There are many times when you know a certain song, but you might not actually know the name of the album it's from. For example, Heroes of Earth and Poetry of the Aftermath—Chu Zhi didn't recognize either of these albums and had to check the prize pool's description for details.
Heroes of Earth was an album released by Leehom Wang in 2005. Its musical style was pop and Chinese hip-hop, and the description even claimed it pioneered the Chinese hip-hop genre by incorporating elements of Peking opera and Kunqu. Fans hailed it as the third greatest album after Shangri-La and Unbelievable. If it hadn't been for Jay Chou's legendary album Still Fantasy in 2006, Heroes of Earth would have dominated the charts all year.
"The description goes on and on, but I do really like Hua Tian Cuo and Big City, Small Love from this album," Chu Zhi mused. The title track Heroes of Earth, however, wasn't to his taste.
He skimmed the lyrics of Kiss Goodbye, a song whose name he didn't recognize at all. Yet, it turned out he had heard it before—especially the chorus:
"Every time we part, I'm deeply defeated by you. Every time I let go of your tenderness, the pain lingers..."
As for Poetry of the Aftermath, it turned out to be a Mayday album. Both Suddenly Missing You So Bad and You're Not Truly Happy came from this album. Its primary genre was rock, which was also why Chu Zhi hadn't listened to much of it in his past life—his attention had only been drawn to the most popular hits. In reality, tracks like Vampire, Song of Laughter and Forgetting, and The Unbroken Place in My Heart were quite good, but he'd never paid them much attention.
"No matter which of these two albums I draw, I'll have new songs for my debut album."
Even though Chu Zhi had already revealed his true nature—not an "Earl of Luck" but possibly a "Chief of Misfortune"—basic courtesy before drawing a blind box was still a must. He dashed to the bathroom to wash his hands.
Don't Forget to Be at Ease was the theme song for the movie Overheard, performed by Jason Zhang. Calling it a golden hit would be a stretch—it was more of a solid, well-crafted song.
If Don't Forget to Be at Ease fell just short of being a golden hit, then No Place to Hide was undoubtedly one. Written by Dou Wei (the "Immortal Dou") and composed by Li Tong, this hardcore rock classic was a masterpiece born from the collaboration of two geniuses. But singing such an attitude-heavy rock song required a certain edge—something Chu Zhi wasn't confident he could pull off with his current vocal skills. This prize was good, but not suitable for him.
"It's been two draws since I last saw the special grand prize. Before, seeing it but not winning it made me anxious. Now, not even seeing it makes me restless," Chu Zhi muttered to himself.
Ethereal Voice didn't need much explanation—it was similar to Voice of Despair, but "ethereal" made him think of someone like Zhou Shen from his past life.
After some thought, Chu Zhi concluded that Zhou Shen's voice was better described as "angelic." As for which singer embodied "ethereal," he couldn't think of one off the top of his head.
3cm Height-Increasing Pill—where exactly did it increase height?
After carefully reading the instructions, it seemed it could be applied anywhere—height, or... ahem. Being a proper gentleman, Chu Zhi averted his gaze from this peculiar item and began the draw—swish, swish, swish!
As it turned out, washing his hands before drawing did help. The blind box he opened revealed:
[Album: Poetry of the Aftermath Gift Pack]
The system was being unusually generous—two album wins in a row!
"Not bad, not bad. With The Wind Blows the Wheat, I Miss You, Against the Light, You're Not Truly Happy, and Suddenly Missing You So Bad as the five main tracks, this album is bound to be legendary!" The wind had stopped, the rain had ceased, and Chu Zhi felt like he was back on top.
Maybe he had evolved from a "Chief of Misfortune" into an "Earl of Luck"!
He got up and headed to the study. Sure enough, a pile of songwriting materials was scattered across the shelves and desk—revised sheet music and lyrics. If he participated in a live variety show, he could perfectly solidify his reputation as a musical genius. With such complete documentation, no one could challenge his credibility.
Even more impressive were the alternate versions available. Take Suddenly Missing You So Bad—there was a female cover version by LaLa Hsu.
Upon closer inspection, the study contained the most books on history. After once answering a common historical knowledge question incorrectly on a variety show, the original owner of this body had gone on a book-buying spree. The collection included the Twenty-Four Histories, Essentials of National History, Records of China, Outline of Chinese History, and more.
Unlike many who "buy books like a landslide but read like a trickle," the original owner had actually read them diligently—and even taken notes.
