Page 19

Chu Hengyi gave Yu Mingze a slight nod in greeting. Then his amber eyes shifted to Zhou Yueze behind Yu Mingze before discreetly moving to Ye Mingzhao.

He was clearly ready to watch the drama unfold.

Madam Ye patted the back of Yu Mingze's hand and said with a smile, "You've all worked hard these past few days. Our Zhaozhao is new here and new to the industry. If there's anything he hasn't handled well, I hope everyone will look after him."

Hearing this, Yu Mingze, who already knew part of the truth, replied with a guilty expression, "It's all my fault. I failed to protect Zhaozhao—"

"How could that be your fault? Those tabloid reporters love spouting nonsense. If they want to talk, let them talk. Could you possibly shut all their mouths?" Madam Ye cut off Yu Mingze's self-reproach. Her gaze swept over Zhou Yueze's face behind him, and she suddenly smiled. "Young Master Zhou, what brings you to visit the set? Shouldn't you be very busy lately?"

Picking up on the warning in Madam Ye's words, Zhou Yueze flushed red and looked guiltily at Ye Mingzhao. He spoke uneasily, "Mingzhao, I didn't expect that reporter to go so far—"

The onlookers on set, who had been enjoying the show, noticed this subtle exchange as well and couldn't help eyeing Zhou Yueze suspiciously.

Yu Mingze's face turned livid. Before Ye Mingzhao could speak, he sneered at Zhou Yueze. "You didn't expect it? You found the man, you paid him, and now you're saying you didn't expect him to cause trouble at the press conference? Zhou Yueze, do you think we're all three-year-olds?"

Zhou Yueze's face was bright red. He hadn't expected the matter to be exposed so quickly either. If he'd known that reporter had such a loose tongue, he never would have done Chu Qingyi that favor.

Ye Mingzhao looked crestfallen. He stared at Zhou Yueze in disappointment. "Why did you do this?"

Zhou Yueze was rendered speechless. Avoiding Ye Mingzhao's gaze, he looked around at the actors and crew members who were clearly eager for more and said awkwardly, "Why don't we find somewhere quiet and talk this over?"

Yu Mingze scoffed. "Now you know to feel guilty? What were you doing before?"

Just as Zhou Yueze was about to explain, a burst of barking suddenly came from near the set. Everyone followed the sound and saw several fashionably dressed young men and women holding cat food and dog food, feeding stray cats and dogs that had appeared from who knew where.

Perhaps because they hadn't eaten such premium pet food in a long time, more and more stray cats and dogs gathered nearby.

Ye Mingzhao noticed that the moment Chu Hengyi saw the stray dogs, his body went taut. His fists clenched instinctively, and the veins in his arms stood out more prominently from the force.

Thoughtfully, Ye Mingzhao glanced at Chu Hengyi's thighs, tightly wrapped in black jeans. The scars he had seen a few nights ago flashed through his mind.

Ye Mingzhao beckoned over a stagehand. "Catch those stray cats and dogs—"

Before he could finish, someone interrupted angrily, "Why?"

A tall, delicate-looking young man in his early twenties ran over furiously and demanded, "Those stray kitties and puppies are already pitiful enough. Their irresponsible owners abandoned them, leaving them to fend for themselves without knowing where their next meal will come from. They only want a full meal. How are they bothering you? Why do you insist on catching those poor little things?"

"Exactly!" Several other young men and women echoed indignantly. "You don't even have this much compassion? You're way too cold-blooded!"

"Aren't you afraid that news of your production crew abusing stray animals will get out and damage your image?"

Some even silently pulled out their phones and started filming, clearly intending to make a bigger issue of it.

Madam Ye frowned and asked suspiciously, "And you are?"

Yu Mingze explained, "They're designers who signed up for the jewelry design competition and fashion design competition sponsored by the Beggar Prince production. Zhaozhao previously promised that the winners would participate throughout the production in designing the male and female leads' outfits and accessories. Later, the main creative team discussed it and decided to let other promising contestants take part in filming as well. If they create suitable designs during that time, we can use them as merchandise for the drama."

But Yu Mingze truly hadn't expected these designers to be so troublesome. They had only been on set for one day, and they were already causing this kind of scene.

"That's right. We're not members of your production crew. Don't think you can use the crew to pressure us!" The first young man snorted and looked at Ye Mingzhao with obvious disdain. "I originally thought that someone who could come up with the idea of holding jewelry and fashion design competitions in the name of a production crew in such a short time must be a genius. I never expected you to be so cold and heartless."

"Let me make this clear: if you insist on going after these poor stray kitties and puppies, I'd rather withdraw from your design competition than stand by and watch your production crew hurt these poor animals!"

Having been berated to his face, Ye Mingzhao had yet to respond when Chu Hengyi was the first to lose his patience.

He looked mockingly at the seemingly innocent and kind-hearted fool before him. "And then?"

The man froze. "What?"

"You're kind. You're compassionate. You can take out the finest cat food and dog food to feed these stray cats and dogs and let them have a full meal. And then?"

"What will they do for their next meal? What about tomorrow's three meals? The day after tomorrow's? Can you live here forever, keep feeding these stray cats and dogs, and care for them until they die?"

The young designers exchanged looks. Someone snapped in embarrassment, "You don't have to put it so harshly! We're only doing what we can. That's still better than people who are cold and cruel—"

"What you can?" Chu Hengyi laughed in anger. His already handsome, striking features were sharpened by furious menace, and the young designers confronting him involuntarily took several steps back.

"You think impulsively feeding stray dogs one meal counts as doing good within your means? Did you consider that your feeding would draw so many stray cats and dogs here? What if one of the stray dogs suddenly attacked someone?"

"Do you know how long rabies can remain dormant in the body?" Chu Hengyi's terrifying gaze swept ruthlessly across every young face that knew no better. "Nineteen years."

Anyone who had been bitten by a stray dog, even if they got rabies vaccines every year, had to constantly worry about whether the disease would strike. Even a headache or nausea caused by a cold would immediately make them wonder whether rabies was taking hold.

Living every day in terror and unease—anxiety, fear, agitation, irritability, rage, hypersensitivity... Chu Hengyi had spent an entire lifetime proving that he would not succumb to it. But not everyone bitten by a stray dog had his luck.

"You think you're kind?" For the first time, the usually quiet and taciturn Chu Hengyi exposed his caustic, volatile side before everyone. "You're not. You're just showing off your kindness."

His gaze shifted to the designer angrily filming with his phone raised. "You really want to be famous, don't you? Feeding stray cats and dogs might not make you famous, and filming the production crew stopping your idiotic, performatively sanctimonious behavior might not make you famous either. I can offer you a suggestion—"

Chu Hengyi pointed toward the stray cats and dogs that the stagehand and several assistants had already caught with long-handled nets. "Try getting attacked by a pack of stray dogs that haven't been vaccinated against rabies. Then film VLOGs every day documenting your treatment, as well as your feelings and life while waiting for rabies to strike. You might become famous overnight."

The young designer, his face dark with humiliation at Chu Hengyi's blunt mockery, angrily lowered his phone.

The stagehand returned to Ye Mingzhao's side and asked in a low voice, "We've caught all the stray cats and dogs. Should we take them outside the set?"