I'm Really a Superstar

When Zhang Ye drove off, he did not take away any wisps of the clouds, no, but he did leave a little exhaust in the wake of his car though.

The melodious poem continued to ring in the ears of the Peking University students as they stood there, not moving from their spots or chasing after the car. They did not say a word, as though they were experiencing Zhang Ye’s mood, experiencing just what kind of a person could write such a beautiful poem at such a time.

His feelings for Peking University?

His feelings for the students?

It was probably fully described in the poem!

Thereafter, when the students dispersed, someone posted that poem online.

Following that, countless Peking University students had declared in unison a simple statement: “Teacher Zhang Ye, no matter how long it takes, we will all wait for your return!”

“Waiting for your return!”

“Waiting for your return!”

Two hours after the incident, there was still no appearance by any Peking University student online. Although the netizens had seen the leaked video clip and knew what had happened in general, they still lacked the details and specifics of the timeline as well as the aftermath. They did not have the full picture and were urgently hoping to find out. When they saw these Peking University students appearing, and even appearing together at once, an overwhelming number of netizens “surrounded” them!

“We’ve finally seen one!”

“Heroes! How are all of you?”

“The heroes and heroines of Peking University! Here’s a Like for you all!”

“Did any of you receive any punishment?”

“How about Teacher Zhang? What happened to Teacher Zhang?”

“Waiting for your return? Has Zhang Ye really been suspended?”

Soon, everyone also noticed the poem that the students had posted. A Peking University student told them sadly that these were the last words Zhang Ye said before he left.

Saying Goodbye to Peking University Again

—Zhang Ye

Lightly I leave,

as lightly I came;

I gently wave goodbye,

to the rosy clouds in the western sky.

…

Quietly I leave,

as quietly I came;

I flutter my sleeves softly,

Not taking any wisps of the clouds away.

When they finished reading it, the netizens seemingly became silent for a moment!

This was a very simple poem. So simple that even after reading it once through, it wouldn’t leave much of a taste in your mouth. So simple that there wasn’t even a word that seemed out of place. It was very different from Zhang Ye’s past harsh killing style. This was just a very light and quiet poem. But it was also this poem that suddenly touched a lot of people!

A fourth-year student who was about to graduate posted: “I will be leaving the school very soon and the emotions I have are very complex. I didn’t know how to express what I felt, but after seeing Zhang Ye’s poem, I think that it reflects what I feel. ‘Quietly I leave, / as quietly…I came.'”

A female netizen posted on Weibo: “I saw someone scolding Zhang Ye for being a hooligan, that he was unfit to be a teacher. I would just like to say something to them—’Idiots!’ If a hooligan could write a poem like that, then I might as well be a hooligan as well, a great hooligan!”

Another netizen: “That piece from the video clip, A Flowering Tree was already a great work in itself. The last few words at the end—’Buddha thus turned me into a tree, / growing beside the path along you must pass. / In the sunshine, in full bloom gingerly, / every blossom a hope from my past life. / When you near, / please listen closely. / The quivering leaves / are the warmth of my waiting. / But you eventually moved on, oblivious? / Falling all over the ground behind you, / my friend, / are not petals’…. Up to here, according to my analysis, the original poem should be ‘…are not petals but my tears’ or ‘my broken heart’, or other words similar to these. It should be a love poem through and through, but Zhang Ye modified just the ending part of it and totally changed the poem to another style—’but me softly saying…idiots!’ He only changed a sentence and it didn’t even seem like an unsuitable modification! Zhang Ye has let me gain an even deeper understanding into modern poetry this time! Teacher Zhang has already managed to be as creative as he wants with literature. Whether it be oratory or poetry, he just goes at it according to his feelings and dexterously weaves the words together. For me, that is what a true master should be!”

“Well said!”

“Agreed!”

Suddenly, a Weibo verified teacher from Tsinghua University posted a message: “Without a doubt, the beginning and ending of Saying Goodbye to Peking University Again is the pinnacle of Zhang Ye’s artistic works. This is the best I have read among all his works in modern poetry! I dare not claim there are no other poems that would be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with it and be mentioned in the same statement, but at the very least, I can be sure that it would be very difficult to transcend the level of Zhang Ye’s ‘Lightly I leave, / as lightly I came’ with another modern poem! Disregarding Zhang Ye’s character and temper and how controversial he is, just based on his literary standard, Zhang Ye has already reached a level that many would never be able to reach in their lifetime!”

The saying “cultured people tend to scorn each other” was true.

But right now, a peer, an elite Tsinghua University teacher who was also involved in the same literature field had given such a review of the him. This perfectly illustrated just how great the poem was!

“The beginning and the end are really the work of genius!”

“It’s such a pity. If only Zhang Ye could change his character a little, he would surely be the leading figure in our country’s literature world. No one could disagree with that. Too bad his temper is so bad, heh. I don’t even want to talk about it!”

“Yeah, that temper of his cannot be curbed by anyone!”

“We don’t even know if Zhang Ye can get out of the trouble he started today! Could he get banned again? If he does get banned again, then we’ll surely have a good show to watch!”

