Chapter 453

"Hey, Bruno, hurry up, the Grammys have started."

"Coming, coming, just a second."

On February 23rd, U. S. time, at exactly eight p. m., the 45th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony officially began.

Back in Hawaii, Bruno Ma Ersi sat in front of the TV with his cola and fried chicken, watching the Grammys with his friends.

"Seriously, Bruno, I think you should send your demo to Spike—he as a songwriter would probably recognize your talent better than those idiots in Warner's middle management."

As time passed, eating the delicious fried chicken, the dirty-braided boy with slightly sun-tanned skin pointed at Zhou Yi, who was making bold statements on the red carpet, and suggested:

"Hard to say—there are countless people trying to mail their demos to him; even well-known producers can't get through. Why would he or his team even look at mine?"

Sitting cross-legged on the carpet, Bruno Ma Ersi shook his head, his tone tinged with disappointment.

He had just recently walked away from Warner with $1,200 as a winner of their challenge, thinking he could stay in Los Angeles to pursue his music dream—but cruel reality told him that being noticed and signed by Warner just because he won a challenge was pure fantasy.

Fifteen people succeeded in that challenge alone, and his time wasn't even the fastest in that round—the outcome was predictable.

The event organizer showed up, handed him money, said a couple of encouraging words, and that was it.

Of course, some record labels did try to sign him—but once they heard his goal was to become a singer, they all shook their heads like bobbleheads and ran off.

The reason wasn't stated outright, but Bruno could guess it himself—he was too short.

Although he lied on his documents, listing his height as 1.62 meters, that was only with basketball shoes on; anyone who saw him in person could tell the truth.

He knew his own situation—he was under 1.6 meters.

Every record label he'd ever contacted, upon learning he wanted to perform on stage at this height, unanimously gave him the "good person" card.

He was still young, hadn't even graduated high school, so there was still a chance he might grow taller—otherwise, Bruno truly felt his future was bleak.

But what hurt him most was the doctor's words: at his age, he'd grow no more than a few centimeters above 1.6 meters—maybe 1.65 with shoes.

At this moment, Bruno stared at Zhou Yi, who was drawing screams and cheers on the red carpet, his eyes filled with envy.

How wonderful it would be if he were this tall...

"God, I knew Spike was arrogant, but I never thought he'd be this bold."

The dirty-braided boy bit into his crispy fried chicken, watching the new footage now switched to the live Grammy stage, and whistled: "Aren't you afraid he'll win zero awards tonight and get mocked by the whole world tomorrow?"

"The risk is just too high."

Even Michael Jackson, with all his recent scandals, wouldn't dare be this cocky and certain before any awards were announced, would he?

It's hard not to suspect he's gotten insider information confirming he'll definitely win.

"I think so too—but that's just Spike."

Bruno, who had long been beaten down by his small-town society, sipped his cola, his tone carrying a hint of fandom he hadn't noticed himself: "From what I know, he never cares whether his reputation gets dragged down by his words."

"He's the most real person in the entire music world—far better than those hip-hop and rock singers who say one thing, do another, and act completely differently behind the scenes."

This was the one thing he loved most about Spike—no matter who you are, if you're not afraid, you fight head-on. Lose, I accept it; win, you kneel before me.

It was exactly how he dreamed of being.

Now he finally understood why Spike had such massive popularity in both East and West—his albums were the foundation, but his personality was the fuel on the fire.

Which teenager hasn't fantasized about glory bowing before them?

Even the school's公认的 slacker sometimes dreamed of suddenly waking up one day, acing the grade, even topping the entire school, and pulling off the ultimate flex.

"But this is the Grammys."

The dirty-braided boy clearly still had authority worship—but before he could finish his sentence, his eyes had already drifted to the goddess on screen—

"Look! Look! It's Avril! Avril, Bruno! My goddess!"

