Chapter 34: Hello, Sister, Wonderful, Sister

"What, caught and heading back?"

In the empty clothing store, Xiao Yaxuan, who was browsing, glanced back as Zhou Yi, having just hung up the phone, walked toward her: "Does Warner also strictly forbid you from dating?"

"I'm not that desperate. That's a restriction only for people like you who have no choice."

Zhou Yi shrugged, retorting to the woman's teasing: "I only signed because the General Manager of Warner knelt at my dorm door and begged me. Naturally, the contract isn't that strict."

"Are you sure? My teacher, Yao Qian, knows Zhou Jianhui. You wouldn't want me to verify the truth, would you?"

"That's a rhetorical device, a metaphor. Do you understand?" Zhou Yi, switching his tone naturally, showed no embarrassment on his face and continued to argue: "It looks like your language skills need to be remade."

Xiao Yaxuan, rubbing the fabric of the clothes with her fingers, let out a silent laugh: "Sometimes I actually envy you. You can play freely, unbound by anything, with no pressure."

"Stop being pretentious. If you want to disappear, just quit the industry. Anyway, your family can afford the breach of contract fee." Zhou Yi, who had already had deep interactions with various artistic young ladies on the mainland, had a clear understanding of such sentimental melancholy and directly poured cold water on her.

If you want to enjoy the thrill of being worshipped by a thousand and pursued by ten thousand, you must inevitably lose something.

There is no such thing in this world where you get everything you want.

Xiao Yaxuan's face stiffened immediately as her sigh was interrupted. She rolled her eyes wordlessly at the man: "Can't you just agree with me? Coaxing me might even get you some unexpected surprises."

Zhou Yi raised his eyebrows in feigned surprise: "Oh? Like what?"

"I called you out to accompany me shopping and on a date to deepen our understanding, okay?"

"I think you might be mistaken. I came out with you purely out of friendship and duty. You know, I have very few friends on the Treasure Island."

Zhou Yi slightly raised his palm in a gesture of denial, and a mischievous smile immediately climbed onto his eyebrows: "Moreover, you are the one chasing me, not me chasing you.

"Theoretically speaking, I am the one in the dominant position."

"Will a woman really like someone like you?" Xiao Yaxuan, knowing the truth, advanced instead of retreating, throwing a selected men's outfit into Zhou Yi's arms.

"That depends on how you define 'like'."

Walking to the full-length mirror, Zhou Yi held the clothes up against himself twice, then shook his head. Seeing this, Xiao Yaxuan could only mutter to herself, "A tough nut to crack."

"Don't overthink it. The current you doesn't actually like me. Drop that thought."

As if hearing Xiao Yaxuan's inner thoughts, Zhou Yi turned and picked out a floral shirt for himself, draping it over his shoulders. He turned his head to smile at her: "You are just resisting the pressure from your teacher, family, and company. I am merely a tool that happened to appear when you were in a state of confusion.

"Coincidentally, this tool is handsome and tall. You feel it's not a loss. That's why you are investing so much energy in me against your usual nature, disregarding the possible paparazzi following.

"When you are truly attracted to me for my looks, then maybe the two of us can truly exchange deeply.

"Of course, if you want to take me to a hotel to open a room right now, then consider the previous words as if I never said them."

"..."

Xiao Yaxuan, having had her thoughts exposed, was speechless. She opened her mouth but could not utter a single word of rebuttal.

From that night when she ostentatiously drove a Ferrari to pick up Zhou Yi, this silent rebellion had already begun.

"So, as compensation for accompanying me shopping, it's not excessive for me to buy a few more sets of clothes, is it, little rich lady?" After shamelessly picking out several expensive outfits, Zhou Yi asked the question he already knew the answer to.

Coming to her senses, Xiao Yaxuan gritted her teeth, took a deep breath, raised her eyes to meet his gaze, smiled, and then generously spread her hands: "Do as you please. If you want to try emptying my wallet, go ahead."

As a rich lady who was already wealthy before entering the entertainment industry, the task Xiao Yaxuan gave was clearly very challenging.

So much so that when the next day Zhou Yi stepped into the company wearing a different brand-name outfit, he was greeted by the extremely peculiar looks of Sun Yanzi and Zhang Shaohan—

"Why did you suddenly change into brand-name clothes?"

