Chapter 508: Others Are Worth a Hundred Million

"Am I a damn kid, guessing?"

"Drag Zhou Yi out and light the sky lantern!"

"Setting that aside, that mouth is truly vicious; Wen Lan is going to call the police!"

"..."

July 3, 2003, Thursday.

Many who watched Zhou Yi's "Morning Star" special on "Artistic Life" last night are now online accusing Zhou Yi of playing coy and being inhumane—

A life-and-death bond, except it was Wen Lan's life that was passed.

Does that even sound like something a human would say?

"Wen Lan: I have no opinion."

"It's a life-and-death bond, yet Zhou Yi didn't even write a few songs for Wen Lan?"

"Wen Lan has Jay Chou, right? Several songs, on every album; Zhou Yi probably can't interfere."

"Seems so; rumors even circulated between her and Jay Chou, detailed and convincing. Her fans in Taiwan were calling Cai Yilin the mistress. Looking at it this way, this pervert Zhou Yi is actually quite honorable."

"A brother's wife is not to be seduced..."

Wen Lan, who was originally just active in various backstories, surprisingly gained a sliver of discussion on the mainland internet after the new episode of "Artistic Life" aired, leaving her scarce fans in a state of laughter and tears—

Good news: their little obscure idol is getting discussion on the mainland; she's about to blow up!

Bad news: the thing blowing up is the joke!

"But Zhou Yi, damn him, is a damn model worker. Warner is treating him like a donkey; he just released an English album in March, and now he's preparing a Chinese album again. I'm really afraid he'll drop dead at his workstation one day."

"This album title always gives me the feeling he's done with the music scene. 'Zhou Yi', 'Lianshan', 'Guicang'—he's used up the names of the I Ching trilogy; won't he retire and quit playing after releasing this album?"

"Unlikely; would Warner let go of this money tree?"

"Upstairs, if I remember correctly, Zhou Yi's contract with Warner expires around April or May of '04? That's next year."

"Holy crap! Expires in the first half of next year?!"

"The money he's earned over these years, miscellaneous stuff added up, the cash alone after tax is nearly two hundred million US dollars, let alone the endless stream of English song royalties later; if it were me, I'd lie flat."

"He seems to be doing investments too..."

"Mainly, this album title is a bit misleading..."

Thanks to the reputation of the I Ching trilogy, the news of Zhou Yi's new album titled "Guicang" immediately gave people the feeling his music career was nearing its end.

Of course, this was just the remarks of a few sensitive individuals.

Because of the existence of the second album "Jiangnan", which does not belong to the I Ching sequence, most people still believed the fourth album "Guicang" was probably just Zhou Yi getting closer to the album concept.

Even those with wild imaginations put forward their own speculation: "Perhaps Zhou Yi wants to use the I Ching trilogy to end his music career at Warner?"

With less than a year remaining on Zhou Yi's contract with Warner, this guess undoubtedly gained the most agreement—especially from fans who felt Warner was squeezing Zhou Yi.

Top executives from Sony, EMI, Universal, and other giants were all perked up, rubbing their hands, ready to poach Zhou Yi.

Especially EMI.

Compared to companies like Sony and Universal, they had an ace up their sleeve: Watching Xiao Yaxuan, the top star of EMI's Virgin Records.

Isn't whispering directly into Zhou Yi's ear better than you lot who can't even see Zhou Yi's face?

EMI executives, full of confidence, immediately contacted Yao Qian, the general manager of Virgin Records. Then, they received news that left them collectively silent—

Due to conflicts arising from her original family, Watching Xiao Yaxuan developed depression and has currently gone abroad for treatment. No one knows exactly where she went; only her doctor has the itinerary. This is personal privacy; even Yao Qian is unclear.

"Depression???"

"Yes, her divorced father recently made comments in Taiwan that a daughter should be grateful to him, directly causing the family to lose control. Her mother privately found her ex-husband and had a huge fight with him."

