Chapter 637: Hello, President Yi

"What money? Do I look like someone who's short of cash?"

Zhou Yi sneered, "I don't care whether the show's production team has money or not; in any case, I have more than they do."

Sa Beining: "..."

Though his tone was utterly provoking, the rough words carried a sound point—he really was.

Zhou Yi's current wealth had already surpassed people's imagination to some degree; he was undoubtedly the top money-maker in the entertainment industry, a man who left the second-place Cheng Long far behind.

His pure income from the entertainment industry last year alone exceeded one hundred million US dollars, which converts to over a billion RMB; he earned more than fast-growing internet companies, truly a walking money-printing machine.

"Alright, then I'll wait for you. Since you'll be coming to the CCTV building for rehearsal anyway, we can discuss the program's direction and theme then."

They were on the same network, with offices not far apart.

In this era, "Today's Legal Case" had, after multiple revisions, acquired its own independent recording studio inside the CCTV building. When the program began recording, host Sa Beining sat in a chair from start to finish, conversing with the guests and completing the legal-education task by combining their words.

After giving some reminders, Sa Beining hung up the phone.

"That legal-education column on CCTV?"

In the car, Qian Jiang sounded puzzled, "Would such a program really invite you?"

This wasn't a variety show; it was a proper, formal column.

"Why not?"

With his fingertip pressing against the Nokia screen, Zhou Yi, idly spinning it in circles, chuckled softly, "My case is a typical example of online rumor infringement that sparked a major public outcry; isn't that exactly what "Today's Legal Case" is looking for?"

In fact, without his incident, the first typical case on "Today's Legal Case" concerning a celebrity's internet infringement and defamation should have been next year's Liu Yifei.

"Liu Yifei Secretly Aborted, Paid Her Attending Doctor 100,000 in Hush Money" and "Liu Yifei's Elementary School Friend Reveals: She Once Underwent Sex-Reassignment Surgery"—these two outrageous news items, due to their extremely wide spread and high discussion volume, directly sent this suddenly famous female star onto this legal-education column—

Because these two news items had fermented so outrageously and many people still believed them, they were quite suitable as a typical example of "three men make a tiger" on the internet.

"Today's Legal Case: Rumors and Yi Fei."

That was the title of that episode.

However, she did not appear as a guest in the studio; she merely appeared as news material.

Sa Beining and Tong Qiang, a professor from Peking University's Law School, analyzed the origins of these two outrageous news items to examine the chaos of the contemporary internet, reminding people that the internet is not a lawless zone and not to act recklessly just because one can log off from an internet cafe and remain untraceable.

Now, Yuan Li and others' "sudden emergence" had obviously made CCTV notice the internet's chaos a year early; thus, they wanted to leverage Zhou Yi's influence and popularity to invite him as a guest to record an episode.

After all, he was also a graduate of Peking University's Law School; the three of them would make a perfect table for a team-building session.

"I even attended Professor Tong Qiang's class."

Recalling that school professor who was advancing toward the realm of a strongman, Zhou Yi felt a touch of sighing in his heart—he wondered whether the professor had gone completely bald.

"An acquaintance gathering? Then there's no problem."

Qian Jiang's heart instantly relaxed by a millionfold, "Sign the handover contract these two days first, then finish the song "Happy New Year," go rehearse for the Spring Festival Gala, and record this "Today's Legal Case" on the side."

On New Year's Day of 2004, the investment group led by the famous American tycoon Edgar Jr. signed all handover contracts with Warner; Warner Music was officially spun off from its parent company, Time Warner, and the board of directors underwent a major overhaul—

As a minority shareholder, Zhou Yi naturally had to appear on the public announcement list, since his shareholding exceeded 10%.

Meanwhile, accompanying the changes at Warner's headquarters, the senior management of Warner Music China would officially begin restructuring.

Although stability was considered and the overall framework for the China region would not change, personnel would certainly be replaced; Zhou Yi did not want to encounter people in his own company who might oppose him in the future.

