Chapter 88: Strike First

“Congratulations, congratulations, young and accomplished, Yi.”

Night, Hong Kong Sports Arena, live.

Coca-Cola, with deep pockets, directly booked the venue to promote Zhou Yi, and a host of Hong Kong superstars—including Jackie Chan, Leon Lai, Sammo Hung, and Jacky Cheung—came to show their support.

Yang Shoucheng, the boss of Emperor Entertainment, personally arrived with his team to offer Zhou Yi his blessings, causing the reporters who had come to watch a showdown to murmur among themselves.

This doesn’t match the sharp confrontation they expected at all?

“Mr. Yang, you flatter me.”

Zhou Yi glanced at the female singer beside Yang Shoucheng; inwardly surprised, yet his face still wore a humble smile.

“Come on, let me introduce you—this is Sammi Cheng. Sammi, this is Zhou Yi, the man whose albums you’ve bought dozens of copies of.”

After some polite exchanges, Yang Shoucheng pointed to the glamorous singer beside him and grinned.

Zhou Yi extended his hand gracefully, dressed in a tailored suit, and smiled as he greeted her: “Hello, Miss Cheng. I never expected to have such a beautiful fan—truly humbled.”

Sammi Cheng, Emperor Entertainment’s most favored and currently hottest young female singer.

Although Zhou Yi didn’t find her particularly beautiful, he’d heard plenty of rumors about this woman.

Most memorable was how soon after, Tsang Chi-wai had made a few careless remarks about Sammi Cheng and was immediately beaten up by Yang Shoucheng’s men, ending up in the hospital with over twenty stitches on his head.

“I really like your songs—they have a fresh, vibrant energy.”

Sammi Cheng, smiling without showing her teeth, naturally followed Yang Shoucheng’s lead and chatted with Zhou Yi; they even exchanged contact information, only ending the conversation when Yang Shoucheng took her off to meet other big-name stars.

“Don’t stare—she’s Emperor’s current top star.”

“So what? Aren’t you Virgin’s current top female singer?”

Hearing the familiar voice at his ear, Zhou Yi smirked and turned to tease: “Besides, I’m not interested in her.”

Xiao Yaxuan clearly didn’t believe him, rolling her eyes: “I’m just warning you not to touch her—she’s got someone behind her, though I don’t know who.”

She knew him too well to believe his lies, but she still had to give the warning.

“By the way, where’s Sun Yanzi? Why are you alone?”

“She’s being interviewed over there—too many reporters wanted to talk to me, so I slipped away for some peace.”

Xiao Yaxuan nodded toward a spot not far to the left, where Sun Yanzi and Zhang Shaohan were surrounded by reporters, each holding a microphone, standing before Coca-Cola’s massive backdrop.

When asked about Zhou Yi, Sun Yanzi grinned broadly, occasionally bursting into stories about Zhou Yi’s days with Warner before either of them debuted.

Zhang Shaohan, whose aura had been somewhat subdued in front of Sun Yanzi, didn’t play the invisible role as before; instead, she played along, bantering with Sun Yanzi as if they were performing xiangsheng.

Sun Yanzi, noticing Zhou Yi’s gaze, struggled to free one hand and waved at him, trying to shift the spotlight: “Zhou Yi! Lots of people here want to interview you!”

“I authorize you to represent me for interviews—if you can’t handle it, Elva and Shaohan can chip in a few words.”

Facing the cameras all turning toward them, Zhou Yi smiled and pushed Xiao Yaxuan forward: “After all, the main character usually appears last.”

Xiao Yaxuan: “???”

I just slipped out for some peace—what’s your deal??

Do I look like someone who needs more exposure?!

Forced to join Sun Yanzi and Zhang Shaohan for interviews, Xiao Yaxuan shot a glare at Zhou Yi’s radiant smile, then grabbed his arm and pulled him into the circle.

“?”

