Chapter 594

"Zhou Yi Plays Four-Player Mahjong Deep into the Night in America, Clattering Sounds Last All Night, Three Models Cry Out in Despair!"

"Zhou Yi Plays Poker at Hotel, Fights Round after Round but Loses to Three Models, Gets Completely Broke!"

"……"

10th, Monday.

Coinciding with the start of a new week, Hong Kong's two largest gossip media outlets—the weekly Yi Zhoukan and the daily Apple Daily—both featured Zhou Yi's exploits on their covers and front-page headlines.

Of course, the accompanying images were as visually indulgent as ever.

As a publication genuinely backed by foreign forces, Li Fei still managed, through his own channels, to obtain fresh photos of Zhou Yi in America, and even exposed this man's irresponsible behavior of diving headfirst into the Victoria's Secret show without returning home.

In the traditional recording era, getting airplay on radio stations was a serious matter for any singer, demanding one hundred and twenty percent of their energy.

When Zhou Yi debuted in 2000, he was exactly like that—he ran himself ragged doing radio promotions.

But now, Zhou Yi's behavior of ignoring his own new song's radio promotion and staying abroad to watch Victoria's Secret shows was, to those who had come up through the traditional recording era, one of the most severe acts of dereliction.

Put bluntly, this was an insult to music itself.

If you don't respect your own music, if you don't care about your own songs, how can you expect listeners and fans to invest in them?

Arrogant, spoiled, conceited.

These labels, never peeled off Zhou Yi's back, were brought up again—this time not targeting his music, but his attitude toward music.

"Isn't this song 'Qi Li Xiang' simply not important to Zhou Yi?"

"Could it be that Zhou Yi just threw this together to appease domestic fans? Why isn't he even rushing back to promote it?"

"Then again, the domestic market doesn't seem that important to Zhou Yi anymore—dollars are just too sweet."

"To be fair, if I were Zhou Yi, I'd find it hard to leave that soft paradise—so many top models..."

There were those who questioned, and there were also those who had long passed this stage—or didn't care about attitude at all—dirty old men who only loved looking at beautiful women.

The nine-head-tall models showing off their figures and legs in the Victoria's Secret show didn't just make Hong Kong readers drool; after being reposted online by mainland netizens, they made every horny old fan's eyes turn green, some even wanting to shout, "I could do better!"

"The pleasures here make one forget Shu. If I were Zhou Yi, I'd be dazed too—so many top models swirling around me, wouldn't I be singing and drinking every night until I flew?"

"Only three? Zhou Yi should just challenge ten at once—pay tribute to the legendary martial arts master Mr. Ho Yuanjia, especially since he also claims to be Ho Yuanjia's disciple."

"Those are just folk tales—nothing that mystical."

"Brothers, don't be fooled—this new song by Zhou Yi is top-tier quality; there's absolutely no truth to the claim that he's slacking off to appease fans. It's sweet—sweet to the point of exploding."

"The Twin Star Party takes off instantly—pop the champagne!"

"……"

At 10:08 a. m. Beijing time, when Zhou Yi's fans were already awake, "Qi Li Xiang" was globally unblocked on radio.

Yes, globally unblocked.

That was the exact wording used by Warner's official website and all major press releases—no exaggeration whatsoever.

Not to mention East Asia and Southeast Asia, led by China, Japan, and South Korea—even in Europe and America, over half of the medium and large radio stations in every country Warner reached played this Chinese song, "Qi Li Xiang."

Warner was ridiculously wealthy—

Who cares how many people in Europe and America actually listen to Chinese songs? I've put the money down—do you want it or not?

Thanks to Zhou Yi's name and the fame boost, many of his hardcore fans in Europe and America stayed up late to tune into radio broadcasts to hear this Chinese masterpiece from their idol—

To love someone means to love all of them!

But compared to Western fans who still needed English translations to understand the lyrics, listeners in the Chinese-speaking regions were outright overwhelmed.

Zhang Hongyi, whose family had grown wealthy thanks to Zhou Yi and Sun Yanzi, and still reaped ongoing benefits, was one such person.

