Chapter 498: Graduation Season

"That doesn't make sense either. The destiny of the Ziwei Star shouldn't be your own song? You're not putting it in your own album?"

As for Feng Shui and destiny, Qian Jiang couldn't say he was an expert, but at least he could say he knew nothing about it.

Although, due to being in the Hong Kong entertainment industry, he had witnessed the rise and fall of the Hong Kong circle and, for work reasons, had passively encountered some fortune-telling knowledge, that was the extent of it.

He himself didn't really believe in this stuff.

If you asked him why Zhou Yi was the Ziwei Star, he could ramble on from a public relations perspective for three days and three nights without stopping; after all, the White Dragon King had even fled Hong Kong overnight by plane back to Thailand, and the right to interpret everything lay entirely with Warner.

But if you wanted to ramble about star charts and destiny...

Then, sorry, nothing.

"There are plenty of destinies for the Ziwei Star; Sha Po Lang is merely just one of them."

Wiping Li Zi, Zhou Yi then stuffed it into his mouth and mumbled unclearly: "The theme of her album is 'Unfinished,' meaning Sun Yanzi, like a traveler, persists on her unfinished musical journey, continuing those stories about music and growth.

"And these two songs, 'One Like Summer, One Like Autumn,' represent the friendship she encountered on her path pursuing music; the song title 'Sha Po Lang,' sharing its name with the destiny, signifies that her career and her musical path can forge ahead without fear, and the lyrics similarly represent a unique kind of love.

Friendship and love, respectively, complement each other in the two songs, forming a supplement to the theme within this album;

To top it all off, using the destiny of the Ziwei Star as a song title signifies, under the support of friendship and love, what expectations and outlook Sun Yanzi has for the future of her own unfinished musical path.

Qian Jiang, half-understanding, suddenly realized: "It has to be you."

In the end, he added: "But this isn't urgent. If you have no inspiration right now, you can put it aside and prepare for returning to Peking University first."

Considering Zhou Yi said he had only written a song title so far, Qian Jiang, thinking he had no inspiration, immediately shifted the topic; after all, in his understanding, a genius with Zhou Yi's "willful" personality would easily get in a bad mood if misunderstood as lacking inspiration—

Adding to the mood of the artist he was responsible for was not his duty as an agent.

He wasn't like that damn Chen Ze Shan.

"Returning to Peking University? Isn't the semester starting in the second half of the year?"

Hearing this news for the first time, Zhou Yi was indeed exactly as Qian Jiang wished, his attention instantly drawn away.

If he remembered correctly, the time previously discussed with the Peking University leadership should have been the start of the semester, inviting him to appear as an outstanding graduate.

"That was when we all thought SARS would continue for a while, but now SARS has begun to decline nationwide, and here in the Capital, the prevention and control measures are about to be lifted, allowing free movement."

Qian Jiang's tone became formal as he spoke of this matter: "You've attended the graduation ceremony, so I think you shouldn't be unfamiliar with it. However, the time this year is different from your cohort; this year, due to this well-known reason, it is set for June 25th."

In late May in the Capital, the rampant spread and danger of SARS gradually passed, and the lives of people whose rhythms had been disrupted by this sudden epidemic were about to slowly return to normal.

And for the university graduates in the Capital this year, this graduation season was destined to be an unforgettable graduation season.

And to encourage this year's graduates of their school, the Peking University leadership, who had previously finalized arrangements with Warner and with Zhou Yi, specially came to talk with Qian Jiang, discussing whether Zhou Yi could adjust his schedule to attend Peking University's graduation ceremony this year and, through singing, send blessings to the students who had endured SARS.

Mainly because the situation was special, at this time, Zhou Yi's appearance could somewhat draw a perfect conclusion to this unforgettable graduation season for the students.

"Fine, I have no problem; I haven't been back to school in a long time anyway."

Zhou Yi agreed readily.

His cohort had actually started various graduation procedures on June 12th, such as returning meal cards and clearing library books. It was just that this year, because of SARS, every graduate also had to undergo a graduation physical examination upon graduation.

Therefore, the graduation mobilization time was pushed back to the 20th, and the graduation ceremony naturally was pushed back to June 25th.

