Chapter 401: The Country in Asia with the Most Black Fans

"... Are you sure?"

Qian Jiang, who had nearly gone to the underworld to fetch him, opened his mouth as if to speak, hesitated for a long while, then finally couldn't hold back and urged: "You could just sing other old songs."

Setting ancient poetry and prose to music, creating new vitality distinct from textbook versions through modern pop styles, is undeniably under immense pressure.

Every ancient work that has survived to this day is a masterpiece among masterpieces; if you mishandle the composition, you'll face a storm of ridicule.

This is precisely why, despite such a shortcut being right there, so few are willing to try it.

"Besides, 'Speech of the Young China' isn't 'Shu Diao Ge Tou'—it's a prose piece by Liang Qichao, with many characters; if you want to compose it, you'll have to add or cut the lyrics first, making it even more laborious and unrewarding."

For Zhou Yi's sake, Qian Jiang still pleaded earnestly to change his mind: "Aren't you still other Chinese-style songs?"

The China-Korea Song Festival isn't like other events—it's a genuine official occasion; even if you just sang 'Yellow Race' again from last year.

"Or pick another new song?"

He trusted Zhou Yi's ability to write new songs, but for Zhou Yi to compose music for 'Speech of the Young China'—a prose of major significance—his assessment was: unnecessary trouble.

Even if the composition turns out well and earns praise, it pales in comparison to the potential risks.

This isn't some official invitation or assigned task.

"Don't worry—if it doesn't work out, I'll swap it out after making the demo."

Zhou Yi waved his hand carelessly: "What about the recording studios in Korea?"

"They're all ready—you can use them as soon as you arrive."

Knowing he couldn't dissuade him, Qian Jiang stopped pressing and turned his thoughts to contingency plans: "Also, after arriving in Korea, besides the accompanying album signing, the Samsung Electronics representative wants to meet with you; SM, DSP, and other Korean entertainment companies also want to invite you to events."

"The Nokia representative will fly to Korea to meet you in half a month; basically, your phone endorsement will be chosen between these two."

"Although Samsung's offer is currently higher, I personally think choosing Nokia is better."

Qian Jiang, who handled negotiations with both companies, calmly gave his judgment: "Samsung phones are clearly inferior to Nokia's; they're in a challenger position, and Samsung lacks Nokia's resource support in Europe and America."

"And the Grammys require PR."

From Qian Jiang's perspective, with Zhou Yi's outstanding English-language results this time, even if the Grammy nomination were biased, he'd still get at least a few. But among Zhou Yi's major endorsements, only Coca-Cola has the capacity to join Warner and help with Grammy PR.

This is dangerous.

Sony and Universal next door are already watching closely; if Warner fails to deliver and disappoints Zhou Yi, future contract renewals will be out of the question.

………………………………

"Ssi-ba! Zhou Yi actually dares to come to our Great Korea for a signing?!"

"Why not? Zhou Yi Oppa is an international superstar!"

"So what if he's an international superstar? Isn't he just a thief?!"

"Axi-ba! Dare you say that again?! That's jealousy! That's slander! Watch out—Zhou Yi Oppa will send you a lawyer's letter!"

"Even if he sends me one, I'll still say it—Zhou Yi isn't worth a single hair of Zhang Guorong!"

"..."

December 7, 2002, 10:08 a. m.

After SM and DSP, Korea's two entertainment giants, jointly announced with KBS TV and Warner Zhou Yi's upcoming schedule in Korea, the already lively Korean fan circle erupted into chaos—

Bickering, dragging each other down; digging up dirt, eagerly awaiting.

The entire peninsula turned into a boiling mess; the intensity of the arguments was unparalleled in Asia.

The root cause? Many Koreans believe Zhou Yi stole the victory glory of the Korea-Japan World Cup, deceitfully tricked the foolish Japanese, and seized the spotlight meant for Great Korea—the World Cup closing ceremony.

Before the World Cup, the number of Koreans hating Zhou Yi hadn't reached the level of being unique in Asia—but after the World Cup, everything changed.

"China's men's soccer team didn't score a single goal in the World Cup, and they didn't even host it—why should a Chinese man like Zhou Yi perform at the World Cup closing ceremony?! Isn't that stealing our Great Korea's slot?!"

"Enough said—steal one, die one!"

"Bullshit! Zhou Yi Oppa topped the U. S. music scene—what's wrong with performing at a World Cup closing ceremony?"

"Exactly! Are you guys just A-Seven-Xun fans pretending to be here?"

"To be fair, Zhou Yi hadn't topped the U. S. charts yet during the World Cup—there must be something fishy here."

"..."