On January 3, after completing all handover procedures, Warner Music officially issued a global announcement for public notice—

Zhou Jianhui continued to serve as President of the Asia-Pacific region while concurrently holding the position of President of the China region, enjoying company share dividends; the former China region president, Xu Shaofeng, and his faction were kicked out;

Qian Jiang, pulled back into the entertainment industry by Zhou Jianhui, was promoted to General Manager of the Artist Department based on Zhou Yi's achievements, wielding full authority.

And on this same day, Sony Music also announced a personnel change—

Chen Ze Shan, the former General Manager of the Artist Department at Warner, would officially join Sony Music (China) as President of the China region; the first album he was responsible for was Cai Yilin's new album "Castle," scheduled for release in February after the New Year.

At the same time, Sony's exclusive artist Wang Lihong and recording-contract artist Jay Chou would automatically transfer under Chen Ze Shan's command; after he personally designed the planning proposals, their respective managers would execute them.

"I am very familiar with A-Yi, but that does not mean we will be afraid."

"In fact, I believe the Chinese-language music market needs competition to achieve greater progress. I have the confidence to help Zhou Jielun, Lihong, and Jiulin reach the next level; this is my responsibility."

At the press conference, Chen Ze Shan spoke with utmost conviction.

However, his spotlight was basically stolen by Zhou Yi; the reason was nothing else but the supplementary announcement that Warner Music (Global) was required to issue after the official announcement—

Starting from January 4, 2004, Zhou Yi would officially become a partner of Warner Music (Global), becoming the top-tier singer in Asian history to break into the board of directors of an international top-tier record company, with a shareholding of 13%.

And for Zhou Yi, becoming a partner brought another benefit: as Warner's global top star, he was like a stabilizing needle; Edgar Jr., this Hollywood old fox, would push him even harder in the United States—

Because now they were a genuine community of shared interests.

The Grammys, the American Music Awards, the Brit Awards, and other major Western music awards; Zhou Yi no longer needed to make choices; his main strategy was simply, "I want them all"—

Public relations connections directly maxed out.

After all, this playboy Edgar Jr. hadn't been idle before, even though he often played the role of a charity giver.

In other words, from now on, Zhou Yi became the boss, including of people like Sun Yanzi.

"Holy crap?! Zhou Yi actually became a Warner shareholder?!"

"Oh my god, he literally sang himself from an employee into a boss? That's so intense!"

"Foreign companies seem to be like that; Michael Jackson and Madonna both made themselves partners and shareholders."

"..."

Once this announcement went out, the most explosive reaction came from the group already discussing Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi's ability to forcibly carve his way into the board of directors of an international top-tier record company made countless people envious, jealous, and resentful.

"That doesn't add up; where did he get the money? His albums didn't earn that much, right?"

Someone spotted the key point.

………………

"Hello, President Yi!"

On the evening of January 3, when Zhou Yi stepped into the Warner building for the first time after his identity change, Sun Yanzi, whom he hadn't seen for some time, specially stood at the main entrance to welcome guests, her gaze so determined it seemed as if she were paying respects to Buddha—her main focus was simply being civilized and polite.

Zhou Yi watched her with a contemplative gaze, rubbing his chin with his right hand as he sized her up from head to toe, occasionally making a "tsk tsk" sound.

Sun Yanzi straightened her back, staring ahead without meeting his eyes, and laid out her ambitious schemes with a tone of unshakable confidence: "President Yi, President Zhou won't let me work overtime; I believe you wouldn't do that either!"

"You? Hard to say."

Zhou Yi let out a scoffing laugh and said mockingly, "Do you know that capitalists and workers have completely different mindsets? Many people hate capitalists simply because they hate that they aren't one themselves."

If one is a worker, they will naturally slack off whenever possible, but once they hold shares in the business, the nature of the situation changes entirely.

"Ew..."

Sun Yanzi immediately put on a disgruntled little cat face, her eyes full of disgust. She bared her teeth in a threat, saying, "I didn't expect you to be this kind of person. The dragon slayer eventually becomes the dragon, right? Be careful or I'll hang you from a streetlamp."