Chapter 64: Senior Sa Beinan

"January 19... wait, let me check what date Lunar New Year is."

Upon hearing this good news, Zhou Yi’s first reaction wasn’t about how many awards he might win, but rather pulling out his phone right in front of Sun Yanzi and his agent to check the calendar—

"Damn, Lunar New Year’s Eve is January 23rd? What’s going on with the award organizers? Don’t they go home for the holiday?"

"..."

Although he knew Zhou Yi was always indifferent to certain things, Qian Jiang couldn’t help retorting: "Do you think this is your job? You expect a holiday?"

"The end of the year is the busiest time, especially for a superstar like you."

"You have two major events this January, both award ceremonies:"

"One is the 7th Global Chinese Music Chart Awards on January 17 in the capital, co-hosted by CCTV and Channel V;"

"The other is the Top Ten Chinese Golden Melody Awards on January 19 in Hong Kong."

"You can’t miss either."

As his agent, Qian Jiang felt it was his duty to give Zhou Yi a lesson and thoroughly explain the significance of these two award ceremonies.

The Hong Kong Top Ten Chinese Golden Melody Awards need no elaboration: since its inception, it has been the highest-status, most professional, and most prestigious award in the Hong Kong music industry—without exception.

"The CCTV-hosted Global Chinese Music Chart Awards basically copies the format of the Hong Kong Top Ten, though it has more categories—almost like splitting the pork."

"But it’s currently one of only two major pop music awards on the mainland—the other being the China Song Chart, also known as the Chinese Song Ranking."

Qian Jiang gestured wildly, like an Italian, as he laid out the facts: "The Four Kings all take this Global Chinese Chart seriously—Li Ming even didn’t submit his new album to the Top Ten Golden Melodies, but entered it here instead."

"Listen to me, Ah Yi—this is your chance to build your credentials."

Sitting beside him on the sofa, Sun Yanzi burst into giggles at Zhou Yi’s expression, as if his dream of a holiday had just shattered: "What’s this? Now I feel better. Work hard, Zhou Yi—I’ll be watching you on TV."

Zhou Yi gave her a dead-eyed glance and returned her the dismissive gesture.

"Uh, theoretically, your agent should’ve also submitted you for the Global Chinese Music Chart Awards, Yanzi."

As Qian Jiang carefully chose his words, the situation instantly reversed—

Sun Yanzi’s expression froze; Zhou Yi’s face lit up with a grin: "Now I feel better too."

Sometimes, having someone to share the burden is better than bearing it alone.

Sure enough, not long after, Chen Zeshan, vice president of Warner and Sun Yanzi’s agent, called to inform her of a fact:

She had been nominated for both the Global Chinese Music Chart Awards and the Hong Kong Top Ten Chinese Golden Melody Awards, and would be attending with Zhou Yi.

Also needing to shuttle between the two locations was Xiao Yaxuan from Virgin Records.

But...

"What? You want me to pick up your award for you?"

Zhou Yi was stunned when he received Xiao Yaxuan’s call; her voice on the other end sounded weary: "Yeah, I’m completely swamped for the Global Chinese Chart on the mainland—can’t even catch my breath."

"The company originally said just mentioning your name on stage would suffice, but since I saw your name on the nominees list, I had to ask you to collect it for me."

"I’ll treat you to dinner when we get to Hong Kong."

"Alright."

Zhou Yi hung up and shrugged under the stares of Sun Yanzi and his agent: "Xiao Yaxuan got nominated too, but she can’t make it—asked me, her good friend, to pick up her award for her."

As a female singer currently locked in fierce competition with Sun Yanzi and Liang Jingru on the charts, Xiao Yaxuan hadn’t had a moment’s rest since releasing her new album in mid-August—just like Sun Yanzi, she spent every day running from one appearance to the next.

Luckily, Sun Yanzi was now slowing down her schedule to prepare her new album; otherwise, she’d be just as exhausted.

Precisely because Zhou Yi had intervened, Warner had repeatedly delayed the planned December 9 release of Sun Yanzi’s new album, *I Want Happiness*, granting her rare downtime to loiter in the studio under the guise of rest.

This situation lasted until the end of the month, until the songs *Green Light* and *Little Luck* were completed.

Under Zhou Yi’s “strict” demands, Sun Yanzi had rested until the end of the month, fully revived, and only then began preparing for the promotion of her new album.

Zhou Jianhui himself said nothing, but Sun Yanzi’s agent Chen Zeshan was frantic, pestering her daily and nightly.

Because Sun Yanzi’s album was delayed until the end of December, Fuma Records urgently adjusted the release date for their artist Zhang Shaohan, pushing his originally planned Christmas release all the way to after the Spring Festival.

Although both albums featured songs composed by Zhou Yi, Fuma wisely didn’t want to clash directly with Sun Yanzi, who was currently dominating the charts—waiting a month apart was best.

If Zhou Yi’s songs for Sun Yanzi became massive hits, Zhang Shaohan’s delayed release might still benefit from the promotional wave generated by her album.

On December 30, Sun Yanzi’s new album, *I Want Happiness*, was officially released.

The lead single was the title track, *I Want Happiness*; the second single was *Little Luck*; the third was *Green Light*.

Upon release, leveraging the combined fame of Zhou Yi and Sun Yanzi as Warner’s “twin stars,” the album sold a staggering 90,000 legitimate copies in three days, and a phenomenal 200,000 in one week.

*I Want Happiness* and *Little Luck* reached the top five of all major weekly charts within just four days.

Even more astonishingly, *Little Luck* and *Green Light* surpassed numerous other songs in just ten days, even defeating Zhou Yi’s own songs from his debut album, *It’s Me* and *Sound Wave*, to land at #30 on the quarterly chart—competing directly against:

Zhou Yi’s own *Flower Field Mistake* and *I Love You So Much*;

Jay Chou’s *Cyclone* and *Cute Woman*.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yi himself quietly boarded a flight back to the mainland on January 10.

"Sun Yanzi will come for promotion, probably the day before the award ceremony."

"But Ah Yi, the reason I insisted you attend this Global Chinese Chart Awards is because CCTV is hosting it."

"One of the hosts this year is Zhu Xun, a CCTV female presenter whose status is rapidly rising."

"I’ll find connections to arrange a dinner with CCTV people so you can build relationships."

As an agent, Qian Jiang fully fulfilled his duty, using his network to pave the way for his artist.

To his surprise, Zhou Yi waved him off after hearing this: "CCTV connections? No need for that—I’ve got my own."

"You’d better not mess things up for them—huh??"

Qian Jiang, mid-explanation, froze: "What did you say?"

"I had a senior in college who hosts a show at CCTV—he’s probably close with Zhu Xun."

Zhou Yi grinned, his smile bright: "I met him when he visited campus—we got along well."

"...What show does your senior host?"

"*Today’s Legal Talk*—Sa Beinan."

Damn!

So he’s a law grad?

Qian Jiang’s face twisted into a strange expression.

Shit—does my artist have better connections than I do?