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The editors-in-chief exchanged glances and suddenly understood. Once again, everyone present had become one another's biggest competitors. Whether they could persuade Ye Mingzhao and the Beggar Prince production team to hand the hosting rights for the two competitions to their magazines would depend on who could offer better terms.

For a moment, the editors-in-chief felt somewhat conflicted.

Before coming here, they had secretly wondered what ability Ye Mingzhao, having left Ye Group, could possibly have to persuade them to cooperate. Yet in less than an hour, the situation had completely reversed. Ye Mingzhao was now sitting firmly in command, while they had to rack their brains to win his willingness to cooperate.

As expected of Ye Group's most valued operator. Ye Mingzhao had firmly controlled the core business of Ye Group's financial division at the age of twenty. It was certainly not merely because of family ties.

The impeccably made-up editors blinked, and the atmosphere in the private room suddenly grew tense.

Ye Mingzhao took a sip of coffee. No one noticed his thoughts; the delicate coffee cup concealed the faintly upturned corner of his lips.

Over the next few days, Ye Mingzhao gradually met with the China-region heads of several luxury brands.

With his superb persuasive skills and a genuinely feasible marketing strategy, the representatives of those luxury brands all agreed to Ye Mingzhao's proposal. However, the chief designers of the various brands all worked at their headquarters. To persuade them to serve as judges for the design competitions, approval from headquarters was required.

The China-region heads of the luxury brands were willing to submit reports to their headquarters for this matter. But whether approval would be granted, or when it might arrive, even they could not guarantee. After all, overseas work efficiency was notoriously infuriatingly slow. Everyone knew that.

Fortunately, while serving as the private assistant to Ye Group's chairman, Ye Mingzhao had maintained good communication with the headquarters of the major luxury brands through certain work projects and even his personal clothing preferences.

After the China-region representatives submitted their applications to headquarters overnight, Ye Mingzhao personally contacted the headquarters of the various brands. In just three days, he successfully persuaded five luxury brands to "loan out" their chief fashion designers and chief jewelry designers.

Not only that, Ye Mingzhao also successfully persuaded the headquarters of three of those luxury brands to sponsor the two design competitions and provide their latest haute couture pieces and jewelry for the filming of Beggar Prince.

In addition, Ye Mingzhao used his spare time to visit New Sea City's two most prestigious haute couture masters—who also happened to make suits and evening gowns for the Ye family—as well as two master jewelry designers said to be descendants of the Imperial Workshop.

After obtaining their agreement, all ten judges required for the jewelry design competition and fashion design competition had finally been assembled.

One week later, the industry's five most renowned fashion magazines simultaneously announced that the Beggar Prince production team would sponsor the Beggar Prince Jewelry Design Competition and the Beggar Prince Fashion Design Competition.

Beggar Prince's official website and official accounts on major social media platforms were also formally registered and launched. Registration for the related design competitions opened at the same time. Applications poured like snowflakes into Beggar Prince's official website inbox and the private-message backends of its various social media accounts.

Ye Mingzhao recruited ten current students from New Sea University's fashion design and jewelry design departments as temporary website administrators. Their task was to sift through the vast sea of emails and private messages, select the most capable designers, and rotate displays of their works and personal stories on the website's front page. A voting segment was also added, allowing the swarms of curious netizens to vote for the works they considered best. This ensured that the design competitions would remain hotly discussed even during the preliminary selection stage.

For this, Ye Mingzhao even promoted the slogan "Designer Chosen by the People." He was even considering whether to hire a talent-show production team to produce and film the competition segments for the jewelry design competition and fashion design competition.

At this point, more than half a month remained before Beggar Prince's officially scheduled start date.

The entire core creative team was stunned by Ye Mingzhao's efficiency, as well as the prestige and online buzz surrounding the two design competitions.

Only then did they truly realize just how formidable the operational ability and execution of a private assistant and departmental operator for the chairman of a hundred-billion-yuan conglomerate could be.

