Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Ye Mingzhao's shooting time in the *Jiangshan Strategy* cast lasted only half a month, but for him, the challenge of this half-month job was greater than playing dual roles in the *Prince of Beggars* production.

This was Ye Mingzhao's first time acting in a historical drama. After putting on the custom-made attire of feather fan and silk scarf for his character, he suddenly realized that the way ancient people walked and their sitting habits were entirely different from modern people.

So, on the afternoon after the costume fitting photos were taken, Ye Mingzhao hired a specialist from Xinhai University's drama department who taught ancient Chinese demeanor and posture to coach him on how to walk and sit like an ancient person.

Ye Mingzhao's efforts were seen by the entire cast, but no one believed this last-minute training would amount to much.

—If a quick training session could capture the essence of ancient people, this industry would be far too easy to survive in.

Everyone was waiting to see him make a fool of himself. However, the next morning, Xiao Zhuge, who had stayed up all night, walked into the set with a square step, his clothes flowing in the wind, and his feather fan and silk scarf making him look like a distinguished scholar. Everyone on set was shocked.

In just one night, Ye Mingzhao had achieved what many of them had struggled years to accomplish.

It wasn’t until the official shooting began that everyone realized Ye Mingzhao wasn’t as otherworldly as they had imagined.

As the adopted son of the Ye family, he had received the strictest and most elite education since childhood. He could ride horses and shoot arrows, pull a 90-pound bow (the Olympic archery competition only requires 65 pounds), and hit a target dozens of meters away while riding; he could play Go, the guqin, the xiao, write calligraphy, and even point out the misuse of classical allusions in the script during rehearsals.

Even more terrifying was that without anyone asking, Ye Mingzhao could recite *The Art of War* and Zhuge Liang's *Sixteen Strategies* from memory!

According to Ye Mingzhao, although his character Xiao Zhuge only superficially rode on Zhuge Liang's popularity due to the surname, based on the script's setting and the effect of the character's costume, the author and production team likely intended to create a strategist who could plan from behind the scenes and win from afar.

So, in addition to thoroughly reading the script, he also memorized historical figures' biographies and writings that were similar to the role as a form of respect for the character.

"It might be helpful to my performance."

Ye Mingzhao was very aware of his shortcomings. He had little experience in acting and had never undergone systematic training. His voice, stage presence, and expressions were all subjective, supplemented by a performance teacher who had been helping him with crash training recently.

But this was just a last-minute cram, ultimately no match for the accumulated depth of others. So, he had to find another way, borrowing the elegance and strategies of ancient people to sketch the character's essence.

As the saying goes, diligence can make up for ineptitude, and hopefully, it would work.

Everyone: “……”

It could only be said that top-tier talent was terrifying! No wonder he could pass the entrance exam for Xinhai University's finance department; even the way he spoke was different from those who were academically challenged.

Just to play a supporting role with a schedule of half a month, Ye Mingzhao had memorized the entire script and the life stories of historical figures related to the character, along with their works. The effort he put in outside of the actual filming was no longer just "well-prepared."

It was downright excessive!

For a while, the actors acting opposite Ye Mingzhao felt immense pressure—after all, he wasn’t just a new actor brought in to save the day by the producer. He was also a newly minted shareholder and key talent of Starjoy Media. It was said that after he joined the company, all resources would first pass through him, and only the ones he didn’t want or found unworthy would be available for others to choose from.

In other words, Ye Mingzhao could freely choose the roles he wanted to play, and he also had the maximum degree of freedom in selecting the cast and production team.

As everyone knew, *Jiangshan Strategy* was an internal project funded by Starjoy Media, and most of the actors were signed under Starjoy. This meant that their performance in the following days might affect whether they could get the top resources within the company for the next few years!

Anything related to one’s future and fate would become incredibly heavy.

Thus, during Ye Mingzhao's reshoots, all the actors gave their full energy and potential, concentrating fully, and even the director behind the monitor demanded retakes for even the smallest mistakes, adopting a spirit of excellence. The pressure on the set was unprecedented.

However, this high-pressure shooting atmosphere only lasted a week. As Zhou's film company's stock price plummeted due to frequent scandals, affecting even the Zhou family's stock price, the actors in the *Jiangshan Strategy* cast suddenly realized that the previous Ye Mingzhao had really just been acting.

When he transformed into a financial giant manipulating billions in funds, targeting Zhou's film company and the Zhou family, the pressure he exerted on everyone was absolutely suffocating.

*

"At first, you deliberately leaked the news that the male lead of *Prince Transformation* was related to human traffickers, tricking me into shorting Zhou's film company. You knew that with the arrogance of the Zhou family, they wouldn’t allow me to do that, so you took the opportunity to absorb Zhou's film company's stock while the main force was lifting the price. When Zhou's film company's stock was pushed to a new high, you sold everything and made a huge profit..."

