Chapter 31: Half the Chinese Music Industry

"Hello, my name is Jay Chou."

After Zhou Yi's introduction, the shy Jay Chou instinctively raised his left hand, lightly tugging at the back of his ear with his fingertips, and gave a slightly awkward self-introduction as he nodded to the two girls before him.

"Sun Yanzi, you can call me Stefanie." Sun Yanzi, who immediately noticed the youth's long bangs and unenergetic personality, gave Zhou Yi a glance as she responded.

The latter noticed this and shrugged indifferently, signaling she needn't worry.

"Hi, Zhang Shaohan, you can call me Angela too." Seeing another low-status newcomer like herself, Zhang Shaohan followed suit, though her eyes still held a hint of curiosity.

Before Jay Chou arrived, Zhou Yi had mentioned to both girls that the drummer he was bringing over was the same man he'd rescued in his apartment.

He was said to be a musician, somewhat well-known in the industry, having written songs for singers like Liu Dehua, Zhang Huimei, and Wang Lihong—though only Wang Lihong had been willing to pay for them.

But Sun Yanzi had always been in Singapore, only coming to Taiwan after graduation, and was unfamiliar with the so-called Taiwanese entertainment circle;

Zhang Shaohan was even less familiar—still a student, she'd spent her entire life in Canada until being signed by Fuma a year ago, and even then, she could only come to Taiwan during holidays to learn singing, with almost no exposure to the entertainment industry.

Moreover, to earn her living expenses, she worked two part-time jobs daily alongside her Fuma training, so she knew nothing of Jay Chou's currently industry-limited fame.

She only knew he was a loser who'd nearly died from a gas leak.

"Uh, my English name is Jay—you can call me that too."

Hastily adding his English name, Jay Chou's brow visibly tightened with discomfort—until Zhou Yi placed a hand on his shoulder and defused the moment: "Wait, you all have English names?"

As a native mainland Chinese who'd only ever been called Zhou Yi or Xiaoyi since childhood, Zhou Yi smiled at the two girls: "Feels like I'm the odd one out."

"If you want, we can give you one." Sun Yanzi, locking eyes with him, promptly elbowed Zhang Shaohan beside her: "Like Tom, right, Shaohan?"

Hearing the English name, Zhang Shaohan glanced at Zhou Yi, her expression hesitant: "Or Jack?"

The lingering popularity of Titanic still made "Jack" a hot English name among many teenagers.

Zhou Yi rolled his eyes: "Why not call me Jerry or Seven?"

"Do you prefer that mouse?"

Among those present, only Sun Yanzi instantly caught the Tom and Jerry reference, smiling: "But who's Seven?"

"A Jeep spokesperson, ignore it."

Curious, Zhang Shaohan asked: "Do you like Jeeps, Yi-ge?"

"..."

"..."

At a loss for words, Zhou Yi waved his hand, about to brush it off—when he noticed Jay Chou staring at him with a strange expression.

Right—he'd forgotten Jay Chou was also a tokusatsu fan; he'd certainly know about Ultraseven, a major figure.

"Chen, you know?"

Sun Yanzi, noticing Jay Chou's expression, grew curious.

"It's the lead role in a tokusatsu series—Ultraseven—the Ultraman in it is called Seven."

Jay Chou's cautious reply revealed he'd gauged Sun Yanzi's authority—she was clearly equal to Zhou Yi, and their relationship was close, otherwise they wouldn't interact this way.

As for the girl named Zhang Shaohan, her authority was clearly low—she was probably a junior?

"What's tokusatsu?"

Both girls, utterly clueless, turned their gaze to Zhou Yi, who blinked and gave a simple term: "You know Superman, right? Similar concept."

The two girls instantly understood.

Similar concept—that meant hero.

"Didn't know you had a hero's heart," Sun Yanzi teased as she pushed open the door and stepped into the rehearsal hall.

Warner had already prepared everything: guitars, drums, keyboards, bass—all present, with the tuned equipment set aside.

