Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The director's suggestion to have Ye Mingzhao play a dual role thoroughly cured Yu Mingze's indecision. He slammed his hand on the table, exclaiming excitedly, "That's a brilliant idea! Why didn't I think of it before?"

After that, he signaled his assistant to prepare the contract. Before he could finish speaking, Zhou Yueze's phone call came in again.

Feeling a bit impatient, Yu Mingze answered the call. He sneered upon hearing what the other party said on the line, "I see, so he was introduced by you? You want to recommend him for the lead role? So it was you who leaked the script to him..."

"...Do you know who he resembles? Say it again, if you dare?"

As if deeply insulted and humiliated, Yu Mingze became agitated, "How dare that inferior product be compared to Zhaozhao? Zhou Yueze, are you blind?"

"...Impossible! The lead role is already decided... The second male lead is also set... There's no chance for the third male lead either!"

"What do you mean by saying I’m not giving you face? You’re the investor, but I’m the producer!"

"What's your relationship with him? Why are you so insistent on pushing someone with zero acting experience into my crew?"

Of course, it was because Zhou Yueze had fallen for Chu Qingyi at first sight, captivated by Chu Qingyi's charisma, and was willing to provide him with an opportunity to showcase his abilities and charm.

In the original story, Ye Mingzhao didn't come for the audition. The lead role of *Prince of Beggars* was ultimately played by Chu Qingyi, a newcomer who bore a three-point resemblance to Ye Mingzhao.

After *Prince of Beggars* aired and became a massive hit, netizens who dug into the background of Chu Qingyi, the male lead's actor, accidentally uncovered Chu Qingyi's connection to Chu Hengyi. This further revealed the relationship between Chu Hengyi and the Ye family, as well as the association between the Ye family and Ye Mingzhao. Moreover, the fact that the screenwriter and producer of *Prince of Beggars* had personally stated that the prototype of the story was Ye Mingzhao added fuel to the fire.

For a time, the netizens' archaeological enthusiasm made Ye Mingzhao, an outsider, an overnight sensation. Everyone unanimously believed that Ye Mingzhao was the true 'white moonlight,' the real-life male lead. Even the most outstanding acting couldn't compare to a genuinely exceptional person in reality.

Unfortunately, the good times didn't last long. When Ye Mingzhao's hiring of a private investigator to look into Chu Hengyi and his behind-the-scenes sabotage was exposed, Chu Qingyi's fans, who had been holding in their anger from the comparisons, struck first.

They spread evidence of Ye Mingzhao's actions against Chu Hengyi all over the internet and rushed to the social media accounts of both Ye Mingzhao and the Ye family business, hurling abuse. The offensive language flooded the inboxes of Ye Mingzhao and the Ye family business, severely affecting Ye Mingzhao's work and the normal operations of the Ye family business.

The image of the Ye family business was tarnished, and its stock price plummeted. Chu Hengyi, along with the Ye family’s competitors, saw an opening and shorted the Ye family business’s stock. When the stock price hit rock bottom, they bought up the Ye family business’s stock in a frenzy, making a fortune in the process. This also set the stage for Chu Hengyi's subsequent acquisition of the Ye family business.

Everyone sympathized with Chu Hengyi's plight and, by extension, the Chu family who had adopted him. Correspondingly, there was extreme hatred for the Ye family and Ye Mingzhao. Anyone who spoke out in defense of Ye Mingzhao and the Ye family was cyberbullied by Chu Qingyi's fans. This included Yu Mingze, the screenwriter and producer of *Prince of Beggars*, who suffered from depression due to the online abuse and could no longer write a single word. The first movie he produced was boycotted by netizens. Despite a $200 million budget, it barely made $50 million at the box office after a month, leading to a huge loss.

Yu Mingze was never the same again and even attempted suicide by cutting his wrists several times while showering. He was sent abroad for treatment by the Yu family overnight.

What was even more chilling was that at the same time Yu Mingze was suffering from depression due to the cyberbullying from Chu Qingyi's fans, his fiancé Zhou Yueze was actively pursuing Chu Qingyi.

