Huayu: A master director who debuted as a singer

Chapter 69 The wildly successful autograph session

December 6th, Taipei.

PolyGram held a book signing event for Zheng Hui at the Red House Plaza in Ximending.

Having learned from the previous experience, PolyGram made thorough preparations this time.

They published announcements in major newspapers and radio stations three days in advance.

On the day of the autograph session, attendees must present their new album CD, "Floating Life," to exchange for a number tag.

Limited to 1,000 pieces, while supplies last.

At 9 a.m., five hours before the autograph session was scheduled to begin, the line to exchange number plates had already stretched for hundreds of meters.

Fans who didn't manage to get a number refused to leave, crowding around the fence outside and blocking the entire street.

"I have two Zheng Hui CDs, I'll trade one for the other! Anyone want to trade?"

"Buying accounts at high prices! 500 NTD per account!"

Scalpers weaved through the crowd, and the price of the license plates they held skyrocketed.

The staff member in charge of exchanging currency looked at the crowds on the street, their palms sweating profusely.

"Manager Wang, there are just too many people!"

Manager Wang from the Taiwan branch, a cigarette dangling from his lips, looked at the scene before him, his face crinkling into a wide smile.

"What's there to be afraid of? The more people, the better! More people means we're going to give out bonuses!"

Finally, the police had to be deployed, setting up several police lines to barely maintain order.

At 2 p.m., Zheng Hui's car slowly drove into the backstage area under heavy guard.

Looking out the car window, he could only see a sea of ​​heads and countless arms holding up his posters and light boards.

The deafening screams could be heard clearly even through the car windows.

Li Zongming sat next to him, looking at the scene, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

"Ah Hui, this—this is what the entourage of a superstar is like, isn't it?"

Zheng Hui didn't answer. He looked out the window. From today onwards, he could no longer walk the streets as freely as before.

As the autograph session began, Zheng Hui walked onto the stage, and the screams from the audience almost lifted the roof off.

He sang three songs, and the entire audience sang along to each one.

During the autograph session, the line moved very quickly.

Zheng Hui barely had time to look up; he could only mechanically sign his name, say thank you, and then take the next one.

He was halfway through signing in when he looked up and paused for a moment.

Standing in front of him was a middle-aged man in a suit with some gray hair.

The man handed over the CD, his face showing restraint and embarrassment.

"Hello, Mr. Zheng. I—I'm here to queue on behalf of my daughter."

Zheng Hui smiled and took the CD: "It's okay."

He signed the CD and handed it back to the man.

The man took the CD, but did not leave immediately.

He hesitated for a moment before saying, "Um—Mr. Zheng, I also really enjoy listening to your songs."

"Especially that song, 'The Crime of Not Being Romantic,' it's so well written."

"My wife always scolds me, saying I'm not romantic and don't know how to say sweet things. After listening to your song, I realized it's not just my problem."

"Thank you for writing such a wonderful song."

After saying that, he took the CD, turned around, and squeezed into the crowd.

Zheng Hui watched his retreating figure, feeling somewhat moved.

This is what Zheng Donghan meant when he said he wanted every man to find his own reflection in the song.

The publicity campaign in Taiwan was a great success, and Zheng Hui and his entourage flew back to Hong Kong without stopping.

The book signing event in Hong Kong was held at Times Square in Causeway Bay.

Like Taiwan, the limit is 1,000 people.

The book signing event was packed with people as usual.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

But unlike the uniformly young faces at the Taiwan signing event, a very special scene appeared at the Hong Kong event.

In the queue, besides a large number of young students and white-collar women, there were also quite a few middle-aged men.

They stood quietly in line, holding Zheng Hui's CDs, their expressions somewhat reserved, standing out from the chattering young girls around them.

An entertainment reporter keenly noticed this phenomenon. He carried his camera, squeezed to the side of the line, and handed the microphone to a middle-aged man who was queuing.

"Hello, sir. Are you also here for Zheng Hui's book signing?"

The middle-aged man glanced at the camera and nodded.

"Yes."

"May I ask why you like Zheng Hui's songs?" the reporter asked.

The middle-aged man thought for a moment and said, "I really like his first album."

"During last year's financial crisis, I was laid off from my company and stayed at home for half a year. I was almost completely broken. At that time, it was listening to his songs 'Stubborn' and 'I Believe' that helped me regain some confidence."

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"This new album, with songs like 'Ten Years' and 'King of Karaoke,' also expresses the sentiments of people our age."

"Especially that song, 'Next Year Today,' it says that meeting you in this fleeting moment of life has used up all my luck. After listening to it, I understood a lot of things."

"So, I took half a day off today to come and show my support."

The reporter interviewed several middle-aged men in line and received similar answers.

They all became his fans starting with Zheng Hui's first album.

The lyrics that gave them strength during their lowest points in life created a special emotional connection between them and this young man they had never met.

When this young man releases his second album, and his songs resonate with them just as deeply, that emotional connection translates into the strongest purchasing power and support.

We want them to put down their work on weekday afternoons and stand in line like a fanboy.

A new artist, with only his second album, has managed to get so many rational middle-aged men to make a special trip to queue up for autograph sessions.

This is an extremely rare thing in the Hong Kong music scene.

