Chapter 26

Chapter 26

The scorching sun beat down relentlessly, causing the earth to shimmer as if it were sweating oil. Waves of heat rolled across the ground, distorting the air.

Yuan Jing, dragging her young assistant, sneaked onto the *Prince of Beggars* set during the lunch break.

The vast set was nearly deserted. The crew members and extras who had received their boxed meals were finding shade to rest, while the main cast members sat in a temporary rest area, eating and enjoying the air conditioning. Lü Peng, who plays the third male lead, stuck his head into the air conditioner vent, before pulling it out moments later, looking dazed and exclaiming, "Ah, that's refreshing."

Director Li Zhengzheng and a few actors who had scenes in the afternoon were sitting together, eating and discussing the upcoming shooting details.

Yuan Jing stood outside the makeshift rest area, craning her neck to get a look inside.

The young assistant behind her couldn't help but facepalm, she said, clearly embarrassed, "Sister!"

"Shh, don't make a sound!" Yuan Jing pushed the young assistant's hand away from her waist, lowering her voice. "Just checking things out—"

Before she could finish her sentence, a clear yet slightly puzzled voice came from behind. "What are you observing, Producer Yuan?"

Yuan Jing whipped around to see her young assistant hiding her face, unable to watch. Behind the assistant, Ye Mingzhao, holding two full bags of fruit tea, spoke with amused teasing.

The afternoon sunlight poured down behind him, illuminating the handsome young man. He stood tall and straight, like a pine in the wind.

"Heh heh..." Awkward laughter escaped Yuan Jing as she waved at Ye Mingzhao. "What a coincidence!"

Her eyes fell on the two bags of cold drinks in Ye Mingzhao's hands, and she quickly changed the subject. "Did you go pick up the delivery yourself?"

Ye Mingzhao smiled. "The production team doesn't allow irrelevant personnel to enter freely. It's also the lunch break, and I didn't want to bother anyone else."

Upon hearing the term "irrelevant personnel," Yuan Jing's face flushed slightly. She couldn't help but feel that Ye Mingzhao was subtly referring to her.

—But how could that be possible?

Yuan Jing gave Ye Mingzhao, who was standing there with a bright, gentle smile, a quick shake of her head. She must have been overthinking it.

Their interaction quickly caught the attention of others. Director Li Zhengzheng darted out of the rest area, his sharp eyes landing on Yuan Jing. He laughed heartily, "Producer Yuan, how long have you been here? You should've told us earlier. We've been negligent in our hospitality."

Yu Mingze followed closely behind and added, "Come in and sit. It's hot outside, and it's nice and cool in here."

As he spoke, he subtly took a couple of steps forward, positioning himself directly between Ye Mingzhao and Yuan Jing.

The young assistant watched helplessly as they guarded against her sister like thieves, her embarrassment growing as she stepped back.

—She had told her they should've informed Director Li and Producer Yu before coming. It was rude to show up unannounced.

Who goes to another production team's set without saying hello? Now it's awkward, right?

Yuan Jing's expressionless face turned towards her young assistant. Sometimes, having an assistant with such a thin skin was truly helpless.

Seeing the two women's reactions, Yu Mingze and Li Zhengzheng exchanged a glance, realizing a bit too late that they had overreacted.

Yu Mingze coughed lightly, attempting to ease the awkward atmosphere. He turned to Ye Mingzhao and asked, "Didn't you say you wanted to experience what it's like to be a delivery person for the sake of this afternoon's shoot? How was it?"

"Not bad," Ye Mingzhao replied with a steady smile, handing the two bags of cold drinks to Yu Mingze. "While I was picking up orders at the bubble tea shop, I saw that there was a long line, so I took the liberty of getting a few drinks for everyone."

In the drama, Fu Shen had to take on various part-time jobs to save enough money for tuition and living expenses, including washing dishes in a restaurant kitchen, delivering takeout, and driving a night-shift taxi. These jobs were experiences that Ye Mingzhao had never encountered. Although he was an orphan abandoned by his biological parents, he had been adopted by the Ye family and never had to worry about money.

To more accurately portray Fu Shen's struggle at the bottom of society, Ye Mingzhao decided to experience the life of a taxi driver and delivery person firsthand. During his free time, he applied for a delivery job at a nearby restaurant in Hengzhou Film and Television City and asked Director Li Zhengzheng to recommend him for a part-time night-shift taxi driver position under the name of the production team.

So, these cold drinks were brought back by Ye Mingzhao while he was working as a delivery person?

