Chapter 421: You Are the Lightning, You Are the Light, You Are the Only Myth (4k)

Sun Yanzi considered herself not someone lacking money; from childhood to adulthood, her family never lacked food, clothing, or daily necessities for her, and if she wanted to buy luxury goods, she certainly could.

Thanks to her father's connections and status in Singapore's academic circles, she had seen truly wealthy families.

But she had to admit that when Zhou Yi, with a mischievous and proud grin, said he owned two entire buildings, she was genuinely stunned.

Unlike the second-generation rich she knew, Zhou Yi could be said to have risen step by step from having nothing, right before her eyes.

She knew Zhou Yi was very rich; after all, the gap between him, who earned US dollars, and other Chinese singers who could only earn RMB was qualitative.

Yet until today, she didn't have a very intuitive concept of exactly how much money Zhou Yi had.

She didn't know much about property prices in the Imperial Capital, nor had she asked about the rent for the apartment the company rented for her there, but one thing was certain—

if she were to buy a house in the Imperial Capital now, although she could afford it, she absolutely could not buy two buildings at once like Zhou Yi.

She truly could not afford that.

As a singer as well, Zhou Yi not only received a larger share of the profits than her, but even her best-selling albums had to give him a share.

In a sense, she was also working for Zhou Yi.

"You've changed. When we were in Taipei, we agreed to rent a place together, yet you secretly bought a house." Snapping back to her senses, Sun Yanzi feigned sadness and sighed.

Whether in Taipei or the Imperial Capital, the places she lived were always rented for her by the company.

She was a legitimate marketing major; from a professional perspective, this location was far more bustling than the one the company rented for her.

Setting aside everything else, just the Guomao Center they passed earlier was enough to explain everything, let alone the fact that a new Huamao Center was still being planned nearby.

Clearly, whether now or in the future, this was one of the most core business districts in the Imperial Capital.

"Actually, he doesn't just have two buildings here."

Seeing Sun Yanzi's deliberately sour remarks, Cheng Hao casually raised a hand to brush back the hair slightly scattered by the wind on her forehead and laughed, "There are also two commercial shops, right over at Guomao."

"That area is even more terrifying; before they even started renting them out, the rent and selling prices had already doubled."

"..."

???!!!

Did this damn guy spend all the money he earned these past two years on real estate?

Sun Yanzi's gaze was suspicious as she kept sizing him up.

"Keep a low profile, keep a low profile. Why tell her all this? These are just trivial little matters."

While Zhou Yi spoke of keeping a low profile, the tail behind his butt was practically sticking up to the sky; his proud demeanor was so obvious it was as if the eight large characters "I'm awesome, come praise me" were carved plainly on his forehead.

Not wanting to stroke his fur, Sun Yanzi bared her teeth at the man, then turned to renew her sisterly bond with Cheng Hao, leaving Zhou Yi alone and lonely following behind, looking at the two of them walking into the residential compound arm-in-arm like best friends with a ghost-seen expression.

"Cheng Hao, do you live here too?"

"No, I can't afford to buy here. But I plan to rent here; paying rent to anyone is still paying rent, so I might as well pay Zhou Yi's; at least I know this landlord inside and out."

"Wow, is the salary Zhou Yi pays you that low? Evil capitalist, stingy Zhou Bapi; even though he's so rich, he still charges you such high rent..."

Sun Yanzi's slander, which was nominally quiet but actually loud, made Zhou Yi, following behind the two women, roll his eyes wildly: "Hey, hey, hey, I'm still here. Just say you're jealous; I won't look down on you."

"Who's jealous of you? Nyah nyah nyah."

Sun Yanzi turned her head to stick her tongue out at Zhou Yi, then immediately straightened her head and continued walking forward holding Cheng Hao's hand as if nothing had happened.

The excellent greenery and strict security measures along the way also opened Sun Yanzi's eyes.

Setting aside everything else, this place was far better than where she currently rented, which explained why Zhou Yi bought two buildings at once.

"Living here has another benefit: it basically eliminates the tracking and paparazzi photography..." Cheng Hao, obviously very familiar with this area, unconsciously assumed the posture of a hostess and introduced it to Sun Yanzi.

Zhou Yi's popularity was obvious to all; the security of his previous residential compound clearly could no longer satisfy him, so changing locations was just right.

With the spirit of "since we're already here," Sun Yanzi also wanted to see what Zhou Yi's future residence would be like, but the result...

was a super-luxury large flat with two elevators serving one household, decorated in a warm, free-style Nordic design that was twenty years ahead of its time, nearly stunning Sun Yanzi, who was used to apartment living in Taiwan and small units in the Imperial Capital.

Especially that massive horizontal living room, estimated to be large enough to park three Mercedes-Benz cars.

"Is this decoration included?"

"No, he modified it himself, so it just looks more shocking." Cheng Hao shrugged: "Although I also think it's a waste of space."

"You guys don't understand; big is good, big is the way."

Zhou Yi, casually closing the door, spoke with words that rang like a thunderclap.

"Then why didn't you buy a villa?" Sun Yanzi, who had flopped onto the sofa as if it were a bed, rolled over and looked up at him.

