Online.

The forums, Weibo, and Tieba were all in an uproar!

“Oh my god!”

“What’s happening?”

“What do you think is happening!? Quickly take a look at The Voice!”

“That Zhang guy is too godly!”

“F**k! Zhang Ye has already surpassed the gods!”

“It’s too amazing!”

“It’s blinding my titanium alloy dog eyes!”1

“What sort of reciting speed was that!”

“These are advertisements that we’re talking about! My blood was actually boiling with excitement because of advertisements!”

“This is a talent show! But Zhang Ye’s hosting quite literally stole the limelight!”

“Who says that the host of The Voice will only be a supporting role? That anyone can do it? That it would be the same whoever becomes the host? Will the person who said that please stand up! I promise I won’t beat you to death!”

“I don’t know what the later segments are going to be like, but even if its rubbish or the contestants are all worthless, I think the viewership ratings of The Voice won’t be lower than 0.6%! With Zhang Ye’s shocking performance, it is as good as saving the world all by himself! It’s like I can hear Zhang Ye telling us—even if The Voice is a shitty program, he alone would still pull up the viewership ratings using that eloquent mouth of his as usual!”

“The godlike Zhang Ye! The godlike host!”

Besides the netizens’ exclamations, the industry insiders were also collectively shocked!

Some of Zhang Ye’s friends also posted on Weibo.

Peking University Chinese department’s teacher, Su Na: “…”

Yao Jiancai commented on The Voice’s promotional channel on Weibo: “I don’t usually curse, honestly, but after watching my Old Bro Zhang reciting those advertising messages, I can only say this—holy f*ck! The Voice of China? I don’t think it would be unsuitable even if the name is changed to The Tongue of China!”

Central Radio Station’s Tian Bin: “Zhang Ye used the incredible speed in his speech to defeat all the hosts in the world! OH! OH! OH!”

Zhang Ye’s former leader, Zhao Guozhou, posted on Weibo: “I was just dining out with some friends. When we heard Zhang Ye’s advertising messages, my friends and I were all shocked. Nobody could say anything for a long time until a friend beside me, who owns a company, asked me, ‘Do you think I will still be able to purchase advertising rights on The Voice?\'”

Beijing Television’s Hu Fei: “Today, Zhang Ye has shown us that advertisements can actually be done in such a way! Zhang Ye is incredibly outstanding! Although I’m working at Beijing Television Station, if I had to choose the most outstanding host with the best overall abilities in the country, my vote would definitely go to Zhang Ye!”

Weiwo Online Television Station’s Feng Guiqin: “If, let’s say as of yesterday, Zhang Ye wasn’t in the top ranks of the hosting industry because he did not have the experience of hosting on a satellite channel, then today, there is clearly a spot for Zhang Ye in the country’s top hosts club!”

Wang Xiong: “He is a host who keeps on creating miracles!”

Xiao Lu: “Teacher Zhang, I have knelt because of you!”

Dafei: “I’m also kneeling…on the keyboard!”

Hou Ge: “…$$##%…(^&*;…$#@! !”

It was very lively on the internet. After a lot of people watched The Voice’s advertisement segment, they could not help but take out their cell phones or type on their keyboards to post the word “f**k” to express their astonishment towards Zhang Ye’s eloquent mouth! At the same time, everyone’s expectations for The Voice suddenly went through the roof. Everyone was exclaiming out loud even before the show had reached its main event. What would happen when the main show started?

Many people were informing their family and friends!

……

In an alleyway.

A young woman was about to go to the bathroom when she met a neighbor.

“Zhen Zi, what are you doing?”

I was just taking a stroll.”

“What are you still strolling for, quickly go back home to watch The Voice!”

“Why should I watch that? Didn’t everyone say that the program isn’t good?”

“Aiya, you’ll understand after you watch it! Zhang Ye is awesome! He has brought advertising to new heights!”

“What? Advertisements?”

“That’s right, advertisements!”

“Every time there are advertisements, I change the channel. Why would I want to listen to that?””

“You’ll understand when you hear it! I guarantee that you will definitely not change channels!”

“Really? Then I better go have a look!”

“You won’t be able to see it anymore now. Just wait for the rerun or check online for the clips later! Or you could play it back on your DVR too!”

……

In a district, in a house.

A plump boy was making some calls in an excited manner.

“Hey, Big Liu, quickly switch on the television! The Voice is such a surprise!”

“It’s enjoyable to watch?”

“It’s so good that I’m crying!”

“Yo, which contestant sang so well?”

“The singing segment hasn’t even started yet.”

“Ah? Damn, then how is it so good you’re crying?!”

“You don’t shit! Quickly take a look! Why would I lie to you?!”

“Alright, I’ll believe you this time!”

Afterwards, the plump boy started to call up his other friends. He was not a hardcore fan of Zhang Ye and could not even be considered a fan before this as he had only seen a few of Zhang Ye’s works and poetry. But now, after Zhang Ye recited those earth-shaking advertising messages, the plump boy completely became Zhang Ye’s hardcore fan. He felt that Zhang Ye’s confident composure and presence onstage was damn full of swag. His charm was there for all to see!

……

The same scenes were happening everywhere in the country.

If the stage setup and opening theme of The Voice were good but not enough to shock everyone, then Zhang Ye’s lines would have surely done the job!

The news spread—

—by word of mouth!

The people who watched the broadcast were all scrambling to spread the news!

Immediately, more and more people gathered in front of their television and switched the channel to Central TV Department 1!

“It should be the time for the contestants to appear?”

“Hai, I really want to see Zhang Ye recite the advertising messages again! Pfft! I suddenly feel like I’m really cheap! In the past, I couldn’t wait to switch channels when the advertisements came on! But now, I actually want to hear it several times more!”

“Haha, it’s the same for me!”

“I love you so much, Teacher Zhang Ye!”

“I wonder what the upcoming segments will be like?! What kind of contestants could Zhang Ye and his team gather in this short period of time? Besides, everyone has been criticizing The Voice’s main feature of not judging looks or occupation. This is definitely a big problem. A talent show full of ugly men and women? Will that really be a feature to look forward to? Will that really be something marketable? Even if the contestants sing well, how good will they be? They can’t possibly be better than those people professionally trained in music, right? A slogan which emphasizes not on judging by occupation seems to already indicate that The Voice won’t purposely go and search for people trained musically, They also don’t require contestants to be professionally trained in singing or have looks or be tall. Is this really not going to be a problem at all?”

“Hai, who knows?”

“I also don’t feel optimistic about the contestants’ segment, although I admit that the opening was very exciting! But that excitement was solely because of Zhang Ye’s ability and charm!”

“I believe that Zhang Ye will always bring me surprises! We still have to see how the show will be executed!”

“Hey, it’s starting, it’s starting!”

“The first contestant’s intro clip is playing!”

“Whoa, why is that woman so fat?!”

“F**k, they’re really not going to judge by looks?”

“Will she be able to sing well?”

“Her type of singing does not seem like it will be good!”

1. This is cyberspeak created by Chinese players of the MMORPG game WoW.