Chapter 628: Zhou Yi Once Said

He had thought he was already used to other people's praise, but when every aunt and granny, every distant relative, every familiar neighbor, and even strangers from the village all turned their gazes on him—some affirming, some admiring;

and when they cast deeply envious looks at his parents, only then did he realize he had been shallow—

shallow in his understanding of that famous saying.

Hometown and the outside world were, after all, two entirely different concepts.

Especially when he saw that this time, everywhere he looked in his hometown was plastered with his own image, the vulgar vanity in his chest was more than satisfied.

"Let me tell you, Old Qian, the TV station has even stopped airing ads for men's hospitals, you know that? My face really is that big."

During the rehearsal at Shangrao Stadium, Zhou Yi, chatting with Qian Jiang about the current situation, grinned wider than anyone.

Men's hospital ads, TV shopping ads, traditional Chinese medicine expert ads—the three money-makers of Shangrao TV Station—Zhou Yi had seen them more times than he could count.

This time, to build momentum for him, quite a few of those ads had been pulled and replaced with promotional material about him.

That was seriously weighty.

"I thought a men's hospital ad had come looking for you—gave me a fright." Qian Jiang, smiling warmly, looked at Zhou Yi—who for once was strutting about like a peacock fanning its tail—and teased.

"Get lost."

Zhou Yi cursed him with a laugh.

Did he look like the sort of person who'd need to endorse a men's hospital?!

"Is everything ready? Let's do a run-through first, so we don't have any slip-ups later." After showing off, Zhou Yi finally turned his mind back to the concert, glanced around the stage area, and spoke.

"Sure."

Qian Jiang signaled the staff with a gesture and nodded in reply.

As Zhou Yi's hometown, this Shangrao show was also the only concert of his so far without a guest performer.

At the same time, because the venue was small, some of the stage effects were actually easier to pull off than in a large venue.

For example, spraying plum blossom petals.

…………………………

"Zhou Yi Concert Heat Wave Hits, Shangrao's Winter Catches Fire!"

"Fanatic Atmosphere—Zhou Yi Concert Tickets Resurface at High Prices on the Secondary Market: Who's to Blame?"

"Celebrity Effect! Fans from Shanghai, Hangzhou and Other Cities Flock to Shangrao Stadium on December 26!"

"……"

Time passed as Zhou Yi rehearsed day after day. As the concert date drew near, the remote city of Shangrao clearly got an early taste of New Year atmosphere—consumer spending in the main urban area shot straight up, and the merchants were all smiles.

Especially those who could put out signs like "Zhou Yi's Favorite" or "Zhou Yi's Pick"—many fans from out of town were willing to give them a try.

The mobile pancake stalls, breakfast stalls, and barbecue stalls that used to sit outside the school gates were raking it in.

"Auntie, what's this called? This big chunk on a bamboo skewer?"

"That? That's called suji."

"Suji? What's that? Forget it, give me two skewers, and a fried chicken stick too."

After hesitating for a moment, Xu Yue finally decided to eat something first—

She had never had such a big piece of suji before. After dipping it in chili oil, one bite in—the crispy, fragrant, tender, smooth texture had her shouting her approval.

The food here in Shangrao was pretty good.

It was Xu Yue's first time in this city, and her first impression of it went up another notch.

Whether it was the Zixi rice noodles or Yangkou fried noodles available everywhere, or the sliced fried rice cakes, the flavors were genuinely great.

Tasty, loved it.

Just a bit spicy.

Even though she'd ordered mild.

"Yueyue, where are you? Time to head to the stadium."

"I'm eating near Zhou Yi's old high school, I'll be right over. Wait for me at the stadium entrance."

Xu Yue, who had come from Hangzhou to chase the star, hung up the phone, asked the stall auntie for a small box to pack it in, then stood by the road and hailed a rickshaw: "Uncle, to Shangrao Stadium."

"The stadium? You're here to see Zhou Yi too? Not a local?"

"That's right, Uncle. Have you taken a lot of people to the stadium?"

"Yeah, they're all headed to the stadium. Lately us rickshaw drivers have been as busy as during New Year…"

Chatting with the rickshaw uncle as she ate, Xu Yue more or less figured out how the city's rickshaw drivers had been making their money these past few days—they were treating Zhou Yi like the God of Wealth.

