Chapter 420: Mine, Mine, All Mine (4k)

"Damn! What a terrible movie!"

On the evening of January 3, 2003, Zhao Jie, walking out of the cinema with his girlfriend, finally couldn't hold back and cursed Zhang Yimou, his face full of dissatisfaction with the movie "Hero."

"My girlfriend is a fan of Zhou Yi. After watching the promotional song 'Xiang Wang Xing' by Zhou Yi, she kept insisting on going to the cinema to see this movie. I didn't want to go at first, but my girlfriend told me to trust Zhou Yi."

"As it turned out, I was right to have no expectations for Zhang Yimou. Wang Shuo was right; Zhang Yimou is just a master of decoration, he can never become a great director! The movies he makes are so damn bad. If you want to watch, I suggest just watching the MV promotional clips of Zhou Yi's 'Xiang Wang Xing' on TV..."

Unlike his girlfriend, who happily shared her thoughts on peace, heroes, and the concept of Qin Shi Huang with friends after the movie, Zhao Jie went straight to Tianya Community upon returning home and posted a thread fiercely criticizing Zhang Yimou for being unworthy of the name.

Since Zhou Yi was performing at the China-Korea Music Gala that night, this post with Zhou Yi in the title quickly attracted many netizens to reply.

"Is three million a lot? Don't say three million, even four million or five million, I wouldn't care about it."

"Company opening? Property sale?" The woman subconsciously thought of these two aspects, but the man just smiled without speaking.

"Then let me guess for nothing!"

"Then I've booked your whole afternoon too, so perform well." Smiling, Sun Yanzi casually tossed a notebook over: "Write down however much you want, you can draw zeros with your eyes closed."

The bosses on the mainland, aside from other things, are truly rich if they have money.

"Yeah, I took a commercial."

"The price isn't expensive; later, I estimate it will be anywhere from a few hundred million to over a billion."

Although Wang Lihong has fewer fans, he is stubborn.

"It's not that I won't say it, I'm mainly afraid you'll be deeply struck. If your heart gets struck so hard it turns ice-cold, that won't be good; later Chen Ze Shan will fight me to the death."

Warner Bros. enjoyed a wave of popularity in the first week of 2003; the quote sheet sent to Zhou Yi added a long list, and the prices went up by a huge chunk.

"What else can I do? Of course, help me cut the ribbon. Didn't I tell you before?"

No choice; what the other side offered was simply too much.

Warner Bros., recording studio.

"How much money did they pay you?"

"..."

"Don't mention Zhou Yi; Zhou Yi is just average, his piece is more like showing off. Zhang Yimou, an artistic illiterate, doesn't know what Qin Shi Huang does; can Zhou Yi, a top student from Peking University, not know what Qin Shi Huang does? Does such a tyrant as Qin Shi Huang deserve 'Xiang Wang Xing'?"

"Do you really think netizens don't know what the elephant in 'Xiang Wang Xing' represents?"

Zhou Yi, having removed the pen cap, solemnly wrote two hundred million on it: "For tonight, I have an event and no time."

Thanks to Zhou Yi's immense popularity in the country and the steadily rising box office of "Hero," online reviews about this movie and even about Zhou Yi became increasingly polarized.

Those who watched "The Speech of the Young China" have arrived.

Sun Yanzi, lifting her hips and pushing with both hands, easily sat on the table, swinging her legs. Resting her cheek on one hand, she turned her head to look at the man sitting in the chair, tapping her chin rhythmically with her index and middle fingers, as if thinking of something, and smiled brightly.

Zhang Yimou making a movie with a positive image of Qin Shi Huang was already enough to make people furious, let alone Zhou Yi adding fuel to the fire with a purely instrumental promotional song clearly aimed at a prosperous and grand atmosphere.

The first to publish a long article praising it was the "China Youth Daily," a central mainstream media outlet—

"What 'Descendants of the Dragon'? That wasn't written by the horse-face himself; it was just an adaptation. My evaluation is that it's not as authentic as 'The Speech of the Young China,' the one genuinely learned in textbooks."

"?"

Sun Yanzi was stunned, then blinked: "Acceptance? What acceptance event? Did you take a commercial?"

"To be honest, what Zhang Yimou wanted to express in the movie 'Hero' was that after Qin Shi Huang unified the six states, he wanted peace under heaven and to create a prosperous age; he is a hero in the broad sense. So Zhou Yi composing this song of prosperity for him really has no fault; this is the expectation in Qin Shi Huang's heart in the movie, and the music made it concrete."

An extremely formal title, a perfect hymn of praise.

"..."

"There are also those criticizing Zhou Yi for being arrogant; the person himself sang 'The youth are naturally arrogant,' so what more do you want? If you aren't arrogant, can he not be arrogant?"

"Well, you have to ask Zhou Yi about that."

Sun Yanzi, chewing on an orange segment, leaned back tactically after watching for a while, quietly counting how many strands of hair were on the back of Zhou Yi's head. If she miscounted, she started over, not finding it boring at all, even enjoying it.