"I don't want to, but I can't help it. The rich lady insisted on giving them to me. I couldn't refuse; she gave way too much."

After feigning helplessness and shaking his head in a circle, under the strange gazes of Sun Yanzi and Zhang Shaohan, Xiao Yaxuan, wearing sunglasses, pushed the door open with the aura of a current rising young star.

After taking off her sunglasses, Xiao Yaxuan, stating her purpose, greeted the two women in front of her, emphasizing approachability—

"I am here to shoot an MV with Zhou Yi. May I ask who the director is?"

Eighteen-year-old Zhang Shaohan stood aside like an ignored lackey, and the yet-to-debut Sun Yanzi could not resist the aura of the current rising young star.

And in the following two weeks, the two of them truly witnessed what is called the influence of a current popular artist.

"Rumor Refuted and Reversed! Current Rising Young Star Falls for Warner's First-Year Student!"

"Unearthing Zhou Yi! The Man from the Mainland Stole Xiao Yaxuan's Heart!"

"What Are the Young Male Stars of the Treasure Island Doing?!"

"Warner Music's True Face! The New Singer from the Mainland, Zhou Yi, Is Actually So Handsome!"

"Popular Before Singing! A Deep Dive into the Appearance of Warner Music's Newcomer Zhou Yi!"

"For Her Lover, Young Lady Li Yijie of Virgin Music Is Suspected of Jumping Ship to Warner!"

"A Handsome Man Seen Once in Fifty Years! Warner Music's Newcomer Arrives with Fierce Momentum!"

"..."

In just two weeks, centered on Taipei's entertainment weeklies and newspapers, a name called Zhou Yi, accompanied by "Warner Music" and "Xiao Yaxuan," radiated outward continuously until it covered the entire Treasure Island, and even Hong Kong Island and the Mainland reacted to the news!

Especially the Mainland.

If the Hong Kong side was merely curious, then the Mainland media was absolutely exploding.

Who is Zhou Yi?

Whose subordinate is this?!

How come we, the Mainland media, don't even know about a talent from the Mainland?!

When the reporters of "Contemporary Music Scene," self-proclaimed as the number one music magazine on the Mainland, held the entertainment newspapers and magazines circulated from the Treasure Island and saw the identity "Warner Music Mainland New Singer Zhou Yi" unified across major entertainment sections of the Treasure Island, out of sensitivity, the editor-in-chief contacted Warner through channels to confirm the authenticity of the matter.

After all, this Zhou Yi really is tall and handsome.

In just two weeks, without even releasing an album and relying solely on various "leaked photos" and "stolen shots," he had gathered a small group of female fans on the Treasure Island who only looked at his face and figure.

This group even wrote letters directly to Warner Music, demanding that Warner release a photo book first...

Chen Zeshan, the then Vice General Manager of Warner, was stunned.

This future master of hype seemed to have learned something at this moment.

"Accelerate the production of the album, and also posters! Photo books!

"Remember, take the photos for the photo books and posters as handsomely as possible! You must display the artist's handsome and sunny side!"

In Warner's general manager's office, Zhou Jianhui, brimming with self-satisfaction, waved his hand and directly reassigned some staff from the publicity department to work overtime—

"Make Zhou Yi look even more handsome than the idols in those idol dramas! I want that kind of atmospheric vibe!"

Since the artists under his management had matured to the point of generating their own buzz, he, as the general manager, would be falling behind if he didn't keep up.

Amidst all the external commotion, Zhou Yi, who had personally orchestrated everything, watched as his name and photo were "leaked" time and again through Warner's hands, and returned to the mainland with a bubbling sense of joy, seeking out Cheng Hao, who had been waiting for him for a long time.

"Spending the night at a hotel with the rising young starlet Xiao Yaxuan? Looks like you're doing quite well in Taiwan; I suppose I worried for nothing."

Cheng Hao, wearing a white dress, stood at the school gate, watching the figure gradually approach and come to a stop before her, and raised the newspaper in her hand.

"How should I put it? Perhaps I'm just the type who attracts older sisters' affection; I always seem to meet benefactors who help me."

Zhou Yi tilted his head and asked with a smile, "Right?"

Cheng Hao wrinkled her nose and refuted, "I'm not your older sister."