Chapter 88: Strike First to Seize the Initiative

"Congratulations, congratulations, young and promising, Ah Yi."

Night, the Xiangjiang Stadium venue.

Coca-Cola, with its deep pockets, directly chose to charter the entire venue to build momentum for Zhou Yi; a host of Xiangjiang superstars led by Jackie Chan, Leon Lai, Eric Tsang, and Jacky Cheung all came to show their support.

Emperor Group's boss, Albert Yeung, even personally brought people to the scene to send blessings to Zhou Yi, which caused the reporters who had prepared to watch a spectacle to start murmuring in their hearts.

This didn't seem to match their expectation of a sharp clash of titans, did it?

"Mr. Yeung, you flatter me."

Glancing at the female star following beside Albert Yeung, Zhou Yi felt a secret surprise in his heart while still maintaining a humble smile on his face.

"Come, come, let me introduce you; this is Joey Yung. Joey, this is Zhou Yi, the one who bought dozens of your albums."

After a round of polite formalities, Albert Yeung pointed at the beautiful female star beside him and cheerfully introduced her.

Zhou Yi extended his hand gentlemanly, dressed in a well-fitted suit, and smiled to greet her: "Hello, Miss Joey. I never expected to have a beauty like you as a fan; I'm somewhat overwhelmed by the honor."

Joey Yung, the most favored and currently rising young female singer at Emperor Group.

Although Zhou Yi couldn't quite grasp this woman's beauty, he had heard quite a few rumors about her.

The most memorable impression was that not long after, Eric Tsang would speak too freely about Joey Yung, only to be beaten by people hired by Albert Yeung and sent to the hospital, with over twenty stitches on his head.

"I really like your songs; they have a very novel vitality."

Joey Yung, smiling without showing her teeth, naturally followed the lead Albert Yeung had laid out and chatted with Zhou Yi; the two even exchanged contact information until Albert Yeung took her to meet other big shots and superstars, at which point they ended their conversation.

"Stop looking; she is a currently rising female star at Emperor."

"So what? Aren't you a currently rising female singer at Virgin?"

Hearing the familiar voice at his ear, Zhou Yi's lips curled into a mocking smile, and he turned his head to tease: "Besides, I have no interest in her anyway."

Watching Xiao Yaxuan clearly didn't believe much of it, rolling her eyes at the man: "I just came to remind you not to touch that one; she has someone behind her, though I don't know who."

She already knew him inside out, so how could she believe this dog man's nonsense, but she still had to give the necessary warning.

"Speaking of which, where is Sun Yanzi? Why are you alone?"

"She's over there accepting interviews; too many people want to interview me, so I slipped away first to get some peace for a while."

Watching Xiao Yaxuan jerked her chin toward the front-left not far away; Sun Yanzi and Zhang Shaohan, caught red-handed by the media reporters, stood under Coca-Cola's huge backdrop with a massive pile of microphones in each person's hand.

When asked questions related to Zhou Yi, Sun Yanzi was still grinning with her big teeth showing, occasionally spilling stories about Zhou Yi and her before they debuted at Warner;

Zhang Shaohan, whose aura was somewhat suppressed in front of Sun Yanzi, didn't act like a little invisible person as before; instead, he coordinated with Sun Yanzi, singing and harmonizing, making it sound like they were performing cross-talk.

Noticing Zhou Yi's gaze looking over, Sun Yanzi immediately struggled to free one hand to wave at him, attempting to divert the trouble: "Zhou Yi! Many people here want to interview you!"

"I authorize you to accept interviews on my behalf first; if it really doesn't work, Elva and Shaohan can also help add a few words."

Facing the cameras shifting in unison, Zhou Yi smiled and pushed Watching Xiao Yaxuan forward: "After all, the protagonist usually makes their entrance last."

Watching Xiao Yaxuan: "???"

I just slipped out to get some peace; what do you mean by this??

Do I look like someone who lacks exposure?!

Forced to join Sun Yanzi and Zhang Shaohan in accepting interviews, Watching Xiao Yaxuan glanced at the beaming Zhou Yi, then turned around and dragged the man who wanted to slip away to stand in with her.

"?"

