HuaYu97: Starting as a Singer

Chapter 269 [269] Despite being a relatively unknown singer, Qi Yuan still dominates the Taiwanese music scene.
Like many wealthy people in Hong Kong, Mr. Lin is somewhat superstitious.

It was his idea to bring in the White Dragon King to pray for the success of "Infernal Affairs".

He believes that the success of "Infernal Affairs" is largely due to the lead actor, Qi Yuan.

The White Dragon King commented on the set that Qi Yuan had exceptionally good fortune and was very suitable to play the lead role.

Mr. Lin firmly believed this.

Boss Lin pulled Qi Yuan and Liu Weiqiang aside and urged them to hurry up and film the sequel to "Infernal Affairs".

Neither Qi Yuan nor Liu Weiqiang were in a particular hurry.

There's no use in rushing things. Qi Yuan is about to film "Bouquet," and afterwards he'll be releasing an album, holding a concert, and releasing Japanese and English songs. There's no way he'll have time to film "Infernal Affairs 2" this year.

Liu Weiqiang simply recommended a Japanese comic to Qi Yuan.

"Mr. Qi, have you heard of Initial D?"

Initial D was serialized in Weekly Young Magazine in 1995. This manga was not only a hit in Japan, but also very popular in Taiwan and Hong Kong.

After filming "Infernal Affairs," Liu Weiqiang was thinking about his own film projects. He set his sights on this popular comic and even spent money to buy the film rights.

In his previous life, Liu Weiqiang also started preparing for this project in 2000. The initial plan was for Chen Guanxi to play Fujiwara Takumi and Liu Dehua to play his father, Fujiwara Bunta.

Boss Lin then sent someone to see the White Dragon King. After looking at the photos of Chen Guanxi and Zhou Jielun, the White Dragon King said that the former's fortune was declining while the latter's was rising.

As a result, the senior management of Media Asia suggested that Liu Weiqiang cast Zhou Jielun as the male lead.

In this life, Liu Weiqiang met Qi Yuan at the beginning of the preparation, and the two had a very pleasant collaboration on "Infernal Affairs".

When it came to the role of Takumi, Liu Weiqiang's first choice was Qi Yuan.

"If you want to enter the Japanese music scene, we can adapt this Japanese comic into a movie and release it in Japan, which will definitely benefit your career."

Liu Weiqiang said sincerely.

He really thought Qi Yuan was suitable to play Takumi.

In the manga, Takumi is the second most handsome boy in the class, attracting the secret crushes of the female students and Natsuki.

It's only natural that someone as beautiful as Qi Yuan would be secretly admired by Xia Shu.

In addition, Takumi was cheated on by Natsuki.

Liu Weiqiang could foresee how spectacular the scene would be if Qi Yuan were to play the role.

Even the fastest AE86 can't catch up with a Mercedes, even if it has a face like Qi Yuan's.

The idea that good looks are easily swayed by money is sure to resonate with countless young people.

Of course, Natsuki in the manga isn't that much of a tease.

Natsuki's family is poor, and she dates her uncle for money.

The decadent and extravagant Japan of the 1980s was a time of great passion for Japanese women, and the story of the four wallets occurred during that era.

At first, Natsuki was completely bewildered and had no idea whether what she was doing was right or wrong.

When she was little, many of her older sisters, aunts, and neighbors did the same thing: dating different men to make money.

She earned money from her uncle to supplement the family income.

Natsuki's feelings for Takumi are genuine.

After meeting Takumi, Natsuki realized that what she had done before was wrong. She then cut off all contact with her uncle, studied hard, got into a good university, and worked part-time to help support her family.

Takumi was initially clueless; without experiencing Natsuki and his uncle's situation, he wouldn't have continued his racing career.

They both grew after meeting each other.

Due to its length, a movie certainly can't tell all these stories.

Qi Yuan had certainly heard of Initial D. He smiled and said, "I'm going to be cheated on by my uncle?"

Liu Weiqiang argued confidently: "It was your uncle who did it first; strictly speaking, you cheated on your uncle."

Qi Yuan: "..." Damn! He couldn't even refute it.

