I’m Really a Superstar

Onstage.

In the audience.

It was dead silent!

It felt like time had momentarily stopped!

Everyone stared at the podium in shock. No one could believe what they had just heard. After a whole three seconds, the crowd erupted into an uproar!

“Zhang Ye?”

“Zhang Ye?!”

“Was that the name that was announced?”

“I think so!”

“Think so? The president indeed said ‘Zhang Ye!’”

“Is there another person called Zhang Ye? Is it someone with the same name?”

“No, there’s only one Zhang Ye on the candidates’ shortlist!”

“That’s impossible, what the fuck!”

“This, this—”

“What’s happening? Can anyone tell me what’s happening?”

“Why was the Highest Science and Technology Award given to Zhang Ye!”

“Yeah, isn’t this such nonsense?!”

“My ass! As if he knows anything about science and technology!”

“Besides, they’ve gotten the title totally wrong too!”

“That’s true! A Chinese Academy of Sciences fellow? A Chinese Academy of Engineering fellow?”

“As if he could possibly be a research fellow! What’s more, a Two Academies fellow?”

Everyone went crazy!

Xin Ya was also so shocked that her jaw fell to the floor!

Zhang Ye?

The Highest Science and Technology Award?

Are you fucking kidding me!?

At this very moment, the majority of scientists at the venue were stunned!

Only a few veteran scientists who knew about the inside story were left rolling their eyes. They were exceedingly speechless. So they really decided to give it to this guy?

At the front row.

Zhang Ye was also very shocked. “Ah? Me?”

Chi Xue patted Zhang Ye on the shoulder and said, “It’s you! Your name was the one that was announced!”

Lü Yi also got very excited. “Fellow Zhang! It’s really you! They really gave it to you!”

Zhang Ye found it a little hard to react.

Chi Xue said, “This is the highest honor that can be granted in our country’s scientific field!”

Off to the side, a middle-aged mathematician also said anxiously, “Professor Zhang, hurry up and collect your prize! The president is waiting for you! Stop staring, it’s you!”

Zhang Ye stood up. The attention of the crowd was now focused on the podium.

The president held a very special trophy in his hands. It was a trophy made out of very ordinary materials and looked unremarkable to the naked eye. The trophy of an award that was handed out in the entertainment circle, even if it was an award that no one really cared about, would still look much better, more beautiful, and more valuable than what they saw here right now. This was the trophy for the Highest Science and Technology Award. It was an honor that could only be achieved once in one’s lifetime!

In the audience.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences’ people looked at one another.

“That’s impossible!”

“Did they get it wrong?”

“Is Zhang Ye a part of our Chinese Academy of Sciences?”

It was about the same for the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

“He’s a research fellow of our academy?”

“I didn’t hear about it before!”

“Yeah, why didn’t I know about it either?”

“Did they get it wrong?”

“If they really awarded the wrong prize, that would be a huge mistake!”

Still, not too many people believed it.

Xin Ya nearly fainted. You’re really going up onstage? This absolutely has to be a case of reading the wrong name, right?

On the stage.

Zhang Ye had come to a stop in front of the president.

The president smiled and handed the trophy to him. “Congratulations.”

Zhang Ye hurriedly took it from him and said graciously, “Thank you, Mr. President.”

The president said, “The country thanks you, and so do I.”

Zhang Ye was overwhelmed and flattered. “It’s what I should do. I’m just doing my part for the people.”

The president was very happy to hear that.

When the people in the audience heard this, they were even more surprised.

What was the meaning of this?

What did the president say?

He thanked Zhang Ye?

The country thanked Zhang Ye?

But why??

Why did the country have to thank him for a global mathematical conjecture that was solved a few years ago?

However, the next moment, the big screen behind Zhang Ye lit up. Just as it had happened for the earlier award winners, their names, birthdays, résumés, and achievements were all listed on the big screen. When everyone hastily looked up at it, many of them were so shocked that they nearly jumped out of their chairs!

Screams rang out one after another!

“Ah!”

“Heavens!”

“This—”

“What is this!”

Zhang Ye:

Chinese Academy of Sciences’ research fellow.

Chinese Academy of Engineering’s research fellow.

World-famous mathematician.

Deputy chief designer of the new generation fighter jet.

