Chapter 452: After God Comes Me

Facts prove that Forbes' influence in the United States is immense.

Admittedly, they have not yet officially stationed themselves in China to release a Chinese celebrity income list, but it is obvious they are already doing related work.

Last year, their collaboration with Hurun to release the Hurun Rich List in late October obviously missed Zhou Yi, the fish that slipped through the net; this time, riding the east wind of the Grammys, they directly exposed their predicted income for Zhou Yi in their feature article.

In an era where the exchange rate was 1 to 8 point something, Forbes' speculation caused a shockwave upon returning to China!

"Holy crap?! Making music is this profitable?! More profitable than Jackie Chan?!"

"Not necessarily. Jackie Chan has too many income sources; his movie copyrights are sold every year, plus action scene copyrights and the like. Zhou Yi only has music and endorsements."

"A guaranteed income of 800 million RMB? Zhou Yi has evolved into Zhou Eight-Hundred-Million, right?"

"Damn, I'm so envious. At 21 last year he earned 800 million; at 22 this year, won't he earn 1.8 billion?!"

"To be honest, this is the global market; I even feel he got less..."

"Indeed, compared to the market share Zhou Yi created, what he took is actually considered low; Warner is just too bloodsucking..."

"..."

While the internet discussion was boiling hot, industry insiders were equally shocked by Zhou Yi's annual income—

In an era where earning 30 to 40 million counted as a high income in the mainland entertainment circle, Zhou Yi single-handedly raised this ceiling to 800 million.

Now they finally understood why Warner had allowed Zhou Yi to act recklessly all along—

How is this the Crown Prince of Warner? This damn thing is a God of Wealth that must be worshipped!

At the set of "The Magnificent Concubine," Fan Xiaopang, who had just finished filming all her scenes, froze completely upon seeing the news spreading wildly online—

H-how much?

Eight hundred million?!

Even if she sold herself, she couldn't fetch that price!

Fan Xiaopang, who aspired to turn the tables and become the master, and who looked forward to one day being able to wrap up Zhou Yi, fell into a state of doubting life itself.

She thought about how long it would take for her to become Fan Eight-Hundred-Million...

Then, she sadly realized she couldn't figure it out...

This exceeded her cognitive range.

Not just in China.

In neighboring Japan and Korea, and even in European countries like the United States and the UK, many people following this field, while clearly knowing Zhou Yi must have made a fortune last year, never expected him to rake in so much money into his own wallet.

Moreover, judging from the fact that official Chinese media intentionally cooled things down and no major newspapers reported on this situation, this income will likely only increase, not decrease.

"Excellent musicians should earn money; I look forward to Zhou Yi Jun becoming the Asian Michael Jackson or Elvis Presley."

As the world's second-largest music market, Japan, which last year let Zhou Yi strip it bare and contributed its share to his career takeoff, produced this line of argument.

Why can only Americans and Europeans make huge profits in music?

Can't Asians do it too?

Besides, Zhou Yi Jun's global market has at least four-fifths located in regions outside Asia, so there is no such thing as being fierce only at home.

Of course, regarding this major uproar, Qian Yijun, a senior agent in the industry, held a different view—

"Damn it, I dare bet this Forbes definitely has no good intentions!"

Inside the Presidential Suite of the Crowne Plaza Hotel.

Qian Yijun, having angrily thrown the Forbes special issue, stood with hands on hips, pacing back and forth before the floor-to-ceiling window balcony, fully displaying his Cantonese flair.

As a Chinese person, there is actually always the saying that wealth should not be displayed, especially for a young man like Zhou Yi.

Warner has never publicly disclosed the profit-sharing details with Zhou Yi, precisely to protect Zhou Yi. The fact that domestic media has never calculated Zhou Yi's various assets and income is also the doing of Zhou Jianhui and Qian Yijun.

But now, under the guise of popular science, Forbes has directly placed Zhou Yi's earned income on the table through various calculations and predictive methods.

Zhou Jianhui and Qian Yijun can deal with domestic matters, but they cannot settle all foreign media.

Clearly, this is a tentative counterattack by the Western world against the wave of racism privately led by Warner.

"Rest assured, there won't be much trouble domestically."

Compared to Qian Yijun's anger, Zhou Yi obviously did not take it too seriously.

