Chapter 609: The Harder You Slander, the Steadier the Persona

Impossible, impossible...

Impossible!

Forcibly suppressing the chaotic thoughts in her mind, Yuan Li—who had already pocketed her phone—watched the fellow journalists at the scene scrambling to their feet to chase after Zhou Yi's retreating back, her brows tightly knit.

"Are you trying to bully people with your power?! What you're doing is a violation of—"

The truly self-provisioned Xu Qingliang still hadn't smelled the danger in it, still holding high the banner of freedom against Qian Jiang. Years of "righteous outspokenness" online without ever encountering any difficulty or obstacle had long since robbed him of any judgment regarding certain people, certain powers.

Freedom of speech was the label and talisman he always wore on his body.

Not to mention he had relied on this kind of behavior to climb all the way up inside Southern Press; at this rate, the position of executive editor-in-chief was practically within reach.

But Yuan Li was different.

Xu Qingliang's was a spontaneous yearning and bootlicking; hers was truly self-interested—she'd taken the money.

Now that she was suddenly being told to go back and accept investigation...

Like hell she'd go back!

Fortunately she was in Hong Kong right now, not the mainland.

Knowing her own affairs best, Yuan Li planned at the first moment to fly directly from Hong Kong to the United States.

Glancing at Xu Qingliang, who was still opposing being sued by her, feeling he'd been singled out and categorized as a colonial subject type and burning with anger and resentment, Yuan Li silently retreated behind the crowd, turned and left the Warner press hall.

Fortunately, she encountered no obstruction.

Honestly speaking, she was still a bit surprised she'd been called back directly. This was a treatment even Cheng Long had never received; if Jet Li had had this level of support back then to put his mind at ease, he wouldn't have had to emigrate and take American citizenship.

But it didn't matter anymore. Whether Xu Qingliang and those people lived or died had nothing to do with her; there was no exchange of interests between them anyway, so even if he couldn't withstand the Great Memory Restoration Technique, he wouldn't be able to say anything of substance.

After making a phone call to someone at The Huaerjie Journal, Yuan Li—who valued speed above all—drove straight back to the hotel, returned to her room too lazy to even pack her luggage, and stuffed her ID and bank cards into her bag.

About ten minutes later, Sarah, a foreign reporter from The Huaerjie Journal, drove up to the hotel entrance and gave her a call.

"Ok, coming."

Reminded by the phone call, Yuan Li walked to the window, and looking down she saw the black luxury sedan parked right outside the hotel.

However, just as she, bag in hand, was about to open her mouth and head out, she ran straight into four "thugs" with toothpicks dangling from their mouths—they were blocking the doorway, clearly waiting for her.

"What do you want?! This is Hong Kong, not the mainland!"

"Lei zai gang mat ye a, Miss Yuan, we are Hong Kong people ourselves."

"..."

Shit!

Could they even come up with a worse excuse?!

It's the 21st century—what kind of street thug could stake out a corridor in a luxury hotel like this?!

Simply unheard of!

……………………………

"Then she knows now."

Warner Hong Kong Building, Zhou Yi's lounge.

Qian Jiang, having finished dealing with the reporters, pushed the door and walked in, poured a glass of water for Zhou Yi who had followed him in, and smiled like a Maitreya Buddha, harmless as could be: "Perhaps Zhou Jianhui's rise made people forget that Hong Kong was the first domestic city where Warner took root."

Back in the day, Warner had reached its peak in Hong Kong before relying on acquisitions to enter the Taiwanese market.

"If she's so fond of freedom, then let's first let her have a taste of American-style freedom."

Qian Jiang raised his glass, clinked it against Zhou Yi's, and laughed with unrestrained delight.

Zhou Yi, who had sipped some plain water to moisten his throat, raised an eyebrow: "Caught red-handed?"

Qian Jiang, patting his general's belly, plopped down onto the sofa, making it creak: "That's right, keeping an eye on her did pay off. Once the mainland people arrive, we can just hand her over to them."

Offend the abbot and still think you can run?

Not a chance.

"The issue that needs handling most right now is the fallout from those words of yours. You very likely—no, you definitely will offend quite a few journalism professionals, even some people working in official media, like Yuan Li."

"No need to worry about these trivial things. No matter how they slander me in the future, I won't lose a single piece of flesh, and there won't be any substantive loss."

Zhou Yi, who had set down his glass, sprawled comfortably on the sofa: "Arrogant, overbearing, looking down on everyone, full of scandals, a lecherous womanizer with women lining up for group sex parties, and there are even rumors I already have a kid.

