Huayu 2002, I'm going to dominate the music scene!

Chapter 101 Making Things Difficult

He Jiong raised his voice: "Let's welcome Song Mo to the stage with warm applause."

As applause erupted, Song Mo strolled leisurely to the ice sculpture.

The spotlight shone on him, so bright that he could barely open his eyes.

He took the microphone from He Jiong and bowed to the audience.

"Thank you everyone," he said. "Thank you all for liking my album."

As she spoke, she waved to the crowd, and then she saw Gao Yuanyuan and Fan Binbin sitting in front of her waving vigorously at her.

He Jiong walked to the ice sculpture: "Dear media friends, please get your cameras ready. Next, Song Mo will use this hammer to smash open this ice sculpture, symbolizing breaking records and creating new glories. Three, two, one!"

Song Mo took the hammer from the staff member, gripped the handle tightly, and took a deep breath.

The spotlight shone on him, and the audience's cameras flashed all over the place.

He raised the hammer and smashed it down hard. With a "bang," the ice sculpture shattered.

This relieved him; he was afraid the ice was too solid, or he would be stuck in a real predicament.

These days, singers like to have this kind of smashing thing part at their celebration parties. Wang Leehom once smashed a golden egg to celebrate the sales of his album, which reached 60 copies in mainland China and 100 million copies in Asia. This ceremony was even more vulgar than his.

But these mundane rituals are seen as novel and interesting by these media reporters.

After all, no one had smashed the ice sculpture yet, so it would be easier for them to write articles about it.

For a moment, applause and camera shutters mingled together from the audience.

He Jiong clapped and laughed, saying, "Great! This strike showcased Song Mo's momentum and ushered in a new chapter for the Chinese music scene!"

Song Mo put down the hammer, shook the ice shards off his hands, and smiled at the audience. The flashbulbs went off again, and a reporter shouted, "Look this way!" "One more shot!"

He Jiong took over the conversation, his voice calming down: "Okay, next is the group interview session. Please raise your hands to ask your questions."

A chorus of hands shot up from the audience, and He Jiong pointed to a reporter in the front row.

"Hello Song Mo, I'm a reporter from the *Yanjing Evening News*. First of all, congratulations on your album sales surpassing 170 million copies. Are you satisfied with the results of your album? Do you have any regrets?"

Song Mo smiled, revealing his bright white teeth: "170 million, I'm already very satisfied. As for regrets, I have nothing to regret, and I don't think I'm the one who will really feel regret."

These words caused an uproar in the audience, as everyone could hear the sharp edge in them.

Another reporter raised their hand: "Song Mo, I'm from Southern Metropolis Entertainment. Jay Chou's 'Ye Huimei' has sold over 250 million copies across Asia. Do you feel any pressure?"

The question caused a moment of silence in the audience.

Song Mo looked at the reporter: "I've always said that Jay Chou is one of my favorite singers, but he is him and I am me. I won't put pressure on myself based on what some people imagine."

Undeterred by this answer, the reporter asked again, "Then are you confident you can surpass him?"

Song Mo shook his head: "I believe my next album will be even better."

Faced with such difficult questions, he could only give answers that were completely incomprehensible.

Otherwise, if he really said he was confident of surpassing Jay Chou, regardless of whether he could actually do it, he would at least be cursed to death by Jay Chou's fans.

This isn't twenty years from now; his fans are all young, and their enthusiasm is no less than that of those female data workers.

He Jiong quickly pointed to another reporter, stopping Southern Metropolis Entertainment's barrage of questions.

"Song Mo, you just said your second album will be even better. Does that mean your album is already in production, or you're writing all the lyrics and music yourself? Could you give us a hint about the style and direction of the new album?"

Song Mo thought for a moment and said, "I can't reveal the specifics, but you can all look forward to it."

The reporter pressed further, "When will it be released?"

"We're aiming for the first half of next year," Song Mo said. "But I can't guarantee it, because I don't want to sacrifice quality to meet deadlines."

He Jiong glanced at the time and steered the conversation back on track: "Okay, one last question."

A reporter in the back row stood up: "Song Mo, the lineup of female leads in your music videos has always attracted a lot of attention. Will you invite Gao Yuanyuan, Fan Binbin, and Liu Yifei to star in your next album? I noticed they're here today too. Are they here to support you?"

Some people laughed, and Song Mo laughed too. Gao Yuanyuan and the others also looked up at Song Mo, seemingly expecting his answer.

Song Mo thought for a moment and then said, "First of all, I have to thank them. They are all friends I've known since before my debut, and they have been a great help to me. Secondly, I will definitely invite them if they are willing to come, but the specifics will depend on the tone of the song and everyone's schedule. As you know, my friends are all very famous now, and coordinating schedules is not easy. Anyway, like I said, please look forward to it."

Upon hearing this, the reporters laughed even harder.

Before the reporter could press for more information, He Jiong interrupted, saying, "Thank you to all the media friends for your questions, and thank you to Song Mo for his candid sharing. Let's give Song Mo another round of applause to congratulate him on his album sales surpassing 170 million copies, and we look forward to his second album being released soon."

Amid applause, Song Mo bowed to the audience and stepped off the stage.

Although the reporters felt they hadn't had enough, they found they had plenty to write about after arriving at the scene today, since Song Mo's celebration banquet had come up with quite a few novel ideas.

After the group interview, the guests moved to the banquet venue at the Great Wall Building.

Dozens of tables were set up in the hall, and each seat had Song Mo's album and a bottle of perfume on it, which were small gifts arranged by Bi Xiaoshi.

A signature wall stood next to the stage, and people went up one after another to sign their names and take photos.

He Jiong stood on the stage, announced the start of the banquet, and invited Bi Xiaoshi to give a speech. Bi Xiaoshi said a few words of thanks, and then invited Song Mo to the stage to offer a toast.

Song Mo raised his wine glass to the audience and said, "Thank you all for coming today. Enjoy yourselves. I'll drink to that first."

Halfway through the banquet, An Ming leaned over and whispered in his ear, "The person in charge of Yichun has arrived. They're over there. Should we go over and say hello?"

Song Mo followed his gaze and saw a man in his forties sitting in the corner, wearing a dark blue Polo shirt.

She was wearing a shirt, her hair was neatly combed, and she was talking to the person next to her.

"Let's go." Song Mo put down his wine glass, straightened his clothes, and followed An Ming over.

When the man saw Song Mo approaching, he stood up, extended his hand, and said with a smile, "Song Mo, congratulations! I'm Zhou, the marketing director of Yichun."

Song Mo grasped his hand and smiled, "Hello, Mr. Zhou, thank you for coming today."

"Of course, today's celebration banquet was wonderful. President An talked to me about your situation, and I have no objection to your terms. We can discuss the specific contract details later."

Song Mo nodded: "Okay, Mr. Zhou, please enjoy your meal and drinks. We'll make another appointment later."

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Song Mo returned to his seat.

He was quite surprised that President Zhou agreed after only one meeting.

An Ming explained in a low voice, "When he saw the media's huge presence just now, he told me that the contract and everything else were negotiable."

Upon hearing this, Song Mo couldn't help but chuckle. It turned out that Bi Xiaoshi's celebration banquet had actually been useful.