Chapter 490: Already Decreed

"Show! That's what I call a show!"

"Number one in the history of the Mandarin music scene!"

"Expert at civil wars, even more expert at foreign wars!"

"This is Zhou Yi. Do the idols you fan for have such achievements?"

"..."

After all major official media outlets collectively came down to report on this matter, the photo of Zhou Yi holding the Grammy Jin Se Phonograph Trophy almost swept across the entire Chinese internet—

His meticulously groomed hair, the custom-tailored purple-black haute couture suit, and the glittering Jin Guang Jin Se Phonograph Trophy.

The scene of the man standing under the spotlight, slightly tilting his head to kiss the trophy, was frozen by the camera, and once released, it undoubtedly murdered the screams of countless male and female fans.

On Sina Sohu, a classic meme derived from a French joke was even recreated based on the attitude of Japanese media toward Zhou Yi before last year's World Cup—

"The lion from China lands in the free world;

"The unspeakable man-eating demon approaches North America;

"The despicable and shameless phonograph thief enters the chosen land;

"Spike Zhou wins the Grammy;

"The Ziwei Star conquers New York;

"The supreme music Emperor arrives today in his loyal Washington."

In just one night, this photo was turned by many Yi fans into a dedicated image for online battles—

Starting from the afternoon of the 19th, whenever someone disagreed with Zhou Yi being the number one figure in the history of the Mandarin music scene, they would throw out this photo, accompanied by highly aggressive text: 【Does this action hurt you?】

Previously, the other trophies Zhou Yi possessed were always squeezed by remarks like "not enough gold content" or "as if anyone doesn't have this trophy," and so on.

This time, Zhou Yi very creditably brought back a trophy that is unique in the history of popular Mandarin music; if they didn't launch a heavy blow against those stubborn "old relics," it would be an insult to the aggression honed by the Yi fans over the years.

Especially regarding the fans of Lo Ta-yu.

As the man universally recognized as firmly holding the number one spot in the history of Mandarin popular music, although he once used the metaphors of sunset and sunrise to describe himself and Zhou Yi in an attempt to quell the quarrels between both sides' fans, his loyal iron fans ultimately could not restrain the behavior of Zhou Yi's Yi fans constantly jumping in their faces, and the two sides frequently tore each other apart online.

From the hellish color scheme forums of the Treasure Island to Hong Kong Island, and then to the mainland, the mutual cursing was in full swing.

Theoretically, this debate should have ended after Zhou Yi won the Grammy and achieved the epic feat of one album with five chart-topping singles, but they couldn't help but find a brand new major direction after this celebration party—

"Stupid Yi fans, stop jumping around! The three songs by Lord Lo, 'Zhi Hu Zhe Ye', 'Tomorrow Will Be Better', and 'Pearl of the Orient', Zhou Yi will never be able to write in his entire life! Back then, Lord Lo was also wildly praised by all major official media!"

Once the trilogy that established Lo Ta-yu's Mandarin Wang Zuo was brought out, even the fans of Deng Lijun lost the qualification to interject on this battlefield.

Especially 'Tomorrow Will Be Better' and 'Pearl of the Orient'.

One side emphasized the unique humanistic depth of Chinese songs, while the other competed on the most important popularity indicator in pop music, and they fought again on the internet with no end in sight.

From the initial passionate opening of the mic to agreeing to meet offline to jointly participate in the grand event, it often only took a single post on the forum with a thick flavor of provocation.

"To those praising Lo Ta-yu, a friendly reminder: the Lord Lo in your mouths held a concert in February this year at the Tianhe Stadium in Guangzhou, with an attendance rate of less than thirty percent; the organizers lost money just to make a noise.

"In comparison, Zhou Yi's two concerts in the Imperial Capital and Shanghai both created records.

"And his next concert is also in Guangzhou, also held at the Tianhe Stadium in Guangzhou. I hope when you see the news of Zhou Yi breaking records then, you won't act like a turtle hiding its head..."

"Stop bragging! Zhou Yi's Guangzhou show has been indefinitely delayed. If you have the guts, go sell tickets!"