Meanwhile, in Taipei.

The office building of Linfair Records reflects the significant position of Linfair Records, a long-established record company, in the Taiwanese music scene.

In the break room, two production assistants were making coffee.

"Hey, have you read today's newspaper?"

"I saw it, of course I saw it. Zheng Hui's book signing in Ximending brought traffic to a standstill."

"That's outrageous, only six days! I just went to the distribution department to deliver some documents and overheard Manager Zhang reporting to the boss."

It's said that Zheng Hui's album "Floating Life" has sold over 180,000 copies in Taiwan.

"180,000 tickets? In six days?" another assistant exclaimed in surprise. "Is this even human? Things are better now, but surely not this crazy?"

"Who can argue with that? The key is that this momentum just can't be stopped; the radio is playing nothing but his songs. You can hear 'Thank You for Your Love 1999' everywhere you go."

"Sh-"

The first assistant suddenly made a shushing gesture and glanced towards the door.

At the entrance, a young man stood there, his hat pulled low, covering most of his face, but his gloomy demeanor still made him instantly recognizable.

Nicholas Tse.

He was standing there with a bottle of water in his hand, clearly having overheard the conversation.

The two assistants didn't know why he looked so upset, but they kept quiet, picked up their coffees, lowered their heads, and hurriedly left.

Nicholas Tse traveled all the way from Hong Kong to Taiwan just to escape Zheng Hui, to escape those damn comparisons, and to escape that overwhelming ridicule.

The company said that the market environment in Taiwan is good, that people here value music itself more, and that as long as he quietly makes music, he can start over.

The results of it?

He arrived a few days later, and Zheng Hui also arrived.

And they arrived with an overwhelming aura of dominance.

Zheng Hui is on TV, on the radio, in the newspapers, and even in the company's break room, people are talking about him.

180,000 copies.

Six days.

Zheng Hui didn't even need to mention his name in the media; the overwhelming singing alone had already cornered him.

"Nicholas Tse".

Huo Wenxi's voice came from behind.

She walked in quickly, glanced at Nicholas Tse's expression, and her heart skipped a beat.

"What are you doing here? The teacher is waiting for you in the recording studio." Mani Fok tried to make her tone sound relaxed and natural.

"Mani." Nicholas Tse didn't turn around, his voice low and deep: "Am I a joke?"

Huo Wenxi's heart tightened, and she quickly walked up to him: "What are you saying? Don't listen to those people outside talking nonsense."

What do they know about music? They're just following the trend.

"Following the trend?" Nicholas Tse looked up, revealing bloodshot eyes. "One hundred thousand people following the trend? All the radio stations in Taiwan are following the trend?"

I listened to his song "Thank You for Your Love 1999".

Nicholas Tse's voice trembled, a mixture of anger, resentment, and the helplessness that followed being struck.

"That's rock and roll, that's the kind of rock and roll I wanted to do, but the company never let me."

"And that song, 'Because of Love, I Love.' The lyrics, the arrangement—"

He smashed the water bottle in his hand into the trash can.

"Bang!"

"How could he write a song like this? What makes him think he can write a song like this?!"

Nicholas Tse's chest heaved violently.

What made him most desperate was not that Zheng Hui was more famous than him, but that Zheng Hui had taken the style he most wanted to follow and surpassed him by a million times.

He wanted to act cool, but Zheng Hui was cooler than him.

He wanted to play rock and roll, but Zheng Hui was even more rock and roll than him.

He wanted to be affectionate, but Zheng Hui was even more affectionate.

This all-encompassing coverage and attack made him feel like a clumsy imitator.

Looking at Nicholas Tse, who was on the verge of collapse, Mani Fok felt a pang of frustration.

If only I hadn't provoked Zheng Hui back then.

If only I hadn't tried to climb over Zheng Hui to get ahead.

Perhaps for now, they can still develop steadily in their respective fields.

But now, Pandora's box has been opened.

She took a deep breath and reached out to grab Nicholas Tse's shoulder: "Nicholas, look at me."

Nicholas Tse turned his head away.

"Look at me!" Mani Fok emphasized.

Nicholas Tse turned his head, his eyes vacant.

"You're only eighteen." Mani Fok stared into his eyes. "You're just getting started. This time, we lost, we admit it. But that doesn't mean you'll lose forever."

"He's riding high right now, but the higher you climb, the harder you fall. Let's focus on making this album. Even if it only sells 10,000 copies, as long as one song survives, it'll be a victory."

"Don't worry about the numbers, don't worry about the comparisons. You are Nicholas Tse, you are no one's shadow."

O

Huo Wenxi's words were like a lifeline.

Nicholas Tse's gaze focused slightly.

"Come on, let's go record." Mani Fok pulled his arm. "Sing your anger and your resentment into the song. That's what rock and roll is all about."

Nicholas Tse was silent for a few seconds, took a deep breath, and nodded.

"Walk."

The two walked out of the tea room and through the corridor.

The faint sound of a radio could be heard coming from the office at the end of the corridor.

"—Next, please enjoy 'Next Year Today' performed by Zheng Hui—"

Nicholas Tse paused for a moment, but this time he didn't stop and continued striding towards the recording studio.