Chapter 588: This Is How a Superstar Should Be

"This move took twenty years of practice. How about it, do you submit?"

Zhou Yi's overly serious demeanor made the Shanghai TV reporters burst out laughing, while Sun Yanzi, who was poking him with a microphone as if it were a sword, kept going: "Let me remind you, you're only 22 this year, and you started practicing martial arts at age two, right?"

"How do you know I've been a genius since childhood?"

"I'm giving you a way out, and you still won't take it?"

Sun Yanzi, beaming with excitement, punched the man's chest twice with her fist: "With that stance that has absolutely nothing to do with the Huo family fist, anyone can see you're just talking nonsense, okay."

Having said that, she specifically bent down and leaned close to the camera lens, jokingly but seriously saying: "Descendants of Master Huo, if you see this news, please do not be angry. Zhou Yi has always been this unreliable, and he absolutely holds no disrespect towards Master Huo."

Regardless of whether any descendants of Huo Yuanjia will see it, putting in a preventive shot first is never wrong.

Chen Zhen is a fictional character, but Huo Yuanjia is not.

She is no longer that naive freshman who just entered the entertainment industry!

She is now incredibly sharp!

However, compared to Sun Yanzi's hyper-vigilant wit, the reporters were clearly more interested in the information revealed in Zhou Yi's words—

"Zhou Yi, do you mean you are preparing to shoot a martial arts film? One about Huo Yuanjia? Or Chen Zhen? Or is this a song in your new album?"

"Huh?"

Zhou Yi glanced strangely at the female reporter who asked: "Of course not. Why would you think that? Don't overanalyze my words; I didn't mean that much. I was just putting on a show. Don't you reporters need this kind of news for your interviews?"

Reporter: "..."

The logic makes sense, but why does it sound so strange coming from the mouth of a superstar like you?

"Zhou Yi, there are currently rumors that your new album's upcoming MV will also feature overseas locations, and the female lead will be Fan Bingbin. Is this true?"

"It is indeed true. This will be the album with the highest MV cost since my debut, because we will be filming in quite a few countries abroad. Like Russia, the Netherlands, the United States, Iraq, and other countries."

"Sister Bingbin is indeed the female lead in one of the MVs..."

Huh?

Iraq?

Wait, buddy, that place is a ruin; what is there to film?

The two reporters looked at each other, exchanging bewildered glances, with hundreds of thousands of question marks popping up in their minds—

The next second, a thought immediately surfaced in their minds: You wouldn't be planning to do something about war too, would you?

No, did you leaders of the new generation in the music scene all make an agreement?

The reporter was a bit stunned, but thinking about it again, it made sense—

Let's not even mention Tao Zhe; posing as a newcomer while actually being an old veteran, he skyrocketed last year with his album 'Black Orange' based on the grand concept of anti-war, society, and reflection, completely cementing his god-like status and firmly establishing his prestige in the industry, unshakable;

This year, Wang Lihong's new album 'Impossible', which has already begun promotion, also contains a song titled 'You and Me' that leans towards the concept of world peace in its promotion. Although the album hasn't been officially released yet, based on current publicity and hints, this album also shows signs of becoming Wang Lihong's career best.

As for Jay Chou, there's no need to say much more. Although he personally said the song 'The Last Battle' in last year's album was about opposing violence and brotherhood, it also depicted some of the cruelty of war. This song was also the track that elevated the level of Jay Chou's album 'Fantasy' from last year.

And according to the latest news, Jay Chou's next album will also focus on the anti-war concept.

Zhou Yi's 'Lianshan' from last year was merely based on the social environment and family education. Although 'In the Name of the Father' was highly praised, it can also be said that among the current top singers of the new generation, Zhou Yi is the only one without a song related to this concept.

Even Lin Junjie, the Singaporean singer who debuted this year, has a concept song related to war in his first album 'Music Voyager'...

If he wants to make up for this deficiency, it's not hard to understand.

However, if everyone does the same major concept category, then whoever loses will be truly awkward.

Tao Zhe and Jay Chou are fine, as they avoided each other, but Wang Lihong's new album 'Impossible' this year happens to clash directly with Zhou Yi's 'Guicang'...

…………………………

"I have confidence."

Taiwan, Sony Music Building, inside the lounge.

Facing his manager's concerns, Wang Lihong, who had emerged from his low mood, shook his head and regained his confidence: "Who surrenders before the fight even starts? Zhou Yi is indeed strong, but I am not weak either. Competing solely on Chinese albums, I don't think I'll be left too far behind."

This 'Impossible' is an album he has been refining for two years.

He released a greatest hits album in 2002, then went overseas to Japan only to fail miserably. After returning to Taiwan, he poured all his heart and soul into this album, which is also the reason why he named the album 'Impossible'—

Because after it was made, even he felt it was stunning and hard to believe. Whether it was the overall conceptual buildup or the arrangement of song elements, this album is a brand new peak in his career so far.

