Translator: Legge Editor: Legge
On the same day.
In the afternoon.
In the shade on the beach.
Zhang Ye and Tian Weiwei were playing a game of Go. A group of China Qiyuan’s newcomers had surrounded them and were watching the game, fixated. Even though Zhang Ye had given Little Tian a two-stone handicap, it was still very hard to distinguish who had the upper hand. The newcomers were watching this game with dropped jaws and gasps. Master Tian was the current world number one Go player, the person who was regarded as the most highly skilled of the active professional players. Who here had ever seen Tian Weiwei receive a handicap when playing against others? And it was even a handicap of two stones? And he still got pushed around? Only then did they understand the level of skill that Zhang Ye possessed!
A game was completed.
After accounting for compensation, Zhang Ye won by two and a half points.
Tian Weiwei had lost convincingly. “I’ve never been able to beat you since last time. I thought that my skill had improved by a lot in these few years and had really looked forward to playing against you after you were released. It looks like I’ve thought too highly of myself. At the level you’re at, I won’t be able to win against you no matter how many years have passed. We’re at completely different levels.”
Chen Qiqi shouted, “Lord Zhang is almighty. You’re still as good as ever!”
Zhang Ye said in amusement, “Didn’t you say that I was already a thing of the past?”
Chen Qiqi played dumb. “Ah? Did I ever say that?”
A newcomer exposed her. “Yes, you said that before.”
Chen Niannian added, “You said it when we were traveling here on the bus.”
Chen Qiqi raised her hand to hit them. “Do you all want to die!”
Everyone laughed. “Hahahaha.”
Zhang Ye smiled and said, “But you were right. The Go world and the entertainment circle are two entirely different places. After all, this bro hasn’t shown his face in too long, so how many people still remember me? And how many people still like me? I don’t even have an idea of that. The entertainment circle isn’t as simple as the Go world.”
Tian Weiwei said with a sigh, “Too much has changed in recent years.”
Zhang Ye asked, “How’s Old Yao doing?”
Chen Qiqi said, “You mean Yao Jiancai?”
Zhang Ye said, “Yes.”
Chen Qiqi said, “I don’t think there’s a lot of news about him.”
Chen Niannian said, “What do you mean by not a lot of news about him? He’s still acting. But it’s just that he’s always been playing the antagonists these days and doesn’t have any particularly well-known shows that he’s in, so his popularity has dropped as a result.”
Zhang Ye smiled and said, “That fellow, has he not been doing any crosstalks?”
Tian Weiwei said, “Without you partnering with him, Teacher Yao isn’t able to do it.”
Zhang Ye asked further, “How has Shanshan been doing?”
Tian Weiwei replied, “That old classmate of yours?”
Zhang Ye said, “Yes.”
“Teacher Shanshan is still very popular. In the past two years, she went to study the performing arts. Now, she rarely takes on host roles and is usually acting.”
Zhang Ye exclaimed, “Wow, she’s turned to acting now?”
Chen Qiqi giggled, “Teacher Shanshan’s acting pay is very high too, so most productions are unable to afford bringing her on board.”
Tian Weiwei said, “But compared to those popular young studs, her salary is still way off from theirs.”
Chen Niannian said, “That’s right.”
Zhang Ye said, “Has Old Zhang really retired?”
Tian Weiwei answered, “Yeah, she’s retired from the entertainment circle.”
Zhang Ye said, “What about Sister Lan?”
“You mean Heavenly Queen Xu Meilan?”
Zhang Ye said, “Is she still a Heavenly Queen?”
Tian Weiwei: “Yes, she is. But I think she’s only hanging on because of her past status. The rise of the young studs has had a really big impact on your generation of celebrities. Heavenly Queen Xu’s popularity in recent years has dropped by quite a bit. If it goes on like that, she probably won’t be able to keep her status as a domestic S-lister for much longer.”
Zhang Ye laughed and said, “Even Old Xu can’t fend them off?”
Tian Weiwei gave a wry laugh. “All of the veteran celebrities from back then have been hit. You still remember Jiang Hanwei, right? The martial arts superstar who was an A-lister? I heard that he even had a few disagreements with you in the past? Jiang Hanwei has now become a C-list artist in China. When that scandal broke, his popularity took a big hit and he plummeted down the rankings.”
Zhang Ye continued asking, “How is Spring Garden doing?”
A teenage girl blinked and said, “Who is Spring Garden?”
Zhang Ye exclaimed, “You don’t even know Spring Garden?”
Tian Weiwei explained, “She’s young and wouldn’t have paid attention to such matters at that time. For us, we haven’t heard the name of Spring Garden in a long time. They disbanded a few years ago.”
Zhang Ye said in disbelief, “Disbanded?”
Tian Weiwei scratched his head, “I think it had something to do with the talent agency? They didn’t disband of their own accord, but they went solo afterwards. With the group disbanded, their popularity would of course not be as high as before.”
Zhang Ye asked, “What about Grandma Zhang Xia?”
Tian Weiwei shook his head. “We haven’t heard much from her these few years, nor do we see her appearing on the Spring Festival Gala anymore. I suppose she has also retired from the scene? It’s really difficult for the older generation of artists to make a living. There’s hardly any events for them to take, and many of the older artists that I like have retired, which is quite a pity. The feeling that we get from the entertainment industry these days is that there is an ongoing generational change. The only thing that no one expected is how this generational change is happening so quickly.”
