Chapter 107

For the candidates nominated for Best Composition this year, losing to "Flower Field Mistake" was not particularly painful.

In the current era where R&B is hugely popular, Zhou Yi was, after all, the first to innovatively blend Western R&B with Eastern Peking Opera art to such an extent.

By comparison, whether it was traditionalists like Li Zongsheng and Zhang Yu, or Jay Chou whose compositions were equally filled with wild imagination, they all fell slightly short in terms of innovation.

And this was precisely what the Golden Melody Awards jury valued most this year.

"How about it, Zhou Yi? Winning your second Golden Melody Award trophy at your first Golden Melody Awards—what are your thoughts?"

Wu Zongxian, who was controlling the flow of the show, stood smiling beside the host's podium as he watched the triumphant Zhou Yi holding the trophy: "Do you have any songwriting secrets you could share with me? You can whisper them to me."

"Ideally, whisper them to me. I'd also like to handle an entire album by myself like you; it would be so much less hassle to release an album that way."

Hearing this, the singers and record company executives in the audience all wore knowing smiles on their faces.

"Of course I do."

Holding the trophy, Zhou Yi pretended to lean closer to Wu Zongxian. Although he spoke in a low voice, the microphone in his hand somehow found its way to his lips, and his songwriting secret instantly spread throughout the entire venue: "Read more books, read more newspapers, eat fewer snacks, and sleep more. Really, I'm not lying, Brother Xian, this really works."

"..."

Wu Zongxian, who had never heard such an answer before, couldn't organize his words immediately. He instinctively widened his eyes to match Zhou Yi's serious demeanor while telling blatant lies, which instantly caused the entire audience to burst into laughter.

Sun Yanzi, who had no idol baggage at all, even whistled a few times. As she grinned widely, her shiny front teeth were particularly eye-catching in the camera lens.

"Um, little Zhou—since you haven't graduated yet, is it okay for me to call you that?"

After the laughter in the audience subsided somewhat, and after pretending to cough awkwardly twice, Wu Zongxian finally raised his head slightly, looking the man over six feet tall beside him up and down with a suspicious gaze: "Considering we've known each other for a long time, you wouldn't lie to me, right?"

"I never lie. People who know me all know that; I have a spotless reputation."

Zhou Yi shrugged: "If you don't believe me, you can ask Jay. Every time I called him to play ball, I was always on time; I never stood him up."

"So, was the inspiration for the song 'Bullfighting' on Jay's album 'JAY' the two of you frequently playing ball together? I remember from a photo not long ago that you really seemed to like shooting three-pointers."

After twisting and turning, Wu Zongxian circled back to the news about the "Twin Stars' Romance Being Exposed," smiling slyly, and even teased Jay Chou along with it: "So, Jay, who is the girlfriend in this song?"

When Jay Chou was called out from the audience, he was still clearly shy. The moment he raised his right hand, he covered his mouth with the back of it, smiling without speaking.

Sun Yanzi, who had been joining in the commotion earlier, now realized Wu Zongxian's "not-so-benevolent" teasing intent. Amidst the suddenly earth-shattering screams of fans throughout the venue, she sat back in her seat with a wry smile, looking every bit the lady.

After the rumors about the Warner Twin Stars broke, even though Jackie Chan and Zhang Ziyi came out to draw the fire, a significant portion of their respective fans still latched onto this romance rumor.

There were even "romance fans" on the internet who specialized in capturing "Warner Twin Stars' high-sweet past moments" to prove the authenticity of their relationship.

Thanks to the previous unilateral restrictions placed on Zhou Yi by the island, some surveillance footage released by Warner showed the interactions between Zhou Yi and Sun Yanzi, which became an energy source for these romance fans to generate their own content.

Hearing Wu Zongxian tease like that, Zhou Yi's parents in the audience also turned their gaze to Sun Yanzi, who had suddenly become quiet under the scrutiny of everyone's eyes.