"Do you think everyone is like Lo Ta-yu, falling into the money eye? Zhou Yi doesn't lack money; he definitely won't be like Lo Ta-yu, holding a concert in Guangzhou at the end of February even while the SARS epidemic was spreading..."

"F*** your mother..."

"..."

Accompanying Zhou Yi's return with honors, aside from the cyber cricket ranking segment that netizens love to organize, the topic with the highest discussion volume is Zhou Yi's 'Star' concert series that was interrupted due to SARS.

This was the first concert Zhou Yi held after reaching the top in America, and the petite bourgeoisie eager to see Zhou Yi live were naturally extremely crazy about it—compared to Chinese songs, they preferred English songs that sounded more high-class.

And Zhou Yi, just happened to satisfy that desire to show off in their hearts—

It would be even better if he weren't so famous.

"Luckily my concerts were all finished before the SARS outbreak; otherwise, I'm afraid I would really be stuck in the middle, neither up nor down."

Zhou Yi's home.

Sun Yanzi, having returned to this familiar study, held an apple in one hand while peeling it with a knife, shook her leg with the other, and teased the man who was passionately battling online with a small account named "Free Beaver 9".

"This bastard has been so persistent in hating me; he's already been banned eight times, famous throughout the anti-fan world, and now he has actually become my biggest anti-fan leader, with quite a few followers under him waving flags and shouting."

Zhou Yi, whose report button was about to smoke from being clicked so much, bared his teeth in indignation; if he could, he would love to cross the network cable to settle the score with this little hater.

"Banned eight times?"

After finishing peeling the apple, Sun Yanzi casually stuck the knife into the flesh, held the handle, and waved it in front of Zhou Yi; she bent her elbow and leaned on the back of the man's chair, looked at the content on the computer screen, and immediately burst out laughing: "Not bad, this Mr. Beaver's persistent behavior of slandering you is worth every one of us learning from."

Articles like 'Zhou Yi: Abnormal Music Scene', 'Zhou Yi: Yi Affairs', 'Zhou Yi: King of Hidden Rules', and so on were all written by this person.

Sun Yanzi, an internet-addicted girl good at surfing the waves, had read quite a few of these little golden books while staying at home these past two months.

Of course, she viewed them with a critical eye.

Zhou Yi, with a piece of apple flesh in his mouth, could only express his disdain by raising his middle finger.

"But speaking of which, how long will this situation last? It's almost the second half of the year; your concerts won't drag on until next year, will they?"

"That's unlikely; the news has relaxed a lot recently; I estimate everything can be completely finished by mid-June at the latest."

Zhou Yi, with absolutely no such worry, shook his leg and yawned comfortably: "By then, my concerts should be the highest priority among the many application items at the Tianhe Stadium; I estimate they can restart in early July."

"July? Won't that mean stopping again after singing? Is your fourth Chinese album in September or October?"

"The company has already started adding shows overseas for me; I estimate it will go all the way until 2005."

Zhou Yi, chewing on the apple flesh, said carelessly: "As for the album, there's no rush; I'll finish the promotional song Tencent needs next month first."

In Warner's plan, his 'Star' world tour was now truly living up to its name—Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia; just in the Asian region excluding China, five countries were waiting eagerly.

Western countries like the US, UK, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy were even more heavyweight one after another, with tour box office estimates capable of taking off.

Who knows, he might not even finish singing by 2005, needing to go into 2006.

After all, he wasn't as hardworking as those model workers.

"Tsk."

Upon hearing the Tencent theme song, Sun Yanzi's face instantly filled with curiosity: "Your lyrics fit internet life so well; did you experience it personally?"

"How could that be? I never date online."

Zhou Yi curled his lip: "Who knows whether the person dating you online is male or female."

Pretending to be a girl to fool people in games was something he had done himself.

Judging others by himself, he refused online dating.

Sun Yanzi: "???? Is that why you used a female character when teaching me to play games?"

No sooner had the words left her mouth than the phone on Zhou Yi's computer desk began to ring—

"It's Qian Jiang."

"Hello? Old Qian?"

After pressing the answer key, Qian Jiang's extremely solemn voice came through the receiver: "Ah Yi, can you participate in the Olympics? The higher-ups have already designated you..."

(End of this chapter)