I'm Really a Superstar

At the Beijing Exhibition Center.

Backstage.

Zhang Ye and Yao Jiancai returned.

“Teachers, you’ve worked hard!”

“Quick, have some water!”

“Quickly, take a seat!”

Zhang Ye was fine, but Old Yao was sweating profusely.

Yao Jiancai had some water and wiped away his sweat. “The audience was so passionate!”

Zhang Ye laughed and said, “Yeah, but it felt really satisfying.”

Yao Jiancai slapped his thigh and said, “That’s right, performing the crosstalk was a great way to blow off steam. Even if you don’t pay me for this job, I’d still do it!”

“Alright then.” Zhang Ye told the organizer’s staff, “Transfer the money that was meant for Old Yao to me.”

Yao Jiancai burst into laughter. “Fuck off!”

The staff members were also laughing at this.

Di di di. Zhang Ye’s phone rang with a notification.

It was a text from his mother: “Son, that was a great performance.”

His eldest young sister’s text: “Brother, you were so cool!”

Heavenly Queen Xu Meilan’s text: “I watched the entire performance. You delivered it really well.”

His family and friends had all come to congratulate him.

After reading the messages, Zhang Ye smiled and said, “Let’s go, Old Yao. Hurry home and get some rest. There are two more shows over the next two days. Are you game?”

Yao Jiancai laughed. “Let’s take this all the way to the end!”

…

In the crosstalk world.

Many of the crosstalk actors had caught the entire performance as well.

“What is this!”

“Isn’t this the same old thing!”

“The three vulgarities, it’s the three vulgarities all over again!”

“How can you call this a crosstalk?”

“I’m also wondering why there are so many people who like watching his crosstalks!”

“No one’s done as many encores as he did!”

However, when they saw how explosive the atmosphere at the venue was and that terrifying number of viewers watching the livestream, they all fell silent. Some people were watching it with the mindset to learn. Which crosstalk comedian didn’t hope that they could host their own tour on such a huge stage? They also wanted to understand why Zhang Ye’s crosstalks were popular with the people. But there were also some people who watched it with the intention to criticize. They were looking for problems to nitpick.

Vulgar!

No value!

Performance duration exceeding the allocated time!

And so on.

They had also thought of reporting him to the authorities like they had done in the past, giving feedback to the higher-ups and the SARFT. But when they remembered Zhang Ye’s wife, they were silenced.

Fuck!

It was better to just forget about it.

This was a matter that they could only think about without the chance of taking any action.

…

On Weibo.

The talk surrounding Zhang Ye’s tour blew up.

“It was so fun to watch!”

“I was there at the venue and everyone was laughing like crazy!”

“Damn, how did you get tickets? I’m so jealous of you!”

“Yeah, I wanted to go to the venue to attend as well!”

“I watched it on the livestream and laughed throughout the entire show. There was no point in time that I could afford to piss!”

“Zhang Ye was amazing!”

“Old Yao too. He played the fall guy really well!”

“With this best duo around, no one in the Chinese crosstalk world would even come close to them!”

“My mouth is all crooked from laughing so much! Those joke segments insulting the Japanese and Koreans were such classics!”

“Zhang Ye must have been holding in all that pent-up anger before arriving at the Beijing Exhibition Center to vent it all!”

“The Japanese and Koreans deserve it for banning him, hahahaha!”

“It was really great. This ticket price was really worth it!”

“It’s more than worth it! Whoever managed to get a ticket to Zhang Ye’s tour won the lottery!”

“Oh yes, how did Park Jaesang’s concert go?”

“I don’t know, I didn’t pay attention to that.”

“Yeah, what was the situation over there like?”

It was only at this time that many people suddenly remembered about that other person in the spotlight. Immediately, they began paying attention to the battle that was happening on the other side!

At the other show.

Park Jaesang’s debut concert in China had already ended long ago.

He was currently having his makeup removed backstage.

His team’s staff was unusually excited.

“Jaesang, you were outstanding today!”

“Yeah, you sang a few songs very well!”

“Although the stage equipment was a little faulty, it was still very good!”

“Hahaha, our first shot at the Chinese market went pretty good!”

“What a good start! With this momentum, we can hold another three concerts within the year. Furthermore, the ticket prices have been accepted by the audience, so we can continue selling them at such high prices. When our reputation builds up, we’ll have gained a foothold in China and our Asian popularity will grow by another level. There might even be a chance for us to take aim at becoming an Asian Heavenly King!”

Park Jaesang was laughing too.

