I'm Really a Superstar

Later that morning.

The Media College Entrance Examination began.

The so-called first round of exams was actually previously known as the primary exam round. The examiners would give a score according to the examinees' appearance, height, vocalization, recitation, etc. They would then select half of the examinees to enter the next round of evaluation. A long time ago, many of the student admissions at the art institutions only held the primary and secondary rounds for the entrance exam. But later, as the applicant numbers rose, the requirements became stricter and the scope of evaluation also increased. That was the reason why there were the first, second, and third rounds of exams these days, with some institutions even implementing a fourth round of examination.

At the third floor, the location of the broadcasting major exam.

A Media College staff was calling out names in the corridor.

"Examinee 001, Zhang Jiapei."

"Teacher, I'm here."

"Let me verify your exam admission pass."

"Here you are."

"OK, you may enter. You are the first examinee."

The first examinee entered.

Other than Zhang Ye, all the other interviewers were considerably more experienced. After they glimpsed that person, Su Hongyan and an examiner beside her had already started grading him or commenting on the examinee form that was on the table.

That male examinee was a bit nervous. "Good morning, Teachers. My name is Zhang Jiapei and I'm 18 years old. I studied at Hunan No.17 High School and I live in—"

Professor Qu interrupted, "We already have all your particulars here, so you don't have to introduce yourself. Just briefly tell us why you wanted to apply for the broadcasting major?"

The male examinee immediately replied, "It's because I really like languages and the arts. This has always been my dream and I don't want to give up on it so easily. This profession not only makes me like it quite a lot, I've had this feeling for a long time…" He only finished after talking for a long time.

Teacher Xue asked, "Which host do you admire the most? Let's hear why you feel that way."

The male examinee immediately answered, "The host I admire most is Teacher Zhang Ye."

Zhang Ye smiled.

Su Hongyan glanced at him.

The male examinee said, "The reason why I admire Teacher Zhang Ye is because he has the best personality among all the current hosts. I like his coolness, his calmness when dealing with matters, his courage to speak his mind, his mental fortitude that lets him stay unaffected even if the sky is about to collapse. All of those qualities are worthy of learning from!"

A while later, the interview ended.

The teachers wrote down the scores and made notes on their forms.

Then the second examinee entered.

"Good morning, Teachers!" It was a female examinee who looked very spirited and pretty.

A young examiner who looked to be about five or six years older than Zhang Ye said, "Good morning. Please tell us what overall qualities you think a host should possess."

The female examinee replied excitedly without even thinking, "I think that as a host, as an outstanding host, one should possess similar qualities to Teacher Zhang, who has a quick talking ability where he can rattle off five or six words a second without blinking, have strong mental fortitude, and regardless of whether it is a recorded or live broadcast, will still be brave enough to step up without a script. Also, they must be talented, and when faced with anyone in any environment or location, should have a mouth that can dominate the masses. They must not fear authority, have their own persistence and bottom line, while risking fighting it out with an unhealthy corporate culture. Also, they have to…"

After she had finished speaking, Zhang Ye could not help chuckling. "I'm not as extraordinary as you're making me out to be."

However, the female examinee said, "But that's the impression I have of you. I've always set very high standards for myself and you are my final goal!"

Soon after, it was time for the third examinee.

It was another girl, but she did not look as pretty as the previous examinee, though she was still quite good-looking and had a standout point with her height of 173 cm. Her first words of "good morning, Teachers" made Su Hongyan nod unconsciously. Her voice was quite good and sounded very clear and pure.

It was Zhang Ye who posed the first question. "Student, let's hear a recitation from you so that we can hear the specialty of your voice and the control of your language and sentences."

"Yes, Teacher." The tall girl cleared her throat and recited loudly, "Up above the sea's grey flatland, wind is gathering the clouds. In between the sea and clouds proudly soaring the Petrel, reminiscent of black lightning. Glancing a wave with his wingtip, like an arrow dashing cloudward, he cries out and the clouds hear his joy in the bird's cry of courage. In this cry—"

It was "The Song of the Stormy Petrel."

Zhang Ye smiled wryly at this.

