Chapter 563: If There's a Problem, Attack Zhou Yi; If There's No Problem, Attack Zhou Yi

For many of Zhou Yi's fans, this was seeing their idol return to his old form and open fire again in the domestic sphere after a long absence;

For the vast number of entertainment media practitioners, this was the God of Wealth descending to earth to deliver money to them.

"Favoring Relatives Over Reason? Zhou Yi Rebukes Plagiarism Accusations on Behalf of Sun Yanzi!"

"Zhou Yi: What Do Experts Know? Everyone Must Listen to Me!"

"Zhou Yi: I Define Whether It Is Plagiarism or Not"

"No One Understands Plagiarism Better Than Me — Zhou Yi"

"..."

In this plagiarism storm that originally did not involve Zhou Yi, his active intervention indeed stunned many people — at the same time, it brought this not-yet-fully-expanded plagiarism storm to the forefront early, allowing many netizens to ride this wave of heat and enjoy the drama.

Statements such as "Zhou Yi is right" and "Zhou Yi's legal studies went straight into the dog's belly" emerged endlessly.

"Support Zhou Yi!"

"Oppose Zhou Yi!"

"Zhou Yi must have plagiarized too!"

"Go to hell!"

"..."

Qian Jiang, who was still coordinating with the various actors for the MV, almost threw the phone book in his hand —

"Ah Yi, next time before you do something like this, can you tell me first? That way I can prepare mentally and make a contingency plan in advance..."

As a top-tier agent skilled in taking the fall, Qian Jiang's tone at this moment was somewhat helpless.

Good news: Zhou Yi is still very loyal to friendship;

Bad news: he seems to be a bit too loyal to friendship.

Plagiarism is not something where you can be unconditionally trusted just because of your star power. Looking at the world music scene, even in the developed Western music scene, how many big-name producers have had dark histories due to plagiarism; everyone just tacitly turns a blind eye.

It would be embarrassing to say out loud; otherwise, how could the scope of "sampling" have such a Schrödinger-like fluctuation.

"This is sampling" has almost become a cliché excuse.

The Li brothers are not perfect; as for Jay Chou, that goes without saying. He is just a songwriter, not the person responsible for album cover design; that was handled by Good Luck and Sony — these two are not good people.

Especially Sony; that truly deserves the phrase "Sony's sins are unforgivable."

Since Wang Lihong transformed into a singer-songwriter under Sony, he has faced considerable criticism.

"It's a small matter, Old Qian. Just get on with your work."

For Qian Jiang, who rushed back urgently to find him, Zhou Yi, who was in the recording studio, took off his headphones and hung them around his neck, lazily waving his hand to indicate that Qian Jiang need not worry.

"I wish I could."

Qian Jiang replied in a bad mood, pulling out a chair to sit down: "I will handle the aftermath of this matter; anyway, I am already used to it."

Zhou Yi grinned at him.

"That Japanese actress named Masami Nagasawa has been contacted; she is very excited about being able to act in your MV. Also, Yui Aragaki has completed all the procedures; the two of them should be able to arrive in the Imperial Capital next week, and then will move with the crew to Shangrao."

Since he was already here, Qian Jiang also handed the documents in his hand to Zhou Yi.

As the filming location for "Qi Li Xiang," Shangrao, Zhou Yi's hometown where he grew up, was perfectly suited as the setting for the so-called first love.

"Oh, by the way, the approval and filing procedures for the concert venue in Shangrao have also been fully completed; it will be held after your third concert in Hong Kong." As he spoke about this matter, a few smiles appeared on Qian Jiang's face.

Of course, due to the actual level of local development, the Shangrao venue is just a small hall for five thousand people; at that time, it can be confirmed that the audience will definitely not be full.

If it were not the place where Zhou Yi grew up, it would be impossible for a solo concert to be held in this city in this era.

After all, even if he is Zhou Yi, he cannot reverse the actual economic level of the area; therefore, this concert by Warner will visibly be a pure loss.

