I'm Really a Superstar

The grand finals were approaching.

The huge promotional campaign for King of Masked Singers was also in its final stages. Whether it was television commercials, online video hosting site advertisements, newspapers, or advertorials, they spared no efforts in the show's advertising.

The discussions online were also in full swing.

"Have you guys seen the new promo?"

"I've seen it, I've seen it!"

"Haha, Sunset Glow's invited celebrity guest partner looks so familiar!"

"The Clown's partner has been decided as well!"

"Why was The Clown's guest partner skimmed over with just one line?"

"Yeah, there wasn't even a back revealed or the likes, nothing at all. What's going on here?"

"The exact words used were 'invited a mysterious guest partner.' Who is this mysterious guest partner? There weren't even any words like 'heavyweight' or 'famous' attached to the introductory lines."

"Could it be that the guest partner isn't someone famous?"

"That might be possible."

"Damn, could our resourceful netizens really have guessed right?"

"Is The Clown really not that famous? Are all the people that he knows just C or D-list celebrities? That's why they didn't even know how to write the introduction and just used 'mysterious guest partner' instead? And simply gloss over it?"

"Surely not, right? I was still looking forward to it quite a bit."

"Then that'd be really bad for The Clown."

"That really is bad. If the guest partner is not someone famous, how can fight for the throne of the Masked King?"

"If this is how it is, then I expect Petal Shower to win even more."

"I'm more optimistic about Sunset Glow's chances!"

"I'm Flowing Time's braindead fan!"

"The overall situation is indeed disadvantageous for The Clown. Although 'The Internationale' brought him a great deal of popularity and supporters, there are also many people who do not like the song. The controversy surrounding it is pretty big."

...

Back at home.

Call after call came in.

Zhang Ye had not been slacking these past two days. Many people were looking for him, mostly for the same reason.

His old colleague, Ha Qiqi.

"Director Zhang, can you get us a few tickets?"

"How many do you need?"

"Our group from the Central TV Documentary Channel would all like to go, so they've appointed me as the representative to ask you about it. I guess about a dozen tickets or so should be enough."

"Sure, that won't be a problem."

"Thanks, Director Zhang."

Then it was his relatives' turn to call.

"Little Ye."

"Oh, Third Uncle."

"A few of my colleagues would like to attend the grand finals of King of Masked Singers. Can you get us a few tickets?"

"Of course."

"Just three tickets would suffice."

"Sure, I'll get them for you."

Finally, even Dong Shanshan came looking for him.

"Zhang'er, help me to reserve five tickets, alright?"

"Damn, you're the host and you're asking me?"

"Hur hur, the tickets for the grand finals are too sought after, with so many people waiting to get one. I can get one or two tickets, but five's too difficult. You have greater influence than me in the program team, so do me this favor, please?"

"Sure, I got it."

"I'll treat you to dinner some other time."

"You keep saying that, but I've never been treated by you before."

"I'll definitely treat you this time."

"Alright, I'll take your word for it."

After handling these trivial matters, Zhang Ye went back to practicing his songs.

He had been practicing the songs he lined up for the grand finals for two full days. For this reason, he even deliberately found a place where no one could disturb him, leaving early in the morning and only coming home late at night. He tirelessly practiced over and over again until he had lost count of the number of times he had sung them. However, he still felt that it was unsatisfactory and even practiced until he nearly lost his voice. Only then did he quickly stop and rest for a while. After eating some instant noodles, he thought about it again and finally realized where the problem lay.

It wasn't that he didn't sing well!

It was just that Zhang Yuanqi had sung too well!

Having eaten all those Singing Skill Experience Books, Zhang Ye thought that he had become invincible by now and would not be inferior to anyone else when it came to singing. But after listening to Zhang Yuanqi's sample of the song, he realized that he was the frog in the well. Actually, even if Zhang Ye were to compare himself to the likes of Petal Shower and Chen Guang, he still probably couldn't sing better than them. He might be a little better in certain areas, but there were also many areas that he did not do as well as them. Zhang Yuanqi's singing had shocked him plenty and made Zhang Ye feel that he couldn't hold the stage alongside her. This was his stage to begin with, but with Old Zhang supporting his act and after hearing a sample of her singing, Zhang Ye knew that he would become the support act instead if it stayed this way. Other people might not be able to hear it, but he could feel it. This definitely wouldn't do!

What should he do?

He couldn't ask Old Zhang to sing badly on purpose, could he? That would be such a loss of face!

The only way was to raise his own level. The grand finals would only be held this once and there was only going to be one winner to speak of. It was even a live broadcast, so Zhang Ye definitely had to give it his all!

He immediately brought up the game ring's virtual screen. He had so many Reputation Points now that he could just use them as he liked. He didn't have to worry about not having enough for now.