"Since we're all new to this song, today is just for getting familiar with it, checking our four-person coordination, seeing if any changes are needed."

Zhou Yi, who held absolute control over his album, explained why the large room held only the four of them.

He then handed printed sheet music to each of the three: "Here, get familiar, then we'll try recording the first take and see how it sounds."

As all were musicians, when the sheet music labeled "I Love You Only" was distributed, each instinctively began playing their assigned instrument to test the melody.

In the official footage, the four young people's lively, laughing figures were clearly captured, especially those of Sun Yanzi and Zhou Yi.

Jay Chou spoke little, mostly sitting at the drums, familiarizing himself with the beat, occasionally looking up to say a few words or offering a shy smile.

Zhang Shaohan also spoke little, but while adjusting the keyboard, her gaze would often drift unconsciously toward the man laughing and chatting with Sun Yanzi.

Sun Yanzi, holding her guitar and strumming lightly, played the melody, pausing repeatedly and repeating sections—clearly due to her lack of skill—drawing unrestrained laughter from Zhou Yi, who held the microphone:

"Your guitar skills are terrible—even worse than mine. How dare you boast you're the top guitarist at Nanyang Technological University?"

"Your guitar skills, limited to Mount Sanqing, only good enough to compete with the monkeys and birds on the mountain?"

The youthful Sun Yanzi, fully unleashed in this playful moment, shed her company-packaged sweet-girl image and shot back with a sideways glance: "Or are you going to compare your volume to the sound of Lushan Waterfall?"

"Surprising—you know Mount Sanqing?" Zhou Yi was genuinely startled.

Lushan was famous thanks to Li Bai; Mount Sanqing in this era was always neglected—less known even than Longhu Mountain.

Sun Yanzi smiled faintly: "Of course—I'm a proper university graduate. Show some respect, little brother who hasn't graduated yet."

"The first thing I'll do after getting my diploma is sue you in court—for workplace bullying."

Zhou Yi sneered: "Then Jay Chou and Shaohan will be my witnesses."

Zhang Shaohan's gaze snapped back down, eyes wide as she pretended innocence while fiddling with the keyboard.

Jay Chou, still unaccustomed to their playful atmosphere, didn't know what to say, so he smiled and tapped his now-smoothly flowing drum kit.

Zhou Yi immediately pointed at him: "Look at Jay Chou—he's getting it. Look at you—you haven't even found the right notes."

Sun Yanzi shot the man a glare, raised her guitar slightly, stepped two paces closer, and grinned as she swung the guitar's end like a sword, pretending to stab Zhou Yi: "You're trying to defy your superior, Zhou Yi? Don't forget I'm your teacher."

"Alright, Teacher Sun—your list of crimes now includes attempted murder."

Zhou Yi leaned back like Donald Duck, dodging the phantom strike, then turned solemnly toward the camera and announced in a broadcast voice: "No, it's attempted murder—clearly recorded."

Seeing his pose, Zhang Shaohan burst out laughing—so did the usually shy Jay Chou, who raised his hand to cover his mouth, shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter.

"Need me to explain how many years your behavior would get you sentenced to in this country?" Zhou Yi smugly raised an eyebrow at Sun Yanzi, who was right in front of him: "This is truly my area of expertise; I'm not lying to you."

Sun Yanzi, unable to hide her smile, raised her hand and punched him in the chest: "Are you bullying me because I studied business in university?"

"You chose your university major, Teacher."

Zhou Yi, waving the microphone, said playfully: "Even if Jesus came, he couldn't change it."

The flickering machine indicator lights silently held their ground, while the high-definition lens faithfully recorded everything:

Zhang Shaohan, suppressing a laugh, pressed the keyboard; Zhou Jielun, holding back his laughter, started drumming;

Zhou Yi, holding the microphone, began to sing amidst the laughter and joy, while Sun Yanzi, strumming the guitar, curved her eyes and met his gaze—

"I hold you tightly in my arms, cradling you in my palm; who can help it but that I truly love only you~"