"Isn't it a bit of a waste to have someone this talented come act in our production?" Director-in-chief Li Zhengzheng, who had watched the entire process unfold, had yet to catch his breath. Looking at the list Ye Mingzhao had given him of the out-of-season haute couture and jewelry that the luxury brands were willing to sponsor, he felt his hands tremble and his knees weaken.

—After more than twenty years in the industry, he had made quite a few beloved idol dramas and urban dramas, but he had never filmed such a lavishly funded production in his life!

Whenever Director Li saw Ye Mingzhao's handsome, charismatic face, always smiling so pleasantly, he could never quite straighten his back. He always felt that he was not facing an actor who could be directed before the camera, but a dazzlingly golden client!

Only screenwriter and producer Yu Mingze was unfazed by the shock felt by the core creative team. He had grown up with Ye Mingzhao and had long since become accustomed to Ye Mingzhao's almost monstrous displays of ability. Forget joining forces with several luxury brands and magazines to hold design competitions during filming. Even if Ye Mingzhao bought up those luxury brands and magazines himself after finishing this drama, Yu Mingze would not find it strange.

"Isn't this great?" Deeply inspired, Yu Mingze's creativity erupted. As he rapidly revised the script, he reassured the director, "As long as Zhaozhao stands before the camera, he won't even need to act. The audience will naturally understand how strategic and composed the male lead is. Then, when he overturns every disadvantage and turns the tables in the finale, won't that feel perfectly natural?"

Director Li Zhengzheng froze at those words, then suddenly became full of confidence in his decision to have a newcomer with no acting experience play two roles.

—Ye Mingzhao might have no acting experience, but he had experience succeeding! If he could pull off such tremendous success from nothing in real life, who could say he would fail in a drama?

Ye Mingzhao, who was familiarizing himself with the script under the guidance of an acting teacher while browsing through contestant résumés, had no idea how much blind confidence his successful operation of joining forces with major luxury brands and magazines in the name of the production team to hold the jewelry and fashion design competitions had added to the entire core creative team.

Smiling, he looked over the contestant résumés spread across the table and pulled one of them out.

The afternoon sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, spilling across the broad desk.

Holding a coffee cup, Ye Mingzhao stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, calmly looking down at the countless people below.

He had merely cast out a piece of bait, and the prey had taken the hook on its own.

Chapter 13

"Dad, Mom, come look! Our garment factory can be saved!" Jiang Shangyun burst through the office door with a magazine in his arms and shouted excitedly at Jiang Fu, who sat behind the desk smoking gloomily.

Jiang Fu, who had been fretting over the overdue payment notice sent by the bank, jolted upright. He hurriedly stubbed out his cigarette and asked gruffly, "What did you say? Our garment factory can be saved?"

Ruan Cuimei, who had been sitting on the sofa wiping away tears, also stood up instinctively. "Did your girlfriend agree to lend our family money?"

"No! I haven't even mentioned borrowing money to her!" Jiang Shangyun spread open the magazine and flipped to the page announcing that the Beggar Prince production team was sponsoring the Beggar Prince Jewelry Design Competition and the Beggar Prince Fashion Design Competition. "I'm going to enter this fashion design competition. As long as I win the championship, I can participate in filming this drama as a designer, take charge of every piece designed by the female lead in the show, and choose a luxury brand in real life to collaborate with on a co-branded collection."

Jiang Shangyun slapped his palm down on the open magazine page. The more he spoke, the more stirred up he became. "When the time comes, I'll definitely persuade the production team or the brand to give the order for this batch of clothing to our factory. Once our garment factory has orders, it can definitely survive. It might even grow bigger and stronger!"

Jiang Fu and Ruan Cuimei exchanged looks. Ruan Cuimei carefully read through the contents of the magazine, then said hesitantly, "Is this really reliable? It says that designers from international luxury brands are also entering the competition as contestants. Those designers already have plenty of experience, and they know the judges. You're just a student who has only recently started university. How could you possibly beat them and win the championship?"