"The Elephant King is a noble symbol in Buddhism. The elephant, immensely powerful but cautious in action, symbolizes wisdom in conduct. How is Qin Shi Huang unworthy of using this? If he didn't have this wisdom and wasn't cautious enough, could he ascend the throne and unify the six states?"

"See that building? That's mine too, they are all mine."

As everyone knows, the breathing rights of many Wang Lihong fans on the internet recently haven't been very high.

"Then didn't I earn several hundred million?"

"Damn it, what's the point of suing? I want to scold him, get out of the way."

What do you two mean?

Do you also want to sing praises to the ideals of a tyrant?

"Forget it; carrying on the legacy of six generations, even without Zhao Zheng, there would be Zhao Cat or Zhao Dog to unify the six states. Does such a tyrant deserve a song with the meaning of a prosperous and peaceful age?"

Because he appeared at the closing ceremony of the Korea-Japan World Cup last year, Zhou Yi was interpreted by jealous rival fan cultures as having secured the "favor" of Japan and Korea through the broad implications of a song called "Yellow Race," thus making a backdoor deal to get on the closing ceremony.

In the current era, the public reputation of Qin Shi Huang Ying Zheng on the internet had not yet shifted to "My Charming Ancestor," but remained firmly nailed to the pillar of shame of a tyrant, repeatedly whipped.

"What's with 'Free Beaver 3'? What, do you want to sue him?"

For those at the level of the Four Heavenly Kings of Hong Kong, although their popularity has declined, their status and national recognition remain. The quote for simply attending an event is between eight hundred thousand and one million five hundred thousand; if they sing, that's an additional price.

On January 4, accompanied by the broadcast of the China-Korea Music Gala, the appearance of "The Speech of the Young China" generated extraordinary popularity both in reality and online.

…………………………………………

"Him again? This is already the third small account, still so obsessed with blackening me?"

January 5, 3:30 PM.

In one day, simply attending an event and singing two or three songs could net five or six hundred thousand; even for top-tier singers, this price is difficult for many to refuse.

"Damn it, horse-face fans, if you have the guts, don't use small accounts to frame..."

A wicked smile rose on Zhou Yi's lips; without turning his head, he raised his hand and pointed his thumb at the tall, magnificent building behind him: "See that building? Mine."

Putting down his phone, Zhou Yi stood up and moved to the computer; his bright back of the head suddenly appeared before Sun Yanzi's eyes, swaying. The latter tilted her head slightly, glanced at the half-bent Zhou Yi who was concentrating on finding netizens for precise strikes, and grinned silently—

Cheng Hao smiled, raised her hand, and naturally rested her elbow on the man's left shoulder, smiling and nodding her chin at him.

"A ribbon-cutting event."

Zhou Yi smiled mysteriously: "Guess?"

"Zhou Yi should just go to Korea to play with women anyway; he's already hooked up with a rich woman. Study Tang Seng and be a rich idle man properly, don't come back."

When Sun Yanzi arrived near Jianguo Road in Chaoyang District with Zhou Yi driving, the China World Trade Center they passed and the under-construction China World Trade Center made her mutter to herself inwardly—

Sun Yanzi pressed her lips together, pondered for quite a while, and tentatively asked, "Give a hint?"

"I'm starting to think Han Han made sense; studying doesn't necessarily mean being useful. Zhou Yi is just ironclad proof..."

You two should be exiled to build the Great Wall; let's see if you can still brag about Qin Shi Huang!

Among these, Wang Lihong's fans, who had been mocked by Zhou Yi's fans due to the failure of the Asian version English theme song of Spider-Man, had now become the most active main force.

"Which family's? Which family's? They actually managed to invite you?" Sun Yanzi, whose curiosity had been piqued, immediately pressed on.

"Cheng Hao? Why are you here?"

Even Captain Zhao, looking that way, still had a quote of sixty thousand per session to be invited to do an event and sing "I Am a Little Little Bird."

"I'm not free this afternoon; I have to go inspect."

"Zhou Yi, Yanzi."

He intended to correct the trend, but it was obvious it was already useless.

"It's hard to imagine a top student would actually think Qin Shi Huang is worthy of praise; all those years of study were in vain."

Sun Yanzi immediately bared her teeth at the man to show threat and dissatisfaction: "If you won't say it, then forget it; don't act like I don't have business deals."

Looking across the entire music scene, the only lone sprout who didn't take business deals was probably Zhou Yi. The so-called Godfathers, Lo Ta-yu and Li Zongsheng, still had to come out and stroll around from time to time, participating in some events to earn money.

Zhao Jie never expected that under his post, the discussion would deviate from movie plot discussion at the very beginning to history, and then further deviate into a fan war between two singers.

"Are you sure?"

To speak reasonably, the surge in popularity of "Ode to a Young China" on the mainland was obvious to any clear-eyed person; someone must be pushing it behind the scenes, yet no one dared to jump out and smash the scene.

Zhou Yi, who was still chatting via text message with Cheng Hao, turned his head, looked at the woman sitting beside the office desk with a teasing expression, and slowly typed out a question mark: "Which bastard is spreading rumors about me?"

As long as it didn't violate an artist's taboos, such as spending money to bring two arch-enemies together, generally, looking at the money, they would agree.

