I'm Really a Superstar

After the program.

The audience cleared from the studio. A lot of them were left wanting for more. As they left, they were discussing about Zhang Ye’s “Analysis of the Three Kingdoms”.

“What a good lecture!”

“That’s right; I was so engrossed in listening!”

“I just came to join in on the buzz, and was thinking of improving my knowledge at the television station. But who knew that I would encounter such a quality program? I will definitely watch every episode!”

“The same goes for me; I will watch every episode for sure too!”

“Such an exciting program… Only a fool would not watch it!”

“It also enriches our knowledge. I only found out today that the ‘Empty Fort Strategy’ did not exist!”

“Hur Hur, compared to this host, those so-called experts are like clowns. Their knowledge is not enough and their delivery was so boring. Who would want to listen to them blabber? They are totally not as good as that Zhang host. Ah yes… He’s called Zhang Ye; I will remember him!”

……

After the studio was cleared out.

Zhang Ye looked at his colleagues, “Was that okay?”

Xiao Lu was the first to run up, “It was not only okay, it was too okay!”

Hou Ge also rushed forward, “Man, Teacher Zhang was really able to speak about the Three Kingdoms! You even gave the expert professor a hard time! And you let the audience clap for you for the whole day!”

Zhang Ye humbly said, “It was not that I was good; it’s just that the experts were clueless to begin with. About the ‘Empty Fort Strategy’, Zhuge Liang and Zhou Yu, all of that was just history’s general knowledge. With just some digging, anyone would know. Even without researching, just reading ‘Records of the Three Kingdoms‘ would make it understandable. Even though ‘Records of the Three Kingdoms’ is also a literature work, compared to ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’, it was more historically unbiased. As long as it was something unverifiable, ‘Records of the Three Kingdoms’ would not blindly write about it. There’s also a lot of information to help the reader understand about that period of history.”

Dafei blushed and said, “I have not heard of ‘Records of the Three Kingdoms’.”

Xiao Lu coughed, “I’ve heard of it, but never read it. This book seems to be less popular; not many people have read it before. Besides, some of the things that you mentioned about, I did not even know about them. Do you think that everyone’s knowledge is as rich as yours?”

What?

There are people who have never heard of “Records of the Three Kingdoms”?

That shouldn’t be! How can anyone not know about it?

Only then did Zhang Ye understand. Although in this world there were classics like “Romance of the Three Kingdoms”, the cultural background was a little different. Su Shi did not exist, and a number of other works also did not exist anymore. Even though “Records of the Three Kingdoms” was still preserved, the influence and popularity of it was different from Zhang Ye’s previous world. Because of the game ring’s modifications, it had created such a situation now. It had created a world where everyone seemed to have the wrong perception and understanding of the Three Kingdoms. If it were in his previous world, this would not have happened. Because even though most people did not know of the real Three Kingdoms, a big portion of them still did understand the true Three Kingdoms!

No wonder that literature professor, Ma Hengyuan, was not clear about things like the empty fort strategy. Because this world’s study of the Three Kingdoms went through “Romance of the Three Kingdoms”, while the most authentic “Records of the Three Kingdoms” and other similar works were not mainstream! This was why when Zhang Ye brought Professor Yi Zhongtian’s “Analysis of the Three Kingdoms” first episode out, it had received such a big reaction!

This was helping the illiterate!

Zhang Ye did not know whether to laugh or to cry when he thought of this.

Hu Fei had just finished speaking with the cameraman. He then rushed over and gave a squeeze on Zhang Ye’s shoulders, clearly emotional and said, “You were great, Little Zhang! That was done too well!”

Zhang Ye laughed, “As long as I didn’t throw your face, that is good enough.”

“You, throw my face? Haha!” Hu Fei excitedly said, “Let me tell you, this is exactly what I wanted in a program. It was even better than what I had expected! I listened from the beginning to the end without missing any words. I dare to say that this is the best historical segment I have listened to before!”

Xiao Lu said, “That’s right!”

Dafei said, “It can’t even be described with ‘wonderful’!”

Hou Di gave a thumbs up, “Just one word – awesome!”

“Did you write that melody poem by yourself?” Hu Fei asked.

“Yes,” Zhang Ye replied.

“You are surprising me over and over again. The background of this poem… Amongst all other Three Kingdoms poems, nothing can compare to it. It was too well written!” Hu Fei said happily, “If I knew you would be so good, I wouldn’t have invited that Ma Hengyuan. I didn’t even have to look for guests! Do you think I have nothing better to do? I would have just put you in. Yeah, but the incident this time, with all those last-minute changes in the program name, studio settings, lecturer change and such, we will have to seek approval from the Arts Channel again. We need the Leader’s approval!”