But even so, Qian Jiang still contacted the Shangrao side and arranged this concert, which could be said to be a return home, further consolidating Zhou Yi's character of not forgetting his original intention to the outside world.

"Good heavens, a Hong Kong concert in November, returning to Shangrao in December; isn't this schedule a bit too full?" Admittedly, the workload had been reduced as much as possible, but the moment Zhou Yi saw the schedule, he couldn't help but make a remark from the bottom of his heart.

Qian Jiang was too lazy to bother.

It was purely having the cake and eating it too.

Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly heard the recording studio door being knocked on —

"Knock, knock, knock."

Zhou Yi tilted his head, looking toward the door: "Come in."

Sun Yanzi, with short side-parted hair, pushed the door open, a denim jacket hanging from her hand: "Zhou Yi, you — uh, Old Qian?"

"I have something to do; I'll leave first."

Clapping his hands on his knees, the fat body rose from the sofa; Qian Jiang, with a serious expression as if conducting official business, chose to take his leave: "I still have to communicate some details with Chen Qiao'en's new agent."

"Take care."

Sitting in the chair and turning halfway, Zhou Yi smiled as he watched him leave.

Sun Yanzi, simply dressed in a white T-shirt paired with a pair of jeans, also turned her head to look at Zhou Yi after watching Qian Jiang leave; the latter raised an eyebrow indifferently: "What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I'm wondering if you took the wrong medicine."

Rubbing her chin with one hand, Sun Yanzi, looking like a famous detective, carefully examined the man up and down; although her words were serious, her tone did not sound solemn at all: "Chen Ze Shan's side is still conducting a self-investigation, yet you voluntarily started this momentum."

"Then you should thank me."

"I thank you."

"Good, you're welcome."

"..."

Feeling that she might, probably, perhaps, had been taken advantage of in terms of seniority, Sun Yanzi laughed instead of getting angry; instead, she sank heavily into the sofa as if relieved: "Do you know what people on the internet are saying about you right now?

"To use your own words, those attacking you and those charging along with you have almost become a chaotic mess."

"So what? It's not like I actively sought out the media for interviews."

"The problem is that there is a bit of that; mainly, now many of you hold a huge filter towards experts, professors, and even everything foreign."

Sun Yanzi crossed her arms and rested them behind her head, leaning half-reclined against the sofa: "They don't operate in this circle, so you pose no threat to them; instead, they will only criticize you more. There is absolutely no need for that."

In an era where Japanese craftsmanship is said to move heaven and earth, where toilet water can be drunk directly without treatment; where American freedom and democracy are a lighthouse, where washing dishes leads to living in a big house, and where the gap between children opens up at summer camps—such claims can openly win countless approvals—Zhou Yi's behavior of disrespecting so-called authoritative experts was somewhat going against the meta.

One copied Japan, the other copied South Korea, and both were rejected outright by Zhou Yi; this was somewhat not giving them face.

Originally, they had just habitually written an article, casually dragging in Sun Yanzi and Jay Chou, two unlucky souls currently very popular in China, to argue the conclusion that "domestic culture and education are inferior to foreign ones, only capable of copying, and will inevitably collapse."

After all, the album was produced domestically, and the production teams for every stage were primarily Chinese.

To avoid offending Zhou Yi, a great Buddha who was completely unreasonable abroad, they didn't even mention Zhou Yi's name once.

But who would have thought that by not touching Zhou Yi, Zhou Yi would instead take the initiative to scold them.

That was somewhat humorous.

Originally, Zhou Yi's behavior of smashing foreign filters in various settings had already caused dissatisfaction in many hearts; speaking broadly, this was behavior that could cut off their money-making paths, and now a new grudge had been added.

"Is that so? I actually think this is quite necessary." Zhou Yi shrugged indifferently.

