Chapter 54

Chapter 54

On the night when *Prince of Beggars* aired, the entire Ye family gathered around the television, hoping to boost the show's ratings.

This was also the first time Ye Mingzhao sat in front of the television to watch his own performance.

Looking at the familiar face on the screen, portraying someone else's life with a strange name, Ye Mingzhao felt a strange, almost surreal sensation.

It was as if he was seeing another version of himself from a parallel world.

The Ye family was completely absorbed in the show.

On the premiere night of *Prince of Beggars*, only the first two episodes were broadcast. However, they were packed with plot twists and intrigue, and the pace was fast. The opening scenes revealed that the male lead, after returning to the country, discovered that the second male lead looked exactly like him. On impulse, the male lead decided to swap identities with the second male lead to see if his fiancée could recognize him.

The second male lead, wearing the clothes of the male lead, went to see the male lead's fiancée, only to accidentally uncover her affair with the male lead's best friend. In a panic, the two attempted to kill the second male lead. During the struggle, the second male lead was knocked out cold by his fiancée, but just then, the male lead's mother showed up and sent the injured second male lead to the hospital.

At the same time, the male lead was mistaken for the second male lead by debt collectors and was brutally beaten, suffering a blow to the back of his head which led to amnesia. He began to believe he was the second male lead. Upon waking up in the hospital and learning about this, the second male lead decided to take the male lead's place, becoming a man of status and power...

The two episodes flew by. As the ending credits of the second episode began to roll, Ye Mingzhao received a call from Yu Mingze.

"The first two episodes of *Prince of Beggars* averaged a 1.275% viewership rating!" Yu Mingze exclaimed excitedly on the other end of the line, nearly shouting to the heavens, "This is on a satellite TV channel! Zhaozhao, we're going to be rich!"

Ye Mingzhao was taken aback.

Ever since he became an actor, apart from hiring acting coaches to teach him performance skills, Ye Mingzhao had also learned many industry facts thanks to Yu Mingze and the professionals on set.

For instance, in recent years, it had been rare for a TV drama broadcast on a satellite TV platform to break a viewership rating of 1%, except for those aired on CCTV. Now, *Prince of Beggars* had just premiered with a rating of 1.275%, which was undoubtedly a huge hit!

These were exceptionally impressive results!

"...The success is all thanks to you, the male lead," Yu Mingze said without hesitation, genuinely believing it.

Without the string of scandals caused by Ye Mingzhao's birth parents, who even showed up at the premiere to morally blackmail him, there wouldn't have been so much attention from online spectators. Additionally, just before *Prince of Beggars* aired, Ye Mingzhao, as the lead actor, had successfully led the Ye family business in acquiring the Zhou family business, emerging victorious.

The marketing team of *Prince of Beggars* capitalized on current events and launched a promotional campaign with the tagline "Tycoon actor starring in an idol drama," which piqued the curiosity of many fans. It was fair to say that Ye Mingzhao was instrumental in the drama's breakout success.

"The high viewership ratings of *Prince of Beggars* are the result of a solid plot, fast pace, excellent acting, and outstanding costumes and props. It's the collective effort of everyone in the cast and crew," Ye Mingzhao said with a smile.

Yu Mingze puffed up with pride and said, "Of course. Every work of mine is a masterpiece. But previous dramas didn't have such high ratings. Ultimately, it's the male lead who shoulders the responsibility and delivers the best performance."

As the two praised each other, Yu Mingze suddenly said, "Tonight, my parents are going to visit the Zhou family to discuss my marriage annulment. Do you want to see how things play out?"

Ye Mingzhao said, "...How can I watch?"

Yu Mingze's voice became sly as he lowered his voice and said, "I'll live stream it for you!"

An excited voice suddenly rang out behind Ye Mingzhao, "This is going to be exciting!"

Ye Mingzhao turned around abruptly to find Ye Mingxi standing ghost-like behind him, with the rest of the Ye family sitting sideways on the couch, their eyes fixed on him.

Their gaze was both restrained and intense!

Ye Mingzhao said, "..."

That night, Yu Mingze carried two power banks with him as he accompanied his parents to visit the Zhou family.

*

He expected his family to feel too awkward to bring up the annulment immediately, but Father Yu was also an extraordinary man. After only a few pleasantries at the Zhou family's home, before they had even sat down properly, he eagerly brought up the topic of annulment.

Zhou Heting never imagined that the usually indecisive and timid Yu family would ever act so decisively. He was so angry that he laughed sarcastically.

"The Yu family wants to call off the engagement?"

"That's right," said Yu Mingze's father, who looked more like he was in his thirties despite being over fifty. He seemed younger and almost flippant in front of Zhou Heting. His voice lacked conviction as he said, "This was my father's idea. I'm just here to inform you on his behalf."

"Inform?" Zhou Heting repeated the word playfully.

Zhou's wife also looked upset, and her words were even harsher. "The engagement between the Zhou and Yu families was arranged by our elders. Back when our Zhou family was at its peak, we never considered breaking the engagement. Now that the Zhou family has fallen on hard times, your Yu family is eager to kick us while we're down."

