Chapter 622: Tear It Apart!

Who am I~

Do you remember when I caused chaos in Heaven?

I get drunk, break every rule, and never change…

Extremely strange rhythms and arrangements filled Cai Zuoyan's ears; she didn't understand them at all, and even found them… grating?

Of course, that's her perspective as a mainstream listener.

As a hastily assembled idol singer, it's unreasonable to expect her to grasp any artistic depth in a song like "Sun Wukong."

Strange. Ugly.

That was her first impression of the song.

Especially that rap section right before the chorus…

"Our hero hasn't even realized his surname is Sun; he has personal issues and hasn't found his self-worth yet."

"No problem."

"He will surely find a Moonlight Treasure Box, then return to Jiangnan, just like Zhou Yi's 'Lianshan Guicang.'"

"Now I've trained for a thousand years—don't even think of breaking my array, the Seventy-Two Transformations."

"No mortal, soul, or demon shall stop me from guarding my master's life~"

Without reading the lyrics, she had no idea what Fang Datong was rapping—his delivery was far worse than Zhou Yi's—

Or rather, Zhou Yi's Chinese rap was clearly his own modified adaptation, better suited to Chinese listeners' ears.

But now the problem was, even after reading the lyrics, she still had no idea what the entire song meant.

The only line she understood was: "He will surely find a Moonlight Treasure Box, then return to Jiangnan, just like Zhou Yi's 'Lianshan Guicang.'"

"He will surely find a Moonlight Treasure Box, then return to Jiangnan" clearly referred to the scene in "A Chinese Odyssey" where Zixia appears rowing through a reed marsh.

That place is called Shahu, characterized by half lake and half desert, famed as the "Jiangnan beyond the Great Wall." Undoubtedly, Fang Datong was referencing the "A Chinese Odyssey" scene he'd mentioned earlier in the lyrics.

As for the final line, "just like Zhou Yi's 'Lianshan Guicang,'" it clearly paid homage to Zhou Yi's Divine Ascension Quartet: "Zhou Yi," "Jiangnan," "Lianshan," and "Guicang."

"With R&B lyrics, you don't need to understand them too clearly—or you might be shocked."

Seeing Cai Zuoyan's confusion, Zhou Yi removed his headphones and smiled: "If you don't believe me, look up some popular English R&B lyrics right now—see how terrible they are."

Many so-called R&B fans, whom highbrow music critics refuse to admit it, know that in many English R&B songs, the lyric quality is no better than the mainstream TikTok viral hits they despise.

These people sneer at the lyrics of viral hits while making excuses for the chaotic, even vulgar and crude lyrics of many English R&B songs.

In the end, the only conclusion they reached was: a good melody doesn't care about lyrics.

Because they can't win the argument about lyrics, they argue about melody instead.

After all, whether lyrics are good is immediately obvious; whether a melody is clichéd or brilliant, whether the arrangement is weak or cool—most people can't tell. The average ear only recognizes three categories: good, average, trash.

"Then why give him an album opportunity?"

Crumpling the printed lyric sheet and tossing it into the trash bin, Cai Zuoyan asked curiously: "You really think highly of him?"

"Of course. His style isn't mainstream, but it plays a major role in expanding the boundaries of Mandarin pop music." Zhou Yi answered seriously; the answer sounded impressively lofty.

"What about Xue Kaiqi? She's also a Warner artist, right? Supposedly debuting next year—what do you think of her?" Thinking of the girl who'd come with Fang Datong but kept subtly flirting with Zhou Yi, Cai Zuoyan wondered what Zhou Yi thought of her.

After all, she's the one actually debuting next year under Warner—not Fang Datong, who was just promoted by Zhou Yi today.

"Average."

"Average?"

Zhou Yi shrugged: "Yeah."

In his view, that woman was just like that.

Officer Bunny, Hong Kong's Last Girl, the one Fang Datong longed for but could never have—these were Xue Kaiqi's three most famous labels.

But in reality, her acting was average, her singing was average, her voice had gradually faded over time, and the only thing people still talked about was the joke: "Fang Datong, the devoted fan."

Yes, it was just a joke.

You'd believe Fang Datong, the quiet American-Chinese musician with countless female fans, had been a devoted admirer for twenty years, before you'd believe that the most famous work of a wizard with a child was actually a shy virgin who blushed at holding hands.

Since the rise of the internet, beginning with Jay Chou's sunset-era chart manipulation—

Wang Xinling's "Sweetheart CEO" marketing went viral, Sun Yanzi's team promoted the "obscure singer" narrative and sparked an archival craze, Tao Zhe of the Chouxiang Sect rose again through internet absurdity, Xiao Gang Zhou Chuanxiong began playing the victim—many veteran singers experienced a second wind.