He was also quite happy with his performance today, and the feedback from the audience was not bad as well. Some people still refused to leave the venue after such a long time, preferring to stay behind to cheer for him.

“Park Jaesang!”

“Park Jaesang!”

“Oppa!”

“I love you, oppa!”

The cheering was even faintly audible from backstage!

From their past experience, this concert was definitely a great success!

However, when Zhang Ye’s crosstalk finished, everything changed!

Park Jaesang and his team were all dumbfounded. Each and every one of them was stunned as they got caught by surprise!

Then, the scolding began!

It came with absolutely no warning!

Online.

“Oppa’s concert was so amazing!”

“Yes, yes, it was pretty good.”

“You guys must not have watched Zhang Ye’s performance, right?”

“Ah? No, I didn’t.”

“Do you know how long Zhang Ye and Old Yao performed for? Three and a half hours!”

“What?”

“Three and a half hours! Yet his ticket prices were only one-fifth or one-tenth of Park Jaesang’s concert prices! And you all still say that the concert was pretty good?”

This time, a lot of people could no longer accept it!

With that thought in mind, everyone was finally starting to come around!

“Damn, that was so not worth it!”

“What a bad concert!”

“The singing was quite alright, but it was not worth it at all!”

“I bought the 3,888 yuan tickets! I’m really feeling the pinch now!”

“What a ripoff!”

“I regret it so much. If I had known, I wouldn’t have gone to watch it!”

“When I was listening, it sounded pretty good at first, and I didn’t feel there was anything wrong with it. But motherfucker! When I heard about the duration that Zhang Ye’s performance went on for, it made me so mad! With the comparison, I’ve realized that Zhang Ye is truly honest and kind! The tickets were cheap and the show went on for so long too. He even returned for 17 encores! It’s simply quality and quantity! I do like Park Jaesang-oppa, but they still shouldn’t have scammed us like this! It’s not like our money fell from the sky! Even if we wish to support our idols, they shouldn’t have exploited us this way!”

“They really did come to make a quick buck!”

“The scolding in Zhang Ye’s crosstalk was really correct!”

“What’s more, the microphone also went dead during the concert!”

“Right, there were all sorts of problems!”

“I’m a fan turned passerby!”

“It’s better to support Zhang Ye in the future!”

“Yeah, our local celebrities are much more honest than other people!”

“I used to scold Zhang Ye too. But this time, I’ve really got nothing to complain about for his crosstalk. He thoroughly and beautifully completed it. It was totally flawless! I’m now a passerby turned fan!”

“A concert like that and its tickets were actually sold for such high prices? Ptui! Whoever gave you the guts to do something like that?”

“The tickets already cost so much, yet they didn’t put on a longer show? There was only one encore and that was it? Just look at Teacher Zhang’s show, then have look at your own show. Aren’t you embarrassed?”

There was a flurry of scolding!

Park Jaesang’s concert quickly turned into the target of all scoldings!

The concerns that the audience had were indeed an issue. First, there was the incident where the microphone stopped working during the concert, but the problem was solved after changing it. Later on, Park Jaesang sang out of tune in one of his songs. For the latter half of the concert, there were even some problems with the backing tracks. But logically speaking, such incidents were hardly avoidable in a live concert. Zhang Yuanqi could not avoid, Xu Meilan could not avoid them, and it was also impossible for any other international superstars to avoid them. Such situations were usually considered to be within acceptable range, and if one had counted, the incidents in Park Jaesang’s concert were a relatively small issue. It was considered quite satisfactory overall! But with this, the problem of the high ticket prices finally surfaced!

It was still that same old saying: Nothing stands up to comparison!

Zhang Ye’s tour had stirred up too many concerns!

On one side:

High ticket prices.

Microphone failure.

Show duration lasting only slightly more than two hours.

Only one encore.

Setlist consisting of mainly old songs that have been heard many times before by the audience.

On the other side:

Low ticket prices.

Entirely new jokes.

17 encores.

Show duration of three and a half hours.

With this comparison, how could there be no scolding?

Park Jaesang’s Chinese fans were criticizing him even more ruthlessly than the others. The unhappiness over the high ticket prices had finally boiled over!

…

The faces of Park Jaesang’s team staff had all turned green with anger!

“What the hell!”

“Jaesang sang very well!”

“The concert was clearly a success!”

“This is all because of Zhang Ye!”

“17 encores? Zhang! You must have done this on purpose!”

“Zhang Ye! Fuck your grandpa!”

Instantly, Park Jaesang’s team figured out Zhang Ye’s cruel scheme and cursed at him in rage!

But there was no point in swearing!

They had lost!

They had been utterly defeated!