Liu Weiqiang continued, "There's no rush for this film. I'm just telling you in advance about my idea to adapt this comic. If you think it's good, we can collaborate in the future."

Qi Yuan smiled wryly: "We'll see how it goes. My schedule is completely packed this year. Director Zhang has booked me to film 'Hero' next year, but I don't even know when I'll have time."

Qi Yuan believes that Liu Weiqiang is right about one thing: if he were to enter the Japanese music scene, he could consider making a film called "Initial D".

This film grossed $476 million in Japan in its previous run, which was quite good.

We'll see later. Last time Qi Yuan went to Japan to shoot a music video, Warner Music Japan even brought in Masami Nagasawa.

If it were to be made in the future, he felt that Masami Nagasawa could be cast as Natsuki, and that film would be a game-changer.

In three years, Masami Nagasawa will be sixteen, just the right age.

Anne Suzuki, the actress who played Natsuki in the original version, was also sixteen years old at the time.

……

The following day, Hong Kong media reported on the grand celebration banquet for "Infernal Affairs".

Perhaps the paparazzi in Hong Kong have run out of inspiration lately, as they haven't come up with any sensational headlines, which makes Qi Yuan feel a little uneasy.

In the Taiwanese music scene.

A week ago, Sony artist Wang Lihong released his new album "The First Day of Eternity", which includes the song "Breakpoint" written by Qi Yuan.

"Breakpoint" performed strongly on the Taiwanese music charts, but it couldn't catch up with "Descendants of the Dragon".

"Descendants of the Dragon" is not an original song by Wang Lihong.

The original singer of this song is Li Jianfu, Wang Lihong's cousin.

Wang Lihong's new arrangements of these old songs are quite beautiful. Compared to the old versions, Wang Lihong has incorporated elements of R&B, hip-hop, and rock, making them more in line with the tastes of young people.

With the release of this song, Wang Lihong's music career took a significant leap forward.

Furthermore, the song received a particularly good response in mainland China, which helped Wang Lihong open up the mainland market.

Following Wang Lihong, Sun Yanzi, a relatively unknown singer who returned to Warner Music Taiwan, released her debut album "Sun Yanzi" on June 9th.

This album is of explosive quality. Sun Yanzi is someone that Warner Music Taiwan and Zhou Jianhui have been waiting for for two years.

Warner Music produced high-quality songs for Sun Yanzi, including "Darkness," "Super Fast," "Love Certificate," "Finally," and "Very Good."

Fans also discovered that the album includes two songs that Qi Yuan wrote for Sun Yanzi: "Encounter" and "Happy Breakup".

With her three songs, "Dark Sky," "Encounter," and "Happy Breakup," Sun Yanzi practically swept across major radio stations and music charts.

Sun Yanzi's songs were playing on radio stations all over Taiwan.

"Happy breakup, I wish you happiness, you can find someone better..."

"Look left, look right, look ahead, love has to take a few turns before it arrives..."

"I fell in love with someone I would give my all for, and I thought this was the world I had been searching for..."

Taiwanese Warner and Zhou Jianhui were thoroughly entertained.

Singers and record companies in the Taiwanese music scene are all cursing.

Previously, Qi Yuan publicly stated that he might reduce the release frequency of his Mandarin albums, as he wanted to expand overseas and enter the Japanese and American music scenes.

Taiwanese singers were overjoyed, feeling that with Qi Yuan gone, justice had been restored.

As it turned out, Qi Yuan, that kid, had no sense of martial ethics. He first created a dance album for Zhang Shaohan, which made "Brother Pig" play all over Taiwan.

Before the craze for Brother Pig had even died down, an even more formidable Sun Yanzi appeared.

Good heavens, even though Qi Yuan is no longer in the Taiwanese music scene, he still firmly dominates it.

　Two updates today. I've written the third chapter, but I'm thinking of not posting it yet; it doesn't feel right. Next up are the storylines for "Bouquet," the fourth album, the China-Korea fan meeting, the Japanese music scene, and the English single. I need to organize my thoughts and adjust the pacing. PS: Does anyone have any Japanese or English songs they'd like to listen to?

　　
　
(End of this chapter)