Chapter 68

Chapter 68

As for Chu Hengyi’s mindset—harming others without benefiting himself, yet still acting righteous—Ye Mingzhao found it hard to comment. But Chu Hengyi was indeed a man who upheld the spirit of contracts. Since Ye Mingzhao had promised Chu Hengyi that he would walk the red carpet alone, he would absolutely not find a female companion.

—Originally, Ye Mingzhao had even considered asking Lady Ye to accompany him on the red carpet!

Chu Hengyi picked up a crispy piece of sweet and sour pork and offered it to Ye Mingzhao, saying, “This is a reward for your adherence to the spirit of contract.”

With his mouth full of crispy sweet and sour pork, Ye Mingzhao could only concentrate on enjoying its tender and crunchy texture.

Chu Hengyi asked with a smile, “How is it? Not bad, right?”

Chu Hengyi’s cooking skills were actually quite rudimentary compared to those with formal culinary training. They could only be considered home-cooked meal level. If one were to be nitpicky, his culinary abilities weren’t as refined as those of the chefs hired by the Ye family. Yet, the taste of his dishes happened to suit Ye Mingzhao’s palate perfectly.

Ye Mingzhao found this perplexing. Fortunately, he didn’t need to understand it completely. A transaction where a red carpet companion was exchanged for a plate of fried pork—if Chu Hengyi wasn’t afraid of wasting a favor, why would Ye Mingzhao think it wasn’t worth it?

Ye Mingzhao picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork for himself and said calmly, “As long as you think it’s worth it.”

*

The award ceremony for the Golden Phoenix Award was held in a different city every year. This year, it was in the capital.

The official start time of the award ceremony was 8 PM, but the red carpet event began at 4 PM. Ye Mingzhao and the main cast of the *Prince of Beggars* took a 6 AM flight to the capital. After landing, they headed straight to the hotel.

“First, get your makeup and styling done. At 6 PM, a car will pick us up to go to the award ceremony,” Yu Mingze, who was familiar with the process, explained the evening’s schedule. “After the award ceremony, there will be an internal celebration party. We’ll attend the party, then catch a morning flight back to Xinhai.”

Ye Mingzhao sat in front of the makeup table in the hotel room, closing his eyes as the makeup artist worked on his face.

Yu Mingze quietly observed Ye Mingzhao’s increasingly refined and handsome features after the makeup was done and couldn’t help but click his tongue. “You are truly born to be a star.”

Ye Mingzhao’s facial features were already very striking, and with makeup, they became even more distinctive. He could catch people’s attention at first glance in a crowd. This kind of appearance was perfect for stardom, especially since Ye Mingzhao had a face that told a story.

Whenever his face appeared on camera, it aroused the audience’s desire to explore his character. This rare acting talent was a trait shared by all who became superstars.

And Ye Mingzhao, this rising star, had been groomed by him.

For a moment, Yu Mingze couldn’t help but boast, “I’m quite the talent scout myself!”

Ye Mingzhao, eyes still closed, ignored Yu Mingze’s self-praise. His expression was calm with a hint of compliance, giving off the illusion of gentleness and submissiveness. But those who knew Ye Mingzhao well understood that his real self was far from obedient.

Even the Ye family, who had a thick bias for their adopted son, would never describe Ye Mingzhao as a well-behaved child.

Yu Mingze used to think his childhood friend Ye Mingzhao was simply noble and pure, but when Ye Mingzhao’s biological parents showed up—either ruining their reputation or taking over their company—Yu Mingze realized his close friend was actually a person with depth and cunning.

But what’s wrong with that?

“Our Zhaozhao just didn’t play the martyr, and besides, the saintly father persona is out of fashion now. It’s not even written in dramas, let alone in real life.”

“Revenge for grievances and settling scores—those are the popular themes now.”

Inspired by Ye Mingzhao, Yu Mingze recently wrote a revenge drama and asked, “Would you like to be the male lead?”

Ye Mingzhao responded, “Let me read the script first.”

The *Prince of Beggars* production team, including Ye Mingzhao, was scheduled to walk the red carpet at 7 PM. While not the grand finale, it still received considerable attention.

*

At 6 PM, the main cast boarded the vehicles arranged by the organizers and arrived at the award ceremony venue thirty minutes later.

With over twenty minutes to kill, Ye Mingzhao pulled out his phone to play some games.

Unfortunately, before he could finish a round of the game, he was interrupted by back-to-back messages from Chu Hengyi on WeChat.

"You there?"

"BTW, what did you have for lunch?"

"When's your red carpet walk?"

Ye Mingzhao's phone kept buzzing with messages, blocking his view and making it impossible to see the enemy’s moves. His character died in no time.

Ye Mingzhao: "..."

Ye Mingzhao let out a long sigh and exited the game to reply, "Got nothing better to do?"

In the next second, several photos came clattering in, all of them showing delicious-looking dishes.

Chu Hengyi: "Is Peking cuisine good? Is it as good as the food I make?"

Ye Mingzhao took a deep breath. "I was doing makeup and hair at noon, I didn’t eat at all."

Chu Hengyi was shocked. "So you haven’t eaten for more than ten hours?"

Ye Mingzhao had taken a 6 a.m. flight, leaving at 4 a.m., and had breakfast on the plane. The taste of the airplane meal was, as expected, just enough to keep him from starving. He didn’t eat lunch, and it looked like he wouldn’t be able to eat dinner either. Chu Hengyi did a quick calculation and figured that Ye Mingzhao must be starving by now.

"Shouldn’t have shown you those pics of my cooking, huh? Got you craving, didn’t I?"

