Chapter 77: Do You Want to Hear a Sketch Comedy or Jiangnan?

Watching Zhou Yi twirl his pen, lost in thought and silent, Qian Jiang, thinking he had found inspiration, immediately fell quiet. His burly body shifted on the office sofa, making not a sound, fearing he might break the flow of inspiration.

Having been an agent for so many years, he knew well the habit of singer-songwriters who could find inspiration to write songs anytime, anywhere; Li Zongsheng could even cook up a classic while eating hot pot.

When such geniuses get inspiration, they really write songs without any regard for reason.

It wasn't until Zhou Yi felt the silence around him had become a bit too much that he came to his senses and realized Qian Jiang had curled up on the sofa, sitting somewhat stiffly.

"What are you doing?"

"Ahem, I was just afraid of startling your inspiration away. How about it, do you have an idea yet?" Qian Jiang cupped his fist to his lips, coughed once, and asked with a hint of expectation.

"Ah, I've roughly framed the album's theme. There should be plenty to do after the New Year."

Having confirmed the framework, which was essentially filling it with songs, Zhou Yi smiled, picked up the coffee from the coffee table, and took a sip: "What about you? Haven't you secured the soundtrack for Rush Hour 2 yet?"

"How could it be that easy? Jackie Chan's movie has just started filming, and the competition for the behind-the-scenes soundtrack is fierce. Do you know who your competitors are for this soundtrack?"

"Who?"

"Currently in the Asian region, your biggest competitor is Utada Hikaru from neighboring Japan."

Hearing that name, Zhou Yi laughed: "Facing her, my chances of winning shouldn't be too high, right?"

It wasn't that he was belittling himself; Utada Hikaru was truly too BUG-like.

If Japan were to launch an entire "text-plagiarism flow," Utada Hikaru would absolutely be the standard template for the protagonist of such a flow.

Her debut single at age 15 sold two million copies, her first album sold nearly ten million in its first year, and soon after, she would launch a "Hikaru-Ayumi War" with Ayumi Hamasaki that would be recorded in the history of Japanese pop music.

In terms of fame and album sales, he was absolutely no match for Utada Hikaru at present.

Especially in album sales.

In the Chinese-speaking region, selling nearly ten million copies of an album was tantamount to a fairy tale; the piracy market would teach you a lesson in minutes.

Rumors circulated that Richie Ren's "Heart Too Soft" sold over twenty million copies back then, but that was actually just an estimate of pirated sales; according to Rock Records' own statistics, the actual legitimate sales topped out at just over three million.

And that was the legitimate sales figure compiled after stretching the period to about a year and a half, nearly two years.

"Theoretically, that's correct, but don't forget you have Coca-Cola behind you. The reason singers sign endorsement deals isn't just for the money; sponsors themselves can also provide help to the singers."

"Why did I keep helping you negotiate with Coca-Cola and Pepsi for so long? It's because they have various collaborations in the music field, have cultivated influence for many years, and can help with public relations when needed."

"It seems Utada Hikaru's endorsement isn't with Coca-Cola."

Zhou Yi stretched, stood up from the sofa, and said, "Alright, let's leave it at that for now. We'll talk about the soundtrack once you've secured it."

"The New Year is coming soon; don't overwork yourself. If it doesn't work out, it doesn't matter; my basic market is still domestic."

January 23rd was New Year's Eve; after wandering around abroad for half a year, he indeed missed home quite a bit.

"OK, don't worry. I bought your plane ticket a couple of days ago when you had dinner with Jackie Chan, Huo Wenxi, and Xie Tingfeng. I'll just drive you to the airport later."

Zhou Yi flashed an OK sign at him, then left Warner Bros., returned to the hotel under the escort of a driver and an assistant, and began packing.

Zhou Yi, who had arrived with just a backpack but was leaving with an extra suitcase, happened to meet an acquaintance waiting for a flight at the airport.

"Zhou Yi?"

Fan Bingbin, who was still reading a script, looked up and happened to see Zhou Yi walking into the VIP lounge, not yet entering the VIP room.

"Yo, not bad, already landed a new role? Changing agents really makes a difference." Zhou Yi, having spotted the thick stack of papers in Fan Bingbin's hand, glanced at it once and then joked with a smile.

"It's not even a blip on the radar yet; I'm just familiarizing myself with the role to ensure I can land it at the audition after the New Year." Fan Bingbin, talking about this, felt a bit embarrassed, but the joy in her eyes was impossible to hide.

Compared to the experience of being a water dispenser manager sitting on the bench under Qiong Yao, the feeling of having work to do was truly long overdue for her.

Chen Shufen was still the type with extensive connections; she didn't need to make too many detours.

"I see. Are you interested in spending some time after the New Year to act in my music video?" Hearing that Fan Bingbin was about to seriously act after the New Year, Zhou Yi, now interested, immediately extended an invitation.

Wasn't that a coincidence? He was also pondering songs for his new album.

"Really?"