"Because the villas I can buy right now aren't very good."

Opening the floor-to-ceiling windows and walking onto the balcony, Zhou Yi gazed out at the Imperial Capital's street scene with some emotion in his heart, while Cheng Hao, beside him, skillfully poured a glass of water for each of them...

Hmm...

One glass of water.

Seeing Zhou Yi naturally reach out to take it, Sun Yanzi, sensing something slightly off, finally realized—wait, isn't this Zhou Yi's new house?

How is Cheng Hao so familiar with the layout and facilities of Zhou Yi's new house?

She could clearly see that Zhou Yi was obviously not very familiar with this new home; this was evident from the fact that he touched the furniture several times.

"Cheng Hao, where do you live?"

Taking advantage of the moment when Zhou Yi was clearly still inspecting the house's furniture, Sun Yanzi, having taken a sip of water, stood up from the sofa, quietly pulled Cheng Hao aside, and asked in a low voice.

"Downstairs."

Cheng Hao pointed her right index finger downward.

"Then why do I feel like this isn't your first time here?"

"It's fine; Zhou Yi is busy, so he entrusted me to handle the renovation as well."

Cheng Hao didn't hide anything; she casually joked, "How is it? Isn't this place great? Do you want to move in too? The privacy here is much better than where you are."

After the long hype surrounding the Twin Stars romance at Warner, Zhou Yi and Sun Yanzi hadn't even gotten close yet, which was enough for Cheng Hao to no longer be wary of her.

Furthermore, since her father's cancer was only saved from the gates of death because Sun Yanzi specifically asked her father to help pull in connections, she felt even more gratitude toward Sun Yanzi herself.

To put it bluntly, someone like Sun Yanzi, who can almost be called the savior that rescued her family, would, in ancient times, be required to kowtow to her vigorously during every festival and holiday, along with presenting all sorts of gifts.

Inviting Sun Yanzi to live here, in a sense, can also be regarded as considering her safety.

Sun Yanzi is too famous.

The reason Zhou Yi moved to live here is that safety factors are also one of the reasons that cannot be ignored.

"Ah?"

Sun Yanzi, who never expected Cheng Hao to blurt out such a sentence, blinked her eyes.

Moving in too?

Then it's fine.

Originally, she thought her good sister might have snuck into Zhou Yi's bed like Xiao Yaxuan, but now it seems the two of them are fine.

Otherwise, how big a heart would one need to invite her, the "Rumor Twin Star," to move in?

The two of them should just be a clean business partnership; after all, as Zhou Yi said, they have been close for several years.

"It's not impossible; this place is spacious, much better than my place, and when we have nothing to do, the two of us can go out and stroll together."

Back on the mainland, she only had Cheng Hao as a female friend she could talk to; now she can live in the same building with her good sister, chat about everything when free, and be on the upper and lower floors with Zhou Yi.

The best friend is right beside you, the person you like is right across from you—win!

Winning big!

Sun Yanzi felt she was incredibly smart, able to come up with such a perfect reason.

Therefore, when Zhou Yi finished inspecting several rooms and returned to the living room, what he saw was Sun Yanzi and Cheng Hao sitting by the dining counter, eating biscuits and chatting about gossip.

"What are you two chatting about? So happy?"

"Chatting about Rock Records closing down." With a pile of melon seeds by her side, Sun Yanzi casually picked one up and sent it to her mouth, looking like a member of the Spring Festival village-head intelligence team.

"?"

What the heck?

Zhou Yi almost thought he heard wrong: "Rock Records was acquired? Or declared bankruptcy?"

He just went to South Korea, how did Rock Records disappear?

"Not yet, the operating deficit is just getting bigger and bigger." Cheng Hao, who had also recharged quite a bit of knowledge, corrected with a smile: "It's the subsidiary under Rock Records, Magic Stone Records, that went bankrupt."

"..."

It's Magic Stone Records, then it's fine.

Hearing that name, Zhou Yi was suddenly not very surprised.

"Why do you look like you're not surprised at all? That's Magic Stone Records! Didn't you have the 'Magic Stone Three Heroes' very famous on the mainland before?"

Sun Yanzi was somewhat surprised by Zhou Yi's expression showing no emotional fluctuation.

You have to know, at the end of last year, when she heard Magic Stone Records officially declared bankruptcy, she was very surprised.

December 2002, after releasing the last album on the scheduled lineup, this record company that once witnessed the glory of Chinese rock music officially declared bankruptcy.

This also made the industry greatly suspect the true operating condition of Rock Records.

"It's strange if they didn't close down; the company's biggest star and most famous, Dou Wei, sold only 70,000 copies of his last album and lost everything."

Zhou Yi curled his lips.

Leaving aside Dou Wei, who has completely detached from the market, the sales of others within Magic Stone Records were also insufficient to support the company's conquests in this market.

No matter how high the so-called class is, the market is the key to determining whether a company can survive in this piracy era.

If you insist on self-funding an album, no one will say anything; even if sales flop, others will only give you a thumbs up.

If you can't even survive, talking about music spirit with the company is purely a brain malfunction.

"How much? 70,000 copies?"

