Chapter 507

"If your English foundation is this poor, you'll probably need to study for several more years before you can write songs fluently."

"... Is there any way to learn quickly? The kind without side effects?"

"Unfortunately, no."

"..."

Zhou Jielun, whose face had twisted into a mask of pain from studying English, could only sigh deeply; after class, he resignedly took a book and placed it over his forehead to block his vision.

After so many years, he had finally found that feeling of being scolded by an English teacher at school again—this time, the company had specially spent a huge sum to hire a professional, well-regarded teacher to scold him.

Now he somewhat hated why he didn't have a talent for classical music; if he did, he wouldn't have to torture himself like this.

"Jielun, are you done studying? If so, let's go play basketball."

Liu Genhong, his basketball partner, called at the perfect moment; Zhou Jielun, who wanted to refuse but couldn't quite bring himself to, shook his head, his spirit somewhat listless: "You guys go ahead and play first; I still have to go home and record a final VCR for the 'Artistic Life' program team on the mainland."

"'Artistic Life'? Wasn't that already recorded?" Liu Genhong on the other end of the phone sounded surprised.

As one of the former close friends who had personally experienced the incident, Liu Genhong had also received contact from that CCTV program team from the mainland, specifically to find some of Zhou Yi's brief experiences in Taiwan in the past.

"Ah, I haven't recorded my final blessing yet; you guys go ahead and play first."

Rubbing the center of his brow, Zhou Jielun smacked his lips a few times: "I'll come after I finish writing the last part of the new song."

Having finished the English lesson, Zhou Jielun's gaze turned to the sheet music on the workbench; clearly written at the top were two Chinese characters—

"Sunny Day."

Lyrics, composition, and arrangement, three in one: Zhou Jielun.

For this year's new album, Zhou Jielun tried to follow Zhou Yi's example for the first time, wanting to personally handle the lyrics, composition, and arrangement for all songs in the album, but ultimately, hindered by limited ability and insufficient energy, he settled for second best, handling only the lyrics, composition, and arrangement for three songs—

"Coward," "Terraces," and "Sunny Day."

"Sunny Day" was the last one he was responsible for arranging.

"How exactly did A-Yi do it? An entire album all by himself..."

Zhou Jielun, who had become increasingly confident in himself since his debut, looked at Zhou Yi's album hanging on his office wall, his eyes filled with envy.

Outsiders watch the spectacle; insiders understand the method.

Only those of us called geniuses can clearly understand just how high the value is of Zhou Yi handling the lyrics, composition, and arrangement for all his albums entirely by himself.

In this year's "Ye Hui Mei" album, just handling the composition, lyrics, and arrangement for three songs exhausted him to the point of being a dog; his brain couldn't keep up, or as Zhou Yi would say, his CPU almost burned out.

"Come on! Work hard! Overthrow Zhou Yi! Make him show off!"

Patting his face to wake himself up, Zhou Jielun's mind became exceptionally active; a constant stream of inspiration prompted him to put down his beloved basketball and bury his head in his office, furiously writing new songs.

A document was accidentally knocked to the floor by his elbow; as it flipped pages, another new song title lit up—

"Tears of the Departed."

Lyrics by Fang Wenshan, composition by Zhou Jielun, arrangement by Lin Maike.

After hearing Zhou Yi's "Dong Feng Po," his hands itched to write a song with a feel similar to old songs, so he set his sights on Yuan Zaju, and "Tears of the Departed" was born.

This was a brand new Chinese-style song based on "The West Chamber · Farewell at the Long Pavilion"; the song title originated from these lines in that Yuan Zaju: "Blue clouds in the sky, yellow flowers on the ground, the west wind blows tight. Northern geese fly south. Who dyed the frosty forest red at dawn? It is always the tears of the departing."

He had now realized that Fang Wenshan really liked writing this kind of Chinese-style lyrics.

…………………………

"Indeed, I'm not lying to you, Brother Jun, I really like it quite a bit."

A few days later, CCTV, the recording site of the "Artistic Life" program team.

