Chapter 86: Two Feet Standing Firm 1.0 Version

"I'm curious, where exactly did you learn these strange and peculiar sayings? Aren't you afraid that the famous Go Sage Nie Weiping will come looking for trouble once this gets out?"

In a hotel room, inside the bathroom.

The woman under the shower gradually washed away the foam on her body; her young, limitless, pale and tender skin was steamed by the water vapor, turning slightly pink.

Slowly exhaling a breath, Fan Bingbin reached out to turn off the shower, closed her eyes, and used a towel to wipe her wet body.

Zhou Yi, who had walked out of the bathroom before the woman, was still wiping his body with a dry towel. As he moved, hearing her words, he couldn't help but smile: "To speak reasonably, you might have some misunderstanding about Nie Weiping."

When it comes to cheeky talk, Old Nie is absolutely the original king of the Go circle. The fact that the Go player community maintains a clear style distinct from the chess circle is largely due to Old Nie's character.

"Really? Do you know him?"

Fan Bingbin casually grabbed a dry towel to rub her wet long hair, wrapped a bath towel around her, walked barefoot out of the bathroom onto the carpet, slowly paced to the bedside, and looked at the man sitting on the sofa blowing his hair. Her bare, tender face was full of curiosity.

That is the world-famous Go Sage.

"Not exactly knowing him, just met him once. At the Global Chinese Music Awards in January, Old Nie was also invited by the organizers to be a guest on site."

"As an amateur Go enthusiast, I naturally went up to join the fun. After chatting for a bit, we exchanged contact information, and since then he's been lying in my phone book."

"Then why do you talk as if you're very close to him?"

The corners of Fan Bingbin's moist lips immediately drooped. She plopped down on the bed, swinging her dangling legs; her soft toes stretched out wildly, and her wine-red painted toenails, applied for the MV shoot, seemed to be stretching lazily in a fitful manner:

"You're quite a talent to link Go with that matter."

Zhou Yi, sitting on the sofa, couldn't help but raise an eyebrow: "But I see you learned quite fast; in less than half an hour, you could draw inferences from one instance."

The corners of Fan Bingbin's mouth immediately curled up into a smile: "This is all thanks to you, a tutor from a prestigious university, teaching so well?"

"If I had met a tutor like you when I was studying before, my academic qualification probably wouldn't have been limited to a secondary vocational school."

Fan Bingbin, who signed an eight-year long-term contract with Qiong Yao at sixteen, looked at the man with a gaze full of envy.

To be honest, she envied Zhou Yi's life, which had been soaring straight up until now.

Even this sudden setback from the Taiwan side seemed to have no effect on him; his mindset remained cheerful, and he could even sneak in some private commentary and be sarcastic in his own MV.

As for her? She didn't study much, had to go out to work at a young age, and after signing an eight-year indenture, she had seen all the coldness and warmth of the world.

Lin Xinru looked down on her, and Zhao Wei wouldn't even pay attention to her.

Zhou Yi was discovered by Zhou Jianhui, received maximum autonomy in everything, and Warner constantly tilted resources towards him;

As for her? Wherever she went, she was only called 'Golden Lock' or 'Maid'. She couldn't even get a chance to prove herself from Qiong Yao, being pinned down firmly by the words 'If you're a maid, just play the maid properly.'

Sensing the woman's complex gaze, Zhou Yi didn't say any empty words of comfort; instead, he waved the hairdryer in his hand towards her: "Do you need me to help blow-dry your hair?"

"A current top star helping me blow-dry my hair? I can't ask for more."

With her thoughts interrupted, Fan Bingbin's eyebrows curved, immediately casting aside the stray thoughts in her mind. She crossed her long legs—suddenly, the shortened white bath towel rolled up, vaguely revealing the roundness of her hips.

"You will become a big star too. Chen Shufen and Qiong Yao are not the same; Chen has a very wide network of connections. Moreover, this move by Taiwan can be said to have completely cut off large-scale cooperation with the mainland. In the coming years, resources from the Hong Kong circle will be even more popular."

Zhou Yi, who knew the future direction well, made a direct prediction.

Just look at Xiao Yanzi, currently the undisputed number one in popularity among mainland female stars. After this year, her work focus will be forced to shift on a large scale to the Hong Kong circle and the mainland.

Since then, for several years, Taiwan has almost only had the idol drama genre left that could enter the mainland market.

"Mm, I understand."

Feeling the hot air blowing on her head, Fan Bingbin took two muscle-relieving medicinal patches out of the bag on the bed. Her eyes did not hide her ambition at all.

Madame Chen had planned very well for her. It was her first time experiencing the comfort of having a powerful manager, even if this manager's commission was higher than that of ordinary managers.

However, just as she was repeatedly strengthening her own beliefs here, Zhou Yi's left hand, which was playing with her hair, somewhat interrupted her ambitious spirit.