Cheng Hao, hearing this number, froze: "Are you sure? That's Dou Wei."

For her, who was attending university in the Imperial Capital, the fame of the former Magic Stone Three Heroes was thunderous. Even in the bar street where Zhou Yi once hung out, the songs of the Magic Stone Three Heroes belonged to the hot category.

"It's useless; the rock music in their cognition is already dead. Even if you pull Cui Jian out again now, it's useless, let alone that this group including Dou Wei has detached from public music aesthetics."

Zhou Yi shook his head.

This is the market; it's very cruel and very realistic.

Just like Liu Huan said when accepting interviews in the future, back in the 80s and 90s, if you said Wang Feng's songs after going solo were rock, 100% the rock circle audience would spray him to death.

But after entering the 21st century, Wang Feng, after going solo from the Baojia Street Band, became the real orthodox rock spokesperson. He single-handedly shouldered the declining and low-point Chinese rock, making this market regain vitality.

Cheng Hao obviously still held the impression that the Magic Stone Three Heroes were awesome; her expression at this moment was somewhat incredible, and as an industry insider, Sun Yanzi could only be glad she hadn't flopped.

One version, one god; the god of the previous version ultimately could not withstand the iteration of the new century music market.

"Then the competition intensity in the music scene for you this year should be much lower; Magic Stone closed down, Rock Records is back on a downward path, so one strong enemy is gone."

After silently mourning for a second for the famous singers in her impression, Cheng Hao instantly switched to a schadenfreude, watching-the-show mindset.

"Probably; Rock Records now probably only has Liang Jingru and Wu Yue Tian with sales that can fight. Brother Xiao Qi is not as brave as before, Sister Milk Tea is focusing on film and TV dramas, and even Wu Bai left Rock Records this year."

Having witnessed the fall of the Rock Records dynasty with her own eyes, Sun Yanzi was also somewhat sighing: "Zhou Yi, how long do you think we can be famous?"

According to the patterns of the previous generations in the music scene, basically it's a major version iteration every ten years.

"Hard to say; you might flop anytime, I won't." Zhou Yi cracked melon seeds, completely indifferent.

"?"

Sun Yanzi, who had just been somewhat melancholic, slowly typed out a question mark: "What do you mean I might flop anytime? With my current popularity, do you believe if I quit the music scene this year and come back, I'll still be at the peak of popularity?

"Do you know China Mobile? They valued my influence, directly signed a three-year contract with me, and asked me to endorse their new brand 'Donggan Dizai'?"

"Don't be shameless; there's also Xiao Yaxuan and Zhang Shaohan." Zhou Yi glanced at her sideways, ruthlessly exposing her.

Cheng Hao, standing aside, couldn't hold it back; the corner of her mouth jumped up, and then she immediately pretended nothing happened, pouring tea for the two who were getting inflamed from cracking melon seeds.

Feeling she had lost her underwear in front of her good sister, Sun Yanzi started grinding her teeth, the melon seed shells crunching loudly.

"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you something."

Zhou Yi took a sip from his cup, smiling as he said, "If nothing unexpected happens, the promotional song for your three's 'Donggan Didi' should also be written by me. So, show me some respect, or I might make you sing lyrics that are embarrassing."

"Didn't you endorse 'Global Tone'?"

"'Global Tone' doesn't need a promotional song; only 'Donggan Didi' does." Zhou Yi shrugged and recounted the results of his legal team's battle with China Mobile against Qian Jiang.

The various demands raised by the Peking University legal dream team truly left China Mobile reeling; their bottom line kept retreating, until they finally settled for collecting just 3%.

But in return, Zhou Yi had to write two promotional songs for the new 'Donggan Didi' brand at the 'friendly price' of one million yuan per song.

This wasn't because the China Mobile team was greedy like a snake trying to swallow an elephant; it was simply that if they didn't bring back some achievements to report, their face and their track record would suffer.

Now, although our bottom line regarding ringback tones kept dropping, we did manage to secure other conditions—at the very least, spending two million yuan to hire Zhou Yi to write two songs for the new brand 'Donggan Didi'.

Which leader wouldn't give a thumbs-up and say 'awesome' upon seeing this achievement?

Zhang Yimou hired Zhou Yi to write one song at a friendly price of 7.2 million yuan; look how much money we saved!

Win!

A huge win!

Sun Yanzi immediately looked at him with a wary expression: "What do you want me to sing?"

"Well..."

Zhou Yi stroked his chin with one hand, as if recalling a certain scene, and his lips couldn't help but curl upward: "I plan to have you sing to me: 'You are the lightning, you are the light, you are the only myth. I only love you, you are my superstar'."

???

Damn!

These lyrics!

So embarrassing—ah no, so catchy!

Thinking of that scene, Sun Yanzi suddenly felt a strange excitement in her heart, but the very next second she realized—"'You'?"

"Yes, China Mobile plans to pull off a big stunt. I'll write the lyrics and compose the music, and you, Xiao Yaxuan, and Zhang Shaohan will sing it as a trio."

"..."

Damn!

These lyrics...

Sun Yanzi immediately sneered with disdain: "So narcissistic."

(End of this chapter)