He felt he was ready.

Rating 9.8! A truly professional musician must dare to make judgments. Open the champagne!

"Alright, since you have this confidence, that's good. By the way, stay away from Li Wen recently. The conflict between her and the company has reached an irreconcilable stage, and the company has now decided to firmly promote the newcomer Cai Yilin."

Before leaving, the manager didn't forget to remind Wang Lihong of the internal changes within the company.

Due to Zhou Yi's great success, Li Wen, eager to break into the American market again, contacted Sony headquarters and planned to launch another assault on the US market—this made Taiwan Sony very unhappy.

Originally, accepting the failed and returning Li Wen was already a gesture of goodwill; you come back, release an album, and then want to go out again, signing a new contract with Sony America all over again. What's the meaning of that?

Do you think of this place as a public restroom, coming and going whenever you please?

Cai Yilin, who became popular at the beginning of this year with her new album, directly took the top spot, and her next album received the trial treatment of the company's number one female artist.

After the manager went to arrange his variety show appearances, Wang Lihong, sitting alone in the lounge, looked at the Zhou Yi news being broadcast on the TV, thought for a moment, and made a phone call to Tao Zhe, who was still in the United States—

"It is reported that Zhou Yi, who finished filming the MV and visited Sun Yanzi at the Shanghai Chedong Film and Television Base three days ago, flew to the United States yesterday afternoon to shoot locations for a new song MV, accompanied by the famous mainland actress Li Bing..."

The sweet reporting voice of the female host on the screen was still continuing. Wang Lihong, who had just called his good brother, didn't wait long before hearing a weary voice come from the other end of the phone—

"Lihong, are you finished with work?"

"Yeah, mostly done, preparing to go home and rest."

"... I want to come back."

After a moment of silence, Tao Zhe spoke, his voice carrying a hint of barely concealed hoarseness.

It's hard, too hard.

Relying on Zhou Yi's fame, and using his past experience of being a police officer and forming a campus band in the United States to bridge the gap with Americans, he ran around offline constantly, trying every possible means, but the final result was still unsatisfactory.

No one is booing him off the stage anymore, but the racial discrimination behind the scenes still exists. Several times he was so angry that he almost got into a fight backstage; if his assistant hadn't stopped him quickly, he would have probably walked into the familiar police station again.

"... It's fine, coming back is fine, no big deal. I failed miserably in Japan too. Someone like Zhou Yi is a freak unique to the music scene; his grasp of English songs is simply not like that of a native Chinese speaker."

As a fellow fallen soul, Wang Lihong, whose overseas launch in Japan failed under Sony's news suppression, faced little harassment from domestic media. He even bought many press releases to save face, such as claiming the fan meeting was bustling, leading many unsuspecting fans to naively believe their idol had truly made it abroad.

"I'm not willing to accept it, I'm not willing. Those stupid white skins and black skins, I really want to slap their faces hard!"

Tao Zhe, clearly having drunk alcohol, was somewhat emotional.

He was never a good kid; back when he studied in America, he was a hot-blooded youth who fought with white skins and black skins over racial discrimination, and causing trouble while drunk was even more of a daily occurrence.

Due to his background, he had no filters for Europe or America.

If it weren't for Zhou Yi, he might never have set foot in the European and American music scene again, because it had left him with a very bad impression.

After venting his psychological pressure on Wang Lihong, Tao Zhe also received a call from his manager—

"Zhou Yi has arrived in the US; check the news for details. He won't be staying long. I've arranged a meeting for you, a meal, to reconnect."

"Okay."

Upon hearing Zhou Yi had arrived in the US, Tao Zhe immediately perked up and turned on the hotel TV—

On the huge screen, the live broadcast treatment made Tao Zhe see for the first time exactly what kind of chasm existed between himself and Zhou Yi.

Fans holding Zhou Yi's posters, photos, photobooks, and even albums and banners were everywhere; white, black, and Latino descendants were all present. Among Asians, Japanese faces were the most numerous, followed by those with normal Chinese features, while those with high-Chinese features were actually the least proportionate—

Everyone was gathered outside the airport, screaming continuously, constantly screaming at Zhou Yi who led the way after getting off the plane!

"Spike! Spike! Spike!"

"Spike!!"

"Zhou Yi! Zhou Yi! Zhou Yi!"

Languages mixed together. Zhou Yi, full of spirit and wearing sunglasses, stood still before the cameras. Under the gaze of all, he spread his arms, enjoying the fans' love and cheers—

"Hello, How are you?"

The greeting from the idol sent the scene into complete chaos!

"Ah!!!!"

"Spike!"

"I love you! Spike!"

Li Bingbin, who had absolutely no presence and was only fit to carry bags, saw this scene and couldn't help but clench his fists, his eyes filled with envy and longing.

Before the TV screen, Tao Zhe, Zhang Ziyi who was in the US, and others, after seeing this scene, all felt quite mixed emotions in their hearts.

This is how a big star should be.