I'm Really a Superstar

In the Meihe TV streamer's chat group.

Quite a few streamers had already admitted defeat.

"Zhang Ye is too good at this!"

"Sister Yiyi, are we still going to stream?"

"What's there left to stream for? We can't even compete!"

"Hai, everyone, let's just wash up and go to sleep."

"All of the streams on Meihe are not active since no one's watching!"

"It's not only Meihe TV, just go and have a look at the other streaming sites. How many of them are even streaming anymore? There are no viewers left. They've all come over to watch Zhang Ye!"

"Is this how popular an A-list celebrity really is? There's no competition at all."

"It's not because he's an A-list celebrity, it's because he is Zhang Ye!"

"Yeah, there were also other A-list celebrities who streamed before. Even a man as handsome as Sect Leader Huo couldn't hold it together and take control. He was purely depending on his looks. But Zhang Ye is clearly different in this aspect. He can sing, MC, chat, and even do comedy. He's just too skilled in too many areas and has so many talents to speak of that if he were to just toss any single skill out, it would still be able to impress everyone. So how can we challenge someone like that? Plainly speaking, our abilities are still too lacking. Even combining our forces would not make us a match for him."

…

In the Celebrity Goof Group.

Fan Wenli: "Zhang Ye is amazing!"

Chen Guang: "Hahahaha, I'm laughing like crazy!"

Huo Dongfang: "You guys are watching it too? This monologue is really interesting."

Zhang Xia: "Little Zhang is still that Little Zhang we know."

Ning Lan: "Grandma Zhang, even you're watching?"

Zhang Xia: "Yes, I'm trying to catch up with the times too by watching the livestream."

Xiaodong: "Doing this so effortlessly shows that his skills are real. In our group, there are quite a few people who have taken part in streaming. But which of us has done better than Teacher Zhang has?"

Li Xiaoxian: "Teacher Zhang is the kind of person who can mingle with his fans easily. He knows what the people like during different occasions and is willing to lower himself to do those things for them. Although it's very simple to say this, it's really difficult to carry it out. Just on status alone, who is willing to lower themselves a level the way he does? This is why I've always respected Teacher Zhang a lot."

…

On the livestreaming channel.

The stream was still going.

The chat had blown up long ago. There were a couple hundred comments coming up each second!

"I'm convinced by this monologue!"

"Awesome!"

"That was so funny!"

"In the past, I really didn't know that Zhang Ye had such great skill!"

"Performing stand-up? I have to give it to Zhang Ye!"

"I recorded the stream. Those who want the video can come and look for me later!"

Zhang Ye looked at the chat and said, "If I may put it bluntly, everyone is being too supportive of me. I'm not that great, I'm just trying to get a laugh out of everyone. Let me check the time." He looked at his watch and said, "Whoa, I've streamed for more than 30 minutes already? The organizers asked me to try to keep the stream to no more than one hour, but I guess they must have underestimated me. It wasn't easy to meet all of you over this platform, so how could an hour be enough? Do you guys still want to watch?"

The chat blew up!

"Damn, of course we do!"

"Yes, of course!"

"We have to keep watching!"

"Don't stop, Teacher Zhang!"

"Continue streaming!"

"Fucking do it! For the next two hours!"

"Zhang Ye, are you willing to stream for the next three hours? If you are, I'll send some donations your way!"

Zhang Ye said, "Why would I not be? If you guys really wish to watch and don't mind skipping dinner, I'll broadcast from this afternoon until tonight for everyone, let alone just three hours!"

"Great!"

"Beautiful!"

"Hahahaha!"

"I like this spontaneity of yours!"

"I love how you pull no punches over such things!"

"How conscientious of you!"

"Hehe, the organizers are gonna make a killing this time. Zhang Ye is indeed too conscientious about things. As long as he takes a payment, he'll surely rake in returns two to three times that of his employer. There is really no other celebrity in the entertainment industry who behaves so professionally! In our Beijing dialect, this is called 'fair and just'!"

Zhang Ye took another sip of water to wet his throat. It was pretty fun and refreshing for his first experience in livestreaming. "I've already sung and said enough, so what shall we do next?"

"How about a game?"

"Yeah, stream a game for us!"

"Haha, Old Zhang, are you up for that?"

"Gaming streams are the hottest thing right now!"

