Chapter 33: One Hundred Thousand, No More, No Less

The taxi driver interrupted their conversation. “Excuse me, where are you two headed?”

“To the Ariake chain hotel next to the Shibuya Line, please,” Yuki replied with an address.

“A hotel? What are you up to?” Ye Zhao eyed her suspiciously.

Yuki glanced at him. “The pipes in my apartment started leaking recently. Most of my things are ruined. Until they’re completely fixed, I have to stay at a hotel… Judging by your expression, I bet you’re imagining something weird.”

“No, how could I?” Ye Zhao put on an earnest face.

About five minutes later, the taxi stopped beside a six-story building with a modest exterior. Ye Zhao reached for his wallet, but Yuki was quicker, handing the driver a five-thousand yen bill. Only after confirming through the rearview mirror that she had collected her change and receipt, the driver opened the door. “Thank you for your patronage.”

Ye Zhao got out first, carrying Yuki in his arms toward the hotel. As they entered the lobby, the receptionist greeted them with a bright smile, “Welcome back, Miss Isoya. And this gentleman is…?” Her gaze was a little suggestive. The receptionist only knew Yuki worked in music, unaware she was a proper debuting singer. This was because neither of them had become famous yet. In a year’s time, if Ye Zhao dared to carry her into a hotel, they’d be splashed across entertainment headlines the next day.

Yuki smiled. “He’s my friend. I twisted my ankle, and he brought me back.”

Ye Zhao set Yuki down on the lounge bench. “Wait here for me. I’ll go buy something.”

“What are you buying?”

“That, of course.” Ye Zhao gave her a knowing look and walked out of the hotel. Yuki looked up to see the receptionist smiling with an “I know, I know” expression, and she covered her face in hopeless resignation.

Ten minutes later, Ye Zhao returned, carrying a small white plastic bag.

“Here.” He handed the bag to Yuki, then picked her up and entered the elevator. Though her foot was injured, Yuki’s hands were nimble. She eagerly opened the bag to see what “that” actually was. And then—she found medicinal wine and pain relief patches.

“This is what you went to buy?!” Yuki’s voice shot up an octave. “Just medicinal wine and pain patches? Did you have to use such misleading hints?”

“Misleading? What did you misunderstand? Your sprain is serious; if you don’t treat it properly, how will you walk? Besides, only impure minds imagine impure things. Did you just picture something strange?” Ye Zhao feigned innocence.

“...Is this revenge?” Yuki covered her face.

Ye Zhao didn’t reply. “Which floor are you staying on?”

“...Third floor,” Yuki answered weakly.

As they exited the elevator, a narrow corridor stretched out before them. Under Yuki’s direction, Ye Zhao quickly found the room—second to last on the right, with a gold plaque on the door, the large, dull numbers: 312.

Upon entering, there was a short hallway; faded hooks lined the left wall, a bathroom to the right. Inside, about seven or eight square meters held two narrow single beds side by side—one with a pale pink sheet, the other topped by an open suitcase and a white shirt spread across it.

Ye Zhao set Yuki on the bed and opened the medicinal wine, reading the instructions as he sat at the edge.

Yuki gently pushed him. “What are you doing?”

“Applying the medicine,” Ye Zhao replied without looking up.

“No need. I’m grateful you brought me back, but this is too much.”

Ye Zhao considered it; their relationship wasn’t close enough for this, so he didn’t insist. He handed her the medicinal wine and pain patches and reminded her, “Change both every twelve hours. Massage with the wine first, then apply the patch.”

Yuki nodded. “I’ll remember. Thank you. And for the medicine… the money—”

“Forget about it. It wasn’t much.” Seeing her insistence, Ye Zhao added, “How about this—do you have any of your band’s CDs here? Give me a signed one.”

He smiled. “Your band’s about to get big. I can sell it for a good price when the time comes.”

