"Why is there only one Chinese song on the Is It Peace? album? Doesn't brother Jiu care too much about the international market? The domestic market is the root!" Wang Zhi said, glancing at the others as if looking for approval.
The other five celebrities recording the show stared at Wang Zhi, astonished. Whose subordinates are this bold? Saying that on camera like that, and not afraid of Little Fruits charging at him?
Yet after a long silence, Gu Peng finally spoke, "Is It Peace? is an album advocating peace and anti-war. There are mostly English songs because it's crucial to promote it in English-speaking countries. There's only one Chinese song because peace is always a vision for our Chinese nation."
The other stars were amazed. Who would've thought this quiet guy could talk so well?
"Uh, makes sense," Wang Zhi nodded. "Looks like brother Jiu is on the fifth level, while I'm still on the second, haha."
Wang Zhi wasn't stupid. He called himself Fourth Brother, and whether Chu Zhi agreed or not, he felt entitled to say it.
Right, he was also one of the ten sworn brothers of the "Children of the Future": Leader Tong Mao (2), Third Brother Yu Lan (3), Eighth Brother Jiang Bin (4), Ninth Brother Chu Zhi (1), and Youngest Brother Su Shangbai (6). The numbers in parentheses were their ranks on the variety show.
As an older brother, it was natural to talk to his younger brothers. Wang Zhi even felt he nailed his tone, only to have Gu Peng ruin it.
Gu Peng had come to record Star Journey 4. Netizens on Douban rated previous seasons highly: "Star Journey One was legendary, Two wasn't bad, Three relied on debates." iQIYI didn't want to abandon the money-making IP, so under pressure, they launched the fourth season.
Season Four's location was Ankara, Turkey. Gu Peng returned to the hotel at night. If it weren't for his agent's repeated persuasion, he wouldn't have bothered joining. Reality shows were no different from monkey performances, in his opinion.
Why are these brain-dead ideas happening, and why only one Chinese song? Wang Zhi had debuted for seven or eight years—has he ever had one that could match Tomorrow Will Be Better?
Foolish humans, Gu Peng thought, keeping a straight face. Star Journey even had cameras in the bedrooms, supposedly to capture "the beauty of daily life."
He opened NetEase Cloud Music and played Tomorrow Will Be Better, humming along while scrolling through the comments.
"Stock market's been awful lately. Jiu-yé just dropped a new song, so I'm listening to calm down."
"Will tomorrow really be better?"
"Chinese songs hit differently. The rest of the album is great, but only this song gives me a real feeling. Tomorrow will definitely be better. Let's go!"
"Little Fruits' songs always bring hope."
Wait a second.
I need to sneak a comment in while brother Jiu isn't looking and yell: Hey wifey! Gu Peng wanted to post that on Orange Home, not because he was gay, just because he liked trolling.
But thinking of the cameras, if he exposed himself or other alternate accounts, it'd be a disaster. So he swallowed his mischief, frustrated. He'd been woken up early for tasks, sleep-deprived and grumpy.
Luckily, Journey Among the Stars 4 was only recording. The past week, the entire entertainment news cycle had been dominated by Chu Zhi's new album. Is It Peace? sold over five million copies globally in just four days.
The total had exceeded thirty-five million, a number other singers could barely compete with.
Today, most people listened on their phones, so such ridiculous sales numbers surely included plenty of "wasted" purchases.
South Korean white-collar Little Fruits fans bought an average of three copies each. In the Middle East, wealthy fans led by Ajazi purchased over 500 each.
In Finland, Norway, Germany, loyal rock fans contributed heavily. Meanwhile, European Catholics added significant sales.
Rock—Chu Zhi sang the international anthem of peace to the world. Nothing could be more rock than stopping a thousand armies with just your voice.
Religion—Chu Zhi was the only singer recognized by the Pope.
Is It Peace?'s success was the fruit of everything Chu Zhi had done.
In Japan, Double Mouth, Koguchi Yoshihiro, and Higuchi Kazuto bought over fifty copies each. Yoshihiro collected all eight album versions for the mini cards. Kazuto…
Kazuto had brought his younger sister Hiroya home from the Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō. When he first met Chu Zhi, he tried to charm him for a Tōkaidō outing but was rejected, turning him into a reluctant hater.
"Are you a Ragdoll fan too?" Hiroya asked, her eyes sparkling at the bookshelf expert. One side held Kazuto's own albums; the other side, Chu Zhi's albums, plus a Sony-collab Japanese EP Kimi ga Iru Koto, Come On, Sweet Death, All Nations, Vol. 1, Besieged on All Sides, Is It Peace? The EP Kimi ga Iru Koto had around a hundred copies.
"Oh? You're a fellow follower?" Higuchi Kazuto asked.