On the TV screen, at the Grammy stage, Canadian singer Avril Lavigne—one of this year's nominees for Best New Artist alongside Zhou Yi—wore a strange black-and-white tuxedo, a top hat, a blue shirt underneath, and a white undershirt, chattering excitedly in front of the camera—

Clearly, she was genuinely thrilled; the red carpet host had tried several times to interject but gave up, helplessly letting this tiny little punk girl continue expressing her hopes for tonight and her outlook on the future.

"..."

In front of the TV, watching his friend's behavior bordering on idol worship of Avril, Bruno Ma Ersi opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again, swallowing his words back down.

Avril, who had just turned eighteen this year, was the youngest nominee at this year's Grammys; her debut album, LetGo, sold over 18 million copies worldwide in 2002.

If not for this year's Grammys having Zhou Yi, this monster, and Norah Jones, who sold over 24 million copies worldwide with her debut album Come Away with Me, the Best New Artist award would almost certainly have been hers.

The other two highest-selling albums this year barely reached six million.

But unfortunately, this year she ran straight into Norah Jones and Zhou Yi.

Worse still, Avril had already been directly defeated by Zhou Yi on the B-list last year—a major point against her.

Avril knew this well.

So, after the interview, when she entered the venue and saw Zhou Yi for the first time, her mind immediately flashed back to last year's painful journey of reverse-charting against him...

"Hi, I'm Avril Lavigne—just call me Avril."

Tonight, without her signature smoky makeup, the Canadian punk girl didn't look very punk at all; the tailored tuxedo on her gave off a strange, almost comical sense of a child wearing adult clothes—

Even though she wore height-increasing shoes, making her appear about 1.65 meters tall.

No wonder she'd be named one of the worst-dressed celebrities of this year's Grammys by Hollywood entertainment media tomorrow.

Supposedly, she designed this outfit herself—no one knew if it was the agency's manufactured image or truly her own creation; if it was the latter, then she truly had a unique talent.

"Hi, Spike, Spike Zhou."

Zhou Yi smiled and shook her hand: "Nice to meet you—you're even prettier than in your music videos."

He wasn't lying—eighteen-year-old girls, you know how it is; that fullness of collagen is a natural advantage no amount of cosmetic surgery can replicate.

"You're taller than I imagined."

Though surprised by Zhou Yi's amiability, Avril still joked: "You know, Spike, every time I see you, I remember last year when your entire album crushed mine."

"I had to spend three extra months just to get my song to number two on the B-list."

"You're not the first to say that to me—but I have to admit, it really strokes my ego," Zhou Yi smiled and shrugged. "A beautiful woman's compliment always lifts the mood."

With effortless English conversation, simple, direct, and witty internet-style banter, within just a few exchanges, Avril, having exchanged contact information with Zhou Yi, was laughing heartily.

"Honestly, I love your album. Losing to you was no injustice. It's a real pity I can't see you perform live at the Grammys." The eighteen-year-old girl, known for her straightforward nature, clearly had quite a few complaints about the Grammys' abstract arrangements.

As last year's global pop king, Zhou Yi, whose album balanced both commercial success and artistic merit, received six nominations at this year's Grammys, yet the Grammy officials didn't give him even a single opportunity for a live performance.

You have to know that this year's Grammys awarded a full 104 prizes; basically, there was a guest performance every few awards—famous names like Eminem, Norah Jones, and Avril, who were all nominated this year, basically all managed to snag a spot to perform.

In a sense, this was actually just a show—just the kind that was long and stinky.

At least, that was how it seemed to Zhou Yi.

Counting from the start time, he would have to stay in the main hall for at least three hours, with the event ending past eleven at night. If he was willing to attend the celebration dinner afterwards, he could go hang out with these people; if not, he could just go back to the hotel and sleep.

However, if Zhou Yi ended up sitting there for over three hours without winning a single award, whether he'd still be in the mood to go was another matter entirely.

Avril, who believed her own chances were quite good, encouraged this sunny, cheerful Chinese boy, which made Zhou Yi feel slightly strange in his heart—

You, someone with zero wins this year, are encouraging me?

So your expectations for yourself are that high?