After paying at the stadium entrance and wiping her mouth with a tissue, she looked up and just happened to spot her boyfriend, and happily waved at him: "Liang, I'm here."

As contemporary college students, the two of them had skipped class to come see Zhou Yi's concert—

They sat through one class in the morning, then ditched and took the train straight to Shangrao.

No choice—Zhou Yi's Hangzhou concert still had no sign of happening, Warner hadn't sent any notice, they'd failed to get tickets for the Shanghai show, and they'd managed to snag Shangrao tickets, so naturally they set off right away.

Thank goodness it was close.

"Feels like we got a real bargain with our tickets this time…"

Facts proved that although the 5,000-seat Shangrao Stadium did look small, after Warner's layout, the seating arrangement somehow gave off a real bargain feeling—the two of them had bought 188-yuan seats in the grandstand area, and they weren't as far away as they'd expected.

In her seat, the magenta glow sticks Warner always provided had Xu Yue thrilled. She grabbed one and waved it vigorously in front of her boyfriend, only to find that his gaze wasn't on her at all.

She was a little annoyed.

"What are you looking at?"

"Yueyue, look over to the front-left—see that group holding the Zhou Yi fan club banner? Why do they have an extra plastic box in their hands? Why don't we have one?"

"?"

A puzzled Xu Yue followed the direction her boyfriend's pursed lips indicated, and what met her eyes was indeed just as he'd said—quite a few people were holding an unopened big box, the kind that looked like a gift.

"That… shouldn't be something Warner gave out, right?"

Xu Yue hesitated somewhat.

She found it hard to believe Zhou Yi would do something so partial.

And obviously, they weren't the only ones who noticed this; quite a few others had spotted it too, and there were no shortage of people carrying boxes.

Shangrao Gymnasium has three stands, and basically every stand had some area where people were carrying boxes; the common thread was that they all seemed to be members of fan clubs.

"Is everyone in position? Alright, got it. Keep an extra eye out."

Backstage, Qian Jiang, who had been on the phone, gave a final instruction, then hung up, adjusted his collar, and walked into the locker room.

Zhou Yi, dressed in a hip-hop rock outfit, had just finished warming up; seeing him enter, he smiled, raised his hand, and high-fived him: "Let's go."

"Good luck."

After the high-five, Qian Jiang smiled and patted his back, then took charge of the entire backstage area: "Everyone get ready, A-Yi's concert is starting soon. Band, the band goes on stage first to set up the opening..."

As a burst of urgent electric guitar riffs erupted from the speakers, the lights across the entire stadium immediately turned psychedelic, bathing the venue in a wine-red glow.

On the giant screen at the venue, a scene of plum blossoms drifting down with distinct Eastern aesthetics appeared, perfectly complementing the wine-red stage.

Seeing this scene, the entire audience, realizing the concert had begun, screamed in unison!

"Aaaaaah!!!"

"Zhou Yi!!!"

"Zhou Yi! Zhou Yi! Zhou Yi!!!"

Without any overly flashy entrance, Zhou Yi, wearing a gray patterned hooded robe, walked right before the live audience with his hands in his pockets, looking extremely relaxed: "Hey!"

A simple greeting, rising alongside the band's rock arrangement of "By the Plum Tree," was utterly refreshing!

"On this side, Mengmei falls for the immortal in the painting,

"On that side, Li Niang withers and perishes for love,

"For love, eating nothing, drinking nothing, sleeping not,

"But crossing a thousand years, love is no longer in vogue; life-and-death devotion~"

The rock arrangement of "By the Plum Tree" opened with a rap segment that was extremely fast yet still clear to hear; as he sang and pointed at the audience below, Zhou Yi's lips never stopped smiling.

As one of Zhou Yi's works with medium-to-high popularity, this song, originally a fusion of hip-hop and theater, gained even more impact with the rock arrangement compared to the original version.

Especially during the climactic chorus, his soaring voice far exceeded the original song's key—

"By the plum tree, falling petals like snow, countless and lingering, who pities them?