Then, they saw a middle-aged balding man turn in his seat to look at them: "I am Sun Yanzi's father, Sun Yaohong. You two must be Zhou Yi's parents, right? Your son is truly remarkable..."

In an area the cameras weren't focusing on, Sun Yaohong and Zhou Yi's parents had their first contact.

Amidst a wave of good-natured laughter, Zhou Yi, holding his second trophy of the night, descended from the stage. The camera followed his footsteps until he was completely seated.

Zhou Yi, who had originally intended to hand the trophy to his parents for safekeeping, turned his head and saw the two elders chatting with Sun Yanzi's father about something, their mouths flowing endlessly, so he didn't speak up to disturb them and kept the trophy in his hand—

"Let me touch this trophy first."

Sun Yanzi, whose eyes had drifted over several times, finally couldn't hold back. She chuckled and reached out her hand.

She probably wouldn't have a chance to win her own Golden Melody Award trophy tonight, but luckily she could still touch Zhou Yi's trophy to satisfy herself.

"It costs money."

"Costs money my foot. It's just a trophy. I even have the Newcomer Award trophy from the Singapore Golden Melody Awards."

Sun Yanzi, who had taken the trophy from Zhou Yi's hand and weighed it carefully several times, pretended to be disdainful: "You don't have one."

"Who took advantage of playing on home turf, I won't say."

Watching Sun Yanzi employ what could only be described as a horse-and-beast level of self-deception, Zhou Yi mercilessly mocked her.

Sun Yanzi, whose mental victory method was quite effective, was too lazy to reply to him. Instead, after playing with the trophy for a while, she shoved it back into Zhou Yi's hand: "Boring. It's just so-so. Here, take it back."

"..."

Thanks a lot.

Zhou Yi subtly rolled his eyes: "If you really want to hold it, you can hold it for me. I have six nominations; there should still be more for me coming up."

"... how many trophies do you think you'll end up taking?"

As the performance resumed on stage and the lights dimmed, Sun Yanzi leaned back tactically, tilted her head, and whispered into Zhou Yi's ear: "Why do I feel like you have a huge advantage? You're not actually going to go into wholesale, are you?"

Watching the performance start again on stage, after the lights dimmed, Sun Yanzi leaned back tactically, tilted her head, and leaned close to Zhou Yi's ear to ask in a low voice: "Why do I feel like you have a huge advantage? You're not actually going to do wholesale distribution, are you?"

Zhou Yi shook his head lightly, and his tone unusually carried a hint of uncertainty. Winning two nominations in a row was something he hadn't anticipated beforehand.

Could it be that his album suited this year's judges' tastes better?

Meanwhile, after the jokes, Jay Chou, who had missed out on two nominations in a row, looked somewhat disappointed, and his good partner Fang Wenshan, sitting beside him, grew nervous—

"Jay, we're not going to miss every single nomination, are we?"

Watching the list of nominees for Best Lyricist appear on stage, Fang Wenshan, seeing his own name, sat up straight, interlaced his fingers and pressed them against his lips, took several deep breaths in a row, and said.

As he spoke, his gaze inadvertently drifted toward Zhou Yi and Sun Yanzi, who were sitting not far away.

Zhou Yi was also nominated for Best Lyricist this time.

It couldn't be a three-peat, could it?

How much did the Golden Melody Awards have to favor him for that?

"Hard to say. The work of Zhou Yi's nominated for Best Lyricist is 'Give Me Time for a Song'." Jay Chou, who was usually extremely confident in music, felt a hint of frustration in his mindset after losing two trophies in a row.

To be fair, he personally liked this song very much.

Zhou Yi had given him a lot of inspiration in the handling of this song.

Although the lyrics Fang Wenshan wrote for "Wife" were stunning, if he were the judge, he would still lean more toward Zhou Yi.

Not to mention that the Best Lyricist award had three other formidable competitors—

"Book of Laughter and Forgetting," with lyrics by Lin Xi, from Faye Wong's album "Parable";

"Bittersweet Romance," with lyrics written by Na Ying herself, from the album "Bittersweet Romance";

"Twelve Floors," with lyrics by Li Zongsheng, comes from Mo Wenwei's album "Mo Wenwei's Twelve Floors."