For some reason, Ye Mingzhao, who usually wouldn’t engage in such boring and pointless conversations, actually replied to Chu Hengyi, "Not really. I had a few pastries around noon."

Just small bites, and a few sips of tea through a straw.

Ye Mingzhao actually had a very low appetite. When conditions were good, he could be very particular about his food, but when conditions were bad, he could go a day without eating and not feel hungry.

Lately, after all the meals Chu Hengyi’s been feeding him, Ye Mingzhao’s gotten pickier and always craves something tasty. Actually, Ye Mingzhao wasn’t usually like this!

So, it was ridiculous for Chu Hengyi to accuse him of being picky before, and now Chu Hengyi thought that he would be tempted by a few photos? Ye Mingzhao didn’t admit to that!

"It’s our turn!" Yu Mingze suddenly spoke up.

Ye Mingzhao put away his phone and got off the van.

On TV, the members of the Ye family also saw Ye Mingzhao walking the red carpet. Countless media reporters and fans were standing on either side of the red carpet, screaming out the names of Ye Mingzhao and the other actors from the crew.

Ye Mingzhao even saw someone holding up a poster and a light board with his name on it.

The handsome, well-dressed Ye Mingzhao strutted down the red carpet, turning heads and drawing cheers from the crowd.

The Ye family members were also dazzled by the sight. Madam Ye couldn’t help but praise, "None of these other guys on the red carpet can hold a candle to our Zhaozhao!"

Second Brother Ye nodded in agreement. "That’s right!"

On the red carpet, Ye Mingzhao wasn’t thinking much. The intense flashing lights on both sides of the red carpet blinded him, making it impossible for him to see the path ahead.

Luckily, he remembered his etiquette training and kept his eyes wide open the whole time.

Once he reached the signing area, Ye Mingzhao took a moment to blink and recover while scribbling his name on the wall.

"First time walking the red carpet, how does it feel?" After entering the awards ceremony venue, Yu Mingze came over with a grin and asked.

"It’s fine." Ye Mingzhao paused and asked, "Did you pay those fans with the posters and signs?" They were pretty good actors, the girls in the front row were so excited to see him that tears almost flew out of their eyes. Ye Mingzhao thought he might give them a bonus later.

Yu Mingze said in shock, "How could you think that? Those are your fans! Your devoted fans!"

The other artists who had been watching laughed. "Mr. Ye probably doesn't realize just how popular you are now!"

"Honestly, you're the biggest star in our entertainment industry lately," one of them added.

"Yes! You're a top-tier star now~ At least half of the people at the red carpet event today are your fans."

"Many of them arrived early in the morning just to grab a good spot and see you up close."

Yu Mingze noticed Ye Mingzhao's expression and nudged him. "What are you thinking? Don't you know what 'top-tier' means?"

Ye Mingzhao looked slightly puzzled. Of course, he knew what top-tier meant, but he hadn't expected the term to be associated with him.

Thinking about the excited girls screaming on both sides of the red carpet, Ye Mingzhao fell silent.

He had assumed these people were hired by Yu Mingze or the production team—after all, the cast included a popular actor and the most popular actress, both of whom had fan support during the red carpet event. As the male lead, he had none, which seemed odd.

So, Ye Mingzhao understood why the production team might hire people to support him. Seeing the girls holding his posters and light sticks, he thought it must be tough for them to stand outside in the heat and act excited. Fortunately, the red carpet event was in the evening, not as hot as it would have been in the afternoon.

But now, hearing that these were his real fans, some of whom had arrived early in the morning just to see him, Ye Mingzhao was rendered speechless.

"Go and book a café or a bubble tea shop and treat those girls to some drinks," Ye Mingzhao instructed his assistant. "Find out how long they'll be waiting. If it's too late, arrange for their transport home and make sure they're safe."

The assistant nodded and immediately went to handle it.

The stars and artists standing around exchanged glances. No wonder he's from a wealthy family; his generosity is on another level.

Not wanting to be outdone, the other popular stars quickly contacted their management teams, trying to figure out how to offer drinks or bubble tea to their fans. They couldn't afford to look stingy compared to Ye Mingzhao's fan-pampering gesture.

After this little incident, Ye Mingzhao's mood fluctuated for a moment but soon settled. By the time he was guided to his seat, his mood had completely calmed down.

Yu Mingze, however, remained a bit excited, sitting next to Ye Mingzhao and whispering, "I told you that you're a born star! Look at all the stars here today; you have the most fans. And you're still a newcomer who's only been in the industry for a year!"

In just one year, only two of his dramas had aired, one of which featured a minor villain role with limited screen time. Yet he had become this popular. If this wasn't the embodiment of a natural-born star, what was?

Just as he was speaking, Yuan Jing from Starjoy Media approached them cautiously. As Ye Mingzhao's executive agent, Yuan Jing had also attended the Golden Phoenix Awards ceremony, but she hadn't walked the red carpet with him. Instead, she had accompanied another drama's cast as a producer.

"Following Mr. Ye's instructions, after Zhou's Film Company collapsed, we poached the production team from Westward Journey to join Starjoy Media. The preparations for Westward Journey are almost complete. This afternoon, Chairman Qi suddenly received a call from Mark Brown, the CEO of Paimon Pictures. He said that Paimon Pictures would like to discuss a potential collaboration on Westward Journey with us."

Yuan Jing paused, her expression turning subtle. "Mr. Brown also mentioned that he would like to meet you and hopes we can arrange an introduction. He said he's attending the celebration party after the awards ceremony."