Huayu: A master director who debuted as a singer

Sunday, Taipei.

"Brother, change the channel! I want to watch 'Super Sunday'!" Lin Meixiu kicked her brother Lin Zhihao, who was hogging the remote control, while eating noodles.

Lin Zhihao, who was watching the sports channel, impatiently threw the remote control over: "What are you watching? What's so interesting about Ah Liang looking for someone?"

Lin Meixiu ignored him and skillfully pressed the channel button. The TV screen flickered, and the picture switched to CTS (China Television System).

Just as GG ended, Chang Hsiao-yen and Harlem Yu stood in the center of the stage with microphones in their hands.

"Super!" Chang Hsiao-yen shouted.

"Sunday!" the audience responded in unison.

With a smile, Harlem Yu teased, "Today we have a special friend with us. He comes from Macau, but in mainland China, his cassette tapes have sold five million copies."

"Five million?" Lin Zhihao took a sip of noodles, glanced up at the TV, and said, "You're kidding. Even Jacky Cheung doesn't exaggerate that much."

The sound of a piano began, followed by the strumming of a guitar.

Zheng Hui walked out with a microphone. He had no backup dancers; he just stood there alone.

"The brightest star in the night sky, can you hear me...?"

The moment the singing started, Lin Meixiu stopped eating the noodles.

Lin Zhihao also put down his bowl.

The television camera zoomed in on Zheng Hui's face, revealing his defined features and clear eyes.

"The loneliness and sighs in the heart of the one who looks up."

After the song ended, Harlem Yu walked over and asked, "What's the name of this song?"

"The Brightest Star in the Night Sky," Zheng Hui replied.

"It sounds great." Harlem Yu gave a thumbs up: "It really sounds great, the arrangement is very mature, and the voice is very clear."

Lin Meixiu turned to her brother and said, "Brother, who is this guy? He's so handsome, and his singing is great too."

Lin Zhihao scratched his head: "Never seen him before. Harlem said he was from Macau? His name is Zheng Hui?"

……

Monday morning, Ximending.

Just as the record store opened its shutter door, and the store manager, A-Qiang, was still yawning, several female high school students rushed in.

"Boss! Do you have any Zheng Hui's CDs?"

Ah Qiang was taken aback: "Who?"

"Zheng Hui! The one from yesterday's 'Super Sunday'!" The girl gestured towards the name: "He's tall and handsome, the one in the white shirt who sang 'The Brightest Star in the Night Sky'!"

Ah-Qiang scratched his head: "Never heard of it, is it a new album release?"

"Oh dear, how come you don't even have this!" The girl looked disappointed, turned around and pulled her companion, "Come on, let's go check out Rose Records next door."

A-Qiang was still in a daze as he watched them run away when two more boys came in.

"Boss, just wondering, has Zheng Hui's album arrived yet, the one that sold five million cassette tapes?"

Ah Qiang was fully awake. After apologizing to the customer and seeing him off, he picked up the phone on the counter and dialed the head office's purchasing department.

"Hey, this is Ah-Qiang from the Ximending store. Um... do you have Zheng Hui's album in stock? Yes, the one from mainland China. What? You haven't stocked it yet? Hurry up, someone came to ask about it as soon as we opened this morning!"

……

PolyGram Taiwan Branch, Meeting Room.

Manager Chen sat in his chair, his phone ringing non-stop.

"Yes, yes, we'll stock it up right away. It'll definitely be in the store by Friday."

"Posters? Yes, they were just printed. I'll have them delivered this afternoon."

After hanging up the phone, Manager Wang, sitting opposite Manager Chen, beamed: "Mr. Chen, you made the right bet. I just did the math, and all the major record stores in Taipei are ordering stock. Distributors in central and southern Taiwan are also calling to inquire."

Manager Chen smiled broadly: "The power of 'Super Sunday' is still great. Add to that Zheng Sheng's face and the gimmick of five million sales, and everyone will fall for it."

"Pass the word down: make a big splash at the book signing on Saturday. Contact all the newspapers and get me the headline 'Five Million Newcomer King'."

"What about the supply? How's the factory doing?" Manager Chen asked.

"The first batch of 20,000 tickets was held back, and they will all be shipped out by Friday."

Manager Chen waved his hand: "It's not enough. Notify the factory to prepare more materials and be ready to print more at any time."

……

Friday evening.

Zheng Hui's CDs were placed on the shelves of major record stores.

Next to it was a handwritten pop-up poster: "Five million copies sold in mainland China! Rising star Zheng Hui! Highly recommended by 'Super Sunday'!"

The store started playing songs from the album "Stubborn," which made many students passing by stop.

"Is this the song sung by Zheng Hui?"

"Buy one and give it a listen, it's not expensive anyway."

A small queue began to form in front of the cashier.

At 8 PM, CTV's "Dragon Brothers and Tiger Brothers" will air on time.

Chang Fei put his arm around Cheng Hui's shoulder and laughed at the camera: "This kid is amazing. He has to wear sunglasses when he walks in mainland China, otherwise he'll get surrounded."

Zheng Hui sang "Stubborn" and "I Believe" on the show.

The straightforward lyrics, combined with the rousing melody, were transmitted to countless households via television signals.

……

Saturday, 2 PM, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store Plaza, Taipei.

PolyGram set up a temporary stage with Zheng Hui's poster printed on the backdrop.

