I'm Really a Superstar

The activities began.

Due to the station head being present here today, many of the other station leaders came down to the event hall as well. The staff who were in charge of the venue were also being more cautious in their work, as they announced in high spirits,"Good afternoon leaders, colleagues, and everyone else. With the bountiful year coming to an end, Central TV is commencing this year's staff calligraphy competition. This event will see very generous prizes be given out, with a laptop for the first prize, a cell phone for the second prize, and 500 yuan worth of call credits for the third prize. Could we please have the contestants come forward to the tables in front to write your calligraphy pieces?"

Nobody moved.

Everyone hesitantly looked at each other, before finally looking at the station head.

"Station Head, why don't you kick off the competition?"

"Yes, Station Head, please do so."

"If only I knew that you'd be taking part, then I wouldn't have joined the competition myself. My writing can't compare to yours, Station Head, so it would be better if I don't embarrass myself."

Hearing that, the station head politely laughed and said,"You all go ahead instead."

Central TV Department 2's director laughed."If you don't start off writing first, I don't think any of us would dare to do so before you."

Seeing that there was really no one who went forward, the station head could only state with a smile,"Alright then, please bear with my pending performance. I will initiate the competition, but the rest will have to depend on all of you." Saying so, the station head walked up to the nearest desk in front of him, then attentively picked up a hand towel to wipe his hands before taking the brush. He dipped the brush into the inkstone full of ink, and then with a look of concentration, put the brush onto the Xuan paper.

With several lively and vigorous strokes!

He had written out a piece in cursive script!

A lot of people were already praising it.

"Good!"

"It's great!"

"Good writing, very good writing!"

"Our station head is truly highly skilled!"

Everyone in the station knew that the station head's calligraphy writing was quite good. There was even a calligraphy scroll written by him that was hanging in the premises of Central TV Tower. Since they knew that the station head had a liking for cursive script, they were not exactly surprised, and instead used this chance to suck up to him.

Seeing this, Zhang Ye felt a little curious. He knew that cursive scripts were the hardest to write. If one was not highly skilled in calligraphy, they probably couldn't write a good line of cursive script. That was why when he walked closer to have a look, he was slightly taken aback by what he saw. He did not say anything and just silently turned back around.

Ha Qiqi looked at him."What's the matter, Director Zhang?"

"It's nothing," Zhang Ye replied quietly.

That cursive script was really not that presentable. It was not bad looking, but it was absolutely not considered good looking either. However, thinking about it, the station head was just a hobbyist after all, so being able to pen it this way was already pretty good. He definitely should not be compared against the likes of a professional calligrapher.

He finished writing.

It was a very simple phrase: Tranquility yields transcendence.

Everyone applauded!

The station head put down the brush and smiled as he waved it off."I've regressed."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said,"If you call that a regression, then other people's calligraphy won't even be worth looking at."

Xu Yipeng brazenly stated,"Station Head, dare I ask on behalf of our Rise to the Dance program team if you would so generous as to bestow upon us this calligraphy piece of yours? Might we deserve that honor?"

The supervisor of Central TV Department 3 interjected,"Station Head, please bestow it upon us instead!"

"Station Head!"

A lot of people were asking for the piece.

The station head chuckled and then had a look at them, but still pointed to Xu Yipeng in the end."Since Little Xu asked first, I will give it to him."

The others could only watch with regret.

Meanwhile, Xu Yipeng, Chen Ye, and a few others were beaming with joy."Thank you, Station Head." Then they turned around and instructed one of the staff members,"Frame it up properly when we get back so that we can hang it up in the office space!"

This act of gifting by the station head had left Yan Tianfei and the people of Department 14 with a peculiar expression.

Whoever asked first would get it? Even if this was a valid reason, was there also a possibility that this was expressing another meaning? But whatever it was, everyone present at the venue could see the station's and station head's supportive attitude of Xu Yipeng, Chen Ye, and the entire Rise to the Dance program team. This support was so great that even a blind man could "see" it.

Unable to help himself, Jiang Yuan peeked at Yan Tianfei.