Xue Kaiqi's team and Fang Datong's team thus recalled their old, intertwined image: more than friends, less than lovers.

That is, the modern trope of the "devoted fan" and the "goddess."

Just like how, on later-day TikTok, videos of Xue Kaiqi and Fang Datong suddenly flooded feeds for a period, if you looked closely, you'd realize their past news had been virtually nonexistent.

But suddenly, from a certain point, their content began appearing constantly in feeds; soon after, Xue Kaiqi started appearing on mainland variety shows; Fang Datong's team followed suit—suddenly, the forgotten "devoted fan Fang Datong" became an internet sensation—

Then, Fang Datong made his comeback with an album.

Both teams deliberately used this tactic to intermittently stoke hype and solidify their personal labels for easier dissemination.

After all, the two parties were genuinely old friends, deeply familiar with each other.

In reality, with good marketing, Xue Kaiqi could have fully capitalized on the comeback bonus like Sun Yanzi and Wang Xinling.

But unfortunately, she simply lacked breakout talent; her most famous song, "Suzhou River"/"Murong Xue," wasn't even a widely sung hit on the mainland.

Even on a niche level, her popularity paled in comparison to Fang Datong's rediscovered classics like "Three of Us" and "Spring Breeze"…

"Achoo!"

Back in the studio, Xue Kaiqi suddenly sneezed. Fang Datong, past his earlier excitement, casually handed her a box of tissues: "Catch a cold?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's just too cold."

Xue Kaiqi rubbed her nose and didn't think much of it, then turned to him with excitement: "Zhou Yi thinks highly of you—he personally gave you a debut chance. You're amazing, Datong. I always knew you could do it."

This was Zhou Yi.

They were both under Warner; Zhou Yi's words were an invisible boost to Fang Datong's status.

At Warner, Zhou Yi truly held such a lofty position.

After all, he's the sugar daddy who keeps raking in US dollars non-stop, the legendary stabilizing needle.

Seeing his good friend bring this up, Fang Datong could hardly hide his delight either: "I went in with a try-it-and-see attitude too. I didn't expect Zhou Yi to actually listen. In fact, I didn't hold out much hope at the start, since he wasn't staying in Hong Kong long and had to head back to the mainland for promotion right away."

Although the public intellectual flame wars saved Zhou Yi a fair amount of promotional work, during the album's promo period he still had to show his face at every single event without missing one—even squeezing in a cameo at Jackie Chan's film set was milked for publicity to whet appetites and build familiarity.

Stacked with the lingering impact of the concert, sales of Zhou Yi's new album *Gui Cang* across all districts of Hong Kong naturally climbed steadily as well.

On the 15th, after Zhou Yi—who was still in Hong Kong—attended his final Coca-Cola event, the gift from Huang Zhan was finally delivered before him—

A custom-made, one-of-a-kind-in-the-world burgundy Ferrari sports car.

The wheel hubs bore not only the customized names of Zhou Yi's four music albums, but the interior even had tags with Zhou Yi's Chinese and English names, and the cabin trim carried touches of album elements as well.

"Zhou Yi, Jiangnan, Lianshan, Gui Cang… tsk tsk, this grand gift of yours really caught me off guard, Uncle Zhan."

After test-driving the car, Zhou Yi unbuckled his seatbelt and stepped out, teasing the old man whose complexion had flushed slightly: "This thing's basically running around with all four albums on board."

"That's right."

Huang Zhan laughed, his hair neatly groomed without a strand out of place: "From now on it's yours—consider it a swap for that beat-up Mercedes of yours."

Since his debut, Zhou Yi had never had any news about buying luxury cars; the only one ever photographed was a black Mercedes—on this point he was quite unlike many big stars who love collecting luxury cars.

"That Mercedes has been with me a long time. No matter how good a Ferrari is, it's still just a sports car—not suited for long drives."

Zhou Yi, the type to take a bargain and still play coy: "But I'm already in the eye of the storm right now. You give me a luxury car—aren't you afraid those public intellectuals will seize the chance to take sly potshots at me for indulging in the good life?"

"If I don't give it to you, you won't indulge in the good life?"

"Well, that's true—seize the day is what matters most."

Once the topic was out, the two exchanged a smile.