While chatting sporadically with Avril, Zhou Yi also spotted his seat—not too far back, somewhere in the lower-middle section of the front rows.

And right in front of his seat sat the infamous American scumbag, the most refined egoist in the American music scene, Britney Spears' scumbag ex-boyfriend, Janet Jackson's lifelong nemesis, the King of Character, the Disney Prince on the run—Justin Timberlake.

The latter greeted Zhou Yi very warmly upon seeing him.

Because of his breakup with Britney Spears, Justin's recent reputation wasn't very good and was already starting to reveal itself in the direction of a scumbag.

Since they were both scumbags, he thought it was only natural that he and Zhou Yi would have common ground.

However, upon noticing that Zhou Yi didn't actively propose exchanging contact information, Justin ended his fake politeness, and the former didn't pay it much mind.

Zhou Yi knew exactly what was going on.

Unlike scumbags like himself who mostly received good reviews, Justin Timberlake was notorious for his bad deeds; befriending someone like that meant worrying about the constant risk of being backstabbed, which wasn't worth the cost.

"Hey, Spike, nice to meet you. Norah, Norah Jones."

After Avril and Justin, Zhou Yi, who had few acquaintances and was just wandering around the main hall, met a woman coming over to exchange contact information with him—

Black, wavy, shoulder-length hair, wearing a long black dress with a deep V-neck.

Thanks to his height, Zhou Yi only needed to glance slightly downward to catch a glimpse of the valley.

Norah Jones, the chosen elf of jazz, who would later be nicknamed "Half-Price" by fans of European and American singers in China—

Because her second album's global sales would be around 12 million, only half of her debut;

Her third album's sales would be only a bit over 5 million, half of the second;

Her fourth album's sales would be half of the third, only around 2 million...

Truly reaching the peak right upon debut.

"Hello, Norah."

One with eight Grammy nominations, one with six; one the top male singer in global sales for all of '02, one the top female singer in sales for '02.

The interaction between Norah Jones and Zhou Yi immediately attracted the attention of many people and many cameras in the venue—especially the Sohu reporters who, thanks to Zhou Yi, were able to enter the live Grammys for text-and-photo coverage, who raised their cameras and clicked away snapping photos.

Actually, if it weren't for Zhou Yi, the live text-and-photo coverage of this Grammys in China should have been secured by Sina.

Due to the time difference, it was already Monday, February 24th in China, but this didn't hinder the unprecedented activity level on Sohu's special topic section at all—

"Brothers, I really like this Avril. She looks petite and cute, yet cool. The perfect lover template."

"Average stuff. My take is she's not as good as this Norah Jones; at least she's willing to show us. This Avril is wearing a suit shirt underneath, wrapped up so tightly."

"I think that Kylie Minogue is nice, I think that's her name?"

"How can you be so desperate, upstairs? That old auntie is thirty-five or thirty-six."

"You don't know shit. Celebrities take care of themselves; she's still in her prime. Look at that figure, those long legs..."

"..."

Because it was a text-and-photo live broadcast, the old perverts gathered under the Sohu special topic started commenting one after another—sometimes saying this woman wasn't good, then "Holy crap, that foreign girl is hot," then turning around to drool over another wealthy and generous female star.

All with pictures.

"Brothers, I really like this one. She's wearing stockings; those long legs are insane. Pic. jpg (Click to load)"

"And this one, her breasts are a whole and a half of my fist. Pic. jpg (Click to view)"

"Damn, my internet speed is so laggy, I can't see it!"

"Try disconnecting and redialing."

"That pervert Zhou Yi is smiling like he found money in his face when posing with women, but when posing with that Justin guy, it's a professional fake smile. The double standard is too obvious..."

"..."

Compared to foreigners who still focused on those superstars familiar in the Western world, domestic netizens, who basically knew nothing about those people, were left with nothing but critiquing the female and male guests of this year's Grammy Awards before Zhou Yi's turn to win an award came up.

The only regret was not seeing Britney Spears, nicknamed "America's Sweetheart," at this year's awards ceremony.