Quite a number of people were also observing Zhang Ye's reaction.

However, Zhang Ye just showed an indifferent expression and did not seem like he was affected by that action at all.

People were still gradually arriving at the event hall, and at this moment, Central TV Department 11's Director Chen Huo and a deputy director arrived. The moment they saw Zhang Ye near the entrance, they looked sullen. To clarify, they were the earliest group of people from Central TV who had come into contact with Zhang Ye. Back then, during the crosstalk and skit competition, Zhang Ye was one of the competitors who joined. As a result, the competition met with all kinds of incidents and even got foiled by the duo of Zhang Ye and Yao Jiancai. Importantly, the station head of Central TV was a party member within the SARFT's organization. This was a position only afforded to Central TV's station head and also the reason why Central TV had a special status within the industry. But even so, the crosstalk and skit competition was still forcefully ordered to be canceled, so you can imagine just how much trouble was stirred up back then. And that was the reason why Chen Huo and his deputy director did not have any good impression of Zhang Ye.

In the entire Central TV organization, there were just too many people who disliked Zhang Ye!

"Who's next?"

"Let's do it together?"

"Then let's all go up and write our own individual pieces?"

"Hur hur, let's not be polite and just write!"

There were a total of three desks. Everyone slowly gathered around them and humbly insisted for the other contestants to go ahead first. At times, someone would go on up and write their piece, with those observers around praising them when they finished. Then the next person would do the same.

Yan Tianfei also went up to the table and wrote a single word: Bravery! Yan Tianfei had used the regular script in his piece, writing a very large character that took up a foot of the Xuan paper. His calligraphy writing was just like him, with rigid and sharp strokes at the edges and corners, which was also quite a unique style.

Jiang Yuan also went up to write. He wrote in a style that was seemingly a regular script yet also looked like a semi-cursive script. A few strokes were even done in the style of a cursive script, making it look neither here nor there. The standard was very low, but Xu Yipeng, Chen Ye, and many others were still praising and flattering his writing for a long time. But to Zhang Ye, it was simply too ridiculous. A layman might not be able to see it, but how could Zhang Ye not be able to differentiate between good or bad?

Urged on by her boyfriend's encouragement, Department 14's Huang Dandan also went forward to try. Huang Dandan's writing was surprisingly quite good as she wrote a seven character poem by one of the great ancient poets of this world. Her words were very delicate and softly beautiful, which made Zhang Ye's eyes light up when he saw it. [1.]

Zhang Zuo looked at Tong Fu and said,"Your girlfriend's calligraphy writing is that good?"

Tong Fu coughed violently."What girlfriend? We're just friends, just friends."

Actually, everyone already knew that they were a couple, but perhaps because office relationships were still quite frowned upon, they rarely admitted to it.

Gradually, most of the contestants finished penning their pieces.

"Director Xu."

"Why don't you give it a try too?"

"Yeah, teach us a little!"

The Rise to the Dance program team were making a commotion over there. With the imminent announcement of the viewership ratings, they were all feeling full of confidence right now. In a good mood, they had a lot more to say. Besides, in the entirety of Central TV, only their program team had the highest viewership ratings, the highest investment amount, and carried the most expectations from the leaders, so they could afford to act so proudly. Any other program teams without good viewership ratings would never dare to be so showy in public like they were.

Xu Yipeng laughed."Then allow me to embarrass myself!"

He went forward.

Picked up the brush.

And started writing.

With a flourish of the brush, the piece that he was writing turned out to be "Spring in Qin Garden: Plum."

Spring in Qin Garden was not about a garden named Qin during springtime, but a ci tune similar to that of a song. From the ancient times, it was one of the fixed-tone tunes anyone could fill in with the appropriate words. Spring in Qin Garden already existed in this world prior and was also referred to as a ci tune. The poem Shuidiao Getou, which Zhang Ye had written during the Mid-Autumn Festival Poetry Meet, was also based on this tune and this established history did not differ much from his previous world.