…………………………

*Zhou Yi's New Flame Exposed! Burgundy Body Bewitches the Emperor! *

*A Wager Paid in Full: Huang Zhan Custom-Makes a "Wife" for Zhou Yi! *

*Zhou Yi Lost in Hong Kong's World of Sensual Pleasures*

*New Song Sparks Foreign Porcelain Craze*

*Zhou Yi VS Sun Yanzi: Warner Twins' Internal Showdown! *

*…*

In Shanghai, Sun Yanzi—who had just wrapped filming on the *Kung Fu* crew—was bundled in a blue down jacket, shoving a big steamed bun into her mouth with a huffing sound, chewing away as she read the news. When she reached the last piece, her eyes couldn't help but go wide.

What do you mean, twins' internal showdown?

Sun Yanzi and Zhou Yi are fighting?

How do I not know about this?

"You two both filmed movies this year, so when they hit theaters next year isn't that basically an internal showdown?" In the passenger seat, a slightly chubby woman in glasses pushed her frames up, glanced over, and before Sun Yanzi even finished reading the report, immediately laid out the reason.

"Next year? *Kung Fu* versus *New Police Story*? But Zhou Yi was only a cameo, Shan-jie—his screen time doesn't even add up to ten minutes." Sun Yanzi's chewing paused, cheeks puffed out, a few pickled cabbage leaves still clinging to her lips.

Ji Shengshan—legally speaking, Sun Yanzi's true manager.

It was just that Chen Ze Shan had always handled everything in the past, which made her seem rather lacking in presence; she was only in charge of running errands between Sun Yanzi and Chen Ze Shan.

Now, after Chen Ze Shan's departure, she—who had already collaborated with Sun Yanzi for many years—formally stepped up as Sun Yanzi's official manager, and was simultaneously promoted to Manager of Warner Music's Artist Department.

"Who's even keeping track of that? The hook of the twin stars settling the score in film next year works better than any cameo angle—unless Jackie Chan's side has some bigger news than that hook by then."

"Also, one more thing—once you head back to the capital, you can start preparing for the Spring Festival Gala song rehearsals. We've already received the Spring Festival Gala invitation. I put you down for three songs—'A Little Happiness,' 'One Like Summer One Like Autumn,' and 'Encounter'—to see which one the director's team picks for you."

Seeing that Sun Yanzi had left the *Kung Fu* crew and reverted to that energetic little fawn, Ji Shengshan hurriedly reminded her: "Don't eat junk and don't run around randomly during this period, got it?"

"Woo-hoo, I love you, Shan-jie!"

At the thought that all she had ahead was the Spring Festival Gala as her one task, Sun Yanzi couldn't help but beam—she was one step shy of shouting "Long live!"

Gotta hand it to Shan-jie for treating me so well.

"What about Zhou Yi? What about Zhou Yi? Is he still in Hong Kong?"

"Nope, he's flying back today—but directly to Changsha, to record *Happy Camp* over there. After that he'll swing by Shangrao to return to his hometown and finish the concert there."

Because Zhou Yi himself is a lock for the Spring Festival Gala, his review process can essentially be summed up in one thing—whether the new song gets approved or not.

This edition of the Spring Festival Gala begins on January 27, 2004, meaning the song-and-dance rehearsals will only start trickling in around early January—there's plenty of time.

Without having seen Zhou Yi's new song yet, Ji Shengshan also dares not guarantee that Zhou Yi definitely won't need multiple rehearsals.

"But Zhou Yi's Ferrari was shipped back to the capital first. Cheng Hao is busy with work, so he asked you to pick it up."

"Damn! This rich dog!"

The moment Sun Yanzi heard about the Ferrari, she was instantly indignant, her mouth full of envy, jealousy, and spite.

She had money too, and she also liked to hit the mall for a shopping spree when she was in a bad mood.

But a luxury item like a Ferrari was, for her, still somewhat beyond her reach. She'd recently had her eye on a camera costing a few tens of thousands and couldn't even bring herself to buy it, let alone something like a Ferrari costing millions.

Most of the money she earned went into buying property in Singapore—not only did she swap the family home for a big house, she also picked up several more properties herself—

Learned it from Zhou Yi.

No way around it—what she earned wasn't US dollars after all, and she had to set aside a portion to cover the team's expenses.

Originally, Zhou Yi being this rich didn't come with a fleet of luxury cars—just a few more houses than usual. But now that a Ferrari was being handed to him for free, she admitted—she was genuinely sour about it.

Not just her—when the details of Zhou Yi getting a custom Ferrari for free were exposed one by one by the Hong Kong media, the mainland outlets that reposted these stories immediately cashed in on a hefty wave of traffic—

"Damn! It really was free?!"

"Has this old man Huang Zhan gone senile? Doesn't he treat money as money?"

"Cut the crap—the man is practically on his deathbed, what's the point of keeping the money?"

