[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-king-of-2000-a-mandopop-dynasty":3,"chapter-the-king-of-2000-a-mandopop-dynasty-the-king-of-2000-a-mandopop-dynasty-chapter-106":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The King of 2000: A Mandopop Dynasty",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2301362,4501,"Chapter 106: The First Collision of the Two Zhous (2)","the-king-of-2000-a-mandopop-dynasty-chapter-106",106,"\u003Cp>To be fair, as a Singaporean Chinese, Sun Yanzi found this approach from the Taiwan side quite repulsive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially when the victim was Zhou Yi, someone she knew well, her disgust only deepened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Being mentally prepared was one thing; actually facing it was another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m just thinking about how many trophies I’ll take home tonight,” Zhou Yi said with a light laugh, patting Sun Yanzi’s hand a few times to reassure her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Yanzi shot him a sideways glance: “You’re getting cocky. You think you can sweep all six awards at once?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why not? It all depends on whether the Golden Melody Awards are willing to give them.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Dream on. You think they’ll hand you all of them? Even if Li Zongsheng and Luo Dayou merged into one person, it wouldn’t happen. Do you think Golden Melody trophies are bulk-purchased cabbages? Others are competing—you’re here to stock up…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During the presentation of the Best Vocal Group award, Zhou Yi, with nothing else to do, began chatting aimlessly with Sun Yanzi, making it hard for her to focus on clapping for the performers onstage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Yi was genuinely uninterested in this category—he’d barely even heard of the winning group, Bei Yuan Shan Mao.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The winner of the next award, Best Band, he did recognize—the group Mayday, who had released their album “Love Is Forever” last year under Rock Records.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The lead singer of this band’s got real talent—I heard he writes all the lyrics and music himself,” Sun Yanzi leaned in close to Zhou Yi to whisper her knowledge about Mayday.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Yi nodded along as the listener.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mayday? He knew them well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But to be fair, in his past life, the first time he heard of Mayday wasn’t as a band—it was as a website with the same name…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Mayday won Best Band, the evening’s major highlight arrived: Best Mandarin Female Vocalist—the so-called Golden Melody Queen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Here, Sun Yanzi’s casual chatter with Zhou Yi instantly turned visibly tense—no matter what, unless the gap was as wide as Zhou Yi’s newcomer award, no one who made the cut didn’t want to win.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if the odds were slim.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Look at this year’s nominees for Golden Melody Queen—it’s a battle of gods.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Fei, Mo Wenwei, Zhang Huimei, Na Ying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fact that Sun Yanzi, with only one year in the industry, was nominated alongside these four legendary divas was already an honor, proving just how extraordinary her vocal expression talent was—no surprise she was a top graduate of Li Weisong Music School.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By contrast, Zhou Yi and Zhou Jie, both newcomers from last year and semi-outsiders to the music scene, hadn’t even made the shortlist for Best Mandarin Male Vocalist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The winner of the 12th Golden Melody Award for Best Mandarin Female Vocalist is… Na Ying! ‘Bittersweet Romance’! Congratulations!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the result was announced, the tension on Sun Yanzi’s face instantly eased, and she warmly embraced Na Ying—who had defeated her, Wang Fei, Zhang Huimei, and Mo Wenwei—to offer her congratulations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Na Ying, having won her first-ever Golden Melody Queen trophy, looked visibly moved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Yi clapped along with the crowd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though many called her a “dog brain,” and her own marketing leaned into that image,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>one couldn’t deny that Na Ying, at the tail end of her peak, was among the very best female pop singers on the mainland in vocal ability—and by far the most commercially successful, without exception.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since her, no other mainland-born female singer has ever won the Golden Melody Queen title.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From a capital standpoint, Warner’s decision to sign Na Ying shortly after was perfectly reasonable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She could make money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A cruel reality in the music industry: if your music gets praise but no sales, no company will fund your album—you can just stay underground and pretend to be above it all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even someone as commercially powerful as Wang Fei, when making a conceptual album, had to include a few songs that fit mainstream tastes—like “The Book of Laughter and Forgetting” from her nominated album “Fable.