I am Really a Superstar

The next day.

In the morning.

Beijing Airport.

Supervisor Ke came here personally to receive them. The moment they boarded the bus, he started asking anxiously, “Director Zhang, what’s going on? Did you encounter some problems while filming?”

Zhang Ye was taken aback. “No, there weren’t any problems.”

Supervisor Ke said, “Did the script change?”

Zhang Ye blinked. “No, it hasn’t been changed.”

Supervisor Ke wiped at his sweat. “It’s still the original 42-episode script then?”

Zhang Ye smiled and said, “Yeah, not a single episode less.”

Supervisor Ke said, “But it has only been 10 days.”

“10 days is enough.” Zhang Ye smiled.

Supervisor Ke said, “I’ve never heard of anyone in the industry who can wrap up a TV series shoot in 10 days!”

Zhang Ye chuckled. “Now you’ve heard of it.”

Supervisor Ke facepalmed. He did not know what else he could say.

The area that Supervisor Ke was in charge of at the Central Publicity Department was the promotion of government ideological films, propaganda. Although he wasn’t professionally involved in the production of television series, he wasn’t a fool either. He had ears that he could listen with, so of course he knew how other drama production crews worked and what was involved in the workflow of a drama production. In his opinion, filming a television series consisting of around 40 episodes would have to take at least two to three months to complete, and this was under the pretext of having no production issues either. Some other production crews could even take up to half a year, while the even longer ones took up to two to three years to complete. For many directors, especially the older generation ones, most of them aimed for perfection and would not allow one flaw to appear in their works.

As for Zhang Ye?

He only took 10 days?

No one had ever come across something like that before!

Nearby, Ha Qiqi also asked with some doubt, “Director Zhang, is there really no need to shoot any additional scenes? We allowed the main cast members to leave yesterday, but what if there are any scenes that were missed? Then that would—”

Zhang Zuo was smiling wryly.

Zhang Ye waved it off. “That won’t happen. Is there a need to worry with me handling the matter?”

Supervisor Ke looked at him and felt it would be a wonder if they could feel assured. Could a television series with more than 40 episodes filmed in 10 days even be watchable? You sure you aren’t messing around with us? Supervisor Ke had a niggling feeling that the 30 million RMB the Central Publicity Department had invested had likely gone smoke. This entire matter just didn’t feel like it was reliable!

…

A while later.

At the Central Publicity Department’s editing studio.

Zhang Ye did not even head home after coming back to Beijing. He immediately came here to start editing the footage. Looking at the scenes that they had recorded, Zhang Ye felt very satisfied.

Let’s get started then.

An hour.

Three hours.

Zhang Ye started burying himself in his work.

Meanwhile.

A debate was going on within the Central Publicity Department.

Everyone had found out that Zhang Ye was back in Beijing after wrapping up the filming.

“Have you heard?”

“I’ve heard.”

“Did they really wrap up filming already?”

“My God!”

“Isn’t that too fast?”

“Why is Teacher Zhang’s productivity still as efficient as ever?”

“B-But this is a TV series we’re talking about.”

…

That same night.

Wu Zeqing had just finished making dinner.

Zhang Ye’s parents were also here.

As soon as Zhang Ye arrived home, his daughter pounced up to him in excitement.

“Daddy! Daddy! Carry me!”

“Ai, my dear, did you miss Daddy?”

“Yes!”

“Then give Daddy a kiss.”

“OK!”

Father and daughter were very close.

His mother complained, “Why are you back so early?”

Zhang Ye smiled and said, “I’ve already finished filming, so why would you want me to stay there for a few more days?”

His mother curled her lips. “Don’t take others for a fool regarding this matter.”

“Who did I take for a fool?” Zhang Ye said in a speechless manner. “I’ve dedicated my very best to the project.”

His mother said, “It takes others more than 10 days to shoot one episode of a drama. But for you? You only took 10 days to shoot over 40 episodes. What is that if it isn’t taking others for a fool? What if none of the TV stations agree to take your drama after that? You can go wallow in your tears!”

Wu Zeqing smiled. “Have you contacted the TV stations yet?”

Zhang Ye said, “Not yet.”

Wu Zeqing asked, “Should I get the Central Publicity Department to head a meeting with them?”

Zhang Ye said, “There’s no need for that. Surely I still have enough influence left for that, right?”

His mother sneered. “Don’t overestimate yourself.”

Zhang Ye smiled and said, “I’ve already made an appointment with an old friend, and he’ll be here soon to discuss this matter.”

While they were talking, the doorbell rang.

Zhang Ye opened the door and was met with a familiar face.

Hu Fei looked at Zhang Ye.

Zhang Ye looked at Hu Fei.

Then the two of them broke into smiles and gave each other a bear hug!

Hu Fei was a little excited to see him. “Well, well, you haven’t changed one bit, I see! You really haven’t changed at all!”

Zhang Ye laughed heartily. “You too, Brother Hu, you too. You still look as spirited as ever. So how have you been? I just came back, but I’ve already heard about your promotion. You’re the Deputy Station Head of Beijing TV, huh?”

Hu Fei smiled and said, “I worked hard to get there.”

Zhang Ye brought his daughter over and said, “Greet Uncle Hu.”

Sisi hid behind her father and peeked at Hu Fei. Then she said timidly, “Uncle Hu.”