The other examiners also looked helpless at this, but they still attentively finished listening to her recital. After they asked a few more interview questions, they started to give their scores.

Next up was the fourth examinee. This person was very young and from the birthdate written on the résumé, he was only 16 years old.

Su Hongyan welcomed, "Hello."

That youth said in a serious tone, "Hello, Teacher!"

Su Hongyan asked, "If you become a broadcaster in the future, what would be your goal? Is there any position that you would like to reach? Or perhaps a deeper pursuit into the arts?"

That youth thought for a moment and said high-spiritedly, "Yes, there is. My goal is to win the highest honor as a host. I want to stand coolly onstage like Teacher Zhang Ye at the Golden Microphone Awards and let everyone in the country hear my voice!"

Zhang Ye again?

Yet another mention of Zhang Ye?

After his interview, the teachers had a quick round of discussion.

Teacher Xue smiled and asked, "Teacher Zhang, it's already the fourth examinee, but they're all your fans?"

Zhang Ye quickly waved it off. "It's only because they saw me sitting here that they said that. It's just a coincidence that it happened this way."

Su Hongyan shook her head and just continued writing down her comments.

Professor Qu suggested, "Let's change the way we ask them later."

"OK. It's better that you ask the questions," Zhang Ye said.

The fifth examinee entered under the examiners' watchful eyes—an average-looking teen, but his features were all in proportion.

"Dear Teachers, I'm Examinee 005, Sun Bonan," the examinee introduced.

Professor Qu nodded. "Tell us briefly, um, other than Professor Zhang Ye here, which host do you like the most? And why?"

The examinee was obviously taken aback. "Other than Teacher Zhang?"

Professor Qu said, "Yes."

The examiners were all thinking that surely this would be it.

But in the end, they simply did not expect that this examinee was even more ruthless than them. "Other than Teacher Zhang Ye, I do not like anyone else! It's because I think that only Teacher Zhang Ye can be considered a real host who is truly professional and above material interests!"

Professor Qu: "..."

Teacher Xue: "..."

Su Hongyan: "..."

The other examiners: "..."

After that examinee's interview, Su Hongyan pouted and said, "Is there any meaning to all this?"

Teacher Xue also laughed. "If that's what the examinees feel, you can't possibly make them say otherwise, right? You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink."

...

Outside.

A few of the examinees who had finished with their first round of exams were already walking out of the college gates.

"Eh, aren't you guys the examinees behind me?"

"That's right, how did you do just now?"

"I don't know, are you guys done with the interview too? What did they ask you?"

"There was a question where they asked me which host I liked."

"How did you answer that?"

"Of course I said it was Zhang Ye!"

"Man, I also said it was Zhang Ye. Back when someone saw Zhang Ye appearing on campus and how some reporters were chasing after him, they guessed that Zhang Ye would be one of the interviewers of this entrance exam for the broadcasting major. So I was already prepared when I entered the exam hall and saw him. If I did not say that I liked him, then who else would I say? Would I have said that I like Chen Ye? It's not like I'm an idiot!"

"What about you guys? Did you get asked the same question too?"

"Yes!"

"The questions are all similar."

At this moment, an examinee who had just finished his interview walked up to them. "My question was not the same. The examiners asked me which host I liked the most other than Zhang Ye."

"Ah?"

"They can even ask that?"

"Then how did you answer that?"

That person smiled shamelessly. "I said that other than Zhang Ye, I do not like anyone else!"

Everyone dropped to their knees at that!

"Holy fuck!"

"Pfft!"

"Bro, you're really thick-skinned!"

"You can even answer it that way?"

Of course, these were just some small incidents that occurred on the first day of the entrance examination. The examinees who followed came in all sorts of variations. Some of them performed outstandingly, some were so nervous to the point that they could not say anything properly, and some even said straight to Zhang Ye that they did not like his manner of hosting.

To Zhang Ye, whether they were sucking up to him or said that they did not like his artistic style, he still looked at everyone impartially. He graded them according to their personal qualities and conditions, and couldn't possibly give them a good score just because they praised him.

In his position as an examiner, Zhang Ye still handled the situation very responsibly.