Zhang Ye said in amusement, "Streaming a game? Why are you all coming up with such rotten ideas for me, hur hur. I don't usually play games. Plants vs. Zombies? That I still know how to play since it's a game I made. But it's not exactly a game suited for streaming, is it? Are you all really serious about me streaming a game?" Thinking for a bit, he said with a smile, "Then how about this? When we talk about games, the only other game I know is Go. Why don't I stream Go instead?"

Go?

Everyone became excited when they heard that!

"That's good!"

"That'll be great!"

"Teacher Zhang is the world number one in Go!"

"Go it shall be! Stream Go for us!"

"Let Zhang Ye bring us along and soar into the skies 1 !"

"Hahaha, I'm so looking forward to seeing Zhang Ye demolish the other players!"

"There's no point in watching him demolish amateurs, it has to be the destruction of professional Go players!"

"Yes, yes, yes, take on a professional Go player!"

"Pfft, I'm already getting so excited!"

Zhang Ye said helplessly, "You guys really just wanna watch the world burn, huh? So, do you really want me to play it? Well, alright then. Let me log on to my account and switch screens to my computer."

He logged on.

And went onto the Online Go Server.

After some simple controls, the computer's desktop was displayed on the stream. Everyone could clearly see Zhang Ye moving the mouse around, and of course, the webcam had been brought down to a corner of the screen.

The number of viewers soared again!

More and more onlookers had gathered to watch!

Zhang Ye was moving the mouse and slowly looking for an opponent, muttering to himself, "Let me see…it has to be a professional Go player too? Are there going to be any teachers from China Qiyuan who are online at this time? Let me see if there's anyone that I know. Eh, there's someone in this room. It's Li Yi 9-dan. So be it, let's play him."

The comments scrolled by.

"—Hahahaha—Beautiful—Li Yi 9-dan is a GM—Do you guys understand Go?—I can understand it—I don't, but why do we have to understand it to enjoy this? We're just here to watch Zhang Ye demolish someone—Pfft, well said, that's exactly it—Come, let's ride along with Zhang Ye!—"

The few million viewers were grinning at their screens.

Zhang Ye clicked on the room to enter but was met with a password request. "Eh? There's a password? I'm not allowed to enter? Hur hur, I suppose the password is still the same one that they've always been using. This is a common password that the China Qiyuan people always use. It's just to prevent random people from getting in, but all the professional Go players know what it is. This won't be helpful in stopping me, let me give it a try—" He tapped a few keys and entered the password string. "Heh, I'm in."

More messages appeared.

"6666666666!"

"Well done!"

"Haha, beautiful!"

Everyone hooted.

Li Yi 9-dan seemed to have just finished a game and might have been waiting to play someone else. In any case, his status was lit up and active.

Zhang Ye typed: "Let's have a game!"

On the stream, everyone could see Zhang Ye's screen.

Li Yi 9-dan immediately replied: "Go away!"

Zhang Ye snorted. "Why?"

Li Yi 9-dan: "Go find someone else, I'm not playing you."

Zhang Ye: "…"

A dialog box popped up: "You've been kicked by Li Yi."

Zhang Ye did not know whether to laugh or cry.

The people in the channel were laughing like crazy.

"—This is so amusing—Zhang Ye has been ostracized—Beautiful, that was a good kick—Hahahahaha, can it not be this funny?—Teacher Zhang, your social relations are really poor—This is just delightful to watch—Zhang Ye has humiliatingly been rejected—Pfft, even Li Yi 9-dan is trying to keep his distance from him—"

Zhang Ye rolled his eyes. "I'll look for someone else. I don't believe this is happening." As he said that, he spotted another familiar name. "Tian Weiwei is around, he's the future hope of the Chinese Go world. Let's do it!"

It was another password protected room.

Zhang Ye input the password and entered.

Zhang Ye: "Little Tian, let's have a game!"

Tian Weiwei was stunned. "Lord Zhang?"

Zhang Ye said impatiently: "Gogogo!"

Tian Weiwei suddenly said: "Ah, I suddenly have a stomach ache, I need to go offline."

The dialog box displayed: "You're now the room administrator."

Zhang Ye stared, eyes wide. "What?! Why did he go offline?"

The people in the channel laughed even harder!

"—Ahhahahaha—My tears are falling—Does it have to be this funny?—With Teacher Zhang's reputation, no one dares to play with him —How lonely it is to be invincible—Teacher Zhang, can you do it or not?—This is too funny—"

This was so embarrassing for Zhang Ye!