"Given past examples, there's a high chance I might draw foreign-language songs. Learning a foreign language is urgent, especially since Stray Birds needs to be translated into English. Even with the creative memories, I still need to maintain a certain level of literary proficiency in English."
That said, Chu Zhi decided to first gain a solid understanding of his own country's history—so no one could accuse him of being a foreign-worshiper. His personality could be described as cautious at best and paranoid at worst.
Over the next few days, Chu Zhi quietly accumulated strength while receiving calls from numerous talent agencies—including Da Hua Entertainment and his former company, Kang Fei. He rejected them all.
The original owner had been brave enough to go all-in, but his biggest flaws were being too trusting and too averse to trouble. With his massive popularity, he should have at least negotiated for partnership shares in a company or established his own studio under a larger agency.
Never assume that talent agencies and artists have a purely symbiotic relationship—where the more popular the artist, the more the company earns. Human nature is diverse, and you never know when a company might do something irrational. In his past life on Earth, Chu Zhi's company had once been sued by SB Media for "portrait rights infringement." When he received the court summons, he was baffled—until he realized an employee had used Ju Jingyi's photo as their WeChat avatar in a promotional post.
Upon further research, he found that SB Media had a habit of such lawsuits. For instance, a beauty blogger had once used Ju's photo in a tutorial, praising her for her high "beauty IQ," and was also sued for "portrait rights infringement." Without exception, SB Media lost every case, as courts ruled that public figures must tolerate a certain degree of public usage.
"Being independent of capital is impossible for now—my wings aren't strong enough yet." Chu Zhi was currently playing the field, with Sun River Media being his top choice. It was a Tier-2 company, sitting just below the Big Three entertainment giants—Da Hua, Orange Sky, and Strategy Entertainment.
While its resources weren't as vast as Tier-1 companies, Sun River had ByteDance backing it—the sole investor in its Series B funding. Promotion wouldn't be an issue. Chu Zhi also knew that the Big Three already had top-tier stars under their banners—either through equity splits or studio affiliations.
Taking a slice of someone else's cake is like killing their parents. Joining one of those companies would only invite more infighting—something he wanted to avoid. Spending most of his limited time on internal struggles held little appeal.
"Once my wings are strong enough, I'll start my own company and sign artists." Chu Zhi hated two types of people: evil capitalists and those who stood in the way of him becoming one.
For long-term gains, Chu Zhi was willing to sacrifice short-term gratification. Even though his Weibo followers had surged to over 20 million in a week, he still hadn't reopened the comments section. This led to booming activity in fan communities like [Chu Zhi Super Topic], [Chu Zhi Merchandise Exchange], [Southern Orange, Northern Tangerine and Little Fruits], and [The Power of Chu Zhi]. Everything was under control.
Qing Company, Li Tingyu, and the "Hundred Pleasures Gate" gossip columnist had all received court summons—the trial would begin in two weeks.
Those who received the summons were anxious. But there was also someone who, despite not receiving one, was equally anxious due to a guilty conscience—a certain individual at Kang Fei Entertainment.
"I think we still have some goodwill between us."
"Maybe we can re-sign him."
"I think so too—we had a good working relationship before."
"Xiao Feng, you've always had a good rapport with artists. You handle this."
The conference room was abuzz with chatter. President Zhang frowned, watching the shareholders and executives—some of whom were even relatives—before finally losing his patience. Raising his voice, he snapped, "Goodwill? Do you really think I don't know what you all did to our top artist?"
"Do you seriously believe Chu Zhi had a good experience working with Kang Fei Entertainment?"
A few people in the room chuckled awkwardly and fell silent. Their earlier brainless comments stemmed from sheer envy. Even without endorsements or an album to test his commercial viability, if Chu Zhi's fans had even half the purchasing power of his peak, he'd still be in a league of his own in the entertainment industry!
Sister Feng, sitting to the side, inwardly applauded President Zhang's outburst. "All this nonsense about re-signing him, as if he's an idiot who'd come back. What goodwill?"
If anything, she was the one who had some goodwill with Chu Zhi—having helped him during I'm a Singer and later calling to warn him. The thought made her smile faintly. She felt that helping him had been the best decision she'd made in the second half of the year.
"But what if? Sister Feng, you should still give it a try," President Zhang said after berating the executives, turning to her with a hopeful look.
"..." Sister Feng was speechless. These people are delusional.