Bonus ko-fi chapter

Early the next morning, as Weibo kept condemning Ji Zehui, Xie Yang accepted a live interview from a media outlet. The questions asked by the reporters directly focused on this matter.

“Xie Yang, Ji Zehui repeatedly left you alone in the practice room during the preparation process. Was this deliberately making things difficult for you?”

Xie Yang lied without any pressure. “No, Senior did that because he has a habit of running away when he is very excited. Haven’t you found that every time Senior ran away, it is because he was surprised by my performance? Senior Ji’s manager reminded me that the next time I work with Senior, I should tie his foot with a rope in advance lest he run around.”

The fans who were full of anger and wanting to seek justice for Xie Yang: ???

Ji Zehui’s fans trying to overcome the rhythm and whitewash him: ….?

All the melon eating passersby and the water army: …???

The reporter was dumbfounded for a moment as he asked, “What do you think of Ji Zehui frequently changing the song?”

“It is because Senior Ji appreciates my voice too much. He said he wanted to tap into the possibilities of my voice to a greater extent. In fact, after the daily recording, we would continue to discuss the selection and arrangement on WeChat for a while. Senior Ji gave me a lot of help and suggestions during that period. It is just a pity that Senior Ji isn’t a very good arranger. Many of the suggestions given were rather peculiar.”

Everyone: …What were the peculiar suggestions????

The reporter continued to ask firmly, “So what do you have to say about this cooperation with Ji Zehui?”

Xie Yang emphasized, “Senior Ji is really good at taking care of me and accommodating me. When singing, Senior Ji found that the condition of his voice might not be able to sing Angry Waves but he immediately decided to support me. In addition, he offered to promote my group’s mini-album, IUD. I’m really thankful to Senior Ji. However, he has a small fault in that his face is always dark and he doesn’t speak much. At first, I thought Senior Ji hated me.”

By the end of the interview, all the people who insulted Ji Zehui were completely stunned.

Ji Zehui sent a WeChat message to Xie Yang in seconds.

Ji Zehui: When did I promise to promote your album for free?

Xie Yang: You don’t agree?

Ji Zehui didn’t reply.

Once Xie Yang clarified it, the water army invited by Xiao Jin quickly came and started to set up Ji Zehui as a black-faced but soft-hearted good senior.

It wasn’t long until a collection video of Ji Zehui leaving the practice room climbed to the top.

In the video, the scenes of Ji Zehui leaving the practice room were slowed down and cut together. It implied that Ji Zehui’s expression before each departure was ‘This newcomer is so handsome that I have to calm down’, ‘This singing is so good that I have to stabilize myself’, ‘No, the adaptation might be very good but I have to calm down if I don’t want to lose the steady image of a senior’, ‘God, One Sword is Equal to Spring and Autumn can still be adapted like this. I have to go out and calm down’, etc.

It also edited some scenes of Ji Zehui running in the past while participating in other programs to emphasize Ji Zehui’s habit of running away when excited. This gave Ji Zehui the new nickname, Ji Run.

The god-level editor, funny subtitles and cute background music meant there was a full score with the entertainment effect. The netizens’ anger immediately weakened.

Later, some media outlets published news that Ji Zehui and Xie Yang met in private and went to the studio together. The water army rushed to spread the rhythm of ‘If Ji Zehui isn’t good to Xie Yang then how could Xie Yang continue to have contact with Ji Zehui in private and even help speak for Ji Zehui? Look at Xie Yang’s hard attitude to Mo Bin and the black fans.’

Public opinion reached this point and the situation of scolding Ji Zehui disappeared.

Ji Zehui struck while the iron was hot. He quickly issued an apology plus a thank you statement. He explained that the low score of angry Waves was because he and Xie Yang had to sing Angry Waves twice. The score given was based on the average score of the two performances.

The reason why they sang twice was because his voice was too weak and the song directly collapsed. Thanks to the understanding of the other guests and the program group, they could only work hard to sing it again.

After the explanation, he sincerely reflected on his various performances on the show and expressed his apologies to the other guests, program group, Xie Yang and all the audience members. He said that once this season of the show ended, he would donate all his proceeds from it and punish himself for his mistakes. He also thanked the public for their supervision.

Finally, he solemnly thanked the understanding and tolerance of the other guests, program group and Xie Yang. He promised to treat singing with a more serious and pure attitude in the future. He would use better works to make up for the bad experiences brought to them this time.

At the end of the statement, Ji Zehui released the ‘better works.’ Namely, they were his solo version of Angry Waves and the adapted duo version of One Sword is Equal to Spring and Autumn. The videos of the two songs were when Xie Yang helped him record the song. In the clip, the two of them communicated normally. From time to time, they were angry due to the unsuccessful song recording. However, this was more realistic, making it easier for people to believe.

Xie Yang forwarded this statement.

The other guests also forwarded Ji Zehui’s statement while expressing their understanding and support. It didn’t take long for the program’s official Weibo to stand up and praise Ji Zehui’s dedicated attitude.

After that, the musician who previously scolded Ji Zehui on Weibo suddenly made a post.

Old Text With Sharp Ears: Ji Zehui, I apologize for scolding you. Your ears are okay because you chose Xie Yang. I appreciate your initiative to promote a newcomer. There are no problems with your singing skills. From your songs, I heard your sincerity and passion for singing again. I hope you really can become a butterfly after ‘breaking through the cocoon’ instead of being stuck. Today’s classic re-recording, I hope you can be brilliant again in the future.