"So, do you think you can still win it?"

The moment the final nominee list appeared, Sun Yanzi, holding Zhou Yi's Best Composition trophy, tilted her head and teased, "I think your chances are very high, judging by how the Golden Melody Awards just gave things out."

"Honestly, I don't know, but I do want to win it."

Zhou Yi shook his head.

In his memory, the Best Lyricist award at this year's Golden Melody Awards should have gone to Na Ying for her own lyrics on "Bittersweet Romance."

Add the Golden Melody Queen title, and these two heavyweight Golden Melody trophies would form the unshakeable foundation for Na Ying to sit as the big sister of the music scene in the years to come.

Her ability to completely leave Tian Zhen, Sun Yue, and others behind in terms of status in the music scene began with her winning these two heavyweight Golden Melody trophies at this year's awards.

"The winner of the 12th Golden Melody Award for Best Lyricist is—"

Seeming to notice Zhou Yi, Fang Wenshan, Zhou Jie, and others in the audience leaning forward in anticipation, the other female host on stage, responsible for announcing the winner, feinted, drew out her tone, and the camera instantly turned toward the audience—

A nervous Zhou Jie and Fang Wenshan; Sun Yanzi, who had clenched the Best Composition trophy tightly due to her nervousness; and Zhou Yi, who finally looked less calm;

Na Ying was already taking deep breaths to adjust her heart rate, which had been constantly rising due to nervousness.

Only Li Zongsheng sat calmly in his seat, raising a hand to interact when the camera turned to him, showing no sign of any emotional disturbance whatsoever.

"Li Zongsheng, 'Twelve Floors'! Let's congratulate Old Li!"

The moment the female host announced the winner, "Twelve Floors," sung by Mo Wenwei, began playing at the venue. Li Zongsheng, who hadn't expected to win Best Lyricist, flashed a moment of surprise in his eyes but quickly returned to normal, standing up to embrace friends around him.

Zhou Yi, sitting in his seat, felt an inexplicable sigh of relief. Seeing Li Zongsheng walking toward him, he stood up while clapping and smiled to congratulate him, "Congratulations, congratulations."

"Thank you."

Li Zongsheng smiled and patted the young man's shoulder, then shook hands one by one with Na Ying, Fang Wenshan, and others before going on stage to accept the trophy.

The stage lights shone on this navigator of the Mandarin music scene from the previous era, illuminating the white hair at his temples: "Honestly, winning this award did surprise me quite a bit. Last year, when I heard the music of new-generation musicians like Zhou Yi and Zhou Jie, I told Huajian then that our era might be coming to an end."

As he spoke, he smiled with relief: "Thanks to the Golden Melody Awards for letting little Li me drag on a bit longer. Thank you."

The humble remark fit Li Zongsheng's consistent style, and Zhou Yi, who had little contact with Li Zongsheng, clapped sincerely.

"Looks like your Best Arrangement award coming up is also a bit risky. If I remember correctly, your nomination for Best Arrangement is for 'Hate the Dream of the Red Chamber,' right?"

Watching Li Zongsheng walk off stage after winning, Sun Yanzi whispered her guess: "Will the judging panel give you zero awards next?"

By all rights, for a newcomer attending the Golden Melody Awards for the first time, winning two out of six nominations is already excellent. After all, other singers aren't just cabbages for Zhou Yi to crush at will.

But after the initial two nominations and two wins, Sun Yanzi's expectations had inevitably been raised.

"Hard to say. The Golden Melody Awards judging team is ultimately made up of people, and as long as there are people, conflicting thoughts are unavoidable."

The idea of sweeping the Golden Melody Awards had been dashed directly. Although he had prepared for this, Zhou Yi still felt some regret when the reality arrived.

Facts proved that Zhou Yi's feeling was correct.

In the competition for Best Arrangement, he was defeated again, losing to Zhang Yadong, also from the mainland, and to "Chanel," which he had arranged.

