Chapter 102: We Each Address Each Other According to Our Own Logic

"Ahem, um, Uncle, I have something to attend to first, so I won't disturb you two from chatting."

Zhou Yi, who had just changed his tune, pressed a single fist to his lips, coughed once to ease the awkwardness, and then quickly scrambled into his van under Sun Yanzi's puzzled gaze.

"Is he the Zhou Yi from the news reports?"

After watching the young man who had made a good first impression leave, Sun Yaohong turned to look at his daughter, whose face was full of confusion, and said with a smile, "He's a nice person, a very enthusiastic young man, and quite talkative."

"Dad, what were you two just talking about?"

Although she didn't know what Zhou Yi had been discussing with her father at the gate, seeing Zhou Yi's unusual "hasty retreat," Sun Yanzi immediately felt a bit suspicious in her heart.

"We talked about some happy topics. This young man is alright; he's not as terrible as the news reports say."

As a professor at Nanyang Technological University, Sun Yaohong believed he had some insight into judging people.

During that brief conversation earlier, the language organization skills Zhou Yi had unintentionally displayed were enough to leave a decent first impression on intellectuals like him, proving he wasn't just a pretty face with no substance.

If he remembered correctly, Zhou Yi was still a very popular celebrity within China.

He has no airs at all; that's truly commendable.

"Those newspapers are just making things up."

Upon hearing her father voluntarily bring up the news about herself and Zhou Yi, Sun Yanzi pressed her lips together and, in a rare display of acting spoiled, said, "Forget it, let's not talk about that. Didn't you say you wouldn't arrive so early? I was just about to drive to the airport to pick you up."

"I'm a grown adult; do I need you to pick me up? I can come on my own. I originally wanted to see Zhou Jianhui, but since Zhou Yi said he's not here, let's go to your place first to drop off the things..."

Looking at his second daughter who had grown up, Sun Yaohong shook his head with a smile.

That night, at Zhou Yi's home.

After Zhou Yi had exhausted himself organizing the room and living room, which he had turned into a mess over the past two days, he received a call from Sun Yanzi—

"Zhou Yi, what did you say to my father this afternoon? Why does it seem like my father has a pretty good impression of you? He's still asking about you even after we've finished dinner."

Sun Yanzi's tone carried a hint of accusation, making Zhou Yi look completely bewildered: "What could I possibly say to your uncle? I thought he was here to discuss business with Zhou Jianhui. Anyway, while waiting for the car, I had nothing better to do, so we chatted about everything under the sun, and I called him 'big brother' a few times."

"... My father, you called him 'brother'?"

"What's the problem? I didn't know he was your father at the time. Calling someone 'brother' or 'sister' upon meeting is just politeness."

Zhou Yi, who had rolled up his sleeves and plopped down on the sofa, answered with righteous indignation: "If you really feel it's inappropriate regarding seniority, you can just call me 'Uncle'."

"... Are you dreaming? You want me to call you Uncle?" The Sun Yanzi on the other end of the phone clearly sounded incredulous: "Do you believe I'll come to your place right now? We don't live that far apart."

Since neither of their families was on the island, they were currently both staying in "luxury dormitories" rented by Warner, so the distance between them was indeed not considered far.

"No, you should stay and keep your uncle company tonight. If you come over, do you really not fear your uncle thinking the newspapers are telling the truth?"

"If my back is straight, I'm not afraid of my shadow leaning. What do I have to fear?"

"Fine then, come over and help me clean. I'm a bit tired from cleaning up by myself."

"... What cleaning are you doing?"

"What nonsense? My parents are here; I can't just stuff them into a hotel, right? If they stay with me, they can talk to me when they come back at night; staying in a hotel would be completely useless."

Zhou Yi, lying on the sofa, picked at his fingernails and blew on them. Hearing this, Sun Yanzi on the other end of the phone immediately remembered Zhou Yi's parents whom she had seen at the Global Chinese Music Awards, and for a moment, she wasn't in a hurry to hang up: "Are your parents coming together?"

"Of course..."

"..."

"..."

Standing on the balcony, Sun Yanzi, from whom a single topic about parents had spawned a multitude of sub-topics, suddenly had a bright smile spread across her face. She rested her single bent elbow on the railing, leaned forward slightly, and gazed at the bright moon in the night sky while speaking.

