Chapter 6: The Future Heartthrob

"This is Qian Jiang, a senior agent at the company. You two will get to know each other over this period; if you need anything later, just let me know."

In the general manager's office, after completing the formal signing, Zhou Yi met the agent he would need to contact over the next four years, introduced by his mentor Zhou Jianhui.

He looked to be in his forties, with a crew cut, slightly overweight, and his smile made him look a bit like Maitreya Buddha.

The moment he saw Zhou Yi, this Qian Jiang, whom Zhou Jianhui called a senior agent, reached out his hand first: "What a handsome young man. Jianhui has truly recommended a good prospect to me this time."

Although his accent had improved somewhat, it was still very obvious that he was from Hong Kong Island.

"Hello, Mr. Qian."

Facing this unfamiliar prospective agent, Zhou Yi showed no shyness at all; after shaking hands, he smiled and addressed him.

"That title is too formal. I am 43 years old. If you don't mind, you can just call me Uncle, which would be a bit closer. I'll call you A-Yi, how about that?"

"Then I'll have to trouble Uncle Qian to take extra care of my affairs."

Zhou Yi's quick change of address made Qian Jiang's eyes light up; on his chubby face, the smile instantly became a bit more genuine.

He liked this kind of artist.

He had originally thought that Zhou Jianhui sending him to look after a young child was just to act as a nanny, but judging by this conversation, he felt there was indeed great potential here.

"The accommodation the company arranged for you is in Taipei's East District; it is relatively close to the company and convenient for you to come and go for recording songs."

Seeing the two finish their pleasantries, Zhou Jianhui handed a complete rental contract to Zhou Yi: "This residential area has decent security, and some celebrities with a bit of fame in the Treasure Island also live there, so there is no need to worry about privacy issues."

"Thank you, Mr. Zhou."

Flipping through the rental contract in his hand bearing the Warner header, Zhou Yi felt somewhat surprised inside.

This treatment was quite good; he had thought it would just be ordinary accommodation conditions, after all, he hadn't debuted yet and hadn't even produced a single song.

"You're welcome. Polish your album well; leave the rest to the company." As the domineering boss, Zhou Jianhui patted the shoulder of this junior brother in front of him and encouraged him from the heart: "This is the meaning of signing with a company, isn't it?"

It must be said that there was a reason why Zhou Jianhui could lead Warner back to its peak in the domestic market. Unfortunately, the place he was in was called Warner.

If he remembered correctly, Zhou Jianhui would leave Warner in either 2006 or 2007; after that, Warner fell into a brief period of internal strife and chaos, forcing some artists who had jumped ship to face being shelved, including top-tier stars of the market at the time, such as Xiao Yaxuan.

Putting the key to the residential area given by the company into his pocket, Zhou Yi, after bidding farewell to Zhou Jianhui, followed his "temporary" agent for this month out of the main gate of Warner Company.

"Get in the car, A-Yi. I'll take you to your place first." Standing in front of a Mercedes and waving at him, Qian Jiang truly let Zhou Yi get a good look at his agent's capabilities.

In the year 2000, an agent who had the money to buy a Mercedes definitely had some serious skills.

Taking this opportunity to secretly observe this junior brother from the mainland, Qian Jiang was also very satisfied.

He had taken quite a bit of time off due to family reasons before; when he returned this time and was assigned by Zhou Jianhui to take care of a child, he actually didn't take it seriously at first, just treating it as guiding a newcomer.

It was only after Zhou Jianhui gave him a special briefing and specifically pointed out the potential possessed by Zhou Yi that he began to observe this child with the eye of someone scrutinizing a heavenly emperor-level superstar.

"Uncle Qian, are you from Hong Kong Island?"

"Yes, how about it? My accent has improved quite a bit, right?"

Knowing that Zhou Yi was just trying to start a conversation, Qian Jiang, after starting the car, naturally didn't let the conversation drop, smiling and joking: "I used to run all over the two sides of the strait and the three regions frequently; at the beginning, my Mandarin communication ability was a major difficulty."