Ye Zhao’s confident tone affected Yuki. She pointed to a small box on the TV stand. “There are some singles the company sent. Grab one, and the marker’s in the pen holder. Honestly, I don’t know why you have such faith in me, but hearing you say that makes it feel like hope is right in front of me.”

Ye Zhao handed her the CD and pen. Yuki scribbled her signature with a flourish. “By the way, what’s your name?”

“I’m Ye Zhao.”

“Ye Zhao?”

Ye Zhao drew the pen from her hand, picked up her lyric journal from the bedside table, flipped to a blank page, and wrote his name for her. “These are the characters.”

“Oh.” Yuki nodded, adding “To Ye Zhao” to the single. As she wrote, it hit her: the first time she saw him, he carried a guitar. He must be a musician. And recently, the singer Ye Zhao had been burning up the ORICON charts… Could it be?

She handed the signed CD to Ye Zhao, unable to resist asking, “Are you the Ye Zhao who sings ‘Summer Colors’...?”

Ye Zhao tucked away the CD, stood up, and pointed at the journal with his signature. “This is the first name I’ve signed since releasing my single. Keep it well. You’ll be able to brag one day: my ‘first time’ was taken by you.”

“...Get lost!” Yuki’s embarrassed shout echoed behind him.

On September 6th, Ye Zhao’s new single, “Rainbow,” officially launched nationwide. As Ye Zhao’s first mainstream debut, newspapers and media gave it intense attention. The success or failure of this single would determine whether Ye Zhao was a dazzling diamond or just a fleeting meteor. Such trials were inevitable for any artist transitioning from underground to mainstream.

To be honest, BEING had chosen an awkward release date. On September 4th, fellow BEING band T-BOLAN released their new single “Maria,” and on September 8th, Johnny’s idol group SMAP would drop their single “Go For It!” SMAP, needless to say, was a bona fide idol supergroup, and T-BOLAN was one of BEING’s strongest bands at the time. It was tough being squeezed between these two hot groups.

After the new single entered its promotional phase, numerous TV shows and magazines sent invitations, hoping to secure Ye Zhao’s first public appearance. Besides the five major private stations—Asahi TV, RB TV, TBS, Fuji TV, and Tokyo TV—there were many requests from local stations such as Kansai TV, with a dizzying array of show formats and time slots.

In the 90s, RB TV drastically reduced music programming. This indirectly boosted record sales (as audiences had fewer chances to hear songs on TV), but it also narrowed the avenues for artists to promote their music. As a result, over eighty percent of Ye Zhao’s invitations were for variety shows unrelated to music. Given his newcomer status, even those variety shows tended to be in less desirable slots.

Nagato Daikichi faithfully relayed all these invitations to Ye Zhao. While it seemed Ye Zhao had the right to choose, Nagato gently expressed his own opinion: “I don’t advise you to accept those second-rate shows. Overexposure will erode the sense of mystery we’re cultivating in the public mind. It goes against our branding philosophy and does you no good.”

Ye Zhao agreed, though his reason wasn’t exactly the one Nagato gave. Rather, he figured it was better to appear for five minutes in prime time than to be featured in five late-night or local programs. Thinking this, he blurted out, “If MUSIC STATION invites me, I’ll definitely go.”

“That depends on how your new single performs. If it breaks into the weekly Top Ten, MUSIC STATION might consider inviting you.”

“Top Ten?” Ye Zhao chuckled, “Unless I get the weekly number one, I won’t go on MUSIC STATION.” His arrogant tone made Nagato pause, then laugh, “Such ambition? Well, I’ll look forward to it.”

Still, the first week’s number one was out of reach for Ye Zhao. SMAP sold over 100,000 copies on day one alone, while Ye Zhao’s single only shipped 100,000 for its first run; even if every copy sold, he couldn’t snatch the top spot from SMAP. Ye Zhao wasn’t discouraged at all. He set his sights on the weeks ahead. In the weekly chart for that week, Ye Zhao’s new single sold exactly 100,000 copies, ranking third after SMAP and T-BOLAN.