I’m Really a Superstar

The livestream began.

The Asian Charity Banquet officially started.

Many of the netizens from countries all over Asia couldn’t wait any longer.

The master of ceremonies was a famous comedian ¹ in Korea. His lines were very quickly translated during the broadcast by the interpreters to the different countries in Asia. “Esteemed guests, good evening. The annual Asian Charity Banquet has begun once again, and I’m very honored to be chosen as the host of this event. This year, we invited 63 celebrities from all over Asia, as well as the elite businesspeople of each country’s business world. The auction will be starting very soon, so let me once again thank every celebrity who has traveled here from afar and for providing us with their personal effects to be put up for auction. We would also like to thank each and every businessperson for taking the time to participate in the auction.”

A heated discussion was already taking place on the Internet.

…

Seoul.

At the venue of the charity banquet.

Dinner had been served. There was even red wine. Closed captions and real-time interpretation were available on the livestream back home, but this wasn’t the case at the venue. The onstage host was speaking, but Zhang Ye did not understand a word. He wasn’t really interested in the auction today and only showed up at the event to be present. He had no intentions of being in the spotlight today and was scarfing down the food, head down. A glass of wine was served to him, and upon tasting, it turned out to be surprisingly good too.

Xiaodong was speechless. “Is it yummy, Teacher Zhang?”

Zhang Ye pointed at the plate. “Not bad, why don’t you have a taste too?”

Xiaodong couldn’t think of a reply.

Amy also said in a speechless manner, “Did you really come here to eat?”

Zhang Ye was taken aback. “If you aren’t here to eat, then what are you doing at a banquet? It’s not like I can understand what the host is going on about.”

Li Xiaoxian gave a smile and said, “Even though it’s called a banquet, how many people do you see picking up their utensils? Everyone’s mainly going through the motions. What if the camera turns to you and you’re seen with your head down and gobbling up the steak like that? It wouldn’t look decent at all. For this sort of banquet, it’s about putting on a show.”

Chen Guang grunted in agreement.

Zhang Ye turned to look at Zhang Yuanqi, Ning Lan, and the others and found that none of them were eating either.

Zhang Ye simply scoffed. “Alright then, continue being hungry and pretend all you like. That’s right, sit up straight and stiffen that spine. Yes, keep that posture and hold it. I’ll just eat by myself.”

Xiaodong rolled her eyes at him.

Amy was nearly driven mad.

Zhang Ye had always behaved rather unrefined and would never be constrained by rules. He would always do whatever pleased him. If he was hungry, why would he have to pretend not to be so? He could only put on a show after he had his fill!

Onstage, the first auction item was brought out.

The live broadcast camera cut to focus on the female celebrity who had provided the auction item. She was a Japanese sports star and a famous tennis player in Asia. The item she put up for auction was a tennis racket she had used many years ago. Very quickly, the people on the floor started bidding. Every guest at the venue was given a number plate ² , including the celebrities as well. Every time it was raised, it would represent a bid increase, with no cap to the upper limit. The final transaction price would not include any “commissions” that were present in commercial auctions. The entire bid would go towards charity, so the final value of the bids for such charity auctions were often higher than the true value of the items. This was because everyone was participating in the auction for charitable causes and not to profit. But of course, your item would have to be worthwhile in the first place. If the item you put up for auction was too crappy, no one would be crazy enough to spend several million to bid on it.

$1,000 USD.

$3,000 USD.

$5,000 USD.

Sold!

The first auction item was sold rapidly, with a Japanese businessman winning the bidding. This was only a warmup for the rest of the night’s auction since the people on the floor didn’t seem too interested in the first item. However, the transaction price still went far beyond the tennis racket’s value.

The second item.

The third item.

The fourth item.

The auction items were displayed in turn.

Big Qi’s ink wash painting was the fifth item to be put up for auction.

There wasn’t a lack of people who knew about paintings at the venue. Even among the Japanese and Koreans, there were people who were hobbyists in this field. When it came to calligraphy and paintings, there really weren’t any national borders. When everyone saw it, they looked speechless.

A Japanese businessman shook his head.

A Korean businesswoman laughed without saying anything.

What is this?

It isn’t even good enough to be considered an amateur piece!

China is a giant in the world of calligraphy and paintings, so what is with this skill they were seeing?

However, Big Qi still had quite a bit of reputation in Asia. A lot of people had watched his movies, especially the Chinese businesspeople who were also very supportive of him. They kept bidding until the price of the ink wash painting was finally closed at $6,000 USD. It was a Chinese businessman who walked away with the item, and Big Qi seemed to know him personally. All of this was done as a show of support for the actor.

Big Qi laughed and said, “I thought that my item would fetch at least tens of thousands of dollars.”

Huo Dongfang said in amusement, “Perhaps you thought too much of yourself, Old Qi?”

Big Qi pouted. “Was it really that bad?”

Li Xiaoxian opined, “It wasn’t too bad.”

Big Qi looked at Zhang Ye. “What do you think, Teacher Zhang?”

Zhang Ye clenched his teeth and answered supportively, “It’s not bad.”

Big Qi sighed. “See, it’s them who don’t know how to appreciate art.”

Zhang Ye nearly bust a gut.

Not bad, my ass!

I wouldn’t buy this lousy painting for 10 yuan!

Ink wash painting is the hardest to produce among the different kinds of paintings out there. Do you think that you can just pick it up with a few days of practice?

Soon, it was time for Xiaodong’s item to be put up for auction. This item was quite a special one. It turned out that Spring Garden had once released an album with only four songs on it. Further, this album did not get distributed in the market and could not be bought, with the reason being that the record company had closed down back then among other reasons. In the end, plans for the distribution of the album ran aground. Although the songs on it were later adapted and reissued several years after their debut, this album was out of print. No one had seen it before!

The bidding immediately became intense.

“5,000!”

“10,000!”

“11,000!”

“20,000!”

“30,000!”

“40,000!”

Xiaodong, Amy, and Li Xiaoxian were all quite surprised.

The final transaction price reached $50,000 USD, which converted to slightly less than 400,000 yuan. It was the most expensive item thus far in the auction, and they felt very honored.

Ning Lan said, “Nice.”

Xiaodong blushed and said, “I never expected that it would fetch that much.”

The Korean businessman who won the bidding was also very happy. He went onstage and gave a speech, talking about how he was a longtime fan of Spring Garden.

Xiaodong was also invited onto the stage. She gave her speech in English and expressed her thanks to the Korean businessman.

Chen Guang said happily, “We’re in first place for now.”

Amy said, “It’s just for the time being. The highlight of the event hasn’t arrived yet.”

Big Qi smiled and said, “But it’s still a good sign.”

Many of the Korean and Japanese celebrities cast glances at the Chinese celebrity team.

Although there were many countries in Asia, only the celebrities from China, Japan, and Korea were considered successful in making a name for themselves. As a result, the competition today was mainly between them. Due to many historical hatreds, ethnic differences, and political clashes, the three countries had always had an intense rivalry. It was the same for their celebrities, and no one wanted to lose to the others. Since this was an occasion with a first place, no one wanted to get second place. All of them were hoping that their auction items would get an astronomical bid. First, this would bring honor to their country, and second, it would boost their own popularity. Walking away with the top honors on a stage that was broadcast live to all of Asia?

How incredible would that be!