Chapter 135: The Japan Gold Rush Chronicles

It has been a while since the last outing. "Ambiguous" is perhaps the most fitting word to describe the current state of Jiang Yihan and Lee Hyori. Although they still occasionally share a meal or exchange a phone call as they always have, now that the unspoken has been spoken, a certain awkwardness is inevitable. Yet, this pink-hued atmosphere and the slightly uncomfortable, shy tension are things they both secretly enjoy.

Having just finished his call with Lee Hyori, Jiang Yihan switched off his phone and boarded the plane. He had arranged for an important schedule a month ago, and now that he finally had the time, he was off to run his errands. It was time to head to Japan and strike gold!

Jiang Yihan’s market value is no longer something that can be measured by mere words. In Japan, the brilliance of his first film, "Can I Love You?", goes without saying, and even his second film, "Love," swept the Japanese box office with a staggering fifty million dollars. Due to his rapidly soaring popularity, One immediately released his three Korean albums and one Chinese album in Japan, achieving impressive results. His first album sold 600,000 copies by 2007, and his second reached 1.05 million by the same time—already excellent figures. Now, his third album has hit 1 million, and his first Chinese album has reached an astonishing 1.05 million, earning him second and fourth place on the year-end Oricon charts.

When discussing music charts, the first thing that comes to mind is the American "Billboard." In Asia, one cannot talk about music charts without mentioning Japan’s "Oricon," which is effectively the Japanese equivalent of Billboard. It aggregates almost all albums released across Japan, and the only standard for an album to perform well on the charts is pure sales volume. As the largest music market in Asia, Japan is a perfect gold mine. Many top Asian singers have their albums repackaged and released there. Since Japan is at the forefront of Asian pop culture, gaining recognition and achieving high rankings there is the true mark of an Asian superstar.

The Oricon chart is, in fact, the most authoritative weekly music sales chart in Japan. However, Japan is a country with a highly developed entertainment industry, and the volume of music production is the highest in Asia. While the Oricon chart does not exclude foreign albums—and it is not uncommon to see foreign stars on it, such as Avril Lavigne, who is currently popular globally and has achieved excellent rankings on the Oricon album chart—it is extremely difficult for singers from other countries and regions to gain a foothold in Japan, let alone secure a top spot on the Oricon chart. Historically, very few foreign artists have reached number one on Oricon, illustrating the authority and difficulty of this chart. (Note: TVXQ also achieved their first Oricon number one on August 1, 2007). The charts are updated weekly; an artist might be on the list one week and drop off the next. The competition is incredibly fierce, and every weekly or monthly number-one spot is worth celebrating, let alone a yearly one.

The Oricon single and album charts reflect two completely different cultures. The colorful single chart is almost entirely dominated by Japanese idol singers, while the album chart is mostly filled with albums by veteran or globally renowned artists. Therefore, the fact that Jiang Yihan achieved such brilliant results on the Oricon album chart was unexpected by everyone. He reached number one on the weekly Oricon chart six times intermittently and topped the monthly chart once, a testament to his unstoppable popularity.

From album sales alone, his earnings in Japan could cover one-third of his total music revenue across all of Asia. That is why Jiang Yihan was now on a plane to Japan.

Since the release of his new album at the beginning of 2007, Japanese companies had been constantly contacting Li Ran, hoping that Jiang Yihan would step out of Korea and China to promote in Japan. His popularity in Japan had reached the first tier, even ranking among the top within that tier. His appearance fees had grown from a seven-figure sum to a staggering eight-figure one, stimulated by competition and the win-win situation of his films and albums. After careful discussion with Lee Tong and Liang Xianxi, Li Ran decided on this seven-day, six-night trip to Japan.

Jiang Yihan's Japanese gold-mining expedition had officially begun.

In truth, his films and albums were already profitable enough, but Jiang Yihan had not yet participated in the truly lucrative areas of advertising and live performances. Thus, he had come in person to this country that leads the Asian entertainment industry.

"I’m so nervous today. It’s a different kind of nervousness than before," Jiang Yihan joked with Li Ran on the plane.

"What’s there to be nervous about? There are over twenty people traveling with us, you’re not alone. Back then, Jaejoong, Yunho, and the others came here to develop with just a small group," Li Ran replied flatly while looking at a newspaper.

