Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion-Chapter 872 - 625: Celebrating the New Year and Making Money

Compared to Los Angeles, Kyoto City has a larger temperature difference between summer and winter; summers are too hot, and winters too cold, making training more difficult. Every day, one must overcome not only the fatigue that comes from training but also the extreme heat and harsh cold.

Fortunately, Link's physical fitness continues to get stronger, his self-healing ability and stamina are consistently improving, and his adaptability to the surrounding environment is also enhancing.

No matter the harsh cold, severe heat, or any other worse environments, none can affect his training.

In the mornings, he runs to warm up, midmorning he trains at the school's boxing gym, and in the afternoon, he practices shot put and javelin at the athletics field. Since it's the winter holiday, all the students have gone home for the New Year, so he is often the only one training.

However, for someone who has lived alone on Mars for three years, this is hardly a challenge.

In the afternoon, he returns home, and Zilin has come back, bringing many local specialities from her hometown in East Mountain.

"You should have come back with me; many people at home know you, they even played your songs at the wedding."

At the dinner table, Zilin says with a chuckle while holding her chopsticks.

"Your hometown is too far, it's inconvenient to travel there and back."

"What's inconvenient about driving yourself? Next time let's go together; my place has the ocean and beaches, it's really fun in the summer."

"Sounds great, I might consider going in the summer!"

Link nods and says.

"Have your exam results for this semester come out yet? Did you fail any subjects?"

Zilin asks.

"No failed subjects. Full marks in English, Advanced Mathematics, and Physical Education Studies, I can get a scholarship next year."

"That impressive? You train every day and even perform at concerts, yet you managed to score full marks?"

"The exam questions weren't difficult. Did you fail any subjects?"

"Of, of course not, I study better than you do, it's even less likely for me to fail."

Zilin lowers her head, sticking out her tongue.

After Zilin returned, Link's daily life also gained some more substance; an additional companion during morning training, and extra warmth to hold at night.

With the Spring Festival approaching, Link participated in two rehearsals for the New Year's Gala at the Capital City TV station. The rest of his time was spent on training, reading, playing piano, and occasionally visiting Xunge'er and Yuanyuan's house for a meal.

Since they had clarified their relationship last time, the three of them were more casual with each other, like friends who are very close.

But the longer Yuanyuan spent with him, the clingier she became, starting to hope she could become his official girlfriend.

Link did not agree and told her directly that their relationship could only remain as it is currently. If it crossed the line, he would consider severing their relationship and also advised her not to cause trouble and expose their affair.

Yuanyuan asked why, believing she was better and more suitable for him than Zilin, why couldn't he choose her?

Link didn't deny that she was outstanding, but mentioned that the work in the entertainment industry is hectic, the circle complex, and the emotions at a young age could not be stable. The huge differences in age, work, understanding, and social circles between them meant there could be no possible outcome.

Zilin, who is currently not part of the entertainment circle, has a relatively simpler situation, and it's easier to get along with her.

Seeing he wouldn't budge, Yuanyuan didn't persist any further, but became aggressive in sports, claiming she would bankrupt him, yet she always ended up failing herself.

With Xunge'er, things were much simpler.

Xunge'er turned thirty after the new year, eleven years his senior, which also meant she didn't demand much in terms of status.

Privately, their relationship was more like siblings or friends, rather casual.

This year's New Year's Eve falls on January 22nd. On the eve of New Year's Eve, Zilin's parents wanted him to come over for the celebration, and he didn't refuse. He had dinner at Zilin's place and watched the New Year Gala together.

This year's New Year Gala featured many popular singers including Jay Chou, Zhao Wei, Qi Qin, Mo Wenwei, Yang Kun, Sha Baoliang, and Adu who were top singers from the last year. Among them, Yang Kun and Sha Baoliang were under the Mai Tian Music label and their appearance on the New Year Gala stage could not be separated from company operations.