The Grammy officials were also very good at stirring things up; shortly after the opening performance, when they started handing out awards for pop categories, because Britney was on the list of nominees for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, the award presenter was actually her ex-boyfriend, Justin Timberlake...

"The winner of the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 45th Annual Grammy Awards in 2003 is... Norah Jones, 'Don't Know Why'."

Justin, who obviously knew what he was on stage for, didn't mind the issue of mentioning his ex-girlfriend; at the very end of the award presentation, he even intentionally changed his expression, almost making people think he was about to hand the award to his ex-girlfriend personally...

In the audience, Avril, who had been waiting with bated breath, immediately darkened in expression.

To be fair, this was the award she had the best chance of winning. Judging purely by global popularity, her single was clearly the most advantageous among the five candidates.

Her manager covered her mouth with her hand, leaned down to her ear as if encouraging her.

"Ah Yi, do you think we can win it?"

As Zhou Yi's manager, Qian Jiang, who was also sitting next to Zhou Yi with several Warner executives, whispered to Zhou Yi's ear in Chinese.

The pop category awards were the first to be handed out at this year's Grammys; Zhou Yi had three nominations—Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, Best Pop Collaboration, and Best Pop Vocal Album.

The results of the public relations efforts couldn't be taken seriously until the moment the answers were revealed; Qian Jiang was really anxious in his heart.

If they ended up taking home just some scraps, Zhou Yi would definitely be mercilessly mocked for his remarks tonight.

Qian Jiang wouldn't doubt the character of these bastards at all; after all, these were the people who dared to publicly mock Michael Jackson.

"Hard to say."

Zhou Yi, who had habitually clapped for the performance after the awards, chuckled lightly: "Pop categories still hold a significant weight at the Grammys."

Although the four general categories carry the highest prestige at the Grammys, there are only four of them.

Consequently, some sub-categories with larger participation numbers became the next most prestigious after the four general categories—Pop, Rock, Hip-Hop, and R&B.

Among these, the Pop category, due to having the most participating singers, became the largest classification at the Grammys.

If they were just slicing up the pork, Zhou Yi felt the scraps he was most likely to get would be the Best Short Form Music Video, which was basically useless.

However, since he would be competing directly against Eminem for this award, winning it would count as stepping on his toes.

Thinking of this, Zhou Yi subtly glanced toward the area where Eminem was seated—Eminem, dressed in a sky-blue tracksuit with a white headband tied around his head, looked nothing like the arrogant figure from his album songs.

Sitting with his few Black entourage members, his expression was visibly nervous.

Zhou Yi even spotted a small piece of paper sticking out of his tracksuit pocket; that thing was most likely a prepared acceptance speech.

Because the Grammys do not notify winners in advance, basically every nominee prepares an acceptance speech beforehand just in case.

Sure enough, no matter how dismissive his attitude was in the album, in reality he was still desperate for the Grammys' recognition because he wanted to integrate into the mainstream circle.

That was not very hip-hop.

Just as Zhou Yi's thoughts wandered, the new presenter on stage announced the award Warner had been hoping for—

"Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, 2003, 45th Grammy Awards: John Mayer, 'Your Body Is a Wonderland'. Congratulations."

In an instant, the American new campus idol, who looked strikingly like Spider-Man's bully, Peter Parker, leaped excitedly from his seat, beaming as he embraced those around him before heading to the stage.

This was his first time attending the Grammys; winning a major Pop category award directly held significance beyond words for him.

Avril, who had previously missed out on Best Female Vocal Performance, while clapping and congratulating, instinctively turned her head to look in Zhou Yi's direction, only to find the latter still crossing his legs, showing no sign of gain or loss on his face, and even chatting and laughing with the chubby manager beside him.

She strongly suspected this guy was faking it.

Yeah, he probably was.

"What's going on? Why didn't they give it to Zhou Yi?"

