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The memories ended.

Ye Mingzhao looked at the pale yellow sticky note and slowly crumpled it into a ball.

A beast that softened so easily, no matter how sharp its claws and fangs, would eventually become dull.

Still, in the spirit of returning a favor, Ye Mingzhao called the private investigator who was close to Chu Hengyi and asked him to look into Hua Rui's whereabouts.

Chu Hengyi would surely learn who his real enemy was soon enough!

Hopefully, Chu Hengyi would direct his energy toward Hua Rui from now on. Ye Mingzhao had other matters to deal with and had no time to play revenge games with Chu Hengyi for the moment.

"What did you say?" Yu Mingze stared at Ye Mingzhao in utter confusion, unable to understand his thinking. "You want to place recruitment ads in fashion magazines to hire jewelry designers and costume designers for our production team? Why would you think of that?"

"I've read the script. A lot of the plot involves jewelry design and costume design." For instance, the male lead, Gu Mingchao, was a jewelry designer, while Gu Corporation was a jewelry company primarily dealing in jewelry and accessories. The second female lead, the fiancée, was a costume designer. Many scenes revolved around these two industries.

After reading through the script, Ye Mingzhao believed they should recruit capable, imaginative emerging jewelry and costume designers from across society and have them participate in the production. It would better help the core creative team bring the script to life.

Yu Mingze scratched his head. "I understand what you mean, but we're only making a drama. There's no need to make such a huge production out of it."

"Why not?" Ye Mingzhao asked curiously. "I know the production team has a period before filming begins to prepare the preliminary work. Why not take advantage of that time and hold a jewelry design competition and a costume design competition? The winning designers can participate throughout the filming of Beggar Prince and design important props. We can first establish an official website in the name of the production team and make as much noise as possible. That would not only promote our team's professional attitude, but also build buzz for the drama. Surely that's better than what you mentioned before—using leaked set photos to maintain interest during filming?"

Yu Mingze and the other core creators exchanged looks. Suddenly, Ye Mingzhao's suggestion seemed highly feasible.

"It's just that..." someone said with a frown, hesitating. "If we do this, our costs will increase."

"We can contact several fashion magazines and major brands to see whether they're interested in sponsoring the filming and the competitions." Ye Mingzhao looked at the worried Yu Mingze, paused slightly, then smiled. "Leave this matter to me. When I worked at Ye Group, I collaborated with some brands."

Yu Mingze immediately breathed a sigh of relief. "Then we'll leave it to you."

After hesitating for a moment, Yu Mingze still could not help asking a stupid question. "Why don't we just approach those emerging designers directly and see whose design style fits our needs?" Why make it so complicated?

After all, holding a jewelry design competition and a costume design competition would take at least two or three months from initial preparation to the final round. Even then, they might not gain the buzz and attention they wanted. Yet filming was set to begin in a month!

Ye Mingzhao's expression relaxed as he patiently explained, "Even Jiang Taigong had to wait for willing fish to take the bait. If we approach them first, they may not be willing to cooperate with us. And it would lower the production team's standing for no reason."

Ye Mingzhao wanted to lure the right people into the trap, but he had no intention of using the production team's reputation to elevate others.

"Besides, there's also a plotline in the drama where the male lead, after losing his memory, enters a design competition with the female lead's encouragement. Holding jewelry and costume design competitions in real life would create a tie-in with the story."

Yu Mingze suddenly understood. The other core creators expressed their understanding as well. They simply felt that Ye Mingzhao's proposal was too rushed, and the production team would likely need to devote much more energy to keeping both sides balanced.

Ye Mingzhao smiled at that and good-naturedly said, "Since this was an idea I came up with on a whim, if no one minds, I'll oversee the jewelry design competition and costume design competition."

After a pause, Ye Mingzhao added with a smile, "I have similar scenes in the drama anyway. Getting some practice in advance can count as a rehearsal."

The cost of this rehearsal was a little too high!

The core creators exchanged looks. Director Li Zheng said awkwardly, "That wouldn't be right! You're only being paid an actor's salary, yet you have to do so much."

Ye Mingzhao smiled warmly. "Director Li, please don't stand on ceremony with me. I'm part of the production team too."

At that moment, Ye Mingzhao suddenly felt that being an actor was not so bad. At the very least, whatever he wanted to do, he could always find a flawless excuse that would not arouse suspicion.

Chapter 12

That afternoon, Ye Mingzhao arranged to have coffee with the editors-in-chief of several fashion magazines.

Everyone had heard that Ye Mingzhao had left Ye Group and gone into the entertainment industry to act. During casual conversations over tea, they had even joked, "Maybe one day our magazine will get to work with superstar Ye Mingzhao." But jokes were jokes; none of them had expected the chance to collaborate again to come so quickly.

"You're inviting our magazine to sponsor and co-host a jewelry design competition and costume design competition under the name of the Beggar Prince production team?"

The editors-in-chief exchanged looks, unable to figure out what Ye Mingzhao was planning.

"Because of the story's needs, Beggar Prince will contain a great deal of fashion-related content. The production team's suggestion was to invite brands to sponsor the costumes and props needed for filming, but I think we can approach this project from a different angle."

Ye Mingzhao paused slightly, as though leaving room for the editors-in-chief to think. Only then did he continue, "Why can't we bring a fictional story into a real business environment? Everyone is an audience member, and everyone is an actor. We play NPCs in the drama, yet we are also the protagonists of our own lives."

"No one would be willing to bear a life doomed to fail for the sake of an illusory story. Supporting characters never willingly settle for being supporting characters; they simply lack the opportunity to become the protagonist. If everyone had the power to change their future, would they still submit to a predetermined fate?"

Seeing the editors-in-chief's bewildered and shocked expressions, Ye Mingzhao smiled. "That is the promotional theme of our drama—who will be the protagonist beyond the screen?"

"In your magazines, I will publish information about the jewelry design competition and costume design competition in the name of the production team. We'll recruit the trendiest and most innovative design geniuses from across society. The winners will participate throughout the filming, and they will be responsible for designing all of the male and female leads' works in the drama. As the television series airs, the names of these two designers will explode across the internet overnight."

Whether they were unknown newcomers to the industry or unappreciated designers, as long as they truly had talent, they would be like the male and female leads in the drama. No matter their circumstances, no matter what accidents they encountered, no matter how difficult their current situation was, they would ultimately stand out from the crowd.

"This will be their closest chance at becoming famous overnight." Ye Mingzhao smiled brightly. "To ensure the competition carries real weight, I will also speak with the China-region heads of major luxury brands and strive to win their support. The judges will be chief designers from those luxury brands. At the same time, we will invite their key talents to enter the competition as contestants. The winners will not only have the opportunity to participate throughout filming, but will also be able to choose a luxury brand to collaborate with and create a co-branded collection..."

The bait Ye Mingzhao had cast was simply too tempting. The editors-in-chief felt their hearts surge just imagining it, let alone the designers who would face that temptation directly—no one could refuse the chance to become famous overnight.

At the same time, everyone realized that if the two design competitions achieved the success Ye Mingzhao described, the magazines hosting them would undoubtedly gain tremendous prestige.