Old Zhang had retired?
Old Yao had been left in the dust?
Spring Garden was disbanded?
Old Xu was unable to hang on for much longer?
After asking all those questions for a long time, Zhang Ye’s expression was one of lament.
He said, “Then who’s popular now?”
Chen Qiqi said, “Lord Zhang, you wouldn’t know even if we told you.”
Chen Niannian giggled, “You definitely wouldn’t know any them.”
All of a sudden, a shout rang out from a distance away.
“Wow!”
“It’s a celebrity!”
“Oh my God!”
“It’s Dandan!”
“It’s her in person!”
Several young tourists reacted in a crazed manner!
A young man swimming in the sea nearly choked on water. Then he started swimming in a hurry to the shore and didn’t even stop to catch his breath before running over!
The people from the Qiyuan were also dumbfounded!
Tian Weiwei looked very surprised!
Chen Qiqi kept screaming, “It’s Dandan! I love her to death!”
When Zhang Ye saw that person, he was startled.
The people from the Qiyuan all jumped to their feet and looked over.
Chen Niannian pointed and said, “Lord Zhang, weren’t you just asking about who the current hottest celebrities are? She’s one of them. That’s the most popular Internet celebrity in recent years!”
Zhang Ye was taken aback. “The most popular Internet celebrity?”
Tian Weiwei said, “Yeah! In recent years, other than the young studs sweeping the entertainment circle, there’s another group of people who have risen up, the Internet stars! The kind of popularity they enjoy is entirely different from the Internet celebrities of your time. The ones now are really, really popular. Their popularity can even be said to rival the mainstream entertainment circle’s celebrities.”
A newcomer Go player shouted, “What’s she doing here?”
Another Go player said, “Did Dandan come to Sanya on vacation too? We’re so lucky! We managed to bump into her here! Did she come here to shoot her videos?”
Chen Qiqi cried out, “No, we can’t let the chance slip. I’m going to get her signature!”
Chen Niannian shouted, “I’m going too, I’m going too!”
Tian Weiwei fell silent. Then he called out to Chen Qiqi, “Qiqi, get one for me too.”
Chen Qiqi exclaimed, “Why don’t you go over yourself?”
Chen Niannian glanced at her sister. “What’s Master Tian’s status? Would it be appropriate for him to go over himself?”
Zhang Ye was amused. “Little Tian, you’re chasing after idols too?”
Tian Weiwei coughed in embarrassment. “No, I just like her a little.”
Chen Qiqi said, “Lord Zhang, when Dandan became popular, you were still not out of jail yet. You haven’t seen her videos, but they’re especially funny and a large portion of the younger people in the country are her fans!”
A distance away.
That female celebrity was surrounded by a few people.
Nobody didn’t know if they were her agents or her assistants, but they started shielding her from the crowd.
The female celebrity was looking around when she suddenly saw the Qiyuan’s people. Her eyes reddened and she ran over without caring about her image!
When the other two girls saw this, they also ran over, screaming!
Tian Weiwei was dumbfounded. “Ah?”
Chen Qiqi said in surprise, “They’re running towards us?”
Chen Niannian was at a loss. “Damn, what’s going on?”
Twenty meters.
Ten meters.
Five meters.
Zhang Ye broke into a smile and stood up.
The next moment, under the dumbfounded gazes of everyone, the female celebrity jumped right into Zhang Ye’s embrace and started crying. “Bro! You’re finally back!”
Zhang Ye patted Cao Dan on her back. “Yes, I’m back, I’m back.”
Behind her, the other two girls rushed up one after another!
His third sister wailed loudly, “Bro! I missed you so much!”
Zhang Ye said, “I also missed you guys.”
When his second sister saw them crying so hard, she pretended to rub her eyes. “Bro, why didn’t you come back on Lunar New Year’s Eve? Are you still going to give us the New Year money?”
Zhang Ye rapped his second sister on the head. “Girl, you’re always thinking about money!”
His second sister giggled.
His three cousins kept hugging Zhang Ye and did not let go of him.
Zhang Ye said, sounding relieved, “You’ve all grown up.”
His third sister said in tears, “Bro, you’ve become an old uncle. Look at your wrinkles!”
Zhang Ye laughed and said, “I’m past 30 now, so how could I not have wrinkles?” Then, he patted his eldest younger sister on the head and said, “Stop crying. You’re all grown up and a big star now, so why are you still acting like a child?”
His eldest younger sister said in a spoiled manner, “So what if I’m a child!”
Zhang Ye asked, “Where’s Grandpa and Grandma?”
His second sister said, “They’re all here. They’re in the villa at the moment.”
Zhang Ye said, “Aiyo, but I’ll be going back in a few more days.”
His eldest younger sister said, rubbing her eyes, “Grandma and Grandpa said they couldn’t wait and insisted on coming with us.”
“Let’s go, let’s go. Go inside quickly.” Zhang Ye hurriedly pulled his sisters towards the villa.
The people from the Qiyuan were left standing there with dropped jaws!
They had only just found out that Cao Dan, the most popular Internet icon in recent years and an idol of the new generation, was actually Zhang Ye’s younger sister!
What is with this?
Isn’t this news huge?!
