Chapter 38

The album’s first-day sales forcefully entered the sixth position on Taiwan’s weekly mainstream album sales chart, accounting for 6.76% of total sales;

By June 18, less than two weeks after release, its mainstream album sales share surged directly to 15.16%.

It outperformed major artists like Wang Lihong, Zhang Yu, Cai Qin, Zhang Xinzhe, Mo Wenwei, and Xin Xiaoqi, and rose to number one!

This was the debut result delivered by Sun Yanzi as a newcomer.

This achievement surprised everyone at Warner except Zhou Yi.

Warner had poured all its effort into promoting Sun Yanzi, originally expecting only about 20,000 copies sold in the first week—but reality defied expectations: Sun Yanzi’s first-week sales doubled immediately—

And now, in less than two weeks, momentum is racing toward 100,000 copies.

This isn’t just popular—it’s a massive, explosive phenomenon.

Someone held four straight number-one weeks but ended with under 80,000 sales; Sun Yanzi, an overnight sensation, surpassed that in less than two weeks.

This is a terrifying fact.

The last young female singer who made such a massive splash in the album market was named Xiao Yaxuan.

And oddly, Xiao Yaxuan has recently been spending a lot of time with a new artist at Warner.

“Yes, that’s right—I knew Yanzi before. She’s an incredibly talented singer.”

At a public event, when questioned by reporters, the reigning star Xiao Yaxuan nodded without any irritation: “And given the high quality of her album, strong sales aren’t surprising.”

One reporter cut straight to the chase: “Then is your acquaintance with Sun Yanzi because of your rumored boyfriend, Zhou Yi?”

“First, I need to correct something: Zhou Yi and I are just good friends—we have none of the messy relationships reported in the newspapers.”

“Our relationship is purely platonic.”

Facing the barrage of reporters, the young diva solemnly denied the rumors—and subtly promoted Zhou Yi: “You might not know, but Zhou Yi is also an exceptionally talented singer. My admiration for him is purely musical.”

“When his album releases, you’ll see I’m not exaggerating.”

“If I remember correctly, his album drops on July 1. If you don’t believe me, go buy it and listen.”

????

Reporters who never expected Xiao Yaxuan would use this opportunity to advertise Zhou Yi’s album were now frantic.

For God’s sake, you’re a Virgin Music artist publicly promoting a competitor at an event like this—who the hell believes you’re innocent?!

Some enterprising reporters then asked the suddenly skyrocketing Sun Yanzi, hoping to pry out a secret.

But this girl’s lips… seemed equally sealed?

“Zhou Yi? Zhou Yi and Elva are just friends—the reporters’ stories are all nonsense.”

During promotional rounds, when reporters mentioned Zhou Yi’s name, Sun Yanzi beamed and immediately denied the rumors: “Zhou Yi has been in Taipei these days recording songs and shooting MVs with me and Elva—he’s nowhere near as idle as the papers claim.”

“Oh, by the way—Zhou Yi’s new album releasing on July 1 features two music videos, with me and Elva as the female leads.”

“Interested fans can buy it on July 1—it’s got great songs. Zhou Yi really is a gifted musician.”

“…………????”

Reporters who’d hit a dead end with Xiao Yaxuan now watched Sun Yanzi, in nearly identical fashion, publicly promoting Zhou Yi’s upcoming album—eyes wide as saucers.

Did you two plan this together?

Why are your scripts so identical?

One reporter who tracked trends closely reviewed the data and noticed that Xiao Yaxuan’s debut album, released at the end of last year, had climbed a few percentage points again amid the surge in exposure…

A few days later, Virgin Music officially announced the release date for Xiao Yaxuan’s second album: August 15.

“…”

Dammit—we reporters, the uncrowned kings, have been played like puppets!

They instinctively wanted to curse, but under the tidal wave of the Sun Yanzi frenzy sweeping Taiwan, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and chase the story—

And Sun Yanzi, like a broken record, kept steering every topic back to Zhou Yi’s July 1 album release.

Meanwhile, Xiao Yaxuan periodically shared amusing anecdotes about how she met Sun Yanzi through Zhou Yi, especially behind-the-scenes moments from MV shoots.

