Chapter 1565 - The shit stirrer makes his move!

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

On this day.

At the studio.

Everyone came together for a meeting.

“Our popularity has clearly started picking up again.”

“Yeah. Although Director Zhang’s name hasn’t be relisted in the popularity rankings yet, we can still get a clear sense of the signals from the news and Internet.”

“Director Zhang’s songs were fucking awesome!”

“‘Years of Friendship’ has charted to first place on the Top Chinese Music Chart as well.”

“That’s right. Our comeback has gone perfectly.”

“All that’s left is to see how the TV series performs.”

“Hai, I really can’t get a feel of how that might do.”

“When will it be broadcast?”

“They’ll determine the dates today. Director Zhang is in talks with Beijing TV right now.”

“Let’s hope that we get a good date.”

“We don’t need the anti-corruption drama to be popular as long as it can reach the 1% viewership ratings mark set by the Central Publicity Department.”

“1% is already a heaven-defying figure, so there’s no need to think about anything higher than that.”

“If this drama is successful, Director Zhang might really be able to get back to the peak of his popularity and return to his position as a domestic Heavenly King.”

…

On Weibo.

The netizens were also having a discussion about television dramas.

“There haven’t been any good TV series recently.”

“Yeah, the ones they’ve been showing these past few months are not interesting at all.”

“There are two blockbuster series coming up.”

“Yeah, Heavens of the Gods and Age of Kingdoms will be showing soon!”

“I’m anticipating them so much!”

“Go Li Shao!”

“I think Chi Hao can take the step to become a Heavenly King this time.”

“Their popularities are about the same, and both are ranked in the top five of the A-list, so it’s still unclear who will end up winning. It all depends on how well their series perform.”

“With their appeal, there wouldn’t be a need for the series to be good. Even without asking, the viewership ratings will exceed 1.5%. You guys are really underestimating the appeal of a young hunk by too much.”

“Those two are gonna start battling now.”

“Yeah, this is going to be a fight to the death.”

“It’s a fight to become a Heavenly King!”

“We’re really in for a show this time. Their two series are scheduled for the same day. If either one of them holds off the other, that person’s status as a Heavenly King will be assured and Xu Meilan would drop off the S-list rankings. In that case, the old generation of Heavenly Kings and Queens will finally become a thing of the past. The future of showbiz will then be dominated by the hunks.”

“There’s still Zhang Ye.”

“Has Zhang Ye’s finished filming his TV series yet?”

“I doubt Zhang Ye can make a splash. He’s just messing around by taking on the project. A political drama spearheaded by a government department, what sort of viewership ratings could that get? I believe he took on the production only because he didn’t receive any offers for work in the days when he first made his comeback. He probably did not take it seriously either. What’s more, the actors cast in the drama are all has-beens, and the invested sum isn’t large either, so how can it possibly take on the current professional production teams and actors? You people are expecting too much from him.”

“If Zhang Ye’s drama can get popular, I’ll fucking eat my computer.”

“What was it called again?”

“I think it’s called In the Opinion of the Name or something like that”

“Huh? Is that what it’s called?”

“What opinions could a name have?”

“Damn, I forget what it was called as well.”

…

At a restaurant.

The production crew of Heavens of the Gods was holding a get-together.

“Li Shao, we’re depending on you this time.”

“Director Wu, what’s your estimate for our drama’s viewership ratings?”

“It’s not easy to give hard figures now, but it won’t be bad for sure.”

“We’ve spent four months working on this production and put in so much blood, sweat, and tears, so it will definitely be good enough.”

“We only have one opponent in Age of Kingdoms!”

“They must be crazy, right? Why would they choose to broadcast on the same day as us?”

“They’re obviously trying to challenge us! If so, then let’s find out who is better!”

“Yeah, who’s afraid of who!”

…

At Chi Hao’s studio.

“It won’t be long.”

“Let’s shoot down Heavens of the Gods!”

“Right, Teacher Chi Hao will definitely take the step to the top this time!”

“We’ve spent more than half a year on this series, from the preparations to the filming. It has been meticulously polished to the point of being impeccable, so I don’t believe it can’t outdo Heavens of the Gods!”

“Qu Dong, Qi Liang, and Hai Yifei have all been knocked down a peg, so it’s a good chance for us!”

“They were unlucky to run into Zhang Ye. That fellow might not be good at other things, but he’s invincible at singing.”

“The battle for the Heavenly King’s spot will be between just us and Li Shao.”

“Everyone, let’s put in a bit more effort! We are gonna bring down Xu Meilan!”

…

Online.

