Chapter 1167: The crowd goes ballistic!
Translator: Legge Editor: Legge
The next day.
It was the first day of the Olympic Games.
The staff of Zhang Ye's Studio were in a celebratory mood the moment they arrived at work. The studio was established with the core mission and aim of pushing Zhang Ye to a further and higher place in the industry. Everything was centered around Zhang Ye's popularity and image, which was why when Zhang Ye had been selected to sing the Olympic opening theme song after the studio had just been operating for a few days, and with his performance with Lillian being very successful, it helped him leave a good impression on the world's audience and get all around praise from many people. With that, his popularity in China, as well as Asia, soared. This made the studio staff extremely excited and full of hope for the future.
The business operations were also starting to get busy.
The phone lines in the studio were ringing nonstop. Some of the calls were from television stations or reporters seeking interviews, and some were invitations to collaborate on all kinds of projects.
A little after 9 in the morning.
Zhang Ye arrived at work.
Ha Qiqi and the others immediately gave him a status report. The tabulated data and information were given to Zhang Ye with very detailed statistics. This was the advantage of having a team. "Director Zhang, your Weibo followers increased by a million overnight. 'You and Me' was really successful. The live performance music video has already reached number one on the Top Chinese Music Chart, and the second placed song, 'Beijing Welcomes You,' is also your song!"
Little Wang exclaimed, "Mighty, Mighty Director Zhang!"
Wu Yi laughed and said, "Your ranking also went up in the Asian popularity charts!"
Zhang Zuo said, "Yes, a lot of the foreign media has mentioned Director Zhang's name in their reports as well. This is quite a historic breakthrough for us, even though it's unlikely that the foreigners will become your fan with just one song. But at least it's good that you've shown yourself on the world stage for a start."
Zhang Ye had a look at the statistics and said with a laugh, "Great work, everyone."
Ha Qiqi smiled and said, "Your reputation now is great. All the news reports about you at the moment are fairly positive, so I suggest that we build up your reputation during this period. We have to strike while the iron is hot in order to turn around that past negative image of yours. That will help the media and public change their impression of you."
Zhang Ye blinked. "Why do that?"
Zhang Zuo replied, "We analyzed earlier during a meeting that your next target would definitely be to reach the S-list rankings. Only by getting into the highest rankings domestically and becoming a Heavenly King can you continue progressing further in the Asian and international scene. Therefore, our target for you is to first get to the top within China. According to past information, all of those who manage to get into the S-list and become Heavenly Kings and Queens have one thing in common. That is, their reputation and public image are all fantastic without an exception! For example, Zhang Yuanqi and the other Heavenly Kings and Queens. It applies to all of them. That was why we concluded that the prerequisite to reaching the S-list rankings was that, and exactly what you're lacking in and also where you're unable to compare to against the Heavenly Kings and Queens. We can work hard toward that target from now on, although it's unlikely that you'll reach that level anytime soon. But at least we can see whether you can go further with a better reputation and image."
Having a team was just different.
Zhang Ye nodded in agreement. "OK, that makes a lot of sense."
Ha Qiqi smiled and said, "Then let's head in this direction with our PR campaigns? If there are any charity or public service events to attend, you'll have to accommodate them for us."
"Sure, just decide as you will." Zhang Ye did not have any objections.
After confirming his direction for the short term, everyone started getting to work.
Meanwhile, Zhang Ye made his rounds in the office before subsequently looking at his watch and leaving to drive off.
His image? Alright then, he would have to watch his public image a little more carefully during this period of time then!
…
On the live broadcast of the Olympics.
There was global coverage worldwide.
The first day of events had already begun.
The Chinese netizens were getting extremely excited. Everyone was looking forward to Team China's performance at the Beijing Olympics.
During every previous Olympics, Central TV Sports Channel's viewership rating would outdo all the other programs by a large margin. During this period of time, everyone would only pay attention and have eyes for the Olympic Games. Further, it was even held in Beijing this year in their own backyard. As the hosts, everyone's enthusiasm was even greater than it had ever been. There were people who were camping at their televisions, and some who took time off from work to attend the events!
On Weibo.
"Looking forward to the first gold medal!"
"Who will get the first gold?"
"Come on, athletes!"
"There are so many events with a gold medal up for grabs today!"
"Haha, the fencing event has already started!"
"The qualification round for shooting has started as well!"
"I predict that we'll get at least two gold medals on the first day!"
"There's a chance of getting three gold medals too. There are a lot of events that we're good at on this first day!"
The media was also busy doing a gold medal analysis for China!
Shooting?
Fencing?
Or would it be some of the other events?
A lot of those in the media had prepared their reports beforehand. All they were waiting for was for Team China to score their first gold medal on this first day of the events before publishing their news reports!