Some extremists, amid fan objections, decisively pulled out their original Zhou Yi CDs, cassette tapes, posters, and photo books—all of them had one thing in common: they'd all been cut in half with scissors.

Clearly, they meant to express that Zhou Yi had disappointed them.

In 2002, during the World Cup semifinals, a large number of Koreans took pride rather than shame in their historic best Asian World Cup result.

After Japan gave up the closing ceremony performance, many Koreans assumed a Korean singer would shine on the grand stage—only to find out it was Zhou Yi, a Chinese man.

And even more unexpectedly, this Zhou Yi had so many defenders, sparking a prolonged battle between black and white fans that continues to this day.

"Don't you care about the dignity of Great Korea?!"

"Zhou Yi Oppa conquered the U. S. music industry—what's shameful about losing to him? Shouldn't it be our honor? Who says our entertainment industry can't produce a singer like him?"

"..."

Originally, due to fading World Cup and English-specialty hype, discussion of Zhou Yi in Korea had died down—but now, because of the joint announcement by SM and DSP, the controversy flared up again.

Seoul Racecourse.

A heavily modified race car executed a near-perfect drift around a turn, its tires instantly kicking up endless clouds of dust—

Many onlookers cheered, though their expressions carried a formulaic air.

The reason? The driver was none other than the youngest daughter of Samsung's chairman, the so-called most beloved princess of Samsung, Li Yinxin.

After mastering social niceties, these women, already in their prime, naturally chattered about the latest hot topic: Zhou Yi's arrival in Korea.

The woman, clad in racing gear and having removed her helmet after venting her frustration over online abuse, opened the car door and walked toward the rest area—

Her short hair, falling to her shoulders, swayed freely with each step; the racing suit on her body conveyed not a trace of athletic spirit.

"What are you looking at?"

"Zhou Yi—his plane just landed; KBS is streaming it live. Think how sad—he hasn't even touched the ground yet, and already everyone's been screaming insults at him."

A friend briefly explained Zhou Yi's situation, and Li Yinxin—who had long been cursed to the skies by Korean netizens for flaunting her wealth and living a flashy lifestyle on her personal blog—instantly felt bored.

It's just getting scolded, wasn't she already used to being scolded long ago?

"Hey, right, if I'm not mistaken, Zhou Yi should be staying at the new Shilla Hotel on your sister's side, right?" A friend looked at the picture in the live broadcast camera, turned his head with a smile and asked.

"Mm, should be."

Li Yinxin, who had just taken a small sip of water, raised her eyes and glanced at the Sony TV in the rest area, then nodded.

Don't ask why it's Sony, the answer is just that she's in a bad mood today.

"Then can you help us get in to meet Zhou Yi? I really like his song 'BaBy'."

"We'll see, he's being scolded so badly right now, probably won't have time to hold any special fan meeting for the time being."

Li Yinxin measured others by herself, and was too lazy to go find her sister: "Don't forget he's a celebrity, Warner Bros.' crisis PR is very much on point, these few days they're definitely going crazy buttering everyone up everywhere to dispel those negative sentiments among the public."

Even she, a little Samsung Princess, had been ordered by her father not to clap back at netizens on her personal blog, because it would create a bad impression on the Lee family's image—how could Zhou Yi, a mere celebrity, be an exception?

Nearly fifteen minutes later, Zhou Yi, wearing sunglasses and a wine-red overcoat, appeared outside the red carpet of the Shilla Hotel accompanied by security personnel. The instant he stepped out of the car, that tall, handsome figure instantly drew the eyes of quite a few women in the rest area.

"Zhou Yi! Zhou Yi! What is your view on the denunciations against you within Korea?"

"Zhou Yi, Zhou Yi, may I ask about your fans…"

The reporters swarming forward were no different from the ones Zhou Yi had run into in Europe and America, each one firing questions meant to stir up trouble, which made Zhou Yi reach up, take off his sunglasses, smile as he folded the temple arms, and reply in English: "What view? Of course the force of the hate is still not enough. To be honest, I'm very curious—have none of them had their fill?"

"…"

"…"

"…"

Li Yinxin, still holding her cup, froze mid-motion, her gaze of disbelief fixed on that dashing figure on the screen—

"If you're interested, you can go watch a show I participated in back in Hong Kong. I said it then: I need more anti-fans, because all my original anti-fans have already become my fans."

After hanging the folded sunglasses on the lapel of the nearest female reporter's chest, Zhou Yi smiled, reached out and tapped the camera lens: "And, to be honest, with the level you people are at right now, wanting to provoke me is still twenty thousand years too early."

Reporters: "…"

Li Yinxin in front of the TV: "…"

Samsung's eldest Princess Li Fuzhen in front of the Shilla Hotel's main gate: "…"

(End of this chapter)