Under the Sina专题 (Special Topic), Chinese netizens who had finally waited for Zhou Yi's nominated category immediately lost their cool—

"I've never even heard of this John. Which of his songs is better than Zhou Yi's?"

"The worst song in Zhou Yi's 'Attitude Show' could still crush this idiot!"

"Rigged! Damn it!"

"Discrimination, this is blatant discrimination!"

"Damn it! F*** your mother!"

After Zhou Yi's strong performance in China throughout the entire previous year, the domestic music scene had held great expectations deep down for his journey to the US, but the result was missing out on a major Pop category award right off the bat...

After the announcement of Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals, not only on the Sina Special Topic, but across the internet in Japan Yahoo, Singapore, the UK, the US mainland, Spain, and other countries, a huge number of question marks appeared—

Zhou Yi's duet song 'Good Time', which had resonated globally and topped the charts in over thirty countries, lost again, defeated by the duet song 'The Game of Love' (Game of Love) by Santana and Michelle Branch.

Before this award ceremony began, the biggest favorite for this award was the duet 'Good Time' by Zhou Yi and Sun Yanzi. The reason was nothing else; simply because this song was too popular, so popular that it could be heard anywhere with a radio.

Its global reach was even stronger than 'Baby'.

"I don't accept this result; the Grammys are blatantly discriminating!"

"Spike is quite gracious; he even applauded his opponent."

"Spike, stop sitting there; just go home. The Grammys aren't just playing with you, are they?"

"Indeed, this reminds me of how MTV previously tricked Michael Jackson, calling him over and lying that he had a major award to win, making him believe it and come on stage to give an acceptance speech, only to give him a birthday trophy, and finally publicly saying it was just a joke. These white pigs are arrogant from the bottom of their hearts."

"..."

Due to Sun Yanzi, many Chinese Singaporeans who placed great importance on this award immediately started cursing.

The stereotype of racial discrimination was further deepened.

At the Grammy ceremony.

Many people, equally surprised by this result, kept their eyes fixed on Zhou Yi, who was still crossing his legs, even after the winners took the stage. The two winners themselves hadn't expected to defeat 'Good Time', so when they pulled out their small pieces of paper to read their acceptance speeches, they were so excited they stumbled a bit—

"Thank you, thank you, uh, our, our company, family..."

A long, rambling speech, but to Qian Jiang in the audience, it just sounded noisy.

There was no hope for the Pop category; judging by this trend, Album of the Year and Best New Artist were also out of the question. It seemed likely that only the video award would be a consolation prize in the end.

On the other side, Avril, also a major favorite who had similarly missed out on two major awards in a row, sensed a feeling of shared misery on Zhou Yi—they were probably both being ostracized and discriminated against by the Grammys.

Zhou Yi, with a calm expression, faced the constant glances sweeping over him, while inwardly he had already begun to plan how to arrange a scapegoat for the Grammys tomorrow.

What trash Grammys; they aren't worth a single hair of the Global Chinese Music Awards or the Music Wind Awards.

Soon, amidst the surprise at the Grammy ceremony and everyone's hidden agendas, the final award of the Pop category, and also the most prestigious one in this category, Best Pop Album, was announced—

"Best Pop Vocal Album, the nominees are: Norah Jones, 'Come Away With Me'; Avril Lavigne, 'Let Go'; Spike Zhou, 'The Attitude Show'..."

Norah Jones again, Avril again.

Zhou Yi, who had already given up all hope for this award, was even preparing to congratulate Norah Jones, after all, this lady had treated him decently.

The 2003 Grammys, in the end, were still the year of the Jazz Queen's legendary sweep—

"2003, 45th Grammy Awards, Pop category, Best Pop Vocal Album, the winner is... 'The Attitude Show', Spike Zhou!"

Zhou Yi, who had no intention of recognizing who the two presenters on stage were, instinctively raised an eyebrow upon hearing his name—

Beside him, Qian Jiang, upon hearing the name, first froze, and then an uncontrollable狂喜 (wild joy) spread across his face; he turned and gave Zhou Yi a bear hug!

