Chapter 249: The Young Master is Unmatched (5k)

Qingdao, Chen Hao's home.

When Chen Hao, who was watching the Spring Festival Gala with her family, saw this scene, the smile on her lips froze, and her eyebrows furrowed imperceptibly—

"Isn't that Xiao Zhou? He's getting handsomer and handsomer."

On the sofa, Chen Hao's father, who had just poured himself half a glass of wine after suddenly spotting a familiar face on the screen, pointed cheerfully at Sun Yanzi in the video—who was smiling awkwardly at the camera as if caught snacking in class—and said, "Who is this short-haired girl? She looks very familiar with Xiao Zhou, and her smile is quite likable."

"Drink less. The doctor told you not to drink, not to drink." Chen Hao's mother, out of concern, did not join the conversation; instead, she took the wine bottle her husband had just taken out of the sideboard.

"I've been holding back for a year. It's the New Year; I'm just satisfying my craving a little. It's fine."

"Dad, this is the most you can have. Your condition has only just stabilized." Coming to her senses, Chen Hao reached out to take the bottle her mother handed her, stood up from the sofa, and stuffed it back into the cabinet.

"Don't worry, just this little bit, just this little bit."

Chen Hao's father, still cheerful, nodded repeatedly. Hearing the tune of "Jiangnan" coming from the television, he felt it was strangely familiar: "This song must be very popular. When I went to the hospital for a checkup and picked up my medicine earlier, many shops along the way were playing it."

"It's the most popular song in the country this year." Chen Hao, speaking of this matter, was clearly in a pleasant mood.

"Xiao Zhou is even on the Spring Festival Gala this year. I've always said this child is handsome and talented; he must be someone special."

Chen Hao's mother, evidently giving Zhou Yi the highest praise a Shandong person could offer, said, "Since he's so famous, he'll surely join some association and become a representative or a committee member in the future. His prospects are limitless."

Chen Hao, having returned after putting the wine away, felt somewhat speechless.

On the other side, Fan Bingbin's home.

After just putting her son to sleep, Fan Bingbin's parents saw their daughter still watching the Spring Festival Gala in the living room. Taking a closer look, they happened to see Zhou Yi's face on the television, smiling calmly at the camera as if nothing had happened.

The couple exchanged a glance and默契ly pretended they had seen nothing.

They knew for a fact about the rumors between their daughter and Zhou Yi. Moreover, when discussing Zhou Yi, their daughter had been talking non-stop, especially since the daughter-in-law of Qiong Yao had indeed changed the compensation amount for breaking the contract. This behavior was too obvious.

But the problem was...

Zhou Yi was too famous; his songs were popular, and he himself was popular.

"Is this how you sing? You've turned Zhou Yi's hit song into what? 'Jiangnan' isn't sung like this!"

On the Spring Festival Gala stage, Guo Tianwang's angry expression scolding Feng Gong for blindly adapting the script made many people laugh again. His eyebrows flexing and twisting made Sun Yanzi, who was already sitting upright and formally in the audience, unable to hold back her laughter.

The camera sweeping over again this time didn't make her flustered. Her appearance, grinning widely with her teeth showing and laughing uncontrollably, was indeed quite likable.

After the performance of "On Stage and Off Stage" ended, Sun Yanzi specifically poked Zhou Yi, who was strategically applauding, and asked in a low, curious voice, "That Mr. Feng Gong actually plays the guitar surprisingly well."

"He knows many instruments. He is a true veteran artist."

Zhou Yi felt he should show Sun Yanzi Feng Gong and Guo Tianwang's peak collaboration, "Old Songs, New Tunes," later. In that performance, Feng Gong, who could handle various instruments effortlessly, was undoubtedly an idol for middle-aged and elderly women.

In terms of artistic achievement, he had works worthy of a battle of the gods to show off, and not just one. In terms of career length, he could truly be called a living fossil of the Spring Festival Gala.

In terms of background and credentials, few in the entertainment circle could match his value.

Sun Yanzi, who clearly did not understand Chinese history well, half-understood and half-didn't. In such a setting, Zhou Yi could not help her catch up on lessons, so he could only give her a look meaning "we'll talk about this later"—

Sun Yanzi understood this instantly and immediately realized that this person's identity might be somewhat special and not suitable for discussion in such a setting.

After the next song medley program ended, seeing Huang Hong, Gong Hanlin, and Zhang Kaili appear on stage to perform "Flower Pot," Sun Yanzi realized it was about time for her turn. She immediately stood up and left, leaving Zhou Yi alone to chat with Lu Yi, Zhou Xun, and others.

