[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-king-of-2000-a-mandopop-dynasty":3,"chapter-the-king-of-2000-a-mandopop-dynasty-the-king-of-2000-a-mandopop-dynasty-chapter-30":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The King of 2000: A Mandopop Dynasty",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2301286,4501,"Chapter 30","the-king-of-2000-a-mandopop-dynasty-chapter-30",30,"\u003Cp>He spent the entire afternoon questioning his life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To be fair, he thought he was just playing a minor supporting male role.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, the MV for “A Solo Splendor” had virtually no room for male characters—his only scenes were the opening voicemail and the middle sequence where he walked across the street under an umbrella, brushing past the female lead like a stranger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was meant to correspond to the lyrics’ “ex-boyfriend.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The result? That one lingering glance while passing under the umbrella tortured him all afternoon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it weren’t for Xiao Yaxuan’s relentless dedication—clearly genuine—Zhou Yi would have quit long ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wasn’t Hong Kong’s Leon Lai; how could he possibly have that much expressive eye work?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The director said he’d never seen a singer with this much potential for eye expression, so he got carried away and shot several more takes…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before leaving Virgin, Xiao Yaxuan’s smug words made Zhou Yi realize clearly: none of these camera-wielding people were decent!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Well, except for Chen Laoshi in the future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The thought of enduring another grueling afternoon and then having to show up punctually at Sun Yanzi’s lesson that evening gave him a headache.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Helpless, he could only mutter to himself a few platitudes like “Better to be busy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh? You actually showed up tonight? I thought you’d be spending the night with that gossip girlfriend of yours.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Yanzi, with her short hair, sat as usual in the vocal studio. Seeing the man walk in, she instinctively glanced at the wall clock and raised an eyebrow in feigned surprise: “Didn’t she keep you overnight?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What can I do? I’ve still got you as my teacher. I’d already planned to grab some late-night snacks, but then I remembered you were waiting for me—so out of respect for my master, I gritted my teeth and came back.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He smoothed back his slightly messy bangs and sat down casually, glancing at Sun Yanzi’s white short socks adorned with a conspicuous cartoon cat pattern: “Didn’t know you had such a playful side, Teacher Sun.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing where his gaze had landed on her cartoon socks, Sun Yanzi, sitting cross-legged on the floor, immediately pulled her feet back and lifted her chin: “Correction—it’s not playfulness. It’s childlike purity. Only musicians with a pure heart can possess this.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She tilted her head slightly, a teasing glint in her brow: “Someone like you, with a corrupted mind, wouldn’t understand.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Really? But I never considered myself a musician to begin with.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Yi, fully aware his musical talent came from cheating, didn’t care much for the title of “musical genius.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No choice—go back to school. Don’t wade into this muddy music scene.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Yanzi slammed her book shut and tossed it into his lap, smiling: “I look forward to seeing you argue with a courtroom full of scholars someday, Lawyer Zhou.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’ve got some serious misconceptions about mainland lawyers. Just graduating and not becoming a driver is already a victory,” Zhou Yi chuckled, catching the book and shaking his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d learned that lesson the hard way in his past life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Advising someone to study law? That’s a death sentence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t worry—given our teacher-student bond, once you graduate, I’ll hire you as my lawyer and pay you a generous salary.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How’s that for generosity?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Yanzi slapped her chest, symbolizing wealth, and grinned: “But only if you call me Boss.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I usually use ‘Boss’ to beat people. What?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Yi gave her a mockingly puzzled once-over: “Is Singapore’s culture really that open?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...You’re going to die!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Defeated again, Sun Yanzi snatched up several books and hurled them at him: “These are your new required readings. Memorize them—I’ll quiz you tomorrow!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“First, let’s test what you learned the day before yesterday. Come on, open your mouth and sing one note for me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s that look for? I just want you to sing a note.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, it was Zhou Yi’s turn to fall silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching her smug expression, he muttered under his breath: “Singaporean female thug.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mainland girls are better.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Yi suddenly missed his kind, understanding older sisters—his heart was already racing home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After another evening of intense vocal training and exchange inside Warner’s building, Zhou Yi walked home, brimming with new knowledge, already pondering how to shoot his own MV.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That afternoon, he’d witnessed firsthand how Xiao Yaxuan, Virgin’s golden girl, shot an MV—he now had a rough idea.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike others who focus on narrative or structure when shooting MVs, Zhou Yi wanted to slip into his album some private, mischievous quirks only he understood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After enduring that afternoon’s torment, he suddenly conceived a brilliant way to slack off—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Have the king and queen stand still and just perform.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sings; beside him, Sun Yanzi plays guitar; behind him, Zhang Shaohan handles keyboards; and finally… hmm, why not drag Zhou Jielun over to play drums?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One static scene throughout, relying purely on looks to charm fans, maximizing his own strengths.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking of the MV for “I Love You Only,” he had a sudden inspiration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once the internet era arrived and all three became legends, imagine some future archaeologist stumbling upon this—the most luxurious backing lineup in Chinese-language pop music. Wouldn’t that blow everyone’s minds?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that thought, he checked the time and dialed Zhou Jielun’s number.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hello? Zhou Yi? What’s up? Is something wrong?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the other end, Zhou Jielun, startled to receive a call from his savior at 9:30 p.m., feared something terrible had happened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, Taiwan’s underworld hadn’t fully faded yet; occasional bad luck still struck at night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Nothing’s wrong. I just wanted to ask if you’re free tomorrow—I’m shooting an MV and need one more person. Thought I’d ask if you could help out—play the drums.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No problem, easy. I’ve got this.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Jielun, still fresh out of the hospital and not yet recommended for debut by Yang Junrong, was bored out of his mind. Hearing he could help his savior and play drums, he agreed instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They quickly set a time and place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Zhou Jielun, having washed and styled his hair for once, stood before Warner’s grand building, he felt awkwardly restrained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was only when Zhou Yi came out to meet him that he was freed from his discomfort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Come on, let me introduce you. This is Sun Yanzi, my senior, and she’ll be playing guitar in the MV;\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is Zhang Shaohan, a signed artist with Fuma Records, here to help me out—he’ll be the keyboardist in the MV.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Yi acted as the intermediary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Senior, Shaohan, this is Zhou Jielun from Alpha Music—he’ll be the drummer in the MV.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1106,"2026-06-20T07:33:41.161Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","f84c3ac580533c3299e32ed07739aa132d359137def0b54b67b96298b13dbccd","the-king-of-2000-a-mandopop-dynasty-chapter-31","the-king-of-2000-a-mandopop-dynasty-chapter-29",883,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-king-of-2000-a-mandopop-dynasty-cover.jpg"]