Chapter 86

Chapter 86

After breakfast, Chu Hengyi obediently went back to his room to rest.

Since it was Saturday, the Ye family didn’t have to go to work. After some discussion, they decided to stay at home to accompany their sick son, so that Chu Hengyi wouldn’t feel neglected by his family while he was sick.

Chu Hengyi, who really just wanted some alone time with Ye Mingzhao and use his illness to act spoiled and get some perks: "..."

Chairman Ye and Ye Mingxi enthusiastically brought out a deck of cards to play bridge with Chu Hengyi.

Ye Mingxi thought that playing cards while Chu Hengyi was feverish wasn’t a fair win, so he brought out his favorite game for a one-on-one showdown with Chu Hengyi.

Chu Hengyi, pretty annoyed, decided to just shut himself in his room and sleep.

The Ye father and son were quite disappointed, but they didn’t want to disturb the patient who needed "peace and quiet to recover" (as Chu Hengyi himself put it), so they returned to the living room on the first floor to play cards.

Ye Mingzhao, trying not to laugh, went with Mrs. Ye to the greenhouse to trim the flowers. While they were there, he got a call from Qi Yue, asking if Ye Mingzhao was interested in continuing to act.

If so, Starjoy Media could send all the scripts they had invested in to Ye Mingzhao for him to choose from first.

Ye Mingzhao was really into acting. However, with various events happening one after another recently, and Hua Rui, who had ill intentions towards the Ye family, lurking in the shadows waiting for an opportunity, Ye Mingzhao felt surrounded by dangers and had to focus his energy on eliminating these threats.

Now that Chu Qingyi was dead, and Zhou Yueze and Chu Jianguo and his wife were in prison, Ye Mingzhao’s biological parents were also badly weakened by his actions and wanted to stay as far away from him as possible, afraid of more retaliation. Even Hua Rui had been caught. The only remaining enemy of the Ye family was Zhou Heting, who had been neutralized and was closely watched by Chairman Ye, unlikely to cause any more trouble.

With all this going on, Ye Mingzhao could now focus on his hobbies. He told Qi Yue to send over the scripts that Starjoy Media had invested in. After thinking it over and getting Chu Hengyi’s advice, he picked a martial arts movie—"The Mandarin Duck Button."

The story starts with the leader of the martial arts alliance being wiped out overnight, killed by his own signature move, with just a mandarin duck button left at the scene. To solve the case, the major sects gathered their best disciples and put out a bounty for the killer.

But before they could catch the killer, another martial arts master—the sworn brother of the dead alliance leader and the master of Iron Sword Manor—was also found dead in his training chamber, killed by his own signature move, with just a mandarin duck button left at the scene.

Before they could find any clues, a third victim showed up. The sworn brother of the alliance leader and the Iron Sword Manor master, the master of Ao Ying Fort, was found dead in his bed, with a mandarin duck button on his forehead.

For a while, martial artists were on edge, desperate to find the killer to stop more deaths. As they dug deeper into the case, they were shocked to find out that these martial arts masters were linked to the massacre of the world’s number one manor twenty years ago...

The master of the world’s number one manor was the sworn brother of these dead martial arts masters. It turned out that the master of the world’s number one manor had once drunkenly let slip that the manor’s wealth came from a treasure map their ancestors had stumbled upon. This information was learned by the other three.

Tempted by wealth, the other three devised a plan to disguise themselves as enemies, massacre the world’s number one manor, and then seek the treasure. However, during the incident, the only son of the manor master was saved by a loyal servant using disguise techniques, while the servant himself took the young master’s place and died, hiding the traumatized young master in a secret chamber.

The other three thought they had killed everyone, burned down the world’s number one manor, and took the treasure map, leaving the protagonist to crawl out of the ruins, change his name, and dedicate his life to avenging his family.