Facing host Zhu Jun during the rehearsal, Zhou Yi smiled and shook his hand: "I actually used to really like watching your program; I just didn't expect that at my age, I'd have the chance to appear on 'Artistic Life'."

Recalling how he watched "Artistic Life" in his past life, the entertainment industry figures who appeared on stage in the early years of the millennium were all old timers, such as Cheng Long and Wang Jie and the like.

For a young man in his twenties to come up and review his artistic life was somewhat humorous.

"There's no help for it; your achievements have become so dazzling that no one can ignore them."

Zhu Jun happily listed Zhou Yi's achievements one by one, and at the end, didn't forget to make a joke: "I'm afraid the tear-jerking signature of our program this episode is going to be ruined."

Since the program began broadcasting, "Artistic Life" had become famous worldwide for its powerful humanistic appeal; under Zhu Jun's hosting, it directly became the only person-interview program in the country, holding a crushing position on this track in terms of both viewership ratings and influence.

The so-called "tear-jerking" meant making guests naturally cry, choke up, or sigh with emotion when moved to the depths of their feelings; this was one of the program's most famous labels.

Zhou Yi was still so young; his parents were still alive, his career was successful, and his romantic prospects were endless—even if he racked his brains, he couldn't find any tear points that would make people sigh over the passage of time.

During the rehearsal, Zhou Yi also discovered this; this episode of "Artistic Life" could almost be said to have been made into an award ceremony for his "first half of life."

Of course, this didn't rule out the program team keeping some material in reserve, preparing to give him a surprise during the formal recording to expose his genuine reaction at that time.

And by the time the formal recording was about to begin, the tickets for the "Artistic Life" site, which had been announced early in the morning, were already given away for free and completely sold out.

Qian Yijun had still spent 300 yuan at a high price to buy this ticket from a scalper—just to enter the program recording site and meet her idol up close.

As one of the founders of a certain Zhou Yi fan club website in the Imperial Capital, twenty-five-year-old her also experienced the feelings her mother used to have chasing the Four Heavenly Kings; once an idol came to participate in an activity near her home, not coming to participate would truly be like having a hundred claws scratching her heart.

Even more interestingly, although Zhou Yi was a male singer, the male fan count at today's "Artistic Life" site was actually extremely rare in the entertainment industry, surpassing the female fan count.

It could basically be said to be a 6:4 ratio, 60% male and 40% female.

A group of young people held up light signs, chanting "Zhou Yi, Zhou Yi"; their fervent appearance surprised Qian Yijun, a woman.

Until the lights at the site gradually dimmed and the unique CCTV broadcast narration came from the speakers, only then did this crowd quiet down—

"'Artistic Life' 2003: Zhou Yi, the shining morning star.

"Regarding career, regarding family affection, regarding love, regarding family, regarding money, regarding friendship—the phased realizations of twenty-two-year-old Zhou Yi while climbing the peak of life..."

Accompanied by the melodious sound of the piano playing "Jiangnan," host Zhu Jun then walked to the exact center of the stage, smiling, and made a downward gesture to the audience clapping nearby: "Good, dear audience friends, hello everyone.

"Welcome to the 'Artistic Life' broadcast site.

"The piano melody of 'Jiangnan' is now ringing in everyone's ears; I think everyone should be very familiar with it. It represents a miracle, a legend. It comes from the hand of the guest who has come to the broadcast site today, and when he wrote this song back then, he was only 20 years old..."

Speaking of age, Zhu Jun was filled with emotion; facing the audience below, he raised three fingers of his right hand: "He debuted in 2000; up to now, it has been only three years.

"From age 19 to 22, in three years, he released three Chinese albums, two English albums, one Chinese EP, plus songs he wrote for others, totaling over eighty songs, truly a model worker in the entertainment circle.

"In terms of awards, the domestic Global Chinese Music Awards, MTV Asia Awards, World Record Awards, Music Wind Awards, Hong Kong Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs, Jade Song Awards, Taiwan Golden Melody Awards, and so on and so forth; Korea, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Europe, and even the US Grammy Awards, he has won them all.

