Chapter 98: Because He Is Zhou Yi

"Welcome, welcome. Nice to meet you."

Luo Zhixiang, unsure if he was genuinely friendly or just pretending, immediately extended his hand to greet the two warmly. Xu Ruoxuan, at the peak of her beauty, stood beside Zhou Jie, her charming smile causing both Sun Yanzi and Zhou Yi to feel a surge of surprise.

Interesting. Are these two a couple?

Sun Yanzi, noticing the subtle signs between Zhou Jie and Xu Ruoxuan, instantly developed an interest in the gossip. Zhou Yi, standing nearby, raised an eyebrow, his gaze shifting between the two.

If I recall correctly, this Xu Ruoxuan not only wrote several songs for Zhou Jie but also starred as the female lead in his "Cute Woman" music video.

In his past life, he had indeed heard the rumors between Zhou Jie and Xu Ruoxuan, the story of the young Zhou, just breaking into the music scene, meeting a female player.

But, at this point in time, did Xu Ruoxuan have a boyfriend or not?

"I can't play ball, so I'll just watch you guys from the sidelines. I'll be in charge of buying water." Sun Yanzi, who had only come out to slack off, after a brief greeting, volunteered to take on the heavy responsibility of being the water cooler manager.

The paparazzi who had been secretly following Zhou Jie never expected such a huge harvest today. He hurriedly raised his camera, clicking away, capturing the scene of Sun Yanzi and Xu Ruoxuan sitting on the sidelines watching the men play ball onto the film.

Especially when Zhou Yi effortlessly made several graceful three-pointers, Sun Yanzi down below became excited as if she shared in the glory, even whistling.

Whether it was because a girl he fancied was watching from the sidelines or for some other reason, Zhou Jie's form today was explosive. Liu Genghong, who was usually superior in basketball skills, looked in poor form today, frequently getting dominated by Zhou Jie in their matchups, making Zhou Yi, on the same team, unable to bear watching.

Zhou Yi, no longer possessing such graceful dribbling abilities in basketball, transformed into a stationary center to catch up, determined to shoot only three-pointers.

The two major entertainment newspapers were going head-to-head, which made life hard for Luo Zhixiang and Liu Genghong, the "blue-collar" players responsible for the dirty and tiring work.

By the time the custom game ended, both of them were drenched in sweat and panting heavily.

"Not bad, Zhou Yi. Your three-pointers were surprisingly accurate today. Did you secretly practice extra?" Zhou Jie, drinking the mineral water handed to him by Xu Ruoxuan, joked while wiping his sweat.

"You should be glad basketball can't be played with your feet, otherwise you would have lost miserably."

Taking the water bottle handed to him by Sun Yanzi, Zhou Yi, feeling uncomfortable with his sweat-soaked jersey, simply took off his shirt, revealing his remarkably toned muscles.

The perfect embodiment of looking slim in clothes and muscular out of them.

Sun Yanzi, standing directly opposite him, had just handed over the water bottle and towel. Her eyes involuntarily glanced over, and as her fingers descended, she instinctively wanted to poke his pectoral muscle, but realizing what she was doing, she quickly pulled her hand back.

Liu Genghong, a fitness enthusiast, was even more dazzled: "Zhou Yi, your physique is absolutely incredible. If you went to act as a Greek statue sculpture, you could play the role in your own image."

Zhou Jie, still a skinny young man at the time, looked at his own arm, then at Zhou Yi, with a hint of envy in his eyes: "How did you train?"

"Drink more milk tea and exercise more."

Zhou Yi, wiping his mouth with a mischievous grin, gave his exclusive secret recipe.

Liu Genghong: "..."

Luo Zhixiang: "..."

Zhou Jie was stunned for a moment, then asked in surprise: "Drink more milk tea? Really?"

"If you believe his mouth, you might as well believe I can win the Golden Melody Award for Best Female Singer next year." Sun Yanzi, with a look of disdain, pouted. This dog man's mouth spoke ten sentences, eight of which were lies.

"Your album is so popular this year; you might actually win the Golden Melody Award for Best Female Singer next year." Xu Ruoxuan, covering her mouth while laughing, raised a hand. Although her words carried a tone of polite flattery, the smile on Sun Yanzi's face genuinely brightened a bit.

After all, not many people would be unwilling to take the position of Golden Melody Award for Best Female Singer.

"Speaking of the Golden Melody Awards, Zhou Yi, those reports outside about me provoking conflict are all fake. I never slandered you." After a refreshing basketball game, Zhou Jie finally remembered the real purpose of inviting Zhou Yi to play today.

"Nonsense. If you had really slandered me, the person standing here now wouldn't be me, but my lawyer."

Zhou Yi laughed and scolded him. He naturally understood that today was a gathering Zhou Jie had specifically arranged for fear of misunderstanding; otherwise, he wouldn't have come to the appointment.

Seeing that Zhou Yi understood his intentions, Zhou Jie raised his hand to brush back the hair soaked with sweat, chuckling twice: "My chances of winning this time aren't great, but I won't stand still.

"With my second album, I feel absolutely certain I can make a name for myself in the mainland. By then, watch out, or your throne might not be safe."

Fully aware of Zhou Yi's situation, Zhou Jie even deliberately avoided the Taiwan region, setting his sights on the mainland market.

The success of his first album also ignited Zhou Jie's ambition in music. Facing Zhou Yi, who had already reached the throne in the mainland, to surpass his friend, he naturally had to focus on the mainland market.