This concept-filled song was one of the tracks in Wang Fei's concept album "Fable," which was nominated for this year's Golden Melody Awards.

"So far, two out of four nominations. You still have your last two nominations."

Sun Yanzi counted on her fingers, seriously analyzing for Zhou Yi: "Best Pop Music Album and Best Album Producer."

"Considering your strength in album production, I think you have a very high chance of winning both. However, your biggest competitor in these two awards should be Zhou Jie."

As a singer with some, but not much, creative ability, Sun Yanzi quickly identified Zhou Yi's biggest opponent in these two awards—

Coincidentally, Zhou Jie, who had failed in all previous trophy competitions, also turned his gaze toward Zhou Yi's direction.

If there was any male singer-songwriter on the island of Treasure Island last year who could pose a threat to Zhou Yi in terms of awards, it was none other than Zhou Jie.

The host Wu Zongxun, back on stage, clearly understood this principle. After livening up the atmosphere for a while, he didn't rush to invite the award presenters out. Instead, he smiled and began interviewing the people on the shortlist for Best Album Producer—

Li Shisong and Li Weisong, the brothers who produced Na Ying's album "Bittersweet Romance."

Also Zhang Yadong, Wang Fei, and Alvin Leong, who jointly produced the album "Fable," and Li Zongsheng, who produced Mo Wenwei's album "Mo Wenwei's Twelve Floors";

And—Zhou Jie for "JAY," and Zhou Yi for "Zhou Yi."

The previous ones were old hands in the music scene, speaking very smoothly. Only Zhou Jie, a newbie in the music scene, while speaking humbly, clearly revealed in his words that he very much wanted the award's recognition.

One could only say he was indeed a very fresh newbie.

And when Wu Zongxun invited the award presenters out, the spirits of the nominees in the venue shook at once—

Luo Dayou and Wu Bai.

Solid heavyweight status.

This also indirectly showed the Golden Melody Awards' importance attached to these two awards.

"I am very happy. In the past year, the Mandarin music scene has seen a surge of excellent albums and album producers. Especially young people like Zhou Yi, Jie, and Lihong."

As a figure in the Mandarin music scene whose status could be called godfather-level, Luo Dayou's opening words carried a familiar, raspy voice that Zhou Yi recognized.

Wu Bai, responsible for picking up the cue, looked down at the unopened winner list in his hand and rubbed his hands together expectantly: "I can only say it's really hard to choose. Luckily, I'm not a judge."

"Otherwise, facing so many excellent musicians and albums, just picking out the nominee list would be headache enough."

Wu Bai, who had great comedic talent, chuckled twice with a mischievous laugh, making comments on the Golden Melody Awards judges in a joking tone. The camera immediately turned to the several young musicians who had been named—

Zhou Jie, who rarely wore a suit and leather shoes, was obviously still a bit nervous, his emotions not yet switched over;

Wang Lihong, radiating the confident aura of a returnee elite, remained very open and flashed a "yes" gesture to the camera, even though he did not win his sole Golden Melody King nomination of the night.

As for Zhou Yi...

He was still talking to Sun Yanzi when the camera swept over. The two of them leaning in to whisper attracted wave after wave of screams from the fans who had entered the venue to watch this year's awards ceremony.

"Looks like the tale of the talented scholar and the beautiful lady is more popular. 1+1>2." Wu Zongxun, in charge of the show, got into the mood, calculated the time of the ceremony in his mind, and teased Zhou Jie and Wang Lihong, whose fan noise was clearly being overshadowed by the Warner Twins.

Knowing this joke wouldn't pass tonight, Sun Yanzi, with no other choice, bared her big teeth and laughed foolishly, not speaking a word, trying to get through it with a cute smile.

"Brother Xian, don't play matchmaker randomly. I'm still a virgin bachelor."

Zhou Yi's remark, laughing as he refuted these words, made the entire audience burst into laughter again; the novel term "virgin bachelor" was somewhat hard to keep from provoking laughter.