If Link had released his album earlier, he might also have had the chance to perform on the New Year Gala stage.

Besides music and dance performances, the comedy sketch shows were also quite interesting, including the Northeast Iron Triangle's "The Water Carrier," in which Uncle Ben Shan, while delivering water, is requested by the customer Gao Xiumin to act as a temporary father for her son who has returned from abroad. While acting as the father, upon hearing that 'his son' Fan Wei is a postdoctoral researcher specializing in mummies, Uncle Ben Shan hurriedly takes off his clothes to flee, fearing being exposed.

The program has both humorous and emotional points, not inferior to last year's "Selling Cars" or the year before last's "Selling Crutches."

After the New Year's Eve, the next day Link went to the Capital City TV station studio hall to perform "Steady Happiness," and after the performance, the applause was thunderous.

The media's reaction was also very positive. With Link's handsome appearance, tall and upright physique, and extraordinary demeanor, he quickly became famous, significantly boosting his domestic reputation.

His vocal performance and abilities on stage were also extremely strong, showing a clear difference from local singers, earning him the titles 'New Fashion' and 'Tomorrow's Superstar' from the 'Huaxia Youth Daily.'

The album "Wind-blown Waves" also saw a significant increase during the Spring Festival.

According to sales data released by IFPI, an album sales statistics organization in Hong Kong Island: "Wind-blown Waves" has a total sales volume of 3.36 million in the Huaxia region and overseas.

Among the 487 Chinese albums released last year, it is second only to Jay Chou's "Ye Hui Mei," Princess's "Jiang Ai," Jolin Tsai's "Look at Me 72 Changes," and Sun Yanzi's "THE MOMENT," ranked fifth for the year.

In the album, the songs in the first month were played second only to Jay Chou's "Ye Hui Mei" across all radio stations in Asia, with about 2.5 billion plays, while Jay Chou's new album's "In the Name of the Father" reached 800 million plays on its first day, still not quite as popular as Jay Chou.

In terms of ringtone services, the 12 songs from "Wind-blown Waves" have a total subscription count of 3.43 million, with "Steady Happiness" being ordered the most by mobile users, currently at 620,000, and eight songs exceeding 200,000 orders.

In this area, the statistics are somewhat better than those of Jay Chou's new album, reportedly because Jay Chou's singing is unclear, not suitable for ringtones.

Additionally, for pirated albums, the anticipated sales stand at 15 million, including pirated tapes and pirated DVD music discs.

Pirated versions are relatively cheaper in the market and also sell better.

This situation will inevitably damage the interests of Link and Wheatfield Music, but it will also help him expand his fan base, giving him the opportunity to recoup during concerts. As his fame grows, the fees for future endorsements will also be higher.

This leads to domestic singers constantly holding concerts to monetize their fame as soon as they are popular.

With the album selling well, Link's second income batch exceeded 2.2 million, and currently, he has nearly 4 million cash in hand, ready to invest but unable to find a suitable target.

So, taking advantage of the low housing prices in Kyoto City, he bought an apartment each in Chaoyang District and East District, both over 180 square meters, spending nearly 3.5 million yuan.

He also bought a car worth more than 200,000 yuan for Zilin, so she wouldn't have to borrow her family's car, though her driving skills were average, and she liked to ride with Link to school.

——

After the Spring Festival, Link continued his training, preparing for the new semester.

Because the Olympic Games were approaching, the National Team had more training camps, and there were multiple internal competitions within each sport, also known as Olympic qualifiers.

Since Link won the world boxing championship, he obtained an Olympic boxing slot in advance, while other team members have to participate in Asia-Pacific regional selection competitions to get spots.

This year, the Asia-Pacific region has a total of 46 slots for male and female boxing, and after several rounds of selections, the Huaxia Team secured 6 slots, including Link, Zou Shiming, Zhang Xiyin, and others.

In the shot put event, because Link broke the Asian record at the Universiade and Asia Championships, he automatically qualified for the men's shot put event at the Olympics.