Li Shao and Chi Hao’s fans tangled with each other!

“Chi Hao’s worth a fart!”

“Li Shao’s worth shit!”

“Whatcha lookin’ at!”

“So what if we’re looking at you!”

“Look again, we dare ya!”

“Oh, we dare!”

…

The public was watching intently.

The production crews were creating hype for their series.

The media was also helping with the publicity.

After several days, the topicality of Zhang Ye’s comeback victory had faded. The entertainment industry returned back to its previous state as the media, news, and Internet started clamoring over the male idols again. This sort of atmosphere and attitude was clearly not something that a few songs or people could change that easily. The male idols’ fans would not leave their idols overnight. After all, they were still the most popular artists in show business at the moment.

Especially in the field of television and film.

The overwhelming popularity and appeal they had was unparalleled.

Yet someone had to come to mess things up!

No one could have expected that someone would come and cause trouble at such a critical juncture!

…

In the Celebrity Goof Group.

Xu Meilan appeared. “I’m in danger.”

Xiaodong quickly replied: “All the best, Sister Lan!”

Amy: “Supporting Sister Lan!”

Li Ke: “Their time hasn’t arrived yet.”

Ning Lan: “Right, their popularities are still a way off from yours.”

Xu Meilan sent a smiley face in the chat group. “They’re not that far off anymore”

Amy said dejectedly: “Are the artists from our generation really becoming irrelevant?”

Fan Wenli: “The younger generation has to be feared. Competing with the young guns in popularity is just impractical.”

Li Xiaoxian: “But Teacher Zhang managed to do it.”

Chen Guang: “He’s a freak, so don’t compare us to him.”

Out of the blue.

Zhang Ye appeared and said cheerfully: “Sister Lan, your little bro will aid you.”

Aid her?

What did he mean by that?

Xu Meilan, Ning Lan, and the others were taken aback and did not understand what he meant.

But the next second, when the news was revealed online, all of them were dumbfounded!

Xu Meilan: “What?”

Amy: “Fuck!”

Xiaodong: “Damn!”

Li Ke: “What the hell!”

Ning Lan: “Your sister!”

Jiang Hanwei: “Zhang Ye, your grandpa!”

Chen Guang: “That guy is crazy!”

…

The news broke!

The media pissed their pants!

The public pissed their pants!

The industry pissed their pants!

Zhang Ye’s new TV series, In the Name of the People, had quietly completed its post-production and was even given a time slot for broadcast on Beijing Television!

When they saw the time slot for the drama’s premiere, the entire country’s citizens were stunned!

Heavens of the Gods!

Age of Kingdoms!

In the Name of the People!

They were all going to be broadcast at the same time slot on the same day!

Countless people utterly horrified!

…

In the industry:

“That madman!”

“What is he trying to do!”

“He completed the filming in just 10 days? Fuck your sister!”

“Are you a motherfucking machine gun?!”

“It’s even scheduled to broadcast on the same day as them?”

“That fella must be drunk, right?!”

…

The public:

“Yours is just a fucking shitty, low-budget 30 million RMB production. Why didn’t you schedule it for some off-peak time slot and get it over with? Why would you even try to challenge Heavens of the Gods and Age of Kingdoms?”

“Zhang Ye is crazy!”

“When has this fucker ever been normal!”

“Isn’t he trying to start trouble?!”

“Pfft, this troublemaking shit stirrer!”

“He really can’t stay idle for a day!”

“Those two are fighting it out to become a Heavenly King, so what is this fellow messing around for!”

…

At the Central Publicity Department.

“We’re done for!”

“This series has as good as doomed!”

“Ours is a political drama. How can it possibly challenge their commercial dramas!”

…

Heavens of the Gods’ production crew.

Everyone was tongue-tied!

“Is he drunk?”

“W-W-What the hell does this have anything to do with him!”

“It’s a fight between our dramas, so why is he throwing in his lot?”

“Where did he get the courage!”

…

At Chi Hao’s studio.

“How dare he broadcast on the same day as us with that shitty drama of his?”

“Jesus!”

“What on earth is that fellow thinking!”

“Could it be a coincidence?”

“Coincidence, my ass! That Zhang guy is clearly doing this on purpose!”

If it were anyone else, it might have been a coincidence. But since this was Zhang Ye, they knew to rule out that possibility. All of them knew that Zhang Ye must be doing this on purpose, because he had pulled something similar a few years ago by broadcasting on the same day as another show even though he had nothing concrete to back it up with. Further, it had happened on more than one occasion too. This fellow seemed to enjoy doing such things!