He sneered and snorted. "I don't believe this. Chat, which of you have an account on the Online Go Server? Lend it to me and I'll go on as an alt!"

"I have one!"

"Use mine!"

"Get lost, use mine instead!"

More than 300 people sent over their account details!

Some were sent over privately, while some posted it directly into the chat. They were totally not bothered that their account details would get stolen by the others, because they couldn't wait any longer to see Zhang Ye posture in a game!

Zhang Ye randomly picked an account and logged in using the details of a rather average ranked account. He again browsed through the list looking for someone to play. Finally, he spotted a familiar name!

Chen Ying 8-dan 2 !

The goddess of the Go world!

A famous professional Go player!

The herd of hungry viewers in the channel got very excited:

"—Goddess Chen Ying—My idol—She's the only person I like in the Go world—She's such a fucking beauty—Teacher Zhang, you can do it!—Get her!—Surprise Chen Ying 8-dan!—Hahahaha—"

Zhang Ye entered the password and went into the room.

Chen Ying had clearly just logged on and hadn't even warmed her seat yet.

From her side, Chen Ying typed: "Who is this?"

Zhang Ye showily typed out: "I would like to seek a practice game from Teacher Chen."

Chen Ying: "Only a professional Go player would know the password to this room. I've never seen your name before, are you new?"

Zhang Ye replied: "Yes, yes I am."

"Well, alright then, let's have a game."

"Please guide me."

"Shall I give you a 2-stone handicap?"

"No, there's no need. Let's play a trial game first."

"OK, I can check on your skill level at the same time that way."

The scrolling comments erupted.

"—What a showoff!—Teacher Zhang is so amusing—Hahahaha, he's a fucking scammer—Handicap? This will be a tragedy for Chen Ying 8-dan—Hurry up and start the game already!— I can't wait anymore—I'll give him a perfect score for bluffing so well!—"

The match began!

Zhang Ye went second with the white stones.

Chen Ying placed the first stone on the board.

Zhang Ye made his move in response, speaking to the camera as he played, "Teacher Chen Ying is perhaps the most skilled female professional Go player in our country, or even in the entire world. She is also the strongest female player in the game, so maybe some of you might not be able to understand these few moves that she made, right? Then let me explain it simply. Chen Ying's play style is very steady but not easily predictable at all. Look at this knight's move over here, it was so beautifully played. Most people would probably choose to play in response over here, but that would mean that they fell into the trap and would get dragged back by the opponent. That's why I placed my stone over here. Look, Chen Ying has now been made to consider her next move as she is finding this to be a rather difficult move to play against."

He was streaming.

And commentating.

As well as helping to spread interest in Go.

Zhang Ye was exuding professionalism as a pro gaming streamer!

Other than professionalism, it was still professionalism!

He spoke professionally, and played even more professionally!

When had anyone had the chance to see the number one Go player in the world play and commentate on Go in such a way? For many of the Go enthusiasts watching, it was like they had discovered a treasure trove, and it felt like they had gained a lot of additional knowledge as well!

After a dozen-odd moves!

Chen Ying began slowing down in her play!

But Zhang Ye went faster and faster. "Look here, I played a lethal move against Chen Ying 8-dan, although it isn't exactly fatal. But she is still going to be very troubled by this. If she plays a bump here, I will counter with a stretch. If she makes a stand, then I will play a variation in the corner. It has already been five minutes and Chen Ying 8-dan is still thinking."

Suddenly, his opponent said something.

Chen Ying 8-dan sent three words: "You're Zhang Ye?"

Zhang Ye panicked and said to the camera, "Looks like I got recognized, but do you think that I will admit it? No!"

He immediately replied: "I am not!"

Everyone in the live streaming channel was laughing like crazy!

But Chen Ying sent an enraged emoji. "No? Your sister! It's not even 20 moves since the game has started but I'm already left without a chance of counterattacking right from the beginning. I am playing the black stones and going first, alright? In the entire Go world, who else can achieve something like this other than you?"

Zhang Ye carried on pretending: "Teacher Chen, what are you talking about?"

Chen Ying sent three exclamation marks: "!!! Get lost! It's definitely you!"

A dialog box popped up: "Chen Ying has resigned from the game. You win."

Chen Ying: "Your standard of play is too high. I have no chance of learning anything by playing against you. I'm leaving now, you can continue scamming the other players in here. Just don't look for me!"

Chen Ying ran off!

Another one had gone!

Everyone in the channel was rolling on the floor laughing!