I’m Really a Superstar

At midnight.

The digital clock in the recording studio beeped to signal the time.

The cigarettes that were meant for the reconstruction of the model were brought back to the office as well. The awesome quartet had just started unpacking the cigarettes from their packs. Without the manpower from the morning and afternoon to help out, even the simple task of opening the packs to take the cigarettes out had taken them a long time to do. The more packs they opened, the more dispirited and tired they became.

Zhang Ye took a cig from the pile.

Sun Han lighted it for him then took one for himself as well.

At this time, Sun Han’s phone rang. He answered the call and said, “Hello, Brother Chen….Has it been recorded already? Alright, alright. Thanks, you guys….OK…OK. I’ll definitely treat everyone to a meal, definitely!”

Zhang Ye asked, “The background music is complete?”

Sun Han used the software in the recording studio to retrieve the music files. “Two of my friends from the station completed it after working overtime. There. I’ve received the files. Have a listen and see if they’re alright. I think they’ve created them according to your requirements.”

There were a total of 3 pieces of background music.

When Zhang Ye heard the first one, he rejected it. When he heard the second piece, his eyes narrowed and he said, “Good, this will be the one! I don’t need to listen to the third one anymore!”

Sun Han heaved a sigh of relief. “That’s good then, at least we have completed one task, but the others…”

Zhang Ye and Sun Han turned their heads and looked over to the few of them at the other side opening cigarette packs and taking out cigarettes. The oldest one of them was already lying down horizontally across a few chairs, the injured one with a cast was also reclining in a chair and had fallen asleep while nodding his head, looking like he would fall of the chair at any time.

Sun Han said, “I’ll wake them up!”

“Forget it.” Zhang Ye stopped him and looked at the others. “Everyone has been battling hard for more than 12 hours now. Even if they were ironmen, they wouldn’t be able to bear it. If they’re tired, just let them rest.”

The staff member who had the flu clutched his forehead and said, “Brother Sun, Teacher Zhang, I can’t take it anymore too. I’m sick and feel crazy dizzy.” He stood up to excuse himself. He looked like he wasn’t even unable to stand properly.

The intern girl was also at her limits, her eyelids drooping as she tried to battle her fatigue.

If they had been able to finish up everything just now, they might have been able to hang on a little more. But the problem now was that there was an issue with the prop and they were only several hours away from the morning deadline. They knew they couldn’t make it in time. Exhaling their last breath of hope, their spirits were crushed as weariness took over completely.

Zhang Ye said calmly, “Go and rest.”

The girl said, “I will just nap for half an hour. Then I’ll be able to work again.”

Zhang Ye looked at Sun Han who was also trying to hold out and told him, “You too. Go and rest.”

“What about you?” Sun Han did not move.

Zhang Ye stamped on and extinguished his cigarette, then said, “Don’t worry about me. I once recorded a program for more than 12 hours without stopping, so don’t try to keep up with me like this.”

Sun Han waved his hands and said, “That won’t do. If you aren’t going to rest, then I’ll stay up together with you. Just let me know whatever you need me to help you with. It was already quite unsuitable that I called you to help us with this in the first place, so how could I leave you to work while I sleep? That doesn’t make sense.” He was about to light another cigarette to wake himself up a little more.

“Don’t smoke anymore.” Zhang Ye said without explaining. “You can go and nap for half an hour as well. I can see that you’re feeling dizzy too. If you try to help out with the modeling, which requires steady hands, it’ll be more troublesome if you’re feeling dizzy. You won’t be able to do much in your state, so go on and rest. I will wake you up in a bit.”

Sun Han thought over the suggestion and could only reply, “Then…Alright, I’ll get 30 minutes of shuteye. Remember to wake us up.”

Zhang Ye nodded.

Sun Han then found a corner and pulled over a few chairs, placing them close together before lying down on them. He had only closed his eyes for a few seconds before he started snoring. He was that tired.

When Zhang Ye saw they had all fallen asleep, he went over to the intern girl to cover her with a jacket, afraid she would catch a cold. Although he said that he would wake them up in 30 minutes, he wasn’t actually planning on doing so. They were already at their limits, whether it be physically or technically. Whatever work there was left, he was better off doing himself. He would just do whatever he could since he was used to working overtime anyway, and still had the strength to go on.

Let’s get started then.

Zhang Ye walked over to the model frame and started to affix the cigarettes one by one. The previous design flaw had taught him a lesson and he already knew what the problem was, so he was sure that he wouldn’t make the same mistake again. And so, using the flawed model as a guide, Zhang Ye started stacking up and affixing the cigarettes to a new frame again. It looked almost the same as the earlier model, except that it had a layering effect in the depth of the cigarettes. For example, the bottom of the lungs shouldn’t stick out as much compared to the middle. With this added depth, it made the model appear three dimensional. Even though it was simple to explain, when it came to making the model, it was still a very complex operation. His hands needed to be very steady to make sure the cigarettes stuck well on the first try. Once the glue dried, there was no way to move it again. When that was done, he had to put another cigarette on top of the other. He did every step carefully.

One cig.

Ten cigs…

A hundred cigs…

Again and again.

Two hours passed.

Sun Han and the others were all sound asleep. Two of them were even snoring loudly, creating quite a good rhythm between themselves.

At 2 AM in the morning, Zhang Ye suddenly felt light-headed and started seeing spots in his vision. His hand were shaking so badly that a cigarette he was holding dropped to the floor. He also lost his balance for a second!

He was at his limits!

He could not hang on any longer!