The square was packed with people, mostly young people, holding newly purchased CDs. Many passersby were also drawn in by the songs playing on repeat from the speakers and stopped to watch.

For a newcomer with no connections in Taiwan and who has only appeared on two shows, this scene is already considered a huge success.

At 2:30, the host came on stage to warm up the audience.

"Friends, thank you for waiting! Let's welcome Zheng Hui, the sales legend of all newcomers in Asia!"

Zheng Hui walked onto the stage with a microphone, and screams erupted from the audience, more enthusiastic than expected.

"Hello everyone, I'm Zheng Hui."

He didn't waste any words and started singing right away.

"If I'm different from the world, then let me be different..."

As soon as the intro to "Stubborn" started, dozens of people in the audience were able to hum along.

Zheng Hui was somewhat surprised, and he turned the microphone towards the audience.

"I'm clinging to my last bit of stubbornness, holding hands tightly and refusing to let go!"

The sounds were not uniform, but they were very clear.

After singing "Stubborn," the next song was "The Brightest Star in the Night Sky," and the last song was "The First Dream."

After the three songs were finished, the staff moved in tables and chairs, and the autograph session began.

The first person in line was a girl wearing a school uniform.

She handed him the CD, her voice soft: "Brother Zheng Hui~, could you write me some good luck for my exam?"

Zheng Hui took the CD, signed his name on the cover, and wrote "Good luck on your exam" on it.

"Keep it up." He handed the CD back and held out his hand.

The girl grasped his hand, almost jumping for joy: "Thank you! I'll try my best!"

The PolyGram staff in the audience were very experienced; they turned up the volume and played songs from the album on a loop.

Passersby heard the song, saw the long queue, and came over out of curiosity.

"Who is this?"

"Zheng Hui, I heard he's very popular in mainland China."

"The song is pretty good, shall we buy a copy?"

Temporary sales points were set up on site, and many passersby bought CDs on the spot and then joined the queue, which is the herd mentality.

Manager Chen stood to the side, watching the increasingly long queue, his mouth practically stretched to his ears in a wide grin.

He beckoned to his assistant: "Go, call the reporters from the United Daily News and the Star, and tell them to come over and take pictures right away. Tell them the scene is packed, hundreds of people are queuing up, and if they're late, they won't be able to get any pictures."

Three hours later, Zheng Hui finished signing the last one, and the staff began to clean up the stage.

Manager Wang ran over with a calculator: "Mr. Chen, the statistics are in. More than 1,500 tickets were sold on site."

"Great!" Manager Chen slapped his thigh hard.

1,500 copies sold in just three hours. Add to that the distribution to record stores across Taiwan, and the weekend's figures will be absolutely impressive.

Several reporters squeezed backstage and held out microphones to Zheng Hui.

"Mr. Zheng Hui, this is your first time holding a book signing in Taiwan, and there are so many people here. What are your thoughts?"

"I'm very happy; my friends from Taiwan are very welcoming," Zheng Hui replied in a very official tone.

"Mr. Zheng, is there any exaggeration in your sales figures in mainland China?" a reporter asked pointedly.

Manager Chen immediately stepped in front: "Everyone, today is a signing event, we'll only talk about music."

Regarding sales figures, the official data is there, no need to elaborate. Look at the scene today, does it look fake?

The reporters glanced back at the still-lingering crowd and didn't press for further questions.

……

That evening, Manager Chen stuffed a stack of photos and press releases into an envelope and handed it to his assistant.

"Go to the airport immediately and find the earliest flight back to Hong Kong. Take these materials back with you so the company can issue a statement first thing tomorrow morning."

"The headline should be sensational: Zheng Hui conquers Taiwan, his autograph session paralyzes Ximending, or he truly deserves the title of 'Mainland Newcomer King'."

The assistant hurriedly left with the envelope.

Manager Chen turned to Zheng Hui and said, "Mr. Zheng, pack your things, we're flying back to Hong Kong tonight."

"So urgent?" Li Zongming asked.

"Strike while the iron is hot." Manager Chen said while tidying up the documents, "The fire has already been lit in Taiwan. We need to blow this wave back to Hong Kong. There will be a book signing in Causeway Bay tomorrow afternoon."

……

Sunday, Times Square, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. This is one of the busiest areas in Hong Kong, with a huge flow of people.

At 3 p.m., Zheng Hui appeared on stage.

Compared to the hundreds of people in Taiwan, the scene here was a bit quieter. There were probably more than two hundred people standing inside the fence, mostly young students, and some housewives.

Hong Kong people are used to seeing big stars, and they see the Four Heavenly Kings every day. They maintain a certain reserve when it comes to a newcomer, even if he is an outsider.

But Manager Chen wasn't worried at all. For a purely Mandarin album in Hong Kong, where Cantonese songs dominate, it was already a miracle that two hundred people would line up specifically for it.

Zheng Hui performed the same three songs as before, and then began signing autographs.

A middle-aged woman came up with two CDs: "Handsome, sign two for me, one for my daughter, and one for myself."

Your songs are so righteous, so much better than those lovey-dovey ones.

Zheng Hui smiled and signed his name: "Thank you for your support, Sister."

In two hours, 480 signatures were obtained.

PolyGram's PR staff took photos nearby, finding excellent angles to make the 200 people appear as if there were 500.