Chu Hengyi placed the second white piece on the opposite side: "It's laughable that the Zhou family was only watching me and completely ignored your moves."

Ye Mingzhao looked across the chessboard at Chu Hengyi, who was disregarding the rules by playing the white pieces first in a mimicking move. He casually placed a black piece in the symmetrical position to Chu Hengyi's second white piece. "Even when playing a mirroring game, no two games will be exactly the same. The same moves do not mean the same outcome. Do you really think you can beat me by copying my moves? You seem to believe I can't outplay myself."

Chu Hengyi raised an eyebrow. He knew Ye Mingzhao was skilled at chess and strategic planning, so from the beginning, he had intended to replicate Ye Mingzhao's trading tactics. But what he didn’t expect was that while he was mimicking Ye Mingzhao’s shorting strategy, Ye Mingzhao was using him as bait to lure the Zhou family into a trap.

"No wonder you told Zhou Yueze about my shorting Zhou's film company. I bet he thought you did it just to get back at him for what he said at the celebration party, didn't he?"

When he found out Ye Mingzhao had tipped off Zhou Yueze, Chu Hengyi even wondered if Ye Mingzhao was taking revenge for the time he had revealed to Zhou Yueze that Ye Mingzhao had planted a reporter by his side.

But it turned out that Ye Mingzhao was purely motivated by self-interest and wouldn’t waste time on petty revenge. Everything he did, whether it was stirring up trouble or sowing discord, was aimed at provoking a clash between Chu Hengyi and the Zhou family. While they were locked in battle, he would come out on top.

"You used my shorting of Zhou's film company as bait to lure the Zhou family into bailing out their company. Exploiting Zhou Heting’s overconfidence and his desire to embarrass the Ye family, you convinced him to spend one billion of the Zhou family’s funds to counter me, effectively tying up a large portion of their cash flow. When the time was right, you played Zhu Junjie and Liu Rumei, triggering another crisis of trust within Zhou's film company and the Zhou family, leaving them unable to put up more cash to support their stock."

"This gave you the chance to convince the Ye family to buy Zhou family’s stock at a discount and eventually take control of the Zhou family’s business."

"Once the Ye family successfully acquired Zhou’s Group, you could then take over Zhou’s film company using your status as the Ye family's adopted son."

"Your next move will likely be to make a takeover offer to Starjoy Media. Since you’re already a shareholder, you could bypass Qi Yue and call for a shareholders’ meeting directly. I’m sure the other shareholders of Starjoy Media wouldn’t want to miss the chance to swallow the lucrative opportunity of taking over Zhou's film company. Once the merger project begins, you would definitely volunteer to lead the project. After all, no one in Starjoy Media has more experience than you, and you also have influence in the Ye family."

"During the merger, you would seize control of Starjoy Media by integrating resources. Then, using Starjoy Media’s network and resources, you would completely absorb Zhou's film company. And throughout the merger process, you would use capital operations to become the largest shareholder of Starjoy Media."

"Qi Yue was probably thrilled, thinking she had latched onto a powerful ally. Little did she know that you had already set your sights on Starjoy Media."

"It seems your mirroring strategy has been quite effective," Ye Mingzhao said with a faint smile, not surprised that Chu Hengyi had seen through his calculations.

At this point, even if Chu Hengyi tried to interfere, it would be too late.

All his funds have already been tied up in the projects of Zhou's Film Company and the Zhou family business.

"Thank you for getting involved personally to hold down Zhou Heting, that old fox," Ye Mingzhao casually threw two black pieces onto the board. "He's really troublesome. I don't know why he encouraged Zhou Yueze to always go against me, but I guess since he's trying so hard to distract me, he must be aiming at the Ye family business."

And Ye Mingzhao's personality had always been one to strike back after the enemy makes the first move.

"So you played along, feigning weakness to provoke the Ye family, even going as far as suing your biological mother to throw off the Zhou family, all while secretly gathering dirt on Zhou's Film Company and the Zhou family business."

Chu Hengyi suddenly smiled. "I went to great lengths to bribe the paparazzi following you and Liu Rumei, worried that if it got out too soon, it would tip off the Zhou family."

"Now that I think about it, if you knew the paparazzi were following you, how could you not have known who sent them? So you deliberately let them catch you and Liu Rumei meeting—was there another move you had planned?"

Chu Hengyi found it increasingly ridiculous. He had thought they were players who understood each other without words, but from start to finish, he had been just a pawn on someone else's chessboard.

In his past life, he had been manipulated by Ye Mingzhao without ever understanding why. In this life, he had fought hard to take control of the game, only to more deeply realize Ye Mingzhao's terrifying nature.

You know he's manipulating the game, but you can't see where his pieces are placed. Only after reviewing the game can you catch a glimpse of his strategy on the complex board.

Can he really outsmart Ye Mingzhao?