I’m Really a Superstar

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

The next day.

They held a meeting at the studio.

Little Wang said in surprise, "Sister Ha, did you really seal the deal?"

Ha Qiqi laughed and said, "I really did. Even the contract has been signed."

Tong Fu was overjoyed and said, "You guys didn\'t see the expressions on those two bros\' faces. I suppose we\'ve terribly offended them, hai."

Wu Yi said, "Why do you still look so happy when you\'ve offended others?"

Tong Fu said, "Well, it was fair competition."

Some people could not understand. "Sister Ha, how did you do it?"

Someone else said, "Yeah, haven\'t we been unable to convince them all this while? And we were even up against a Heavenly King for this endorsement? It\'s not that I\'m lauding the enemy and belittling our own master, but I\'m making an objective observation here. Be it popularity, image, or honors, uh, I don\'t think that we have any fight, do we?"

Zhang Ye came down from upstairs. "It\'s because I\'m getting married."

"Ah?"

"What?"

"Damn, really?"

"Congratulations, Director Zhang!"

"Didn\'t you just get engaged?"

"You\'re getting married this soon? That\'s great!"

"I knew it!"

"Yeah, so it\'s the jewelry brand that wants to get your favor!"

"Pfft, that\'s such a lethal tactic that leaves the jewelry company with no grounds to reject you!"

"When I learned that they were offering to us 10 million a year for the endorsement, I thought that they must have gone crazy. So it\'s because of this. They\'re preparing to make full use of your wedding to create publicity. I suppose they\'ll be the designated jeweler for your wedding then? No wonder the jewelry company is willing to pay so much."

It finally dawned on everyone!

This was a surefire kill!

This tactic was too fucking ruthless!

Yes. Their Teacher Zhang did not have any advantages over the opponent. His popularity and image were not as good as that Heavenly King\'s. By comparing them side by side, Zhang Ye would definitely lose out to him by quite a bit. However, Zhang Ye was about to get married, which was the only thing no one in the entire entertainment industry could outdo. The identity of Zhang Ye\'s fiancée was still being actively discussed in the industry. The citizens were making wild guesses. In fact, even the studio\'s staff did not know who she was and were incredibly curious. The topicality of such discussions had previously reached a high. And now, once Zhang Ye announced that he would be getting married, just how much attention would it get? No one dared to imagine it. The Heavenly Kings and Queens were either single or secretly married, so how were they going to fight with Zhang Ye over the jewelry endorsement?

Even a Heavenly King would have to kneel to that!

This advantage Zhang Ye had could crush everyone else!

Zhang Ye laughed and said, "Everyone, it\'s good enough that you know about it, but please don\'t spread the news for now."

Zhang Zuo immediately asked, "Do you need our help with your wedding?"

"Not for now," Zhang Ye chuckled. "Me and my fiancée\'s parents are handling it for now. We haven\'t agreed on a date yet, but it\'ll be within the year. It won\'t be long now, so if I still need everyone\'s help at that time, I\'ll let you know in advance. Don\'t worry, none of you will be able to run off. Everyone\'s mission now is to take all of the endorsements that we\'ve identified. Whichever of those major brand names that can be taken, take it. Every single one counts. Just do it without any restraints. Be it a Heavenly King or Heavenly Queen, I\'m not afraid of offending anyone."

"OK!"

"Understood!"

"Director Zhang, congrats once again!"

"Thanks!"

After saying a few words.

Ha Qiqi took out a copy of a document. "This will be the toughest nut to crack."

Zhang Zuo frowned. "Is it that sanitary ware brand?

Ha Qiqi gave a wry smile and said, "Yes, this will be the most difficult deal to get. It\'s almost impossible, so I really don\'t know where to start with them. Director Zhang, do you have any suggestions?"

Zhang Ye said, "Give me a brief introduction to the brand."

Ha Qiqi said, "This is the biggest sanitary ware brand in the country..."

As the leader of the industry, this sanitary ware brand mainly promoted its toiletries in the market. It had an extremely high market share in the Chinese market, and even its expansion into the foreign markets was pretty good. In Southeast Asia, their brand awareness and market share were also very high. This product did not sound like it was something very good, nor should the celebrities be too willing to endorse a brand like it. Toiletries? Sanitary ware? It just didn\'t sound like it was something great. But it was quite the opposite. The competition to endorse this brand was the most intense of all the Chinese brand names. In the past six years, this brand had been fronted by a Heavenly King or Queen, and even some Asian megastars!

