Chapter 348: Time to Gather the Right to Speak

"Thank you, but I'm not interested in men."

Zhou Yi smiled, raised his right index finger, and waved it: "If you were a girl, I'd have no objection to that statement."

"Whoa!!"

"I am a girl! Can I love you!"

Amidst the playful whistles from some male fans, seeing Zhou Yi's gaze turn toward them, the ponytailed girl beside the glasses-wearing guy instantly became extremely excited, holding up her album and glow stick high, striving to stand out even more.

"That's fine. I just said I've always been very compassionate. Come, let me prove it to you."

Saying this, Zhou Yi even jogged down to the stage, shaking her hand amidst the sudden surge of screams from the entire audience.

"Ahhh!!! Zhou Yi!!!"

Never expecting she would actually get a chance to shake hands with her idol, the ponytailed girl went crazy with joy; noticing that there were no security personnel beside Zhou Yi at that moment, a certain senior's legendary feat instantly flashed through her mind.

She tightened her grip, wanting to give Zhou Yi a huge hug!

Even a small poached egg has a dream of suffocating someone!

"Hey! Hold on! Men and women should not touch!"

Sensing the increased pressure on his hand, Zhou Yi planted his feet as if rooted, immediately smiling and reminding the girl who was still gripping his hand tightly: "Do you want to send me to the legal news?

"Looking at how young and beautiful you are, with so much collagen still on your face, are you perhaps still a minor?"

Hearing the first sentence, the girl had been stunned for a moment, but upon hearing her idol's next sentence praising her so much, her face instantly bloomed with a smile—but seeing all eyes in the venue turn toward her, the excitement faded and she shyly lowered her head, instantly covering her face with both hands and sitting back down in her seat.

"Bro, although I don't like men, let's not make it a habit."

Zhou Yi, ultimately not favoring one over the other, walked over to the guy with glasses, smilingly patted his shoulder, high-fived a pair of hands that seemed to be eagerly waiting for food amidst the fans' screams, and only then returned to the stage.

He Jiong's heart, which had been hanging on the stage, finally settled back into his stomach.

That scene just now was not in the previous rehearsal schedule; if something had gone wrong, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

"I almost thought you didn't want to come back."

He Jiong pretended to be nervous, patting his chest, both as a joke and a subtle reminder.

"How could that be? I took the program's appearance fee, so I must be worth the price."

Zhou Yi pretended to be helpless: "No choice, who made me so contract-spirited."

"That's a contract signed in black and white; you must abide by it." Li Xiang, improvising on the spot, smiled and undercut him.

He Jiong then took the opportunity to regain control of the scene, and after finishing, shifted the topic back to Zhou Yi's new album: "So, Zhou Yi, we all noticed that your new album has another very unique song; this song is called 'Fireworks Cool Easily'.

"The lyrics are very aesthetic, and the musical style and choice of instruments have a very ancient charm; it sounds very similar to your previous 'Dongfeng Po'. Was this intentional on your part?"

"Yes."

Finally reaching the main event, Zhou Yi nodded seriously: "This counts as an attempt. Starting from 'Flower Field Mistake' in the first album, I consciously wanted to try a completely new form of East-West music fusion.

"Like the fusion of opera and R&B, opera and hiphop, Chinese classical instruments and R&B, and so on.

"Facts prove that these songs are quite popular; the popularity and reputation are not bad, so it has become a habit."

"So does this count as a new music genre?"

Acting as the straight man, He Jiong asked curiously: "What should this style be called? Chinese-style songs?"

"No, no, no, this is not a new music genre; it can only be said to be an innovation and fusion on the existing track."

Zhou Yi, as always honest, shook his head and denied the high hat He Jiong put on him: "Actually, musicians from the past, like Mr. Lo Ta-yu and others, actually wrote songs with extremely Chinese characteristics very early on.

"Now, those Chinese-style songs of theirs might not sound so popular, but that belongs to the limitations of that era. I belong to standing on the shoulders of giants and re-integrating a few new-style Chinese-style songs adapted to the new era's music wave."

The golden body of Chinese style; as long as one wants to continue mixing in the domestic music scene in the future, it is impossible to let it go.

Just like Zhou Jie-lun, who never actively mentioned "Chinese style" during the first two years after his debut, but about a year after joining Hao Le Di's banner, he began to consciously make relevant statements in public occasions, gradually from one or two sentences at the beginning to long speeches later on.

Zhou Yi also never actively mentioned Chinese-style songs even once in the previous two years.

He used several songs as a foundation, and only then began to use 'Happy Camp', a platform that can currently compete with CCTV's flagship program in ratings, to start exporting outward.

Launching a massive campaign for Chinese style right upon debut would only cause others to sneer. Leaving aside other things, the well-developed Hong Kong media alone could trample him to death eight hundred times a day.

