I’m Really a Superstar

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

In the Name of the People was on fire!

In the matter of a night, it became extremely popular all across the country!

Heavens of the Gods and Age of Kingdoms were now out of the running. The talk of the town was In the Name of the People!

In the morning.

Zhang Ye's phone was constantly ringing.

A production company came looking for him.

"Director Zhang."

"Boss Liu."

"Can we work with you on a show?"

"We'll see. I have no plans to take on any show right now."

"We're willing to invest up to 200 million RMB. Is that enough? The entire production will be your call, from the script to the casting to the filming. We guarantee that we won't interfere with it, so do give it some consideration."

"Hmm? Let's talk about it another time."

A call came from Central TV as well.

"Teacher Zhang, what show do you plan on making next?"

"Station Head Sun, how could I possibly have another show?"

"Hurry up and take one."

"What are you planning on?"

"We'll buy your show after you've finished filming it. We've known each other for so many years; surely you and our Central TV are old friends, right? You have to let us have the rights to your next production, alright?"

"We'll see about that, I have nothing planned at the moment."

"Let us know when you have any plans, deal?"

After taking all the calls, Zhang Ye saw the messages that were directed to him on his cell phone.

In the Celebrity Goof Group.

Shu Han: "@ZhangYe I've been approached so many times to act in other shows."

Dong Shanshan: "I've been asked by six productions to join their cast. It seems like all of them are pretty good, but I can't decide on which to take."

Ning Lan: "I've been approached quite a few times as well. Some are pretty reputable production crews and some, not so."

A former A-list celebrity said in envy: "You guys have really become popular this time."

Shu Han sent a smiley face in the chat. "I'm just making a living by following Director Zhang around."

Zhang Ye appeared at this moment and said: "Don't accept any jobs yet. If you want to take any of the projects, wait a bit longer before you do so."

Dong Shanshan: "You think there's a chance to raise it by a level?"

Shu Han: "You're not really thinking that the viewership ratings will surpass 3%, are you? That's one of the highest records in recent years. It was set by Guan Zhaohua's drama last year."

Zhang Ye: "I know it'll be the case. Right now, the viewership ratings still have not exceeded what I'm expecting."

Shu Han: "You're even thinking of exceeding 4%?"

Ning Lan: "It's already quite good to be able to exceed 3%."

Zhang Ye smiled but did not say anything.

3%?

4%?

If this were the variety industry, Zhang Ye would not be able to say anything to that. After all in this world, the variety industry was only so big. At that time Zhang Ye dabbled in that industry, he had more or less reached the upper limits. Perhaps there was still a possibility of the viewership ratings going higher, but there really wasn't too much room to grow it any further. But it was a different matter this time. This was the television series industry, and it was much bigger than the variety industry. As such, Zhang Ye's expectations raised as well. Moreover, he also knew how high the final viewership ratings figure of In the Name of the People had reached back in his previous world.

That was a really frightening viewership figure!

A viewership ratings figure that none of them could possibly imagine!

Therefore, Zhang Ye might as well not tell them in fear that he would give them a bad shock.

…

Jiang Hanwei's house.

Old Jiang's wife was extremely excited.

"Old Jiang, should we treat Zhang Ye to a meal?"

"Treat him for what?"

"The two of you had such a bitter feud back then. Maybe it would be better if we try to ease things a bit?"

"There's no need for that."

"You're such a stubborn fool. Why are you always like that? Regardless of who was right or wrong back then, Teacher Zhang still came to you to get you to star in his series the moment he got released from jail. Why didn't he get someone else? That's because he trusts your acting. Look at how many television productions have approached you just today. This is only possible because of his help, so we have to thank him."

"There's no need for that. If Zhang Ye were someone who could be handled with just a meal or two, would he have had such a bad reputation and social network in show business years ago? I know what I'm doing. He helped me out this time, so I owe him a favor. There's no need to keep harping on this matter. I'll definitely repay him in the future."

"Oh, you!"

…

At a gathering in the industry.

"We've gotten such a surprise."

"Li Shao and Chi Hao have stumbled."

"Yeah, who could have thought that the viewership ratings would be like this? With I Am a Singer and In the Name of the People, Zhang Ye has totally defeated the male idols with his comeback. He has also slapped the faces of those people in the industry who weren't optimistic of his chances. I suppose Zhang Ye will become the most hated figure among the male idols."

"Actually, my opinion is that most of the male idols have to thank him."

"Why?"

"If Zhang Ye didn't leave the entertainment industry three or four years ago, those male idols wouldn't have become so popular. Just by the performance of this drama alone, it can be deduced that if Zhang Ye were still around all these years, none of the male idols would be a match for him. It was only because of his departure from the industry that gave them the break, so shouldn't they be thanking him instead?"

"This fellow is such a freak of nature!"

"Yeah, if he were around back then, who would dare say that they could outdo him?"

…

In the advertising world.

"There are really no principles left in this advertisement placement by Zhang Ye."

"Yeah, he's basically captioning the slogan and adding in the graphics, then calling it an advertisement! This is totally forced advertising!"

"But the effects seem to be really good. In fact, it's different from product placement advertising since it is standalone and doesn't interfere with the plot of the show."

"He's really too unorthodox and always manages to come up with things that no one else would dare to think of."

"I have a very strong feeling that the advertising strategy of In the Name of the People will catch on as a new trend. The advertisers on other TV series might start resorting to this method to advertise their products from now on."

…

At a production company.

"What is it that makes this drama so successful?"

"I think it's due to the script and the actors' skills."

"In the current day, do people really still care about acting?"

"In these recent years, the effect that the hot, young male stars had on showbiz was too great. A lot of the industry's standards have been led awry by them. Zhang Ye has schooled everyone this time. Not every TV show needs to depend on a male idol to earn money. If the script and filming are good, if the actors are good, a TV series can still sweep the competition aside."

…

On Weibo.

The netizens were also predicting the viewership ratings.

"We're going to have a broadcast again today."

"Could it exceed 3%?"

"It should be able to?"

"That might not necessarily happen. Is its momentum sustainable?"

"The battle between the three dramas has clearly been won by In the Name of the People. The only thing we don't know is how much In the Name of the People will win by and how far ahead they will come out against the competition."

…

One day.

Three days.

Five days.

The television series continued their broadcast run.

The viewership ratings were announced with every episode.

Each day, everyone's jaws continuously dropped!

Everyone was almost constantly getting stunned to death each day by the viewership ratings of In the Name of the People!

In the Name of the People's viewership ratings:

Episode six: 2.82%

Episode seven: 2.98%

Episode nine: 3.21%

Episode 13: 3.78%

Episode 15: 4.33%

Episode 20: 5.10%

Episode 23: 5.69%

Episode 25: 5.86%

There were still over a dozen episodes to go, but In the Name of the People's viewership ratings had nearly surpassed 6%. From the looks of it, there was still the possibility of it going higher!

The media went crazy!

The male idols went crazy!

The production companies went crazy as well!

The highest viewership ratings figure in recent years had been set by Guan Zhaohua's blockbuster drama from last year at 3%. However, Zhang Ye had almost doubled that statistic of the television series industry in one go!

Your sister!

A lot of people wanted to swear at this!

It was way too high. How could anyone fucking expect to make a mark on this industry in the future!