"His voice spans the five continents of the world; he conquered fans everywhere with his own strength. According to rough statistics, his hardcore fan base worldwide numbers as high as one hundred and thirty million."

Pacing back and forth on stage, Zhu Jun, who spoke and gestured with numbers like a friendly uncle, gradually grew more impassioned: "If you ask me, this might not even be enough, after all, this is just a rough estimate."

By the time he spoke to this point, the applause from the audience below the stage could no longer be held back; some even cupped their hands around their mouths like megaphones, shouting Zhou Yi's name in a rush.

In this era, the recording of "Artistic Life" did not divide the live stage into two areas with steps; the distance between the audience and the stage where the host and guests sat was so close it could be said to be only two or three steps.

"Who is this? I think everyone knows without me saying it."

With a smile growing even more kind on his face, Zhu Jun turned sideways and made a "please look" gesture toward the guest exit: "Let us welcome with applause—Zhou Yi."

"We who do not understand the torment of love, hate, and romance all thought that loving each other was as changeable as the wind and clouds~

"Believing in love for one day outweighs eternity

"Freezing time in this very instant~"

Instantly, the sound of one of Zhou Yi's representative works, "Jiangnan," rang out from the live speakers; Zhou Yi, who had pushed open the door and emerged from the corridor, walked down a spiral staircase specially built for him. Dressed in a simple white printed T-shirt paired with jeans and Anta shoes, the brilliant smile on his face as he raised his hand to greet the fans throughout the venue triggered waves of screaming that grew higher and higher!

"Zhou Yi! Zhou Yi! Zhou Yi!"

"Zhou Yi, we love you!"

"Pure music, absolute love for Yi!"

"..."

The audience seating, holding about one hundred and twenty people, looked quite crowded; everyone was screaming, waving their hands, and greeting Zhou Yi. For the first time facing over a hundred fans in the small studio of "Artistic Life," Zhou Yi could even feel his eardrums vibrating—

From the noise.

"Hello everyone, hello everyone."

After smiling and greeting the fans again and again, calming them down, Zhou Yi was then invited by Zhu Jun to return to the stage and sit: "Please sit, please sit, Zhou Yi."

"Thank you, thank you, Brother Jun."

After pulling out a chair and sitting down, Zhou Yi once again made a gesture of gratitude combined with a downward press toward his fans in the audience seating.

With eyes full of gratification, Zhu Jun smiled and started with a tease: "Zhou Yi, did you hear that long string of numbers I mentioned when I opened the show?"

"Hard to say; the soundproofing backstage at 'Artistic Life' is very good."

Zhou Yi smiled and met his gaze: "I only heard you say, Brother Jun, that you said I am a model worker; thank you for the praise."

The fans below the stage who understood this joke immediately burst into laughter.

As everyone knows, there are two Schrödinger's lazy dogs within the Greater China region of Warner Music—

One is Sun Yanzi, as mentioned by Zhou Yi; the other is Zhou Yi, as mentioned by Sun Yanzi.

"So am I clearing your name for you?"

Zhu Jun smiled, turned his head to look at the laughing fans, and then spoke seriously: "To be honest, Zhou Yi, as a host, I truly feel that this set of data of yours is simply too legendary. You are only twenty-two years old; according to our traditional method of calculating age, you are only twenty-three.

"What was I doing when I was twenty-three? At that time, I had only left the military not long ago and was working as an actor at the GS Province Art Troupe.

Sighing that heroes emerge from youth, Zhu Jun praised from the bottom of his heart: "And you? You have already become a major figure who carries forward the cause of music; outsiders now say you are the founder of Chinese-style music, and internationally, you are a figure who has created history.

"'Asia's Number One Singer' is a title given to you by media and musicians from many countries."

"By rights, I should be modest, but wouldn't being modest now make me seem too pretentious?"

With his elbows resting on the armrests of the chair, Zhou Yi accepted this high hat with a teasing attitude.

