Chapter 887: Zhang Ye, why don't you take over the skit!
Chapter 887: Zhang Ye, why don't you take over the skit!
Translator: Legge Editor: Legge
The incident blew up!
A lot of people did not even bother watching the Spring Festival Gala anymore and rushed over to observe the commotion!
"'A Letter to Home' sits comfortably at #3 on the Top Chinese Music Chart!"
"Zhang Ye and Yao Jiancai's new crosstalk routine unanimously receives rave reviews!"
"Men's team match at the World Team Table Tennis Championships ends in defeat!"
"The reason for Han Li's loss?"
"Head Coach Liu Yifeng supportive of Han Li!"
"Teammates' complaints of 'A Letter to Home' broadcast live: 'Terrible to listen to! Loss was a result of the song'!"
The online news was published one after another!
Han Li was considered a very popular celebrity athlete. Although the attention and fame that a table tennis player received definitely could not be comparable to celebrities in the entertainment industry, if a celebrity athlete were successful in their career, their popularity would be quite high as well. In Zhang Ye's previous world it was the same, with examples like Yao Ming, Liu Xiang, Li Na, and several others.
At this moment, Han Li's Weibo account was getting mentioned countless times.
The national team's head coach, Liu Yifeng, was also targeted by them. Even the national table tennis team's official Weibo was flooded by the netizens!
"Do you people know how to give an interview?"
"Come on, be a gentleman and don't be shameful!"
"I'm feel embarrassed for you all. You've disgraced yourselves completely this time!"
"You guys still have the cheek to scold Zhang Ye after losing to the South Korean team? I'm really fucking angered by all of you! Do you people think you have the right to scold Zhang Ye?! Do you know who Teacher Zhang is? He's the leader of the Professional Korean Insulters! He has been fighting against the Koreans ever since he debuted! And he even fought with a Korean celebrity before! Zhang Ye always stood at the front lines during the scolding battles against them. On this same day a year ago, Zhang Ye even got locked up at the police station after he beat up Lee Anson, but countless people rushed to the police station to try to get Zhang Ye released! Do you know what that situation was like? Have you people witnessed something like that before? He has always been at the front lines scolding the Koreans! And has never lost before! Unlike you guys who blame it on Zhang Ye's song after losing the match! What sort of logic is that!"
"I really take my hat off to you all. How can anyone criticize a song that is so touching?"
"Go and watch 'Everything is Great'! You'll understand after watching it!"
However, those Weibo accounts remained silent.
Liu Yifeng, Han Li, and the rest of the national team players did not make any explanations or bother with them.
...
Today was destined to be a night unlike any other night!
The intense competition among all the provincial stations' Spring Festival Galas, Zhang Ye and Yao Jiancai's new crosstalk routine that shocked the entire country, "A Letter to Home" that stormed into the Top Chinese Music Chart, the loss suffered by the men's team in the table tennis championship, Han Li's new excuse for losing his match, the silent agreement by the national table tennis team to support that excuse, the criticism from the netizens, etc. This first night of the Spring Festival was incredibly active! However, perhaps finding the commotion to not be big enough, another serious incident took place at Beijing Television!
Backstage.
Somewhere near the conference room, a group of people fell into disarray!
"Quick, call an ambulance!"
"Aiyo, what's happening?"
"Dial 120!"
"Teacher Qu Haiying has fainted!"
"Don't touch him! He might be having a heart attack! Don't move him for no reason!"
"Quick, get the heads here!"
"This is bad! This is going to be real bad!"
"Teacher Qu! Teacher Qu! Please wake up!"
A moment later, Chang Xiaoliang led his team over in a hurry. "Why is this happening? Old Qu? Old Qu? Has anyone called for an ambulance? Why is the ambulance not here yet?!"
Several of the Beijing Television heads also rushed over!
A female staff member nearly cried from the anxiety. "There are not enough ambulances on call since it's the first day of the new year. A lot of the medical personnel have already gone on vacation."
Chang Xiaoliang decided, "Stop waiting! Get someone to drive and send Teacher Qu to the hospital! Hurry, hurry, hurry!"
Hu Fei said loudly, "Check Old Qu's pockets to see if there is any medicine for his heart disease! Give it to him first if there is!"
"Right, right, right, the medicine!" Someone frantically searched for the medicine.
After sending him away, Chang Xiaoliang's heart felt very heavy as he said, "It's too stressful."
A deputy station head sighed, "Because of the Spring Festival Gala, everyone has been working tirelessly for too long!"
"Teacher Qu has had heart problems all along!" Qu Haiying's partner for an upcoming act said, "What are we going to do about the performance now? It's going to start in an hour's time!"
A station head looked at Chang Xiaoliang and asked, "Old Chang, is it possible to find a replacement?"
Chang Xiaoliang immediately said, "Old Qu's skit revolves around him. The skit was completely created based on himself. It's impossible to replace him with someone else!"
A female assistant director stamped her feet worriedly. "It's also too late for a replacement now!"
One of the production team staff suggested, "How about replacing it with a backup act?"
"Where are we going to find a backup act? Those performances that were not going to be used were all eliminated!"