He activated the Lucky Halo (Upgraded)!

-100,000!

-100,000!

He immediately tapped on Lottery Draw (One)!

Additional Stakes: 500!

The wheel began to rotate!

The needle started moving!

One revolution…

Two revolutions…

Three revolutions…

It stopped in the Skills Category region.

The Treasure Chests (Small) appeared.

[Musical Arrangement Skill Experience Book] × 501.

Musical arrangement?

He received this item from the lottery draw?

Zhang Ye was taken aback but was still pretty satisfied with it. In the past, the arrangement his songs mostly followed were the original arrangement of the songs in his previous world. There were some slight variations, but there wasn't too much. His songs were still mainly based on the arrangement he listened to, and he needed to adhere to the opinions of the band. After all, Zhang Ye was not a professional in this field, so there were some arrangements he could only leave to the band and music director to decide. If he could arrange his own songs, then things would definitely be different. He would be able to experiment more daringly and freely by adding in all the aspects that he liked. Being able to arrange his own music would also make the songs better suited to his style and allow him to perform them even better!

This was good stuff!

He was going to eat it!

Zhang Ye started studying the books one by one.

Next, he began his second round of the lottery draw.

He added an additional stake of 500 just like before.

The Lucky Halo (Upgraded) was once again activated as well!

One revolution…

Two revolutions…

The needle came to a stop!

It was the Skills Category region again!

[Singing Skill Experience Book] × 501: Enhances the player's singing technique.

He had received this skill experience book before, the exact same one. It was precisely because of this skill experience book that Zhang Ye was able to make a qualitative leap in his singing, and it was exactly what he needed most right now as well.

Zhang Ye immediately started studying them without hesitation.

He had received 500 books last time and 501 books this time. It wasn't until he "ate" the last book that a system message sounded from the game ring!

He had maxed out on the skill!

There was no way to learn any more!

This was a similar case like the Fruits of Strength and Fruits of Stamina, of which 1,000 Fruits were the maximum amount he could eat. As he could not learn from that last skill experience book, it could only go to waste.

After he deactivated the Lucky Halo, Zhang Ye immediately gave it a try. He tried singing that song again, which he had sung so many times that he was starting to get sick of it. As expected, the effect was entirely different now. Even Zhang Ye himself was surprised at this, although the improvement in his singing was not as obvious as after the first time he had eaten the books. Because, as he gained more of the skill, the effect of the skill experience book would become less obvious. But no matter what, they were still 500 books and they effectively maxed out his level for this item gained from Lottery Draw (One). It was still an improvement, albeit a minor one. Moreover, Zhang Ye's singing skill that had been upgraded was not just in one single aspect. It included improvements to his portamento, technique, breathing, etc. This was considered an overall upgrade! Everything related to his singing skills were improved!

He stayed up for yet another night.

Trying out his singing.

Arranging the music.

Repeating it over and over again.

Then continuing to practice the songs.

Eventually, his parents could no longer look on.

"Little Ye, you must take a break. What are you doing that's keeping you up night after night?" His mother said, "Why are you risking your life like that?"

Zhang Ye laughed. "I'm helping someone write a song. Don't worry about me. Just go to sleep, Mom and Dad."

His father pointed to the sky outside. "Your mom and I have already had enough sleep. Look at what time it is. It's light out."

Zhang Ye replied perfunctorily, "OK, I'll go to bed in a bit."

His mother nagged, "Quickly!"

"I know." Zhang Ye buried himself into his work again.

The fellow always behaved this way. He always wanted to do his work to his very best, or at least to the best of his abilities. Otherwise, he would keep doing it over and over, repeating it until he got it perfect. Perhaps he was a perfectionist deep down. Further, this grand finals were extremely important to him.

It wasn't until the day before the grand finals that Zhang Ye managed to complete things. He had a meeting with Old Zhang over the phone, as well as with Bai Yuanfei and the band afterwards.

Bai Yuanfei was astonished. "Did you arrange the music all by yourself?"

Zhang Ye said: "It's not too bad, right?"

"This is something that even the most professional arrangers would barely be able to do, don't you think? How about the dance choreography and costume effects, have you thought about those yet? I think the duet between you and Wild Rose can have a little more visual effect. I can reveal to you that the other contestants have all given considerable thought to effects like visual presentation and fog machines. It's going to have a great visual impact for sure. I'm not really well-versed in this area, but we have professionals who can help you design something on our team, do you want to—"

"That's not for me," Zhang Ye laughed. "I'll just sing normally."

Bai Yuanfei said: "But you'd be disadvantaged for sure."

Zhang Ye said: "It's fine. I don't like all those fanciful effects anyway."

Bai Yuanfei said: "Alright, I understand."

"You have my gratitude for all your hard work."

With this, Zhang Ye was fully prepared for the grand finals!