There's also the men's javelin event; the qualifying competition was held in Qingdao in early February. In this qualifying competition, Link threw six times in two rounds, with his best performance being 83.14 meters, meeting the Athens Olympics participation standard A.

In the National Team, the one who performed better than him was Li Yongxiang, with a best six throws of 83.35 meters.

Li Yongxiang, a 32-year-old veteran, has won several national javelin championships and threw 82.21 meters at the 2002 Busan Asian Games, setting the best Asian record at that time.

Due to Link's stable performance and continuous improvement, the National Team's track and field group also included him in the Olympic men's javelin group.

"That's incredible, Link, you're awesome, participating in three Olympic events?"

In the dormitory, Bao Xiaohu said enviously.

"It was arranged like this by the Olympic office."

Link said.

The reason the National Team arranged this, rather than letting him focus on one event, is that the National Team is not strong in these three events, and has not yet won a medal.

Now with a talent like him, the National Team also wants to give it a try, with the mindset of 'nothing ventured, nothing gained.'

Besides, he is still very young, a growing athlete, experiencing the Olympics could also boost his expertise.

"Link, how did you suddenly become so powerful? You used to just be strong, not outstandingly so. How did you become a versatile athlete? Could it be that injuries make people stronger?"

Jiang Weixing turned to Bao Xiaohu and Chang Yijun, "Shall we also try getting injured?"

"Makes sense, you first injure your shoulder joint, then get a lumbar muscle strain, see if it makes you stronger. If it works, I'll immediately follow suit."

Bao Xiaohu said cheekily.

"Don't mess around, Link was naturally strong, and perhaps he went through a second growth after the last injury, strengthening his muscles, leading him to become even more powerful, which relates to individual physicality, not everyone can be like Link."

Chang Yijun said.

"Besides physicality, you also need to enhance training, add nutrition; why don't you start joining me for a 10 km run from tomorrow morning?"

Link said.

"Getting up at 5 am to run ten kilometers? Spare me, I'm a throwing athlete, reliant on arm strength, running isn't my strong suit, 10 kilometers daily would exhaust me."

Bao Xiaohu shook his head.

Link shrugged and didn't persuade them further. Bao Xiaohu and Jiang Weixing had better physical conditions than average due to their strength, qualifying them for Sports University, but they were only slightly better than ordinary people and didn't possess his superhuman physique, so excessive daily training wouldn't help much.

"Link, our athletes from Sports University performed ordinarily in this selection event, and the throwing team was completely wiped out. This time you qualified for three Olympic events, remember to do your best, aiming to get at least one gold medal, or at least a medal."

Chang Yijun said.

"No problem, I'll strive to win several gold medals."

Link nodded.

After returning to school, Link continued with his classes and regular training.

In mid-February 2004, the Top 10 Hits Music Award Ceremony was held in Hung Hom Stadium in Hong Kong Island—Wheatfield Music also submitted nominations for Link, and he received a nomination for Most Popular Newcomer Award.

The Most Popular Male/Female Singer Awards in the Asia-Pacific region were respectively won by Liu Dehua and Chen Huilin, while the Annual Most Popular Male and Female Singer Awards were won by Liu Dehua and Rong Zu'er, and other awards were taken by local singers from Hong Kong Island, showing a significant exclusionary attitude.

In March, the Taiwan Island Golden Melody Awards nominations were successively announced, and Link received three nominations: Best New Singer, Best Lyricist, and Best Composer Award.

Jay Chou and his album "Ye Huimei" received eight nominations, becoming the most nominated album and singer, closely followed by Princess's "Jiang Ai" with six nominations.

Wheatfield Music suggested that he attend the Golden Melody Awards ceremony and hold a few signing events in Taiwan Island.

Link didn't immediately agree, as he was quite busy with training recently, and he needed to check the internal training schedules of his team before making a decision.