"By the willow, the wind blows, suspense born; life and death follow one's wishes..."

The unique on-site frenzy of rock made the already crowded venue feel even hotter; bodies swaying with the rhythm felt no trace of the winter chill that should have been there.

Plum blossom petals erupted like fireworks exploding—then rained down like droplets, capturing the attention of everyone present!

So much so that by the section before the second chorus, the venue had turned into a rave; everyone was shaking their heads and bobbing, venting the pent-up resentment in their hearts under the flashing wine-red lights!

Picking up the guitar and standing right in the center of the stage, Zhou Yi leaped high, drawing continuous screams; the rapid strummed notes completely skipped the original song's buildup, violently pushing the track to its peak!

"Spring waters gazed upon and severed, summer flowers adorned and withered,

"Who hears the autumn cicada? Who knows winter is coming!!!

"By the plum tree, falling petals like snow, countless and lingering, who pities them?

"By the willow, the wind blows, suspense born; life and death follow one's wishes,

"A thousand years of waiting, a taste both sour and bitter, two people's grievances,

"On the Peony Pavilion, my longing; day after day, year after year, never ceasing—eh~ eh~~ eh~~~ eh~~~~ wu~~~"

At the climax's ending of the chorus, Zhou Yi even executed four consecutive vocal runs, tilting his head to effortlessly push the song's pitch to its highest point, perfectly wrapping it up!

The emitters on the three-sided stands released another rain of petals—lights constantly refracted back and forth across the petals, reflecting a magnificent and dazzling array of colors!

As the song ended, Zhou Yi on stage panted heavily, slowly removed the hood that had somehow ended up on top of his head, and raised both hands high, enjoying the roar and cheers of the five thousand people below.

Petals fell from the sky, sprinkling over his head, shoulders, and hands.

"Zhou Yi!"

"Zhou Yi!!"

"Zhou Yi!!!"

After slightly bowing to the fans to express gratitude amidst the repeated calls of his own name, Zhou Yi finally set down the electric guitar that had suffered greatly at his hands, and raised his hand to sweep his damp hair back.

This move once again triggered screams from the female fans in the audience—

"Aaaaaah!!! Zhou Yi, you're so handsome!!!"

"Mm, not bad; you have great taste."

The side-swept back hairstyle he had just styled before going on stage was now combed into a full slicked-back look by his own "hair-gel hands"; Zhou Yi smiled, pointed toward the audience, and affirmed: "I think I look pretty handsome like this too."

The hot opening was perfectly achieved.

After continuing to sing four more songs in a row—"Stubborn," "Embracing Back-to-Back," "Love in a Big City," and "Baby"—Zhou Yi finally stopped, using the break to drink some water and select the first round of lucky audience members to connect live on mic.

Xu Yue, whose voice had gone hoarse after screaming through five songs, was surprised to discover that the beam of luck had actually landed on her?!

"This student, what is your name?"

"Aaaaaah!!! Zhou Yi! Xu Yue, my name is Xu Yue, and the person beside me is my boyfriend, Wu Ziliang." Overwhelmed with excitement, Xu Yue's voice cracked completely as soon as she took the microphone handed to her by the staff, and she didn't forget to show off their affection right in front of the big screen.

"Alright, student Xu Yue, now we all know you have a boyfriend." Zhou Yi joked with a smile, and Xu Yue's earlobes instantly turned red.

"So, as per tradition, you can request a song. Is there one you'd like to request?"

"Um, before requesting a song, I have a small request; I don't know if Zhou Yi you can agree?" Xu Yue hurriedly raised her hand out of habit.

"What request?"

"Well, I'm studying journalism, and I plan to use you as an example for my graduation thesis next year, so could you please say a few famous quotes? I can write them in my thesis later and label them as cited famous quotes."

"?"

Zhou Yi widened his eyes and slowly formed a question mark: "Me? Famous quotes?"

"Right."

Xu Yue smiled so brilliantly: "Before I came, I collected famous quotes from many in our class that you'd said, so I could write with confidence, you know? One sentence and it's like the world-famous superstar Zhou Yi once said."

For 188 yuan, you could get Zhou Yi to customize a famous quote just for you; this deal was simply a steal.