"'Ode to a Young China': The shout of youth, the future of China."

Sun Yanzi crossed her arms, proudly tossed her head back—confidence, no need for many words.

Just kidding; ask anyone, who doesn't know that her, Sun Yanzi, is famous for having a big heart?

At the same time, on the "Ranking of Men Most Wanted to Be Kept" officially selected by Hong Kong entertainment gossip media, Zhou Yi's name, once it appeared, once again displayed a dominating vote crushing; on the first day, he left the second place, Louis Koo, far behind by a full eighteen hundred votes!

The selection hadn't even ended yet, but the champion was already without a doubt.

Unless Zhou Yi also became a legal troublemaker like Xie Tingfeng in the coming year, no one could take down his crown.

"...???"

How did you end up here?

Then, as if afraid of being discovered, he immediately narrowed the upward curve of his mouth and moved his neck a couple of times.

Zhou Yi, who had just joined the Music Association, directly submitted an answer sheet that surprised everyone; a song called "Ode to a Young China," driven by Warner and supported by official media, spread like wildfire across the entire mainland in an instant.

The two warring sides fought until the Great Dao was nearly worn away; Sun Yanzi, holding a box of rice and a dessert, occasionally burping from being full, watched with her eyes squinting into crescent moons; when she saw something pleasant, she didn't forget to kick Zhou Yi, who was also eating post-meal fruit, with her foot: "There's a post on Tianya saying you got sick playing abroad in a foreign country; is that true or false?"

Zhou Yi tilted the keyboard, transformed into the "Tilted Keyboard Immortal," and began to output furiously; the sound of pili-pala never ceased in the lounge where only TV commercial sounds existed; an ID named "Grandpa is Arrogant, What Can You Do 3" emerged from nowhere and started the third great battle to protect the account with that damn beaver;

"..."

Unfortunately, the failure of the Spider-Man English theme song caused his fans to lose the shield of being American-Chinese from then on; now that there was a chance to smear Zhou Yi, they naturally rushed to the scene immediately to mock and crazily fan the flames.

"...???"

"Hard to say."

For singers of the current era, making money by doing gigs was the most normal thing. From top-tier singers down to unranked resident singers, doing gigs was a common sight; the most typical were medley concerts and various non-sponsor event performances, and there were even those who took wedding and celebration gigs.

"Haters speak up!"

"Just a passerby, only listen to the songs, don't know the singers. Looking at it now, my feeling is that Wang Lihong, who sang "Descendants of the Dragon," is still more pleasing to the eye; at least he didn't whitewash the tyrant. "Descendants of the Dragon" sang about us. Unlike Zhou Yi, "Yellow Race" seems to have included Japanese people and Korean people too..."

After arriving at a high-end residential compound, a person unexpected to Sun Yanzi actually appeared at the compound entrance, smiling and walking towards the two.

Although the lyrics of this song clearly spoke of Chinese people.

Zhou Yi, who was pulled over by Sun Yanzi to help her check the recording situation of the English duet, was very disdainful of the public calls from Hong Kong rich women: "To have a meal with me, it must start at ten million at the very least; who are you looking down on?"

In the online war, Wang Lihong's fans, who were just using "Descendants of the Dragon" as an issue, soon welcomed a brand new blow with the broadcast of the China-Korea Music Festival—

Business deals, a vulgar way of calling it, is doing gigs.

January 5th; even the "Southern Daily," which usually had it out with Zhou Yi, rarely published a praise—

As the young male singer who earliest relied on "The Only One" to compete with Zhou Yi on the mainland, after forcibly brainwashing people to ignore that his actual debut was actually very early, many of Wang Lihong's fans once claimed to be the second best in the country.

"Of course."

This thing, the entire Warner only Zhou Yi had not participated in; even she herself had participated in several medley concerts last year, one of which was with Jay Chou, Wakin Chau, and others.

Zhou Yi glanced at her sideways: "You can think so."

"Tch, saying that, I've also seen the world, you know."

And the second place that had the ability to challenge the first at any time.

"Tsk tsk, someone is actually willing to spend three million RMB just to have dinner with you; this is really too exaggerated; you are actually so valuable."

As if hearing some kind of joke, Sun Yanzi raised her right thumb and pointed at herself: "I make money myself. And although my family isn't said to be extremely wealthy, at the very least it can be called wealthy; what scenes haven't I seen? Can it still hurt me?"

"Mr. Liang Qichao's 'Ode to a Young China' is thunderous in my ears; adapting such classic articles into pop songs is very difficult; it is hard work with no reward. But the author is very gratified to see the attempt Zhou Yi made regarding this; his sharpness in daring to adapt is worth every one of us learning..."

"How dare you compare with the root-and-branch, horse-faced fans? First let your master change his nationality back before bragging, okay?"

More importantly, after the broadcast of this China-Korea Music Festival, many official media outlets rarely personally stepped in to wave flags and shout for "Ode to a Young China."

"????"

Sun Yanzi widened her slightly confused eyes, a head full of question marks constantly popping out; her brain CPU couldn't turn for a moment: "H-how much?"

(End of this chapter)