"Ah Yi! We won! We won!"

This two-hundred-plus-pound Hong Kong strongman, who had always acted as a public relations bridge constantly boosting Zhou Yi's confidence, was so excited his face turned a bit red: "We made history! You made history for the Asian music scene!"

"Yeah, we won, we won."

Zhou Yi, who had initially been surprised by Qian Jiang's reaction, chuckled lightly upon hearing this; after embracing several Warner board executives nearby, he adjusted his suit jacket and walked toward the stage.

In the audience, Avril, who had felt a shared misery with Zhou Yi just ten minutes ago, now widened her eyes—

No, no, buddy, this...

Isn't this discrimination?!

Isn't this sympathy for each other's plight?

How come you even won an award?

Hmm?

Wait, hold on...

As she clapped, a spark of hope ignited in Avril's heart: Didn't this mean she would at least have a golden gramophone next?

Watching Zhou Yi on stage accept the golden gramophone trophy, symbol of Grammy honor, from the presenter's hands, Avril felt a pang of envy.

"Well, I know you're all waiting for me to pull a small note from my pocket like those previous winners and start reciting my acceptance speech word for word."

Adjusting the microphone and raising it slightly, Zhou Yi held the trophy in one hand, scanned the crowd of global music giants below whom he had only seen in the news in his past life, and spoke with ease: "Unfortunately, I'm afraid to disappoint you, because I didn't prepare an acceptance speech at all.

"Because in my heart, this trophy belongs to me; I was just keeping it in deposit at the Grammys, and now I'm here to return it to its rightful owner."

Under the spotlight, Zhou Yi, shaking the trophy in his hand, smiled: "I'm here to take back what's mine; surely I don't need such a cumbersome process."

The crowd below the stage clearly froze for a moment collectively, then the atmosphere instantly became lively, with a joyful energy immediately filling the entire Grammy venue.

That's the vibe, that's the vibe, Spike is still the same Spike.

Hearing that Zhou Yi was clearly improvising again instead of following the speech script given by Warner, Qian Yijun could only sit in his chair and shake his head helplessly; he could only hope that Zhou Yi's improvisation wasn't an attack on the Grammys for rigging the results.

"Of course, my manager Qian Jiang, don't expect me to thank you on stage, nor my boss Zhou Jianhui who hasn't yet arrived at the Grammy venue, nor the Warner board of directors and executives."

Weighing the golden gramophone in his hands twice, Zhou Yi raised his left hand and pointed remotely at Qian Jiang's seat: "During the production of 'The Attitude Show', I still remember exactly how much pressure you put on me; sometimes I'd be chased down on the street by you guys to hurry up the album...

"And those staff members, they were always telling me how to handle my album. I originally planned to produce this album in half a month, but they stubbornly polished it into half a year. That's utterly unreasonable. This is my album, not yours..."

The more they listened, the more the audience below felt something was wrong.

Oh my God, Jesus, Mary, isn't this still the same old routine of thanking the company, thanking the behind-the-scenes staff, thanking everyone's care?

And then they laughed even harder.

In his seat, Qian Jiang, subjected to such an unconventional thank-you, had eyes that were slightly red, yet he still smiled like a chrysanthemum.

"Of course, finally, I think the person I should thank most tonight is myself. I actually made such a beautiful album; I'm truly a genius."

The closing remarks were delivered in the same tone as always, from the same Zhou Yi as always.

The entire Grammy venue instantly erupted in thunderous applause.

In 2003, in an era when everyone still followed conventional award acceptance routines, the sudden appearance of such an unconventional Zhou Yi was truly a breath of fresh air—an extremely conspicuous one.

Domestically.

Netizens anxiously waiting for real-time text and image battle reports, though they knew the chances of winning this award were slim, refreshed the page again and again.

Even Sun Yanzi and Cheng Hao were no exception.

The two gathered together, playing the live broadcast of the Beijing Music Radio station on one screen while constantly refreshing the Sina special topic page.

"Damn it! Did it load?! Is my network card stuck or did the Sina server crash?!"