Hearing this, Fan Bingbin's eyes instantly lit up. She patted her chest, wrapped in a down jacket, and promised boldly: "Sure, no problem. I'll wait for your call, Zhou Yi."

Although she had already landed a role, she hadn't forgotten who had pulled her out of the fire without asking for anything in return.

Such a man was hard to find even with a lantern nowadays.

It was just that Zhou Yi's status was too high for her at the moment; otherwise, she would have tried to chase him down.

But then again, if she really became famous later, Fan Bingbin would want to try, because once famous, Zhou Yi wouldn't suspect she was clinging to him for fame and fortune.

If she didn't become famous, she would just treat it as a dream she cherished in her youth.

"Which flight are you taking, Zhou Yi?"

Now that the conversation had started, Fan Bingbin, no longer suppressing the atmosphere with ghosts from the past, revealed her bold personality and casually asked about the flight.

"The 2:30 one, to Nanchang Changbei Airport. What about you?"

Zhou Yi nodded toward the screen.

With Raozhou Sanqing Mountain Airport not yet built, even if he wanted to go home for the New Year, he had to honestly take a plane back to the provincial capital first, then take the car arranged by the company to his hometown.

It took a lot of time.

"I'm flying directly to Qingdao; there's a direct flight."

Fan Bingbin stated her hometown.

During the waiting time, a bored Zhou Yi simply chatted with Fan Bingbin on and off, occasionally inserting a few jokes, which made the latter laugh heartily.

Qingdao.

Chen Hao, who was rolling out noodles for her parents at home, suddenly sneezed.

January 23rd, New Year's Eve.

After a long journey, Zhou Yi finally returned to his hometown in the company car, unlocked the gate of his standalone suburban villa with his key—

"Dad, Mom, I'm back."

It was still the familiar front courtyard, still the familiar flowerbeds planted with green onions and mint.

Zhao Ping, who had long been free from work pressure and usually ran a small supermarket in the county town with her spouse to keep active, heard the voice and hurriedly came out of the kitchen.

The son he hadn't seen in half a year stood at the entrance of the front courtyard, looking as if he had grown a little taller.

"Look how tired you are; you've lost weight."

The first words upon meeting, his mother Zhao Ping's complaints about Hua Na, made Zhou Yi's face break into a brilliant smile.

His father, Zhou Yaoguo, who had always been bad at expressing paternal love, on this New Year's Eve, rarely opened a bottle of medicinal wine brewed by his own family, turned on the TV to watch the Spring Festival Gala, and drank heartily.

Outside the house gate, impatient children had already set off fireworks and firecrackers early;

On the TV, the crosstalk "Pushing the Advantage" by Feng Gong, Guo Donglin, and Guo Yue made the two elders laugh heartily.

The Spring Festival Gala of this era could still make the audience laugh out from the bottom of their hearts.

Accompanying his parents to watch the Spring Festival Gala, drinking and chatting about some gossip that could be discussed, Zhou Yi saw Guo Donglin's shiny bald head on the TV, and the smile on his face grew even richer.

He seemed to know what his second album's lead single should be plagiarized from.

Do you understand the gold content of the Drainage Channel God of War's "Jiangnan"?

Since Jiang Xi also belongs to the Jiangnan category, it is equivalent to a wanderer abroad writing a song for his hometown. It is also a song leaning towards Chinese style, with its reach directly maxed out.

Because he still intended to stay up late, when both parents were too exhausted to continue and went to their bedroom to sleep first, Zhou Yi, with a slightly tipsy demeanor and the Spring Festival Gala playing as background music, wrote down the songs for his second album that he had just finalized on his notebook—

Album Title: "Jiangnan"

Jiangnan

By the Plum Blossoms

East Wind Breaks—

Writing up to this point, Zhou Yi suddenly got stuck for a moment, subconsciously bit the pen tip, and then picked up the pen to write down two other R&B Chinese-style songs:

West Chamber

Susan Says.

Among these five songs, "Jiangnan" is responsible for spreading through every street and alley; "East Wind Breaks" is responsible for promotion and establishing the basic formula of Chinese-style songs;

"By the Plum Blossoms" and "Susan Says" are responsible for opening up the depth of Chinese style fused with hiphop and R&B;

As for Hou Xian's "West Chamber", since it is weaker than the songs above, it only needs to be responsible for the popular chanting of flags, serving as a foil.

The five songs on Side A have clear divisions of labor, each performing its own duty, perfectly outlining the theme of the second album, "Jiangnan Chinese Style".

As for Side B...

Besides "Drifting North", Zhou Yi pondered for a moment and then picked out several works with extremely high popularity and singability from his memory—

Drifting North

Mermaid

No Trend, No Need to Spend Money

Love Me or Him

Back-to-Back Embrace

Da Cheng Small Love

Side A is responsible for interpreting the album's thematic depth, Side B is responsible for the album's song popularity, perfect.

PS: Some content involving the Top Bumping Case was not allowed for me to write; the review directly deleted my text, and I have only now finished rewriting it, sorry for the delay.

(End of Chapter)