"Alright, then, Mr. Virgin Bachelor, may I ask if you think you still have a chance to win a trophy tonight?"

Wu Zongxian, a variety show host, truly loved the jokes Zhou Yi casually came up with—he wished his own company's Jay Chou could talk like that too.

"Personally, I hope there are as many trophies as possible, since the number in my trophy room isn't exactly impressive."

"If it weren't illegal, I'd even rush into the Golden Melody Awards' trophy exhibition hall right now and claim every single one for myself."

As he spoke, a hint of mockery crept into Zhou Yi's brow: "Can't help it—my major courses were too well studied, which suppressed that thought. Thanks to my alma mater, Peking University."

Beside him, Sun Yanzi, unable to hold back, burst into goose-like laughter, showing not a trace of idol decorum.

Seeing this, Zhou Yi could only shrug helplessly: "Understand—her sense of humor might be a bit low."

Since she'd already been teased to this point, Sun Yanzi decided to go all in; after Zhou Yi said that about her, she slapped his arm, stood up, snatched the microphone from his hand in protest: "Let me correct you all—I don't usually laugh like this, I just couldn't hold it in today."

Zhou Yi, having lost the microphone, could only look innocent toward the camera.

"This guy's interesting. Warner Music Taiwan seems to be reaching out to you—haven't you met him in mainland China?"

Wang Fei, seated beside him, nudged Zhang Yadong with her elbow and asked curiously.

"No, I've only been to Warner Music Taiwan once—I never met him."

Zhang Yadong, also dubbed a musical genius of the mainland, studied the two Warner stars with interest: "Are they real? Why is Wu Zongxian even playing up this rumor?"

Wang Fei nodded toward Na Ying's direction: "Who knows? There's no solid rumor yet. Ask Lao Na—she's probably already finished signing with Chen Ze Shan at Warner."

"Nah, forget it. No need. This kid's rumors have been flying everywhere—he doesn't look like a quiet type."

Zhang Yadong shook his head with a smile and turned his attention back to Wu Zongxian, who had reclaimed control of the stage.

After the joking interview, Luo Dayou opened the first envelope in his hand—

"The winner of the 12th Golden Melody Award for Best Album Producer is: Zhou Yi!"

After Luo Dayou's slightly hoarse voice, Wu Bai shouted loudly: "Congratulations, Zhou Yi!"

As the classic track "Happiness Worship" from Zhou Yi's album played live, Jay Chou, eyes full of anticipation, suddenly grew bitter—but still raised his hands to applaud, offering sincere congratulations to the winner, Zhou Yi.

"Congratulations, Zhou Yi. You single-handedly produced an entire album—you're really not leaving any room for other teams to make big money."

Talkative Wu Bai, as he handed Zhou Yi the trophy, couldn't resist a teasing remark.

As an original singer, he knew better than anyone how many teams must work in perfect harmony to produce a great album.

For someone like Zhou Yi to dominate alone, with every other team merely tools under his direction, was extremely rare—that's precisely why he won this Best Album Producer trophy.

"Thank you, thank you. I'm grateful to the Golden Melody Awards for recognizing me, and to everyone who encouraged me during my album production last year—I'll keep working hard."

Radiant, Zhou Yi raised his trophy, beaming with joy.

"Three out of five—I give up."

Back in the audience, Sun Yanzi immediately gave Zhou Yi a thumbs-up as he returned, her face filled with envy: "You're here to wholesale trophies."

"Keep it low-key, keep it low-key."

Zhou Yi, who never expected to win three trophies before coming, was now grinning so wide his mouth skewed: "The next award—Best Vocal Pop Album—should go to Jay Chou. He's a native of Taiwan, after all; the Golden Melody Awards have to show some favoritism to locals, just like the Singapore Golden Melody Awards favor you."

In his memory, Jay Chou's only Golden Melody Award this year, as a newcomer, was precisely the final award: Best Vocal Pop Album.

Three out of six nominations—this record was explosive, not just for a newcomer, but even among veteran musicians.