"Besides, there aren't any skits among those preselected acts!"
"Even if there was, it would be too late to get them here and start preparing!"
"What should we do then?"
"Our viewership rating was just soaring!"
"That's right. This is a live broadcast and we can't allow it to be short a performance!"
"We really have the chance to come out on top of the provincial stations' Spring Festival Galas this year. This is something that Beijing TV's Spring Festival Gala has never achieved before! This is the result that Zhang Ye and Teacher Yao Jiancai have fought to give us! If the finale language act is gone and we end the Spring Festival Gala early, then that would be such a pity. Most importantly, the showlist has already been confirmed, so there's no way we can end the gala early. Otherwise, what do we do for the acts that come after? Are we just going to broadcast commercials for at least ten minutes during the vacated slot?"
"Why don't we use a singing act to replace it?"
"A singing act can only last for two or three minutes, we have to find at least three, four of those acts then! How are we going to find them? Where can we find them? This isn't the way to handle it either!"
The production team was plunged into chaos and everybody tried to get a word in!
At this moment, Xiao Lu who was in the crowd suddenly made a casual suggestion. "Why not create another skit as a replacement?"
Spontaneously create a skit?
Spontaneously create the props?
Going straight onto a live broadcast without any rehearsals?
What the hell are you talking about! Who can do something like that?
A lot of them couldn't be bothered with her suggestion.
But when Chang Xiaoliang heard that, his eyes suddenly lit up—because he thought of someone!
...
In a waiting room at the end of the corridor.
Yao Jiancai asked, "What's going on outside?" Why does it sound so chaotic? Did something happen?"
But Zhang Ye ignored him and kept scolding people as he browsed through Weibo.
"That's enough, bro." Yao Jiancai was overjoyed. "You've been scolding for the past ten minutes, take a break."
Zhang Ye said, "I won't find it tiring even if I have to scold them for three straight days and nights. That bunch of bast—"
The door was pushed open by someone outside. More than a dozen people came into the room in an instant. Among them were a station head, Chang Xiaoliang, Hu Fei, Xiao Lu, Dafei, and many of the directors and staff of the production team. The moment this group of people entered the room, they heard Zhang Ye—famous host, famous director, associate professor at Beijing University and Media College—cursing and swearing like a sailor. His words were really, really nasty and most people would not be able to swear like him!
Chang Xiaoliang: "…"
Hu Fei: "…"
The station head: "…"
Forget it. They just pretended they didn't hear him.
They did not even discuss it and unanimously took the decision to ignore it.
Zhang Ye was shocked too and stopped his cursing. "Aiyo, Director Chang? Brother Hu? Deputy Station Head Song? What is going on here?"
Chang Xiaoliang got straight to the point. "Teacher Qu Haiying had a sudden heart attack and was sent to the hospital."
Yao Jiancai was stunned to hear that. "How is he?"
Zhang Ye had heard Qu Haiying's name before and knew that he was a pretty good skit actor.
Hu Fei immediately said, "We just called to check on him. He just arrived at the hospital and has regained consciousness. He should already be out of danger, but he definitely won't be able to make it for his act later."
Zhang Ye heaved a sigh of relief and immediately said, "Thank goodness he's fine."
Chang Xiaoliang looked at Zhang Ye and said, "But there's no one to perform the finale skit of Beijing TV's Spring Festival Gala!"
Zhang Ye was also anxious for them and exclaimed, "Then what should we do? Hurry up and think of a solution."
"Director Zhang." An assistant director for Beijing Television's Spring Festival Gala gazed at him and said, "Didn't you say earlier that you came up with a skit?"
Hearing that, Zhang Ye was surprised. "What are you talking about?"
That person repeated, "A skit."
Zhang Ye pointed at his own nose and asked, "Me?"
That person said, "Yes."
Zhang Ye stared with his eyes wide and asked, "Did I say something like that?"
Chang Xiaoliang nodded. "Yes, you did."
Bullshit!
I'm a goddamn crosstalk comedian, why would I create a skit? Do you think I'm crazy?!
However, when Zhang Ye was about to say something, that assistant director made him swallow his words. That person said, "You were the one who said so. During the previous rehearsal, when you and Dong Shanshan were late, you mentioned that it was because the both of you were discussing a skit! Director Chang even remarked that if there were a chance, he would want to work with you on that skit next year! And you agreed as well!"
Zhang Ye was dumbfounded. Fuck, he seemed to have indistinctly…really said those words before!
Chang Xiaoliang immediately decided, "We don't have to wait for next year to work together anymore. Let's do it this year, right now, today. Teacher Zhang, all of us can only rely on you now! For the finale skit…why don't you take over?!"
Me, take over?
A skit?
Zhang Ye nearly vomited blood!
Dammit! Big bro, can you stop fooling around, please?! I'm a crosstalk comedian, why would I be performing a skit! I did say so previously, but that was only because Dong Shanshan and I were running late. I was simply making things up so that I could have a reason! Afterwards, I didn't even remember that I had said it! So why are you all taking it so seriously now? Even asking me to perform a skit? Do you guys really think that I can do everything?!