Page 20

Ye Mingzhao finally got to finish what he had been interrupted saying. "Send all these stray cats and dogs to a nearby pet shelter. Vaccinate and neuter them, then make posts online to find adopters. I'll cover all the expenses—"

At that point, Ye Mingzhao lightly glanced at the young designer who had taken out his phone to record, then smilingly changed his words. "No, the production crew should cover it. While we're at it, have someone post an adoption notice on the official website. To borrow Mingyi's words, recording a video of the crew stopping you from feeding stray cats and dogs might not make you famous, but treating them kindly in the crew's name and finding them new owners should draw some attention online."

"Don't you agree?"

Hearing Ye Mingzhao's words, the designers who had flared up without knowing the full story went pale, then red. The person who had first accused Ye Mingzhao of being cold-blooded and cruel hesitantly said, "I'm sorry. I misunderstood you."

Ye Mingzhao shook his head and suddenly asked, "What's your name?"

"My name is Jiang Shangyun." The young man embarrassedly scratched the back of his head. After the hot blood rushing to his head had been doused by a bucket of cold water, Jiang Shangyun suddenly realized that his impulsiveness had nearly delayed something important. He regretted it even more.

When Jiang Shangyun introduced himself, the smile on Ye Mingzhao's face deepened.

"Do you think stray cats and dogs abandoned by their owners are pitiful?"

"Yes!" Hearing Ye Mingzhao's question, Jiang Shangyun nodded eagerly. "I've loved cats and dogs since I was little. I have two cats and a dog at home too. I treat them really well. I just can't understand why there are so many irresponsible people in this world. If you decide to keep a pet, whether it's a cat, a dog, or anything else, you should be responsible for it to the very end!"

"Cats and dogs don't understand anything. Their owners are their whole world. Once their owners abandon them, their world is destroyed. Cats and dogs are so adorable. What could they possibly have done wrong? Why should they have to suffer the fate of being abandoned? I really can't understand people who abandon their pets. They're just too pitiful. That's why I feed them whenever I get the chance."

After chattering on for a while, Jiang Shangyun gave an embarrassed smile. "But what I did before was too simplistic. I never thought things through as thoroughly as you did. I've decided—if I come across cats and dogs again, I'll take them to a pet shelter for vaccinations and neutering too. I'll definitely be responsible for them to the end!"

Ye Mingzhao curled his lips. "Exactly. What could abandoned cats and dogs possibly have done wrong? The ones at fault are clearly the people who abandoned them."

"That's right!" Jiang Shangyun nodded heavily, growing angrier as he spoke. "People who abandon their pets should pay the price!"

Ever since hearing Jiang Shangyun's name, Chu Hengyi had remained silent. Suddenly, he turned to look at Ye Mingzhao.

Looking at Ye Mingzhao's still gentle, harmless smile, a chill ran down his spine.

Ye Mingzhao returned Chu Hengyi's sudden stare with a polite smile and knowingly asked, "What is it?"

Chu Hengyi said nothing. He merely stared thoughtfully at Ye Mingzhao's face.

Chu Hengyi stood nearly six foot three, with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and long legs—the perfect clothes hanger. Coupled with his fierce and ruthless aura and the smooth lines of his muscles, the meticulously tailored black suit on him gave off the striking visual impact of a suit-wearing thug.

As a result, even when he simply lowered his brows and silently watched Ye Mingzhao, he exuded an overwhelming pressure that could not be ignored.

Jiang Shangyun, who had just been harshly rebuked by Chu Hengyi, nervously stepped in front of Ye Mingzhao and stammered, "W-What do you want?"

Noticing Jiang Shangyun's vigilance and hostility, Chu Hengyi gave the fool who had been sold out yet was still helping count the money a speechless look, then boredly looked away.

Forget it. It had nothing to do with him anyway!

Seeing Chu Hengyi suddenly relax, Jiang Shangyun thought the fierce-looking man had been intimidated by his righteous attitude.

Jiang Shangyun immediately puffed up and flashed Ye Mingzhao a fawning smile, trying to make amends. "Didn't you want the crew to send all the stray cats and dogs nearby to the pet shelter? I brought lots of cat food and dog food too. Why don't we send those over together?"