“I don’t agree with the point of the poster above. I feel that it is exactly because of his temper that Zhang Ye can compose such great works!”

“Right!”

“Support Zhang Ye!”

“Zhang Ye’s short temper is what I like about him!”

“Hahaha, his poems are wonderful, but he is more wonderful!”

“Pfft, I feel that this conflict this time should not be blamed on Zhang Ye. We should blame those who dared let him get on stage instead. I could faint from this, but is this the first day that you all got to know Zhang Ye? Didn’t the earliest example of this happen when Zhang Ye won the Silver Microphone Awards and recited Dead Water to scold his unit? Did you all forget? At the live broadcast of Father Wei’s memorial, Zhang Ye had used that Some People to lash out at his leaders at Beijing Television Station at that time, did you all forget?? During the press conference held by the Shanghai SARFT where Zhang Ye used The Answer and The Last Speech, did you all forget? Also, when Zhang Ye recited Ode to Young China at the National Primary and Secondary School New Year Gala that left the audience in shock, did you all forget? So why did you all still dare to pass him a microphone and push him onstage? I’m utterly amazed by you all! You’re the ones who are bravest!”

“F**k, that’s true!”

“Whenever this fellow is given a microphone, something’s bound to happen!”

“Yeah, this is an experience and a lesson as well!”

“I trust that after today, whoever sees Zhang Ye with a microphone in his hand again will shudder at the sight of it! He’s too damned frightening!”

“That mouth of Zhang Ye’s is as good as a military missile! You need to be on your toes at all times, otherwise, once your concentration lapses, he will immediately fly over and you won’t even know how you died!”

In the end, the debate had come full circle, with people arguing whether Zhang Ye should have scolded Japan in such a public setting and whether it was appropriate or not.

Some people supported it!

Some people objected to it!

It seemed like an unending argument!

……

Not long after.

The newspapers went on sale.

New reports on TV were broadcast.

Because the incident had kicked off a huge hubbub this afternoon, many people who did not have a habit of reading the papers or watching News Simulcast were all curiously paying attention to them now. They wanted to know how the media would report this incident. What surprised most people was that News Simulcast made no mention of it at all, as though nothing had happened at all. Life went on as usual. The news reported on some policy issues and also made mention of the Japanese Prime Minister’s visit to China to sign off on some key project agreements, etc. They even mentioned the smoke-free day which was a few days away but totally skipped the topic of the incident at Peking University!

The people who had attentively watched the news could see that the matter was being covered up. Central TV had deliberately downplayed the matter and focused on other news instead, possibly at the request of the authorities above them!

As for the reports in the papers, the handling of the issue varied.

Some of the major newspapers also made no mention of the Peking University incident. Some others had recorded the incident as bystanders and reported it objectively to the readers. Meanwhile, the remaining ones criticized Zhang Ye openly and did not hold back on their words. There were also some newspapers that, perhaps for fear of touching on a sensitive topic, just reported the incident using general terms like “a teacher of the people,” “transmission of positive energy” or “not looking at the big picture” in a vague and inconclusive manner!

The media seemed to have adopted a very consistent attitude with none of them praising Zhang Ye.

However, the attitude of those online was much more ambiguous. Generally speaking, the opinions of the people varied quite a bit. The people who supported Zhang Ye’s and the Peking University students’ actions still numbered in the majority. Some fans even noticed that four or five celebrities, though not openly issuing any statements, had quietly Liked the post that was titled “Peking University Video.”

The video clip had already been deleted, but the post itself could still be Liked. As the video clip was rehosted several times, there were still many websites that it could be viewed on.

After getting deleted, it got posted again.

After it was posted, it got deleted again.

The file name changed. It was just like guerrilla warfare.

The same situation had happened when Zhang Ye took part in the crosstalk competition.

A newspaper outlet that was very critical of Zhang Ye had brought up this matter on its official Weibo. It was not known why they were so angry, but they started pointing out those celebrities who had Liked the post, criticizing them for Liking such a negatively influencing video as public figures and how it was a treacherous act.

A Mainland Chinese celebrity replied to the reporter: “What are you talking about? Like? Oh, I usually have the habit of just Liking a post after viewing it. This is a form of respect to the netizens who posted it and does not represent my personal viewpoint.”

Among these celebrities was Dong Shanshan who also Liked the article.

Only to see Dong Shanshan reply, “…Ah, my account was hacked earlier.” This old classmate of Zhang Ye really did not speak any truth from her mouth.

Hacked account!

It’s a hacked account again!

Look, this was such a classic excuse that it could even be considered tradition now!

When the newspaper outlet saw these replies, they were rendered temporarily speechless! This excuse that wouldn’t even fool a fool had somehow made them unable to say anything else!

But Yao Jiancai who had also Liked the post was very honest. When he saw the newspaper outlet mentioning him with an @, not only did Old Yao not bother with them, he even posted another comment: “My old bro is as charismatic as ever.” He did not confirm his attitude for this incident nor did he deny that it was him who had Liked the post. Having gone through a lot with Zhang Ye during the crosstalk competition, the questioning and name-calling by the media did not scare Yao Jiancai at all!

All kinds of fighting!

All sorts of arguments!

It was pandemonium online!