“During his sentence, he single-handedly led his team to overcome all kinds of difficulties and developed the technology for the new generation of fighter aircraft, including the U2 technology and over 10 key projects for the country. He has participated in the research and development of the new generation fighter aircraft, radar system operations, launch directives’ data framework, and broken the international monopoly on these technologies. Alone, he has tackled more than 30 technological bottlenecks and acquired over 20 international, leading technological patents, of which many are world’s firsts. In the field of military affairs, information technology, and computing operations, he has made great contributions by working together with many scientists. In just a span of three years, he has created one technological miracle after another.”

A lot of the scientists who went on stage to accept their awards had introductions generally limited to a hundred words or so. Some of them even had their résumés and achievements condensed to around 40 to 50 words. But for Zhang Ye, his résumé and list of achievements went over 2,000 words!

One!

Ten!

Twenty!

All of the projects that he had participated on were listed on the big screen!

There were even a lot of technological projects with names that a lot of the scientists at the venue could not understand that flashed on the screen!

Xin Ya was dumbfounded!

Everyone was stunned!

Major breakthroughs in dozens of technologies had been made?

International, leading technological patents?

Scientific research that were world’s firsts?

All of those details were astonishing!

“The aircraft engine was designed by him?”

“And there are several dozen other international, leading technologies too?”

“Technologies that even Europe and America don’t have?”

“Absurd! How is this possible!”

“The technological breakthroughs we’ve had these few years were all led by him?”

“That’s so fearsome!”

“So he didn’t go to jail!?”

“Yeah, so he had been away doing research all these years?!”

“Isn’t he a mathematician? Isn’t he a hacker? I believe that he knows math, I believe that he knows programming, and I can also believe that he knows information technology. But why does he even know physics, dynamics, and mechanical engineering too?”

Everyone was shocked!

This was too scary!

If Zhang Ye really had such a résumé, it could be described as an extremely great feat!

Xin Ya quickly looked at a veteran scientist not far away. “Elder Han! J-Just what is this about!”

Another young mathematician also asked, “Yeah, why does Zhang Ye—”

Elder Han clearly knew a bit of the inside story. He said, “I worked with Zhang Ye last year because of an important project for the country. Zhang Ye truly deserves his reputation as the smartest person to exist in the world for the past few centuries. In these few years, he has done a lot of things, things that we would never even dare to imagine in our lifetimes. The president is right. The country should be thanking him, and so should the citizens.” He looked at the stage and said, “This Highest Science and Technology Award belongs to him without a doubt.”

Nearby, a middle-aged research fellow sighed. “It’s just that this guy is too brash and keeps inciting the researchers to hold demonstrations at every turn. Our research institute was nearly smashed because of him!”

Elder Han laughed and said, “But that project at the end, who was the one who supplied the technology to you all?”

That middle-aged research fellow rolled his eyes and kept quiet.

It was really him?

All of this was really because of him?

Everyone couldn’t be more shocked!

Xin Ya was visibly moved!

But this shouldn’t be. He wasn’t someone who could sit down and do things in a proper way. He didn’t like being controlled and restricted by others. Wasn’t he bent on making it in the entertainment industry? Didn’t he just want to be a celebrity? To sing and act? So why? Why did he suddenly do so much all at once for the nation?

This wasn’t like him.

This wasn’t his style.

Everyone stared at Zhang Ye in stupefaction.

At this moment, Zhang Ye was holding a microphone, about to give his acceptance speech.

Like the others, his acceptance speech was very short.

Holding the trophy aloft, he looked into the audience. The experiences he had been through these past few years were all still very vivid in his mind. He did not regret his contributions to China in these few years. Even though he couldn’t get to see his child, his wife, and his family, Zhang Ye always believed that since some things had happened, he would have to come to accept them and just do it. He had the obligation to do so.

Zhang Ye recited into the microphone calmly.

“Snow on Mt. Tian in May,

“No flowers, instead cold and gray.

“I hear the flute play the Song of Sorrow,

“And am reminded of a spring I’ve never seen.

“The beating of drums and gongs calls dawn battle;

“In the evening, clutched are jade saddles.

“But I long to use the sword I carry,

“For the State, oh, the barbarians I’ll bury!”

He finished speaking.

Zhang Ye gave a slight bow and walked off the stage.

The president was looking at him.

Many of the higher-ups were looking at him.

The scientists in the audience were also staring at him in amazement.

A short and simple poem had left countless of them trembling with excitement!

“But I long to use the sword I carry?!”

“For the State, oh, the barbarians I’ll bury!”