Of course, the poem that Xu Yipeng wrote was not his original composition, and neither was he capable of doing so. This "Spring in Qin Garden: Plum" was written by an ancient poet of this world who wasn't too well known. As such, not a lot of people had came across it before. Unlike Zhang Ye's previous world, there were not too famous works based on Spring in Qin Garden in this world. Among all the ci tunes passed down from ancient times, Spring in Qin Garden was considered to be one of the least known ones. There were hardly any good works using this tune, and if one did not research on this topic professionally, they might not even know that a ci tune like Spring in Qin Garden existed."Spring in Qin Garden: Plum" might even possibly be one of the more well-known ones, as there was a historical story that mentioned it. [2.]

Xu Yipeng moved his brush around suavely as he wrote out the poem.

Everyone applauded incessantly!

"Nicely written!"

"Director Xu's calligraphy is really good!"

"What a great 'Spring in Qin Garden: Plum'!"

The poem was very lengthy and Xu Yipeng was fully focused on writing for a long time. Perhaps because of the presence of so many leaders, or because of the station head gifting his writing to him, Xu Yipeng was more roused. He wished to perform to his best and was so engrossed that beads of sweat started forming on his temples—which of course also had to do with the fact that the event hall's internal heating was too strong.

"Good writing, the poem is very good too!"

"I know this poem. Even though it's not very well-known, I still especially like it. If the original poet were more famous, this poem would definitely be much more well-known!"

"I like it too!"

"This is the first time I've come across this poem. It's great!"

"How can it not be good. Every time a staff calligraphy competition is held, as long as Director Xu participates, he will surely place within the top three!"

He finished writing.

Xu Yipeng said to everyone,"Please excuse my poor writing."

Everyone started clapping.

Even Huang Dandan subconsciously followed them and clapped along. Although she felt that her own writing was quite good, but when compared with Xu Yipeng, she knew that she was still lagging behind by a large margin, especially since the poem he chose was also very good. However, when she remembered that he was her competitor, Huang Dandan immediately put down her hands and stopped clapping.

Zhang Ye was also quite shocked and was very surprised that Xu Yipeng could write so well. He might not have seen everyone's writing, but of those that he did, Xu Yipeng's calligraphy piece probably stood out the most.

The station head walked over and admired the calligraphy piece for a long time. Then, he nodded and declared,"Good calligraphy!"

Xu Yipeng said humbly,"It can't compare to yours."

The station head shook his head and laughed."It's much better than mine. I saw your calligraphy a few years ago. Your calligraphy is probably considered one of the best among the amateur calligraphy hobbyists!"

Jiang Yuan added,"It's even comparable to that of a professional's!"

Was there a hidden meaning to that?

A professional?

Some people looked at Zhang Ye.

Ha Qiqi was a little hesitant, but she asked Zhang Ye quietly,"Director Zhang, Xu Yipeng's calligraphy looks rather good. Are you…" She did not know how to appreciate calligraphy nor claimed to understand it much.

Zhang Zuo, Tong Fu, and the others also did not know what would be considered good or bad, but when they heard the station head saying that he admired Xu Yipeng's writing, they also lost some of their confidence.

When Zhang Ye heard that, he chuckled."It is indeed quite good."

Little Wang responded,"Then what about your calligraphy? How does it compare to his?"

Compared to his?

Compared to Xu Yipeng's?

Zhang Ye did not say anything. He really did not know how he would answer that question, because if he did, it would make him feel like he was degrading himself!

TL Notes:

[1. Four-, five-, and seven-character poetry are the most common forms of Chinese traditional poetries.]

[2. In the fixed-tone pattern type of verse the poems were written according to preexisting models known as tunes. This was the case with the ci and the qu: an individual poem was written so that its tone pattern (and line lengths) were the same as one of the model types. The poetic variation was in the change in the particular wording of the lyrics.

Here are a list of ci tunes. They are all based on poem length and tone patterns. A pretty deep subject of course, but if you're interested…oh, it's only in Chinese by the way :/ https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%AF%8D%E7%89%8C.]