I’m Really a Superstar - Chapter 762

Zhang Ye became famous!
Plants vs. Zombies also became famous!
And yes, even Central TV Department 1's Deputy Director Jiang Yuan became famous along with them!
...
Monday morning.
Zhang Ye arrived at Central TV Tower for work. However, he discovered that his colleagues of Central TV Department 1 gazed in awe at him. Those who usually stayed an arm's length away from him were now avoiding him like the plague. It was as if anyone who walked within ten meters of Zhang Ye's vicinity would experience an imminent disaster. Among all of them, it was the Central TV Department 1 staff who behaved the most prominently in this manner, looking like they couldn't want for more than to stay at least a hundred meters away from him!
Zhang Ye was made speechless by this, thinking to himself that they must be insane. Did you guys really think that I had deliberately wanted to smack the face of Central TV Department 1's Deputy Director? It was just his bad luck that he appeared in the wrong place at the wrong time, so what could I have done?
Thinking back on the scene that happened at the Gaming Expo, Zhang Ye couldn't help but find it funny, too.
Jiang Yuan was indeed very unlucky. To be fair, Zhang Ye hadn't really planned on giving him a face-smacking; he hadn't even intended to do so. That was because all he could think of that day was the reception Plants vs. Zombies would get, so how could he have been bothered by anything else? Yet Jiang Yuan had to bring his people along and put themselves in the line of fire. It was just a coincidence that on this occasion, the venue and the setting of everything was "just right." So who could be blamed for what had happened?
By now, news of this incident had spread throughout Central TV.
At the main entrance, in the elevators, in the offices, this topic was constantly brought up in discussions.
"Who did you think Director Jiang has offended this time!"
"Pfft, looks like this incident has really blown up quite a lot!"
"Be quiet, don't let people hear us talking about this."
"I know; everyone knows that."
"Hai, Central TV Department 1's Jiang Yuan has really suffered a big loss of face this time. How many times does he have to suffer a downfall at Zhang Ye's hands? The face smacking he received—even I'm beginning to feel painful on Director Jiang's behalf!"
"Yeah, I saw it on the news yesterday. Even though the footage was focused on the manager of the Plants vs. Zombies booth, Director Jiang, his secretary, and some other people of Central TV Department 1 could all be seen on the left side of the shot. At that time, Director Jiang was even playing Plants vs. Zombies with a delighted expression, having fun as he tried out the game. He looked like he was full of praise for the game. When I replayed it a few times to watch again, I felt the pain as well! It was too painful! The pain from that slap on the face is unlikely to fade for Director Jiang and the others for several months at least!"
"Yeah, I agree. So many of the people at the station who saw the footage cried with laughter. This is really going to be fun to watch from now. How do you think Central TV Department 1 will get out of the embarrassing situation this time?!"
"They can't!"
"Face-smacking Zhang isn't called Face-smacking Zhang for nothing!"
"But it's really not Zhang Ye's fault this time. It was seriously bad luck on the part of Director Jiang. He put himself into that situation!"
"Let's stop talking about this already. If we go on any longer, I won't be able to hold it in anymore and will feel like laughing. Just how on earth could it be so coincidental!"
"Zhang Ye too. How did he end up going to the video game industry and stirring up something again!?"
"Since Central TV Department 1 has already put him into cold storage, what else can he do except take up another side job?"
"I heard that the game is really fun to play!"
"That's right. A colleague from my office went to the Expo. And I quote directly from him: 'I've never seen such a classic puzzle game before.'—His praise for it was that high!"
"That Teacher Zhang, he's really a godly person!"
"He might be a godly person, but we better steer clear from him to be safe rather than sorry!"
"Yeah, that guy is gonna tear Central TV Department 1 apart soon!"
Suddenly, a car arrived outside.
The people who were just arriving for work were slightly startled. They immediately stopped their discussions!
"It's Director Jiang's car!"
"Shh, the main character has arrived!"
"Let's stop talking!"
Even though no one said anything, they could not help but turn their attention Jiang Yuan's face as he got out from his car!
It was an extremely stern expression!
Other than being stern, there were no traces of any other emotions on his face!
At first, this stern expression helped in his show of strong mental fortitude. However, after he got out of his car and noticed countless eyes focused on him—even with over a decade of experience as a boss who had acquired a thick skin—he couldn't help but lose his footing while dropping his stern expression!
"What are you all looking at?" Jiang Yuan shouted, getting angry from the embarrassment!
Everyone dispersed immediately.
His driver, also his secretary, got out from the driver's seat afterwards and was also visibly angry, so much so that his neck even turned red!
How embarrassing!
This was too damn embarrassing!
If not for the exception of a meeting today, the secretary would surely have asked for the day off. In all his life, he had never felt so embarrassed. He was even shown on television as they got hit with a resounding slap under the watchful eyes of all the citizens in the country. No matter how thick their skins were, they couldn't take such a forceful slap!