"What's necessary? Could it be that you are filled with righteous indignation because I was slandered?" Sun Yanzi glanced at the man, a playful smile curling her lips: "Or do you consider yourself a messenger of justice?"

"Hmm... how is that not the case?"

Zhou Yi smiled, his gaze meeting hers directly, without any evasion.

"So great, then how should I repay you? Be a cow or a horse in the next life?" Sun Yanzi, now interested, sat up straight, propping her chin on one hand as she spoke.

"Actually, offering yourself in marriage would also work."

Zhou Yi, sitting in the chair, held a smile at the corner of his mouth, lazily stretched, and said with a fixed gaze: "Isn't that how it's always played in martial arts dramas? When a great hero's kindness cannot be repaid, a young woman can only offer herself in marriage."

"Hmm?"

Sun Yanzi's smile stretched almost to the back of her head: "Then that probably won't work; you, this great hero, are too fickle-hearted."

"Vulgar." Zhou Yi instantly changed his expression, pouting with boredom.

"Tch."

Facing the man's disdain, Sun Yanzi also disdainfully made a "tch" sound; as her gaze swept downward, she noticed that among the open documents on the man's desk, two photos from her angle looked remarkably like her. She immediately stood up, pressed her elbow onto the man's shoulder, picked up the document with one hand, and took a quick look—

"These are the two you mentioned earlier that looked very much like me in Japan? From the front, they're just so-so; the similarity isn't high."

"The lighting and the camera angles will tell you the answer later."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk..."

Sun Yanzi made "tsk" sounds with her mouth, shaking her head repeatedly: "Has the demo tape for 'Qi Li Xiang' been made?"

"What do you want to do?" Zhou Yi's voice immediately carried a hint of alertness.

Sun Yanzi, who was looking at the materials, paused her finger as she turned the page, then turned her head to look down at him, her smile gradually widening to reveal her healthy, bright white teeth.

"Hey?! Surname Sun! You're a robber, aren't you!"

"Sorry! I'll give it back to you~"

After leaving behind a famous line from Uncle Lung, Sun Yanzi, showing not the slightest hint of shame, expertly found the storage location of the demo tape. After grabbing it, she turned, tilted her head to give the man a wink, and then bolted.

Zhou Yi, sitting in the chair and shouting in vain, watched the woman's joyful retreating figure, then glanced at the demo tape's location. The corner of his mouth involuntarily turned up; then, humming a little tune, he put his headphones back on and resumed work.

Carrying off the demo tape, Sun Yanzi walked all the way out of the Warner Building, her face filled with uncontainable joy. The three characters "Qi Li Xiang" on the cassette in her hand shone brilliantly under the September sun.

"Yanzi! Yanzi! May I ask your opinion on..."

"Yanzi!"

"Yanzi..."

Reporters who had earlier received news that Sun Yanzi had urgently returned to the Warner Beijing Headquarters Building swarmed forward, surrounding the woman, whose mind was still executing her tug-of-war plan—

"Don't ask me; I only know that Zhou Yi is right."

Sun Yanzi, who had let herself go during today's interview, held up the demo tape in her hand, chuckled, and then very politely waved to them: "Bye-bye~"

"If there's trouble, rush Zhou Yi; if there's no trouble, rush Zhou Yi."

Shortly after, on BlogChina, which had exploded in popularity during the August Li Zimei incident, an account with Sun Yanzi's photo as its avatar appeared and posted the following message—

The specific content was a call for Zhou Yi's Gemini anti-fan group to put aside their prejudices against Zhou Yi at this time and not rush him, since Zhou Yi was leading the charge to help Sun Yanzi.

Sun Yanzi herself, previously expelled from the fandom by individual crystallized fans, had switched to another account and infiltrated the anti-fan stronghold again, attempting once more to convert this group of Gemini anti-fans.

"Stephanie? How come I don't think you look like an anti-fan?"

"How could that be? How am I not an anti-fan? I'm the real deal."