I'm Really a Superstar

At 8 PM.

Many viewers turned on their TVs.

"It's starting, it's starting!"

"It's beginning!"

"Haha, it's time for my A Bite of China!"

"Rise to the Dance is starting! I can't wait anymore!"

"My Huo Dongfang! My Chen Ye!"

"Zhang Ye, go for it! Kill them!"

"Central TV Department 1 is really awesome! Let's kill A Bite of China!"

Some people tuned to Central TV Department 1 on their television sets, while others were tuned to Central TV Department 14. The second battle of the industry's two television shows that were tied for first in the viewership ratings was beginning!

...

Central TV Department 1.

The opening started off with thunderous applause as Chen Ye took to the stage. He was dressed in a resplendent suit and smiled with open arms as he said,"Welcome, everyone, to this week's Rise to the Dance. I am your host—Chen Ye!" Then he turned around and threw out his arm in a welcoming gesture."And also, a warm welcome to our three guest coaches!"

"Teacher Huo Dongfang!

"Teacher Fan Wenli!"

"Teacher Shen Lili!"

Huo Dongfang waved calmly as he ascended the stage.

Fan Wenli was blowing kisses from the stage.

Shen Lili niftily performed some elegant dance steps and "danced" her way to her guest coach seat.

The live audience were screaming and clapping; some were even waving their glow sticks about!

With such a stage on a variety show, the visual impact from the scene was especially advantageous for it. Oftentimes, the audience were not as passionate as they looked on television or clapping so hard for their lives. Most of these audience members cheering and clapping scenes were recorded before the start of the show by the studio director team. If he called for the audience to scream, they would scream. If he said to clap, they would clap. It might look rather staged, but with the aid of post-production and scene arrangements in the final cut, the atmosphere would undoubtedly be very good when watching it. It would pull the television audience at home into the atmosphere and allow them to experience the passion and explosiveness of the show as though they were in the studio as well. This was the natural advantage that a variety show had!

Today's first contestant appeared onstage.

This contestant was clearly arranged to appear first by the program team. Furthermore, the intro clip was also done in a slightly different way from the first episode. It seemed to have placed more emphasis on the contestant's introduction and even added in scenes from his daily work and life. There was also a part which was recorded at the contestant's office with his colleagues being interviewed by a field director.

The first person was interviewed.

"Did you know that Li Qijie can dance?"

"Ah? Li Qijie? Surely not, right?"

The second person was interviewed.

"What do you think of Li Qijie's dancing?"

"He can dance? I didn't know that!"

The third person was interviewed.

"What kind of a person is Li Qijie usually?"

"Little Li? He doesn't talk much usually and does not really communicate with everyone. I guess he's a rather reserved person."

"Do you have any words of encouragement for him now that he is participating in our talent show, Rise to the Dance?"

"Uh, I somehow think that there's been some mistake? How can he possibly know how to dance?"

All of his colleagues shook their heads.

Just as this intro clip was still being played with soft dance music accompaniment in the background, the first contestant appeared on the stage!

It was a man.

This was a graceful modern dance tune.

The man lifted his feet and dropped his hands fluidly.

Just a few dance moves at the start was enough to leave the guest coaches utterly shocked.

Huo Dongfang's eyes lit up."Great moves!"

Fan Wenli said,"He must be a professional, right?"

Shen Lili affirmed."This is definitely on the level of a professional!"

Even those who were not trained could see that Li Qijie's dance moves were all very professional looking!

They were focused on the performance!

100% fully focused!

As Li Qijie completely lost himself in his dance and moved around more and more gracefully, the three guest coaches stood up from their seats. Huo Dongfang could only put his hand up and give the contestant a thumbs up with an expression full of admiration."It's really great! This is simply too good!"

The emotions of the live audience were also stirred up.

The applause kept oohing and aahing, sometimes cheering!

But it did not seem like Li Qijie heard any of this. Such applause would usually be considered a disturbance, but it did not feel like it had interfered with his performance. He just kept moving by himself at the center of the stage, dancing to his own tune.

Online.

Many of the audience who were watching the broadcast were very excited.

"How beautiful!"

"He's even more graceful than a woman!"

"I like him, I like him a lot!"

"The second episode seems to be a little better than the first one!"

"Yeah, I can see the effort that the Rise to the Dance program team has put in. The second episode has a better rhythm to it and the contestants are also more impressive. Looks like in order to go up against A Bite of China, Xu Yipeng and Chen Ye are pulling out all their killer moves!"

"Wow, you guys! Do You Remember has revised their content again!"

"Sing has invited different guests as well! This time, they've gotten B-list celebrities to join them on the show!"

"What the hell. Are all of these entertainment shows in the same time slot on steroids? They're really giving it their all today? It's as though they've discussed beforehand to introduce all these changes together at once?"

"Can they afford to not give it their all?! Not many people would have thought that Zhang Ye could manage to make a documentary in such a way. If it really makes it to the top, they won't look good at all! Zhang Ye has checkmated all of these entertainment shows that have been the dominant force in the viewership ratings all this time, so how could they not react?"

...

Hyping up the show.

Revising the content.

Fine-tuning the details.

In a time when all of the industry's entertainment shows were fighting with all they had, A Bite of China maintained its unhurried pace and did not change anything due to external factors.

The third episode.

Titled "Inspiration for Change."