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve only got one award left: Best Mandarin Album. I’m definitely not beating you—looks like I’m just here to be a runner-up this year.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching her second personal nomination slip away, Sun Yanzi couldn’t help feeling disappointed as she clapped for Na Ying—but soon she shrugged it off. After all, she’d only been in the industry for a year; she had plenty of time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The future is bright!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After shifting her mood, Sun Yanzi turned her focus to planning Zhou Yi’s biggest rival at this year’s Golden Melody Awards: Zhou Jie. According to the official nomination data, Zhou Yi had only two more awards than him: Best Arrangement and Best Lyricist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the singer A Di Zai defeated Wang Lihong, Yu Hengqing, Yuan Weiren, and Su Yongkang to win Best Mandarin Male Vocalist, Zhou Jie, as a creator, suddenly perked up—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He glanced unconsciously toward Zhou Yi, who was chatting with Sun Yanzi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The evening’s main event was about to begin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First up: Best Composer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The nominees for Best Composer at the 12th Golden Melody Awards are:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zhang Yu \u002F Song: ‘Bittersweet Romance,’ from the album ‘Bittersweet Romance.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the loudspeaker blared the announcement, the camera cut to Zhang Yu, nicknamed the “King of Melancholy Songs,” dressed in white, smiling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Li Zongsheng \u002F Song: ‘Twelfth Floor,’ from the album ‘Mo Wenwei on the Twelfth Floor.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Li Zongsong \u002F Song: ‘Dark Sky,’ from the album ‘Sun Yanzi.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zongsheng, seated behind Mo Wenwei beside Luo Dayou, and Li Zongsong, seated behind Sun Yanzi beside Zhou Jianhui and others, appeared on the big screen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, the two young men with the surname Zhou—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zhou Jie \u002F ‘Cute Girl,’ from the album ‘JAY’;\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zhou Yi \u002F ‘Flower Field Mistake,’ from the album ‘Zhou Yi.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the names were spoken, the camera swept over the two highly anticipated young men—Zhou Jie looked slightly tense, while Zhou Yi appeared relaxed, even laughing and chatting with Sun Yanzi. When the camera turned to him, Zhou Yi straightened his collar and put on a serious expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The winner of the 12th Golden Melody Award for Best Composer is… Zhou Yi! ‘Flower Field Mistake’! Congratulations!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Wu Zongxian’s excited voice faded, the audience was filled with the melodic tune of “Flower Field Mistake”—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The mistake made in the flower field!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Promised to forget it all~”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The instantly recognizable melody jolted everyone awake. Wu Zongxian then read the Golden Melody jury’s evaluation of Zhou Yi’s song—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is a perfect fusion of Peking opera and modern pop, blending the currently popular R&B style with theatrical elements without any discomfort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The perfectly balanced use of traditional Chinese instruments alongside modern ones, interwoven in a wildly imaginative melody, is a groundbreaking, pioneering genius idea…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Yi, in his suit, stood up, embraced the delighted Sun Yanzi, then walked back onto the stage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Along the way, he gave a reassuring pat on the shoulder to the visibly disappointed Nai Nai Lun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a creator, he valued creative awards above all else.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he passed Li Zongsheng, the titan of the previous generation of Chinese music adjusted his glasses and reached out to shake Zhou Yi’s hand: “Congratulations, Zhou Yi.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yu, another giant of the previous generation and an original singer, also offered his congratulations and added with a sigh: “The younger generation is rising—the waves behind push the ones ahead. Today’s youth are truly remarkable.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A newcomer at his first Golden Melody Awards, six nominations, already won two.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s a little terrifying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1257,"2026-06-20T07:33:41.161Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","0647b36043e8cba8337e3cd92a7746d0707bb5b01687947d00fa179b7e37b5a0","the-king-of-2000-a-mandopop-dynasty-chapter-107","the-king-of-2000-a-mandopop-dynasty-chapter-105",883,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-king-of-2000-a-mandopop-dynasty-cover.jpg"]