Zhou Yi nodded with a smile: "Not bad, so confident. When is your new album coming out?"

"The company currently has it set for September."

"Then you have no hope. My album releases in June."

Zhou Yi was not worried at all.

Yes, "Double Jiegun" was very popular, but he had unleashed "Jiangnan," which could rival "Qi Li Xiang."

Moreover, the popularity of "Double Jiegun" was limited to the younger generation, while "Jiangnan" appealed to everyone, young and old.

"Then let's wait and see."

Facing Zhou Yi's calm demeanor, the smile on Zhou Jie's face was exceptionally brilliant.

Then, the next day, he couldn't smile anymore—

"Zhou-Jie Romance Exposed?! Zhou Yi with Sun Yanzi, Zhou Jie with Xu Ruoxuan!"

"Warner's Twin Stars' Romance Might Be Real?!"

"Exclusive Report with First-Hand Data! Zhou-Jie Succeed in Both Love and Career!"

"Xu Ruoxuan Cheats on Zhou Jie?!"

"Sun Yanzi Steals the Heart, Where Does Elva Hsiao Go?!"

"..."

Zhou Jie was numb.

That basketball court was one he had specifically chosen to shake off the paparazzi who swarmed and stared at him daily after he became famous.

How could they have found it?!

Instinctively, Zhou Jie immediately called Xu Ruoxuan, Zhou Yi, and Sun Yanzi respectively to apologize to the three of them.

He recognized the paparazzi who first published the stolen photos from the basketball court; he was one of the few who constantly watched him.

Zhou Yi, who was preparing to shoot a commercial with Coca-Cola, didn't feel much about the matter. Instead, he casually asked Sun Yanzi, who laughed carelessly.

"Zhou Yi dating? What does it have to do with me if he's dating? Are you looking for the wrong person? We aren't in a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship. These are just unscrupulous media making things up out of thin air."

Elva Hsiao, attending a promotional event, was also asked about Zhou Yi's alleged "cheating" on Sun Yanzi. She immediately started enjoying the gossip: "Yanzi and Zhou Yi are both my friends. Currently, I haven't heard that the two of them are in a relationship."

Isn't this a tall tale?

As for the claim that he is dating Sun Yanzi, where did that even come from?

The Coca-Cola executive, who was in the thick of filming an advertisement with Zhou Yi, was grinning from ear to ear.

Zhou Yi was already hot, and now he was tied to the other half of Warner's "Twins" duo. Signing one person meant riding the hype of two; they had won big.

"Go ask Sun Yanzi if she has a beverage endorsement. If not, invite her to endorse our Sprite."

After studying the growth trajectory of the "Twins," the Coca-Cola China executive's mind instantly opened up, and he began probing the possibility of signing Sun Yanzi.

If this really happened, with Zhou Yi on the left holding Coke and Yanzi on the right holding Sprite, wouldn't they take off immediately?

Because of this explosive "proof with pictures," Sun Yanzi handing Zhou Yi water and a Mao Jin at the basketball court, and even the photo of Zhou Yi's half-naked upper body, swept across the entire island of Taiwan like a whirlwind at an unprecedented speed, radiating even to Xiangjiang and the mainland.

Female fans were even raving about the paparazzi's sneaky photography skills, thanking him for taking this half-naked photo to look after Zhou Yi's female fanbase.

"Zhou Yi and I are really not dating; we are just good friends. Just like him and Elva, good friends."

Three days later, at the scene of her album signing event, facing reporters' questions, Sun Yanzi could no longer smile carelessly as before and helplessly offered an explanation.

Zhou Yi, who had unfairly taken the blame, felt even more wronged; this time it was truly unjust: "We really are just good friends. The basketball court was purely her just going over to check things out when she had nothing to do."

When time entered April, the entire island of Taiwan, or rather the entire domestic entertainment circle, was dominated by the "Warner Twins" romance rumors in every camera lens.

Finally seeing fresh Zhou Yi news in Taiwan, and it was such explosive news right off the bat, the volume of sound erupted by Zhou Yi's fans directly overshadowed the promotions of other artists in the entertainment circle—

Qiong Yao's daughter-in-law, who was arranging the April release of "The Love of the Rain," had just released the crew news she had prepared for hype, only to unexpectedly crash head-on into the hot topic of the "Twins" romance becoming real, getting crushed without a shred of temper.

It was that familiar office, that familiar manager with the slicked-back hair.

The man who had angrily slammed his fountain pen looked at Zhou Yi on the newspaper page, who had collided with the company's business time and again: "Just some ambiguous photos were taken, and the storm is this big?!"

He Xiuqiong could only helplessly hold her forehead: "There's no way around it, because he is Zhou Yi."

Because of this sudden "demon wind," Zhou Yi, who hadn't been to Taiwan for a long time, stepped into the spotlight once again and landed on the front pages and headlines of major entertainment newspapers.

What kind of a situation is this!

Coca-Cola officially announced at the earliest opportunity that the Zhou Yi commercial would go online on April 12, along with Zhou Yi's latest photo book and posters as free gifts.

"The new song Zhou Yi wrote for Coca-Cola, 'Don't Listen to Slow Songs When You're Sad,' is a song different from his previous style. In this song, he completed an interpretation of our new Coca-Cola style with a more youthful posture and a more pop style..."

Most importantly, at the Coca-Cola press conference, Zhou Yi himself personally confirmed that this commercial song would not be included in his second album, which he would release in June this year.

If fans want to listen, they either have to keep requesting this commercial song on the radio, or watch the commercial.

(End of this chapter)