Chapter 127: Zhou Yi: Someone is Imitating Me

"Did you get it? Did you get it?"

"We got the shot, but the real question is, should we really publish it? What if Zhou Yi sues us too?"

"If I remember correctly, the woman beside him is named Chen Hao, who was the lead actress in the music video for 'Flower Field Mistake'. He has publicly thanked Chen Hao at an awards ceremony for helping film his music video, even mentioning that she acted in his MV for free."

Shanghai, JD District.

Two paparazzi holding cameras hid behind a large tree, exchanging opinions fervently.

News that Zhou Yi was holding a book signing in Shanghai these past few days was already flying everywhere; Chen Hao happened to be in Shanghai filming 'Pink Ladies'. It was only natural for the two to meet up.

"Think it over. If we hand over the photos and write nonsense, and Zhou Yi actually sues us, do you think the boss will protect us or fire us?"

"..."

"Don't forget, his backing is Warner. They have plenty of money and time. Maybe we should sell them to those who aren't afraid."

Watching Zhou Yi, who was chatting and laughing with Chen Hao, walk toward the parking spot, and watching Chen Hao effortlessly open the door and get into the car, the two Taiwan paparazzi, reluctant to let such a juicy piece of meat go, conferred with each other—

"Less profit is fine, as long as we got the photos."

It was ironic; they had come to stake out Liu Ruoying from the 'Pink Ladies' crew, but instead of getting dirt on Liu Ruoying, they ended up staking out Zhou Yi, who had nothing to do with the 'Pink Ladies' crew.

Mainland media probably wouldn't dare to take it for now, but the newspapers in Hong Kong and Taiwan, which Zhou Yi had been bullying, were already seething with anger.

Leveraging their connections in the paparazzi world, the two who had taken the photos directly contacted newspapers in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

'Next Weekly', which was already actively buying up Zhou Yi's scandals, accepted the photos without question upon seeing they were genuine and published them all the next day—

"Book Signing Doesn't Forget Nightlife! Zhou Yi Needs Ginseng Too!"

This time, 'Next Weekly' had learned its lesson and didn't use an overly sensational headline; instead, this sudden shift in style to a "realistic" report actually sparked more speculation.

Especially after the editor-in-chief of 'Next Weekly' specifically reviewed and meticulously described the situation where Zhou Yi and Liu Ruoying had met in Taiwan last year and become friends through conflict.

Liu Ruoying was heartbroken, and Zhou Yi was the man whose musical talent she had praised publicly last year; both were now in Shanghai...

The subtle writing style honed by years in Hong Kong completely ignored that what Zhou Yi actually saw last night was Chen Hao, instead pulling out the more famous Liu Ruoying to take the fall, digging up all of Zhou Yi's interactions with Liu Ruoying in Taiwan last year.

Even the scene of Liu Ruoying and Zhou Yi chatting happily at the Rock Records celebration party was exposed.

Thanks to 'Next Weekly's' influence, which was already a tier above in the gossip industry, once this surprising report was released, 'Next Weekly' directly became the entertainment media that could still resist under Warner's heavy pressure.

"Watch your wording so you don't get caught with major evidence. Also, all the information we received must be kept strictly confidential. This is an opportunity; 'Next Weekly' needs reputation and sales right now!"

Li Zhiying, who had already sued many record companies, knew well the principle that wealth is sought in danger. After being sued by Warner along with dozens of other media outlets, if his 'Next Weekly' wanted to stand out and become the leader of entertainment weeklies in Taiwan, he had to show some unique style.

If he couldn't be the only media outlet sued by Warner, he would be the only media outlet able to publish news about Zhou Yi under heavy pressure.

"I want people in Taiwan to get used to buying our weekly magazine during this period; this will also expand 'Next Weekly's' influence in Taiwan."

"Don't worry about short-term gains or losses; what we want is to establish our reputation first. In the media industry, reputation is very important." With substantial capital, Li Zhiying was truly going head-to-head with Warner this time.

He had just entered the Taiwan market and needed a earth-shattering event to make the Taiwanese public get used to the existence of 'Next Weekly'.

As for the ban, he was just publishing negative news about Zhou Yi, not preventing Zhou Yi from performing on stage or appearing on TV; the Taiwan side probably hoped he would do this to weaken Zhou Yi's influence among the young people in Taiwan.

"But I have a question. Since Zhou Yi debuted, hasn't he ever claimed to be a pure young man? Will us doing this be useful?"

A subordinate was confused: "Currently, whether in Taiwan or Xiangjiang, everyone knows Zhou Yi already has a huge pile of scandals; adding one more Liu Ruoying or Chen Hao doesn't seem to make much difference."