Hu Fei gave her a broad smile and said, “So this is our little princess? How pretty.”

From the dinner table, Wu Zeqing laughed. “You’re here?”

Hu Fei’s expression quickly shifted, and he said courteously, “Minister Wu, I’m here for a free meal.”

Wu Zeqing said, “Quick, have a seat.”

Hu Fei also knew Zhang Ye’s parents from before. He went over to greet them.

They sat down and began eating.

While eating, Hu Fei asked, “I thought you went away to shoot the drama? Has the filming started yet? Why are you so free to treat me to a meal today? I was thinking of meeting up with you after you finished with the shoot.”

Zhang Ye laughed and said, “Filming has already wrapped up. ”

Hu Fei nearly spat out a mouthful of food. “What?”

Zhang Ye said, “We wrapped up filming yesterday.”

Hu Fei smacked his forehead. “When it comes to work efficiency, I will only take my hat off to you in the entire entertainment industry.”

Zhang Ye said amused, “Well, I always work very quickly when it comes to filming. You should know that.”

Hu Fei said helplessly, “But I didn’t know that you could shoot a TV series that quickly, though.”

“They’re all the same.” Then Zhang Ye said, “So how about it, Brother Hu? I’m still editing the footage and can probably send it in for approval in a few more days. Do you want to purchase the broadcast rights of the drama?”

Hu Fei smiled and said, “How much?”

Zhang Ye said, “It will surely be a fair price for you since both of us go way back. If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t sell it to them no matter how much they offered.”

Hu Fei chuckled and said, “Get off it, since when did you speak so honestly? Do you think that anyone would dare to buy a show that’s produced by you? It’s only our station that would do it.” With a pause, he said, “Alright, I’ll make the decision on the matter. Once the approval goes through, we will still need to have a quick look at the footage before signing the contract. I wouldn’t honor this if it were anyone else, but since it’s you, Little Zhang, I have no choice even if I didn’t want to give you face.”

Zhang Ye said, “Sweet, it’s settled then. Don’t forget to leave us the best time slot that you have for the scheduling of the show.”

Hu Fei said, “Don’t worry about that. How could I possibly shortchange you?”

Zhang Ye said, “So which time slot will we be taking over?”

Hu Fei gave it some thought before saying, “There’s going to be a primetime show ending next month, but that slot isn’t too good. Heavens of the Gods and Age of Kingdoms are both very highly anticipated blockbuster series for the year. Although you have only just returned, I think you should have heard of them too, right? These two series will be broadcasting at around the same time on two other TV stations. They’ve already gone through the final round of talks, so my guess is that they will begin their broadcast run in the following month. Two very popular young guns are going to be fighting for a spot in the S-list rankings, and the battle will be happening in full force, so it’s better that you don’t join in the fun there. Which series is not stepping back and avoiding them? How about this, I’ll arrange a broadcast slot for you two months from now. There shouldn’t be anyone competing with you then, and it will be much easier to get good results.”

Hu Fei’s idea was created with good intentions. In this era of hot, young male stars, with Zhang Ye having just returned and his popularity slowly recovering, there wasn’t any need for him to fight it out with them.

But Zhang Ye did not appreciate his kindness at all.

Zhang Ye smiled and said, “Two months is too long.”

Hu Fei was taken aback. “Ah? ”

Zhang Ye said, “Let’s just go ahead with the broadcast next month.”

Hu Fei didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” Zhang Ye grinned. “Brother Hu, it has always been others avoiding my shows and time slots. Back when we were doing variety shows at Beijing TV, even Central TV Department 1 had to steer clear of us and change their show’s broadcast time. When have you heard about me avoiding others?”

His mother rolled her eyes and said, “Do you think you’re still living in that time?”

Zhang Ye boasted, “It has always been that way, and it will continue being so.”

His father said, “Little Hu, don’t listen to him. This kid is getting big-headed again.”

Zhang Ye laughed and said, “Dad, I know what I’m doing.”

Hu Fei massaged his temples and said, “Kid, that temper of yours still hasn’t changed.” He couldn’t help looking at Wu Zeqing to see what she had to say. This matter wasn’t something that Zhang Ye could decide on alone. Being a project led by the Central Publicity Department, the final say still rested with them.

At this moment, Old Wu spoke up.

Wu Zeqing smiled as she ate. “Just schedule it according to what my husband says.”

No matter what decisions Zhang Ye made, Wu Zeqing has always been very supportive of him. There was really no one else like Zhang Ye’s wife.

Zhang Ye smiled and said, “This is a good opportunity to pit the appeal of the young hunks against the strength of the veterans. Bring it on! Actions speak louder than words. It’s time to see who is worthy. This is no big deal.”

Competing on appeal with the young male idols?

Competing on viewership with the young male idols?

If any other person heard this, they would probably think that Zhang Ye had gone mad.

In this age, who could still fight against the hunks?

Hu Fei had no choice, so he smiled and said, “As long as you’re not afraid that it will affect the viewership ratings, I won’t have any problems with it on my side. Scheduling a show is just a matter of scheduling for us after all. Isn’t that so?”

Zhang Ye was amused. “Affect the viewership ratings?”

How was that possible!

This was In the Name of the People they were talking about!

If a single series comes at me, I crush them!

If a group of series come at me, I’ll crush them all!