I’m Really a Superstar

At the start of this day, Zhang Ye got his studio to make a Weibo post announcing his break from work. He turned down all work and events in preparation to stay at home to accompany his family and catch up with his classmates. Ever since his comeback, he hadn’t been idle. He was involved in shooting a television series and participating in a singing competition, so he hadn’t had a chance to catch up with many of his old classmates and friends. Having not met them in over four years, he didn’t know how much everyone had changed. By reaching the summit of the entertainment circle, Zhang Ye had finally fulfilled the goal he had been striving towards for many years. So it was about time for him to get some rest.

In the following days, he attended dinner parties every day.

…

Dong Shanshan’s house.

It was a party with his old classmates from university.

“Wow, Zhang’er is here!”

“Haha, Classmate Yu Yingyi, you haven’t changed.”

“Yo, you still remember this old classmate of yours?”

“Listen to what you’re saying. Are you ridiculing me?”

“Well, that’s what you get for not meeting up with us sooner after you came back.”

“Well, wasn’t I really tied down before this?”

“But you didn’t forget about meeting up with Shanshan?”

“Hey, Wang He, you’re still alive?”

“But of course. I’m flourishing.”

“Zhang’er.”

“Hah! Hu Feifei!

“You’re a big star now!”

“Hahaha, I guess I’m doing not too bad.”

Wang He, Yu Yingyi, Dong Shanshan, Hu Feifei, He Kui, Ma Xufei, Xiaoqian—his old classmates were all here today. Everyone kept teasing each other and laughing happily.

Suddenly, Dong Shanshan walked down from the upper floor of the villa. “Zhang’er, there’s someone here who I want you to meet.”

Zhang Ye was taken aback. “Meet who?”

Everyone looked at Zhang Ye. “Haha, guess!”

Dong Shanshan smiled. “I’ll give you 10 seconds to guess.”

Zhang Ye said helplessly, “I really don’t know. Which of our former classmate is here?”

Dong Shanshan turned her head and looked to the stairwell. She sang some notes. ” Dadada dunnn ¹ !”

At the next moment, the figure of a woman appeared at the stairs. The woman seemed visibly excited as she looked at Zhang Ye. She covered her mouth as she made her way down the stairs step by step.

Zhang Ye was stunned. “Sister Qiu!

Qiu Yumei said, “Zhang’er!”

Zhang Ye rushed up to her. “Damn! You can walk? Your legs have healed?”

“Yes, they’ve healed,” Qiu Yumei said as her eyes reddened.

Dong Shanshan said with a smile from the side, “Sister Qiu listened to your advice and went to the hospital that Zhang Yuanqi recommended for her treatment. After you were sentenced, Sister Qiu had wanted to come back on several occasions, and a few of us went over to America as well to persuade her not to. As a result, during the middle of last year, Sister Qiu suddenly returned to the country. She appeared in front of us without a wheelchair or anyone supporting her.”

Hu Feifei smiled and said, “We were all stunned on the spot!”

Wang He said, “Little Qiu might not be able to exert herself with any running, but she doesn’t have problems with walking anymore. We’re all so happy for her.” He pointed at Zhang Ye. “To say nothing of the other things, you handled this matter really beautifully. You’re one loyal friend alright!”

Zhang Ye was still in disbelief. He crouched down in front of Qiu Yumei and stared at her legs. “You really can walk now?”

“I really can walk.” Qiu Yumei wiped tears from the corners of her eyes. “Zhang’er, thank you. If it weren’t for you, I would have to lie in a bed for the rest of my life.”

Zhang Ye exclaimed, “Do we still need to talk like this? Quick, walk a few more steps and let me see.”

Qiu Yumei walked around for him.

Zhang Ye laughed in great surprise. “This is great!”

Qiu Yumei smiled and said, “I’ve gone back to work as a broadcast host at the radio station. I’ll return the debt I owe you with the money I earn.”

Zhang Ye said happily, “There’s no need to.”

But Qiu Yumei said, “That won’t do, I have to return it.”

Dong Shanshan smiled and said, “It’s not like you don’t know what Sister Qiu is like.”

“Alright then.” Zhang Ye said, “Return it slowly if you must. I have no urgent need for the money.”

Xiaoqian grinned and said, “What a happy day this is! Let’s have a drink, everyone!”

He Kui slapped his thigh. “Alright, we’re not going home until we’re drunk!”

Ma Xufei shouted, “To Zhang’er!”

Zhang Ye toasted, “To Sister Qiu!”

Everyone shouted, “Not going home until we’re drunk!”

…

The next day.

At the prison Zhang Ye had served his sentence in.

“Aiya, Teacher Zhang!”

“Haha, how’s everyone doing?”

“What are you doing here?”

“Didn’t I say it four years ago? That when I got released, I would treat everyone to a meal? I’m always true to my words.”

“Everyone, gather quickly! Teacher Zhang has returned to visit us!”

“Lord Zhang, how did you come in?”

“Haha, I’m so familiar with the military command here. Would I not be able to gain entry into your prison? Don’t worry, I already filled out all the formalities before coming in. I have a pass, alright?”

“Where’s the warden? Quickly get the warden!”

“Let’s go, come on. I’m treating everyone today!”

“We can’t do that, Teacher Zhang. We still have to work.”

“Then we’ll have the staff lunch together!”

“W-Wouldn’t it be bad luck for you to eat here?”

“What bad luck? It’s not like I’ve never eaten the food before!”

“Hahaha, alright!”

The prison guards were all very excited. They really did not expect that Zhang Ye would keep a simple ceremonial promise to them after all these years.

…

The next day.

At China Qiyuan.

“Ah, Lord Zhang!”