"Ragdoll has saved my life countless times," Hiroya rasped. Not exactly pleasant, like a throat tickle, but her beauty made it endearing.
Kazuto half-joked, "So your talk of past suicide was real?"
Like the usual scripts of Chinese massage girls—"divorced, abused single mom doing this for her kids"—Japan had its own scripts: "abused as a kid, forced to drop out, desperate, ended up in this work." Kazuto, an old hand in the industry, didn't take such lines seriously. They'd interacted at a distance; no wrist marks.
"Of course." Hiroya's tailing tone and flirtatious glance made it seem like teasing, the suicide topic long forgotten.
Wearing her collar constantly made Kazuto feel a rush of conquest. He stepped aside, ready to show off.
"Do you have this album?" Kazuto picked up the black vinyl collector's edition of Kimi ga Iru Koto. Inside were two intro essays, basically like book forewords, exclusive to the collector's edition.
[Intro: Chu Zhi set many astonishing records. He was a role model for men, an object of admiration for women. His looks, vocals, songwriting, even lifestyle, earned top praise. The "strongest idol in history" produced works like Riding the Silver Dragon, Even If Our Hands Are Empty, Jealousy, Counting the Distant Stars…
Introduced by: Higuchi Kazuto (Hall of Fame rock singer)]
"That's me," Kazuto said. "I knew from the Hokkaido singing event that Chu Zhi would change the music world, so we talked a long time that day. When his second EP came out, I was invited to introduce it, just like for Come On, Sweet Death. Only I could do it in Japan."
"Awesome!" Hiroya genuinely complimented him this time, very different from her usual quick praise.
Her starry-eyed gaze thrilled Kazuto internally.
What followed… was private.
Afterwards, Kazuto sent Hiroya off, lit a cigarette, and stared at the shelves full of Chu Zhi's albums, lost in thought.
Suddenly, he wanted to slap himself but stopped before touching his cheek.
He was frustrated. Why, after decades in rock with unmatched achievements, did he find himself bragging about being someone's introducer? In reality, Kazuto had a huge reputation and had introduced many Japanese singers, but those were for publicity.
"You can't be this weak!" he scolded himself.
Yet his eyes fell on Is It Peace?. This Chinese singer's songs were amazing. The Only Flower in the World's lyrics and melody were unmatched in Japan.
"Not weak after all. Writing an intro for Chu Zhi is quite an achievement," Kazuto muttered.
His judgment was spot-on. The Only Flower in the World was praised widely in Japan, even considered the real lead song of the album by local fans. Check any online platform like Amazon Music.
"I don't know why I cried so much. My father beat and scolded me. I couldn't inherit his factory as a woman. My mother just told me to marry. When I grew up and did, I felt like a household robot. No one ever said such kind words to me."
"Comparable to I Once Thought of Ending It All, a song like a human mountain."
"I love this song. Full of energy. Listening on the subway in the morning makes my mood so much better."
Thus, Chu Zhi's famous Japanese trilogy was complete.
Some Japanese sociologists even claimed his trilogy—I Once Thought of Ending It All, Don't Give Up, The Only Flower in the World—saved one-third of Japan's suicide rate.
Japan had its trilogy. Russia definitely had one too.
Yandex Music comments for такхочетсяжить:
"Do you know? This line 'I just want to live' brought me to tears."
"The best Russian anti-war songs I've ever heard. Mr. Zhi's songs always make my eyes wet."
"June 22 should play this song…"
"Mr. Zhi's Russian trilogy—Katyusha, Moscow Nights, I Just Want to Live—impacts our entire nation."
"Exactly. Mr. Zhi doesn't have many Russian songs, but each one profoundly affects the whole nation."
In Chinese, many trilogies exist; fans like to categorize them that way. In English, there are too many classics, so trilogies aren't really a thing. But South Korea couldn't accept it.
Korean fans started self-reflecting online because Is It Peace? had no Korean songs, unlike previous international albums.
The absence didn't affect sales. Three days contributed 2.13 million copies, but Korean fans felt they had "hurt" their idol.
So Korean online discussions looked very different.
"Was it because of the last SBS vote? Most popular Korean star got second. I knew Deep Sea couldn't beat Professor!"
Deep Sea, the hottest boy group in South Korea, swept every award last year and did even better this year, hence surpassing Chu Zhi on SBS votes.
"I don't think so. We didn't even compete for the charts."
"Agreed. Seeing Japan gloat makes me sick."
"Maybe we're overthinking. Whether we're peaceful isn't up to our country but the US soldiers stationed here. Anti-war album, no Korean songs, isn't that normal?"
Debate raged online.
No matter how successful, Chu Zhi's plan stayed on track. He continued his work, though with the New Year approaching, not everything could be finished at once.