"But his album isn't as popular as yours, and the vocal difficulty and innovation of your songs are higher than his 'JAY,'" Sun Yanzi disagreed: "The Golden Melody Awards had to ensure maximum fairness to avoid controversy—your album, I think, is stronger than his 'JAY.'"

"No one can match your innovation—only Wang Fei's 'Fable' beats you in conceptual depth."

Zhou Yi shook his head: "No, no, no—you don't get it. The Golden Melody Awards giving me three awards is enough. After all, its name is still the Taiwan Golden Melody Awards."

"If you don't believe me, how about we make a bet? You win, I fulfill one request of yours. You lose, you fulfill one of mine."

"Fine."

Stirred by her competitive spirit, Sun Yanzi agreed instantly: "Bet. Who's afraid of whom? I'm sure you're going to lose. The controversy around your album was huge—they won't ignore its innovation and popularity."

Zhou Yi merely smirked: "We'll see."

Soon, after the performance ended, as Luo Dayou opened the envelope for the Best Vocal Pop Album Award, his face showed clear surprise—

"Wow, I doubt the entire history of the Golden Melody Awards has ever seen such a crazy night."

At these words, Zhou Yi in the audience froze—

?

"Indeed, I never imagined a newcomer stepping onto the Golden Melody stage for the first time would leave behind a bold, unforgettable mark."

Wu Bai, who had also opened his envelope, ran his fingers through his long hair, astonished: "If someone had told me this yesterday, I'd have thought he was insane."

In the audience, Jay Chou's last spark of hope dimmed; Fang Wenshan, lips pressed tight, opened his mouth to comfort him but held back, finally just patting his shoulder helplessly: "It's okay, Jay. We can remake this album next year."

In the audience, fans holding Zhou Yi's name card seemed to sense something, beginning to chant his name—

"Zhou Yi! Zhou Yi! Zhou Yi! …"

Sun Yanzi, barely containing her excitement, gripped Zhou Yi's wine-red suit jacket, staring anxiously at Luo Dayou and Wu Bai on stage, whispering urgently to the man beside her: "Zhou Yi! Zhou Yi! Zhou Yi—you're going to lose to me!"

Zhou Yi's heart, unusually uncooperative, quickened its beat. He felt it was almost impossible. His tongue brushed his dry lips; his eyes held disbelief.

"The winner of the 12th Golden Melody Award for Best Vocal Pop Album is—"

Luo Dayou hurled the envelope hard onto the host's podium, his hoarse voice suddenly roaring with intensity: "Zhou Yi!"

Wu Bai, whose voice was naturally piercing, unleashed his full rock-star energy, pointing toward Zhou Yi in the audience: "Congratulations, Zhou Yi!"

The entire arena's lights dimmed instantly, leaving only one brilliant beam shining on Zhou Yi.

Amid the crowd's cheers and applause, Zhou Yi slowly rose, turned his head, and saw Sun Yanzi clapping—she tilted her head, gave him a wink, stuck out her tongue, and formed silent words: I won.

To be honest, it felt dreamlike.

Even Zhou Yi, with his steady mindset, had never imagined he'd walk away with four Golden Melody trophies tonight.

He thought he might retract his earlier evaluation of the Golden Melody Awards.

Overcome with excitement, Zhou Yi bounded up the steps in three leaps, ignoring the stairs entirely—he leapt from the audience onto the stage, took the trophy in both hands, and raised it high toward the audience—

"Zhou Yi! Zhou Yi! Zhou Yi!"

As the night's biggest award was announced, the music surged with intensity; fans chanted his name in unison, as if welcoming a new king before the old king, Luo Dayou.

The smile on Zhou Yi's face was more brilliant than ever before.

The prestige of tonight's Golden Melody Awards is so high that even if the Grammys came, they couldn't compare!

Even if Guo Tianwang himself came, tonight's Golden Melody Awards would still be stronger!

PS: Over seven thousand two hundred characters!

This time, the word count can't be considered low, right?

(End of this chapter)