Chapter 9: A Stranger in a Foreign Land

The night on the Treasure Island was a kaleidoscope of colors.

Zhou Yi, who had already personally experienced the open atmosphere of the Treasure Island in the early millennium during the time it took to go out and find food, felt quite satisfied with this.

If it weren't for the fact that he was about to make his debut, he might have actually played a game of King's Game tonight.

Standing at one meter eighty-three, with shoes he went straight for one meter eighty-five. This height could absolutely be called tall on the Treasure Island; combined with a body with smooth muscle lines, saying he was formidable was no exaggeration.

A young man with a face and a figure is very alluring to women.

After all, in this world, it is not only men who are lustful; women are the same.

"It has to be the Treasure Island..."

At mealtime, after sending off two big-chested Taiwanese girls who had come up to chat with him amidst laughter and play, Zhou Yi, holding a glass and sipping two mouthfuls of cola through a straw, couldn't help but sigh.

If this were in the mainland, where could he enjoy such treatment of being approached in groups? Even on the bar street, the way literary young women expressed their "love" was mostly more reserved.

The times are set here; the atmosphere in the mainland in the year 2000 had not yet opened up to the extent of the Treasure Island.

Just as Zhou Yi was still exchanging glances with a smile at the two big-chested Taiwanese girls who kept looking back, the sound of someone moving the chair in front of his seat came again—

"Beauty, this seat is taken, I'm waiting—huh? Senior Sister?"

Zhou Yi, who hadn't had time to turn around, thought it was another Taiwanese girl coming to chat with him, and his mouth spoke the line he had already said countless times tonight before his brain could catch up.

But when he turned his head to look closely, the action of sipping cola suddenly paused, and a few traces of surprise climbed onto his brow in time.

As his senior sister from Warner, whom he had met once before at the company, Sun Yanzi sat directly opposite him:

Wearing a white T-shirt printed with a cartoon rabbit pattern, paired with blue jeans, and with short hair swept to the side, the whole person appeared clean and fresh.

"Very popular, Junior Brother, is this not your first time in the Treasure Island?" Sun Yanzi, who had only gone out to eat, had naturally witnessed the entire scene of the man she had just met in the afternoon, and replied with a smile.

Having grown up in Singapore since childhood, she naturally would not feel strange about the situation just now, and could instead make a teasing remark with ease.

"No, I am indeed in the Treasure Island for the first time."

Zhou Yi shrugged, indicating that this statement was absolutely true, and asked: "What would Senior Sister like to drink? My treat."

"Just plain water is fine. If possible, it would be better for you to drink less carbonated beverages in the future." Sun Yanzi pointed to the glass the man was holding and kindly gave a piece of advice.

Although it was only their second meeting, Zhou Yi had left a good impression on her. Since they were in the same line of work, she was naturally happy to offer a word of advice.

"That makes sense."

Zhou Yi smiled, then very obediently snapped his fingers at the waiter not far away and called out: "Two glasses of plain water, thank you."

Finally, he added a sentence to Sun Yanzi: "What would you like to eat?"

"I've already eaten. Before you arrived at this restaurant, I had already solved the dinner problem at that table." The woman rested her right hand on the transparent glass table, and her Bai Xi fingers pointed to another dining table that the staff hadn't had time to clear yet.

Zhou Yi raised an eyebrow noncommittally: "So, Senior Sister, you watched the whole thing?"

"No choice, you look too popular." After reaching out with both hands to accept the plain water handed over by the waiter and thanking him, Sun Yanzi leaned against the chair back and teased: "I wanted to say hello to you, but I couldn't cut in line."

"I have to say, this is something I have never experienced in the mainland."

"Really? But it seems to me you are adapting like a fish in water."

"Well, one of the few strengths I have is that my learning ability is very strong, and I adapt to local customs quite easily."