According to the original story, Zhou Yueze became increasingly aware of Chu Qingyi's good-natured qualities during the *Prince of Beggars* debacle. Compared to the hypocritical and ruthless Ye Mingzhao and the confused Yu Mingze, Chu Qingyi, who was straightforward, kind, and clearly distinguished between right and wrong, better matched Zhou Yueze's preferences.

Thus, he betrayed his childhood friend Ye Mingzhao and abandoned his fiancé of many years, Yu Mingze, choosing to stand with Chu Qingyi and assist Chu Hengyi in dealing with the Ye family.

It could be said that in the original story, Zhou Yueze and his family played a crucial role in helping Chu Hengyi take down the Ye family. After the bankruptcy and closure of the Ye family business, the market share left by the Ye family was quickly divided among Zhou Yueze and several other competitors. The Zhou family thus replaced the Ye family as the new leader of the Xinhai City Business Alliance.

Chu Qingyi, the pawn who led the charge in the plan to take down the Ye family, successfully married into the Zhou family and achieved his dream of social climbing.

As for the Ye family and Ye Mingzhao, they were relentlessly pursued by Chu Hengyi, reduced to poverty and insignificance, never to regain their former glory. After being cast out of the Ye family, Ye Mingzhao succumbed to despair and took his own life.

From a reader's perspective, Ye Mingzhao greatly admired Chu Hengyi's calculated and ruthless nature. The methodical and precise revenge scheme, like a spider weaving its web, which gradually eroded the opponent's power and network, only to deliver a fatal blow at the most critical moment, was clearly a strategy worthy of Ye Mingzhao's teachings.

Ye Mingzhao was intrigued. He believed Chu Hengyi would relish the challenge of facing him across the chessboard.

Since it was a game of wits, of course, it should be between equally matched opponents, with moves and countermoves to make it interesting. What fun was there in performing a one-man show with a script?

Ye Mingzhao waved at Yu Mingze, signaling him to hand over his phone.

Although confused, Yu Mingze obediently handed over his phone. Ye Mingzhao took the phone and gently explained to Zhou Yueze on the other end of the line, "Not signing Chu Qingyi was my suggestion. Yueze, do you know Chu Qingyi's background?"

Hearing Ye Mingzhao's voice, Zhou Yueze was slightly stunned, his heart skipping a beat as it raced to his throat, "What?" "Chu Qingyi's father, Chu Jianguo, is the adoptive father of Ye Mingyi. Chu Qingyi is the younger brother that Ye Mingyi supported by working several odd jobs after dropping out of middle school. I don't know if you're aware of this relationship, but during my recent conversation with Chu Qingyi, I found that he knew many details about Ye Mingyi's kidnapping... I now suspect that the Chu family might have been involved with the human traffickers who abducted Ye Mingyi."

Ye Mingzhao’s words left everyone stunned—Zhou Yueze, who was already feeling uneasy, and even the panelists who had been casually eavesdropping.

Yu Mingze suddenly widened his eyes, staring at Ye Mingzhao in disbelief.

Ye Mingzhao, seemingly unaware, continued to explain, "We shouldn’t risk getting involved with someone who might be connected to a criminal suspect. After all, Chu Qingyi is neither a well-known veteran actor in the industry nor a charismatic actor with box office draw. He also doesn’t have the ability to bring funding into the project. It would be irresponsible to put the crew's reputation in jeopardy for someone like him. I believe this holds true for the entire creative team and the other investors. What do you think?"

Zhou Yueze: “……”

Ye Mingzhao shifted his tone and pointedly asked, "I’m curious, why are you so insistent on having Chu Qingyi play the male lead? Do you really think he resembles me?"

Zhou Yueze: “……”

Ye Mingzhao’s two questions left Zhou Yueze speechless, and he stammered, "I saw that both of you were students from the finance department at Xinhai University, and he’s your admirer. He often tells me how much he admires you... I thought the two of you would get along well, so I wanted to introduce him to you."

"There will be an opportunity for that," Ye Mingzhao said with a gentle smile, his eyes deepening as if contemplating something. "After all, the Chu family did raise Ye Mingyi. I don’t want to assume the worst of people. If it turns out that the Chu family has no connection to the human traffickers who kidnapped Ye Mingyi, I will apologize to Chu Qingyi for any offense."