First, this brand was targeted at the high class.

Second, their company was supremely wealthy.

Third, they were not afraid of spending money. The advertising volume of this brand could easily be described as shocking. Not only did they flood China with advertising, they also did so for all of the Southeast Asian countries they had a presence in. This would also greatly boost the exposure of the endorsement stars as a result!

Therefore, this sanitary ware brand was identified as the most important piece of the fifth step in the "Reach the Summit" plan. It was also the endorsement project they placed the most emphasis on!

Zhang Ye asked, "Who was their previous spokesperson?"

Ha Qiqi replied, "It was a Korean celebrity, one of the Asian A-list superstars."

Zhang Ye asked, "What about now? Do we have other competitors?"

Ha Qiqi said in anguish, "Yes. Back then, we put in a lot of effort on this project because in the one year that the Korean celebrity endorsed them, there hasn\'t been any significant growth in the domestic sales of the sanitary ware brand. I found out that they wouldn\'t be renewing the endorsement contract as a result, so I thought that we would surely stand a chance of getting it. But who could\'ve expected that there would be an intruder when one of the Heavenly Queen\'s agent suddenly joined the bid as well? When I mentioned that you were going to get married soon, the company\'s representative did not seem to react. I suppose that isn\'t enough to move them, so I didn\'t go into any further detail with them. It looks to me that they\'ve already decided which Heavenly King or Queen to use for their endorsement."

Zhang Ye blinked. "It\'s not Old Zhang, right?"

"No," Ha Qiqi said, "Sister Zhang won\'t take such endorsements."

Zhang Ye nodded. "Alright then. If it were Old Zhang, I wouldn\'t want to fight her for it. But for anyone else, they\'re all fair game. We\'ll just have to see who\'s more capable."

Ha Qiqi said, "But the problem is that we don\'t stand out at all."

Zhang Ye said, "It\'s a toiletry brand, right?"

"Yes, it\'s a sanitary ware company that mainly focuses on their toiletries," Ha Qiqi said.

Zhang Ye thought for a moment before saying, "How about this, give me an hour."

Ha Qiqi was taken aback.

An hour?

What are you planning?

Nobody understood.

Zhang Ye went upstairs, and the sound of someone singing could be heard after a while.

When everyone heard that, they were even more confused about what Zhang Ye was doing.

…

On the same night.

Ha Qiqi arrived at Shanghai by plane.

The moment she got off her flight, she called the deputy director who was in charge of the sanitary ware company\'s brand management.

"Director Bai, it\'s me."

"Oh, it\'s Manager Ha. Hello."

"Regarding your company\'s endorsement deal, we\'ve communicated with you about it before. Can we have an in-depth discussion about it this time?"

"About that, Director Ha, I\'m really sorry. We\'ve long heard of Teacher Zhang Ye and have been wanting to work with him as well, but I\'m afraid this time…we\'ve essentially made a decision. We can only hope to work together with you all next time. Is that alright?"

"Hur hur, Director Bai, then would it be fine if we just have a meal together?"

"Aiya, I\'m afraid I can\'t today."

"But I\'m in Shanghai. Surely you wouldn\'t just turn me down, would you?"

"Ah? You\'re in Shanghai?"

"Yeah, I just got off the plane."

"Aiyo, alright then, I\'ll send someone to pick you up."

"Thank you very much, Director Bai."

An hour later.

At the headquarters of the sanitary ware company.

Ha Qiqi spotted Director Bai, as well as that Heavenly Queen\'s agent.

"Director Bai."

"Manager Ha, sorry to trouble you for coming all this way."

"Hai, it\'s all for business."

"Let me introduce you."

When he finished introducing both parties.

Ha Qiqi and the Heavenly Queen\'s agent shook hands with each other.

The Heavenly Queen\'s agent smiled and said, "Boss Ha, I\'ve long heard of your great name."

Ha Qiqi smiled and said, "You\'re too kind. It\'s me who\'s long heard of your great name."