Since they were fellow disciples, Zhou Yi had nothing to pretend; instead, he took this opportunity to chat with this future queen of the music scene, smiling as he took a sip of plain water: "Is Senior Sister alone too?"

"Yes, I know many people in the company don't like me behind my back, so I don't have the intention to get close to them."

Sun Yanzi, talking about her situation, showed no sign of disappointment on her face; instead, she had a carefree attitude of "let it be": "Especially since the company has invested a lot in my new album, some people's hearts are even more unbalanced."

"Senior Sister tells me this, aren't you afraid I will betray you?" A hint of surprise flashed in Zhou Yi's eyes.

"You and I are on the same line, aren't we?" Sun Yanzi's smile was very genuine as her fingers randomly tapped the rim of the glass: "Moreover, judging from the last round just now, I think your personality should be quite good."

"A woman's sixth sense?"

"You can understand it that way."

"Senior Sister has really good taste." Zhou Yi scooped up a spoonful of well-mixed braised pork rice with a spoon, put it in his mouth, chewed, and very agreeably gave her a thumbs up: "Your album will definitely sell well, heading straight for the Golden Melody Awards, winning Best New Artist."

Sun Yanzi was actually amused by these words and grinned: "I would be satisfied if my album could sell up to the target set by the company; I dare not dream of selling well, and the Golden Melody Awards would truly be a dream."

At the beginning of the millennium, the influence of the Golden Melody Awards had not yet declined; basically, it could be said that it represented the highest honor in the Chinese music scene.

She dared not dream of it.

"One still needs to have some dreams. When the time comes, you and I will sweep the Golden Melody Awards together; I'm afraid General Manager Zhou's mouth will be smiling crooked." Zhou Yi, while picking at rice grains, did not take this to heart.

This appearance, seen in Sun Yanzi's eyes, seemed full of confidence, which inevitably aroused her curiosity: "Does Junior Brother already have ideas for your album? Which direction are you going to collect songs from?"

"I have ideas, to sing some songs that can stir the emotions of young people. Forget collecting songs; I will write them all myself."

Under Sun Yanzi's gaze, where her eyes widened instantly, Zhou Yi took a napkin to wipe the corner of his mouth: "Tomorrow I will go to the company and ask someone to help find someone to record. If it's suitable, I estimate I can finish recording four to five songs before I return to school for the final exams."

"You write them all yourself? Will the company agree?"

This time, Sun Yanzi was truly so surprised she couldn't close her mouth.

Looking at the Chinese music scene as a whole, in her memory, there were only a handful of people who wrote their entire debut album themselves; she could count them on two hands.

The closest one was Dai Peini, who released her first personal album in February of this year; only the lyrics of one song in the entire album were written by her friend, and the lyrics and composition of the rest of the songs were all handled by herself.

"The company agreed for me to record one or two songs first to see the quality; if it's not good, I will collect songs, but I think they shouldn't have the chance to collect songs."

Facing the future top queen of the Chinese music scene, Zhou Yi leaned back tactically, showing extreme confidence.

With "Happy Worship" and "Have to Love" brought out, if Zhou Jianhui didn't release the album, he wouldn't deserve to sit in this position.

Do you understand the gold content of retirement-pension-level songs?

"Wait, record one or two songs? You just said you would go to the company to record tomorrow; have you already finished writing them?" Sun Yanzi, only just realizing the key point, said in shock.

"Yes, how about it, do you want to listen?" Zhou Yi smiled at the corner of his mouth and proudly raised an eyebrow.

"If possible, of course." Sun Yanzi agreed at once.

After all, she was alone in the Treasure Island, and her album was already recorded and waiting for release; she was just bored.

"The two finished songs are a male and female duet..."

Zhou Yi hummed a couple of times, his index finger tapping the rhythm on the glass table, and began to show off his singing in front of the only audience, while also teaching Sun Yanzi a few lines to let her sing the female part—

"Every day I need your love, my thoughts are for you to guess~~~"