On the other end of the phone, Zhou Yueze continued to stammer. Ye Mingzhao gently reassured him, "Don’t dwell on this too much. I trust your judgment, but even if the Chu family is connected to the human traffickers, it’s a grudge from the previous generation and has nothing to do with Chu Qingyi. He’s still so young; how could a young man like him have been involved in something so sinister?"

However, if the Chu family really was connected to the human traffickers who kidnapped the youngest son of the Ye family, and Chu Qingyi, being aware of this, kept silent about it while comfortably enjoying the support of Chu Hengyi—then this would make him far more dangerous than anyone suspected.

The panelists, now deep in thought, watched as Zhou Yueze hung up the phone with a dark expression, his fingers hovering over Chu Qingyi’s contact information. After a long silence, he still didn’t dial.

Ye Mingzhao returned the phone to Yu Mingze and looked at the panelists who were eagerly trying to catch every word. He smiled and advised, "This concerns the Ye family, so I hope everyone can keep it confidential."

All the creators who were looked at by Ye Mingzhao shuddered and hastened to assure him, "Of course, of course, we won’t say anything." As for private discussions, well, that was another matter. They certainly wouldn’t let the Ye family know they were all gossiping about them.

As for Chu Qingyi, who looked so fresh and innocent—who would have thought he was so deep? If Ye’s speculation was true, then this Chu Qingyi was quite something! Not only was he incredibly cunning, but he also managed to get Yu Mingze’s fiancé to strongly support him as the male lead. What kind of hold did he have over Zhou Yueze?

The panelists exchanged knowing glances, their expressions full of intrigue.

Ye Mingzhao saw this but remained seemingly unaware.

Ye Mingzhao was the last interviewee, and once he finished, the entire audition process came to an end.

Yu Mingze volunteered to drive Ye Mingzhao back to Xinhai.

On the way, Yu Mingze overheard Ye Mingzhao talking to the Ye family, mentioning what Chu Qingyi had said and suggesting that the Ye family immediately arrange for a DNA test for Chu Jianguo—

During the police pursuit of the human traffickers, although the traffickers had driven off a cliff in a panic, causing a fatal crash, the police were still able to extract a large number of hair and blood samples from the burned-out wreckage. However, without a comparison sample, they couldn’t confirm the identity of the traffickers.

"I had my lawyer, Lawyer Liu, meet with the Chu family because I planned to transfer a property I own to the Chu family as repayment for raising Ye Mingyi. If Chu Jianguo agrees to my proposal, he will come to Xinhai with Lawyer Liu to complete the transfer," Ye Mingzhao said, pausing for a moment before his tone became gentle and soft, "I remember that the blood samples extracted by the police from the wreckage were stored in the DNA database of the Xinhai City Public Security Bureau. If Chu Jianguo really comes, maybe Lawyer Liu can take him to the police department for a DNA test first?"

But Chu Jianguo, arriving with great joy, might instead be hit with a harsh reality. Would he be able to handle such a drastic fall from high hopes to a crushing disappointment?

Ye Mingzhao sighed with some pity. He hoped the man would be alright.

Yu Mingze looked at Ye Mingzhao, wanting to say something but hesitating. After holding back for a long time, he finally blurted out, "Did you come to the audition because of Chu Qingyi? Did you already know something was off with the Chu family? How did you know? How could you be sure that Chu Qingyi would slip up?"

Ye Mingzhao glanced at Yu Mingze and, instead of answering, asked in return, "Do you read *The Art of War*?"

Yu Mingze was taken aback. "Ah?"

Ye Mingzhao smiled slightly.

As *The Art of War* says: War is a way of deception. When the enemy is greedy, lure him; when the enemy is in disorder, take him; when the enemy is strong, avoid him; when the enemy is angry, irritate him; when the enemy is humble, make him arrogant; when the enemy is united, separate him. Attack where he has taken no precautions; emerge where he least expects it. These are the keys to victory.

In the darkness, the Maybach sped forward like an arrow, piercing the night. Ye Mingzhao leaned back comfortably in the leather seat, eyes closed, resting. He had set the trap. Now, it was up to Chu Hengyi to respond.