The agent grinned and said, "Teacher Zhang has been rather active these days, huh? I heard that he\'s taken quite a few endorsements recently. He\'s even taken an endorsement that another Heavenly King had his eyes on."

Ha Qiqi giggled. "It\'s just fair competition. We\'ve always advocated a win-win situation for the parties involved."

The Heavenly Queen\'s agent gave her a look. "Right, fair competition. I like those words."

Just from the simple conversation they had, hostilities flared.

Ha Qiqi and the people she brought with her were standing on the left side, while those from the Heavenly Queen\'s team were standing on the other side.

Director Bai bluntly said, "Since everyone\'s here, I\'ll cut to the chase. First off, thank you for thinking so highly of our brand. This is the greatest recognition we can get, and I\'d like to thank all of you on behalf of the company. Next, we have given a lot of consideration to the endorsement deal, though the final decision will still have to be approved by the company\'s CEO. That\'s why we\'ll just eat and drink today, not talk shop. Since all of you are here, we\'re all friends today."

Ha Qiqi smiled and said, "Sure, we\'ll do as Director Bai says."

The Heavenly Queen\'s agent also smiled, apparently confident that they had already won. They were not feeling any pressure.

This was the company\'s reception room.

On the large round table the dishes were quickly served.

Director Bai was actually in a predicament. He hadn\'t expected that the two celebrities\' teams would follow up on the endorsement deal so closely. At first, he wanted to meet with Ha Qiqi alone but hadn\'t expected that the Heavenly Queen\'s agent would be so thick-skinned to follow. He felt that it wouldn\'t be nice to say anything about it, so he was forced to allow all of them to sit together. He was really afraid that the two parties would clash.

But surprisingly, Ha Qiqi was holding up pretty well.

She ate.

And drank.

And did not refuse any food or toasts that were offered to her.

All the while, she made no mention of the endorsement contract.

This impressed Director Bai, and he couldn\'t help but start wondering what she was planning. Honestly, the moment their main office received the quote from the Heavenly Queen\'s team, they decided on hiring her. Although the asking price was high, she had the fame to back it up. There was no reason for them not to work with her. As for Zhang Ye, they also found it rather tempting to hire him. Teacher Zhang was always talked about, appearing in the headlines every other day and had a very high public exposure. But even considering all of those points, they still felt that Zhang Ye\'s status in the entertainment industry was not comparable to any of those seven S-list celebrities.

The Heavenly Queen\'s agent did not talk about business.

Ha Qiqi was steady as a rock.

As it turned out, it was Director Bai who couldn\'t hold it in. He smiled and said, "I Am a Singer has been doing quite well."

Ha Qiqi smiled and said, "Director Bai watches it too?"

Director Bai laughed and said, "Of course I watch it. Everyone in the company, including my family, watches it. Why isn\'t Teacher Zhang thinking of participating? He sings really well too."

Ha Qiqi said, "He can\'t compare with those great singers."

"How modest." Director Bai asked, "Has Teacher Zhang released any new songs recently?"

Ha Qiqi suddenly said, "Now that you mention it, Director Zhang has written a new song."

Director Bai got interested as he liked Zhang Ye\'s songs a lot. "Oh? What kind of song is it?"

Ha Qiqi looked at him. "How about I let you give it a listen?"

Director Bai said in surprise, "I can listen to it ahead of release?"

Ha Qiqi said, "Director Bai is no stranger, so of course you can."

Those on the Heavenly Queen\'s team looked at her.

Then they saw Ha Qiqi take her cell phone out and plug in earphones. She increased the volume before handing it to Director Bai. "Just press play and see how you like it."

Director Bai said in anticipation, "Alright, I\'ll have a listen!"

Getting a chance to listen to Zhang Ye\'s new song first? That was quite an honor for him!

Director Bai looked down at the screen and pressed play. Then he got startled.

Eh?

This title?

" Toilet 1 "?

A song existed with this title?

Through the earphones came the sound of singing. Perhaps due to the volume being too loud, even those who were sitting close by could hear it. The people on the Heavenly Queen\'s team pricked up their ears too.

As a result, the first verse that was sung stunned all those in the room!

"I have a toilet at home.

"There is a hole in the throne.

"Above the hole a smile\'s always shown.

"Smiling at how helpless we are alone."