"Mm? Wait a second, I pulled my lower back a while ago practicing wire-work martial arts moves—"

Although both were young, Zhou Yi's dominance was obviously far beyond that of the low-health Fan Bingbin.

Her long hair, still slightly wet, spread out wildly. The water stains on the tips of her hair, as time passed, soaked into the medicinal patch that had just been torn halfway open.

"Wait, Zhou Yi, the patch is getting damp!"

…………………………………………………………

The next day, Qian Jiang, who had driven over from the Warner Media Building after receiving Zhou Yi's text message asking him to bring two lunches, couldn't help but smile knowingly.

He knew it.

After all, they are young people.

After bringing lunch and playing the role of a food delivery courier, Qian Jiang also saw Fan Bingbin, fully dressed, in Zhou Yi's room.

"Hello, Mr. Qian."

Fan Bingbin, who took the lunch box proactively, greeted very politely, and then, contrary to Qian Jiang's expectations, chose to take her leave, leaving without the slightest hesitation or dragging.

"She is...?"

Qian Jiang, who used to handle such matters for artists in Xiangjiang by playing the bad cop, immediately turned his puzzled gaze towards Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi shrugged and opened the lunch box himself: "Obviously, she doesn't want you to misunderstand that she wants to exchange benefits by having a relationship with me."

"Is that so? That's really rare."

Qian Jiang, whose expression between his eyebrows showed slight surprise, immediately looked the man up and down who was devouring his food: "What kind of bewitching potion did you feed her?"

"Nonsense, don't slander me; I have never been the one to take the initiative." Zhou Yi, chewing on a rib, glanced disdainfully at his own manager's burly general's belly.

Although not explicitly stated, the meaning was clear.

Qian Jiang's face immediately turned black: "Stop eating. I bought the food, with my money."

Zhou Yi, laughing happily, immediately pointed out a clear path for him: "Reimburse it from the company later; anyway, the MV is finished now."

"Reimburse your head! Do I lack these few tens of yuan?"

Qian Jiang finally couldn't hold back, laughing and cursing: "Eat quickly. After eating, there's real business. We are going to Xiangjiang; the flight is tonight."

"?"

Zhou Yi, who had just taken two bites of rice, slowly typed out a question mark: "What am I going to Xiangjiang for now?"

"What do you think? Of course, it's the signing ceremony prepared for you by Coca-Cola. It was supposed to be handled after the New Year, but due to the sudden incident on the Taiwan side, it has been delayed again and again."

"Coca-Cola was handling public relations with the company earlier; now that it's resolved, they are preparing to hold a grand signing ceremony for you on March 6, one that won't lose to Xie Tingfeng's."

Turning to serious matters, Qian Jiang's expression grew serious. He took out a notebook from his suit pocket, glanced at the schedule, and said, "Good news: after the company and Coca-Cola lobbied, you can attend the Golden Melody Awards ceremony."

"The company's current plan is to have you appear as a special guest at Sun Yanzi's concert in the Treasure Island. This counts as their concession."

"But forget about other variety shows, TV promotions, and radio promotions. Holding a concert in the Treasure Island is impossible; the venue approval won't pass."

Qian Jiang's face clearly showed helplessness as he spoke: "There's no way. Your popularity and influence among young people in the Treasure Island are too high, so high that they have to impose more restrictions on you."

"The songs you wrote for Sun Yanzi, Watching Xiao Yaxuan, and Zhang Shaohan are dominating the charts, and your album sales have even received a small boost. This is a very rare situation."

"In a sense, this can also be considered a form of recognition for you."

Zhou Yi nodded, understanding.

"Oh, by the way, there's one more thing. Do you have any leads on the Coca-Cola promotional song I mentioned before? Coca-Cola will officially announce this at the signing ceremony."

"I do have a lead, but just to be safe, I'll ask: is my promotional song limited to domestic promotion only?"

"What else would it be?"

Qian Jiang glanced at him sideways: "Why do you think the China Region Brand Ambassador is called the China Region? If you signed a brand endorsement contract with Coca-Cola's headquarters, the price wouldn't be just ten million RMB."

Then there's no problem.

Matching the youthful tone of Coca-Cola's promotional song, he had a ready-made Chinese promotional song in his mind: "Don't Listen to Slow Songs When You're Sad."

This song was originally a Coca-Cola advertisement song; using it in advance was no problem.

A sufficiently popular melody and sufficiently simple, catchy lyrics also fit the youthful temperament of the current era.

After eating, Zhou Yi, having simply tidied up, went to the airport with Qian Jiang. However, the content of the entertainment newspapers and weekly magazines in the car aroused his curiosity—

Photos of Xie Tingfeng and him occupied almost every front page, with a huge "VS" written in the middle.

"Xie Tingfeng VS Zhou Yi: Who is the trendsetter of the new century's Mandarin music scene?"

After carefully flipping through several entertainment newspapers and finding the headlines were largely similar, Zhou Yi was very curious about what had happened outside during the week and a half, nearly two weeks, he had been working on the MV.

