Chapter 30 - The War of Words on Weibo! (1/2)
Afternoon.
As his parents were taking an afternoon nap, Zhang Ye was surfing the net in his room. After logging in to his newly registered Weibo* account, there was a verified label on his avatar. This was a verified account that the radio station had applied for him, for work purposes. The verification details were, “Beijing Radio Station’s Literature Channel’s ‘Late-night Ghost Stories’ Broadcast Host Zhang Ye”. Every radio anchor host had a platform to communicate with their audience. By promoting their programs and maintaining their image, that was also a part of their work.
This world’s social media platform did not distinguish between Tencent’s Weibo or Sina’s Weibo. There was only one, called Weibo. It was pretty much the same; however, there were some tiny differences in the details. For example, there was no way to display one’s location. The reason was probably to protect one’s privacy.
“h.e.l.lo, Teacher Zhang.”
“Teacher Zhang, I really like your program.”
“’Ghost Blows Out the Light’ is too good. Your poems are also too cla.s.sic!”
“If you need any sort of work done, please contact mobile number 1348763733!”
“Haha, Teacher Zhang is also on Weibo? I’m Xiaofang. Please add me as a fan.”
There were private messages, @ messages and comments, totaling about 30 of them. There were advertis.e.m.e.nts, colleagues from the radio station and listeners.
Upon seeing his fan count, he only had about 200 people. After all, he had just registered, so he could not have many fans. It needed a long period of operation. Zhang Ye picked a few comments to reply to. He also followed a few colleagues. As he browsed through this world’s Weibo, there were not many major differences, so he did not find it unfamiliar. This was a very important promotional platform, so Zhang Ye treated it seriously. After giving it some thought, he decided to post his poems, “Flying Bird and Fish”, “A Generation”, the t.i.tle-less “If you are living well, then the skies are clear” and the “The Song of the Stormy Petrel” that he had never publicly released.
His fan count immediately rose!
There were countless numbers of people rebroadcasting it!
“Let the tempest come strike harder? Wow!”
“’The Song of the Stormy Petrel’ is so well written! I like it!”
“I already thought “Flying Bird and Fish” and “A Generation” were cla.s.sic enough, but after seeing “The Song of the Stormy Petrel”, I feel full and delighted. This pa.s.ser-by shall become a fan!”
“If you are living well, then the skies are clear? This is written so beautifully!”
“Teacher Zhang has released another new poem? Awesome! I’ll prostrate in front of you in full admiration!”
He even saw some bigwigs leaving comments. For example, there was the famous producer Hu Fei from Central TV. He had rebroadcasted for Zhang Ye, “I first liked Zhang Ye’s novel, as ‘Ghost Blows Out the Light’ was too original. It is totally different from the usual supernatural novels. Later on, I saw Teacher Little Zhang’s two poems. I greatly fell in love with “A Generation”. It felt like it was written for our generation. Today, after seeing “The Song of the Stormy Petrel”, this should be a prose. Having lived for so long, I have seen at least a few hundred, if not a few thousand prose. But this is the first time that I have realized that prose can be written in such a graceful and powerful manner! I also know the Vice Editor, Old Ya, from the Beijing Times. I agree strongly with what Old Ya said that in a few hundred years, people might no longer have computers or cell phones and may even forget the dazzling celebrities of the past, to the point of forgetting things our generation think is unforgettable. But the two poems, “A Generation” and “The Song of the Stormy Petrel” will never be forgotten. I believe they will be pa.s.sed down over as a heritage, one generation after another!”
Naturally, Zhang Ye had to reply as he modestly answered, “Thank you for Teacher Hu’s affirmation. I’m not that n.o.ble or great as you described. I just randomly created those.”
Hu Fei gave an astounding approval, “Talent is probably innate. Some people might work their entire lives to no avail. Some people have it the moment they were born. Teacher Little Zhang is just 23 years old? My son is 22 this year, almost the same age as you. However, Teacher Zhang is already so cultured, while my son is playing on the phone all day. Sigh.”
