[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-king-of-2000-a-mandopop-dynasty":3,"chapter-the-king-of-2000-a-mandopop-dynasty-the-king-of-2000-a-mandopop-dynasty-chapter-67":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The King of 2000: A Mandopop Dynasty",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2301323,4501,"Chapter 67: The Official Seal","the-king-of-2000-a-mandopop-dynasty-chapter-67",67,"\u003Cp>Under the night sky, the Century Theater in the capital glittered with lights.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Audience members entered in orderly fashion, tickets in hand; though the weather was cold, their faces still radiated excitement at the prospect of seeing stars—especially when the stars’ chauffeured cars began pulling up one by one at the theater’s entrance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When those celebrities, once only seen on television, suddenly appeared alive and energetic before their eyes, the excited fans could hardly contain themselves—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Guo Fucheng! Guo Fucheng! Guo Fucheng!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Liu Dehua! Liu Dehua!!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I love Leon Lai!!!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zhang Xueyou!!!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the turn of the millennium, although the album sales of the Four Heavenly Kings had already begun to plummet sharply, a dead camel was still bigger than a horse—their collective appearance still triggered the first wave of cheers outside the theater.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But when the second wave of mainland artists began to enter, the fans’ cheers noticeably weakened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Na Ying and Sun Nan were the only two mainland pop singers whose presence didn’t completely embarrass the mainland’s reputation; when the rest—Pu Shu, Yu Quan, Ding Wei, Chen Ming, Tengger—appeared, the cheers were roughly halved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This contrast became even more stark when the third wave of Hong Kong and Taiwan artists reappeared—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The arrival of Ren Xianqi and Xie Tingfeng instantly ignited the entire venue!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ren Xianqi! Ren Xianqi!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Xie Tingfeng!!!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, the Century Theater wasn’t adjacent to a residential area, or else complaints about noise pollution would have been inevitable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Looks like the organizers still knew mainlanders lacked popularity, so they stuck me in the fourth round.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Yi sat in the chauffeured car, waiting to go out, reflecting—unlike the white suit he’d worn during the afternoon interview, he’d wisely changed into a warm sweater and coat for the evening gala.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The hotel where he’d been interviewed had air conditioning; this theater didn’t—maybe it hadn’t even been installed yet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Along the way, Zhou Yi had already seen numerous stars with zero idol baggage, bundled up in thick cotton coats.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among them were Sun Yanzi and Cai Yilin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Opposite him, Cheng Hao, equally bundled up, glanced outside and whistled: “Xie Tingfeng’s popularity is insane—I thought he seemed pretty friendly when he chatted with you this afternoon, nothing like the arrogant jerk the newspapers describe.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He’s not as arrogant as the papers say, but he’s not smart either—actually kind of stupid,” Zhou Yi commented, watching Xie Tingfeng waving to fans outside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s normal for a young star to have pride, but lacking common sense and getting carried away is entirely his own fault.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He may be riding high now, but once the 2002 substitution scandal breaks, his singing career will be over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright, it’s almost my turn—see you inside.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Luo Dayou, Sun Yanzi, and Cai Yilin finished entering after Ren Xianqi, Zhou Yi stretched his wrists, stepped out of the car, and strode confidently toward the theater entrance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With his appearance, mainland artists’ popularity reached the same level as Hong Kong and Taiwan’s superstar idols for the first time—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zhou Yi! Zhou Yi, over here! Zhou Yi!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zhou Yi! Zhou Yi!!!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The energy radiating from fans holding signs reading “Music Is Pure, Love Zhou Yi Absolutely” shook every artist in the venue; the cameramen precisely captured Zhou Yi waving to the crowd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Damn, Lao Sun, you really had no choice but to let him take your ‘Young Judge Bao’ song.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the theater, Na Ying paused mid-step upon hearing the cheers outside and sighed to Sun Nan beside her: “Listen to that popularity—even Xie Tingfeng wouldn’t outshine him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Nan’s face darkened at the name, yet his eyes held helpless resignation—he hadn’t wanted to come tonight, but his agent insisted he must.