In front of the Coca-Cola advertisement board, with Sun Yanzi and Zhang Shaohan standing on the left and Watching Xiao Yaxuan on the right, Zhou Yi was forced to face the flashlights right in front of his eyes—

"Zhou Yi, it is widely rumored outside that you and Zhou Xun fell in love while filming the MV; is this true?"

"Who are you talking about?"

Hearing this, Zhou Yi was momentarily stunned, and his expression immediately became strange: "Which newspaper said that? My suggestion is to throw it straight into the trash; it has no accuracy whatsoever.

"Even saying that I and Fan Bingbin fell in love while filming the MV would be more credible, after all, Sister Zhou Xun has a boyfriend."

A quick-reacting reporter immediately chased up: "So you mean you and Fan Bingbin fell in love while filming, right?"

Zhou Yi smiled slightly, then seriously took the microphones from the hands of Sun Yanzi, Watching Xiao Yaxuan, and Zhang Shaohan beside him, gathering them all into his arms, then coughed to adjust his tone and spoke solemnly: "I indeed played a couple with Miss Fan Bingbin in the MV; the song MV is included in the new album.

"If everyone is interested, my second personal album, 'Jiangnan', will be released in June of the second half of this year..."

"..."

Clearly a question chasing after a scandal, yet Zhou Yi managed to twist it into an album announcement in just a few words.

Sun Yanzi, holding back her laughter beside him, kept a serious face while mentally noting this maneuver of shifting the topic.

She thought this was a great template for changing the subject; she could learn from it.

Not far away, Fan Bingbin, who had entered this occasion following the big-shot manager Chen Shufen, naturally heard this drifting rhetoric, immediately covered her mouth with her hand, and secretly giggled.

"Bingbin, is your relationship with Zhou Yi very good?" Chen Shufen pondered thoughtfully.

"It's okay; it's definitely not as ridiculous as those rumors outside."

That night, Fan Bingbin, who had also kept it from her assistant, naturally wouldn't go around spreading trouble for Zhou Yi.

"Can he help stir up a scandal with you? I see he doesn't seem to reject such tactics. You have few works right now; besides 'Young Bao Qingtian 2' which I just secured for you, you only have the role of Jin Suo left; this won't do.

"I know a movie is currently being assembled; if we stir up a scandal with Zhou Yi when 'Young Bao Qingtian 2' airs, your fame will increase greatly.

"For example, let him visit the set or something.

"After all, when 'Young Bao Qingtian 2' airs, his second album should already be out, and his popularity will be at its peak.

"This would also help me fight for the female lead role for you. As far as I know, both the mainland and Xiangjiang sides want to use their own people to play the leads.

"For the male lead, basically no one in the mainland can beat Louis Koo; for the female lead, if Zhao Wei doesn't come, I think you can try. After all, the male lead is tentatively set as Louis Koo; using someone from Xiangjiang for the female lead might cause some objections."

In co-produced films and TV dramas between Xiangjiang and the mainland, allocating one lead from each side is currently a solution just being figured out.

After all, that's how mainland co-productions with Taiwan do it.

"We'll see then; I think my popularity shouldn't be low after 'Young Bao Qingtian 2' airs. Besides, the content of his song's MV is quite rich, which has already provided enough boost to my popularity."

Fan Bingbin considered for a moment, then shook her head.

Chen Shufen then glanced meaningfully at the artist under her wing who was being prepared to be cultivated as an ace.

She was a seasoned veteran who had spent most of her life in the Xiangjiang entertainment industry, having managed Teresa Teng and even interacted with Michael Jackson; there was nothing she hadn't seen.

She was all too familiar with this hesitant, fidgety mindset that showed itself while speaking.

"If you're going to do something like this, I advise you to strike first."

Seeing Emperor Entertainment's agent Huo Wenxi lead a young girl to Zhou Yi, Chen Shufen suggested, "Emperor Entertainment won't be polite.

"Do you believe that if Zhou Yi gives the nod, they could fabricate a scandal between that girl named Cai Zhuoyan and Zhou Yi by the next day?"

"Cai Zhuoyan? Who?"

Hearing that name, Fan Bingbin looked somewhat bewildered.

Was this some major star?

PS: I overestimated my typing speed; there is one more chapter, around 12:30~

(End of this chapter)