Chapter 406

You say you've been hurt too much by love, and I understand that kind of pain.

Welcome to the Republic of Heartbreak~

You twist and turn, live for men, your heart hanging on him.

What did they ever give you back…?

Sexy vocals poured from the luxury speakers; Li Yinxin, holding the Korean translation of the lyrics to "Hate Dream of the Red Chamber," wore a peculiar expression.

"Zhou Yi," Zhou Yi's first personal album, released in 2000.

So, two years ago when Zhou Yi first debuted, he never cared about this kind of thing?

Recalling the words the man left her with before leaving tonight's gala, Li Yinxin involuntarily narrowed her eyes.

Kicking off her slippers, her feet curled up with her body on the plush sofa; in the vast living room, the only sound was Zhou Yi singing a Chinese song she fundamentally didn't understand—

Don't keep wondering if we're compatible.

I won't make you hurt, I'll make you scream.

Worst case, you'll just feel a little tired when you wake up tomorrow morning…

The lyrics were explicit and violent, but the innate rhythm of the R&B track made Li Yinxin's head unconsciously sway; her left hand resting on her ankle automatically tapped along with the beat.

Without reading the lyrics' meaning, just listening to the arrangement and melody, Li Yinxin would never have linked this song to such content.

But once she read the lyrics' meaning, her perception of the song could never go back—every time she heard the melody, the concept of a dirty song automatically surfaced in her mind.

What's more sneaky was that she'd only intended to listen once, yet somehow she rewound it again—

She loved the intro so much she listened over and over, reading the lyrics again and again.

Honestly, if this song were sung by any other Chinese artist or even a Korean singer, she might not have been so shaken.

As a member of the Samsung family, her upbringing had shaped her perspective—she wouldn't be like those easily swayed, mindless sheep; she knew exactly how difficult it was for Zhou Yi to reach this point.

Without real talent, he could never have broken beyond the Chinese-speaking sphere.

Someone who has already achieved fame and fortune, by Confucian cultural tradition, should now be guarding his reputation.

That's why she was so astonished when Zhou Yi publicly chose to retaliate against the torrent of online abuse he faced during this visit to Korea.

Her sister Li Fuzhen said this was just Warner's publicity stunt, and she agreed—but the song Zhou Yi recommended her to listen to shattered her preconceptions—

Had he been acting this way since his debut?

So he didn't just insult people overseas—he didn't hold back even in China?

Studying carefully the personal dossier her brother had given her, if before she'd merely admired Zhou Yi's inspirational story, now Li Yinxin found herself growing more and more envious as she read—envious of his unrestrained freedom.

This was the very thing she lacked most, and the very thing she longed for most.

In fact, she felt that many of the criticisms aimed at Zhou Yi, if applied to her, would have been exactly what she'd wanted to do.

Family knows family—since her eldest sister married her brother-in-law, her father Li Jianxi had tightened his grip on her emotional life—resulting in her complete confusion about her own romantic affairs.

Her fate as a Samsung heir meant she'd likely end up just like her second sister—married off, with no chance of loving anyone else.

She was even more stifled when it came to cursing.

Online abuse had nearly driven her into self-imposed isolation countless times; she desperately wanted to curse back, but her parents repeatedly forbade it, forcing her to pretend in public that she humbly accepted public criticism, adding bricks to the Li family's image.

It was suffocating.

She resented it.

Why should she not be allowed to speak back when those idiots insulted her without cause?

If before there had been no benchmark, now that Zhou Yi had come to Korea so boldly and dared to provoke his abusers, while she had to play the "perfect young lady," the contrast left Li Yinxin with a sharp psychological gap.

Zhou Yi was supposed to be the celebrity who cared most about public opinion.

In terms of insulting elders, she envied Zhou Yi's unrestrained boldness even more—he dared to publicly expose senior figures in the entertainment industry. Gamblers like Gao Jin were famous across Southeast Asia, yet this newcomer Zhou Yi dared to step on them directly.

If applied to her, it would be like she could point at the nose of the old patriarch from Hyundai or someone else's family and scream…?

Frankly, Li Yinxin had disliked those old patriarchs for a long time, but every time she wanted to lash out, her parents, brother, eldest sister, and second sister all held her down.

In short, if their roles were swapped, Zhou Yi's life—wherever he went, he acted without restraint—was exactly what she wanted to live.

Too bad it couldn't be swapped.

She didn't even have Zhou Yi's strength of action or execution; right now she studied in fits and starts, then waited for marriage—nothing more, no vision for the future, no courage to resist her current life.

Just as Li Yinxin was lost in fantasies of being able to freely curse everyone like Zhou Yi, a message from her sister pulled her back to reality—

【Yinxin, I've been chatting privately with Zhou Yi—he seems really nice, probably quite fun…】

Quite fun?

Li Yinxin's expression instantly turned peculiar.

Though not close friends—just companions to pass the time—she still understood the nature of her three sisters.

Could Zhou Yi have slept with them?

………………………………

No, of course not.

New World Hotel, Zhou Yi's suite, bedroom.

Lying in bed, Zhou Yi's phone pressed to his ear, he yawned lazily, voice clearly weary: "I've been running around Korea these days—I'm practically dead tired. But tonight at the gala, I did get a lot of business cards; I'll contact them when I have time."

You're such a drama queen.

On the other end of the line, Sun Yanzi's sarcastic tone was oddly amusing: "Shouldn't your company hire you a few old Chinese doctors in advance, just in case?"

Do I look like someone who needs an old Chinese doctor? You're the one who needs one.

That's hard to say.

Guangzhou, a hotel suite.

After her shower, Sun Yanzi sat cross-legged in front of her computer, scrolling through Sohu's special feature on Zhou Yi, humming: "Besides, I'm perfectly healthy—there's been a big flu outbreak in Guangdong lately.

I had a headache and runny nose two days ago and thought I'd caught it too, but after one good sleep, I was back to full energy."

"Is it possible that a headache and runny nose are just a mild case of a wind-cold cold, and you only slept it off because your symptoms were so light?"

"Doesn't that just prove I'm in good health?"

Sun Yanzi answered with righteous indignation: "Also, I'm telling you, lend me your Ferrari to play with for a few days when the time comes. Thanks."

"Where would I get a Ferrari?"

"Wong Jim gave it to you. You don't know since you're not in the country; Wong Jim publicly stated today that he will keep his promise and give you a magenta Ferrari."

Sun Yanzi read the news under the Sohu special feature with envy—

December 15, 2002, after the bombardment of Zhou Yi's early promotional song "Xiang Wang Xing," Zhang Yimou's directed "Hero" officially premiered domestically—

Wong Jim, whose previous offer of a Ferrari was treated as a joke, now, in a manner that dropped everyone's jaws, stated in a media interview that he would not go back on his word.

"Ferrari, oh Ferrari, that's a Ferrari! I'm so envious, I'm so sour!"

From initial whining to incoherent gibberish, Sun Yanzi, whose envy had nearly ground her back teeth to dust, had been clouded by "jealousy": "You really have the luck of a dog. It's truly damn..."

(End of this chapter)