"Hey, you pig! I’m worried about the language barrier. In China and Korea, the languages were fine, so I didn't worry. But now, I don't know a single word of Japanese. It’s normal to be worried," Jiang Yihan bit his lower lip, his mind beginning to map out the week's schedule.

"It doesn't matter. You don't have time to learn Japanese anyway, and the company didn't have a plan for you to learn it. What, do you want to learn?" Li Ran put down the newspaper and smiled at the depressed Jiang Yihan.

"I won't learn! I don't want to learn, hmph!" Jiang Yihan stuck out his tongue and said playfully.

"Don't worry. Jaejoong and the others have been here for almost two years; their Japanese is quite good, basically no problem at all," Li Ran comforted him. "I've been here on business a few times, and I know their Japanese level is fine! They can be your translators, haha." Li Ran felt more relaxed as he said this, though having the top-tier TVXQ act as translators sounded rather absurd.

"Hehe, that’s true. Then I’ll just hang out with them for the next few days," Jiang Yihan said with a grin.

Looking out at the endless sky and the deep blue ocean below, the island nation of Japan was beneath him. He could vaguely see the houses, small as toys, crisscrossing the land. Watching this scenery, Jiang Yihan whispered to himself, "Japan, here I come!"

After getting off the plane, the accompanying staff immediately became busy. Jiang Yihan’s luggage alone consisted of seven or eight crates. Once everyone was ready, they followed the staff through Tokyo airport. Suddenly, an astonishing scream erupted from below. Jiang Yihan instinctively looked down. He was walking along a transparent skybridge about two stories above the ground, and the people screaming below were, naturally, his fans, the "Castles."

Jiang Yihan smiled awkwardly—he was impressed they could even see him from there!

The fans had accidentally discovered the "Young Master" they had been waiting for on the transparent bridge above. One person screamed first, then everyone followed suit, which naturally drew Jiang Yihan’s attention.

Jiang Yihan stopped and waved at the crowd below with a smile, which drew even more frantic cheers. There were about a thousand people in the airport, making it very crowded. However, having seen such scenes before, Jiang Yihan was no longer flustered and could calmly greet everyone happily.

The bridge ended quickly, and Jiang Yihan disappeared from their view, leaving through the VIP channel. Just as he was about to get into his van, a staff member suddenly smiled, took out a notebook, and explained something to Li Ran with gestures, mixed with some broken Chinese. After a while, Jiang Yihan understood: the staff member was asking, "Could you please sign this for me? I’m also a Castle."

Jiang Yihan laughed, took the notebook, signed his name quickly, and drew a smiley face, making the staff member jump with joy.

"Your fans are truly everywhere," Li Ran teased with a smile.

"That just means I’m incredibly charming," Jiang Yihan’s cockiness made everyone laugh.

To prevent fans from identifying which van Jiang Yihan was in, the vehicles were covered with black anti-glare film. Although people outside couldn't see inside, those inside couldn't see out either. Jiang Yihan could only hear the sound of engines and some unfamiliar or familiar music from the roadside. Only through the Japanese mixed into the sounds did he truly feel like he was in Japan.

"I heard that the adult service industry in Japan is very developed, and there are many men and women in that field. We have to be careful here," a staff member chatted with his companion.

"Don't worry, with your looks, they wouldn't even want you in the service industry, hahahaha," his companion teased.

"Oh yeah? Well, you’re probably no better than me," the staff member laughed and joked back. "Probably need someone like the Young Master, hahahaha."

"Li Ran isn't bad either," the companion said, but his laughter stopped abruptly. Both men realized that the look in Li Ran's eyes had reached lethal levels. They had no choice but to cover their mouths and stifle their laughter until their stomachs hurt, yet they couldn't stop.

When Jiang Yihan’s laughter also burst out, the two staff members couldn't hold it back either and laughed happily.

Li Ran looked at Jiang Yihan with a helpless expression; the meaning in his eyes was simple: "I really can't do anything with you."

Every time Jiang Yihan imagined Li Ran’s "iceberg face" working in the service industry and the expression customers would have, he found it so funny he couldn't stop.

The atmosphere in the car was lively, while the "Castles" at the airport were working their magic, and the "battle" to find out which hotel Jiang Yihan would stay in began.

The fans tried their best to find out where he was staying, but they would never have guessed that Jiang Yihan was staying directly in TVXQ's dormitory. Li Ran had even rented empty rooms on different floors of the same building for the other staff members. This was definitely an outcome no one could have anticipated.