"These biggest scandals have been reported on God knows how many times. My fans and even passersby have heard them for four years; their ears have grown calluses from hearing them."

As long as he wasn't caught doing something illegal or criminal and exposed with hard evidence, this group couldn't do a thing to him.

Go ahead and slander. The harder you slander me, the more stable my persona becomes.

Having backers means you can do whatever you want.

In fact, that really was the case.

When this shortest press conference in the history of domestic entertainment ended, everyone watching the broadcast on TV hadn't even had time to react—

Including those media professionals who were very concerned about the outcome and the massive group of onlookers who just wanted to watch the drama.

They watched helplessly as Zhou Yi, so arrogant, so degrading, drove the spiritual banana people, the banana person group, completely over the edge.

"Not bros, you need to stiffen your resolve! Stiffen your resolve, understand!"

"Is there anyone who can slip something into Zhou Yi's usual drinks? Just let the drug test destroy him and be done with it."

"That guy is extremely cautious about this stuff, doesn't even drink things carelessly abroad. Very difficult."

"..."

The colonial-subject group, well aware they couldn't beat Zhou Yi in the area of personal reputation that domestic stars cared about most, had already begun brainstorming alternative approaches—pushing him toward the legal-violator route.

That was the most effective way to damage Zhou Yi's popularity; even if he was ultimately protected, it would leave him severely weakened.

And for the vast fan base and the onlooker crowd, Zhou Yi's scolding words—rhyming like jingles—were undoubtedly the fastest-spreading and most brainwashing of all.

"Zhou Yi's scolding tricks keep evolving—'rotten orange' has even come out now. What a magical metaphor, a colonial-subject for generations!"

"I beg you, Zhou Yi, please shut up from now on. Every time I listen to his songs I feel like this guy is worth knowing, but the moment I see Zhou Yi's real-life behavior I can't bring myself to be a fan. Do you have any idea how torturous this kind of split personality feels?"

"My ears tell me to stan Zhou Yi, but my conscience tells me Zhou Yi isn't worth stanning, because his flaws are simply too numerous."

"Zhou Yi, the perfect candidate for the mute groom!"

"No, if he goes mute, who will sing for me?"

"Isn't Zhou Yi's conduct already high? He didn't even curse his mother, and he's even teaching fans how to view this world. Isn't this a thoroughly high-cultured star?"

"Go to hell!"

"..."

The internet once again erupted into a brawl.

Only this time, the veteran Yi-fans, whose battle experience had been honed over four years, summarized a battle manifesto and rapidly spread it. It was so simple and easy to understand that even new Zhou Yi fans could quickly grasp it and get started—

"If you oppose Zhou Yi on this matter, then you are a colonialist! You are a traitor to the nation! You are a Han traitor!"

"Do you understand the gold content of 'War's Lament', 'Sunzi Bingfa', 'New Earth', 'vast world', and 'In the Blink of an Eye'? Which other singer can pack so many songs with profound meaning into a single album?"

"I study music; this is a divine song."

"I also study music; I think this is a divine album."

"This is Zhou Yi! This is the one-and-only singer in the Chinese music scene! When it comes to boldness, no one in the entire music scene can match him!"

"..."

In an era where Tao Zhe's fans loved to brag about the ideological depth of 'Black Tofu' and Wang Lihong's fans loved to brag about the grand scale of 'Unbelievable', Zhou Yi's 'Gui Cang' could directly drag those two together and take them down.

By the end of the bragging, they didn't even spare Li Zongsheng and Lo Ta-yu.

"The so-called two godfathers of today's music scene, I think they are just so-so.

"Li Zongsheng only knows how to write about love and trifles of daily life; his fame is hollow, with no grandeur whatsoever. Lo Ta-yu is timid and indecisive, sparing his own life when undertaking great matters; he is merely a watchdog.

"These two are both not worth mentioning.

"Only Zhou Yi, with a broad and open heart, harboring sound strategies in his belly, possessing the mechanism to contain the universe and the ambition to swallow heaven and earth, is a true hero..."

After Zhou Yi kicked away the authorities led by media figures like Yuan Li, the wind of reckoning finally blew onto the heads of Lo Ta-yu and Li Zongsheng. This post on Tianya, 'Discussing Heroes Over Wine: The Music Scene Edition', directly became a carnival for the group-organizing faction.

Then just strip your citizenship on the spot!

You can't even have an opinion! Even thinking is a crime!

"Our brother Zhou Yi is still overseas striving for glory for the country, exporting Chinese culture to the outside world. How can you bear to drag us down here?!"