Ye Mingzhao smiled at Jiang Shangyun and praised him, "You're very kind."

Jiang Shangyun shyly scratched the back of his head. Like a big golden retriever whose owner had just patted its head, his honest smile carried a hint of bashfulness. "It's nothing. But I didn't think things through as thoroughly as you did. That's something I need to learn from you."

Chu Hengyi: "..."

Chu Hengyi silently sighed to himself. He did not notice Ye Mingzhao's gaze fall on his face again. "Thank you for coming to see me."

As Ye Mingzhao spoke, his eyes curved and his smile shone brightly. Every inch of him radiated the happiness of being valued by his family, with a faint trace of flattered uncertainty. "I didn't expect you all to come."

After all, the Beggar Prince crew had only just started filming. Ye Mingzhao had not suffered much at yesterday's opening press conference, yet the Ye family had still been willing to fly over immediately to support him. That gesture moved Ye Mingzhao deeply.

He knew it. The family he had so carefully chosen was the best family in the world.

Seeing the corners of Ye Mingzhao's eyes quietly redden as he spoke, along with those moist, sparkling eyes, their black and white clearly defined, Chu Hengyi expressionlessly looked away. He could not help thinking of the miserable experiences from his previous life, when he had fallen for that face again and again.

Ye Mingzhao's half-concealed display of genuine emotion also reminded the designers and staff present of the incident at yesterday's opening press conference.

The designers who had initially found Ye Mingzhao somewhat overbearing suddenly had nothing to say. They could not help putting themselves in Ye Mingzhao's shoes. If it had been them, being humiliated by reporters like that at the opening press conference, then being misunderstood over rescuing stray cats and dogs the next day while filming...

The young, earnest, and guileless designers looked at Ye Mingzhao with guilt written all over their faces. Only then did they realize—they really were awful!

"Um..." Someone awkwardly raised a hand. "Wasn't the crew going to make a post looking for pet adopters? I have an online account too. I'll help repost it."

"Me too!"

"Me too!"

"I also want to donate some money to buy cat food and dog food for the animals at the pet shelter."

"Why don't our crew just hold a fundraiser?"

The young, hot-blooded designers were too embarrassed to apologize directly to Ye Mingzhao, so they could only think of this roundabout way to admit their mistake.

Ye Mingzhao's expression was gentle and beautiful as he said with gratification, "You're all good people."

Hearing Ye Mingzhao hand out good-person cards to everyone, they all smiled awkwardly.

Ye Mingzhao's superb acting left Chu Hengyi clicking his tongue in amazement. It also made the Ye family feel even more heartache for Ye Mingzhao's circumstances and obedience, while making Zhou Yueze, whose scheme had been exposed, feel a trace of guilty embarrassment.

Thus, after the Ye family curiously entered the private dressing room the Beggar Prince crew had prepared for Ye Mingzhao, Zhou Yueze could not wait to apologize. "I was wrong about this. You can punish me however you want. I won't have any complaints."

Before Ye Mingzhao, the person involved, could respond, the Ye family could no longer hold back.

"The Zhou and Ye families are old friends, and you and Zhaozhao grew up together as close friends. I don't understand why you helped an outsider bully Zhaozhao." Madam Ye was the first to attack. "Did our Zhaozhao do anything to wrong you?"

"I don't know how you met that Chu Qingyi. But his second uncle was the trafficker who abducted Mingyi back then. The Chu family caused our Ye family to be separated by blood for eighteen years! Yet you helped him bully Zhaozhao! Aren't you helping a tyrant do evil?" The hot-tempered Ye Mingxi did not mince his words either.

The Zhou family and the Ye family were indeed old friends. But for all these years, the Zhou family had always followed the Ye family's lead. Zhou Yueze's father, Zhou Heting, had been a business talent personally promoted by Chairman Ye. When Zhou Heting founded Zhou Group, Chairman Ye had also supported him wholeheartedly. In return, Zhou Heting had, over the years, brought Ye Group into every project he invested in and given the larger share of the profits to Ye Group.