She even posted photos of herself with Sun Yanzi on set, claiming the photographer was Zhou Yi—and then inevitably circled back to “July 1 is Zhou Yi’s new album release date…”

Audiences in this era couldn’t withstand such subtle, subconscious advertising.

After this series of coordinated moves, the message “July 1: Zhou Yi’s new album release” was drilled into countless viewers’ minds through interviews with Taiwan’s two hottest, most visible female artists.

They had truly achieved: “Though Zhou Yi isn’t in Taiwan, Taiwan knows the legend of Zhou Yi.”

Now it was Rock Records, PolyGram, and other labels who grew restless.

Everyone could see this was a marketing scheme—a collaboration between Warner and Virgin Music, though no one knew when it began. But this novel approach was undeniably effective.

Damn it, Warner just exploded with Sun Yanzi—what else could they possibly be planning?

Marketing teams from every label worked through the night analyzing the strategy, trying to replicate it—only to stare at each other in stunned silence:

It’s possible—but only if you have two young, currently popular artists willing to cooperate, willing to consistently promote another artist in fixed, predictable ways, willing to divert their own massive popularity to someone clearly less famous—and sustain it over time.

The first conditions are manageable, but that last one—“sustained diversion of popularity”—no one in the entire entertainment industry could replicate.

Even if you knew every step of Warner and Virgin’s marketing plan, even if you could copy it exactly, no one in the industry would dare to fully imitate it.

In entertainment, popularity is life.

Zhou Yi’s setup: one top-tier star, Xiao Yaxuan; one sudden, explosive newcomer, Sun Yanzi; seeded with rumors, layered with the “mainland Chinese” gimmick, then topped off with “leaked paparazzi photos of his stunning looks”—

Then came the denials that were worse than no denials at all: endless chatter about “July 1 is Zhou Yi’s album release,” and the “sisterly bond” between Sun Yanzi and Xiao Yaxuan.

Sun Yanzi was understandable—she was Warner’s own artist; after her sudden explosion, being “asked by the company” to promote her junior brother Zhou Yi wasn’t hard to swallow.

But the problem lay with Xiao Yaxuan.

What did she gain?

So what if Zhou Yi is tall and handsome? There are plenty of handsome men in the world—why would she recklessly divert her own popularity to him?

What could she possibly get from Zhou Yi?

Executives from every label were utterly baffled, and finally dismissed it as “love-struck stupidity.”

Can’t learn it. Can’t possibly learn it.

According to information from multiple sources, Warner had no additional deals with Virgin Music—in fact, Virgin had initially tried to stop Xiao Yaxuan from getting close to Zhou Yi.

While the entertainment industries in Taiwan and mainland China were reacting to the name “Zhou Yi” with varying degrees of shock, the mastermind behind it all, Zhou Yi, lay on the school lawn, flipping a coin between his fingers—

Summer sunlight filtered through the dense leaves, dappling his face; a gentle breeze carried sweet scents.

“You changed your perfume?” Zhou Yi smiled without turning his head.

Cheng Hao, dressed in a light beige floral dress, smoothed her skirt and sat beside him with practiced ease, propping her chin on her hand, eyes bright: “You’re lying here enjoying the shade while Taiwan’s tabloids are full of you.”

“This is just the beginning.”

Unsurprised, Zhou Yi flicked his thumb—the coin shot into the air: “It’s just a simple marketing loop.”

“Essentially, it’s subconscious repetition.”

At the coin’s peak, sunlight struck its surface, flashing for an instant—

“But unlike people who buy products after being brainwashed by ads—

“As the beneficiary of the popularity diverted from Xiao Yaxuan and Sun Yanzi, if I explode into stardom, burn so bright I’m purple, I’ll boost their popularity in return—

“Even the paparazzi chasing these trends, who know it’s a trap, will willingly jump in, reporting exactly as I planned, just to earn bonuses and raises.”

“All I need to do is release my album at the peak of this trend, before the public grows tired of it.”

The man caught the falling coin, certain: “Four-way win.”

Beneath the dappled sunlight filtering through the leaves, Zhou Yi’s confident, radiant expression was clearly reflected in Cheng Hao’s eyes—causing her to smile faintly, as if remembering something.