"Watching Xiao Yaxuan is physically and mentally exhausted; diagnosed by a doctor, she has developed depression. Because she still has to release an album, she must go for treatment."

Yao Qian read the note left by Watching Xiao Yaxuan, whom he raised like his own daughter, with a strange expression.

The executives at EMI headquarters were numb listening.

Wait, what does this mean?

She just got depression?

Checking further, good lord—

Xiao Yao, who hadn't seen his daughter in nearly 20 years, abandoned the family and went to the US to chase his dreams when Watching Xiao Yaxuan was young. He only returned to Taiwan after falling ill, and then talked endlessly on shows that it was precisely his departure that made his daughter independent and famous.

Calling it "for the daughter's own good."

Many shows invited him and even paid him, just to hear him talk about his daughter Watching Xiao Yaxuan.

That really warrants depression.

No wonder Watching Xiao Yaxuan would face the Taiwanese media lenses, which tirelessly came to interview her, and publicly say, "I have no relationship or contact with him."

Due to confidentiality, Yao Qian wasn't even told the time of Watching Xiao Yaxuan's departure; when calling, only her doctor answered.

In short, one word: Do Not Disturb.

EMI executives, unable to take a shortcut, could only try to contact Zhou Yi himself, bypassing his management team, but with very little effect.

Because the contract period was already less than a year, Zhou Yi, who theoretically could now negotiate normally with a new employer, was asked the most questions during his recent appearances not about the third album, but about his next employer—

"Zhou Yi, Zhou Yi, it is rumored that Sony will sign a cooperation with you for a sky-high fee of eighty million RMB; is this true?"

"Zhou Yi, both EMI Records and Universal Records intend to reach a cooperation with you at a price of ninety million RMB; do you have a target in mind now?"

"Zhou Yi, it is rumored that Warner Records headquarters faces the predicament of being sold by Time Warner; will you renew your contract with Warner?"

On July 6, after Zhou Yi arrived in Guangzhou, while preparing for the concert, he participated in a Coca-Cola sponsored event in Tianhe District; for almost half the event, he was pursued with questions about renewal or jumping ship.

"I haven't thought that far yet; my cooperation with Warner has been very pleasant; my manager and Mr. Zhou have both taken good care of me."

Facing the continuous flashes, Zhou Yi rarely showed a polite smile and said politely.

Perhaps pushed to the edge by public opinion, or perhaps for other reasons, Zhou Jianhui, who had risen to the forefront due to Zhou Yi's contract issues, rarely accepted an interview—

"Undoubtedly, A-Yi is Warner's treasure; our cooperation has been very pleasant over these years. Of course, I am confident in keeping him at Warner, just as we completed the renewal with Sun Yanzi before."

"Then do you believe the signing fees other record companies have offered Zhou Yi are irrational? Will this affect your renewal negotiations?"

"I don't think so."

Zhou Jianhui shook his head: "In fact, in my personal opinion, just for Ah Yi himself, he is worth over one hundred million..."

"..."

?????

Wait, do you guys treat money as if it's not money at all?!

The reporter was somewhat stunned.

You have to understand that signing fees are typically a guarantee the company gives the singer first. For instance, when Wang Fei signed with EMI Records at the end of the last century for sixty million Hong Kong dollars, the signing bonus she received was actually an advance payment.

If she earned one hundred million Hong Kong dollars in royalties for the company in the future, the previously given sixty million to Wang Fei would be deducted first, and the remaining forty million would be what actually reached Wang Fei's pocket.

It means the company bears all the risk of loss, while the singer earns without loss.

Large signing bonuses thus became the reason whether a company values a singer.

However, in the bragging of many of Fei's fans, that sixty million Hong Kong dollars turned into sixty million simply given to Wang Fei after EMI signed her.

But how does Zhou Jianhui's meaning sound like he simply wants to keep Zhou Yi by giving one hundred million?

Sign the name and get one hundred million?!

Do you, Zhou Jianhui, want to set a precedent in the Chinese music scene?

(End of this chapter)