I'm Really a Superstar

Afternoon, a little past 5PM.

At the Wu residence.

Zhang Ye had driven up to the villa's doorway and gave a honk from his car before looking over at the direction of the villa. A moment later, the garage door was remotely opened by someone in the villa and he drove in to park the car. As Wu Zeqing's white BMW was already inside, there wasn't much space left to maneuver and Zhang Ye took the entire day to get his car parked properly. He was mainly concerned about not scratching Old Wu's car since his own car was a bullet-proofed X5, which he didn’t need to worry about. Even if someone tried to scratch it, they probably wouldn't leave much of a mark on it.

He stepped out of his car and went into the house.

The door was left open.

"Sis Wu." Zhang Ye greeted as soon as he stepped in.

A graceful figure standing in the open concept kitchen looked up. Wu Zeqing smiled and said, "You're here? Come in and take a seat but help me close the door behind you."

"Sure." Zhang Ye closed the door and removed his shoes, "Do you have any slippers?"

Wu Zeqing wiped her hands and went over to him, "There's a pair that you used the previous time. I will go look for them."

Zhang Ye quickly tried to stop her, "Don't bother, I will look for it myself."

"It's fine. You take a seat." Wu Zeqing squatted in front of the shoe rack and opened it up to look for the slippers.

He hadn't seen Sis Wu in a while and Zhang Ye rather missed her already. Today, Wu Zeqing was dressed in a brown knitted sweater that seemed to be quite loose fitting and graceful at the same time.

"I found it." Wu Zeqing took the slippers out.

Zhang Ye was about to change into it, "Thanks a lot."

Wu Zeqing held up his legs and put the slippers on him before going to wash her hands and to prepare a pot of tea for Zhang Ye. She placed a platter of fruits and sunflower seeds in front of him before returning to the kitchen to continue preparing dinner. She did not resemble a high ranking authority figure at all, but simply felt like a homemaker.

A while later.

The dishes were prepared and dinner was ready.

Wu Zeqing sat opposite of him, smiling and saying, "Try it."

Zhang Ye picked up his chopsticks and said a little embarrassingly, "Sis Wu, you're being too kind to me. You're like this every time I visit, refusing to let me pour my own tea or help with preparing meals. I can't even help you with menial tasks like those and I feel quite bad about it. I can't always be freeloading off you this way." He had rushed over, so he did not have time to stop by somewhere to get a little gift for the visit. The Brain Gold products in his car were clearly unsuitable since that product was from the company of Wu Zeqing's nephew, Wu Mo. If Sis Wu wanted any of that, all she had to do was to say so. Zhang Ye couldn't possibly present to Buddha with some borrowed flowers, so he came empty handed.

There were no wrinkles on Wu Zeqing's graceful looking face, none that could be seen anyway, "I'm not fussy about such things. If there's someone to join me and accompany me for meals, I could eat a little more that way. Here, try this."

"Hmm, it's really good!"

"Then have more."

"Sure, I won't hold back."

After the meal, Zhang Ye did not hesitate and insisted on washing the dishes by taking them to the basin.

But as he was running the water, he got stopped by Wu Zeqing who was walking slowly over from behind. She gently pulled Zhang Ye away from the washing area, "Don't make Big Sis angry. Go out and watch TV."

Zhang Ye said, "I will wash the dishes, I will wash them."

Wu Zeqing would not have any of his excuses and lightly pulled him aside, "Step aside."

Old Wu's arm was squeezing against Zhang Ye's chest and that made his heart skip faster. He did not dare to move a muscle against Old Wu, so he stepped back unwillingly and just looked on as Old Wu washed the dishes. He did not move anywhere and just stood at that spot to chat with her, "I saw some luggage in the living room? Are you going somewhere or did you just return home?"

Wu Zeqing replied softly, "I just got home. I had wanted to plan a trip somewhere during the new year, but not long ago, I received a notification to attend training at a Party training institution."

Zhang Ye asked, "Are you going to get promoted soon?"

She replied, "It's just a switch of roles and can't be considered as a promotion."

Zhang Ye said, "That's still some sort of a promotion, congratulations. Where will you be posted?"

"I still do not know the details, but for now, I am still considered to be a part of Peking University." Wu Zeqing put down a place, "If nothing goes wrong, I should be transferred to the South, to the Publicity department."

Zhang Ye blinked, "So far away?"

Wu Zeqing nodded, "It's not near."

"Why didn't they transfer you to another university?" Zhang Ye asked.

Wu Zeqing smiled, "Big Sis was only at Peking University temporarily. As I did not start off in an academic role, I can't possibly be transferring around school postings. I've got experience in education, publicity work, and overseen city investor programs. After all these years, I've dabbled in all sorts of work before and do not mind being transferred to any kind of work. I will do whatever the organization arranges for me, but since the order has not yet been passed, I might not necessarily be posted to the South."

Zhang Ye felt a little unwilling to see her go, "When will you be leaving?"

"It should be soon, but I will need to wait for the news." When she had spoken up till here, she turned around to look at Zhang Ye, "That's why I asked you to come over today, so that I could tell you about this. I know that your ban was not warranted, but as my position in Peking University has already been handed over, it wasn't convenient for me to represent Peking University to speak for you. That might create more trouble for you instead of helping you since I am no longer in that position."