The storm almost completely subsided. Xiao Jin hastily spent money to put topics such as #Xie Yang Yang Xing# onto the hot search, providing a wave of free publicity for Xie Yang’s company while also diverting the public’s attention.

***

The so-called perfect public relations not only quelled the crisis but also made the targets of the public relations profitable.

The solo version of Angry Waves and the adapted version of One Sword is Equal to Spring and Autumn caused Ji Zehui’s new album, Broken Cocoon to once again soar when it came to physical sales. The outside world’s affirmation of Ji Zehui’s singing skills meant the expectations for his album were higher.

On the other side, Xie Yang successfully entered the eyes of most music fans with his stunning appearance on Who is the King of Songs. His popularity was raised to a new level, his strength was recognized and he officially became the representative of the new generation of powerful singers. His excellent composing ability was also greatly confirmed.

At the same time, the popularity of the program and the joint PR with Ji Zehui meant there was a surge in the sales of IUD’s mini-album and it once again suppressed the digital sales of Broken Cocoon.

However, sometimes the PR was too perfect and could easily cause problems.

Xie Yang looked at the topic #Did the grey sheep produce wool today# and asked Hu Biao, “What is this?”Hu Biao’s expression was odd. “It is a topic about the CP of you and JI Zehui. You are ‘sheep (yang)’ and Ji Zehui is ‘grey (hui)’. Wool production means the production of dog food.”

Xie Yang, “……”

“Don’t say it. The video they cut is quite emotional.” Hu Biao opened his mobile phone, brought up a video and showed it to Xie Yang while explaining, “They are really good at picking out sugar. There was the scene where you criticized Ji Zehui while recording the song. They actually felt it was sweet. They said that you are a little wolf dog. Ji Zehui looks fierce but this is deceiving. He is actually a soft-hearted…”

Xie Yang pushed away Hu Biao’s phone directly. “What?”

“Big boar.”

“……”

The office was quiet.

“Okay.” Xie Yang waved his hand to rush Hu Biao away. “You hurry and end the pre-orders of IUD. Start the shipment of the digital albums. Then contact the online music platforms and discuss with them about the rights to play IUD.

At 8 p.m., IUD and Tong Jian’s new album Child’s Language ended the pre-order at the same time. IUD started to be sent while Child’s Language announced the album’s expected delivery time.

Three days later, IUD was released on multiple music platforms. In only one day, several songs from the IUD album climbed to the top 10 of the popular songs chart, suppressing Ji Zehui’s limelight.

All the fans who had been waiting for a long time finally heard all the songs on the album. Countless passersby who only knew Xie Yang from the blurry screen recording of the live performance finally heard the songs that Xie Yang recorded in the studio. The people who didn’t see Xie Yang in Who is the King of Songs were immediately pulled into the deep pit called ‘Xie Yang’ by the IUD album.

Xie Yang’s fan group further expanded and the entire network once again discussed IUD. The name Xie Yang became almost synonymous with heat.

Major music critics gave IUD a super high evaluation and countless invitations to cooperate flew in like pieces of paper. Yang Xing’s resources could no longer be blocked by Huangtian.

***

That weekend, Xie Yang followed Qiu Xing to the sanatorium to visit Mother Qiu. On the way to the small building, Xie Yang was stopped by a fan who suddenly appeared.

The fan was a young, male carer with a handsome appearance. His face and ears were red as he asked for an autograph and his voice even trembled.

“X-Xie Yang, I didn’t expect to meet you at work. Please excuse me for disturbing you. I-I like you very much. I listen to the Angry Waves that you sang every night. I also bought IUD and listen to it every day. The Reincarnation that you sang is particularly great!”

Xie Yang was surprised for a moment before taking the book to sign it with a smile. “Thank you for your support. Do you need a signature?”

The fan’s eyes brightened. “Is it possible? I-I want one. This is my name.” He pointed to his name badge in an embarrassed manner.

Xie Yang glanced at the badge, gave him an autograph, returned the book to him and once again thanked him for his support.

The fan couldn’t be more excited. After taking the book, he suddenly shook Xie Yang’s hand before taking a step back, saying incoherently, “Xie Yang, I-I will always support you. You look particularly good when singing. I, every night, I will dream… the Grey Sheep CP isn’t possible. Don’t be with Ji Zehui! I-I really like you.” After that, he turned and ran away.

Xie Yang hadn’t expected to be suddenly grabbed by the fan. The temperature and touch of others left on his hand made him frown uncomfortably.

Then a wide palm with slightly dull nails grabbed his hand. Xie Yang instinctively pulled back his hand but it was just gripped tighter. He looked up at the owner of the hand.

Qiu Xing’s face was stormy. “Together with Ji Zehui? Xie Yang, what are you attracting in the entertainment circle? Are the so-called fans those who will molest you in dreams and take advantage of you in reality?”

Xie Yang paused before wondering, “Aren’t you taking advantage of me now?”

Qiu Xing’s face was sullen and he frowned.

Xie Yang pulled back his hand from Qiu Xing and patted it in a comforting manner. “Don’t be mad. You can’t see your mother with such a face.”