On stage, after Huang Hong's 1999 Spring Festival Gala skit "Pumping Air" backfired in public opinion, he experienced two years of slump. This year, he finally delivered a work that restored his reputation.

When the line from "Flower Pot," "Dig a hole, bury some soil, count one, two, three, four, five. My own soil, my own land, whatever I plant grows RMB!" was spoken again by Huang Hong, even Zhou Yi, who already knew the content of the skit, was amused by the excellent performance of the three people on stage.

Regarding the skits in this year's Spring Festival Gala, if he remembered correctly, besides Old Zhao's "Selling the Car," this skit received the most praise.

Niu Qun, who had left Feng Gong, after suffering a beating in the officialdom, no longer had the spirit of those days. This year, he performed "Between Neighbors" with Cai Ming and Guo Da, but the response was mediocre.

"By the way, Zhou Yi, what song is Yanzi singing? Did you write it?" Zhou Xun, also laughing with her mouth wide open, asked casually.

"Connect with the World." "I didn't write it. How could I be that awesome."

Zhou Yi chuckled lightly and announced the song title.

In a sense, "Connect with the World" was more like a themed essay, after all, China had joined the World Trade Organization.

Among so many themed songs in this year's Spring Festival Gala, this was the one Zhou Yi liked the most. The lyricist and composer cleverly used the currently popular internet elements to connect the world together.

After the skit "Flower Pot" ended, the host Li Yong's introduction for Sun Yanzi's entrance seemed very interesting to Zhou Yi—

"In the Chinese music scene of the past year, there was such a little song goddess. Her tone was extremely unique, and her songs were popular all over Dajiangnanbei..."

If Zhou Yi remembered correctly, this should be the first time CCTV used the adjective "little song goddess" to introduce Sun Yanzi in an official setting.

Normally, using "new singer," "famous singer," or "supernova" would be enough.

Wang Lihong had been in the industry for so long and had even won the Golden Melody Awards in Taiwan. This year, he also appeared on the Spring Festival Gala stage for the first time, but he only got the label of "famous singer," not even making it to "little song king."

In the backstage area, Sun Yanzi, hearing Li Yong already calling her name, took a final deep breath. Then, she nodded to the veteran singer Xie Xiaodong, who would sing a duet with her. The two, holding microphones, went on stage under the guidance of the staff.

Sharp-eyed, she immediately saw Zhou Yi down in the audience, smiling and clapping for her. The heart in her chest, which had been beating faster due to nervousness, unconsciously calmed down—

"Want to frame the morning glow of Taishan with the midsummer of Mount Fuji

"Want to use the wooden oars of the Yellow River to splash up the waves of the Danube~"

Accompanied by the start of the song's prelude, Sun Yanzi, who had memorized the choreography and lyrics, began singing after Xie Xiaodong finished his part—

"Want to use the green bricks of the Great Wall to connect the Eiffel Tower

"Want to use the waves of the Yangtze River to kiss the drifting sand of the Sahara~~"

The lyrics were very grand, and the arrangement was very festive, fitting the theme of looking forward to a new era.

While singing this song, Sun Yanzi tried her best to recall how she had previously learned from Zhou Yi, using a fake account online to anonymously rush to the front line of internet gossip, and she sang out the feeling of the internet bringing people closer together just right.

Her diamond-level tone could be heard clearly even amidst Xie Xiaodong's deep voice. It could only be said that she lived up to the title of "tone bandit."

Sun Yanzi's identity as a singer entered thousands of households for the first time through the platform of the Spring Festival Gala!

………………

"Yanzi is singing on the Spring Festival Gala! No wonder she is my goddess. She is dressed so casually yet has such great temperament!"

Benefiting from Sun Yanzi's high popularity among young people, after she officially appeared, young people active in fan chat rooms, QQ, and even internet gathering places like Mop, Tianya, and Sohu began to cheer.

"It's a pity she didn't sing 'Green Light.' I seem to want to hear 'Green Light' on the Spring Festival Gala. At the very least, 'It's Getting Dark' would do, or 'Little Luck'?"

"Zhou Yi is sitting right down there. Why didn't the director's group let the twin stars combine to sing 'Summer Blown by the Wind'? What a great gimmick this would be. If I were the director's group, I would be eager to put these two together; the viewership ratings would surely be high."

"Agreed, the Spring Festival Gala directorate really isn't treating people like humans; they invited him over but didn't let him perform with the others."

"..."

