Chapter 144: Ruined, We've Been Tricked

Since becoming famous, the members of F4 had never encountered such a "cold reception"; they looked at each other in silence. Previously, when they were in Taiwan, wherever they went to attend events, their popularity was explosive.

Zhou Yi, who could not appear publicly in Taiwan for long periods, was already so popular that he could no longer be considered their rival.

By late July, "Meteor Garden" had completely reigned supreme in Taiwan; the offline popularity of F4 was such that even if the three phenomenon-level female singers Sun Yanzi, Elva Hsiao, and Angela Chang were tied together, they still could not match it.

Precisely for this reason, Chai Zhiping brought them to Hong Kong to expand their fan market. After all, although the influence of "Meteor Garden" had not yet spread to the mainland, where negotiations for introduction were ongoing, it had already affected Hong Kong.

"Zhou Yi and Xie Tingfeng just played a charity football match; how is it this popular?"

Yan Chengxu watched Chai Zhiping leave the room to make a phone call, reached out to pick up the newspapers from the living room coffee table whose front pages were entirely photos of the two men, and looked somewhat puzzled.

Even the blockbuster Qiong Yao drama "Love Is More Than a Word" had been suppressed by them, so how could they not suppress Zhou Yi and Xie Tingfeng, these two singers, in Hong Kong?

"It's mainly because both of them have a huge number of scandals. It's not just about playing football; look at the female stars surrounding these two."

Zhou Yumin, another member of F4 sitting nearby, flipped through the weekly magazine in his hand, pointed at female stars such as Wang Fei, Anita Mui, Elva Hsiao, and Zheng Xiuwen on the cover, and spoke.

The combined influence of these people was far from as simple as 1+1=2, let alone the added buff of football.

On July 23, F4, who were accustomed to dominating headlines wherever they went, once again experienced the so-called "unpopular" feeling after a long time; the headlines were no longer their exclusive domain, as Zhou Yi and Xie Tingfeng nearly took turns monopolizing the space.

Even their fans had started charity support activities across Hong Kong, diverting a significant amount of attention from their own events, and the tickets for the charity match were being speculated to a price where a thousand gold could not buy one!

After all, many of F4's fan base were also fans of Zhou Yi or Xie Tingfeng. Since the two of them were being marketed as fighting a "holy war," naturally, the "holy war" had to be supported first.

And when Sun Yanzi, Angela Chang, Fan Bingbin, Zhou Xun, and others also personally admitted in interviews that they would come to Hong Kong to be cheerleaders for Zhou Yi, the point of attack between the two sides of fans changed—

Sun Yanzi, Angela Chang, and Zhou Xun were at the height of their popularity with the loudest fan voices, not in the least inferior to the fans of those veteran female stars who had sided with Xie Tingfeng.

In fact, under the comparison, Zhou Yi's fans even gave Xie Tingfeng's fans a nickname that made them jump with rage—patients with a mother complex.

Wang Fei's fans felt their idol was also offended and started to join the fray.

Chai Zhiping watched helplessly as many fans who were supposed to come support F4 ran off to join the holy war, causing the heat of her own event to plummet, grinding her back teeth in hatred.

It's Zhou Yi again!

It's Zhou Yi again, damn it!

How is he everywhere?!

……………………………………………………

"I don't know either."

On July 25, 2001, at the press conference for the charity football match, Zhou Yi, who rarely wore a suit, faced the cameras, smiled, and shrugged: "I didn't even know Yanzi and the others were coming to be my cheerleaders; I only found out through the media, and I was startled after knowing. I've been writing songs these past few days."

"Writing songs? Zhou Yi, are you planning to release a third album?"

"What? No, no, no, just an EP, only four songs."

Zhou Yi, having ruthlessly grabbed a wave of traffic, shook his head like a rattle drum: "So my fans can rest assured; these are four new songs about graduation and the future. Soon, I will release one song first to chart."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Your fans are almost wishing you would release a greatest hits album to remake your old songs and make money; you finally release an EP, and it's new songs again?

After the press conference ended, once the news spread, dissatisfaction began to arise within Zhou Yi's fan base—

"What exactly is Zhou Yi thinking? Does he dislike his old songs that much? No, that's not right either; I saw him singing new songs very happily on the set of 'Pink Ladies'! Could it be because there was that Chen Hao on the Pink Ladies set?"

"Take it slow, step by step; isn't releasing an EP already progress? Keep going, and sooner or later Zhou Yi will remake those old songs."

"I just feel that having songs to listen to is enough..."

The radical faction, the conservative faction, and the Zhongli Sect each held their own views, and the news that Zhou Yi was releasing a graduation-themed EP spread rapidly through print media and the internet amidst this surge of heat.

"Fuck! I've been tricked!"