"Jianhui also knew you were from the mainland, so he specifically asked me to be your agent."

As one of the artist's closest battle partners, whether the agent can communicate and interact with the artist in a friendly and pleasant manner is very important.

Having experience running all over the two sides of the strait and the three regions, Qian Jiang naturally knew some of the taboos that should be observed; this is also why Zhou Jianhui chose to let Qian Jiang guide Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi suddenly realized.

So this agent of his was someone who could operate in all three regions; it looked like his connections were a bit extensive.

"Oh, by the way, A-Yi, there is something I need to ask clearly in advance. You must answer me truthfully and do not hide anything."

During the gap while driving and waiting for the traffic light, Qian Jiang turned his head and asked the figure in the passenger seat: "You look so handsome; do you have a girlfriend now? Or, do you have a girlfriend in the mainland?"

"If you do, how many?"

"Did you break up peacefully? Is there anyone who has a conflict with you?"

When Qian Jiang asked this, his expression was very serious; it was clear he was not joking at all.

For current artists, whether or not one has a girlfriend involves the image the company wants to position.

"I don't have a girlfriend, nor have I had any emotional entanglements with anyone. But as Uncle Qian also said, I look so handsome, so..."

Zhou Yi shrugged; he didn't say the rest explicitly, but he believed that Qian Jiang, this old fox, should be able to understand the meaning behind it.

Not having a girlfriend didn't mean there were no female friends, especially those female friends who were drooling over his body.

He had sung folk songs and rock; he was tall, sunny, and handsome; on the journey to fetch the scriptures, he would definitely be a piece of Tang Seng's flesh.

"Understood."

Qian Jiang nodded with understanding: "Then what are your thoughts on your public image?"

"Just don't build me up as a pure-hearted Young Master; I'm fine with anything else."

Hearing this, Zhou Yi answered very decisively.

He knew his own nature very well.

Not many people can resist the temptation of a one-night stand with the real beauties in the current entertainment industry; he certainly wasn't one of them.

With this in mind, it would be best to avoid this minefield when building the image.

For people in this circle, whether you are a playboy or not actually mainly depends on what image the company builds for you.

A typical example is Tao Zhe; the person is famously a playboy, which doesn't stop his albums from selling massively.

Zhou Dong also had quite a few scandals after becoming famous, with rumors spreading about him involving everyone from top diva Li Wen to the female leads in his music videos and even some fresh-faced models.

If we really have to distinguish, we can say this: Only after publicly revealing Kun Ling did Zhou Dong become the good man image who cut off his scandals.

Lin Junjie, who was currently a "trainee" at Sea Butterfly, didn't even need to be mentioned.

In Zhou Yi's impression, among the four people in Zhou Wang Taolin, the only one who actually had a major collapse of reputation and image in this regard was Wang Lihong in 2021, because among these four, only he had the public image of a high-quality Young Master.

"Okay, but I must remind you that you still need to be careful in some situations. If anything unexpected happens, you must tell me; do not hide it from me."

As an agent, especially one who witnessed the golden age of the Hong Kong entertainment industry, Qian Jiang simply didn't care at all about the romantic love between artists.

In this day and age, as long as one is a talented person, those who are not romantic are the minority.

Isn't Dou Wei from the mainland talented enough? Does he have few romantic entanglements?

What about Zhang Yadong, the talent who just produced a blockbuster album in the mainland? Does he have a short romantic history?

If the mainland, with its relatively conservative atmosphere, is like this, then Hong Kong and Taiwan need no further mention; just the current top figure in the music industry, Rock Records, has two people famous in this regard—

Li Zongsheng is world-renowned, and the company's top female star, Liu Nucha, is a heavyweight.

"I understand; if anything comes up, I'll notify you—"

Zhou Yi, who understood the stakes involved, immediately agreed. He was about to continue speaking when his words were interrupted by a sudden ring from his pocket—

He took it out and saw that the saved number was unmistakably: Cheng Hao.

The "Myriad People's Favorite" who would become famous nationwide in the near future thanks to "The Pink Ladies."