Upon hearing Zhou's wife's words, Yu Mingze's mother smiled dismissively. "When the Zhou family was thriving, you never gave our Yu family any face! Everyone in New Sea City knows what Zhou Yueze did to help his lover climb the social ladder. Our Yu family has become the laughing stock of the nation because of him. People are mocking Mingze for wearing a bright green hat. Did any of you Zhou family members ever say a word?"

"Now you're blaming us for kicking you while you're down? Where were you earlier?"

Zhou's wife blushed at the retort.

In the matter of Yu Mingze, the Zhou family was indeed in the wrong. However, the Yu family chose to call off the engagement at this particular juncture, and everyone knew exactly what their intentions were.

"Cut the crap with your high-minded talk!" Zhou Yueze, who had spent the entire day arguing with shareholders of Zhou's film company, could no longer contain the anger that had been building up. "Fine, go ahead and call off the engagement! But don’t come crying to us later—"

Before he could finish, Zhou Yueze suddenly noticed Yu Mingze fiddling with his phone. A bad feeling rose in Zhou Yueze's chest. "What are you doing?"

"Huh?" Yu Mingze blinked innocently. "I'm not doing anything."

As soon as he finished speaking, Yu Mingze quickly hit the end call button. But it was too late.

Zhou Yueze dashed over and snatched Yu Mingze's phone, his hands trembling with anger as he saw the call duration: 39 minutes and 27 seconds. "You were on a video call with Ye Mingzhao just now?"

Now that he was caught, Yu Mingze didn't bother hiding it anymore. "Who I call is none of your business."

Before Zhou Yueze could respond, Yu Mingze continued, "You should be thankful that I was video calling Zhaozhao and not livestreaming this engagement cancellation."

"So you’re nothing but Ye Mingzhao’s lapdog!" Zhou Yueze said through gritted teeth, both angry and amused. "Did you talk your parents into canceling the engagement just to suck up to the Ye family? Are you trying to step on the Zhou family's face to curry favor with the Ye family? Don’t you worry that one day—"

"The saying goes, 'Thirty years on one side of the river, thirty years on the other.' Don’t underestimate the poor and young." Yu Mingze interrupted before Zhou Yueze could finish. "What century are you living in? Still pulling those outdated stunts?"

Zhou Yueze felt his blood boil. Just as he was about to lose his temper, Yu Mingze continued, "Don’t forget, you stabbed us in the back first. Do you even remember how you were entangled with Chu Qingyi in a shameful manner? Do you have any idea what people are saying about you out there?"

"Everyone is laughing at you for throwing away your father's life's work for a worthless person. If I were you, I’d grab a belt and end it all. And yet you still have the nerve to throw your weight around in front of me!" Yu Mingze looked at Zhou Yueze with contempt. "Even if we talk about not underestimating the young and poor, it's me and Zhaozhao who are younger. Your Zhou family brought this upon yourselves—"

"Enough!" Zhou's wife interrupted, her face ashen, her gaze cold and hostile. "Even if the Yu family wants to call off the engagement, there's no need to go this far."

Yu Mingze's parents had initially been unaware that their son was livestreaming the engagement cancellation to Ye Mingzhao. But upon realizing it, they secretly felt pleased. The reason the Yu family had rushed to propose the cancellation after the Zhou family was ousted from the Zhou's film company's board of directors was because they feared being caught in the crossfire with the Ye family.

Now that the cancellation was finalized, and their son had also expressed his stance to Ye Mingzhao through the livestream, it was the most perfect outcome.

However, although Zhou Heting had been kicked out of the board, he was still the second-largest shareholder of the Zhou family. As the saying goes, a thin camel is still bigger than a horse, so the Yu family didn't dare to completely offend Zhou Heting. Upon hearing Zhou's wife's dissatisfaction, they immediately put on stern faces and scolded Yu Mingze. "Don't make a joke of this."

"Calling off an engagement is a serious matter. How could you livestream it to an outsider? Don't you care about our family's and the Zhou family's dignity anymore?"

Yu Mingze silently rolled his eyes and said nothing. Their Yu family's dignity had been thrown away long ago when Zhou Yueze shamelessly cheated with his lover. After enduring so much, he had finally kicked the jerk to the curb. Wasn't he allowed to share his joy with his friend?

Seeing their son's defiant expression, Yu Mingze's father was about to say more, but Zhou Heting had already lost patience with the father-son act. Even a man of Zhou Heting's cultivation couldn't help but signal for them to leave. "My wife is right. Marriage is about uniting two families. Since the Yu family has no intention of maintaining this engagement, we, the Zhou family, won't force it. The engagement between Yueze and Mingze is hereby called off."

The Yu family looked delighted, but just as they were about to say something, Zhou Heting coldly added, "It’s getting late, and the roads might be slippery. You should head home now."

"Don't let the door hit you on the way out."