In the morning.It was a gloomy day.
The fog stretched as far as the eye could see.
Perhaps the Heavens were "giving him face" as there hadn"t been a single gloomy or foggy day all week until today. Perhaps it somehow knew that this was the day that Zhang Ye was making a comeback. However, this did not affect Zhang Ye"s feelings of excitement. After taking a shower at home and changing into a fresh set of clothes, he put on his leather shoes and stood in front of the mirror admiring himself for a long time. Only then did he spiritedly leave and drive out of the villa.
Jiaomen.
In the neighborhood.
When the car turned in, quite a few neighbors who got up early spotted it.
When they saw Zhang Ye get out of the car, the uncles and aunties immediately surrounded him.
"Aiyo, Little Zhang is back!"
"Auntie Zhou."
"How"s your wife doing?"
"Thanks to you, she"s recovered."
"Ah, Little Zhang has come to work?"
"Grandpa Hu, good morning."
"I haven"t seen you in a few months."
"Yeah, I"ll be returning to work officially today."
"And I was wondering why it was such a gloomy day today."
"Ah? You mean it"s because of me?"
"Hahaha, just kidding."
The neighbors in the neighborhood had rather missed him and kept him there as they stood there chattering. They did not allow him to leave for a very long time. Over here, Zhang Ye was very well-liked by the people.
Upstairs.
He arrived at the studio.
Everyone was very surprised to see him.
Ha Qiqi said, "Yo, Director Zhang!"
Little w.a.n.g said, "What are you doing out today?"
Little Zhou asked, "Has Sister-in-law recovered?"
"She"s recovered," Zhang Ye smiled and said, "so I"ll be returning to work today."
Everyone was taken aback for a moment before breaking out into applause.
Zhang Zuo shouted, "We must celebrate this!"
Wu Yi smiled and said, "You"re finally back."
Zhang Ye said, "It"s been hard on everyone these past few months. I"ll just say this: Don"t go anywhere this afternoon; it"s my treat! Let"s enjoy a good meal together!"
Little w.a.n.g put her hands up in celebration and giggled, "I want to have lobsters!"
Zhang Ye said in amus.e.m.e.nt, "You"re always eating lobsters that you"re starting to look like one."
Little w.a.n.g protested.
Everyone laughed.
With Director Zhang returning, they were at ease.
After several months, there were indeed big changes in the entertainment circle. On the Asian and Chinese Celebrity Rankings Indices, the rankings had been reshuffled. If Zhang Ye did not make a comeback soon, his fans would probably start forgetting about him. It was a good thing that he had already built up a foundation, or more appropriately, his social status was bad. There were many people scolding him, and the scolding got even worse after the Asakusa Hotel incident. So with this "foundation" supporting him, Zhang Ye managed to maintain his popularity level.
The media was naturally well-informed.
Zhang Ye had just arrived at the studio when the news came out.
"Zhang Ye returns!"
"Eyewitnesses spot Zhang Ye!"
"After months, Zhang Ye finally returns to the entertainment circle!"
"Is the industry going to be stirred up again?"
"Zhang Ye has come back!"
The calls from his friends came.
…
Yao Jiancai.
"You"re back?"
"Yeah, that"s right."
"Y"know, I really wasn"t used to missing you these past few months."
"Haha, did anyone get into any fights during the time I was gone?"
"Without you around, who would be so free to pick fights with anyone?"
"Now that this bro"s back, it"s time they get ready for a fight again!"
"Yes, we"re just waiting for you to stir up trouble."
…
Zhang Xia.
"Has your wife recovered?"
"Yes, I"ve returned to work."
"How"s the baby?"
"It"s about six months and doing well."
"That"s great to hear. Work hard then. Your Asian popularity has dropped."
"Sure, I"ll go and pull it back up."
…
Xu Meilan.
"After several months of delay, it"s time to quickly get back and catch up on your work."
"Sure, but I"ll take it slowly from here."
"Being away for a few months without news and not experiencing any drop in the Asian and domestic popularity rankings, only you are capable of such a feat."
"I can"t compare to you all. You peaked in your Asian popularity at the same time you reached the summit of the domestic market. But I didn"t manage that, so I definitely have to find a different way from the rest of you. This path of mine indeed makes it difficult for me to gain more popularity. But similarly, it"s not that easy for it to drop either."
"Oh, you"re starting to brag the moment you come back?"
"Haha."
…
On this day.
The winds were howling and the world was changing.
The entire Asian entertainment industry was stirred up again because of a name. Because that jinx had returned to work, the entertainment circle was alive and buzzing again.
The netizens in China had the most direct reactions to this news.
Some were celebrating.
Some had headaches.
And then there were those who gloated.
"Face-smacking Zhang has been reinstated to his post."
"Congrats, congrats!"
"After disappearing for so long, this fellow has finally reappeared."
"s...o...b..z without him is truly boring."
"Haha, the jinx has returned. Trouble will be brewing again in the industry!"
The Korean netizens.
"The news has been taken over by this plague of a person again!"
"Why does he get so much attention in Asia?"
"Who knows!"
"I have to admit, even though this guy did a wonderful job in j.a.pan, he still deserves to be scolded."
"Right, let"s continue scolding him."
The j.a.panese netizens were the most triggered by this news.
"This b.a.s.t.a.r.d hasn"t died yet?"
"This fellow still dares to make a comeback?"
"He should disappear forever!"
"Yeah, I get so angry at the sight of him!"
"I wonder what incidents he"s going to stir up this time by coming back."
Some people were delighted.
While others continued scolding him.
All across Asia, the opinion of Zhang Ye varied from place to place.
But to highlight a place that had the most consistent opinions of Zhang Ye, it had to be the media reporters. When these people heard that Zhang Ye had made his comeback, all of them celebrated like it was the new year. Especially the entertainment reporters. They were even more ecstatic about the news. They cried tears of joy and nearly set off firecrackers to celebrate.
At a newspaper firm.
"He"s finally returned!"
"That guy is finally coming back!"
"If he still didn"t return, we"d be out of a job!"
"I have a feeling that something is going to happen again!"
"Hahaha, that"s great!"
A lot of entertainment reporters greatly depended on reporting the news to make a living.
Without Zhang Ye, without anyone fighting, where would they bring home their dough from?
Sometimes, one would only know that something was precious after losing it. In the past, they didn"t think much of Zhang Ye and would even partic.i.p.ate in scolding him for a bit too. But after Zhang Ye disappeared from public view, they finally realized who was the most adorable person in this world. Fighting every day, scolding every day, and creating big news every day! Where else could they find a person as good as him! Where else!
Perhaps in their excitement, the news of Zhang Ye fully occupied the front page of the entertainment sections. The entertainment reporters kept publis.h.i.+ng news report after news report of him like it didn"t cost a thing.
A lot of people were guessing what the first thing Zhang Ye would do after returning.
Fighting?
Scolding?
Or just working normally?
After all, Zhang Ye had been away for too long, so no one really knew what the situation with him was like at the moment. Could his character have toned down after all these months of being a househusband, doing the laundry and cooking every day? Could he have become a much more composed person? Was he not going to be like the old him?
His current state?
Zhang Ye was probably only the person who knew.
In fact, Zhang Ye couldn"t hold himself back in this very moment. Not only did those household ch.o.r.es not tone him down, it even caused him to become much more eager. He was really itching to do something about it. Zhang Ye was still the same old Zhang Ye! Face-smacking Zhang was still the same old Face-smacking Zhang!
A mind set upon dis.h.i.+ng out face smacking!
It would forever soar proudly as such!