Zhang Ye quickly drank a sip of water as his face turned pale. What should he do? There was no time left, but should he just give up like that? Just throw it aside so it would be out of his hands? How could he do that! If he hadn’t promised them, it wouldn’t have mattered to him. But he had already promised Hu Fei that he would do it, so how couldn’t he finish it! He had to be credible!

He was getting increasingly tired and sleepy by the second!

Even for an ironman like Zhang Ye, he could not continuously focus with such intensity on a task for 13 or 14 hours straight. There were also times where he would feel tired as well.

Oh yes, there’s that!

Suddenly, Zhang Ye remembered an item he had gotten from the lottery draw the last time. Other than the 1-Up and Fruit of Agility, he had also drawn 20 bottles of Strength Potion. Based on his experience with using the Health Potion and getting healed when he was involved in a fight with Wang Shuixin’s son at Beijing Television Station, he felt that the Strength Potion would also let him regain his strength in the same way. He wondered if it would be useful in this situation!

He opened the inventory menu to retrieve a bottle of Strength Potion and gulped it down quickly.

The next moment, he felt a warm stream of energy surging from within and his blood flow seemingly increasing throughout this body. Zhang Ye’s eyes brightened up as he balled his fists knowing that the potion had taken effect immediately. He recovered much of his strength and perked up again!

He continued to work!

121 cigs!

122 cigs!

Aiya, this one was a little out of place! He quickly removed and carefully stuck it on again!

144 cigs!

In the entire recording studio, he was the only one busy working.

……

Outside.

The corridor had several sections where the fluorescent lights were dimmed. Other than the departments on duty, the whole building of the television station was almost fully dark. There were not many lights on in the silence of the night.

5 AM.

It was almost daybreak.

At the end of the corridor, some footsteps thudded.

“Station Head, I’m sorry we had to trouble you and make you come down here in the middle of the night over some small issues.”

“If it has the potential to affect the television broadcast, then it is no small issue.”

“You’re right. This is my fault. I did not make the staff to get the equipment ready in advance.”

“Hur hur, it’s fine. Has it been fixed?”

“Yes, it’s been fixed. The signal will restart in a short while.”

“Alrighty then.”

“You should hurry and go back to get some rest.”

“I’m not going back again. I no longer feel tired.”

A man and a woman were walking from a distance away.

The man who was in his forties looked like he was an assistant.

The woman was an old lady in her late fifties with a headful of white hair which did not look dirty or messy. Her short hair was neat and permed, making her look very spirited. Suddenly, the old lady spotted something ahead. “Oh, why are the lights on over there? That’s the recording studio, isn’t it? There’s still someone doing a recording at this time?”

The middle-aged assistant was stunned. “That can’t be. Maybe they forgot to switch off the lights? Who would be recording a program in the middle of the night?”

When the two of them approached, they saw that doors to the recording studio were left opened. Peeking in casually, they saw 4 or 5 people lying down on some chairs and a young man who was still awake. He seemed fully focused on a strangely shaped model, a pile of cigarettes at the side, though they did not know what he was doing.

The old lady asked curiously, “That kid looks familiar. Is he Zhang Ye?”

The middle-aged assistant was taken aback but replied, “That’s him. Why is he…Oh, I know. Our station’s ‘quit smoking’ PSA was withdrawn from airing. But since today is the World No Tobacco Day, and we were unable to come up with another ad in time, I heard that someone had requested that Zhang Ye come and help save the situation. He has been here since yesterday morning handling the ad’s production.” He had heard about Zhang Ye’s time at the station from others. After all, Zhang Ye was one of the top C-list celebrities and was closely related with the television station due to the many incidents between them. Of course his presence at the station would not be kept hidden. Many people had even been talking about him yesterday during work.

The old lady said, “He started yesterday morning?”

The middle-aged assistant nodded. “When I came to work in the evening, I saw him busy working at the Advertising Department.”

“It’s almost the next morning now.” The old lady glanced at her watch.

The middle-aged assistant anxiously replied, “Yes, why is Zhang Ye still working now? It’s just him? He has been working continuously for the last 20 hours? Even a god wouldn’t be able to take it! He’s really risking his life for this!” He also knew that the station’s quit smoking advertisement had been withdrawn and that they were in trouble. But even so, why would he tempt fate this way by working for 20 hours straight? And you’re the only one left to do all the work? You…just what are you thinking!

The old lady asked, “How much did we pay him to take this urgent job?”

The middle-aged assistant gave a wry smile and said, “I think…nothing? He was asked by one of our satellite channel’s producers to do a favor for the station. I heard from them that Zhang Ye did not ask for a single cent.”

The old lady asked again to confirm, “Volunteering?”

“I suppose so,” the middle-aged assistant answered ambiguously. Voluntary? Was there anyone who would tempt fate for a voluntary job! If something happened to you while you were incredibly tired, would it be worth it? Afraid that the station head had forgotten some past issues, he added, “Ever since Wang Shuixin’s incident, Zhang Ye’s relationship with the station hasn’t been that good anymore. It was Deputy Station Head Wan who signed the letter firing Zhang Ye, so because of that, his relationship with us became quite bad. I’m still wondering why he agreed to help the station in this matter. He’s even doing it so earnestly…” He spoke such, still unable to wrap his head around what was going on.

The old lady smiled and said, “I’ve heard a lot about this Zhang Ye, but this is the first time I’ve seen him at the station. From what you’ve just told me, I find that man quite interesting.” She paused for a moment. “Go on ahead, Little Wu. You still have some work to do, so there’s no need to keep accompanying me.”

The middle-aged assistant said, “Station Head, what about you?”

A sparkle of curiosity glimmering in her eyes, the old lady said, “I’m going to stroll around a bit.”