…
At the live coverage studio of the Olympics.
The shooting event was taking place.
Commentator Zhao Zhi said, "Dear viewers and friends, we're about to begin with the Women's 10-meter Air Rifle event 1 . China's athletes, Qi Xue and Li Chen, placed first and third respectively in the earlier qualification round to qualify for the finals. In the next round of this competition, the first Beijing Olympic gold medalist will be crowned. Can the Qi-Li duo take the first Olympic gold for Team China? Let's wait and see!"
A former Olympic champion, Zhang Chuxia, was also present in the live coverage studio.
Zhao Zhi said, "The competition is starting!"
Zhang Chuxia shouted, "It's the first shot, come on!"
"Good one! Qi Xue has shot a 10.2 2 ! Oh, Li Chen has made a mistake on her first shot. She has only scored 9.2 points for her effort. But that's fine, there's still a chance!"
The second shot.
The fifth shot.
The eighth shot.
After several more shots, the results were wilder than anyone's expectations!
Li Chen was performing very badly today and was no longer in the running for a medal. Meanwhile, Qi Xue had fallen to third place after committing a very serious mistake on one of her shots. She was now 2.1 points away from the first place!
Zhao Zhi said, "Things aren't looking too good!"
Zhang Chuxia said, "Let's see how the last few shots go. The team has been too nervous!"
"You can do it, Qi Xue! All the way!"
Whoosh!
After the shot was taken, everyone gasped loudly!
It was over!
The gold medal was no longer possible!
In the end, Qi Xue could only manage a bronze!
Zhao Zhi said, "What a pity!"
Zhang Chuxia sighed, "Hai, the pressure was too stressful."
Watching TV, the home viewers were also crying out in pity!
…
In the next few hours.
The mood of the viewers and China's delegation could only be described as being down in the dumps!
They lost the shooting gold medal!
They lost the fencing gold medal!
They also lost the swimming gold medal!
"First Gold Still Not Here!"
"What is wrong with the Chinese team?"
"Only Hope of First Day Gold Rests on Weightlifting!"
"Go for it!"
"Come on, this is our backyard we're talking about!"
"Don't be too stressed, just do your best!"
"Our weightlifting team should be the favorites for gold, right?"
"Yes, this event should not have any surprises!"
"Come on, get the first gold already! Let's give everyone a boost to their spirits!"
According to the preliminary statistics, Central TV Sports Channel's Olympics coverage had already reached an astonishing 43% viewership! That was to say, for every 100 televisions in the country, close to half were tuned in to the live broadcast of the Olympics. The viewership ratings of the Olympics coverage in other countries around the world were very good as well and were maintained at a very high level everywhere. If they were to translate the ratings to individual viewership numbers, this would probably be the highest rated Olympics meet in history!
And because of that, all the more the Chinese viewers were looking for that gold medal to boost their morale!
There was only weightlifting left!
They had to win gold!
…
At night.
On the live broadcast.
A commentator said, "We're going to bring you the live coverage of the Men's 62 kg weightlifting event next. Li Jiaxi, the defending world champion who is representing China, will be taking on the other athletes very soon. In this event, the Chinese athlete has the absolute strength to win. But he still has to be very wary of the North Korean athlete, who is expected to be a strong rival!"
The competition venue was packed to bursting.
There were a lot of Chinese flags in the stands and wave after wave of cheers could be heard from the crowd!
Zhang Ye was wearing his sunglasses as he arrived late for the event. He had quietly sneaked in through the staff entrance.
His third sister waved. "Brother!"
His second sister exclaimed, "Aiyah, why have you only just arrived?"
Zhang Ye laughed. "I was blocked at the entrance by reporters. Has it started already?"
"Soon," his eldest young sister said with a sunken expression. "This is the last chance to get a gold medal today. I hope nothing goes wrong!"
Zhang Ye smiled and said, "Don't worry, he's got this."
His first uncle and aunt said, "Little Ye, get seated quickly."
"Alright." Zhang Ye sat down.
He had actually been at the Olympic venue the entire day. He first brought his parents to watch shooting before taking Chenchen to catch fencing afterwards. In the end, there were no gold medals won in those events. Zhang Ye was also getting very anxious. Although the country's obsession with getting gold was somewhat extreme, this was still a competition after all, so who wouldn't wish to win a gold medal here?
Zhang Ye shouted, "Come on!"
The people around him also started shouting.
"You can do it!"
"Go Li Jiaxi!"
"Get our first gold medal!"
"We're depending on you!"
The live broadcast cameras suddenly turned to face Zhang Ye.
In the live coverage studio, both of the commentators were laughing.