Since songs of the type "Connect with the World" held very little appeal for the young people of this era, discussions about Sun Yanzi in chat rooms and forums had turned into complaints about this year's Spring Festival Gala.

To sum it up in one word: The Spring Festival Gala is doomed.

"By the way, since Yanzi went on stage so early, which number act is Zhou Yi? Is he coming up soon too?"

"He's very early; Yanzi is the 6th act, but Zhou Yi's act was directly scheduled for the 14th, the golden time slot. Right after Zhao Benshan's 'Selling a Car' comes him."

A netizen posted the leaked program list, where the glaring "Yellow Race" and Zhou Yi stood out异常ly.

"Why is Zhou Yi singing this song? Shouldn't he be singing 'Jiangnan'? 'Dongfeng Po' would work too; didn't he sing that at the China-Korea Song Festival? And after its release, it never even topped any charts."

"I feel the lyrics are a bit nonsensical too; what does 'After five thousand years, it's finally my turn to take the stage' mean? We've always been here."

"You upstairs might have misunderstood; the 'I' in this song's lyrics refers specifically to Zhou Yi himself, while the 'Yellow Race' walking with heads held high refers to all Chinese people."

"That's why you hear Zhou Yi sing 'After five thousand years, it's finally his turn to take the stage'; after all, he wasn't born before, so even if he wanted to take the stage, he couldn't."

The issue with the lyrics, which had been criticized by some fans since the release of "Yellow Race," was raised again this time; however, this time, someone interpreted a meaning very close to the song's original intent after Zhou Yi went abroad and made a killing.

When the new century arrived with rising winds and surging clouds, the more turbulent it was, the braver one must be; there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Of course, some blind monks also spotted the key point—

"Zhou Yi's song was basically written specifically for this special turn-of-the-century new era; appearing on the Spring Festival Gala is very normal."

"Judging solely from the song's meaning, this is the only song in this year's Spring Festival Gala that is primarily a pop song; Zhou Yi's status is quite high."

"Yanzi, Wang Lihong, and even Sun Nan and Yu Quan didn't get the chance to sing pop songs."

"No wonder I heard rumors after the third rehearsal that Zhou Yi is CCTV's favorite son; this unique treatment for the entire Spring Festival Gala is truly awesome."

This kind of exclusive treatment not only made Zhou Yi's fans marvel but also bred a peculiar sense of superiority deep within some people's hearts, allowing them to mock Xie Tingfeng, who once sang "Together in This Life" with someone on the Spring Festival Gala—

Because the idol I support is awesome, I feel awesome too!

And tonight is the moment they witness their idol surpassing Xie Tingfeng on the Spring Festival Gala stage as well.

At 9:30 PM, as Zhao Benshan's hilarious sketch "Selling a Car" ended, hosts Zhu Jun and Ni Ping appeared together on the main stage, smiling as they expressed their love for Old Zhao's sketch group—

At the same time, they introduced Zhou Yi's entrance line.

"The singer about to appear next debuted in July 2000; if we look at his debut time, he should theoretically still be just a rookie who has only recently shed the title of 'new singer' in the Chinese music scene."

"Yes, that's right. But unfortunately, the world always has some geniuses who don't play by the rules. In a year and a half, he not only became famous across Asia but even made it to the United States."

Ni Ping, picking up Zhu Jun's thread, even initiated an interaction: "Tell me, who is this genius?"

"Zhou Yi!"

"Zhou Yi!"

In an instant, a series of alternating shouts rose from the audience seats below the stage.

Sun Yanzi, who had returned to her seat after her performance to wait for Zhou Yi to clock out together, joined this audience crowd, cupping her hands around her mouth like a megaphone, beaming as she shouted the answer toward the stage: "Zhou Yi!"

"Yes, that's right; next, let's hand the stage over to Zhou Yi, 'Yellow Race'!"

Accompanying the change in stage lighting, Zhou Yi, wearing a white suit with gold-trimmed cloud patterns that severely tested one's looks, slowly appeared on stage; at this moment, he captured the hearts of countless women with CCTV's deadly close-up shots—

Even quite a few men muttered sincerely in front of their TVs and computers: Holy crap! This kid is damn handsome!

The song introduction, accompanied by that highly recognizable, melodious flute prelude, appeared on the screen—

"Yellow Race"

Lyrics: Zhou Yi

Composition: Zhou Yi

Arrangement: Zhou Yi

Vocals: Zhou Yi

Instrumental Performance: Zhou Yi, Xinghai Conservatory of Music Performance Troupe, Central Conservatory of Music Performance Troupe

This string of pleasing Zhou Yi credits made the fans' hearts bloom with joy.