A cameraman said, “Producer Hu, it should be done in an hour. Any deletion needed, you can just assign someone to follow up with us and we will do so accordingly.”

Dafei, who was in charge of the technical and studio settings, said, “I will follow up with them.”

Hu Fei said “Okay, I will leave it to you then. Once it’s done, I will send it up for approval.”

……

Afternoon.

Lecture Room’s first episode was completed. The segment was edited to its allotted time and informational graphics were added in.

Hu Fei watched it once over, and being satisfied, he looked for the Arts Channel Leader, Wang Shuixin, in his office. When he went in, the Leader was having his lunch.

“Director, you are eating?” Hu Fei laughed.

Wang Shuixin did not look happy, “Old Hu, I was just looking for you. I heard that your program recording encountered a big problem. In the end, even the program name was changed? And the lecturer and guests were thrown out? That was the lecturer that you had a hard time inviting. What is wrong with you all?”

Hu Fei was angry at the mention of him, “There’s no need to invite them anymore. I have a better candidate here. The program also has a better development plan now. Hur Hur, do you still remember that I wanted Zhang Ye here at all costs? He is now the lecturer. We no longer need a host or any guests. The program effects were still very well done. No, it’s precisely because we don’t need those that the program’s effect is so good!”

Wang Shuixin frowned, “Zhang Ye? What can he say? Old Hu, I know you think highly of this young man, but don’t you think that you are being too biased? This is a historical segment we are talking about!”

“When you look at the recording, you will understand.” Hu Fei knew that he didn’t need to say too much, so he just handed the recording over to him.

Wang Shuixin lowered his head and looked, “Let’s go.” He asked a few other deputies and staff members to accompany them to watch the screening.

“Zhang Ye?”

“He is speaking about the Three Kingdoms?”

“He’s just a young lad. What does he know about the Three Kingdoms?”

But a few minutes after the screening began, no one made any further comments.

After an hour had passed, everyone looked at each other. They were all astonished and no one said a word.

Hu Fei asked, “What does everyone think? Are the changes acceptable?”

A head from another program team said in jealousy and regret, “If I knew this person was so capable, I would have fought with Old Hu for him and brought him into my own program team!”

“Director?” Hu Fei looked towards Wang Shuixin.

Wang Shuixin was silent for a moment before saying, “Let’s just air it and see what the viewership is like on Saturday. We will see if the audience approves; if it does well, we will continue Sunday’s segment.”

Hu Fei replied, “Won’t it be too rushed if we were to record on Saturday?”

Wang Shuixin flatly replied, “We still have not seen what the market’s response to it is. We need to be careful. After all, Little Zhang is young and lacking in qualifications. The audience might not agree to him lecturing on history. So we need to make adjustments according to the actual scenario. Let’s broadcast it to test the waters. Only then can we decide if he can continue being the lecturer of this segment!”

Putting it plainly, Wang Shuixin did not trust Zhang Ye that much. Wang Shuixin already felt that it was inappropriate for Zhang Ye to become a host or guest earlier on for such a big program. He felt that Zhang Ye’s height and image were all problematic. And now, it was even worse. Zhang Ye went from a host, who would appear occasionally, to the only lecturer of the program? He became the most important person on the program? This was a bit too fast!

However, Hu Fei was extremely confident, “Alright then, let’s wait for the rating.”

A deputy who spoke previously said, “With this standard, the rating definitely can’t be bad. Just that ‘Lyrics to Remembering Your Charm – Remembrance of the Tale of the Crimson Cliff’ makes it exceptional!”

Another woman said, “That might not be true. The tastes of the market is becoming more and more complex these days. No one can figure out what programs the audience likes. Even people like us, with years of experience, make guesses from our experience. Who dares to guarantee? I think that this program is just average. It is unconventional, but isn’t the content a bit too sensational? The empty fort strategy really doesn’t exist? That’s too assertive!”

A middle-aged man present, who was a bit more learned, said, “According to what I know, the empty fort strategy is indeed fabricated. I once got reprimanding by a scholar who researched history.”

The woman shook her head, “But the audience doesn’t know that. It is really challenging the beliefs of the audience. Sometimes being unconventional might result in an opposite effect.”

“I’m rather optimistic about it.”

“I don’t think it will do. A young man can’t hold the ground. If there are any mistakes in logic or historical facts, the audience will pick a fault with it and curse us to death. After all, a historical segment is all about authenticity. Who knows if what Zhang Ye said was right or wrong? It it was all made up by him and found out by the audience, then our television station’s reputation will be hammered!”

There were disagreements with different judgments.

Wang Shuixin rapped on his table to stop the debate, “There’s no need to say anything anymore. Let’s wait for the rating on Saturday. That would be the most objective thing.”