Chapter 571: I Will Never Write Love Poems in My Life

"I hold you tightly in my arms

"Cradling you in the palm of my hand

"Who says the one I truly love isn't you~"

To return to one's hometown without wealth is like wearing brocade at night—

Although the venue was as shabby as it could possibly be, and the equipment was limited to merely functional, that unique atmosphere was one of a kind.

Especially when the homeroom teachers and instructors he had known in the past looked at the podium with eyes of extra gratification, Zhou Yi, who thought he would no longer be moved by such things, still felt a strange emotion well up within his heart.

From "Stubborn" to "Jiangnan", from "Happy Worship" to "Fairy Tale"...

With every song sung, the entire playground joined in a massive chorus; Zhou Yi's dominance over the younger generation was evident.

Qin Lan didn't know about others, but at least for her, Zhou Yi's appearance at this moment was the template for fame she had dreamed of. If not for the flowers and applause, for the money and fame, how could she have transformed from an accountant into an actress?

You have to know that before stepping into the entertainment circle, she had not received a single bit of acting training, and the reason she got into the industry was purely accidental—she accompanied a classmate to a modeling competition, but the classmate was eliminated while she won the award solely based on her face and figure.

She had thought that the heavens' favor would ensure her smooth sailing after entering the industry, but alas, not everyone is Zhou Yi...

"Zhou Yi! Can you sing a few more songs!"

"Yeah, can you sing a few more songs?"

"Zhou Yi..."

After six songs in a row, Zhou Yi, who was jumping and hopping, had already started panting on stage; sweat slid down his temples, literally turning the huge campus into a music festival scene—

For major music festivals featuring a headliner or a closing act, if the organizers pay enough, the appearance usually lasts about forty minutes. Setting aside time for chatting and interaction, pure singing amounts to only about seven or eight songs.

Admittedly, the school administration and Warner had prepared well in advance, but the heated atmosphere stirred up on the playground was still so intense that it was hard to control; high-power industrial fans blowing directly on them were useless, and instead only fueled the students' cheers and screams even more—

The vast majority of them didn't have much money in their families, so attending a Zhou Yi concert was undoubtedly a "luxury" item that could only exist in their dreams.

But now, that dream had come true.

The most crucial point was that this free event wasn't just about having no tickets; Zhou Yi even covered all the costs for drinks, fruits, and so on.

"Thank you for returning to the school the day after the Mid-Autumn Festival to support me."

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Zhou Yi smiled, bent over, and formally bowed slightly to everyone below the stage to express his gratitude.

He didn't mention the concert, nor did he claim credit for providing everything for free; he simply stood at the very front of the podium, his tone filled with sincerity—

"During this period, when our film crew was shooting the MV and scouting locations, we may have disturbed everyone. Here, on behalf of all the staff of the film crew, I would like to say sorry to you..."

Zhou Yi, back in his hometown, was all about maximizing positive values, and this heartfelt sincerity made many people scream with excitement.

The reporters from the Shangrao Daily, who had set up their cameras early, were rarely so eager for an outdoor assignment, rubbing their hands together; they managed to snap dozens of photos of Zhou Yi from one angle to pick through later—after all, this was a rare opportunity for their newspaper to make a name for itself in the province.

In the summer school, there were no camphor trees, but there were gardenias blooming and withering simultaneously.

Due to the shooting angle, in the background of many photos, the blooming clusters of gardenias could always be seen behind Zhou Yi, who was on the stage, to his left and right—

"A modest gentleman, gentle as jade."

The next day, the headline of the Shangrao Daily made it clear that its intention was to vindicate Zhou Yi, who had been surrounded by recent criticism, and even the photo used was of him smiling amidst the "flower bushes".

Do you understand the gold content of a modest gentleman?

What?

You say he is not only not one, but also very vulgar?

Then you need to reflect on whether there is something wrong with yourself.

Anyway, Zhou Yi is pure and innocent; even if he scolds someone, there is a reason for it and it is understandable; he is absolutely not some irredeemable villain.

The level of boasting was probably at a level that would make Zhou Yi himself blush with shame—just forcing a roundabout explanation.

One can only say that this contributing reporter is indeed a graduate of journalism.

If a city-level newspaper is like this, then the Shangrao County one is even less worth mentioning; even the Zhoujia Village Village Committee followed the trend and posted an announcement notice on the wooden board at the village entrance, expressing indignation over Zhou Yi's experience of being criticized.

After all, even by 2024, the clan atmosphere in the villages within the towns of Shangrao was quite strong, with a huge number of tedious ancestral worship activities every year; let alone in the current year of 2003.

The Jiang Xi Daily also chose to stand by Zhou Yi; although it wasn't the front-page headline, one could see from the title, which was shortened to just four characters, that it was "A Gentleman Like Jade".

