Chapter 102: We Each Call Each Other What We Want

“Cough, uh, Uncle, I’ve got something to take care of, so I’ll leave you two to chat.”

Immediately changing his tone, Zhou Yi clenched one fist to his lips, coughed to ease the awkwardness, then swiftly slipped into his chauffeur-driven car under Sun Yanzi’s puzzled gaze.

“Is he the Zhou Yi from the news reports?”

After watching the young man—who had left a decent first impression—depart, Sun Yaohong turned to his daughter, whose face was full of confusion, and smiled: “He’s a good guy, a warm-hearted young man, and quite talkative.”

“Dad, what were you two talking about just now?”

Though she didn’t know what Zhou Yi had said to her father at the gate, seeing his unusually flustered retreat, Sun Yanzi felt a flicker of suspicion rise in her chest.

“We talked about some pleasant things. This kid’s actually quite alright—not nearly as bad as the news reports made him out to be.”

As a professor at Nanyang Technological University, Sun Yaohong believed he had some ability to judge character.

In that brief exchange, Zhou Yi’s spontaneous command of language had given him, as an intellectual, a favorable first impression—he wasn’t just a pretty face with no substance.

As far as he remembered, Zhou Yi was still a very popular star within China.

He has no airs at all—definitely impressive.

“Those newspaper stories are all made up.”

Hearing her father bring up the news about her and Zhou Yi, Sun Yanzi pursed her lips and, unusually, pouted: “Forget it, let’s not talk about that. Dad, weren’t you supposed to arrive later? I was just about to drive to the airport to pick you up.”

“I’m a grown man—I don’t need you to pick me up. Just come yourself. I originally wanted to meet Zhou Jianhui, but since Zhou Yi says he’s not here, let’s head to your place first and drop off my things…”

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

That night, at Zhou Yi’s home.

After Zhou Yi had exhausted himself tidying up the mess he’d made in his room and living room over the past two days, he received a call from Sun Yanzi—

“Zhou Yi, what did you tell my dad this afternoon? Why does he seem to have such a good impression of you? He’s been asking me about you even over dinner.”

Sun Yanzi’s tone carried a hint of accusation, leaving Zhou Yi utterly baffled: “What could I possibly have told your uncle? I thought he was there to meet Zhou Jianhui about business. Since I was waiting for a ride and had nothing better to do, I just chatted with him about everything under the sun, called him ‘big brother’ a few times.”

“...My dad? You called him ‘big brother’?”

“What’s wrong with that? I didn’t know he was your dad. When you meet someone, calling them ‘brother’ or ‘sister’ is just politeness.”

Zhou Yi, rolling up his sleeves and plopping onto the sofa, answered with complete confidence: “If you really feel awkward about the age gap, you can call me ‘uncle’ too.”

“...Are you dreaming? You want me to call you uncle?” Sun Yanzi’s voice on the other end dripped with disbelief: “Do you think I won’t come over to your place right now? We don’t live far apart.”

Since neither of them lived on Baodao, they were both staying in “luxury dorms” rented by Huana—so their distances were indeed not far.

“No, tonight you should stay and keep your uncle company. If you come over, you really think he won’t believe everything the newspapers wrote?”

“I’ve got nothing to hide—why should I be afraid?”

“Fine, then come over and help me clean up. I’m already tired from doing it alone.”

“...What are you cleaning up for?”

“Obviously—my parents are here; I can’t just shove them into a hotel, can I? If they stay with me, they can talk to me when they come back at night. In a hotel, they’d be completely cut off.”

Lying back on the sofa, Zhou Yi blew air between his fingernails. On the other end of the phone, Sun Yanzi suddenly remembered the parents of Zhou Yi she’d seen at the Global Chinese Music Chart Awards, and her urgency to hang up faded: “Are both your parents coming?”

“Of course...”

“...”

“...”

