"Do you think it's necessary, Sister Wang?" Chu Zhi asked.
"I think it's absolutely necessary," Wang Yuan replied firmly.
"Alright, then we'll follow your lead. Let's go ahead and apply," Chu Zhi conceded.
The two of them were discussing applying for a diamond certification for Is It Peace? at the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) and IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry). The former tracks sales in the U.S. only, while the latter tracks global sales.
Chu Zhi thought it was enough to apply to IFPI, and the RIAA wasn't necessary since their diamond certification required a huge fee. Why pay for it? Even without the certification, Is It Peace? was one of the greatest pop albums in history.
Still, since Sister Wang insisted, there was no reason to argue.
Wang Yuan's motive was simple. She didn't care much about foreign certifications, she just wanted every honor to be credited to Jiu.
The domestic 316-diamond certification from the national bureau was something Wang Yuan had already secured. In China, the threshold for a diamond album is 200,000 copies, and in 2026, aside from Chu Zhi, only six other singers managed it, two of whom counted cumulative sales. Given the declining CD market domestically, even a single diamond certification was rare. Chu Zhi's 316-diamond certificate almost felt like a number photoshopped onto a page.
As they were talking, there was a knock on the door, followed by a male voice. It was Fei Ge.
"Oh… Sister Wang's here too," he greeted.
"Good, I've finished here anyway," Wang Yuan said briskly and left the office.
Fei Ge and Wang Yuan were handling different tasks, so she didn't need to stay. Besides, she had plenty on her plate and no time to linger. Especially since Mu Chire had already flaked several times this year—no matter what, even the 'ugly bride' had to meet the in-laws.
To perform as the Emperor Beast at the Grammys, Chu Zhi would wear Mu Chire and see if it could make a splash.
Chu Zhi asked, "Fei Ge, what's up?"
"I have a very constructive proposal," Fei Ge said. "Brother Chu, hear me out. You're recording the Live Concert Album, right? We can use the concert footage as the MV. It's creative, saves costs, and improves efficiency. Three birds with one stone!"
"You… this guy is a damn genius," Chu Zhi thought.
All twelve songs performed at the concert had the live energy that no polished MV could match.
And the best part? Chu Zhi never liked filming MVs anyway, so now he had a legitimate excuse to slack off!
He gladly accepted Fei Ge's suggestion. Chu Zhi roughly calculated that cutting MV filming would shorten post-production time, letting the concert album release by February or March.
"I'm just an ordinary person, but today I feel so happy…" Chu Zhi hummed as he worked.
A good mood always improved work efficiency. While filming, performing as the Emperor Beast was effortless, and the afternoon's ad schedule finished an hour early. This proves that staying happy at work really helps.
Of course, it helps to have a good boss. Otherwise, frustration builds, like with the iQIYI program director, Fang Pan, who had just stepped out of the production office and got berated head-on.
"Follow Journey Among the Stars Season 1? What kind of nonsense are you saying?"
"Chen Biao can even compare to Chu Zhi?"
"Shit, do you think Journey Among the Stars succeeded on its own? Four epic scenes, all created by Chu Zhi. You really think it was the program that drew people in?"
Fang Pan's face darkened like a storm ready to break, but he held back—professional skills in action.
Back in his office, his subordinate Xiao Bi came in to report.
After reading just a couple lines, Fang Pan slammed the report on the desk and yelled, "This is your report? It makes no sense at all! How did you even survive your internship? Tell me, how am I supposed to read this?!"
Xiao Bi was stunned. The report was no different from yesterday, so why today's scolding?
"What are you standing there for? Go fix it," Fang Pan barked.
No guidance, no feedback—Xiao Bi quietly took the report and left.
Work pressure doesn't disappear, it just shifts. When it can't shift anymore, it can crush a household in minutes.
The issue started with Journey Among the Stars 4, whose third season had flopped, so the fourth season drew little attention. The premiere's ratings were far below iQIYI's expectations.