"It would be better to dig up Jin Suo; at least Jin Suo really kissed Zhou Yi in his music video. I think, given Zhou Yi's rumored style, the two of them must be having an affair."

"You don't know anything!"

Li Zhiying wore an expression of frustration, like a blacksmith disappointed in untempered steel: "What do we lack right now to break into the Taiwan market? We lack trending topics, topics distinct from those of other gossip papers."

"Who is the hottest star in Taiwan right now? Isn't it Zhou Yi? Are you out of your mind to fixate on Jin Suo, who can only play a maid? She has already left the Qiong Yao company."

"We can learn Warner's marketing tactics too! Learn them!"

"Whether Warner sues us or not isn't important; the key is whether we can use Zhou Yi's news to establish a foothold in Taiwan. We need to use this opportunity to make the Taiwanese public get used to immediately associating gossip news with our 'Next Weekly'."

Li Zhiying, under heavy pressure from Warner during this period, directly decided to use the enemy's tactics to defeat the enemy.

He also wanted to learn from Zhou Yi to become a "lone hero," becoming the first media outlet to resist "Warner's violence."

Being sued no longer mattered to him; 'Next Weekly' was already notorious in Hong Kong, and they had faced many lawsuits anyway; sales were the only way.

He only cared about how to open up the newspaper's reputation to gain sales.

July 2nd, Shanghai, JD District.

Zhou Yi, who had been recovering his body and mind in the hotel, finally slept away the faint dark circles under his eyes. Just as he was about to slip out for breakfast, he saw Qian Jiang, with a solemn expression, walk into his room carrying several newspapers and weeklies—

"A-Yi, Li Zhiying's 'Next Weekly' and 'Apple Daily' don't know what dirt they have on you, but they have started publicly claiming they will not yield to Warner's violent pressure and give up on reporting the truth about you."

"These are the photos they just published, implying you were dating Liu Ruoying from the 'Pink Ladies' crew late at night."

"Me? Dating Liu Ruoying? Did this reporter get kicked by a donkey? At the very least, they should look at what my rumored partners look like!"

With just one glance, Zhou Yi saw exactly when the photo was taken.

"The key isn't that; Li Zhiying seems determined to use you as a target for a false claim, even if he gets sued, and has marketed himself as a victim to gain sympathy."

Qian Jiang's face clearly looked unpleasant: "He wants to use both the 'Pink Ladies' crew and you as stepping stones to help him completely break into the Taiwan market and establish a foothold."

"..."

Holding the newspaper, Zhou Yi saw the "Declaration of Persecution" published by Li Zhiying, the boss of 'Next Weekly', in his own newspaper 'Apple Daily', full of incitement and hints of conspiracy theories, and he instinctively squinted his eyes.

Why did this move look so familiar to him?

Was this idiot imitating him?

The formula wasn't even changed, only the subject was swapped:

The Taiwan that oppressed Zhou Yi became the Warner that oppressed 'Next Weekly';

The unyielding Zhou Yi became the unyielding 'Next Weekly'.

'Next Weekly' even united with other gossip media that had also been sued, becoming their representative to publicly denounce Warner's injustice.

And to gain sympathy, they even listed Warner's past dirty deeds.

"Tsk, learned pretty fast."

After reading the entire report, Zhou Yi exclaimed in amazement: "Why did he only jump out now to bite me?"

"It's probably because you're too popular right now.

"After the release of your second album 'Jiangnan', your popularity has almost leaped forward. Now, whether in the Treasure Island, Hong Kong, or the mainland, your 'Big City, Small Love' and 'Jiangnan' appear in turn in every music and video store."

Qian Jiang was also somewhat helpless: "Li Zhiying is different from those tabloids. The company has sued him before, but this person simply doesn't care about lawsuits; he also has the capital to drag things out with us.

"Most importantly, the Treasure Island side is happy to see you dragged down by him. They are glad to see your negative news appear in the Treasure Island, so they won't impose any restrictions on him at all."

"..."

Zhou Yi nodded thoughtfully.

Before he could speak, the phone rang—it was Chen Hao calling.

"Zhou Yi, I'm sorry. I saw the news. I didn't know there were paparazzi lurking over there. I—"

"That's not your fault. The paparazzi were lurking for Liu Ruoying; we just happened to run into each other."

Zhou Yi smiled and interrupted Chen Hao's anxious words: "By the way, is Liu Ruoying in the film crew now? And the director—I have some good news to discuss with them."

(End of this chapter)