I’m Really a Superstar

With the revelation of this news, the details surrounding the activities of In the Name of the People were unearthed.

The production cost.

The production period.

The cast list.

And so on.

Zhang Ye and this drama had been pushed into the headlines!

…

In the car, on the way back to the studio, Zhang Ye’s cell phone was blowing up with calls.

Ning Lan, Jiang Hanwei, Shu Han, Yao Jiancai, and the main cast members of In the Name of the People all looked for this fellow in outrage.

“Zhang’er, do you want to die?!”

“Haha, what’s the matter?”

“What do you think is the matter! Why are you pitting our drama against theirs!”

“Didn’t I already tell you guys? That our new drama will be broadcasting at the same period as those two young guns? Didn’t you already know?”

“The same period is not the same as the same day!”

“Wasn’t that quite close to what I said?”

“I’m gonna faint! That’s way off, alright!”

“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.”

“Your sister!”

All of them wanted to vomit blood!

They had been looking forward to the drama quite a bit before this. Although the production’s investment wasn’t large, although it was the director’s debut TV series, although the cast did not feature even a single hot, young male star, this group of out-of-time celebrities still cherished the rare opportunity to act. This was especially true when many of them were personally invited by Zhang Ye to join the cast. Even people like Ning Lan, who had long since retired, were convinced by him to make a return.

But look at this.

This bastard actually decided to take on two of this year’s most anticipated commercial drama productions? Isn’t this as good as jumping into Hell! Others can’t wait to steer clear of them! How many directors and TV series are looking to avoid broadcasting at the same time slot as Heavens of the Gods and Age of Kingdoms! But you? Not only are you not attempting to avoid it, you even chose to fucking take it head-on! Just how confident do you have to be to do something like that? Do you really think that this low-budget political drama can possibly make a challenge on those commercial drama productions? How is that possible! If the viewership ratings get apportioned out to the point where we don’t even hit 0.2%, that would be such a huge slap to our faces! How will we answer the Central Publicity Department then!

…

Up ahead.

He had reached the studio.

The moment Zhang Ye got back here, he spotted Ha Qiqi and the others handling a group of reporters.

The news hadn’t even broke for half an hour, but the media reporters were already swarming the place. There was a surprised expression on every one of their faces, and he could clearly see that the news had shocked them too!

“Ah!”

“Zhang Ye is here!”

“Director Zhang!”

“For your first drama production, why did you choose to broadcast it at this time slot?”

“Do you intend to fight the male idols?”

“What opinion do you have about your own TV series?”

“What sort of a TV series is it?”

The reporters were all pointing their cameras and microphones at him.

Having hardly received any interviews lately, Zhang Ye said confidently, “This production is led by the Central Publicity Department, and it’s an unprecedented anti-corruption drama. We suffered a lot during the filming process and encountered many difficulties along the way, but I have to thank the cast for being so awesome. They were great, so we overcame a lot of hardships that were beyond our imagination. So I hope that everyone will look forward to our drama. I believe that the premiere episode’s broadcast will surprise everyone.”

The reporters rolled their eyes upon hearing that!

Suffering?

Hardships beyond imagination?

For a drama production that wrapped up filming in ten days, what fucking hardships beyond imagination could there be!

If this could be considered as hardships beyond imagination, then how would it be for those people who had to fucking film their dramas for one to two years!

…

The interview footage was broadcast.

The netizens responded to it with contempt.

“This fellow is too shameless!”

“His skin is so thick!”

“Beyond imagination, your sister!”

“10 days? Are you on drugs or something! Just how shoddy is this production!”

“This fellow is still as efficient as always?”

“Yeah, he’s fast at recording shows, he’s fast at composing songs, he’s fast at writing novels, and he’s even so fast when filming a drama that the process is described as a matter of days. In the entire entertainment industry, I’ve never encountered a faster worker than him!”

“To be honest, I’m already starting to look forward to it.”

“Me too, motherfucker, I’d like to see just how this fellow’s debut TV drama will turn out!”

“If Zhang Ye’s drama can get above 0.2% viewership, he’ll have to thank the gods!”

“I doubt it will even hit 0.2%!”

“He’s asking for it!”

“The Central Publicity Department will probably hold him responsible when the time comes!”

Back when Zhang Ye first announced his comeback, there wasn’t much attention given to the drama. A lot of people knew that he was shooting a drama, but they couldn’t even remember its name. But with this hubbub, In the Name of the People sent the country into an uproar. All of a sudden, a lot of people found out about it, and it even grabbed the limelight from Heavens of the Gods and Age of Kingdoms! Everyone was talking about it.

…

At Li Shao’s studio.

Li Shao was hopping mad.

“He can even steal away the headlines of our drama this way?”

“This Zhang Ye is full of heinous tricks!”

“So this is the legendary Heavenly King from years ago?”

“I finally understand why this fellow made so many enemies back then! H-He’s totally not sticking to convention with how he does things!”

…

At Chi Hao’s studio.

“Bring it on, who’s afraid of who!”

“Right, it makes no difference competing against one or two dramas!”

“Does Zhang Ye still think that he’s the Asian Heavenly King from back then?!”

“I don’t believe it. How can a shitty drama that you finished filming in just 10 days possibly challenge us!”

…

In the Name of the People’s actors also cast Zhang Ye aside as they came together and scolded him.

“That dumbass!”

“If I ever accept a role in a show that he directs again, I’ll spell my name backwards!”

“Yeah, my heart can’t take this!”

“How unlucky to have encountered a director like him!”

“I no longer hold any hope for the viewership ratings of the drama.”

“I can only hope that our drama doesn’t perform too badly, that’s all.”

It seemed like Zhang Ye was born with a “Hatred Halo” over his head!

It was so for his foes.

It was so for the disinterested.

And it was so for his friends.

…

One day.

Two days.

Three days.

It was getting closer to the day of the premiere episode’s broadcast.

The three drama productions were keeping pace with one another as their news constantly came up in the media.

“The premiere episode is nearing!”

“Experts predict the viewership ratings!”

“Two more days to D-Day. Who will end up victorious in the battle for a Heavenly King’s throne?”

“A TV drama that wrapped up filming in 10 days shocks the industry!”

“Experts claim: ‘Zhang Ye doesn’t understand the TV industry at all. He’s only here to make trouble!’”

Zhang Ye was very happy. This was exactly the effect that he wanted. It was a different time now. With the male idols holding sway and commercial productions dominating the industry, everyone’s attention was focused on them. It was a situation that was very difficult to turn around, so Zhang Ye thought of a way to stand out and diverted everyone’s attention to In the Name of the People. As long as there was attention given to it, as long as no one ignored it, he believed that this good drama production would not get buried.

As for Heavens of the Gods?

As for Age of Kingdoms?

Zhang Ye didn’t care about them at all.

It wasn’t because he was arrogant, nor that his confidence was inflated. If it were any drama production other than In the Name of the People, he would have judged his opponent first to see how much they had invested and what their scripts were about. But there was no need for that, because this was In the Name of the People they were talking about!

No matter who the opponent was!

No matter how many of them there were!

None of that mattered. Whoever crashed head-on with it would get utterly destroyed!

Come, I’ll show you all the godly drama that swept away everything in its path back in my previous world!