Chapter 50: The Coup Begins Today

"Music is pure! Love Yi is absolute!"

"Music is pure! Love Yi is absolute!"

"Music is pure…"

In Jingcheng, at the autograph signing event.

When Zhou Yi saw his original fanbase chanting a unified slogan, he had to admit, the scene genuinely shocked him.

But the content of this slogan…

Heaven and earth know, the only reason he said "music is pure" in his interview with Contemporary Music Scene was simply to distract the public from obsessing over his scandals.

Still, it sounded pretty good.

Under this friendly atmosphere, Zhou Yi skillfully performed his songs "Happy Worship," "Can't Help Loving," "Give Me a Song," "I Love Only You," and "Flower Field Mistake" in rotation.

He did his best to avoid singing "Hate Dream of the Red Chamber," the song fans often requested at the Taiwan signing events.

After all, the mainland wasn't like Hong Kong and Taiwan—the public and official attitudes hadn't evolved to such an advanced version yet.

The lyrics of "Hate Dream of the Red Chamber" were too explicit; while privately they might be beloved, putting them on public display would have to wait until the internet age arrived.

Didn't you see how the mainland music industry criticized Dao Lang for years over his song "With your fiery lips, let me lose myself endlessly at midnight"?

Although "Flower Field Mistake"'s lyrics did carry a hint of suggestive imagery, it was only suggestion, leaving ample room for imagination.

In fact, due to its innovative R&B dramatic style, "Flower Field Mistake" had gained more attention on the mainland than in Taiwan.

After several consecutive days of signing events, Zhou Yi had only skipped singing "It's Me" three times—yet it was still requested repeatedly.

When he reached his final signing event in the capital, Zhou Yi, habitually saying "Hello" and "Thank you" to fans, suddenly froze when he saw a fan holding an album before him.

"Zhou Yi, I love you."

The woman's clear, melodious voice rang like a spring's chime; her glossy black hair was simply tied into a ponytail at the nape, revealing a full forehead. After pausing with a smile, she added, "Could I get your autograph?"

"Of course."

Zhou Yi smiled faintly as he took his album and photo book, signing his name and a blessing in bold, flowing script: "Wishing Miss Cheng Hao a smooth future and massive success—Zhou Yi."

After the signing event ended, Zhou Yi saw Cheng Hao waiting for him backstage.

"Why are you here?"

"I'm your fan—can't I come to your signing?" She waved her album and photo book, tilting her head with a mischievous grin.

"Well, I suppose you can."

Zhou Yi chuckled: "I'm just surprised—you're a big star, shouldn't you be swamped with work?"

Cheng Hao shot him a sidelong glance, huffing, "Are you trying to insult me?"

In less than two months, Zhou Yi's popularity on the mainland skyrocketed. Half the songs from his album "Zhou Yi" were now playing everywhere.

Among them, the most widely spread were "Happy Worship" and "Can't Help Loving."

Cheng Hao could hear "I need your love every day, my heart is yours to guess" outside any store she visited;

she could hear "To which era does happiness belong? The 70s, 80s, 90s, or Y-generation?" blaring from the neon-lit sign outside any hair salon.

The popularity of these two songs on the mainland was absurdly high, far outpacing all other tracks on the album by a massive margin.

"Unfair! I'd never dare."

Zhou Yi grinned as he caught the keys she tossed him, following her as her agent Qian Jiang stared at him like he'd seen a ghost.

"Hey, wait a minute, wait a minute, Ah Yi."

Confused about the woman's identity, Qian Jiang heaved his bulky frame after them: "Who is this?"

"Oh, my memory's slipping."

Zhou Yi slapped his forehead and introduced: "Cheng Hao, this is my agent, Qian Jiang. Qian Shu, this is my friend Cheng Hao—from the Central Academy of Drama, an excellent actress."

"…"

Qian Jiang, who had just pulled Zhou Yi out of Watching Xiao Yaxuan's house not long ago, stared at the woman before him—more beautiful than Watching Xiao Yaxuan—and suddenly felt a toothache coming on.

This kid's barely started and he's already playing so hard—what's going to happen later?

"Alright, I'm off, Qian Shu. Call me if anything comes up."

Zhou Yi, having finished the Jingcheng signing events and having two days off, was ready to log off—he bid Qian Jiang farewell, fully geared up, and moved toward Cheng Hao's car—

when Qian Jiang yanked him back.

"Wait a minute, Ah Yi—you can't rest yet."

???

Seeing both Zhou Yi and Cheng Hao staring blankly, Qian Jiang ushered them into a confidential minivan: "A TV drama production team contacted us—they want you to audition for a song."

"If it works out, they'd like you to officially sing their opening and ending themes—so you'll need to come with me for the next couple of days."

As a former agent who had crisscrossed the three regions, Qian Jiang's connections kicked in at this moment.

The instant Zhou Yi became popular, every company and channel he'd ever contacted or collaborated with came knocking.

For days, Qian Jiang had been carefully screening projects Zhou Yi could accept—until this TV drama showed up.

"TV drama? What TV drama?"

"Young Bao Qingtian."

"…"

Damn!

Zhou Yi's inner voice screamed "Damn!" as he fell silent.

If the early 2000s were dominated by "Journey to the West: The Sequel," then the most popular TV drama in the second half of the millennium was unquestionably "Young Bao Qingtian"—still unreleased.

This mystery-detective drama starring Zhou Jie and Li Binbin was, in his past life, Zhou Yi's childhood—though later, the plot did collapse spectacularly.

But… wasn't this drama already finished?

It's already August.

"Here's the thing — originally the production team planned to invite Sun Nan to sing the theme song, and then have him record the ending song together with Na Ying, in order to boost the ratings.

"After all, in the current mainstream public opinion, the two of them are the top male and top female singers of the mainland music scene.

"But now it's different."

Qian Jiang, who had broken everything down piece by piece and explained it in detail, pointed at Zhou Yi: "Your sudden arrival means Sun Nan is no longer their only choice. Your popularity and looks are, to the production team, an even better deal.

"The only question is whether you can handle the theme song and ending song of this TV drama.

"I think you can, so I recommend you give it a try. If you succeed, it means you officially have the qualification to seize power from Sun Nan's hands.

"Because this was originally his resource, but in the end you got it.

"And if the theme song and ending song you sing can become a huge hit along with this drama, then in the future more resources that would have only considered Sun Nan will consider you."

Qian Jiang's tone paused for a moment, and then he said solemnly: "This is the real battle for the top male singer of the mainland music scene."