Standing on the balcony, Sun Yanzi’s eyes lit up with a bright smile as the topic of her parents spawned countless subtopics. She leaned forward slightly, one elbow resting on the railing, gazing out at the bright moon in the night sky.

Sun Yaohong, sipping tea, stood at the corner of the living room’s floor-to-ceiling window, watching through the glass as his daughter’s toe tapped the floor intermittently, a subtle, indescribable curve lifting at the corner of his mouth as he spoke—he sighed, then took a slow sip of tea.

The next day, Zhou Yi arrived early at the company to work on composition, but for some reason, every time he went to the restroom or grabbed a snack, he kept seeing Sun Yanzi’s father.

“What did you tell your dad last night? Why does he seem to be haunting me today?”

While Zhou Jianhui had taken Sun Yaohong away for a meeting, Zhou Yi pulled over Sun Yanzi, who was humming a tune, and asked.

“What did I say? I said nothing. When I called you last night, Dad had already gone to bed—he sleeps early.”

“To avoid waking him, I even took the call on the balcony.”

Sun Yanzi was just as baffled.

“What about during dinner?”

“I said nothing either. I even cleared up a rumor—I told him you don’t have nearly as many scandals as the papers claim; most are just people chasing attention.”

Here, Sun Yanzi lifted her chin proudly: “How’s that? Am I not being loyal to you?”

“Alright, 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 use our own terms. You call me ‘uncle,’ I call you ‘sister.’”

Sun Yanzi opened her mouth, baring her teeth as if ready to bite.

“Zhou, if you’ve got guts, don’t run.”

“I’ve got an MV to shoot. Don’t mess with me, or you’ll be liable for the delay.”

Zhou Yi fled under the banner of the MV, leaving Sun Yanzi gritting her teeth. Wang Xinling, unaware, arrived at Huana under her agent’s guidance and witnessed this chase between the two stars rumored to be Huana’s golden duo.

She fell into confusion, then turned to her agent.

The agent shook his head, then raised a hand to his throat and mimed zipping it shut.

Wang Xinling blinked, then noticed the Huana staff all looked utterly accustomed to the scene—she suddenly understood.

Just as Zhou Yi was frantically beginning production of the “Big City, Little Love” MV, on April 21, 2001, a Japanese anime-adapted idol drama, under the shadow of Qiong Yao’s “Love in a Rainy Season,” premiered on Baodao TV.

Initially, even Chai Zhiping herself didn’t believe the drama could challenge the absolute dominance of “Love in a Rainy Season.”

But as time passed, by the end of April, when Zhou Yi emerged from filming to pick up his parents at the airport, the anime-adapted idol drama titled “Meteor Garden” had, in just one week, risen to rival “Love in a Rainy Season.”

Even the theme song “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” sung by Yu Hengqing, and the ending theme “The Love You Want,” written and sung by Dai Peini, rode this wave straight into the top twenty of every major music chart.

More critically, “The Love You Want” had originally been released in January on Dai Peini’s new album—back then, it had barely stirred a ripple, and her second album had been crushed under the weight of Zhou Yi’s six sniper hits.

Now, riding the momentum of “Meteor Garden,” the song surged against the tide, climbing back up the charts alongside the drama’s popularity.

Then, when the ending theme “Meteor Shower,” sung by the “Meteor Garden” cast F4, appeared, the entire Baodao market went wild—

Xiao Yaxuan, Sun Yanzi, and Zhang Shaohan, who had dominated the top six spots on every chart for months after “Love in a Rainy Season,” now faced their first serious rivals.

To everyone’s surprise, the three names were Yu Hengqing, Dai Peini, and F4.

On May 1, thanks to Yu Hengqing’s fanbase combining with “Meteor Garden” fans voting, “Can’t Help Falling in Love” knocked Zhou Yi’s Coca-Cola ad song “Sad People Don’t Listen to Slow Songs” out of the top ten.

And this, it seemed, marked the beginning of a war.

(End of Chapter)