Chapter 44

On August 2, 2000, after the official announcement that the total sales of Zhou Yi's album "Zhou Yi" had surpassed 300,000 copies, the Warner executives, realizing the album's short-term potential had been nearly exhausted, sent a signal to Rock Records—a signal to stop there and cease further hype.

Issue a grand invitation to heroes and hold a massive victory celebration.

Rock Records, being old hands at the game, naturally understood the hint and, in perfect sync with Warner, stopped the hype. Thus, the uproarious "War of the New and Old Wang Zuo" came to an end.

Liu Ruoyin turned a misfortune into a blessing; the attention that had already faded not only returned to its peak from the beginning of the year, but her status in the public's mind leaped forward by a huge step.

Zhou Yi, with just his debut album, soared to the heavens, becoming a super-popular singer who, in the public's eyes, could sit on equal footing with a host of top male and female stars.

The most soul-destroying move was that, perhaps to express his "open-minded joy," Zhou Jianhui even personally sent an invitation to Yang Shoucheng of Emperor Entertainment, euphemistically calling it a chance to jointly witness this historic moment for Warner's Zhou Yi.

Yang Shoucheng was so angry he almost smashed his office desk.

Fortunately, he later found a woman to vent his anger on and calmed down. Afterwards, he replied in a very brotherly manner, stating that he would definitely attend.

In an instant, all the paparazzi and media sprang into action, thinking of every possible way and employing all their skills to try to sneak into this massive victory celebration.

Especially after learning that Rock Records would actually have Li Zongsheng and Liu Ruoyin attending.

Countless onlookers eagerly awaited to see if any conflict would arise between this man and woman who had just been fighting it out on the charts for half a month at the celebration.

After all, Zhou Yi was only nineteen; a young person with youthful vigor might lose control and throw a tantrum.

Xie Tingfeng, another young person next door, was a prime example; every paparazzi knew this guy's brain was a bit straight, that he got heated easily and couldn't control himself, that he had been controversial since his debut, and that he had supported the performance metrics of countless paparazzi.

"Finally, I can take a break."

Because the celebration was scheduled for August 8th, an auspicious date, Zhou Yi, who needed to adjust his physical and mental state, finally got his first "vacation" where he could take a small rest after his explosion of fame.

Lying in the new home Warner found for him, sprawled out with no regard for his personal image, Zhou Yi let out a long sigh of relief.

It turned out that place was no longer livable.

After his fame exploded, the paparazzi in Taiwan had dug up every single fact about his past appearances there. To avoid affecting the other non-entertainment industry residents in that neighborhood, he had to move out.

This time, Warner directly rented a top-tier luxury mansion for Zhou Yi—five bedrooms and three living rooms, with a wide view and good security; standing on the balcony, one could directly overlook the most beautiful urban skyline in Taiwan.

Most importantly, he didn't have to pay for it.

Considering the money he still had invested, Zhou Yi enjoyed this treatment with a clear conscience.

This place, Taiwan, wasn't somewhere he would reside permanently; there was absolutely no need to buy a house here, and the return on investment wasn't particularly high compared to things he knew about.

If you can get it for free, get it for free.

"A-Yi, Formosa Records has invited us several times; they want to request a song from you for Zhang Shaohan to sing."

The diligent manager Qian Jiang flipped through the schedule record, looking at the big boy in front of him who rarely showed a relaxed smile, and helplessly shook his head: "'Happy Worship' and 'Have to Love' not only brought you super A-list popularity, but Zhang Shaohan of Formosa also benefited from your light and was noticed by many listeners."

"As far as I know, Formosa is eager to use this favorable wind to launch the suddenly popular Zhang Shaohan. Considering she can be said to be promoted entirely by you, Formosa wants to invite you to compose one or two songs tailored specifically for her. The price is negotiable; it's absolutely no problem."

If Xiao Yaxuan and Sun Yanzi were already famous before Zhou Yi came out, then Zhang Shaohan could be said to have become popular entirely by riding on Zhou Yi's two songs.

The explosion of the "Zhou Yi" album also promoted Zhang Shaohan, whose tone and vocal pressure were extremely distinctive.

Not to say she would become very famous, but at the very least, Zhang Shaohan gained a huge amount of attention in the short term; if Formosa still hid Zhang Shaohan away at this point, it would simply be a sign of a diseased brain.

"No problem, my interactions with Shaohan have been very pleasant. You guys arrange a time to talk; once the terms are settled, show me the contract."

Zhou Yi, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples, agreed.

There were so many songs in the future music scene; he couldn't sing them all himself, so it wasn't bad to let these female stars who had a good relationship with him sing them.

Moreover, Zhang Shaohan already had a bunch of classics in the future.

Now that he was writing these classics, he could earn an extra share of the lyrics and composition royalties.

Perhaps when he retired from the world later, if a Bilibili uploader made a summary like "Millennium Ten-Year Songs T100 Chart," when it was his turn to appear in the lyrics and composition section, he might see the screen full of bullet comments like "Zhou Yi fires a sniper," "I hit myself," "High-level internal struggle," and so on.

"Oh, by the way, there's another thing. In the mainland, the three songs you sent over for charting performed equally well. Moreover, your popularity in the mainland is even greater than in Taiwan."