So, when Jiang Yihan and Li Ran moved into the TVXQ dormitory, it even startled the building manager. Jiang Ziyi and three other female staff members moved into the room next to TVXQ.

"Brother, long time no see!" Kim Jaejoong had the closest relationship with Jiang Yihan, so he immediately gave him a big hug.

"What ‘long time’? It’s only been a month, seriously," Jiang Yihan hugged his brother back tightly and said with a smile.

Then, Jung Yunho, Kim Junsu, Park Yoochun, and Shim Changmin all came up to hug Jiang Yihan before they sat down in the living room. Since Li Ran had been here several times, he had a room reserved for him, so he went inside to put his things away first.

"Brother, how long are you staying this time? What activities do you have?" Kim Jaejoong asked first.

"I think it’s a week. There’s a fan meeting, a signing event, and a few advertisements. I don't know the rest; you’ll have to ask him," Jiang Yihan said, taking a sip of the juice Jung Yunho handed him. "You guys have to be my translators; I don't know a single word of Japanese, haha."

"We won't help you, we’ll just abandon you on the streets of Tokyo," Kim Jaejoong said with a wicked grin.

"And then Brother Yihan will be surrounded by countless people, haha," Park Yoochun added, gloating.

"Will Brother Yihan get stripped naked?" Kim Junsu’s words made everyone break into a cold sweat, followed by an explosion of laughter.

"Stripped naked? I can't believe you thought of that," Jiang Yihan pulled Kim Junsu over and "forcefully" pinched his cheek.

"Brother Yihan, don't pinch my face! I have to maintain my cute image," Kim Junsu’s words made everyone laugh until they were in tears again.

"So, you've been in Japan for a few days, any plans to go out and play?" Jung Yunho asked. "If you’re going, ask Brother Li Ran to let us come too. We haven't had a vacation in so long."

Jung Yunho asked quietly; evidently, compared to the iceberg Li Ran, Jiang Yihan was easier to talk to.

"Brother, I want to go to the hot springs! Let's go, let's go!" The youngest, Shim Changmin, joined in the effort to persuade Jiang Yihan.

"Yeah, hot springs, that sounds great," Kim Jaejoong said, as if the others were being immature. Under everyone's skeptical gaze, his next sentence made them realize he was just as bad: "Besides hot springs, we should also eat Oden and hot pot!"

Everyone collapsed!

"I want to go too, but I have to ask him if he has time," Jiang Yihan said, his mouth watering.

Suddenly, everyone felt a knife-like gaze from behind. They collectively looked back, and the five boys immediately put on smiles and sat obediently. The power of Li Ran, the "iceberg face," was truly formidable.

"Are there any times for us to go play?" Only Jiang Yihan, the guy who feared nothing, asked with a smile.

"You..." Li Ran sighed helplessly. It was true that his "iceberg" was ineffective against Jiang Yihan. Li Ran smiled resignedly. "The sponsors have already arranged a trip for you."

Seeing that Li Ran’s "iceberg face" had vanished, Jaejoong and the others breathed a sigh of relief. Although Li Ran was a good person, they were still scared whenever they saw that icy look.

"Where are we going? I want to soak in the hot springs," Jiang Yihan said excitedly.

"Yes, we have about two days to play, whatever you want. Sony is sponsoring everything. They have several route maps, and they’ll bring them over tonight for us to choose," Li Ran nodded.

Jiang Yihan excitedly grabbed Li Ran and jumped up and down like a child. Li Ran also jumped along helplessly; after all, he really couldn't do anything about Jiang Yihan.

This scene shocked the TVXQ members, including Jaejoong. Even though he was quite close to Jiang Yihan and had seen Li Ran many times, this was the first time he had seen Li Ran like this.

"Can they come along too?" Jiang Yihan asked, seeing the five pairs of expectant eyes nearby. The five of them nodded excitedly, waiting for Li Ran’s reply.

"Ask their head manager. If the schedules don't conflict, then go together," Li Ran conceded to Jiang Yihan’s wish. Truly, every force has its counter.

"Oh yeah! Hot springs, hot pot, and making big money, haha!" Jiang Yihan cheered like a child, and the other five joined in.

Watching Jiang Yihan’s smile, Li Ran felt that it was all worth it.