Chapter 345: I'm Actually Quite Happy

"What the f***..."

Because Zhou Yi had basically been either rehearsing or resting for the past two days in Changsha, he finally had some free time to surf the internet, only to be completely baffled by these netizens with their wild imaginations.

What kind of nonsense is this? Can't stand to see others do well, can you?

You can learn from others in other aspects, but is this really necessary?

"It's just online public opinion; just watch and don't take it too seriously. To use your own words, everyone is just making memes, and those comments are all discussing how high you can be mythologized." Qian Jiang, also trying hard not to laugh, coughed and offered some guidance.

"I truly thank them."

Zhou Yi pouted: "Considering it's a friendly discussion and they are all current or potential providers of our livelihood, I won't hold it against them."

If you're going to dream, why not dream bigger? Guessing two or three minutes shows no sense of scale at all.

If he really suddenly kicked the bucket, given his current achievements and status overseas, wouldn't they have to dedicate at least five minutes to reviewing his career?

"By the way, don't forget tonight's 'Happy Camp'. He Jiong went out of his way; these past few days he specifically went online to collect some in-depth reviews of your album and sent someone to contact the authors."

Obviously, He Jiong had noticed some music critics criticizing Zhou Yi's new album and wanted to use this opportunity to clear Zhou Yi's name.

Although Zhou Yi himself didn't care about these things, one had to admit that He Jiong's personality as a well-known good guy in the industry was indeed a bit interesting; he liked to lend a hand.

Whether it was an act or not, if you can keep up the act in front of him until the end, then it's not an act.

A gentleman judges by deeds, not by thoughts; if you judge by thoughts, there are no perfect people in the world.

'Happy Camp' is at least currently a top-tier variety show in the country.

"Oh, right, there's one more thing. The words you wrote yourself during the rehearsal... are you sure you want to say them like that?" When talking about tonight's recording of Happy Camp, Qian Jiang scratched his head a bit.

Last time on Happy Camp, the live broadcast stir-frying noodles incident already seemed ridiculous enough, but at least it benefited the fans; this time, he felt Zhou Yi doing this was somewhat inviting hatred towards himself.

"What's there to fear? Anyway, this time it can be edited."

Zhou Yi, with a mischievous smile, looked completely unconcerned: "Besides, the fans are talking about me anyway; just treat it as interaction."

Unlike the last time he came to Happy Camp, this year's recording method had changed from the initial live broadcast to a recorded broadcast mode, which also meant that the margin for error for guests would be greatly improved, allowing for more punchlines to be stitched together through post-production editing.

This also meant that this Hunan TV flagship variety show, which was about to remain popular for nearly twenty years, would officially get on the fast track of entertainment supremacy.

Evening, the Happy Camp recording site.

Under the escort of the staff, Zhou Yi arrived safely at the Happy Camp recording site but unexpectedly saw another woman standing beside He Jiong who looked familiar to him—

Xie Na.

The future master of the self-deprecating clown-style hosting method in the mainland, one of the big-hearted hosts in the domestic entertainment industry willing to act crazy, foolish, and ugly to gain attention.

"Let me introduce you, this is Xie Na, a newcomer who joined 'Camp' not long ago; this time she is the one responsible for contacting those music critics."

On such an important night as tonight, Xie Na, still a newcomer, obviously couldn't get a chance to go on stage and could only work behind the scenes.

Xie Na was also very perceptive; she immediately greeted him with a respectful yet polite "Brother Yi," even though she was a few months older than Zhou Yi.

"Trouble you, thanks for your hard work."

After Zhou Yi politely shook hands with her, Xie Na tactfully took her leave and went to the audience section to brief the few music critics she had found—

Zhou Yi, with sharp eyes, even spotted a face that looked suspiciously like Zhang Jie...?

"Those people were contacted by Nana; she worked two nights straight."

Seeing that Zhou Yi seemed very surprised, He Jiong cheerfully added a sentence.

"Is that so? That's quite dedicated."

Although Zhou Yi felt indifferent towards this woman's hosting style, her work attitude in the early stages was indeed very dedicated.

Many people were cursing Xie Na for insulting the profession of hosting, shouting and making noise all day long, but actually, this was precisely the label she stuck on herself after being scolded when she took over from Li Xiang.

She needed an image completely different from Li Xiang; at the beginning, it was a helpless move.

As a result, she later stayed in her comfort zone without moving, relying on one set of hosting methods to travel the world, with no improvement in professional ability at all, turning "Ma Lan Po Po Jie" into a derogatory term.

"Then Zhou Yi, you go to the backstage to prepare first; Li Xiang and I will go start the show first."

Knowing that the difficulty of 'Mr. Lonely' that Zhou Yi was going to sing later was very high, and afraid that he might have some flaws on the spot, He Jiong added: "This time we switched to recorded broadcast, so don't feel pressured; if necessary, we can just do another take."

"Don't worry, no problem."

Zhou Yi made an OK gesture.

In the audience section on site, invited by Xie Na from the production staff, Zhang Jie, who was coming to the Happy Camp site for the first time in his life, was somewhat nervous.