“Damn! Lord Zhang is here!”

“Hurry out, everyone!”

Everyone came out.

9-dan Li Yi.

8-dan Hu Liang.

Xu Han.

Tian Weiwei.

At Sanya, Zhang Ye had only met up with Tian Weiwei, Chen Ying, and the batch of younger professional Go players. He did not get to see many of the older veterans who had battled alongside him years ago. Many of them had retired and become coaches, so Zhang Ye rather missed them.

“Old Li, Brother Hu, Brother Xu, you’re all around too?”

“Wow, what brought you here?”

“Haha, I missed you guys! It’s my treat today. Let’s go and eat!”

“Who are you treating?”

A group of young Go players at the Qiyuan were all looking at Zhang Ye in admiration. Looking at this legendary God of the Go world, their eyes were shimmering brightly.

Zhang Ye said, “Everyone, of course!”

With that, all of the young Go players cheered!

Tian Weiwei couldn’t do anything about that, so he said to the young Go players, “Alright then, since Lord Zhang has given the word, everyone can go. Hai, you were all supposed to practice today.”

Everyone cheered again!

Zhang Ye patted Tian Weiwei on the shoulder and said with a smile, “Don’t always be thinking about practicing. Go is a never-ending journey of learning, so it’s better to practice a combination of effort and ease. Oh yes, I heard that you became the world champion in some tournament recently? Congratulations!”

Tian Weiwei blushed. “Stop teasing me.”

9-dan Li Yi also looked at Zhang Ye and said, “In a competition without you, is there a point in winning?”

Chen Ying giggled and said, “You’re the uncrowned king of the Go world. No matter who wins in a competition, no matter who gets presented a trophy, the sense of fulfillment is not that great anymore. Everyone knows that as long as they can’t win against you, any championship titles won are essentially pointless. That’s why we’ve started instilling a target for everyone these days—and that is to beat you.”

Zhang Ye said in amusement, “Sure, I’ll welcome any challengers.”

…

Meanwhile.

Abroad, the news surrounding this matter spread very slowly.

Perhaps this was done intentionally. Or perhaps no one was bothered about it. The news of Zhang Ye becoming the most popular celebrity in China only reached the shores of other countries after a few days.

Japan.

“What?”

“Who?”

“Zhang Ye?”

“Why does this name sound a little familiar?”

“Yeah, it sounds very familiar, doesn’t it? I seem to have heard it somewhere before?”

“Damn! Is it that Zhang Ye?”

“The one who was crowned an Asian Heavenly King years ago? The one who drew the comics?”

“It’s really him!”

“Damn, didn’t he go to jail?”

“The number one person in the Chinese popularity rankings?”

“Why is it him?”

…

Korea.

“Ah? Zhang Ye has been released?”

“How is that possible! Wasn’t he sentenced to prison for many years?”

“Yeah, it isn’t time yet!”

“It’s not impossible that he got an early release. But it has been so many years. How did he manage to become the number one person of Chinese showbiz?”

“What happened?”

“That damned hacker, is he trying to make trouble again?”

“Seriously protesting it!”

“How can this guy be number one?”

“The Asian Celebrity Rankings Index still has him blocked from their rankings!”

…

America.

“Zhang Ye?”

“Who’s that?”

“The Chinese Celebrity Rankings Index has seen a change in its leaderboard?”

“I know him!”

“Goddammit, that’s the person who’s known as the most dangerous hacker in a hundred years!”

“It’s him?”

“The Panda Burning Incense and CIH viruses’ creator?”

“The hacker with the highest bounty in the world?”

“He managed to snag the top spot of the entertainment circle in China?”

“With such a large population in China, how did he manage to do it?”

“He’s been released from jail?”

…

Russia.

“Zhang Ye?”

“Scientist?”

“When did he become a scientist?”

“He built a fighter jet? Oh my God!”

“Wasn’t he a world-class mathematician?”

“I heard of him a few years ago too. It seems like he’s very famous in both China and Asia.”

“Is he on the International Celebrity Rankings?”

“Let me see. He’s not on it yet.”

“The Chinese entertainment circle is indeed quite weak in the international arena. Their number one person can’t even make it into the C-list of the international celebrity rankings. It’s so for Zhang Yuanqi, it’s so for Guan Zhaohua as well, and even Zhang Ye is the same too.”

“The celebrities of China have always had a very poor influence on the world stage.”

…

England.

“I know that he can play Go.”

“He can not only play it, he’s basically a god in the Go world!”

“Yeah, I heard that he came out tops against the American-made AI, PeterGo! It was his second victory against it!”

“Yeah, America’s AI technology has fallen flat in his presence.”

“He has become the most popular celebrity in China?”

“Looks like there will be something interesting to look forward to.”

“Yup, I think he has a good relationship with Lillian, the most beautiful woman in England!”

“Being the most popular in China doesn’t actually mean a thing. Let’s wait and see how far he can go on the International Celebrity Rankings before we pass any judgment.”

…

In the international news:

“China’s entertainment circle sees a change in its top spot!”

“The number one hacker returns?”

“Zhang Ye: A celebrity with a tainted past!”

Zhang Ye’s climb to the top of the Chinese entertainment industry had shocked the entire industry and the country’s citizens. However, it did not make much of a ripple on the global stage.

On this day, many countries’ news carried a short report about this matter. It was only then that a lot of people remembered there was still such a person in China. However, it did not cause much of a sensation. The influence of China’s entertainment industry was quite weak and was pretty much common knowledge. If not for Zhang Ye’s identity as the world’s number one hacker, a world-class mathematician, and the number one person in Go, this news would probably not have made waves. No one would actively go and check news regarding a Chinese celebrity.