At Emperor, Huo Wenxi, sitting in her office, couldn't help but slap her thigh as soon as she saw this news, cursing and accusing Warner of being unscrupulous—

"I was wondering why Warner was suddenly so kind-hearted, willing to let Zhou Yi's image in football sports pave the way for Tingfeng; turns out they intended to use this heat to promote Zhou Yi's new EP record!"

She had thought that this time Xie Tingfeng was going to eat the popularity dividend from Zhou Yi in the field of football sports.

"That old dog Zhou Jianhui is really good at hiding things; not a single whisper came out before Zhou Yi's new EP, and it's already being sent to chart."

After venting, Huo Wenxi raised her eyes to look at Xie Tingfeng, who was still focused on practicing his ball sense, and her expression showed a hint of relief.

She really liked this about Xie Tingfeng; once he decided on something, he would definitely do it.

"Tingfeng, your Mandarin album has finished collecting songs. Recording starts next month."

"Next month?"

In the lounge on the third floor of the Warner (Hong Kong) Building.

Zhou Yi, chewing on a segment of orange, raised his eyes to glance at Sun Yanzi, whom he hadn't seen for a while, and clicked his tongue in amazement: "Your last album was only released half a year ago, at the end of last December, and you're releasing a new album next month?"

"What else could I do? The company has already collected the songs for me."

Sun Yanzi sank directly into the wide, soft sofa in the lounge, resting her chin on an animal cushion, drooping her eyelids and speaking weakly: "Save me, Zhou Yi, save me."

"No saving, just wait to die, goodbye."

Holding an orange in his left hand and an apple in his right, Zhou Yi gave the woman a three-part insult, raising his eyebrows as if to signal. Sun Yanzi's gaze wavered between the two fruits and she chose the apple.

"I don't want to do promotions, I don't want to release an album, I want to rest..."

Among so many people in the entire company, only Sun Yanzi could act crazy at Zhou Yi's place; she single-handedly messed up her short, side-parted hair, then viciously bit into the apple as an outlet for her frustration.

Zhou Yi glanced at her sideways: "Did you specifically come over to say you'd be my cheerleader just to slack off?"

"... Hehe."

Having her little scheme exposed, Sun Yanzi grinned, suddenly sat bolt upright, and patted her chest to promise: "What are you talking about? What kind of relationship do we have? I'm here to cheer you on.

"Think about it; we are the Warner Twins. You're playing a match, how could I not come to help you? Not to mention anything else, my popularity is not low, okay? You alone in Hong Kong, no matter how strong, couldn't possibly beat the so many female artists standing behind Xie Tingfeng."

Zhou Yi casually played with the orange in his hand: "Who is paired with you as the Twins? I, Zhou Yi, a fine young man, paired with you?"

"..."

Why did that sound so familiar?

Sun Yanzi, momentarily stunned, blinked her eyes, then quickly reacted; in a fit of angry shame, she kicked her leg and lunged at Zhou Yi—

"Looks like I'll have to find some time to talk to Chen Zeshan. I don't need you to be my cheerleader."

"... You want to eat an orange, right? How about I peel it for you?"

Sun Yanzi, who had forcibly halted her attack, performed a Sichuan Opera face-change, snatched the orange from Zhou Yi's hand with a feigned gentleness, and, gritting her back teeth, pleaded.

Zhou Yi shrugged indifferently, cracking his neck twice: "Oh, my neck has been a bit sore from recording new songs these past few days..."

"Let me, let me help you massage and relax it."

Sun Yanzi, playing the role of a massage therapist, carried herself with such righteousness that anyone unaware might have mistaken her for a female soldier who had sworn a military pledge.

"Hiss, my elbow is a bit—"

"Let me, let me."

"My leg here—"

"Leave it, let me do it!"

"My waist recently might have been overworked, it has—"

"You Zhou surname, don't go too far, I'll fight you to the death!"

Only with Zhou Yi could Sun Yanzi completely let herself go; she flailed her claws and began to resist, but alas, in the end, she was ruthlessly suppressed by Zhou Yi with just one hand.

Sun Yanzi, exhausted from her futile struggle, lay weakly on the sofa, her feet wrapped in black short socks swinging aimlessly. Holding the apple in her hand as if it were Zhou Yi, she glared at him while viciously biting into the fruit: "What is that new song you finished recording in Hong Kong these past few days? Let me hear it."

Zhou Yi, humming a cheerful little tune, paid no mind, still organizing the documents at hand: "'Stubborn'. You can listen, but pay first."

Sun Yanzi rolled her eyes at him: "Then I'll go find the master tape myself."

PS: I didn't want to not release the 'Jing Wu Men' MV, I just couldn't release it.

I tried; the backend showed a violation and locked it for me.

(End of this chapter)