...
Upstairs.
When Zhang Ye stepped into the office, he heard Ha Qiqi, Little Zhang, and the others gossiping.

Little Wang laughed loudly. "It's sucks that you guys didn't go. You missed a once-in-a-lifetime show!"
Wu Yi said, "The images and scenes at that time, well, they would really be difficult to describe in words! We went to visit the Expo with Director Zhang, but who could have expected to witness a face smacking as well! That trip was well worth it! Hella worth it!"
Zhang Zuo regretfully patted his thighs. "I didn't go because I'm not interested in games. Aiya, if I had known, I would have gone even if my whole body were broken!"
Those from the program team who did not go to the National C-G Gaming Expo all badly regretted it. The way they had been treated by Central TV Department 1 in recent days could be seen by everyone. As such, they were so angered that they already had a list of grievances they could not air, and hated Jiang Yuan and the rest of the executives. Now that such an incident had occurred, it brought them great joy. But the only awful thing was that they didn't witness this face smacking with their own eyes. This gave them a great deal of regret!
Suddenly, someone interrupted, "Whole body broken? Wouldn't that just make you cremains?"
"Director Zhang!"
"Haha, Director Zhang is here!"
"Director Zhang, quickly tell us about that event!"
"Yeah, how the hell could they be so unlucky!"
Seeing that Zhang Ye had arrived, everyone was even more fired up.
Zhang Ye laughed and said, "I don't know why they were so unlucky either."
Zhang Zuo quickly asked, "Then how did you get into video game development?"
Zhang Ye casually answered, "A friend asked me for help, so I just did them a favor."
"Just doing a simple favor like that has probably caused a big commotion in the gaming industry!" Ha Qiqi said flatteringly, "Right now, on the Internet and in the media, everyone is discussing Plants vs. Zombies!"
Zhang Ye blinked. "Is that so?"
Little Wang said, "Just have a look for yourself online!"
When he went back into his own office, Zhang Ye had Little Wang get him a cup of tea and then turned on his computer to browse the Internet. Sure enough, news of the game was raging like a storm online!
There were already plentiful of reviews of the game, Plants vs. Zombies, and analyses of its items. The demo of the game was released last night over the Internet and the number of downloads was constantly increasing!
"It's truly a good game!"
"Recommending it with my life on the line!"
"How cool, this is how a game should be!"
"Yes, after I finished playing Plants vs. Zombies, when I take a look at all the puzzle games that I played in the past, I find that those games were really out to scam us and take us for a ride!"
"A product of Zhang Ye's! Is surely a product of good faith!"
"Why did Zhang Ye jump over to develop games now!"
"That guy has never done things by the book. Who knows what goes on in his head? Though I am appreciative that he chose to be such a jack of all trades this time! Otherwise, from where would we get such a good game?"
"Actually, I was wondering at the start why such a good puzzle game could have originated from a domestic video game company. I knew that our domestic market did not have the capabilities to create something like that. But it was only after I watched the news that I realized the game was actually produced by Zhang Ye himself. Only then did it dawn on me that a puzzle game of this standard could only have come from the mind of Zhang Ye! Did you guys read the firsthand reviews by videogames.net? They gave Plants vs. Zombies a score of 9.9 out of 10! It's the top score in the history of puzzle games!"
"Videogamereviews.net also gave them 9.8!"
"I'm just waiting for the official release of the game now!"
"Yeah, whatever scores it gets are all for nothing. What matters most is still its sales. I heard that it will be launched in another two days. I wonder how it will fare."
"A creation of Zhang Ye's will surely do well!"
"That's right. Just based on Zhang Ye's name on this game, I'll definitely buy it!"
Online, the video game fans were applauding the game with wave after wave!
As the celebrity spokesperson of Plants vs. Zombies, Zhang Ye would naturally do his best for it. After logging into Weibo, he immediately posted a promotional review regarding the game.
Meanwhile.
News of the game was appearing all over the place!
"Puzzle game comes out on top at National C-G Gaming Expo!"
"Reviews of Plants vs. Zombies are out! Likely to set off a flurry of domestically produced puzzle games!"
"Zhang Ye makes his move into the gaming industry!? Citizens express their shock!"
"Even before his lawyer qualification certificate has been filed away, Zhang Ye breaks into the gaming industry!"
"Zhang Ye: A versatile celebrity?"
Of course, there were also some tabloids that were fearless and unafraid of trouble, daring to write any kind of headline!
—"Central TV Department 1's Deputy Director Jiang Yuan drops by personally to support Zhang Ye's new game. Pictures included!"
—"Approving even after losing a court case. A leader's love for his employee!"
—"Face-smacking Zhang smacks faces again, Jiang Yuan flees with his minions from Gaming Expo!"
—"Central TV Department 1 begins placing him in cold storage, but Zhang Ye strikes with another slap across Department 1’s face!"
There were all kinds of headlines!
How lively it was!