Chapter 178: Cut the Phone Line for Me

"The lyrics are excellent, adding significant value. However, they pose no real threat to my new album."

Sun Yanzi, having returned to the hotel in a staff car, listened to the track repeatedly before curling up on the bedhead and speaking with Chen Zeshan over the phone.

Yet, compared to the past, her tone carried a few barely perceptible notes of relaxation.

As a seasoned veteran, Chen Zeshan naturally detected the change in his artist's state, but since it was a good thing, he didn't press further; after all, she had been filming MVs with Warner's own people these past few days, so nothing would go wrong.

Although her fanbase included many students, overall, SHE's album "Girls' Dormitory" and her unreleased "Kite" were not competing on the same track.

"Fine, as long as you're confident. Oh, by the way, remember to urge Zhou Yi about the song he wrote the lyrics for." Before hanging up, Chen Zeshan offered the suggestion very tactfully.

There was no choice; in the current Warner, he could keep Sun Yanzi in check, but he was truly helpless against Zhou Yi.

Otherwise, Sun Yanzi's "Kite" album this year wouldn't have been dragged out for so long without release.

In his view, the music market competition this year was somewhat fierce; Huayan Records clearly placed immense importance on the new group SHE, and the additions of Power Station, Yuan Weiren, and Cai Jianya proved everything.

The album's lead single "Lovers Not Yet" was a cover of the American pop girl group Destiny's Child; although this girl group had little fame domestically, the song had been tested in the European and American markets, and the lyricist hired was Shi Rencheng.

The Shi Rencheng who wrote "Later."

Precisely for this reason, considering market competition, Chen Zeshan had tried to urge them several times, but Zhou Jianhui had blocked every attempt.

There was no way; a higher official rank crushes the lower one.

As the boss, Zhou Jianhui turned a blind eye to Zhou Yi's blatant act of luring Sun Yanzi to slack off; no matter how much he stomped his feet, it was useless.

"Mm, I know."

Sun Yanzi, who had let the words go in one ear and out the other, hung up the phone, thought for a moment, leaned against the bedhead, and immediately sent Zhou Yi a text message: Chen Zeshan is urging again.

Not long after, a reply came from the other end of the phone: If you want to work overtime, just say so; I can fulfill your wish.

"Ha."

Sun Yanzi, already able to imagine Zhou Yi's tone, grinned, laughing especially happily, her fingers flying across the keyboard. As they chatted, she rolled sideways to the very center of the large bed: Is your "Super Visit" airing tonight at 10?

"Super Visit?"

Zhou Yi, lying in his own room, turned his head to check the clock hanging on the hotel bedroom wall; it was already 10 PM.

As a talk show, "Super Visit" had basically been airing on BTV5 Finance Channel every Wednesday at 22:05 since its inception.

The viewing audience was mainly young and middle-aged adults, which was also the reason this program quickly attracted widespread attention after its launch.

However, because this was a special edition production, the production team had specifically announced the time in advance in the previous preview; Zhou Yi's special interview would be delayed by one day, postponed to the 13th at 22:05.

To promote the heat of this interview, the Capital City Station had started warming up early; BTV5 almost repeated the rolling advertisement for "Super Visit" every few minutes.

"I can swear to heaven that I didn't bribe the production team."

Qian Jiang, who had also come to inform Zhou Yi that a new group named SHE had emerged in the Taiwan music scene, was also shocked by BTV5's relentless advertising campaign.

If this were in Taiwan, Warner wouldn't know how much public relations money they would have to invest.

"I can only say that the mainland music scene is indeed lacking a talk-show figure like you." Qian Jiang, marveling at the loose competitive environment of the mainland music market, beamed with joy.

Zhou Yi is truly a chosen one!

"The competition over there in Taiwan is simply too fierce; the company's marketing department estimates this new group called SHE will sell around 160,000 copies of their debut album in Taiwan."

That was already a terrifying number.

Putting aside Jolin Tsai and Sun Yanzi, the top-selling female singers in Taiwan for the past two years, even Zhang Shaohan, who also included "Fable" and "The Original Dream" in her album, sold over 80,000 copies in the first month of her debut album, a huge explosion, but it only just broke the 200,000 mark in the Taiwan domestic market up to now.

"160,000..."

Flipping through the materials Qian Jiang brought, Zhou Yi felt somewhat emotional; the Snake Group, the first girl group of the millennium, had already appeared.

If he remembered correctly, their debut album ended up selling over 180,000 copies in Taiwan in total?

Sales broke the 40,000 mark just three days after the launch; anyone could see the future was promising.

However, probably because SHE had not yet entered the mainland market, even though their album had already stirred up a small whirlwind in the Taiwan music scene, it had not yet caused any waves in the mainland.

And thanks to the fact that many record companies had suspended marketing after September 11th to avoid wasting money, Wang Lihong's "The Only One" had surged to second place on the Mainland Music Wind and Cloud Chart purely on its high quality.

"Da Cheng Xiao Ai" from his "Jiangnan" album, because it could never beat the song "Jiangnan," was once jokingly called the eternal runner-up by fans.

Now it was good; after Wang Lihong arrived, he couldn't even be the runner-up anymore; "The Only One" had trampled that down, directly challenging the throne of "Jiangnan" at the top.

