I'm Really a Superstar

In the following few days.

A short video clip that was taken by a bystander had stealthily been shared like crazy. Zhang Ye featured impressively in the video and was seen leading a group of aunties dancing to "Small Apple" in an open space garden in a neighborhood. He was also occasionally dishing out guidance and pointers for the dance moves. There were even the plaza dance moves for The Hottest Ethnic Trend seen during the last 10 minutes of the video.

"Who says that plaza dancing cannot be beautiful?"

"The dance of the people is always the most beautiful!"

"The efforts of the people, that's what art is!"

In the video, Zhang Ye was constantly speaking like he was giving a lecture.

On Weibo.

"Ah, is that Zhang Ye?"

"This fellow is teaching dancing?"

"Does he know how to dance?"

"Fuck, these moves really look standard!"

"Zhang Ye is the top A-list celebrity in the country, but he seems to be doing really well at the grassroots level too?"

"*faints* This fellow has really become the founder?"

"Lord Zhang, I'll kneel to you!"

"Yeah, hahahaha, he's even teaching others the dance now!"

"It looks like it's a full set of moves!"

"But honestly speaking, this version by Zhang Ye really looks pretty good."

"Yep, every move is simple but carries a deep meaning. The choreography is very logical too."

"But if he has the time to do this, why doesn't he go and write better songs? Why is he expanding into the field of plaza dance? Teacher Zhang, can we focus on the proper business first, please?"

"Shouldn't you know Zhang Ye by now? His most proper business is having no proper business!"

The views on the clip soared!

1 million!

5 million!

10 million!

20 million!

A lot of people had come to watch in curiosity. They became more and more amused as they watched on, thinking how this weirdo Zhang Ye was always able to do something that no one could expect!

The impact of this clip was huge too!

The most direct effect it brought about was that the entire country's aunties were all starting to learn this version's plaza dance routine by Zhang Ye!

A Downtown Tianjin version?

The Xicheng District version?

A Shanghai suburbs version?

They all disappeared!

Beijing fell!

Shanghai fell!

Tianjin fell!

Nanjing fell!

All of those versions had been unified!

There was no need to fight over it anymore!

With the founder imparting his moves, they were all learning the most proper version of the dance!

At that moment, people in neighborhoods and plazas all over the country started dancing to Zhang Ye's version of "Small Apple" and "The Hottest Ethnic Trend." There was no longer a different set of moves seen!

The media interviews were endless.

The aunties gave a very good evaluation.

"Teacher Little Zhang is amazing!"

"This dance is good, it's really good."

"We've danced it a few times already, but no one's feeling tired yet."

"That's right. Our neighborhood's version of the dance was too tiring to keep up with. The motions were too big, and there were even some moves that those of us who are older could not perform. But this version by Teacher Little Zhang is really up there. Every move feels comfortable to execute, and they're even beautiful to look at when we're dancing to it!"

"Everyone here really loves this set of dance moves!"

"We've never chased after celebrities in the past as we felt that it was something that only young people would do. But today, all of us sisters have become particularly fond of Zhang Ye. We also catch every episode of his show each week.

"Little Zhang is truly a good celebrity. He understands what we older people like."

"He's basically our spiritual leader!"

"He is the spokesperson for us middle-aged and elderly women!"

Another dance craze was sweeping the nation!

In the end, even the official Weibo of the Sports Administration Liked that clip.

Even an official from the Sports Administration came forward to give an interview. He reaffirmed this set of dance moves by Zhang Ye and expressed that they had also gotten experts in the field to analyze and come up with a set of dance moves. However, they could not come up with anything good. It was only after they saw this clip that they realized Zhang Ye's version was more logical. Afterwards, the officials also started promoting it and suggested that the middle-aged and elderly learn Zhang Ye's version of the dance. They should also stop dancing to those self-choreographed moves as it might not match well with their physicality and could cause them to get injured. After all, plaza dancing was considered a body strengthening exercise, so of course it had to meet the scientific and health standards set by the authorities.

With that, Zhang Ye's plaza dance version became even more popular!

It was officially endorsed by the Sports Administration!

In the past, Zhang Ye and the sports world had conflicts, and he even scolded one of their executives. But during the Olympics, Zhang Ye had sung praise of the sports world and also helped the Chinese athletes seek justice over unfair refereeing, even to the point of tussling with the foreign referees. This eased the relationship between Zhang Ye and the sports world, leading them into a honeymoon phase.

Some people rejoiced while others were in sorrow.

But for Zhang Ye, he was both rejoicing and feeling sorrowful.

He was rejoicing about this large group of fans that was made up of these Chinese aunties. Their appearance and attention would undoubtedly be crucial in helping Zhang Ye raise his popularity. But at the same time, it was also very worrying. Having experienced the plaza dance "storm" 1 of his world, Zhang Ye knew this was a double-edged sword. It could harm his enemies but also injure himself. If anything went awry and caused a conflict on a large scale, he would have to be the one to bear the blame for it!

Founder?

Spokesperson?

Spiritual leader?

The moment Zhang Ye taught his old neighbors how to dance, these labels firmly became his!

You sang the songs?

And you taught the dance as well?

And even suggested that plaza dancing was a guiding principle for the people's art?

Damn! If you aren't the fucking founder, then who would be!

Zhang Ye wouldn't be able to rid himself of those labels even if he jumped into the Yellow River to try to wash them off. These names would probably follow him throughout his life as he became the "specialist" scapegoat of the plaza dance industry. Just thinking about that gave him a throbbing headache. Hai, come what may. It was more important to gain the popularity that he needed before anything else. At least, he thought so to lessen his bitterness.

…

At Beijing Television.

In the program team.

The new episode's recording was about to begin.

When they saw that Zhang Ye had just arrived, many of them started teasing him.

"Director Zhang, you've become famous again."

"When did you learn how to dance? That was so professional."

"Brother Hu informed us just now that the station has decided to get us to dance to 'Small Apple' at Beijing TV's annual party in two months' time. Why don't you teach us a few moves later?"

Zhang Ye grunted listlessly.

From a distance away, Chen Guang, Xiaodong, and the others came over.

"Director Zhang, what are you going to sing today?" Chen Guang asked with a laugh.

Xiaodong giggled and said, "Zhang'er, don't tell me you're going to sing another plaza dance tune?"

Zhang Ye rolled his eyes. "Why would I sing another?"

One was "plaza dancing."

The other was "founder."

Zhang Ye was sick of these two phrases. Just hearing them get mentioned was enough to send a shiver down his spine!

Amy said happily, "You better be careful. This episode is the knockout round."

Zhang Ye said, "I can't sing whatever for this episode. I've selected a good song this time after thinking it through. I finally realized that it is better to sing a song with more depth and substance to it."

Xiaodong was flabbergasted. "You mean you've only just realized? That should have always been the way."

Chen Guang said in a speechless manner, "So it's finally gotten through to you!"

Zhang Ye grunted, "Mmm, let's not talk anymore. Everyone, quickly go and get your makeup done. We'll start recording soon, and I want to rest my vocal chords a little too. It won't be easy to sing the song that I've chosen for today."

Zhang Xia came over. "Is it very difficult?"

"Yes, it won't be easy to sing." Zhang Ye nodded with a wry smile.

Zhang Xia reassured him, "It shouldn't be a problem with the singing skills that you have. The crucial part is the song selection. As long as it has substance, it'll be alright even if you don't sing it flawlessly. The audience will definitely be able to accept it, and you'll gain a few extra points too."

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "I hope so."

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_dancing_(China)#Conflicts_and_controversy