Chapter 35

Chapter 35

That night after work, Ye Mingzhao and Yu Mingze drove to a five-star hotel in the center of Xinhai City.

Originally, Ye Mingzhao had intended to go alone, but Yu Mingze was particularly interested in the fact that Liu Rumei had privately contacted Ye Mingzhao. He insisted on coming along and even volunteered to be Ye Mingzhao's driver.

"Why are the two of you contacting each other behind my back?" Yu Mingze had been bothered by this the whole way, constantly asking, "What conspiracy is there that I don't know about?"

"Are you planning to use Liu Rumei to set a trap for the *Prince Transformation* production team?" Yu Mingze let his imagination run wild, "But *Prince Transformation* has already wrapped and been submitted for review! Even if you wanted to do something, it's too late now!"

Yu Mingze rambled on, trying to speculate on Ye Mingzhao's next move with his brain filled with idol drama scenarios, and soon became mentally stuck, "Come on, don't always be so cryptic—"

"Someone is following us!" Ye Mingzhao suddenly said, looking at the rearview mirror.

Yu Mingze's speculation came to an abrupt halt as he looked at the minivan relentlessly tailing them in the rearview mirror and cursed, "It must be those paparazzi! Since they can't get into the set, they're trying to tail us for a big scoop."

"Don't worry," Yu Mingze stepped on the accelerator, "I'll definitely lose them."

Sitting comfortably in the passenger seat, Ye Mingzhao chuckled at this, "Don't speed."

"They're just paparazzi, nowhere near as important as our lives," Ye Mingzhao lowered the window, waved his hand outside, and his calm voice was instantly dispersed by the howling northern wind, "Let them follow."

"With their help, we’ll save ourselves a lot of hassle."

Thanks to Ye Mingzhao’s occasional reminders to drive safely, Yu Mingze finally made it to their destination.

The two got out of the car and entered the hotel. A moment later, a minivan stopped next to Yu Mingze's car. The man sitting in the passenger seat took several photos of the hotel entrance in quick succession and then hurriedly got out of the car.

Yu Mingze and Ye Mingzhao arrived at the pre-arranged private room, where Liu Rumei was already waiting.

Seeing the two enter, Liu Rumei shot up from her seat, greeting them with visible unease, "Mr. Ye, Producer Yu."

Liu Rumei's gaze at Yu Mingze was clearly surprised, as if she hadn't expected him to come.

Yu Mingze was also surprised to see Liu Rumei wearing sunglasses inside at night. He noticed something was off with her but didn’t press for details.

Ye Mingzhao’s gaze briefly lingered on Liu Rumei’s sunglasses, then shifted to the bruised corner of her eye hidden behind them. He sat down and got straight to the point, "There were entertainment reporters following us on the way here."

For a moment, Liu Rumei's breath stopped.

Ye Mingzhao looked coldly at the uneasy Liu Rumei and said in a deep voice, "There’s no going back once you’ve made your move. Since you've chosen to work with me, you should be mentally prepared. I don’t appreciate people who waver."

Liu Rumei took a deep breath and suddenly removed her sunglasses.

Yu Mingze gasped, seeing a large bruise near Liu Rumei's left eye.

"How could this be..."

Yu Mingze's mouth fell open in disbelief. Liu Rumei, a top-tier actress who was in the media's spotlight every second, who would dare to do this to her?

Liu Rumei blinked her frighteningly swollen eyelids, "I can help you, Mr. Ye, to get the leverage you most desire over Zhou's film company, but you have to help me..."

Liu Rumei paused slightly, as if struggling to continue, but gritted her teeth and said, "Help me get the negatives of the photos taken while I was drugged."

A tear rolled down from the bruised corner of her eye.

*

In Ye Mingzhao’s mind, the original story, told from Chu Hengyi’s perspective, mostly focused on Chu’s experiences. However, Ye Mingzhao had pieced together many side plots from the scattered words mentioned by the characters in the book.

Liu Rumei's ordeal was one of those side stories.

A small segment of the story once appeared, stating that after Chu Qingyi finished filming *Prince of Beggars*, he decided to officially enter the entertainment industry as an actor. However, to avoid suspicion, he did not mention his personal connection with Zhou Yueze when signing with Zhou's film company. As a result, after joining the company, he was arranged by his agent to accompany guests at a dinner party.

This segment of the story primarily set the stage for the emotional development between Chu Qingyi and Zhou Yueze. By chance, Zhou Yueze was entertaining partners at the same hotel. He accidentally discovered Chu Qingyi being forced to drink at a dinner party and stormed into the gathering to take Chu Qingyi away. In front of all the investors, directors, and producers, Zhou Yueze fiercely declared that Chu Qingyi was his friend and warned everyone not to make any more advances towards him.

After sobering up, Chu Qingyi spent half a chapter gushing over Zhou Yueze's dominant and protective nature as a CEO, but couldn't help feeling a pang of sorrow. The thought that such an excellent Zhou Yueze already had a fiancée made Chu Qingyi unable to control his emotions. While soberly warning himself not to get too close to Zhou Yueze, he couldn't help but sink deeper.

Since this was only a subplot, this scene did not take up much space in the overall narrative.