Sun Yaohong, drinking tea, stood with his teacup in one corner of the living room's floor-to-ceiling window. Through the glass, he watched his daughter's toes occasionally lift slightly off the ground, and a subtle, indescribable curve appeared at the corner of his mouth as she spoke. He sighed and took a sip of tea while looking down.

The next day, Zhou Yi, who had gotten up very early, went to the company to do arrangement work, but for some reason, he kept seeing Sun Yanzi's father whenever he went out to use the restroom or get something to eat.

"What did you say to your father last night? Why do I feel like he's been haunting me all day today?"

Taking advantage of the moment when Zhou Jianhui had called Sun Yaohong away to discuss business, Zhou Yi grabbed Sun Yanzi, who was humming a song, and asked.

"What did I say? I didn't say anything. When I was on the phone with you last night, my father had already gone into his room to sleep; he sleeps very early.

"To avoid disturbing him, I specifically went to the balcony to talk to you on the phone."

Sun Yanzi was equally bewildered.

"What about during dinner?"

"I didn't say anything then either. I even helped you debunk a rumor, saying you don't have nearly as many scandals as the newspapers claim; many of them just actively sought you out to ride your coattails."

When she said this, Sun Yanzi proudly lifted her chin: "How about that? Wasn't I good to you?"

"Fine, consider that Uncle hasn't spoiled you for nothing."

"... Get lost. I'm older than you; call me Sister."

Zhou Yi glanced at her: "Fine then, let's each address each other according to our own logic. You call me Uncle, and I'll call you Sister."

Sun Yanzi opened her mouth, bared her teeth, and was just one step away from biting him.

"Surname Zhou, if you have the guts, don't run away."

"I still have to shoot an MV; don't come and cause trouble, or if you delay the schedule, you can't afford to compensate for it."

Zhou Yi, shouldering the banner of the MV production and making a run for it, left behind a gnashing-teeth Sun Yanzi. Wang Xinling, who didn't understand what was going on, arrived at Warner under the guidance of her manager, and the first thing she saw was this scene of the so-called "Warner Twins" chasing each other.

She fell into confusion, then immediately turned her head to look at her manager.

The manager shook his head at her, then raised his hand and made a zipping motion across his mouth.

Wang Xinling blinked, then saw that the Warner staff all looked as if they were used to it and found nothing strange, and she suddenly realized.

Just as Zhou Yi was starting the filming of the "Da Cheng Xiao Ai" MV in full swing, on April 21, 2001, a Japanese manga-adapted idol drama produced by Chai Zhiping premiered on Taiwan Television, riding the wave of the hot broadcast of Qiong Yao's "Love in the Rain."

At first, including Chai Zhiping herself, no one thought this drama could shake the absolute dominant position of "Love in the Rain."

However, as time passed, by the end of April when Zhou Yi emerged from the filming location to pick up his parents at the airport, this manga-adapted idol drama named "Meteor Garden," after a week, had become so popular that it could rival "Love in the Rain."

Moreover, the theme song "Qing Fei De Yi" sung by Yu Chengqing and the ending song "The Love You Want," with lyrics and composition by Dai Peini and sung by her, both rode this wind straight to the top twenty of various music charts.

Even more critically, the song "The Love You Want" was originally from Dai Peini's new album released in January. Back then, it hadn't caused any waves; her personal second album had been beaten so badly by the six sniper rifles released by Zhou Yi that she couldn't lift her head.

But now, riding the wind of "Meteor Garden," this song had actually risen against the trend and climbed back onto the charts with the drama's popularity!

And when the ending theme "Meteor Shower," sung by the F4 main cast of "Meteor Garden," appeared, the entire island market went mad—

Elva Hsiao, Sun Yanzi, and Angela Chang, who had swept the top six spots on major charts for months, faced their first three formidable competitors since "Love Is in the Air."

Against everyone's expectations, the names of these three were Harlem Yu, Dai Peini, and F4.

On May 1, thanks to Harlem Yu's fanbase combining with the voting efforts of "Meteor Garden" fans, "Impossible" knocked Zhou Yi's Coca-Cola commercial song "Don't Listen to Slow Songs When You're Sad" out of the top ten.

And this also seemed to mark the beginning of a war.

(End of this chapter)