"My rational mind tells me Zhou Yi deserves this, but reality makes me feel so sour—that's a Ferrari…"

With the hidden public intellectual crowd adding fuel to the fire, many media outlets' reports chose to emphasize that Zhou Yi now owned a Ferrari worth several million.

And it was on this very day that, while formally filing the next round of lawsuit, Warner also made sure to hype up some good news—

"Overseas Porcelain Frenzy: Tang Renjie Sells Out!"

"As Chinese people, we may have all grown accustomed to the existence of porcelain. But abroad, porcelain, especially blue-and-white porcelain and other traditional Chinese famous porcelains, has not yet been taken for granted."

"'Blue and White Porcelain' currently tops the Chinese song download chart on Zhou Yi's overseas Apple Music store, while simultaneously driving up sales revenue at porcelain shops in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan..."

Is 'Blue and White Porcelain' popular overseas?

Compared horizontally to English songs, it certainly isn't considered popular.

But compared vertically to Chinese songs, it is incredibly popular.

Zhou Yi's immense popularity allowed this Chinese song, 凭借其 unique charm, to achieve a staggering 700,000 paid single downloads on the US Apple Music store alone, and even drove sales of physical albums—many people bought them specifically for Zhou Yi's MV.

Especially the MV for 'Blue and White Porcelain'; many of Zhou Yi's fans are those who chase trends, and this trend was undoubtedly led by blue-and-white porcelain.

The MV for 'Blue and White Porcelain' features not only the male and female leads but also various kinds of exquisite porcelain.

For Zhou Yi's fans, this is undoubtedly a symbol of their idol.

His fans are already skewed towards the young and student demographic, and people of this age are often the ones most likely to spread certain trends. Back and forth, sales at Chinese porcelain shops in big cities like New York and Los Angeles have repeatedly broken past rigid figures these days—

It doesn't need to be popular across the entire US; it only needs to be popular within Zhou Yi's hardcore fanbase, which is enough to catch unprepared shop owners off guard and sell out in the short term.

"Damn it, Old Yuan, do you still have any green porcelain? Lend me some?"

"What? You've sold out too? What about the others? Anything that's even remotely related will do; I can bluff them into buying it."

"Shit! Everything is sold out???"

Los Angeles, inside a certain Chinese porcelain shop.

Never expecting to face such a day, the boss, Tony Tang, touched the sparse hair on his head, nearly dying of anxiety.

His stock orders had always followed the usual quota; nothing had gone wrong for so many years, yet this year he encountered an accident—a sudden, explosive surge in sales volume.

There were already few shops selling porcelain in this area, and even fewer selling Chinese porcelain, yet they somehow managed to sell out specific varieties.

He even considered dyeing the other porcelain in the shop and putting it out for sale.

"Nonsense, who knew Zhou Yi would be this fierce? His popularity in the US is off the charts; this arrogant, strong-persona image fits the taste of the new generation of American youth perfectly." On the other end of the phone, Old Yuan, also a shop owner, spoke with a tone of some sighing.

"Mainly regarding next year's Oscar and Grammy nominations, Warner Bros. is sparing no effort to build hype for him, directly causing news and records he set to frequently appear in newspapers even when he isn't in the US, constantly refreshing his presence."

With only a little over two months remaining until the start of next February's Grammy and Oscars, the two award ceremonies with the highest attention across the US, the necessary public relations work had long since begun. Under these circumstances, Zhou Yi's attention continued to rise, and naturally, the newly released Chinese album received even more attention.

The main cast of 'Pirates of the Caribbean' all purchased 'Guizang' to show support for Zhou Yi; stars closely related to Zhou Yi, such as the famously sexy Scarlett Johansson and Mariah Carey, also posted photos on their blogs to show support, which in turn drove some of their hardcore fans.

With the buffs fully stacked, this created the heating-up porcelain craze.

"Hey, listen to me, in my opinion, this song isn't actually about real blue-and-white porcelain. Believe me, I am a super wealthy man; I have seen countless exquisite porcelains, including those from China."

"China, you know?"

Inside Old Yuan's shop, on the open television, a wealthy man with a head of golden hair, who loves to chase hot topics and show his face everywhere in news, variety shows, and TV dramas, faced a reporter's interview, pulling his hands apart as if playing an accordion—

"I know China, and I know porcelain. Believe me, no one in this room knows China better than I do."

"This is actually just a Warner Bros. marketing campaign; they just want to build the brand 'Spike' to hype up his Grammy and Oscars two months from now, further raising the banner representing Asians."

"I want to say this is truly too stupid; if I were him, I would definitely not use this method to market myself."