Zhang Ye said, "I understand, it's fine."

Wu Zeqing said, "When some time has passed and I have settled down in my new post, I will see if I can help you in some way, but don't carry too much hopes about that because I can only try my best to think of a way for you."

Zhang Ye understood and accepted her kind intentions, "That's all I need from you, it's fine. Don't bother yourself with this problem of mine anymore. It's too troublesome."

"It's not easy to handle, that's true." Wu Zeqing finished washing the dishes, "What are your plans?"

Zhang Ye smiled and said, "I don't have any plans nor can I plan for it. The road ahead has already been blocked, so anything I do is of no use. I suppose I will just stay at home."

She asked, "And do nothing?"

Zhang Ye said, "What else can I do?"

She raised her chin and gestured, "Come on, let's go to the second floor and have some tea."

The both of them headed upstairs. They went into the room and sat down crossed legged around a small table after taking off their slippers.

Wu Zeqing started to make some tea, brewing as she said, "That wasn't something that would come from your mouth. The Little Zhang that I knew was not like this." In the past, when Zhang Ye was lecturing on 'Dream of the Red Chamber', everyone else had objected and raised doubts against him except for Wu Zeqing, who had supported him. When Zhang Ye related to others what his goal was, they would all take him to be a joke except for Wu Zeqing, who believed that he could really achieve his goal. She had given him a lot of encouragement and suggestions.

But today, Wu Zeqing's tone had felt like it carried a hint of criticism for the first time, "Banned from TV and the news and your published books were taken down as well. The ban issued by the SARFT against the entertainment industry this time was really strict, but just because you have been banned, you would rather choose to do nothing?"

Zhang Ye was speechless.

She continued, "Where is the Zhang Ye that said something like 'Debasement is the password of the base' during a live broadcasted news conference after being banned? Where did that Zhang Ye, who still wanted to create trouble at the crosstalk competition after being banned, disappear to? You have the talent and a mind full of knowledge, so you cannot be beaten down just like that. Don't just give up because you can't get on TV or publish any material. If that's how you are going to be, then you've really disappointed Big Sis. Who was the one who told me that he wanted to be the top star of the world that night? Is your determination just words hanging out from your mouth?"

Zhang Ye continued to stay silent.

Wu Zeqing looked at him softly, "Don't let down the fans who like you so much. Don't be blinded because of fame. It will still be the same with or without promotions and it won't matter even if you don't get to appear on TV. I believe that even if you are banned, there would still be many fans waiting for your works. Show them something, create something for your fans to see and show your opposers what you're capable of. Show it to everyone and tell them that even if you are banned, even if all the television stations, media outlets, and publishers refuse to let you through their doors, that you will remain standing. You still have your mouth and you can still speak. You still have your hands and you can still write, so why would you choose to remain at home and doing nothing?"

Old Wu's criticism had beaten some sense into him at the right time and had allowed Zhang Ye to realize a lot as well. He was too focused on popularity and fame. The ban would not be able to shut his mouth or tie his hands, and he could still do whatever he wanted to do, same as before. The things that he had wanted to show to the people should not be stopped just because no one was willing to broadcast it out for him. Since it had already come to such a situation, since there was no way the ban would be lifted at the moment, then shouldn't he just not care about all of that and just do whatever he wanted? So what if there was less popularity to be gained from this? At least it would be better than doing nothing. Besides, with the exposure from the crosstalk competition, he could create something and there shouldn't be a lack of popularity to be gained. It might even surpass his expectations!

Zhang Ye coughed, "You were right to say all of that. What do you think I should do next?"

What could he come up with?

He still didn’t have an idea.

Wu Zeqing calmly thought about it and said, "You could write a novel and post it online onto your blog."

In this world, blogs were still not falling behind with the times yet.

Zhang Ye asked, "Novels?"

She said, "I've read your 'Ghost Blows Out the Light' before and there haven't been any new works ever since. I've been rather looking forward to a new novel written by you for sometime now."

Hearing that, Zhang Ye agreed without even thinking, "Alright, I will write a novel!"

Wu Zeqing looked up at him, "Big Sis was just suggesting, but it still depends on your own interest and ideas. It's just something that I look forward to, but that doesn't mean the fans think the same way."

Zhang Ye slapped his hands on the table, "It's settled, I will write a novel!"

It didn't matter what work he came up with. As long as Old Wu liked it, Zhang Ye would write for her!

Wu Zeqing nodded, "In another two days, my posting would be settled. I guess I will be busy for sometime after that and would only have time to read after I've settled down into my new job a little."

Old Wu was really going?

And she would be leaving in just a few more days?

When he heard this, Zhang Ye felt a sudden desire to write his novel. He had a sip of tea before standing up and saying, "No need to wait for next time, I will allow you to read it today!"

She smiled and said, "What do you mean?"

Zhang Ye said, "I will write it right now!"

She said, "You seem really eager, but I only just suggested for you to write a novel and you already have an idea?"

Of course he did. When it came to writing novels, he definitely had an idea that did not need any conceptualization and planning, because it was a traveler's necessity novel!

"Legend of Wukong"!

Translator Notes: Thank you for your support so far! Please continue to support IRAS by submitting a vote at Gravity Tales Vote Page. The top 3 novels at the end of the month will get a free sponsored chapter!