This is?

This is?

Director Bai got the goosebumps!

The people on the Heavenly Queen\'s team were all dumbfounded!

"Every house has a toilet.

"Everyone has to use it.

"After every use you feel relaxed and carefree.

"Guaranteed to make you infinitely happy.

"Every single toilet is a hero.

"With just a simple flush,

"It can flush away all of your sorrows.

"No matter how much your pain,

"No matter how deep your loss,

"For you, it will take all of it away!"

A female employee on the Heavenly Queen\'s team let out a "pfft" and spat out all the fruit juice in her mouth onto the table!

Fuck, aren\'t you shameless?

Zhang Ye, aren\'t you too goddamn shameless?

"Every single toilet is a friend.

"You can trust it with all your heart.

"You can\'t do without it in your life.

"My secrets are too many.

"My dreams are too grand.

"But slowly, you will understand.

"My beloved toilet bowl!"

The song ended.

A toilet is a friend?

A toilet is a hero?

Everyone looked flabbergasted!

The Heavenly Queen\'s agent was even more at a loss and nearly fell out of her chair!

Ha Qiqi smiled and said, "Director Bai, this song isn\'t too bad, right?"

But Director Bai got really excited. It was simply too good! It was so apt! This....Wasn\'t this song written with their sanitary ware brand in mind? Could there even be a more suitable song than this one?

They had to get it!

They most definitely had to get this song!

Director Bai stood up then and there. "How much does this song cost?! We\'ll buy it!"

But Ha Qiqi shook her head. "Director Zhang never sells his songs. We only talk about working together."

Working together?

The endorsement?

The Heavenly Queen\'s agent got mad. "Director Bai! We\'ve already agreed on the endorseme—"

"Manager Ha," Director Bai said firmly, "could we step aside to talk?"

Ha Qiqi said, "No problem."

The Heavenly Queen\'s team nearly fainted!

"Director Bai!"

"What\'s the meaning of this?"

"What\'s going on?"

"Didn\'t we already come to an agreement?"

"Director Bai, surely you can\'t do things this way, right?"

…

Half an hour later.

The Heavenly Queen\'s team left the sanitary ware company headquarters cursing and swearing!

"What the heck was that!"

"How could they be so unethical!"

"No one snatches endorsement deals the way they did!"

"The fuck was that! Zhang Ye\'s team is too goddamn immoral!"

"Shameless! Shameless to the max!"

"That guy\'s a real hooligan!"

Everyone felt as though their lungs were going to explode!

Every single toilet is a friend?

Friend? Your grandpa!

Every single toilet is a hero?

Hero? Your grandma!

Do you have a shred of moral integrity left in you?

Do you even have a bottom line that you don\'t cross?

Even a toilet can become a hero, so why haven\'t you ascended to Heaven yet!

As they cursed and swore, the Heavenly Queen\'s agent also started to feel a little amused. That song had really left her with nothing to say. She was so convinced that she could have no complaints! The client was marketing their sanitary ware brand, after all. Zhang Ye had mythologized the toilet into a hero, and even ended the song by fucking calling it "my beloved toilet bowl"? Faced with such an unconventional advertising jingle, who could possibly take the endorsement from him?

A Heavenly King?

A Heavenly Queen?

An Asian megastar?

Whoever came would surely kneel in defeat!

Whoever came would even have to kowtow to him!

This time, they had really underestimated Zhang Ye\'s team and totally underestimated Zhang Ye\'s level of shamelessness. He was really the greatest wonder of the entertainment circle and didn\'t play by the rules. All of his tricks were more devious than the last! But thinking about it again, so what even if they hadn\'t underestimated Zhang Ye this time? Could they have written a song like that? Even if they did, would the Heavenly Queen go and sing it? That would be impossible! Even if the Heavenly Queen was paid 100 million RMB in endorsement fees, she couldn\'t possibly go and sing it. It was the same for all the other S-list celebrities, and maybe even the other A-list celebrities. None of them could be as thick-skinned as Zhang Ye and do so!

They had lost, but they couldn\'t complain!

Just on this point alone, they were forced to accept the loss!

This was really something that only Zhang Ye could have done. Moreover, it was done in that usual shameless style of his and was something that no one else could have copied!