Do they really think those original big shots who fought their way out of the peak of Hong Kong music are dead? They haven't even left yet.

To master the right to define song types, one must have already achieved sufficient results and influence.

And now, after two years of letting things go in this regard, Zhou Yi has finally started to gather the right to speak for himself.

As the era of physical records declines, he needs a new image to ensure that he will be frequently mentioned in the rapidly developing computer internet era that follows, or even have a monument erected.

Hiphop, which will become niche and gradually decline until it revitalizes only after the mobile internet era matures, definitely won't work; that leaves only Chinese style.

"That is still remarkable; after all, music has developed for so many years, basically all song branches have been fully explored. Your experiment counts as finding a brand new viable track, and you've set an example for others in the music scene."

He Jiong sincerely praised, still feeling in his heart that Zhou Yi was simply too humble in music.

If this were some other singers he knew, their tails would probably already be sticking up to the sky, claiming to have founded a school, going crazy without bounds.

Zhang Jie, listening to this theory of new-style Chinese style below the stage, his eyes grew brighter and brighter as time passed.

Look, look, look, how humble!

Truly worthy of being my idol!

Awesome!

In the following game segment, Zhou Yi, who continued to win every battle, once again demonstrated his extraordinary physical fitness; only in a segment requiring a backbend did the careful He Jiong discover that under the red string that Zhou Yi had been wearing around his neck was actually tied a Guanyin pendant.

Because it was revealed as Zhou Yi moved.

After the program recording ended, Zhang Jie, who very much wanted to take a photo with Zhou Yi, looked left and right, and finally, very shyly, found Xie Na, asked her to do him a favor, and inquired if she could take him backstage to take a private photo with Zhou Yi.

"This..."

"Please, Sister Xie Na, just ask for me; whether it succeeds or not is fine."

"... Alright, I'll ask his agent for you, but I can't guarantee success."

Xie Na, who agreed verbally, still kept a little Lan Xinyan, not saying she would ask Zhou Yi himself.

After all, asking the star himself if he is willing to meet such a die-hard fan's request for a photo is undoubtedly putting him on the hot seat; asking the agent is fine, and at worst, they can just push the blame onto the agent's head.

Soon, Xie Na returned with the opinions of Zhou Yi's team—

"Sure, come with me."

"Thank you, Sister Xie Na. Let's exchange contact information; when you're free after you're done, I'll treat you to a meal..."

Excited, Zhang Jie chattered endlessly while pulling Xie Na along, but upon entering the backstage area and seeing Zhou Yi, he became somewhat stuttering, especially when Zhou Yi, now dressed in Shengtian Changfu, smiled at him in a friendly manner—

"Hello, I am your loyal fan, Zhou Yi. The music review that many people recommended online was written by me."

Zhang Jie, rushing to introduce himself, spilled everything out like beans pouring from a bamboo tube: "However, I thought I already understood quite comprehensively, but I didn't expect to have missed some concepts."

"I didn't even understand the theme 'Lianshan'."

"I heard from Xie Na that you are still a university student? Which university do you attend?"

"Sichuan Normal University."

"I wouldn't have guessed; you're not from a formal music background, yet you have great talent in this area."

Zhou Yi, showing no trace of Guo Tianwang's arrogance, smiled and patted Zhang Jie's shoulder. The two took a photo together. Encouragement from an idol made Zhang Jie's face flush slightly: "Um, do you really think so?"

"To be honest, I do love music very much. But due to tuition issues, I couldn't afford a professional music school, so I have been working part-time as a resident singer in bars in Chengdu to support my studies."

"Although I don't know how well you sing, your vocal conditions are indeed very good. Combined with the musical cultivation revealed in your article, I truly believe you have great talent."

For this future number one of the new generation in the Chinese music scene, Zhou Yi's face, patting Zhang Jie's shoulder to encourage him, wore an exceptionally brilliant smile.

His impression of Zhang Jie was still quite good.

After all, aside from his early fashion aesthetics, Zhang Jie, as a singer, could truly be called a model of the domestic entertainment industry—regardless of the period, he had representative works, and his singing skills were not lacking.

Especially after returning from further studies in the United States—

Not only were his singing skills excellent, but his stage presence, which had always been criticized, also became much more steady and grand, shedding the derogatory nickname "Runtu."

Aside from the minor scandal caused by his wife Xie Na, no other scandals could basically be found. He didn't act in movies or TV dramas, but simply sang songs honestly, appeared on variety shows for promotion, and held concerts.

Except for lacking excellent composition abilities, Zhang Jie's other singing skills could almost be said to have reached the ceiling of mid-generation singers in the domestic entertainment industry.

(End of this chapter)