"Wang Lihong is just weird; his sales can be beaten by you in Taiwan, but his growth rate in the mainland is ridiculously fast."

When talking about Wang Lihong, Qian Jiang also couldn't help but be baffled: "News about him has increased significantly across the two sides of the strait and Hong Kong; "The Only One" reaching second place purely on quality has already generated a lot of spontaneous heat, giving Sony a sigh of relief.

"If this continues, I suspect "The Only One" can really break your consecutive championship streak."

Qian Jiang suggested seriously.

During the time Zhou Yi's news was silent, the celebrities occupying the mainstream public view in the mainland entertainment circle had become those film and television stars—especially Zhang Ziyi, who shone brightly in Hollywood again with "Rush Hour 2," almost stealing all the limelight; even Xiao Yanzi Zhao Wei couldn't suppress her.

The only singer who could still grab headlines was left with Na Ying, who was dating national footballer Gao Feng.

Of course, because "Rush Hour 2" was slaughtering it in North America, Zhang Ziyi's confidence had also increased.

At the same time, the matter of Zhou Yi confronting Chow Yun-fat in Hong Kong was brought up again; even though Chow Yun-fat himself was staying at home in Hong Kong and not going out, he still suffered a posthumous whipping from all kinds of Hong Kong media—

"The Purple Jade Emperor Steps on the Iron Rooster!"

"Brother Fa Kneels and Calls to Beg for Mercy! Zhou Yi Cuts the Phone Line!"

"..."

"When did I cut the phone line???"

Even though it wasn't the first time he saw it, when Zhou Yi looked, Qian Jiang still couldn't hold back his laughter: "Of course, it's because many media outlets wanted to contact you, but none could reach you.

"You know, I'm just an agent."

"..."

Although he didn't like such ridiculous headlines, Zhou Yi's hand was honest as he opened the magazine, wanting to see how they were fabricating stories about him.

Absolutely not to see Chow Yun-fat kneeling.

"Additionally, it's obvious that someone in Hong Kong still wants to make a quick buck off Chow Yun-fat, helping him stabilize public opinion. After all, he still carries several weighty endorsements."

Qian Jiang reminded Zhou Yi, who was reading with great interest: "Those writing about how miserable he is now can basically be confirmed as bought press releases, just to play the victim and gain sympathy points."

"Serves him right."

"Additionally, to express his apology, he made a promise to donate all his assets after his death. He said this money would not come with him in life nor go with him in death, and that after he and his wife passed away, it would all be donated to society. This actually reversed many people's opinions of him."

"After all, donating everything naked after death also requires courage; this is a tremendous good deed."

"..."

6.

Zhou Yi raised an eyebrow in surprise; he hadn't expected Zhou Runfa's "charity" big move to be forced out by him so early.

Truly using charity to sculpt a golden body.

"However, you don't need to worry too much. Zhou Runfa's charitable behavior won't have too much impact on you. Do you remember what you said in 'Super Visit', that you taught yourself music theory thanks to the Xinhua Bookstore?"

Speaking of this, Qian Jiang couldn't help but give Zhou Yi a thumbs up: "The importance of the Xinhua Bookstore in the country is self-evident. After that day's interview went out, the Xinhua Bookstore side felt very surprised and was very satisfied with you."

"..."

Facts proved that what Qian Jiang said was somewhat conservative.

On the morning of the 14th, after last night's 'Super Visit' aired, some newspapers with an official stance surprisingly reported together on Zhou Yi's journey of self-teaching music through the Xinhua Bookstore.

The store manager of the Xinhua Bookstore where Zhou Yi had once stayed even directly posted photos of some books Zhou Yi had read in the store back then.

"Many people don't understand why the Xinhua Bookstore must be opened, and opened regardless of cost. Zhou Yi's appearance is one of the reasons why the Xinhua Bookstore must continue to operate. In this country, there are still many children like Zhou Yi was back then..."

After finishing reading this report from the 'Youth Daily' that Qian Jiang handed over, Zhou Yi felt for a moment that it seemed like he had gained another layer of Buff on his body.

On September 14th, the mainland shampoo brand '100 Years Runfa', which invited Zhou Runfa as its spokesperson in 1999, whose parent company is Nice Group, instantly announced the termination of Mr. Zhou Runfa's endorsement.

Now Zhou Runfa was really going to make a phone call.

Qian Jiang, receiving the first phone call from Zhou Runfa's side after the storm, hesitated a bit, raised his eyes to look at Zhou Yi, covered the landline receiver with his hand, and gave Zhou Yi a look.

"Why answer? Just cut the phone line for me."

Qian Jiang: "..."

Zhou Runfa: "..."

Damn your mother!

So you just do whatever the gossip magazines write, right?!

Even though a burst of anger was pent up in his heart, Zhou Runfa was already infinitely sliding to his knees at this moment. Just as he was about to smile apologetically and ask Qian Jiang to say a few more words, he heard the clear sound of scissors snapping.

It seemed the other side deliberately let him hear it.

"Hello—"

Beep!

The smile on Zhou Runfa's face instantly froze in place.

You really cut it, damn it?!

PS: Mortal world!

Next chapter around one o'clock.

(End of this chapter)