Ratings aside, viewers' first impressions weren't good. Chen Biao, Gu Peng, Qin Qingqiao, Gan Ba, and Wang Zhi should have had strong chemistry, but they didn't click. Douban gave it 6.3—barely passing.
High-rated Douban comments read:
[You can tell the production wanted to recreate the feeling of the first season, even matching guest types to the first season's template. But sincerity doesn't equal execution. The nostalgia for Season 1 isn't just about Jiu-yé, it's about team spirit. Even with the 'Mei Heroes Squad' name being awful, seeing Jiu-yé, Min Lao Kou, Cai Cai, Niangao, and Big Sister shout 'We are the Mei Heroes Squad!' together genuinely moves me.
Niangao (Luo Jianhui) loves food, but when he got a food card, his first thought was to see if team members could share. Min Lao Kou is tight with money but helped Cai Cai (Cai Jia) celebrate a birthday, basically spending all his small funds. Oh, and the team also helped Big Sister (Zhang Ning) celebrate hers.
The next two seasons were weaker. Season 2 felt like a 'merchant caravan,' and Season 3 was pure drama. Season 4's five guests felt scattered. Good luck!]
Some noted that Season 1's team spirit existed because Chu Zhi acted as the 'lubricant,' otherwise how could friends form in just a two-to-three-month variety show shoot? In another show, Recreating the Long March, Chu Zhi, Jiang Zengyue, and Fang Yi were even nicknamed "Three Melons" online.
"Xiao Jiu is indeed kind and considerate, but Niangao, Lao Kou, Cai Cai, and Big Sister are great too."
"No solution here, Mei Heroes Squad's team spirit is basically bought with Chu Zhi's life, remember the Ishikari earthquake?"
iQIYI's VP, Che Lun, also saw the comment and agreed, noting Season 1's luck and conditions couldn't easily be replicated.
Still, he had to think about the present. If Season 4 flopped, could Season 5 bring back the original cast of Season 1? That would instantly explode online.
"Zhang Ning has semi-retired, only returning for suitable scripts. To bring her on a variety show… we can just pay more and convince her husband."
"Cai Jia, Luo Jianhui, Min Jeongbae? No problem, as long as their appearance fees are sufficient."
The only question was Chu Zhi. How much to get him? Che Lun thought he had a good relationship with Chu, but even then, small money wasn't enough. Maybe 200 million RMB? Or add another 100 million.
The Chinese market alone couldn't justify that, but getting Chu Zhi would make Journey Among the Stars sell in Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.
Western markets wouldn't work, no matter how popular he was. Most Western fans wouldn't watch foreign variety shows, similar to domestic fans of Western celebrities rarely watching Western variety shows.
Selling in Japan and Korea alone was enough. Three hundred million RMB for Xiao Jiu wouldn't be a loss.
While preparing the invitation, Che Lun remembered something and sifted through company emails to find the 2026 Top 100 Companies in Modu. Aiguo Media ranked 95th with 912,361,000 RMB in revenue.
"Shit, 91 billion," he swore.
Even though iQIYI's annual revenue exceeded 30 billion RMB, double that of Aiguo Media, once you subtract content production, marketing, promotion, and management, net profit was only about 2 billion. And that was good—most video sites besides iQIYI and Mango TV were still losing money.
But Aiguo's annual costs? Since there's no boss, Che Lun estimated costs at under 2 billion, meaning net profit…
"How does a management company for just one artist make such ridiculous profits? Even if the new album sold 60 million copies, I can't make sense of this," he thought.
Che Lun did a quick internet check, breaking down Aiguo's revenue into four parts: revenue from the 2025 tour, small income from Besieged on All Sides and Come on, Sweet Death, massive copyright fees, and highly profitable endorsements.
Exactly! Is It Peace? only launched globally mid-December, so its sales weren't counted for 2026.