Qian Jiang couldn't help but sigh: "Your 'Graduation' EP is finally coming in handy; you can come practice the songs and get reacquainted with them when you have nothing to do these days."

Since the release of that 'Graduation' EP, except for the roadshow promotions at the time and singing them at concerts, the number of times Zhou Yi had actually sung them in public was truly limited.

There was no way; Zhou Yi had far too many songs that were familiar to everyone, and the quality of each was more explosive than the last, and the popularity of each was higher than the last.

Qian Jiang even doubted whether Zhou Yi could still remember the complete lyrics of the four songs in the 'Graduation' EP.

Oh, he should remember 'Stubborn.'

But 'Those Years,' 'The Wind Rises,' and 'Goodbye'—these three, in his opinion, were doubtful.

After all, he sang them too rarely.

"Alright, then you arrange it; I'll leave first."

Waving the plan for the Guangzhou Tianhe Stadium concert in his hand, Zhou Yi, chewing and smacking his lips while eating, smiled indifferently, raised his hand to signal Qian Jiang, and left the office; only after returning to his own lounge did he start flipping through it.

He had come to Qian Jiang's place just to get the new round of concert planning.

With SARS being controlled and eradicated at a speed visible to the naked eye, Warner's marketing department had already begun arrangements for the Guangzhou concert and submitted them to Zhou Yi for review.

Yes, submitted to Zhou Yi for review.

This was also a right unique to Zhou Yi.

At Warner, even if Sun Yanzi, Zhang Huimei, Na Ying, Zheng Xiwen, and Guo Fucheng, the top five stars, were bundled together, they didn't have this treatment; basically, they just followed whatever the company arranged.

Unlike the 80,000 people at the Shanghai stop previously, this time Tianhe Stadium definitely wouldn't reach that number. After expansion and renovation in 2001, the normal seating capacity of Tianhe Stadium was 56,000.

Due to limitations in the original design, there was currently no way to make up the number of 80,000 people through spatial additions and subtractions like at the Shanghai venue.

But the Guangzhou side was obviously willing to give Zhou Yi the green light; under the guarantee of not affecting safety, they would try to squeeze in more seats at Tianhe Stadium to accommodate fans, which would also help boost the city's influence.

With Warner having once successfully organized the Shanghai stop, the preparation work for the Guangzhou stop of the concert was obviously smoother, and it could also correct some mistakes that occurred at the Shanghai stop.

"The Guangzhou stop concert is tentatively set for July 20th... let me see, it's a Sunday..."

As Zhou Yi flipped through this proposal, the speed at which he chewed the fruit flesh slowed down more and more, and his eyebrows furrowed tighter and tighter.

He realized a problem, a problem that Warner might have overlooked due to lack of experience—the area outside the venue.

July is during the summer vacation, and Zhou Yi had a clear understanding of the composition of his fan base.

Although Guangzhou is a wealthy place, that doesn't mean everyone has money, especially those junior and high school students with nowhere to go during the break, and prospective university students who have received their admission notices after the college entrance exam and are enjoying the longest vacation of their student lives.

Unlike the previous Shanghai stop, which was on November 30, 2002, when winter break hadn't even arrived yet.

These students have the most energy and are the most likely to cause trouble.

If things go wrong and those students who can't afford to get in gather outside the venue to listen to the concert, once a problem arises, Warner, which made no relevant contingency plans, and he himself would absolutely be pushed to the forefront of criticism.

Thinking this, Zhou Yi pulled off the cap of his fountain pen and added his suggestions in the security section.

Although doing so might very well be unnecessary worry, for Zhou Yi, who had seen relevant news, it was better to nip any danger in the bud.

At most, it's just adding to the budget; Warner can afford this amount of money.

"Eh, Zhou Yi, you're still here?"

Zhou Yi, still reviewing the proposal and twirling his pen, suddenly heard a tone of surprise from beside his ear—

Looking up toward the sound, he saw Sun Yanzi, who had pushed open the door and poked her head in, with a straw in her mouth, sipping an oral liquid effective against colds and throat inflammation.

Judging by the tightly furrowed brows she made no effort to hide, the stuff was obviously more bitter than imagined.

(End of this chapter)