The opening of China Entertainment Group gave Jay Chou a head-on confrontation

Chapter 978 Echoes Three Years Later
From a practical point of view, the interview Zhou Yi left before leaving the United States can be said to be a relentless refrain from adhering to the concept of "freedom and equality" that is frequently invoked throughout the Western world, which is consistent with his public persona.

From an economic perspective, Zhou Yi's first EP produced under his full supervision as an Asian female singer has indeed achieved unprecedented success in the history of Asian female singers, depriving opponents of their biggest argument.

When the last banner of equality that the music industry had touted for decades was ruthlessly torn down by Zhou Yi, the "producers," the behind-the-scenes kingpins who controlled the American music scene, made rare and frequent appearances to make their presence felt. However, faced with an impeccable opponent like Zhou Yi, these producers could never find a way to attack him.

They can't even manage their usual tactic of censorship.

Today, Zhou Yi not only controls the behemoth Warner Bros., but is also a representative of one-man armies—unlike filmmaking, which has many elements that can be used to trip people up.

“I think Spike is right. There are too many dirty people in this industry. It’s a kind of invisible bullying that has been going on for decades.”

As someone who also faced discrimination when she first came to America, Shakira's voice of support resonated deeply: "It's the 21st century now, and we need to break down this mindset."

Punk icon Avril Lavigne put it even more succinctly: "Spike is right, it's incredibly difficult for foreigners to get started in the American music scene."

Mariah Carey, while echoing Spike's sentiments, didn't forget to take a jab at her former label, Sony: "New Warner, where Spike plays, is the most egalitarian record label in the entire industry. I swear to God, Sony is far inferior in this respect..."

The music industry is far from peaceful; conflicts between different circles are often irreconcilable. Singers and producers aren't as close as one might imagine; it's just that no one has been strong enough to break the ice.

Until the time when the Book of Changes launched its attack.

Anyone with eyes can see that he's 100% exploiting the conflicts in the music industry and creating public opinion to promote that Singaporean woman's album, but there's no way to stop him; it's an open conspiracy.

Whether it's the righteous cause or the "freedom and equality" ideology that people in Europe and America have been brainwashed into believing, anyone who crosses it will suffer greatly.

Even if the media knows it's poison, they'll still gladly open it and rush to the peak of the hype.

As the direct beneficiary of this public controversy, Sun Yanzi, under Warner's arrangement, behaved very quietly. When asked about related topics during her tour, she simply played the role of a supporting character, offering comprehensive and unbiased support for everything related to the I Ching.

Of course, she was still very excited in private—

“Let me tell you, I’ve never encountered so much controversy in my life. Compared to that, the intensity of the reports about me in China before is nothing.”

Since she has no intention of pursuing a long-term career in the Western music scene, Sun Yanzi treats every performance as if she were on her retirement tour. Instead of feeling anxious or nervous, she is incredibly relaxed.

Anyway, the songs recorded in the studio have already become popular, and they haven't tarnished Zhouyi's reputation, which is enough.

This is helpful for her live performances, and a significant portion of European and American audiences also appreciate this relaxed musical atmosphere.

Besides the album's poor quality, Utada Hikaru's lackluster live performances were also a major reason for the album's poor sales.

In Europe and America, especially in the United States, various music festivals and livehouses are key to whether a new singer can become popular. Even someone as talented as Zhou Yi has to travel around to different venues when releasing an album.

"You're stating the obvious. There are only so many media outlets in China, while there are so many countries in Europe and America. Even if each country only sends out two or three media outlets to report on it, that number would be enough to overwhelm all the media outlets in China."

"I'm finding it a little hard to adjust, I also want to go back to Zhouyi~"

"Come back after the initial publicity is over, there's a Spring Festival Gala waiting for you."

The Spring Festival in 2007 was exceptionally late, with Lunar New Year's Eve falling on February 17th. Therefore, Sun Yanzi had ample time to either travel abroad for events or return to China to participate in the Spring Festival Gala rehearsals.

It's only early December after all.

As one of the few "privileged individuals" on the Spring Festival Gala, it was standard practice for Zhou Yi's program to go directly to the Gala stage; it would never be rejected.

After all, its power and influence had already grown significantly.

This time, the first thing he did after returning to China was to hand over "Because of Love," a song he had recorded with Sun Yanzi while in the United States, to the Spring Festival Gala production team—a new song that he had not yet publicly performed.

This was the first time in the history of Zhouyi's Spring Festival Gala. The production team initially thought it was a mistake by Zhouyi's team and submitted the wrong information, so they called to confirm it.

"Really? Do they think you accidentally leaked a new song from your new album?"

"That's roughly the idea. They originally planned for me to sing songs from past albums that I hadn't sung on the Spring Festival Gala."

At his home in the capital city, as dawn broke, Zhou Yi, with his phone on speakerphone while brushing his teeth, talked about his experiences since returning to China: "After all, this is the first time I've sung an unreleased new song."

In the past, Zhou Yi had publicly sung all his songs on the Spring Festival Gala stage, regardless of whether they were newly written or not. The only exception was "Gong Xi Fa Cai" (Wishing You Prosperity), but judging from the lyrics, it was a song limited to the Spring Festival, so no one objected.

Who doesn't want something auspicious?

However, Zhou Yi did not release a Chinese album or any new Chinese songs this year. With no other options available, it's understandable that the production team suggested he choose from his older songs.

"Did the production team agree?"

"There's nothing I can do if they disagree. Besides, I gave them an irresistible gimmick: this is the first time the Warner Twins have sung together on the Spring Festival Gala stage."

"Stop, stop, stop! Don't talk about this, it's giving me goosebumps..."