The plot is a bit clichéd and seems outdated. The reason Chu Hengyi chose this movie is that he had seen it in his previous life and knew it was very good. Moreover, the protagonist’s character is complex—starting as a righteous figure but undergoing a shocking twist at the end.

He is both the cat and the mouse, the good guy and the bad guy.

"However, the theme of this movie is not currently popular, so the box office might not be very high after its release," Chu Hengyi analyzed the script’s strengths and also gave Ye Mingzhao a heads-up. In his previous life, the movie’s box office was not great, barely surpassing 100 million. It didn’t even break even, as the production cost reached 80 million.

Probably because the loss was so severe, the creative team behind this movie never made another film, at least not before Chu Hengyi’s rebirth.

Chu Hengyi felt quite regretful because he really liked this movie.

Ye Mingzhao also thought the script was well-written. Although the plot was clichéd, the story was tightly woven, full of suspense.

Having lived for over twenty years, Ye Mingzhao had always been busy with studies and work, rarely watching movies or TV shows to pass the time, let alone reading the classic martial arts novels that were popular during his student years.

So this clichéd plot didn’t seem too outdated to Ye Mingzhao. At least he found it quite engaging. As for the possibility of the movie losing money after its release, Ye Mingzhao didn’t care—after all, he wasn’t making movies to earn money.

Thinking this, Ye Mingzhao had an idea and suddenly asked Chu Hengyi, "Would you like to play a role in this movie?"

Caught off guard, Chu Hengyi was stunned: "Huh?"

Ye Mingzhao felt his suggestion was quite good: "You really like this movie, don't you? Why not try a guest role, since you don't have much going on lately."

Moreover, Chu Hengyi is quite capable; he can even ride horses.

Chu Hengyi felt somewhat tempted but also hesitant: "But I don't know how to act."

"Not knowing how to act and being an actor are two separate issues," Ye Mingzhao quickly recalled the plot in his mind and said, "I think the role of the protagonist's martial arts buddy suits you well. It's not a big role, but the character is memorable. And it suits your image well."

More importantly, if Chu Hengyi agreed to act, they could both join the production together. They would have at least two to three months together, and Ye Mingzhao was sure Chu Hengyi would be tempted.

Of course, Ye Mingzhao wouldn't voice such a subtle reason out loud.

However, the moment Chu Hengyi saw Ye Mingzhao's eyes, he understood the unspoken message. He smiled knowingly, scratching the back of his head somewhat awkwardly, and abruptly changed his tune: "You're right, I do want to act."

He absentmindedly leafed through the script, even forgetting the name of the character Ye Mingzhao had suggested he play, and muttered, "This role is fine, I think it's a good fit."

"Alright then," Ye Mingzhao said with a bright smile, "I'll inform Chairman Qi right away that I'm taking this role."

When Qi Yue got Ye Mingzhao's call, she was concerned that he didn't understand the market, hence choosing such a niche film. She tactfully advised him over the phone: "Movies are different from TV dramas; martial arts films aren't in vogue anymore. Moreover, this movie isn't based on a major IP. The script is original, though the screenwriter has refined it for years, the story theme is outdated, and the plot is a bit clichéd. We're all concerned that the audience might not respond well after the movie is released."

The screenwriter of this movie is a top-tier screenwriter in the industry who has always had a good relationship with Starjoy Media. His scripts have helped Starjoy Media earn a lot of money. However, this screenwriter is best known for modern suspense crime films. This is his first attempt at a martial arts genre, as the old man has always had a dream of making a classic martial arts film, but no one would invest.

Starjoy Media was willing to invest 80 million to help the screenwriter fulfill his dream, but that was the extent of it.

Originally, Starjoy Media planned to cast one of their own artists, who often starred in ancient costume idol dramas but had never acted in a movie, as the male lead. The female lead and other supporting roles would also be filled by their signed actors, depending on who was available.

This was clearly a move to fill the company's quota, showing that Qi Yue, the boss, didn't have high hopes for this movie—even the investment was only 80 million. For a martial arts film, this amount is barely enough, and only if the budget is tightly controlled in all aspects.

