Chapter 565: Those Who Question Me, Shut Up; Those Who Appreciate Me, Follow

"Wait, wait, damn it, is Warner trying to pull a fast one? I checked, and this Masami Nagasawa doesn't seem very popular in Japan either; she's only starred in one movie, and it hasn't even been released yet."

"Born in June 1987, she officially debuted in 2000 after winning a beauty pageant hosted by Japan's Toho Company. Although she is much younger than Zhou Yi, the year she debuted is indeed the same as his."

"Born in '87? Holy crap, is Japan this perverted?! Then when this Masami Nagasawa participated in the beauty pageant, wasn't she still a middle school student? Or even an elementary school student?"

"I asked my uncle who lives in Japan, and Masami Nagasawa is indeed very popular in Japan; magazine sales and photo books sell particularly well. Mainly because she is tall, standing over 1.64 meters at age 12; her legs look very long with good proportions, making her stand out like a crane among chickens among many Japanese models."

"Her acting is also quite good, belonging to the ranks of naturally talented actors. Toho is a major company in Japan, arranging several movies for her that were all eye-catching. The movie where she plays the lead role will be released on September 13 this year, which means she will only stay in China for about four or five days at most?"

"Tsk tsk, Zhou Yi that guy is getting a bargain again."

"??? What are you thinking? She's still a minor! Do you know you're breaking the law?"

"Is it my imagination? Why do I feel that when Masami Nagasawa smiles, from a certain angle she looks a bit like Sun Yanzi who is on stage with her? Both of them still have short hair..."

"..."

Just as Warner had predicted beforehand, news about Zhou Yi's new album "Gui Zang", the Japanese movie star playing the female lead in the MV for Zhou Yi's new song "Qi Li Xiang", and the Japanese movie star offering herself for love without demanding a fee immediately became the focal point of discussion on the internet center after this so-called rumor-refuting press conference ended—

When there isn't a large, organized army of water army bots with clear, unified goals to steer the narrative, the scattered, disorganized netizens are very easily distracted by new hot topics, let alone that this time it involves Japan.

"To be honest, has Zhou Yi gone crazy? Judging from the promotion released by Warner, "Qi Li Xiang" seems to be the lead song in his album; why would he hire a Japanese person to act in it?"

"It's 2003 already, are you still hung up on this? The authorities announced the restart of the real Sino-Japanese exchange song festival this year, and the Chinese Ambassador stationed in Japan even voluntarily stepped forward to express expectations for future Sino-Japanese song festivals; Zhou Yi is obviously just fulfilling a mission."

"It's not the lead song, right? If "Qi Li Xiang" were the lead song, Warner would have promoted it."

"I heard over in Taiwan that people are saying this song was written for Sun Yanzi; "Qi Li Xiang" is a type of snack over there. Before Zhou Yi was blacklisted in Taiwan, he and Sun Yanzi went out on the street to eat it together; after being recognized, he said his name wasn't Zhou Yi but Bagua."

"Really?"

"How could that be fake? The location of that snack stall has now become a holy land for Zhou Yi's fans in Taiwan. The boss even put out the group photo from back then; the tables and chairs Zhou Yi and Sun Yanzi sat on have been enshrined..."

"???"

"Dog Zhou Yi is trying to trick people in just to kill them again, right? This time I won't fall for his trick again! Last time "Tong Hua" almost made me cry to death!"

"Damn! Now that you mention it, it really is; Sun Yanzi died in "Tong Hua", so this time Zhou Yi found a substitute who smiles a bit like her?!"

"I remember, when Sun Yanzi left Warner before, didn't she have a cassette tape in her hand with "Qi Li Xiang" written on it?"

"???"

"..."

When a large number of eyes focused on Zhou Yi's brand new Chinese album "Gui Zang", discussions about what performance he could deliver domestically this year, remarks counting down the MV's female lead, and claims about who Zhou Yi was hooking up with next began to take the upper hand.

"SuperStar", composed, written, and arranged by him at the beginning of the year and sung by the "SAE Group" trio, has remained in the top ten of major music charts across the two sides of the strait and Hong Kong and Macau, never dropping out, with an influence that can be called invincible.

The high-level executives at Mobile were grinning from ear to ear.

This was the first time they had enjoyed such a huge impact from an advertisement song.

Although "My Territory" is no longer visible in the rankings now, many of Zhou Yi's fans and even quite a few passersby believe that the reason this song became so bad was purely because Jay Chou sang it too poorly.

After all, counting the songs Zhou Yi wrote for others, there is only this one song that was popular for a while and then vanished.

With the bonus of the control variable method, the only weak point is obviously Jay Chou, isn't it?