"F***! F*** f*** f*** f***!!!"

"It's in! It's in, in, in! Zhou Yi won!!!"

"I finally got it to load!"

"The Beijing Music Radio channel broadcast already said it, Zhou Yi won! Best Album! The first person from the Asian music scene!"

"Correction, it's Best Pop Vocal Album; Best Album is one of the four general categories."

"Go to hell with your neutral and rational stance; sit at the Japanese dog's table."

"#$&%... &#!"

"Zhou Yi is awesome!"

In Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and even Taiwan, in every domestic city, anyone still following the Grammy Awards at that moment couldn't help but type those four characters from the heart on their keyboards; some even couldn't hold back and shouted them out directly in offices or in schools!

"Yi Di is awesome!"

"Zhou Yi is awesome!"

A breakthrough from zero in the history of the Asian music scene!

On the morning of February 24, 2003, Chinese time, Chinese singer Zhou Yi, at the age of 22 by East Asian reckoning and 21 by Western reckoning, achieved a feat no one had ever touched since the birth of the Asian pop music scene—reaching the summit of the Grammys!

In Japan, even big shots like Ayumi Hamasaki, or honeymooners like Hikaru Utada, couldn't help but feel mixed emotions at this moment, especially the latter.

Recalling those days, she was the one who had defeated Zhou Yi to win the highest sales award in Asia.

"No, darling, I must make a comeback early."

Feeling a fire burning in her heart, Hikaru Utada turned and made the decision to end her honeymoon trip to her bewildered husband—she had never been inferior to anyone in her life!

If I were in English class, I could do it too!

Tokyo, inside a certain apartment.

Yui Aragaki, who had gradually become a little fangirl, was so excited after the results came out that she danced barefoot on the tatami mats with her best friend—

"I knew it! I knew Zhou Yi Jun could definitely do it!"

"I knew Zhou Yi could definitely do it!"

"I knew Spike could definitely do it!"

"..."

As an awards ceremony with influence spanning Europe and America, the Grammy broadcast finally let the Zhou Yi fans, who had been holding back a breath of frustration, exhale that pent-up anger.

"That feels good, that damn Grammy."

In front of the TV, Bruno Ma Ersi, who had been tense the whole time, finally relaxed, casually grabbed a nearby cola, twisted off the cap, and took a long gulp: "Giving it to Spike is the only truth."

On the other side, his best friend seemed to suddenly remember something, turned to him, and reminded him: "Wait, doesn't this still mean they blacked out Spike's 'Good Time'? If that one had won, he would have two Grammys."

"..."

Fuck! You're right!

Unable to wipe the cola stain dripping from the corner of his mouth, Bloom Ma Ersi hurriedly set down the cola bottle and rushed straight into his room, eagerly posting a message on Yahoo—Grammy is still black!

Click-clack, the keyboard hammered away, dominating the internet!

At the Grammy ceremony.

Watching helplessly as every single one of her upcoming category nominations failed to win, and waiting in vain for her own golden gramophone trophy, Avril's heart was utterly filled with despair...

Even Spike managed to break through the blockade and get one; there's no reason she shouldn't be able to!

Where's mine?

Where's my trophy?

Where's that huge trophy of mine?

"The 45th Grammy Awards of 2003, Best Short Form Music Video: 'Yeah', Spike Zhou!"

As the ceremony neared its end, under the frowning, somewhat grim gaze of Eminem, the host on stage presented Zhou Yi with another golden gramophone.

This was one of the few awards tonight where Zhou Yi had direct competition with him—aside from Album of the Year and Song of the Year, the two general field categories, this was the only one.

Zhou Yi, who deserved this award anyway, stepped onto the stage and, under the gaze of the crowd, said only two sentences: "The Grammy is truly the safest safe in the world. I am very satisfied with the deposit ticket I processed at the Grammy counter; my pet cat at home can't chew it up no matter how hard it bites."

Laughter from the audience rose and fell again, accompanied by applause.