Yuan Jing's face alternated between pale and flushed, and the phrase "non-essential personnel aren't allowed to enter the set without permission" echoed in her ears once again—

He must have been talking about me!

Yuan Jing felt like she was on the verge of tears inside, but she had to put on a strong face. She even managed to praise Ye Mingzhao with a calm and casual demeanor: "Mr. Ye is truly dedicated. Most young actors wouldn't go to such lengths to immerse themselves in their roles, but you really are something else!"

Ye Mingzhao smiled gently, like a breath of spring: "As an actor, I feel responsible for delivering my best work, especially since I'm being paid for it."

Trying to hide her true feelings, Yuan Jing walked into the rest area at the enthusiastic invitation of Yu Mingze and director Li Zhengzheng.

As soon as she entered, a wave of cool air hit her, and Yuan Jing felt a refreshing jolt. She took a seat next to Ye Mingzhao, trying to appear casual: "What do you have planned after wrapping up *Prince of Beggars*?"

Before Ye Mingzhao could answer, almost as if she was afraid of what he might say, Yuan Jing continued on her own: "It seems you haven't taken on any other roles. Would you be interested in trying a historical drama?"

With that, Yuan Jing pulled out the script of *Jiangshan Strategy* from her bag and handed it to Ye Mingzhao, looking at him eagerly: "It's the same role I mentioned before. Maybe you'll like it?"

You even brought the script along?!

Yu Mingze nearly choked on his iced lemon tea, eyes widening in surprise, as he chewed on the pieces and commented: "Producer Yuan is really showing sincerity. Bringing the script before signing the contract, aren't you worried something might go wrong?"

Everyone was still reeling from the recent *Prince of Beggars* script leak. For Yuan Jing to do this, she certainly had guts.

Hearing this, Yuan Jing gave a bitter smile. "At this point, all I have left is my sincerity."

"To be honest with you, I'm really in a tight spot now." Yuan Jing put on a pitiful act: "The situation with *Jiangshan Strategy*, you've probably heard about it. Zhou's Film Company invested in *Prince Transformation*, and they poached the young Zhuge I had just scouted..."

As she said this, Yuan Jing couldn't help but give Yu Mingze a resentful look.

She hadn't expected that Yu Mingze's rivalry with Zhou Yueze would end up affecting her *Jiangshan Strategy* crew.

Talk about collateral damage!

Yu Mingze awkwardly rubbed his nose. While this situation wasn't really his fault, being looked at that way by Yuan Jing made him feel inexplicably guilty.

"Well..." Yu Mingze cleared his throat and handed Yuan Jing a cup of iced lemon tea: "It's hot. This will help cool you down."

Yuan Jing took the lemon tea, thanking him listlessly: "As you know, *Jiangshan Strategy* is Starjoy Media's major project this year, with a production cost of 200 million! But ever since filming began, we've encountered numerous issues."

The biggest problem was the casting of the antagonist, young Zhuge. The character was highly popular in the game, and Yuan Jing had been very careful. She had chosen two actors for the role, but both had backed out. Even though they received compensation for the breach of contract, the wasted time and costs were still significant.

Worse, the delays caused by the changes in casting had severely slowed down the production schedule. Starjoy Media had hoped to release the drama during the winter break, but now they couldn't even meet the basic deadline for wrapping up filming.

Without even the basic completion of filming, there was no way to proceed with post-production.

The company's executives and shareholders were furious, and Yuan Jing had lost face. After all, both actors for young Zhuge had been her recommendations. Now one had gone to star in a movie, and the other had taken a secondary male lead role in a rival idol drama. The *Jiangshan Strategy* crew had lost both time and money, and Yuan Jing, as the producer, could not shirk responsibility.

Yuan Jing knew she had to take responsibility for this mess. But her immediate priority was to find a reliable young Zhuge—someone who not only fit the role in terms of acting and appearance but also had enough public attention to overshadow the previous candidates. Only then could Yuan Jing hope to make up for her mistake.

In this tight spot, finding someone who fits the role and has enough public attention wasn't easy.

Just then, Yuan Jing heard praise for the male lead of *Prince of Beggars* from acquaintances working on other sets in the film city.

A light bulb went off in Yuan Jing's head. She had a great idea.

"I'm really out of options, which is why I'm coming to you." Yuan Jing looked at Ye Mingzhao with hopeful eyes: "I can wait until you finish *Prince of Beggars* to join the crew. The role of young Zhuge is perfect for you."