Her parents ran a street food stall, living a mediocre life until that summer of 2000, when Zhou Yi, still able to appear on Taiwanese programs and move freely, secretly strolled through a night market with Sun Yanzi—

They were eventually recognized by enthusiastic fans because they underestimated their own popularity and overestimated their makeup skills at a night market stall.

Zhou Yi invented a fictional younger brother named "Bāguà" on the spot; Sun Yanzi claimed her real younger sister, Sun Yanmei, as her companion; and when they fled, Zhou Yi still held Sun Yanzi's hand as they quickly escaped the scene.

That was the summer Taiwanese Zhou Yi fans and Twin Star fans would never forget.

Back then, Zhou Yi still appeared on Taiwanese programs like "Shí Zì Lù Kǒu," held signing events, and even created the legendary moment: "What if we did it again?"—still talked about today as a timeless classic.

Yes, her family's stall was now that very night market stand, turned into a pilgrimage site for Taiwanese Zhou Yi and Twin Star fans.

Thanks to the windfall from the ban, their stall had become Taiwan's one and only "specialty"—business exploded ever since, and her parents even hung the photo from that day in the most prominent spot on their food cart.

The only regret was that the two chairs Zhou Yi and Sun Yanzi sat on had been bought and removed—and no one had ever boasted about them online.

This nearly lost Twin Star memory had become Zhang Hongyi's buried "white moonlight," until the song "Qi Li Xiang" blew like a wind, sweeping away the dust on the seal and awakening her memories—

That night, the first midnight snack they ate was "Qi Li Xiang."

"F**k!! This is a love confession song, right? This is a love confession song, right?!"

"Such a beautiful intro, such beautiful lyrics, such a beautiful vocal tone! Zhou Yi's new song is literally a love letter to Sun Yanzi—a wedding invitation to Twin Star fans!"

"Back to 2000! Waaah! Zhou Yi hasn't forgotten that summer—he hasn't forgotten it, just like us!"

"Qi Li Xiang, grilled mackerel—they ate them together. And the anesthesia on the utility poles—wasn't it in the MV for 'Today You Will Marry Me' that those two were playing in the kitchen, with sparrows outside the window?"

"I checked—it's true! F**k! I declare this Zhou Yi's most beautiful, most melodious song ever—no exception!"

The song was unblocked on radio at 10:08 a. m.; online sentiment exploded around noon, precisely when students and office workers were free to browse.

The three-year deadline had passed; those CP fans who had grown quiet due to Zhou Yi's rising scandals now awakened their old memories under this one song, transforming into raging beasts that stormed the internet, unleashing the long-suppressed emotions they had cherished.

No MV, no hot recommendations, not even a single public appearance by Zhou Yi himself—yet "Qi Li Xiang," solely through its title, its poetic sweetness, and the memories of that summer, directly shattered the hotline systems of radio stations across Taiwan.

Taipei FM, Taiwan's largest music radio station, had anticipated Zhou Yi's terrifying popularity would bring massive early attention to this song, so they had specially increased the number of operators and implemented rotating DJs.

Even so, operators were overwhelmed, DJs were hoarse from talking nonstop, and managers had to step in personally to stabilize the situation.

For Taiwanese first-generation CP fans who had watched Zhou Yi and Sun Yanzi grow up together, the moment "Qi Li Xiang" appeared in the title, it delivered a fatal blow—

Its impact was greater than even "Today You Will Marry Me" or "Fairy Tale."

Because it was a memory strike.

No one in this world can withstand a memory strike—not even the ultimate villains from Wu Xia dramas, anime, or tokusatsu, who, when faced with a memory strike, are utterly powerless.

In the summer of 2000, Zhang Hongyi was still an carefree sophomore; but this year, she has already been a workplace newcomer for one year.

Some people might have been alone three years ago, yet three years later they are already married, and their children might even be able to walk.

Zhou Yi used the song "Qi Li Xiang" to remind the dazed crowd that three years had already passed since that beautiful summer.