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if it meant losing his top spot, he had to come, to formally pass the mantle of mainland music’s number one to Zhou Yi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Across the way, Chen Yufan, good-looking as he was, watched Zhou Yi’s suave demeanor, clicked his tongue, and nudged his partner Hu Haiquan: “When will we ever have this kind of popularity?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We will.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though not handsome, Hu Haiquan refused to give up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Musicians speak through their music—temporary setbacks don’t mean permanent inferiority.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once all artists had entered, the remaining audience members began filing in with their tickets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside, the artist zone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Zhou Yi stepped into the zone, his first sight was Cheng Hao, already seated and chatting with Sun Yanzi beside her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both wore thick cotton coats, making the scene comical—they looked less like female stars and more like village gossip coordinators during the New Year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What are you two talking about? So cheerful?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Nothing much—just wanted to ask Leon Lai for an autograph, but I’m too shy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Zhou Yi arrive, Cheng Hao quietly pointed to Leon Lai seated ahead and whispered:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the Four Heavenly Kings, Leon Lai’s popularity in the mainland had declined first after 2000—but for Cheng Hao’s generation, he was still an idol.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No problem—after the show, just take me to find him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, no, no, don’t bother—it’s too much trouble, unnecessary,” Cheng Hao shook her head, then pulled him down to sit beside her: “Enough standing around blocking people—the award ceremony’s about to start.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Yanzi, who’d already seen Wu Zongxian preparing to take the stage, also urged: “Xian is going on—sit down.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing cameras occasionally sweeping toward him, Zhou Yi lost all desire to tease the two girls and sat calmly, watching Wu Zongxian step onto the stage to open the show.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other three hosts appeared one by one under Wu Zongxian’s introductions: Wu Dawei, Ke Lan, Zhu Xun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Honestly, Zhou Yi didn’t recognize the man named Wu Dawei, but he knew the two female hosts well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Xun, of course, needed no introduction—she’d become one of CCTV’s future flagship female hosts. But Ke Lan was a surprise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment he saw her face, the first image that flashed in Zhou Yi’s mind was Lu Yike from the future hit drama “In the Name of the People.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike Han Xue, whose background was all hype, this woman had genuinely intimidating connections.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But clearly, she only had connections—her professional ability was terrible; already, two on-air mistakes had been visible from the audience.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She’d dragged down Zhu Xun, still a novice future CCTV flagship, nearly ruining her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Onstage, Zhu Xun glanced at Ke Lan’s awkward smile, sighed inwardly, but quickly recovered and enthusiastically introduced tonight’s first award winner—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Over the past year, the Chinese-language music scene has seen many new forces. They are both the future and the present. And among them, one person stood out brilliantly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Below the stage, upon hearing this opening line, everyone simultaneously turned their gaze to the same direction—the same person.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Yi, seated between Sun Yanzi and Cheng Hao, was instantly captured by the professional cameras.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Yi blinked, one index finger resting against his chin, utterly still—his refined features showed not a trace of nervousness, only calm superiority.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mr. Li Zongsheng said he pioneered a unique new pop style for Chinese-language music; Mr. Luo Dayou praised Zhou Yi for integrating traditional opera culture into modern pop.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the emotion built, Zhu Xun’s voice, as a CCTV host, rose higher: “He has created a joyful era—his own, belonging to today’s youth.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment she finished, the speakers blasted the music of “Chuang Gao.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ladies and gentlemen, the seventh Global Chinese Music Chart Awards, co-hosted by CCTV and Channel V Radio, present the first of the Top Ten Most Popular Songs:”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“‘Chuang Gao,’ by Zhou Yi!”\u003C\u002Fp>",1247,"2026-06-20T07:33:41.161Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","fad4b63e82a321e5df7c5d8b7e05dc1119bf14336661ffe29b62a096a3c57dc2","the-king-of-2000-a-mandopop-dynasty-chapter-68","the-king-of-2000-a-mandopop-dynasty-chapter-66",883,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-king-of-2000-a-mandopop-dynasty-cover.jpg"]