Chapter 77: Zhou Xiao's Turbulence

  While Zhou Xiao was quietly preparing for his film, the outside world never forgot his name.

  First of all, a single song selling 1.5 million copies is already extremely impressive, but what's even more amazing is that this song was his debut single. What's even more incredible is that after selling 1.5 million copies, the song still hasn't stopped its momentum!

  During the week of Akina Nakamori's "hibernation", "Kagerou" sold another 300,000 copies, nearing the 2 million mark! With several months left until the end of the year 2000, it seems that this year's Japanese music scene will give birth to yet another 2 million single.

  In addition, Weekly Bunshun announced in its latest issue that it will start serializing a mystery novel called "Ryūsei no Kizuna" (Flowing Star's Bond) by an author named Shū Akashi, which is said to be full of youthful energy and intricate reasoning, attracting the attention of many readers. The question of whether this Shū Akashi is the same person as that Shū Akashi has also become a topic of interest.

  What is Shukan Bunshun? It's a gossip magazine, sensationalism, gossip, family scandals, this is what they're good at. After some mysterious fuss, the truth comes out, and it turns out that Zhou Xiao, who sold 2 million records with her singing, and the Zhou Xiao who is about to be published are actually the same person! Isn't it a joke that the Zhou Xiao who sold 2 million records with her singing didn't continue to sing but instead went to write?

  Under the circumstances of having a sensational and suspenseful situation, in the first week of its release, Shukan Bunshun's sales increased by 10% compared to usual. This magazine is not some small publication, and a 10% increase in sales is enough to illustrate Zhou Xiang's current attention value in Japan's entertainment circle.

  As a result, when the first issue was serialized, fans who turned into readers found that Zhou Xiao's writing and storytelling skills were not inferior to his composition at all!

  For Zhou Xiaosong, many people actually have a bad impression, especially some critics, who were even more dissatisfied when the news of Wen Chun's weekly publication came out. At that time, critics were overwhelmingly pessimistic about Zhou Xiao, and they even scolded Wen Chun together, saying that Wen Chun only valued Zhou Xiao's fame and used his serialized work in the weekly magazine. However, this young man is just a single singer, and although he may be popular all over Japan now, his real influence and appeal are far from sufficient. Using him for publicity is undoubtedly a short-sighted move.

  As for these attacks, Zhou Xiao doesn't care at all. He's not short of money now, and his statement is purely for the convenience of filming or investing in TV dramas in the future. His mind is not on this, so how can he care about others' groundless remarks that are destined to be slapped in the face?

  But the moment of being slapped in the face came quickly, in the second week, when "Meteor Garden" was released, almost all critics shut their mouths. The writing style can be seen from a few hundred words, and Zhou Xiao's weekly update on Wen Chun has more than 10,000 words.

  However, some critics are more stubborn and still insist that Zhou Xiao is just an 18-year-old boy's nonsense. Although the first week looks good, everyone will find out his true form in the second week.

  Zhou Xiao didn't notice this kind of talk, and even if she did, she would probably just sneer at them for being too impatient.

  The so-called retribution is the new serialization of the second week. The standard of Higashino Keigo cannot be easily discredited, and after the story unfolds, the entire public opinion becomes favorable to Zhou Xiao. Not only did those arrogant critics lose their voices, but some commentators with insufficient integrity even began to highly praise Zhou Xiao's writing style, calling him a master who can beat Higashino Keigo with his fists, kick Akira Kurosawa with his feet, and sit on the bottom of Yokomichi Seishi, truly a masterful demeanor.

  To talk about this "Meteor Garden", it's definitely not on the same level as a masterpiece, but the key issue is that this work, which was born from the works of Keigo Higashino several years later, entered the 21st century and people's acceptance of new things and content grew rapidly, bringing with it many authors' writing styles becoming extremely trendy and concise, without any of the warmth of earlier years. Keigo Higashino is just like this, after 2000, his writing became increasingly sharp and old-fashioned.

  Zhou Xiao inherited this writing style that has been refined over time, but unexpectedly, he is only in his teens. This situation brings a huge contrast to people, making them unable to help but want to explore and become even more eager for the plot.

  Just as the debate over Meteor Garden was underway, Zhou Xiao suddenly stirred up another controversy. The Toshiba corporate advertising competition was actually a small affair, perhaps only known to some industry insiders and people who saw the ad on TV. As for its impact on society and the attention it received, it was actually very minor.

  If what happened next hadn't occurred, the Toshiba PR department staff who organized this event might have been fired or exiled for a few people to barely appease the dissatisfaction of the management and the board of directors. However, such things ultimately did not happen because the promotion of LED lights may not have caught anyone's attention before the competition started, but after one person's identity as a participant was announced, taking advantage of this person's popularity and topicality, the entire competition that no one had paid attention to suddenly became popular along with this person!

  No kidding, Zhou Xiao is indeed Zhou Xiao. How many things has this kid done in such a short period of time? His songs are selling well, and now someone tells me he's also a commercial director? No eighteen-year-old in the world could have done as much as him! The audience doesn't know that Zhou Xiao can write songs without spending any time on it. A commercial film from preparation to shooting to editing and submission was completed in just three days.

  When the advertisement was broadcast during prime time, it caused a huge stir. The entire commercial lasted for two minutes, and Toshiba spared no expense in buying out the valuable two-minute slot. However, the quality of the ad did not disappoint, with its rich content and warm storyline captivating audiences and leaving a lasting impression. Not only did it generate buzz among industry insiders, but also sparked widespread discussion across online and traditional media platforms. Some even hailed it as "a work that moved all of Japan!" Emboldened by the overwhelmingly positive response, Toshiba announced plans to submit the ad for consideration at the prestigious London International Advertising Awards!

  This is not just a topic effect brought by the advertisement, after the advertisement was broadcast, it directly led to a threefold increase in sales of Toshiba LED lights, which originally had no significant sales! To know that as a new product, the price of LED lamps is not low, and ordinary families usually rarely spend a lot of money choosing such a household appliance. The growth of three times is far beyond everyone's expectations. As for the investment in TV station advertising time and the reward given to Zhou Xiao, it is already negligible.

  Oh, right, after the advertisement received such great praise, Toshiba Corporation added fuel to the fire and announced that Zhou Xiao's endorsement fee was nearly ten times higher, reaching 10 million yen! This number is already quite large, and Toshiba Corporation can be said to have spent a lot of money on this "treasure", especially since they didn't buy just any ordinary thing, but a truly valuable horse worth thousands of gold.

  It seemed that things had come to an end here, but Zhou Xiao's combination punch was far from over. A fax soon landed on the desks of major media executives in Japan: "I am Zhou Xiao, and I have established AZX Entertainment Co., Ltd., where I serve as president and currently the only signed artist. If any anime production committee is interested in inviting me, please contact my assistant agent Nakamaru Mizui, and we will respond promptly."

  I already knew that Zhou Xiao had only signed a music contract with Being Company, but I didn't think he would actually do this! A newcomer with no foundation, using the yen earned from his first song to start his own company and manage himself! The people in charge of the TV station saw this news and their contempt for Zhou Xiao is hard to describe. The reason is simple: if you can play by your own rules, how could Japan have so many talent agencies exploiting artists?! Now that you have talent and ability, everyone may be surrounding you, but one day when you lose these things, what will you do without even a foundation? Who will you perform for, who will you sing for?

  PS: Because I'm about to enter VIP mode, so for the past few days, it's been one or two updates a day. After entering VIP mode, there will be a burst of updates, thank you everyone for your support, also, please don't stop voting with recommendation tickets~~~