Ye Mingzhao is a major asset to their company, and Qi Yue didn't want him to think the company was casually dismissing him. Upon learning that Ye Mingzhao insisted on playing the male lead in this movie, Qi Yue quickly changed her tone, indicating that the company could increase the investment and even look for actors outside—as long as Ye Mingzhao had any requests.

"Additional investment is indeed necessary. I plan to shoot entirely on location, with tentative locations including Jiuzhaigou, Huangshan, Songshan..."

Ye Mingzhao listed several locations, and Qi Yue was secretly amazed. With such a shooting plan, the film would require at least 200 million in investment.

"As for the investment, I will figure it out myself. The company should proceed with the original 80 million budget plan."

Ye Mingzhao was well aware that this movie might not make money. Therefore, he saw no need to force Starjoy Media to lose money just to please him.

It's just a billion, spending a bit on his hobby, Ye Mingzhao could afford it. Moreover, this billion wasn't coming out of his own pocket.

Ye Mingzhao then added, "Also, I will bring a friend to act with me. It's the role of Feng Huaiming."

Qi Yue was momentarily stunned, then quickly responded, "That's no problem. Does Mr. Ye have any suggestions for the other roles?"

"That should be discussed when the creative team meets," Ye Mingzhao wasn't very familiar with the active actors in the industry, nor had he watched many movies or TV dramas, so he really had no impressions. But he believed that the director and screenwriter must have their preferred actors when creating the script.

If their requirements weren't too excessive, Ye Mingzhao was willing to meet the creative team's needs.

After all, this was Ye Mingzhao's first time shooting a movie, and he was the lead actor. Even if others weren't optimistic, Ye Mingzhao himself was eager to do well.

As is well known, making a movie is never a solo endeavor. For a movie to become a classic, it requires the collective effort and cooperation of all actors and staff, making casting crucial.

Isn't there a saying in the industry that an actor who fits the role is half the success?

Ye Mingzhao deeply agreed with this.

After confirming with Qi Yue that he would star in "The Mandarin Duck Button," Ye Mingzhao entrusted all the preliminary preparations of the movie to Starjoy Media, including assembling the director and creative team.

For the choice of director, Ye Mingzhao followed Chu Hengyi's advice and chose the director who had filmed this movie in his previous life. Once the director, screenwriter, and filming team were all assembled, they sat down together to discuss how to select the actors.

The talent at Starjoy Media, upon learning that Ye Mingzhao, the major backer, was about to shoot another film, all threw their hats in the ring. The personal emails of the director and screenwriter were inundated with resumes from the company's artists. Even actors from outside, upon hearing the news, pulled every string to get their names out there.

Since they couldn’t reach Ye Mingzhao directly, they reached out to Qi Yue and other shareholders and senior executives of Starjoy Media. Everyone wanted to get on Ye Mingzhao's radar and forge a good connection with this major backer—

After all, the actors who previously worked with Ye Mingzhao on *Prince of Beggars* and *Jiangshan Strategy* not only shot to fame but also, with Ye Mingzhao's backing, signed numerous brand endorsements, ranging from international luxury brands to established domestic products, raking in hefty endorsement deals.

Take Liu Rumei, for example, who once served as Ye Mingzhao's right-hand woman. She has now blossomed into an international superstar. Her upcoming film *Journey to the West* is about to hit screens worldwide. She is currently the hottest female star in the biz.

Who wouldn’t jump at such a chance? However, Ye Mingzhao has been in the industry for a short time, with few films and hardly rubbed elbows with other artists. Previously, there was no shot at catching Ye Mingzhao's eye, but now that the chance has come knocking, no one's letting it slip through their fingers.

While the industry's actors were eagerly throwing their names in the hat, Ye Mingzhao was out with his on-screen martial arts buddy, getting some exercise.