Leaving aside the fact that the state gave the green light for taxes, since that is official behavior, he himself is an active taxpayer who never cheats or shirks.

Earning US dollars, British pounds, and Euros; speaking on a grander scale, that is shearing the sheep of Europe and America; who has any objection?

As for internet public opinion, Wang Xiaoyu's water army—oh no, the internet company—was not opened for nothing.

"Remember, if reporters ask about your income on the red carpet later, either pretend you didn't hear and don't answer, or just say Forbes' estimate is wrong."

Qian Yijun warned solemnly: "Hearts are separated by bellies; it is better not to speak about income to the outside world."

"Rest assured, I know what I'm doing."

Zhou Yi adjusted his hair while fixing his bow tie in front of a full-length mirror.

Male stars walking the red carpet basically just wear suits.

Due to Zhou Yi's fame, the famous luxury goods brand Armani directly sponsored three sets of haute couture suits for free, making it hard not to associate whether Armani was evaluating Zhou Yi.

On the evening of February 23, the 45th Grammy Awards ceremony was officially held at Madison Square Garden in New York, USA. On the list of broadcasting companies responsible for the broadcast, the one responsible for the Chinese side was Zhou Yi's old acquaintance—Beijing Music Radio.

The charts Zhou Yi previously dominated domestically, such as the "China Song Chart" and the "Global Chinese Music Chart," were all produced by this channel.

Before the red carpet segment began, Zhou Yi still accepted a short interview from this old acquaintance, making the female reporter laugh heartily.

During the red carpet segment, Madison Square Garden was bustling; countless artists and big shots familiar to most parts of the globe attended, causing waves of screams.

And as one of the most handsome guys of the night, Zhou Yi, dressed in Armani haute couture, did not waste his 1.83-meter frame; when he walked onto the red carpet with one hand in his pocket, the volume on both sides directly erupted to levels comparable to those for Janet Jackson, Britney Spears, Avril Lavigne, and Eminem.

There were even crazy female fans attempting to push through the front-row reporters' positions, pulling on their own bra straps and demanding Zhou Yi sign them.

"Spike! Spike! Me! Look at me!"

"I love you, Spike!"

"Can you sign my name, Spike!"

"..."

Zhou Yi, having taken the signature pen and fulfilled the fans' wishes one by one, made the screams in the venue even louder—

"Spike! Spike, is it true that you had a conflict with your compatriot YunFat in China? There are rumors that you blacklisted him. Is this true?"

"False news. Next."

Zhou Yi, who hadn't realized at first that this referred to Chow Yun-fat, glanced at the reporter and waved his hand to signal a new batch.

"Spike, your compatriot YunFat didn't support you. Will you repay his malice with virtue and support his new movie?"

The next batch of people came with the same question, their intent to provoke overflowing.

"His new movie? He is box office poison. MGM will lose money like an idiot."

Zhou Yi answered with righteous confidence: "Next batch."

"Spike, do you think you will lose in tonight's competition with Eminem? Many people believe you will lose to Eminem in a direct contest."

"Many people hope I lose to Eminem. I understand but do not respect them. Because if that happens, they will designate today as a great commemorative day to celebrate this rare achievement."

"Is there anything you want to say to your crazy fans?"

"You can enjoy my music, but there is no need to fall in love with me, let alone go crazy for me."

"What are your thoughts on being ranked by Forbes as the top money-making male singer under 30 globally in 2002?"

"Nothing. I even feel it's boring."

The reporter was stunned: "Boring?"

"Of course."

Facing the camera, Zhou Yi shrugged: "I have never touched money. I have no interest in money whatsoever."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Motherfucker!

Is this human speech?!

Knowing full well that Zhou Yi was speaking in a mischievous tone, it still made the reporters so angry they felt chest tightness—some even couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.

"Rolling Stone magazine listed you as the fifth most anticipated singer of the early 21st century. What do you think of this ranking?"

"Average."

Zhou Yi shook his head: "I think I should be second."

"Second? Then who is first?"

"To show respect for the fans and for you, I think first should be God."

Zhou Yi tilted his head slightly, raised his right index finger, and pointed to the sky: "God, after God, me. (God, after God, it's me.)"

(End of this chapter)