Ye Mingzhao noticed this segment because it reminded him of the rumors circulating outside—it was said that to curry favor with partners, the Zhou family often organized dinner parties where stars and artists under Zhou's film company were made to accompany guests.

As Zhou Yueze put it, these were mutually agreed-upon arrangements.

There would always be people who wanted to take shortcuts, and Zhou's film company would provide such artists with connections and resources.

"The world isn't just black and white. I know you might look down on these people, but I believe there's nothing wrong with using their advantages to secure better opportunities," Zhou Yueze said, looking deeply at Chu Qingyi. "Of course, I know you're not one of them."

In the original story, Zhou's film company was also attacked by competitors for its practice of pimping out its artists.

Liu Rumei's name appeared in the original story under these circumstances.

The original story briefly described how the popular young actress Liu Rumei attempted suicide by overdosing on sleeping pills. Before her death, she posted online the entire ordeal of being drugged and photographed naked under threat.

The person who drugged Liu Rumei and took photos of her was a shareholder and investor of Zhou's film company. This news directly ignited a major scandal about Zhou's film company frequently "introducing resources" to its artists. Because the incident involved senior executives and shareholders of the Zhou family, even the image of the Zhou family was greatly affected.

When Ye Mingzhao met that investor and Liu Rumei at the celebration party hosted by Zhou Yueze, he was reminded of this plot.

Although the original story did not specify the exact time Liu Rumei was schemed against, Ye Mingzhao, out of caution, made some preparations.

He intentionally invited Liu Rumei for coffee after the celebration party. On one hand, he wanted to use Liu Rumei to divert Zhou Yueze's attention, making Zhou Yueze think that he was trying to cause trouble for the *Prince Transformation* production team by targeting Liu Rumei. This would lull Zhou Yueze's suspicions. On the other hand, he also wanted to warn Zhou Yueze that he was indeed keeping an eye on Liu Rumei. If Zhou's film company had any shady dealings, they better not target Liu Rumei.

Ye Mingzhao had no relation or grudge with Liu Rumei. Going to such lengths was not only to use Liu Rumei as a smokescreen to cover the bomb Chu Qingyi planted in the *Prince Transformation* production team but also out of genuine sympathy for the woman's plight as described in the original story.

However, he did not expect that the understanding between intelligent people didn't always apply to fools.

The investor, whose mind was filled with filthy thoughts, still couldn't resist and made a move on Liu Rumei.

When Ye Mingzhao received the message from Liu Rumei, he was shocked.

—He hadn't dealt with someone so stupid in a long time.

"I'm truly sorry for what you've been through," Ye Mingzhao paused, his gaze lingering on the bruise on Liu Rumei's face for a moment. "But I hope you treat it as being bitten by a stray dog."

"If you're bitten by a dog, you just need to get a rabies shot in time. Don't give up on your life because of a stray dog."

Liu Rumei was taken aback. She stared blankly at Ye Mingzhao for a long time before finally breaking down in tears.

*

"Zhou Yueze, that bastard!"

After leaving the hotel, Yu Mingze was still indignant. "I've heard rumors that Zhou's film company arranged escorts for their partners, but I didn't expect them to be so bold. How dare they treat Liu Rumei like that? She's a top actress, not some newcomer without a background or voice."

Wasn't it supposed to be consensual? Wasn't it supposed to be a mutually beneficial arrangement? If so many people were willing to play by their unwritten rules, why force those who weren't willing?

Yu Mingze suddenly felt that the industry was rotten to the core.

Thinking of those investors and rich second-generation heirs who kept saying "actors are just playthings for amusement" at the celebration banquet, Ye Mingzhao remained silent.

People without scruples often use money to dehumanize others. They don't know that the moment they objectify someone, they lose their right to be human.

They will be reduced to nothing, like animals fattened for slaughter, until they are devoured entirely.

Yu Mingze felt increasingly frustrated and slammed the gas pedal to the max speed allowed.

The black Phaeton zipped through the night like a streak of lightning. Ye Mingzhao, sitting in the passenger seat, cracked the window open, letting the biting winter wind roar past.

His phone buzzed with a message. It was from Liu Rumei: "Thank you for warning me earlier."

In the empty VIP room, Liu Rumei, still wearing her dark glasses, silently cried as she looked out at the night. The phone screen glowed faintly, and an anonymous message appeared in the promotions folder.

"I heard that Zhou's film company doesn't always follow the rules. If you get the proof, we can work together."

At that time, Liu Rumei thought Ye Mingzhao wanted to use her to go against Zhou's film company. She didn’t realize that Ye Mingzhao, whom she barely knew, was subtly warning her.

She had been overconfident. After a few years in the industry, she thought she had enough experience to stay clear of certain matters.

Yet, in the eyes of many, a celebrity who had been in the spotlight for years was still just an actor.

In the dimly lit car, Ye Mingzhao looked down at the message in the chatbox.

The faint light from the phone highlighted his features, making them appear even more defined. Amid the howling wind, Ye Mingzhao replied to Liu Rumei's message.

"A rabid dog without its fangs is nothing but a pile of rot."

In the cold winter night, the speeding car shot forward like an arrow, piercing through the even darker road ahead.