"Hur hur, they've given Zhang Ye a profile shot. We can see that Teacher Zhang has also brought his family to watch the events. Oh, there's someone there wearing a hat. If I'm not wrong, that should be the singer, Han Fang. Eh, Director He is here too? Look. He's nodding at Zhang Ye. Looks like our celebrities are also very concerned about the Olympics."
"It's starting. They're going to begin with the snatch 3 !"
"The first one up is the South Korean athlete."
"The second to go will be the Australian athlete."
After several people, it was finally the Chinese team's turn!
"Oh, it's Li Jiaxi's first lift and he's already trying for 162 kg!"
"Let's see how this goes. Come on! Li Jiaxi! You can do it!"
"Good one, now lift it up!"
"Great!"
The entire venue was cheering!
Zhang Ye shouted, "Good showing!"
The three sisters were also shouting excitedly!
"Oh, the North Korean athlete upped the weight to 166 kg and has succeeded in lifting it as well!"
"Li Jiaxi will also be attempting 166 kg this time, but the snatch is not what he's good at. Let's see how this one goes….Oh! He did it! He succeeded!"
The crowd erupted into applause again!
The two commentators' startled and surprised reactions made the viewers watching the live coverage feel extremely jittery as well!
When the snatch was completed, Li Jiaxi and the North Korean athlete tied on weight lifted and advanced into the clean and jerk tied for first place!
Li Jiaxi's first clean and jerk ended unsuccessfully before he managed a 190 kg lift on his second attempt!
Meanwhile, the North Korean athlete actually requested to lift a weight that seemed impossible for him on his third attempt—190 kg. In all his previous competitions, he had never attempted such a weight!
Zhang Ye's third sister cursed, "I hope it drops and crushes his feet! Crush his feet!"
Zhang Ye said to her, "Whoa, you're really ruthless!"
The third lift was also going to be the North Korean athlete's final lift. He only had this one chance to succeed!
The North Korean athlete grappled with the bar and brought it up to his chest. The enormous weight was pressing against him so heavily that he was trembling. It was obvious that he was almost about to give way. But suddenly, the North Korean athlete exerted his strength and jerked the bar over his head. However, his hands were not steady and his legs kept wobbling about. After bracing for a moment, he dropped the bar onto the ground!
The commentator said agitatedly, "He didn't hold still!"
The former weightlifting champion said, "We've won, we're the champion—"
But at this moment, the North Korean athlete suddenly jumped up excitedly and let out a howl onscreen. He rushed off the stage to his coach, and they shared a hug!
The commentator said in surprise, "What happened?"
The former weightlifting champion said in disbelief, "What? The referees gave a single red light and two white lights 4 for the result. Did he succeed? The North Korean athlete managed the lift? If the North Korean athlete also succeeded in lifting 190 kg, then with their attempts being the same weight and his body weight being lighter than Li Jiaxi's, he would get the victory!"
The crowd at the venue was stunned!
The Chinese team's coaches were also stunned!
One of the coaches was so mad that he immediately went to appeal the result. However, the weightlifting event for this Olympics did not allow for appeals. The referees sent the Chinese coach back to where he came from.
The commentator said, "What an extremely odd call that was!"
The former weightlifting champion said, "Yeah, it's simply unbelievable!"
The commentator said, "But Li Jiaxi still has a chance! If he can manage to lift 191 kg for his final attempt, he'll still be crowned as the champion! Go Li Jiaxi! Come on, Team China!"
All of the pressure was now on Li Jiaxi!
The next second, Li Jiaxi took to the stage with the entire crowd cheering for him!
Standing in front of the bar, Li Jiaxi roared to encourage himself. Then he squatted down and gripped the bar. He clenched his teeth and adjusted his breathing!
Up!
The commentator said, "Good one, now bring it up!"
The former weightlifting champion shouted, "Come on!"
The commentator said loudly, "Bring it up! Bring it up!"
Li Jiaxi cleanly jerked and raised the barbell over his head. But as it was incredibly heavy, his legs slightly gave way under him. For a moment, he did not manage to stand still. After he adjusted his footing a little, he held the position. He trembled as he held the bar over him and stayed in that position for two seconds!
The crowd went crazy!
Zhang Ye said, "He's won!"
His eldest younger sister's eyes were brimming with tears. "He's won! We won!"
The director and singer in the stands also stood up and yelled!
The commentator became even more excited. "He's won! Li Jiaxi managed to withstand all that pressure and succeeded! He withstood—" The commentator was suddenly stunned. "What? Wait a moment. What's happening?"
The entire venue fell silent!
The referees seemed like they were discussing something!
Then the North Korean athlete and coaches jumped for joy and hugged as they cheered!