Reviewing the Modu Top 100 again, only Aiguo Media appeared from the entertainment industry.
"My vision was too small," he muttered.
"And I was too abrupt," he added.
Filming a variety show takes over two months, so even asking for 300 million RMB was bold.
"No wonder Niu Jiangxue got repeated recognition as an [Outstanding Entrepreneur] and [Modu Senior Talent]. High taxes in entertainment make Aiguo Media's scale terrifying."
With so much money, the Emperor Beast could spend endlessly. So he started spending. Global promotion for Is It Peace? and setting up distribution channels made him recognized worldwide. Many domestic and international labels reached out to collaborate.
Aiguo's annual investment in distribution matched Warner, Universal, Sony, and BMG. More importantly, Aiguo didn't have many albums to distribute, while the Big Five labels fought for their own artists.
Controlling distribution meant easy money. Chu Zhi's spending just made the setup more meticulous. It wasn't possible to open a branch in every country, even the Big Five couldn't. So four branches were added, covering Eastern, Southern, Western, Northern, and Central Europe.
Aiguo branches had three main roles: distribution, promoting Chu Zhi, and managing song copyrights.
Promoting Chu Zhi was the most interesting. In fan terms, it meant soft marketing. Fame fades quickly, so continuous output was necessary.
For example, an Italian singer recently went viral on YouTube with an Italian folk song adaptation of Santa Lucia.
Then ITALIANA (an Italian portal) would publish articles like "The Voice of Kazakhstan Soothes Like Chu Zhi, How Does He Compare?" or "Kazakh Interview: Chu Zhi Is My Idol, I Can't Compare," sparking debates online.
Soft marketing needed persistence. Hearing a singer's legend from childhood shapes your lifelong perception.
A week later, Journey Among the Stars 4 Episode 2 aired. Ratings rose slightly thanks to Lin Xia's appearance in promos.
The episode improved the show's reputation, as Chu Zhi wrote a song live on stage. Just having the Emperor Beast didn't guarantee praise; he needed skill.
The positive response came from Chu Zhi's flair and Gu Peng's first-time experimental electronic jazz.
"Turkish ice cream is like a woman's heart, spinning in front of you, impossible to grasp."
"This music works with both Waacking and Locking. I trick you like Turkish ice cream…"
Gu Peng and Lin Xia's street performance at Wuyang Hotel earned over 4,000 RMB, exceeding their target.
That night, the performance went viral.
[Fun fact: Waacking is a hand-swing dance, Locking is lock dance.]
[Thanks for the info, otherwise I wouldn't get how Xiao Jiu wrote this song in under an hour, insane!]
[Has anyone seen Xiao Jiu dance? His festival performance was amazing. When's the next one?]
["Who says Chinese-style songs need lanterns? Who says Chinese-style music requires traditional instruments? I'll just step off the stage and direct the music scene myself." I wanted to roll my eyes, but it was written by Jiu-yé, so never mind.]
[Wow, the Ademi band is famous in Turkey too, and they're used as accompaniment. What connections!]
Gu Peng and Lin Xia's duet topped new song charts, delighting fans with a double treat.
Eventually, Grammy day arrived.
The 69th Grammy Awards took place at the MGM Hotel in Las Vegas. For Chu Zhi, LA and Vegas were the same—Modu had direct flights to both.
Before Chu Zhi and Xiao Zhuzi arrived, Xu Xiang got there early for precautionary measures.
MGM, the largest hotel in the gambling city, had over 5,000 rooms. By comparison, Dubai's Burj Al Arab had just over 200.
It was also a hotspot for influencers, as it housed the world's largest casino. In other words, MGM was basically a resort.
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丑媳妇也要见公婆 (chǒu xífù yě yào jiàn gōngpó): This is a classic Chinese idiom. It means that no matter how unprepared or flawed something is, it eventually has to be revealed or faced. The translation "like an 'ugly daughter-in-law' who must eventually face her in-laws" captures this meaning.