"Polite, filial, smart, talented, and loving; who exactly did Zhou Yi offend? What exactly did he obstruct?..."

"Stop, stop, stop, I said stop."

In the "Writing Poems for You" film crew, after finishing the reshoots for "Qi Li Xiang", Zhou Yi, who immediately switched to the "Writing Poems for You" film crew, raised his hand to interrupt Qin Lan's beaming, enthusiastic reading, and wiped the goosebumps rising on his elbow.

What kind of person are you, reading this out loud to my face?

Do you take me for a reader?

"You should hurry up and finish filming the last few shots; after that, the crew will return to the Imperial Capital to film the second half."

Zhou Yi, who was just short of a致敬 elbow strike, pouted; Qin Lan, who had somewhat eliminated the strangeness with Zhou Yi over these days, didn't mind—

"This MV is so simple; I could act with my eyes closed, okay."

Although she wasn't an actor from a professional background, dealing with this kind of work, which had no high-difficulty special effects or stunts, was very simple.

She seriously suspected that Zhou Yi had included some personal agenda when he wrote this song.

"To be honest, who is the woman that made you write love letters and love poems? Your first love?"

"How could I possibly write? I don't need that stupid thing." Zhou Yi, with a piece of foxtail grass in his mouth, flipped through the newspaper in his hand again and said without looking up.

Qin Lan rolled her eyes: "I did too many silly things for you, the first one being writing poems for you. Isn't that the lyrics you wrote?"

The MV "Writing Poems for You" began with that piece of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" piano music, and then Zhou Yi and Qin Lan from their high school days appeared—

Qin Lan, as a Gao Zhongsheng, was a bit envious of the boy who could practice the piano freely at the music store, but she was seen by Zhou Yi, who had just returned from playing soccer on the football field. Back and forth, the three of them fell into a stable, continuous romantic relationship...

At the same time, this also made Zhou Yi vow that he must learn the piano or... learn a musical instrument, an art form that could be used to show off in front of girls, and so on.

In a sense, it could almost be said to be exactly the same as Zhou Yi's past in Qin Lan's cognition—music; he had once exploded that he learned it in high school, and he didn't hide the fact that he learned music just to chase girls;

Secondly, she had just found out how many times Zhou Yi had fought in his hometown before, and that he was a "delinquent" youth who liked to fight everywhere.

And coincidentally, the first sentence of the male lead's opening monologue in the MV was "Fighting is my innate ability", followed immediately by scenes of fighting...

If you say this isn't based on himself, Qin Lan simply wouldn't believe it.

"I have never done anything foolish, especially in love. So, this is just lyrics."

Zhou Yi shook his head like a rattle drum, answering with righteous indignation: "Writing love poems is impossible; I will never write one in my life. I would rather starve to death for lack of money or jump off Mount Sanqing than write one!"

"I believe you. You can go jump now. The outside media are all saying you wrote a farewell love poem to Watching Xiao Yaxuan."

Hearing this, Zhou Yi slowly typed out a question mark: "?"

What the hell?

"'Compromise' and 'Rewind'."

Qin Lan playfully picked up several newspapers from her lap, spread them open, and pointed her finger at the bold, large headlines—

"Elva and Zhou Yi's Love Turmoil! Tears Spilled During Recording!"

"Leaving the Sad Place! Elva to Move to the US by Year-End!"

"Zhou Yi Breaks Hearts, Writes a Song for the Breakup!"

"Breakup Lyrics Like Poetry, Zhou Yi Goes Home to Paint..."

There were even two leaked lines of lyrics, exposed by local Taiwanese paparazzi, which two newspapers directly used as headlines—

"Loving until Compromise, Still No Solution in the End"

"Finally Seeing Through It, Love Won't Return, Too Many Obstacles Before Us"

Judging by the blurry photo in the newspaper, this was clearly secretly snapped by someone who snuck into the recording studio...

And on the Taiwanese internet, a few audio snippets leaked from the pirate channels were circulating—

"Loving until Compromise, Still No Solution in the End"

"Binding you, not letting you fly"

"History repeats itself, I'm so tired..."

Watching Xiao Yaxuan's unique chanting was filled with sorrowful emotion, extremely catchy...

"Damn! Are the pirates this fast?!"

What surprised Qin Lan was that Zhou Yi's attention was not on these news stories, but on the pirates' actions.

Zhou Yi cursed and grumbled.

This operation was not unfamiliar to him.

Western stars like Madonna and Eminem had all encountered pirates releasing their album tracks first; it's just that the previous Chinese music scene had a time limit for piracy.

Now, the good days are over—

When Taiwanese pirates started breaking the rules first, imitating the West by leaking album tracks, the mainland pirates absolutely could not hold out for long.