Facing CCTV rushing to stamp his approval, he wouldn't be stupid enough not to accept the favor. Although he had once pretended to say that Chinese-style music should be blown outward, not inward.

But after all, as long as China has not yet stood at the peak of the world and mastered the power of discourse, Chinese-style music cannot be blown outward.

"It might be a little, but not much."

With a kind smile, Zhu Jun continued to control the rhythm of the hosting, digging up all of Zhou Yi's past twenty-plus years of experiences in a way that was deep yet simple, presenting them to the fans in the venue—

From having no money as a child and only being able to go to the Xinhua Bookstore, to becoming the top scorer in high school and the first Peking University student from the surrounding ten villages;

From working hard in the bar district to save money, to rejecting the olive branch from Mai Tian, and finally being begged by Zhou Jianhui of Warner to sign with the company.

The twists and turns of the experience were such that even Zhou Yi himself had to exclaim at the expertise upon hearing it.

Especially the Xinhua Bookstore segment; under Zhu Jun's moving description, combined with interview VCRs of the old store manager and clerks, it directly portrayed the then-not-tall Zhou Yi as a positive and enterprising good child, completing the sublimation of being poor in wealth but not in ambition.

Many emotional girls in the audience listened with teary eyes—feeling that Zhou Yi's past was too bitter, and that it was truly not easy to come out of it.

There was no way; Zhu Jun's voice was simply too infectious.

The incident in Taiwan where he saved Jay Chou, Liu Genhong, and Wen Lan due to a gas problem was also mentioned by Zhu Jun.

"In a sense, we should count as having a bond forged through life and death."

Zhou Yi shrugged and unconsciously smiled: "Except that Wen Lan's life was nearly ruined, because at the time she was the only one unlucky enough to be dragged off for stomach pumping, tossing and turning until she nearly lost half her life."

That pose of flashing teeth was actually similar in effect to Sun Yanzi's.

"One last question, Zhou Yi; we all know you have graduated for two years. After becoming a superstar, do you still keep in touch with those old classmates and old friends?"

As the recording of the program neared its end, Zhu Jun asked a question that had not been rehearsed with a smiling face: "Do you miss life back then?"

"Definitely miss it; life was free and easy back then."

Zhou Yi nodded with a smile: "As for old classmates and old friends, yes, we definitely keep in touch, but it's certainly not as frequent as before. After graduation, everyone has their own careers to be busy with; scattered across Tiannandibei, it's not easy to gather for a meal."

"We all know, Zhou Yi, that you met with a few of your university classmates not long ago, right? It even made the news; at that time, Sun Yanzi seemed to be there, and it was raining heavily outside."

Accompanied by Zhu Jun's smile that was somewhat mischievous, a wave of monkey-like cries erupted from the audience seating—

"Ooh ooh ooh~~~"

"Yes." Zhou Yi tilted his head, smiled, and glanced at the excited fans: "Then she caught a cold the next day and got scolded by her teacher at the company."

"So do you want to know what those old classmates and old friends who couldn't make it to the dinner in time want to say to you?"

Following Zhu Jun's gesture, a VCR immediately began playing on the large screen in the venue—

"My name is Zhao Li, from Hubei, Zhou Yi's roommate, now in Shenzhen..."

"Sun Qian, from Guizhou, Zhou Yi's university team captain, now in Shanghai..."

When those old classmates from Tiannandibei, who had originally come from everywhere and finally gathered with Zhou Yi at Peking University due to the college entrance exam train, all appeared on screen, chatting and laughing as they recounted Zhou Yi's past and sent their blessings, even Zhou Yi, who had been mentally prepared, unconsciously stared in fascination.

That was the youth he cherished just as deeply after living his life over again.

"Zhou Yi, at the end of the show, would you be interested in sharing a bit about the progress of your new album with me?"

"Of course, Brother Jun."

Zhou Yi turned his head, his tone carrying a touch of emotion. "The new album is called 'Gui Cang'. Most of the songs are already finished."

"'Gui Cang'? Can you reveal what the theme of the album is?"

"Guess?"

(End of this chapter)