It's fine to see it in the news and newspapers normally, but now that the words "Warner Twins" are mentioned again from the perspective of the I Ching, Sun Yanzi feels extremely embarrassed.

For some inexplicable reason, I had the illusion of being a pair of heroes, like Qiao Feng in the North and Murong Fu in the South.

"I'm hanging up now, I need to catch up on sleep while traveling in the middle of the night."

There's no way around it; Zhou Yi's achievements are just too outstanding. Even domestic media outlets are mentioning her less frequently now. If it weren't for her recent overseas expedition, who knows what the media would have said about her, given her lack of success in Europe and America.

After all, Xiao Yaxuan had a solid academic record in Europe and America. After hanging up the phone, Zhou Yi washed his face and, without even changing out of his pajamas, staggered downstairs.

"Mom, what's for breakfast?"

"Go away, don't just come back and start eating. Have you washed your hands? Go and call Hao Hao over for dinner. She came back early last night."

Even the most powerful and influential male lead in the entertainment industry gets his hand slapped away at home for reaching for a steamed bun without washing his hands in front of his parents.

My mother's authority still outweighs her social standing.

Zhou Yi, who had just been kicked out by his parents again, was biting into a steamed bun that they had taken before he left, and he kept spitting out the hot bun.

When Cheng Hao, whose long hair was tied up with a butterfly clip at the back of her head, opened the door, Zhou Yi was still tossing the steamed buns back and forth between his hands because of the temperature, as if doing so would cool them down quickly, which made her laugh.

"So you have the leisure to put on a circus act for me so early in the morning?"

"I paid a heavy price by being beaten by my mother in order to get this performance prop for you."

"That's your own fault, you made Auntie angry as soon as you came back."

With her eyes crinkling with laughter, Cheng Hao closed the door, and the warm living room became Zhou Yi's stage: "Why didn't you sleep a little longer after you just got back, to adjust to the time difference?"

"You should know that sleeping in late is a luxury."

Zhou Yi plopped down comfortably on the carpet and took a bite of a steamed bun—filled with spicy white radish shreds, which he loved: "Of course, the main reason is that I couldn't fall back asleep after waking up, so I got up to have breakfast, hoping that the carbon monoxide poisoning would let me sleep a little longer."

Anyone who has ever adjusted to jet lag knows the pain. Just getting back to normal after the yin-yang imbalance takes several days of painful torment, and you have to avoid staying up late unless something unexpected happens, otherwise it's all for nothing.

"And then, your aunt kicked you out?"

“She said I can’t eat alone,” Zhou Yi said emphatically.

"You better be."

Knowing full well what was going on, Cheng Hao smiled and said, "Perfect, it saves me the trouble of coming to you again. How's the progress on the theme song for Han Sanping's Olympic tribute film? And what about after the cinema merger..."

She recounted each and every matter in great detail, going on and on.

The merger of cinemas, cooperation with Wanda, completion of the company's new building, and matters related to the Olympic Games.

These are all priority options waiting for Zhou Yi to return and handle.

Cheng Hao's meticulousness made her talent for management increasingly apparent. She arranged all processes in an orderly manner, saving Zhou Yi a lot of effort.

"Han Sanping's song is finished, it's called 'Stand Up'. You can pick it up from my computer room later. I divided it into four parts, one for Hong Kong, Taiwan, Mainland China, and overseas Chinese, all of which are written in the bonus document. You can give it to him together."

As the theme song for "One Man's Olympics," Zhou Yi only recommended Wang Lihong, the representative from Taiwan, in the accompanying documents, fulfilling the promise made by Qian Jiang when he reached a deal with Chen Zeshan.

As for the other three singers, he did not interfere, but left it to China Film Group to choose.

A very interesting fact is that, although Wang Lihong is a typical Chinese American born and raised in the United States, since he learned Chinese and returned to the Chinese music scene, he has actually been categorized as a Taiwanese singer in mainland China.

For various galas and events that require Taiwanese singers, mainland China often prefers to invite him as their representative, while Jay Chou, who is often stereotyped as "CCTV's favorite son," makes fewer appearances.

Cheng Hao didn't know why Zhou Yi recommended Wang Lihong first, but she wouldn't ask.

After breakfast, while Zhou Yi was still processing the contract documents she had prepared, she deftly pushed open the door to his computer room. After putting the demo of "Stand Up," the lyrics, music, and attachments into a file bag, she unexpectedly saw a few familiar words—

"Twinkle, twinkle, little star?"

Because she had publicly performed this children's song at Zhou Yi's concert, and because she had always considered the lyrics of Zhou Yi's song "Writing Poems for You" and the interspersed twinkling stars as a love song between the two, Cheng Hao was very sensitive to this line of the children's song lyrics.

I'm so sensitive that the moment I saw Zhou Yi write this lyric, I subconsciously thought of myself.

"New song?"

Cheng Hao quickly guessed what the unreleased, unfinished lyrics were, and felt uneasy. She wanted to leave, but after glancing down, she couldn't move her feet—

"Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are, leaving behind the marks of time."
"The center of my world is still you."
"Year after year, time flies by in the blink of an eye."
"The only thing that never changes is the constant change."

The song currently only has eight lines of lyrics, yet Cheng Hao stood there for a long time, stroking the manuscript paper...

She subconsciously recalled that it had been three years since she last played "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" on the piano at Zhou Yi's concert.

Just as the lyrics say: year after year.

Exactly three years.

Time leaves its mark; three years have passed in the blink of an eye...

"The center of my world is still you..." Cheng Hao clenched her lips, the weariness that had accumulated in her heart instantly swept away by sweetness, and joy appeared on her face.

(End of this chapter)