Avril, who was on the verge of shedding little pearls of tears, was suddenly made to laugh by that one sentence.

Eminem's face turned black.

In the final four general field awards, Song of the Year and Album of the Year, both Eminem and Zhou Yi were left out.

Avril ran alongside the winner once more, her heart deeply aggrieved as she watched Norah Jones take home three of the four major awards—the remaining one was snatched away by Zhou Yi.

"The 45th Grammy Awards of 2003, Best New Artist: Spike Zhou!"

As an outsider, Zhou Yi, backed by powerful public relations resources, directly chopped down a side-dish award, a pop award, and a general field award. Two golden gramophones were neatly placed at Zhou Yi's seat; one was in Zhou Yi's hand being inspected, while Avril, drooling with envy, looked on with teary eyes.

I truly deserve to die!

Why did I feel sorry for him at the very start of tonight!

How dare I feel pity for him as if we shared the same plight!

Am I worthy?!

He has three, and I have none!

He has three!!! Waaaaah...

"Well, I think seeing me come up here, everyone should already know what I want to say."

Zhou Yi, who also hadn't expected his behind-the-scenes public relations to be so effective, scanned the people in the audience and raised the trophy in his hand with a smile. Before he could even open his mouth, a wave of applause surged up from the stage again.

Some even whistled at him: "Hey, Spike, buddy, I love you!"

"Thanks, if you were a woman, I'd be even happier."

Zhou Yi glanced at the black guy who looked like he was straight out of the West Coast style and joked with a smile.

"OK, then, Superstar wishes everyone a pleasant evening."

In the end, Zhou Yi still drew a rest note for this perfect night: "Also, I hope tomorrow morning's newspaper headlines about me will be slightly more positive.

"For example, not that I need the Grammys, but that the Grammys need me."

An extremely provocative headline, a sentence extremely arrogant in tone, yet placed upon the hearts of the on-site guests and audience who had been "tortured" twice, it left no room for ambiguity, instead sparking countless cheers, whistles, and applause.

Compared to tonight's biggest winner, Norah Jones, Zhou Yi, with only three trophies, stole the show far more than she did.

In terms of topic appeal, news value, and even the art of speech, Zhou Yi carried out his behavior of being the focal point wherever he went.

And thanks to the high propagation and low-cost characteristics of the internet, half an hour after tonight's Grammy ceremony ended, the majority of internet news websites in Europe, America, and East Asia first featured top news about Zhou Yi's triumphant Grammy victory—

Sina News: "The First Person in the Asian Music Scene! Zhou Yi Creates History!"

Sina News: "A Brand New Page in the Asian Music Scene!"

Tencent News: "Chinese Guo Tianwang Shines at the Grammys!"

NetEase News: "Three Grammy Trophies, A Leap Across a Century!"

"..."

In an era where public self-confidence was generally lacking, where the US was generally recognized and aspired to, and where pro-American sentiments and public intellectuals ran rampant as the mainstream, the recognition and fame Zhou Yi received, being able to rival top European and American talents on the international stage and even win in competition, can be imagined.

In the training hall of the NBA Rockets, Yao Ming, still practicing extra, wiped his sweat in an attempt to realize his ideal of being the "Great Wall of China," to become the world's number one, and to prove that Chinese talent is just as good;

On the 110-meter hurdles track, a man panting for breath held onto the railing with one hand, his eyelashes dripping with sweat telling of the fire in his heart—his name is Liu Xiang, and he too wants to become the world's number one, wanting to prove that Chinese people can also become flying men in track and field events.

And today's Zhou Yi has already given a earth-shattering blow to the self-important European and American music scene!

"Opening a Separate Genealogy: Zhou Yi's Sound Waves Shake Japan, Tsunami Affects the Pacific! Lingering Power Descends on the US and UK, Busy Flipping Cards at the White House Overnight!"

February 25, Hong Kong media commented thus.

On the domestic internet, at this very moment, only one voice filled the air—

"Zhou Yi is awesome!"

(End of Chapter)