In front of Coca-Cola’s advertisement board, Zhou Yi stood on the right beside Xiao Yaxuan, while Sun Yanzi and Zhang Shaohan stood on the left—forced to face the flashbulbs inches away—

“Zhou Yi, rumors are spreading that you and Zhou Xun fell in love while filming your MV—could you confirm if this is true?”

“Who?”

Zhou Yi froze, his expression turning strange: “Which newspaper said that? My advice is to throw it straight in the trash—it has zero accuracy.”

“Even rumors that I fell for Fan Bingbing while filming an MV would be more plausible—after all, Sister Zhou Xun already has a boyfriend.”

A quick reporter immediately pressed: “So you’re saying you and Fan Bingbing fell in love during the MV shoot?”

Zhou Yi smiled faintly, then solemnly took the microphones from the hands of Sun Yanzi, Xiao Yaxuan, and Zhang Shaohan, gathering them all to himself, cleared his throat, adjusted his tone, and declared seriously: “I did indeed portray a couple with Miss Fan Bingbing in the MV—the song is included in my new album.”

“If you’re interested, this coming autumn, my second personal album, ‘Jiangnan,’ will be released in June...”

“...”

What was meant to be a question about gossip had been skillfully turned by Zhou Yi into an album announcement in three sentences.

Sun Yanzi, stifling laughter beside him, kept a straight face, but mentally filed away this clever pivot tactic.

She thought this was a great template for redirecting topics—worth learning.

Not far away, Fan Bingbing, who had entered the event with her agent Chen Shufen, naturally heard the remarks and immediately covered her mouth, quietly giggling.

“Bingbing, are you close to Zhou Yi?” Chen Shufen mused.

“Not particularly—definitely not as wild as the rumors.”

Fan Bingbing, who had kept that night secret from her assistant, had no intention of spreading it and causing Zhou Yi trouble.

“Could he help stir up some gossip with you? I think he doesn’t mind this kind of tactic. Your projects are still few—besides the ‘Young Bao Qingtian 2’ I just secured for you, you only have the role of Jin Suo. That’s not enough.”

“I know a film is being assembled—if we stir up gossip between you and Zhou Yi right when ‘Young Bao Qingtian 2’ airs, your fame will skyrocket.”

“For example, have him visit the set.”

“By then, his second album should already be out, and his popularity will be at its peak.”

“This could help me secure the female lead role for you. As far as I know, both mainland and Hong Kong sides want to cast their own people as leads.”

“The male lead is basically locked for Ku Tian-lo—he’s unbeatable. For the female lead, if Zhao Wei doesn’t come, you could try. Since the male lead is already tentatively cast as Ku Tian-lo, casting a Hong Kong actress as the female lead might avoid objections from some parties.”

In Hong Kong-mainland co-productions, assigning one lead to each side has become a newly established practice.

After all, that’s how Taiwan-mainland co-productions have always done it.

“Let’s see how it goes—I think my popularity won’t be low after ‘Young Bao Qingtian 2’ airs. Besides, the MV for his song is rich in content—it’s already boosted my visibility enough.”

Fan Bingbing considered, then shook her head.

Chen Shufen gave her protégée—a talent she intended to groom as her top star—a long, thoughtful look.

She was a veteran of the Hong Kong entertainment industry, having managed Deng Li Army and worked with Michael Jackson—she’d seen it all.

This hesitant, evasive attitude was all too familiar to her.

“If you’re going to do this, I advise you to strike first.”

Seeing Emperor’s agent Huo Wenhui leading a young girl toward Zhou Yi, Chen Shufen advised: “Emperor won’t hold back.”

“Do you believe that if Zhou Yi nods, they’ll have rumors circulating tomorrow about this girl named Cai Zhuoyan and him?”

“Cai Zhuoyan? Who’s that?”

Hearing the name, Fan Bingbing looked puzzled.

Who’s this big star?

PS: Overestimated my typing speed—still one more chapter, around 12:30 AM~

(End of Chapter)