"The young man who ended the era of the Four Heavenly Kings of Xiangjiang is named Xie Tingfeng; the young man who crushed the golden generation of the Treasure Island music scene is named Zhou Yi."

"One was born in 1980, the other in 1981."

"At the turn of the century in the millennium, these two young men, differing by only one year in age, challenged the older generation of singers in their own ways."

"Jacky Cheung, Leon Lai, Andy Lau, Guo Fucheng, Wang Jie; Wakin Chau, Richie Ren, Chang Yu, Chao Chuan, and so on, one familiar name after another, all fell at their feet..."

After the extremely exaggerated praise, there was a cleverly conceived image—Zhou Yi and Xie Tingfeng each holding a guitar and a microphone, standing at opposite ends of a chessboard, gazing at each other across the Chu River and Han Border.

Flowing within the Chu River and Han Border were the names of one after another shattered big shots.

"After Pepsi-Cola held a grand signing ceremony on February 1, 2001, for Xie Tingfeng, whom they signed for ten million, Coca-Cola Company also recently announced that it will hold a signing ceremony on March 6, 2001, for Zhou Yi, whom they signed for a ten million signing fee..."

To be honest, the writing of these entertainment media when reporting such news was indeed good; even Zhou Yi himself felt his blood boiling while reading.

Even mainland media joined in the fun, though their wording was relatively less glaring.

The entertainment section of the "Capital Youth Daily" even published a highly controversial headline—"The Dual Pillars of the New Force in the Mandarin Music Scene."

Zhou Yi didn't even know he was as awesome as this report blew him up to be; high hats like "Leader of the New Youth in the Mandarin Music Scene" were being wholesaled as if they were free.

"There's no way. Besides the songs, the current buzz surrounding the two of you is in a league of its own. You benefit from the momentum generated by the Treasure Island side, as well as the popularity and scandal-driven attention brought by the explosive success of the three women's songs by Watching Xiao Yaxuan, Sun Yanzi, and Zhang Shaohan."

"Xie Tingfeng, on the other hand, is due to his rebellious behavior and his romance with Wang Fei, who is 11 years older than him, single-handedly feeding countless paparazzi."

Seeing Zhou Yi reading one newspaper after another, Qian Jiang explained slightly: "The company and Emperor Entertainment didn't do much; they just lit a simple fire, and the topic of the two of you exploded."

In the entertainment industry, attention is heat; otherwise, where does "seeking attention" and "being famous for being infamous" come from?

"Huo Wenxi also plans to have two female artists under her label, who are about to debut as a duo, express appreciation for you and Xie Tingfeng respectively, to generate even greater buzz."

"When you arrive in Xiangjiang, you should be able to see relevant reports. Of these two girls, the one named Chung King Tung expresses appreciation for Xie Tingfeng, and the one named Cai Zhuoyan expresses appreciation for you."

"..."

6, as expected of you, Huo Wenxi.

Zhou Yi imagined the scene Qian Jiang described, and his expression immediately became strange.

Did Chung King Tung start dating Edison Chen during this period?

He only knew that Cai Zhuoyan hadn't met Crown Prince Ji yet, after all, it was only 2001 now, and the Tyrant Brother, Cheng Chung Kei, was still struggling with his true love, Miriam Yeung.

"Oh, by the way, because your signing ceremony needs to be as grand as possible, Coca-Cola has invited Watching Xiao Yaxuan, Zhang Shaohan, and Sun Yanzi, who are currently at the peak of their fame, to support you all at once."

"I'll give you a heads-up in advance: don't expose yourself to Watching Xiao Yaxuan. Your company has no regulations, but Virgin Music does not allow Watching Xiao Yaxuan to date."

Recalling his experience of dragging Zhou Yi out of Watching Xiao Yaxuan's house in the Treasure Island, Qian Jiang warned him seriously.

"Don't worry, I have my limits."

Zhou Yi nodded and made a gesture indicating he received the message.

However...

After arriving in Xiangjiang, he had just met Watching Xiao Yaxuan, Zhang Shaohan, and Sun Yanzi for dinner, and even with their managers accompanying them, the well-developed paparazzi in Xiangjiang couldn't wait to put him on the next day's entertainment front page—

"The Fierce Dragon Crosses the River! Three Women Surround Zhou Yi as He Unleashes His Power!"

"Subduing the Three Holy Maidens! Zhou Yi Spends the Night on the Dragon Bed!"

"..."

Zhou Yi: "I understand the logic, but what does 'spending the night on the Dragon Bed' mean? Did they sneak under my bed last night to take photos live?"

PS: Dragged away for team building. Axi ba.

I hate team building after work the most. If you have the ability, do team building during work hours. Damn it.

PS2: I drank alcohol tonight; I probably won't be back before midnight. I won't make it to write the second chapter.

Three updates tomorrow.

Tomorrow's third update will count as a make-up for today's second update.