"The taste of a dish is paramount for Chinese people who enjoy a wide variety of cuisine and flavors. And they are always looking for inspiration for change in both."

"In the county of Jianshui in Yunnan, also known as Lin'an. In the old days, this place was of strategic importance for immigrants, as the mixture of ethnic groups settled and formed a melting pot of unique culture. Around the famous Daban Well, women make tofu by hand, building up a supply chain for this dish."

The show's broadcast began.

Various foods and cuisines were presented on screen.

"In northeast China, people only make sauces out of one ingredient: soybeans. This sole dependence on it is also considered a form a luxury. On a heated bed, six pairs of hands knead the bean paste into brick shapes; the taste of the soy sauce can even be used as a measure of the capability of a woman. They then tie them and hang them on the wall where they will leave them there for two months. Next spring, they will undergo further fermentation. Chinese people have brought about imaginative changes and added new flavors to their cuisines while enhancing the nutritional content. This has greatly added to the Chinese culture."

Without any passionate screams or fanfare, A Bite of China abandoned all hype and only kept the core features of the documentary itself to be showcased.

It quietly started its broadcast.

And lightly ended it as well.

The entire broadcast was a leisurely and peaceful walk from start till finish.

Moreover, after the third episode finished broadcasting, many of the audience realized that A Bite of China had ended its broadcast for the day. There wasn't any additional episode like the week before!

"What happened?"

"It's only a one episode broadcast?"

"Why isn't it the same as last week?"

"I can't take this. Isn't Zhang Ye being too daring!?"

"Yeah, the effects from last week's back-to-back broadcast were so good. They even depended on the second episode's viewership rating to tie with Rise to the Dance, but this time, it's only one episode? If you end your broadcast before 9 PM, then Rise to the Dance will still have another hour before its broadcast ends. What are you going to fight them with then?"

"The next episode will be broadcast on Saturday night at 8 PM? That would mean it's a two-day consecutive broadcast now? Isn't this being a little too complacent? You're underestimating your enemies, right?"

"I wonder what Department 14 is thinking!"

"I was still hoping to see more, but that's all they had!"

"Well, we have to wait till tomorrow evening to watch the fourth episode!"

The broadcast schedule of A Bite of China was naturally put in place and decided by Zhang Ye. Actually, not only were the audience unable to understand this decision, even Department 14's staff could not understand it. They felt that if the schedule had followed last week's back-to-back broadcast, it would have helped cover the entire broadcast duration of Rise to the Dance and would have allowed them to compete on the same terms. However, Zhang Ye did not explain further and just rescheduled the broadcast time, which the staff of Department 14 could only listen to and followed his instructions. Whether it was for The Voice or A Bite of China, Zhang Ye as the executive director had always been the one in charge. The usual workflow was always to just follow whatever Zhang Ye said.

On Weibo.

"After some analysis, there are two possibilities for A Bite of China to make such a decision. The first is that they have given up on trying to compete with Rise to the Dance on the Friday time slot and are focusing on the new front of Saturday. With Rise to the Dance dominating the Friday primetime slot, A Bite of China is aiming to dominate Saturday's instead."

"That sounds likely!"

"Right, then what about the second possibility?"

"Hur hur, the second possibility would be that Zhang Ye has confidence that even with just a single episode on Friday, A Bite of China can still surpass Rise to the Dance, therefore taking away the need for a back-to-back broadcast. With the planned broadcast of having an episode each on two separate days, the long-term effects would be much better for it!"

"Fuck, surely not?"

"It can't be that this second possibility is true, right?"

"They tied for first last week, and that was even under the circumstances of A Bite of China having two episodes broadcast successively, so where does Zhang Ye draw his confidence from?"

"I believe it's more likely to be the first possibility!"

"Zhang Ye is still afraid of some things after all!"

"Of course. That's the most heavily invested variety show this year that we're talking about, so the best choice would be to take evasive actions. Tying with it once was already a very good result!"

"This week's episode of Rise to the Dance has strengthened its watchability. Xu Yipeng and his team has really given their all and made it the best they could. Even Zhang Ye, when he comes up against the longtime big brother of the viewership ratings—variety shows—he still has to face them with some respect!"

...

A lot of people were paying close attention to A Bite of China.

Xu Yipeng and Chen Ye were watching it to understand their opponent better too, but then realized that there wouldn't be a second episode for broadcast today. This left them feeling very appalled.

What was happening?

What was he planning?

Was Zhang Ye really afraid of them? He wanted to avoid them?

This thought made them very excited and proud at the same time, but having gotten to know Zhang Ye's temperament very well by now, they felt that it wasn't possible that this was the case!

What sort of a person was Zhang Ye?

He was someone who dared to beat up his leaders!

He was someone who dared to defy the SARFT!

He was someone who dared to sue Central TV Department 1 in court!

Zhang Ye was the one who had challenged Rise to the Dance in the first place by scheduling his program to broadcast at the same time, so why would he withdraw before the battle was decided? This practically made no sense at all and was also not in character with that fellow!

Could it be that Zhang Ye no longer had them in his sights? He no longer thought them to be worthy opponents? So he took such a casual decision for the broadcast arrangement??

Xu Yipeng did not believe it!

Chen Ye sneered endlessly at this!

What are you trying to do by taking such a deliberately mystifying action!? Let's use our viewership ratings tomorrow to see who will have the final word!