This conclusion was unanimously agreed upon by a large number of fan circle members and even passersby, except for Jay Chou's fans.

However, precisely because the results achieved by "SuperStar" at the beginning of the year were too dazzling, many people now feel that Zhou Yi himself might not be able to surpass this achievement, unless he produces another hot song with explosive popularity like "Tong Hua" or "Jiang Nan".

Especially given that he was slaughtering it all over Europe and America in the first half of this year.

At this critical juncture, Qin Lan, who was also exposed as having confirmed the position of the female lead for Zhou Yi's new song MV, experienced the taste of being "hot" for the first time—

Currently still a nobody, she was just going out with a friend to buy some change of clothes to take to the "Gui Zang" film crew in Shangrao later, but as soon as she walked out of the shopping mall, she was caught red-handed by more than ten reporters who had rushed to the spot after getting the news.

"Miss Qin, there are rumors that you were sent to Zhou Yi as a sacrifice; what is your opinion on these rumors?"

"Miss Qin, why were you chosen by Zhou Yi? Is there some inside deal between you two?"

"Miss Qin, was it your doing that the broadcast time for "My Fair Princess 3" was confirmed?"

"Miss Qin..."

For the first time, for the first time in 24 years, Qin Lan was surrounded and questioned by so many reporters, catching her completely off guard.

After finally escaping the encirclement and returning home, the friend who was panting heavily took a huge gulp of water and wiped the corner of her mouth: "You're about to become famous, Qin Lan; getting surrounded while just shopping is treatment reserved for big stars."

"Come on, what big star am I? It's purely because Zhou Yi's halo is too dazzling."

Qin Lan shook her head with self-awareness, but she didn't expect her friend to instead tease her: "Then go and get him! That's Zhou Yi! Zhou Yi! Isn't that ten thousand times better than that Xiao Jianqiang?"

"What are you talking about? Huang Xiaoming and I are just ordinary friends."

"Give it a rest. You are, but he isn't. Am I blind? He obviously wants to pursue you but dares not violate company regulations to help you pay the penalty, so he only dares to secretly do things for you behind the scenes to make you develop feelings for him."

When mentioning Huang Xiaoming, the friend wore a look of contempt, seeming convinced that he was a coward who dares to act but not to take responsibility.

During the filming of "My Fair Princess 3", because both were from the mainland, Huang Xiaoming who played Xiao Jian and Qin Lan who played Zhizhua became friends in the crew, but this friendship quickly "shattered" under Huang Xiaoming's open and covert pursuit offensive.

Even though Qin Lan had already said she couldn't date because of the breach of contract penalty.

Her friend bluntly said, "Will you help pay the ten million penalty?" but Huang Xiaoming couldn't even let out a fart...

After that, Huang Xiaoming changed his tactics to become that kind of "we are just friends" silent, nourishing care—buying meals today, delivering vegetables tomorrow; basically, the main point was "call my name and I'm always there," attempting to use this method to make Qin Lan forget the concept of the breach of contract penalty.

All these friends saw it with their eyes and remembered it in their hearts.

"Men, aren't they all the same?"

"He's not as straightforward as Zhou Yi; people never hide rumors, don't create a Prince Charming persona, never hide from cameras, and just go out together openly. Even if they are caught holding hands, they are just friends, like that Scarlett Johansson over in foreign countries."

"If you can get a man like this, doesn't that prove your charm is high?"

"Things aren't as simple as you think; Zhou Yi isn't that free and easy either. This time, using his influence domestically to shut netizens' mouths immediately and publicly scolding people belongs to behavior that loses points; you can see he didn't even attend the press conference."

Qin Lan shook her head, stating the conclusion she had summarized based on various news within the industry, and turned on the TV with the remote while sitting on the sofa: "Even for Zhou Yi, losing-point behavior needs to be salvaged; he definitely has to be as careful as Huang Xiaoming in his conduct, avoiding details, and then just use this situation to make a simple joke, and the matter will be considered over."

Just as she was speaking, the sound of reporters interviewing Zhou Yi came from the TV—

"Zhou Yi, what do you have to say about those remarks questioning your public scolding, low quality, and reckless character?"

"I have nothing to say."

Qin Lan, feeling she had guessed correctly, sent a "See?" look to her friend: "How about that? I said he definitely would try to bluff his way through—"

"I just want to say one thing to them—no, I should say to all my fans who follow me, to the haters and fools, and to those public intellectuals who love stirring up trouble. Whether they hate me or like me."

On the TV screen, Zhou Yi tilted his head while holding a pile of microphones in one hand; that air of indifference seemed to overflow through the lens: "Those who question me, shut up. Those who appreciate me, follow."

Qin Lan: "..."