"Except for not being able to compete with the song 'Tongtian Avenue is Wide and Broad' on some charts, all your songs have squeezed into the top fifteen of the major music charts in the mainland."

Speaking, Qian Jiang handed a document into Zhou Yi's hands.

Since the mainland music market in the year 2000 had no one capable of fighting and the market wasn't very mature, Zhou Yi's main battlefield over the past month had been Taiwan.

Compared to his crazy battle with Liu Ruoyin in Taiwan, he found it much easier to become popular in the mainland.

Of course, there was also a lot of criticism.

However, after Zhou Yi wiped out the Four Heavenly Kings, overturned Zhou Huajian and even Ren Xianqi, and defeated Liu Ruoyin, all that criticism instantly vanished completely.

Newspapers led by the "Jingcheng Entertainment News" and "Southern Entertainment News" forgot how they had followed the trend to criticize before, and instead began reporting on his great achievements of slaughtering everyone in Taiwan, blowing his trumpet so much that it was said only Zhou Yi reigned supreme in heaven and earth.

Consequently, his songs on the major charts in the mainland also began to replicate his chaotic killing mode in Taiwan, even directly occupying the top ten on the Jingcheng Music Radio Chart.

And on the song request station in Gansu Province, Zhou Yi's hometown, the album "Zhou Yi" completely swept from first to eleventh place.

In this era, ordinary audiences still had a very strong regional filter regarding celebrities.

Zhou Yi was born in Gansu Province and had studied in the province since childhood; having grown up under the watchful eyes of neighbors and friends, he naturally gained higher support and goodwill in Gansu Province.

Of course, the premise was not to touch roles like Song Jiang or Rong Nainai that made people hate their guts and wish to throw rotten eggs at them.

Precisely because of this, throughout Gansu Province, except for official media which remained somewhat restrained, all other media were blowing up how magnificent Zhou Yi, the big star who walked out of their province, was—

What Sun Nan, what Pu Shu, what Zheng Jun, those were all fake, only capable of being tough within their own nests.

Look at Zhou Yi, a great young man from our province, who went straight to the main base in Taiwan. He even killed them until there was a river of blood and horses fell over, venting the anger of the mainland entertainment circle that automatically considered itself inferior.

In the year 2000, when the Hong Kong and Taiwan filter was still thick, Zhou Yi, who had slaughtered through the Taiwan entertainment circle, instantly became the only light among male singers in the mainland music scene!

If not for Liu Huan's status being too high and him already being in a semi-retired state, he would have been dragged out and criticized a couple of times.

Because the hometown media blew it up so fiercely, Zhou Yi, after reading several newspapers in a row, had to give up the thought of continuing to read.

He was afraid that if they kept blowing it up like this, the old brick-and-tile house where he lived with his grandparents in his hometown would directly become the "Zhou Yi Former Residence."

"The company's idea is that the upcoming mainland signing sessions can start in Jingcheng first, and then go all the way to your hometown to wrap up. At that time, we'll hold it grandly so you can return home in glory."

Qian Jiang, who understood how thick the atmosphere of clan power and sense of honor was in Gansu Province, gave a tempting proposal with a smile.

From ancient times to the present, no one can refuse the pleasure of showing off in front of their fellow villagers and elders.

Otherwise, where would the phrase "return home in glory" come from?

"Also, the company will help you fight for the position of number one in the mainland. Sun Nan's singing skills are indeed good, and his representative works are very strong, but his appearance differs too much from yours, plus you have the bonus of a prestigious school halo."

"According to statistics, some parents, upon learning you got into Peking University through the college entrance exam, may not understand your songs, but consider you a talented scholar and are not so resistant to their children liking you."

"..."

It's passable.

Zhou Yi opened his mouth, hesitated to speak, and for a moment didn't even know what to say.

Worship of prestigious schools still exists, even in 2023.

For those who excel in studies, Chinese people will subconsciously admire them, a cultural factor inherited over thousands of years.

Otherwise, why do those stars in later generations always like to cultivate an intellectual persona?

"I have no objection to you taking over Sun Nan's top spot, but I need to remind you of one thing: focus the promotion only on my works; do not build some perfect golden image for me."

As a good child with all-around development in morality, intelligence, physique, aesthetics, and labor, Zhou Yi did not want to be limited in the future.

Although he certainly would not become a "prison-bound" talent in the future, he certainly would not be an "ascetic" type either; hiding and concealing everything is too tiring.

Thus, very suddenly, on August 4, the sensitive Sun Nan sensed something was wrong.

After Warner Music congratulated its singer Zhou Yi on successfully reaching the peak of the Taiwan music scene, famous mainland music producers led by Zhang Yadong began to talk extensively about the avant-garde and breakthrough nature of his music.

Song Ke of Warner Music joined in to echo and create leverage, and even Pu Shu, who rarely appears, stated in a media interview that the mainland singer he admires is Zhou Yi.

It's bad; the newcomers are not friendly!

Sun Nan, who had just sat on the throne of the mainland's top singer for less than two years, immediately felt a sense of crisis.

This young man has no martial ethics; how can he try to seize power just after releasing one album?!