look for yourself online.”

Li Qinqin also said, “No one in the country dares to criticize you anymore. It’s fine if they compliment you, but if it’s anything negative, they’ll immediately attract a storm. Don’t you know what happened a few days ago? Two celebrities who feuded with you in the past had pointed out flaws in Wolf Warrior 2 on Weibo. On the very same day, they were immediately taken to task by the entire country’s netizens. As a result, both of them had to shut down their Weibo accounts and still haven’t reopened them as of yet. Then there’s also that male idol, Song Qi, the one who backstabbed the production. He has been collectively boycotted by the country’s directors and is being scolded crazily by the netizens as well.”

Zhang Ye said nervously, “Surely not, right?”

No one is scolding me?

Why do I not feel used to this?

His father said, “Do you know your domestic popularity right now? Chenchen showed the domestic celebrity rankings to your mom and me this morning. You’re still in first place on the S-list, but you’ve already surpassed that male idol who is in second place by almost double his popularity score.”

This was indeed the truth.

In the past, everyone thought that after Zhang Ye rose to become the number one celebrity in China, his popularity would not increase by too much anymore. But no one could have expected that Zhang Ye, who had already ascended to the top of the entertainment circle, would still be able to increase his Chinese popularity score by so much. From another point of view, Wolf Warrior 2 had provided a really huge boost to Zhang Ye’s popularity. Furthermore, his domestic popularity would accumulate and be counted towards his ranking on the international celebrity rankings as well. Back when he was still bordering on an appearance in the international celebrity rankings, and before winning the Nobel Prize, Zhang Ye had mainly gotten there as a result of his domestic popularity score.

Zhang Ye smiled and said, “It looks like I’ve made the right choice in shooting this movie.”

His mother beamed. “More than that, this movie has catapulted you to fame. How much has our family earned this time?”

His father also asked in concern, “Have you counted it yet? Your parents-in-law and Zeqing still have their properties mortgaged, so you should quickly return the money to them.”

Zhang Ye smiled. “I’ve already done the calculations.”

Everyone sat down on the sofa.

Zhang Ye brought over a pen and paper, then happily scribbled on it. When it came to this matter, he was very excited. “Everyone, take a look. The gross box office earnings figure is 4.83 billion yuan, with some of it coming from overseas. That part of the split will be a little complicated, so let’s not talk about it for now. Domestically, we’ve earned around 4.8 billion from the Chinese market alone. After deducting taxes and related expenses, we will be splitting the sum with the various major movie theater chains so that they will take about 50% to 51%. After that is accounted for, the investors will end up receiving about 1.8 billion or so. Since it was our own family who wholly invested in the movie, there isn’t a need to split the earnings with any other investors. All of the 1.8 billion belongs to us. Oh, there will also be some additional income later on. For example, Wolf Warrior 2 will be selling its Internet streaming copyright and TV broadcast copyright as well. Based on the box office earnings we had, that won’t be a small sum either. Furthermore, this future sum basically belongs to us, and there won’t be a need to share it with anyone else. Therefore, I calculated the final sum to be this in the end.”

A figure was written on the piece of paper.

When the family members saw it, they all shook in their boots.

—2 billion RMB!

His mother’s jaw dropped. “We’ll be getting 2 billion in total?”

Zhang Ye chuckled and said, “That’s right, and I’ve already deducted the rest of the money as well.”

Wu Changhe, who had been silent all this time, was startled. “Why is it so much?”

“Because the box office earnings are high,” Zhang Ye said with a smile.

His mother yelled, “We’re rich! We’re rich!”

His father sighed and said, “Why does this feel so unreal? 2 billion? That’s all ours? I’ve never seen so much money before in my entire life!”

Wu Changhe sighed. “I’ve never seen it before either.”

Li Qinqin said in surprise, “We invested 200 million, and we got back 2 billion?”

Zhang Ye smiled and said, “I said it before I started the shoot. Since all of you were willing to invest the money in me, I’d return it by several times the amount.”

His father waved it off. “Your mom and I only came up with a bit of money, so don’t count our share of it.”

Wu Zeqing smiled and said, “Dad, that won’t do. Business is business.”

Zhang Ye said, “That’s right, you gotta take your share.”

His mother was feeling generous for once. She waved it off and said, “Enough. Your dad and I don’t have anywhere we can spend that much money on anyway, so keep it for yourself.”

Li Qinqin laughed and said, “We don’t want it either. When the money comes in, let’s just pay back the mortgages. You two can keep the rest of the money. In the future, if you wish to shoot a movie or TV series, there won’t be a need to go around raising money or be afraid that you can’t get any investors again.”

Zhang Ye was getting anxious. “That won’t do!”

Wu Changhe said, “Just keep it with the both of you.”

After haggling for a long time, they still insisted on not accepting it.

Finally, Wu Zeqing said, “Then let Little Ye and me put the money aside for you.”

At this moment, the latest International Celebrity Rankings Index was refreshed!

Old Wu said, “It’s been updated.”

Li Qinqin asked, “What ranking are you now?”

His mother asked, “What’s your rank?”

Ever since Wolf Warrior 2 was released, Zhang Ye’s international popularity had been on a continuous rise.

59th place.

52nd place.

47th place.

45th place.

He had gradually been moving higher on the International C-list Rankings.

But it was only today that the popularity that Zhang Ye had amassed was finally revealed. His position on the international celebrity rankings changed once again.

The International Celebrity Rankings Index.

International C-list Rankings:

Zhang Ye’s ranking: 29th place!

He jumped a level from mid-tier C-lister to become a front runner. He was getting closer to the B-list. Remember, just three months ago, Zhang Ye wasn’t even on the international celebrity rankings yet. At that time, he still wasn’t considered to be an international star!

From not being in the rankings.

To getting onto it.

From being at the bottom of the rankings.

And advancing to the middle of the rankings.

To becoming a front runner.

All of that took only three months!

He had rocketed to his current position!

This momentum that he was progressing at was simply too shocking for the people of this world!

…

On the Web.

“It’s out!”

“The celebrity rankings index has been refreshed!”

“Heavens! Jacques has advanced!”

“Jacques has risen to the middle of the International C-list Rankings! He was previously just a lowly C-list celebrity!”

“It must be due to the popularity that he gained from China with Wolf Warrior 2!”

“Guys, look at Zhang Ye’s ranking!”

“He’s at 29th place on the C-list rankings!”

“This is too frightening!”

“No one has progressed so quickly before!”

“Yeah, the international superstars from back then like Farrah, Robert, and Lillian, none of them progressed at such a speed before!”

“How many months has it been? That Chinese celebrity has only been on the international celebrity rankings for three months, but he’s already making a push for the International B-list Rankings?”

“This is too fast!”

“What’s wrong with this world?”

“There has never been a Chinese celebrity who has reached such heights on the International Celebrity Rankings Index!”

“With just one movie, Zhang Ye’s path on the international scene has completely opened up!”