He never expected that the analysis post he wrote online before would be noticed by the production team; when Xie Na contacted him, he thought it was a scammer and hung up the phone immediately.

"Don't be nervous; bring out the confidence from the post you wrote; you know music very well."

Xie Na, who was still a small unknown figure at the time, seeing this, instinctively encouraged the nervous Zhang Jie. Amidst the lively opening music on site, Zhang Jie, who had taken several deep breaths in a row, nodded—

"Okay, welcome to all the audience friends on site and in front of the TV to watch 'Happy Camp' on time on Saturday night. I am Li Xiang."

"I am He Jiong."

"I am Li Weijia."

As the three hosts finished their opening remarks, the recording began to proceed in an orderly manner; when He Jiong loudly introduced today's guest, the sound wave generated by the audience section of only a few hundred people almost deafened Zhang Jie's ears—

"Let's welcome, Zhou Yi!!!"

The magenta glow sticks exclusive to Zhou Yi's support waved along with the cheers; the piano intro of 'Mr. Lonely' began, and Zhou Yi, wearing a white suit, walked onto the stage with his signature mischievous smile—

"Your smile is a blessing~

"The world is so rarely so beautiful..."

This was the first time Zhou Yi publicly sang the high-difficulty song 'Mr. Lonely' on a variety show, directly responding with his strength to those who said he was a studio god—

The clear high notes, enough to make one's skull tremble, instantly plunged the entire venue into the vortex of the song's sad emotions!

"I can, it doesn't matter!!

"Loneliness keeps shedding tears~"

One word: Steady as a rock!

When the song ended, the same mischievous smile that Zhou Yi had when he first went on stage reappeared on his face: "Good evening to all the audience friends on site and in front of the TV, I am Zhou Yi."

He Jiong, Li Xiang, and Li Weijia walked out from one side of the stage, clapping their hands. He Jiong, in particular, praised him enthusiastically: "A perfect performance. I didn't expect you, Zhou Yi, to be so steady live with a song of such high difficulty."

"Can I interview you for a moment, Zhou Yi? How do you feel after singing this song? Do you know that I once ordered this song at a KTV, and the high notes halfway through almost made me pass out?" Li Weijia, playing the straight man, stepped forward to make a fool of himself at the right moment.

"How do I feel? Well, it's fine. I have a good sense of self-awareness. Every time I finish singing this song, I actually have just one feeling."

Li Xiang, playing the role of a woman admiring a strong person, looked at Zhou Yi with a "fascinated" expression: "What feeling?"

Holding the microphone, Zhou Yi grinned wickedly: "Of course it's—Damn it, how the hell did I sing so awesome, holy crap."

The trio: "..."

The audience below: "..."

Zhang Jie: "???"

What kind of simple yet powerful adjective is that???

Zhang Jie, who had come to see his idol, looked at the figure on stage boasting with a triple national treasure curse, and for a moment, he felt the tall and towering image in his heart seemed to shatter into pieces.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't swear. You need to watch your image, Zhou Yi. You've thrown away all your idol baggage, haven't you?"

He Jiong, laughing until he stamped his feet, recovered after a moment and made amends: "You are now a man walking at the very forefront of the Chinese music scene."

"Exactly, exactly. Have you given up on yourself? You can't be like this. You need to watch your image, you know?" Li Xiang, unable to hold back her laughter, spoke words of regret.

"That's all just fans propping me up. Empty fame, all empty fame."

Zhou Yi deliberately raised his hand and pressed it downward, his mental state looking nothing like someone who could write songs like "Fairy Tale," "Mr. Lonely," and "Fireworks Cool Easily."

"Then in your heart, do you think you are a person walking at the very forefront of the music scene?"

"That doesn't matter."

Zhou Yi helplessly spread his hands: "Anyway, in the mouths of some fans, I am already dead. My status is no longer something I can decide for myself. The dead are the greatest now."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Damn it!

Although he knew there would be such a line, when Zhou Yi said it so seriously, He Jiong still felt it was incredibly absurd.

Is this the main character's response?

Zhang Jie below brightened, suddenly thinking of some of the hot topics of discussion online these past few days.

"I think it's better if we don't talk about this unlucky topic. Let's talk about the album instead; that's safe."

Li Weijia, who had somehow produced a copy of the "Lianshan" album in his hands, shrank his head like a coward, then turned and shouted to the audience: "The audience friends should also want to know some behind-the-scenes stories about the album, like your inspiration when creating it, right?!"

The audience, indeed very curious about the album, shouted in unison: "Right!"

"Indeed. Like me, I've always been curious. When you wrote the three songs 'Fairy Tale,' 'Mr. Lonely,' and 'Fireworks Cool Easily,' did you immerse yourself in the emotions of the songs?"

He Jiong asked curiously: "Would this kind of sad emotion affect your own life at that time?"

"Huh? Not at all. I was actually quite happy, not sad at all. When I wrote 'Fairy Tale,' I was so happy that I ate three big bowls of rice with Sun Yanzi. My appetite was great."

Zhang Jie: "???"

Damn it, you were quite happy???

So the sadness is left for us listeners, right???

(End of this chapter)