People began to comment.
“My daughter is the same. She’s playing with her cell phone all day.”
“Right, young people nowadays cannot be separated from their cellphones. Even while they are eating and talking, they would still hold onto their phones.”
Upon seeing this, Zhang Ye left a comment. He used a popular online phrase in his previous world. “The furthest distance in the world is not the distance between the flying bird and fish. It is that you are playing with your phone, even when I stand in front of you.”
“Pu!”
“Haha! I’m dying of st.i.tches!”
“Teacher Zhang is too cheeky!”
“I never expected Teacher Zhang to be so humorous! He’s a ghost story host and also a poet, so I thought he would be a particularly serious person!”
“That was a G.o.dly reversal!”
Central TV’s producer Hu Fei was also overjoyed as he posted a smiley emoticon, “In a while, I’ll show this to my son!”
With Zhang Ye’s lead, many netizens began to spontaneously post modified versions of Zhang Ye’s “Flying Bird and Fish”. For example, there were statements like, “The furthest distance in the world is not bringing toilet paper to the toilet.” In the end, “A Generation” was also not spared. There were all kinds of versions, such as, “The dark night gave me black eyes, but I use them to watch movies.” If other poets saw their poems being defiled beyond recognition by others, they would be furious. However, Zhang Ye did not. Not only was he not angry, he even modified his works along with the netizens. His level of self-mockery was high, which won the favor of many netizens.
“Teacher Zhang is really approachable!”
“This is what a cultured person should have!”
“+1! Supporting Teacher Zhang’s creation of more masterpieces!”
At the same time.
Today, Tian Bin was also not working. After his program was robbed from him, he would basically be resting for three days a week. He had nothing to do at work. In an upset mood, Tian Bin would drink alone at home. As he drank, he surfed Weibo. He, too, saw Zhang Ye’s interaction with the netizens and saw his fan count increasingly rapidly due to him being so well-liked. In just a day, he had several thousand fans. It was nearly about to exceed Tian Bin’s 20,000 fan count. Seeing this, how could Tian Bin feel happy? He nearly flew into a rage!
Producing works without a script?
Every word he says is cla.s.sic?
Tian Bin never believed Zhang Ye had this ability. He also bore a grudge, so without switching his Weibo account, he used his official, verified Weibo account to post a message, “Some people may be able to jump for a moment, but they cannot jump for life. Do not be a villainous person intoxicated by success. Do not use underhand techniques, or you will end up suffering!” He did not indicate who he was speaking about, but anyone who had eyes knew that he was scolding Zhang Ye. This was because after Zhang Ye was officially verified, the VIP introduction for Tian Bin’s Weibo had changed into “Previous ‘Late-night Ghost Stories’ Broadcast Host”.
Tian Bin had his fans, too. Some people liked Zhang Ye’s style of broadcasting, but there were also people who liked Tian Bin’s program. Upon seeing Teacher Tian post that comment, many of his fans immediately understood who Tian Bin was referring to. Immediately, they answered the summoning call and went on Zhang Ye’s Weibo to begin cursing!
“Using underhand techniques?”
“So this was how Zhang Ye got his position!”
“Teacher Tian is right. I do not like Zhang Ye’s program. It’s practically rubbis.h.!.+”
On the other side, Zhang Ye was still unsure of the situation. He had just went to grab a cup of water, but when he returned, he saw lots of criticism on his Weibo!
“Zhang Ye, you dumb pig!”
“Calling for a boycott of Zhang Ye!”
“What a rubbish program! Quickly stop broadcasting it!”
“Right! Let Teacher Tian Bin resume his hosting of ‘Late-night Ghost Stories’!”
After Zhang Ye traced it to Tian Bin’s official Weibo account and seeing the comment left by him, he immediately sneered with anger. You are looking for trouble, aren’t you? You dare to say I’m a villainous person?
Before Zhang Ye responded, his fans and some bystanders had rushed to Tian Bin’s Weibo to return their tirade!
“How can there be such a cheap person under the Heavens?”