And when they saw Zhou Yi on stage actually pick up drumsticks during the flute prelude and walk over to a set-up, ownerless large drum, their eyes widened instantly—

Hiss, could it be?!

Zhou Yi, brimming with confidence from head to toe, directly hammered down the first beat of the drum; the originally melodious flute prelude suddenly exploded in coordination with the drumbeats, and the more intense prelude than the original version overturned everyone's psychological expectations right at the start, striking the visual and auditory nerves of every person head-on!

"From the waves that crossed five thousand li, or the walls waiting to be rebuilt

"The yellow after all history has faded, gathering into the sunset dyed upon my body!"

Compared to the version at the China-Korea Song Festival, tonight's Zhou Yi, after picking up the microphone, seemed to have lost a bit of his rebellious air but gained a bit of the youthful passion of pointing at the rivers and mountains—

Full of spirit and vigor!

A figure in white robes like jade, the gold-trimmed cloud patterns seemed like a crown of coronation for him!

Under the flashing lights, countless gazes fell upon him, spreading a touch of极致 stunning color!

"The more turbulent, the braver!

"The world is changing, let me break through!!

"With a clear conscience, to the four corners!

"After five thousand years, it's finally my turn to take the stage!!!"

At the turn of the century, he broke through Hong Kong and Taiwan, conquered Japan, and ventured into the United States.

In the 21st century, five thousand years later, he marched proudly into the top ten of the American music scene's Billboard, becoming the first Chinese singer in history to sell one million platinum copies of an English single on American soil.

One incident after another, one event after another.

In this year and a half, Zhou Yi turned his arrogance in front of the media into a reality that no one could refute!

So that when this moment arrived, whether fans, passersby who knew Zhou Yi, or anti-fans, everyone closed their mouths in the face of this almost autobiographical "Yellow Race."

The high notes, described by Han Hong as world-destroying, pushed the emotions of the song's early part to the highest point!

Below the stage, Sun Yanzi rested her chin on one hand, not blinking even once, staring fixedly at that figure on the stage—head held high against the backlight, eyes lifted with a brilliant, spirited gleam—and her gaze flickered with extraordinary brilliance.

"This is the real Zhou Yi!"

At this very moment, whether it was Chen Hao, Fan Bingbin; or else people like Elva Hsiao who had found a way to watch the Spring Festival Gala, recalling every bit of what Zhou Yi had gathered over this past year and a half, and then looking at those lyrics that seemed to be writing about the nation's people but in truth also carried a hint of praising himself, a helpless yet faintly proud smile crept onto each of their lips.

The senior executives of the Sohu website department who had signed Zhou Yi were grinning so hard their mouths were practically crooked; they had pulled an all-nighter to launch the long-teased Zhou Yi exclusive section, and the traffic data was so active that, if published, would be enough to leave people utterly dumbfounded!

"A Graceful Gentleman on the Road, a Young Master Without Equal Under Heaven!"

This post, whose replies were almost constantly refreshing, quickly became the most-commented existence on the new section; at this moment, no one bothered to correct the poster that "a graceful gentleman on the road" was actually a phrase meant to praise a girl.

All of this, simply because this Spring Festival Gala version of "Yellow Race" was too explosively powerful in its high-note emotional release!

Even more music-professional sons of wealthy families showed up on the forum to share their expertise: "Truly terrifying diction—how did Zhou Yi never before display such a horrifying high-note skill? Is all of this really pushed up by raw voice?!"

"What heaven-defying vocal cords—what a monster! He is absolutely a monster!!!"

"I suddenly want to see where Zhou Yi's limit is—with such a great voice, he hasn't written a single show-off high note for himself across two albums and one EP?!

"That bastard is definitely slacking off—I'll bet my student ID on it, he is absolutely slacking off!"

"Compared to the original from the China-Korea Song Concert, this 'Yellow Race' has been rearranged way too damn热血—it feels like it could be used as a battle anthem; right now I'm so fired up I feel like I could go to the village entrance and slaughter two more pigs."

At this moment, on the Spring Festival Gala stage that truly faced the entire nation, Zhou Yi in a flowing white robe stood right there, using line after line of lyrics to deeply imprint his image into the mind of every person watching the gala at this moment—

The music lingered around the beams, refusing to fade for three days!

PS: Oh no, I feel like Bai Tian can sleep even more than a pig……

(End of this chapter)