The Chinese athlete, Li Jiaxi, stood there looking stunned!
For his lift, two of the three referees gave a red light!
It was a failed lift!
This lift did not succeed!
The referee team consisting of an Australian, a South Korean, and a Canadian had given a judgment that dumbfounded everyone!
The North Korean athlete had won the gold medal!
Li Jiaxi could only come in second!
Third place went to an Australian athlete. This was also a breakthrough for Australia in weightlifting!
The Chinese coaching team was enraged as they rushed up to the referees!
The crowd was furious as they started yelling angrily!
"Motherfuckers!"
"What the hell are they doing!"
"What kind of judgment is this?"
"Are you all playing dirty now?"
The Central TV commentator also exclaimed, "What's going on here? Can anyone tell me what's going on?"
The former weightlifting champion said angrily, "This has got to be an incorrect call! This doesn't make any sense at all! Let's see how their negotiation goes. The Organizing Committee's people have joined in the discussion as well!"
At the referees' panel in the venue, the referees were whispering to each other!
The Australian referee kept waving his hand!
The South Korean referee also looked like he was saying something.
Finally, the outcome was decided. The referees did not change their decision!
The North Korea athlete roared and beat against his chest to show that he was the champion!
Li Jiaxi could only walk off the stage silently. His eyes reddened as tears flowed down his face!
The commentator said, "A man does not cry easily! But at this moment, our Olympic hero is crying here in Beijing. We don't know what we can say anymore!"
The former Olympic champion said, "This is too unreasonable. If the referees were being strict and insisted that Li Jiaxi's lift was against the rules, then that lift by the North Korean athlete would be a 100 percent against the rules too! It just doesn't make any sense to have different standards for different athletes! What's with that? What are the referees doing?"
The commentator sighed. "The results have been decided. We must accept this outcome!"
But the former Olympic champion said, "I can't accept this! If this was because of us not being good enough, then such a result would be fine. If we have been erratic in our performance today, we can also let that go. But tell me, what's with this? I really can't accept something like this! I believe that many others are feeling the same too!"
The live coverage was still being broadcast!
There was still the medal ceremony to be held later on.
Suddenly, Zhang Ye stood up and pointed at the referees, yelling, "Idiots!"
This voice was so loud that it was deafening within the enclosed area of the arena!
That famous television drama director, He Qidong, also stood up when he heard that. "Idiots!"
The singer, Han Fang, scolded, "Idiots!"
Zhang Ye's second sister: "Idiots!"
His third sister: "Idiots!"
More and more people started standing up!
More and more of them pointed at the referees and scolded them in anger!
At this moment, all the Chinese in the stands were enraged!
The infamous "Peking University Scolding" was now echoing in an Olympic setting!
That Australian referee looked over to the stands, knowing that the crowd was scolding them. However, he just smiled and did not say anything. The South Korean referee also had an indifferent look, while the other referees also behaved like nothing had happened. After the competition ended, they even started chatting and laughing with one another.
This behavior made the Chinese people even angrier!
They clearly had something against the Chinese team!
For a time, the scolding in the stands got even louder!
"Idiots!"
"Idiots!"
"Idiots!"
When Zhang Ye's eldest younger sister saw Li Jiaxi crying, she nearly cried as well. "This is so infuriating! I'm so pissed off! Isn't that as good as bullying? They can't do things like that!"
What kind of temper did Zhang Ye have?
This fellow was someone who would blow up at the slightest provocation!
He hated this sort of injustice the most in life. "These foreign bastards!"
Not far away from him, Director He Qidong said, "They're doing this on purpose!"
This judgment call was simply too blatant. There was basically no way it could have been an incorrect judgment!
"Fuck their grandpas! How dare they act in this way? Alright then!" Zhang Ye turned around and stomped off. He simply said to his uncle and auntie, as well as his three sisters, "I'm going outside for a bit!"
"Where are you off to?"
"Brother?"
His three sisters were also quite taken aback by this.
In the blink of an eye, Zhang Ye had walked out of the competition venue.
If it were a matter of skills, it would have been fine!
If this Olympics were held in another country, then so be it!
But this was Beijing! This was the Beijing Olympics!
In our territory and on our doorsteps, did you all think that I would fucking let you bully us? Fuck all of you!
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISSF_10_meter_air_rifle#World_Championships,_Women
2. Every scoring ring is 5 mm wide and sub-divided in 0.5 mm (≈ 0.1719 MOA) increments in 10 "subrings". Like the other scoring rings the maximum of 10.9 is derived from an additional set of 10 "subrings" within the center 10-point circle, increasing in 0.1 point value as the rings approach the center of the target.
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snatch_(weightlifting)
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_weightlifting#Official_procedure