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"...Is this about the penalty for breach of contract? We've already been filming for over ten days, and Little Zhuge's scenes are half done. You can't just quit whenever you feel like it! Where am I supposed to find someone on such short notice?"

Atop the ancient city wall of Qin-Han Street, a woman in her thirties dressed in a business suit, her hair neatly swept into a bun, roared in fury.

The woman was Yuan Jing, CEO of Starjoy Film Company and producer of the Realm Strategy production.

Just moments ago, she had received a call. The director of Realm Strategy had personally called to complain that one of the cast members had slipped away without taking leave or informing anyone. If the crew hadn't been unable to find him during filming and contacted the actor's agent, they still wouldn't have known that an actor had ditched the Realm Strategy production!

"Is that any way to do business? Don't you people have any integrity? You're screwing people over like this—aren't you afraid you won't be able to survive in this industry anymore?"

Yuan Jing spat out the threat viciously. Too impatient to listen to the agent's endlessly repeated apologies, she hung up at once.

Behind her, a young assistant trembled as she asked, on the verge of tears, "Sister Yuan, what do we do now?"

"How should I know?" Yuan Jing snapped irritably. Her finger subconsciously scrolled through her contacts, but no matter how hard she racked her brains, she couldn't think of anyone she could call in to save the day.

The key was that the role of Little Zhuge required someone handsome and elegant in costume, someone both righteous and wicked, someone who looked intelligent. At first glance, he had to seem like a genius capable of strategizing from afar and winning battles a thousand miles away. He needed to be innocent yet calculating, compassionate enough that he couldn't bear to step on an ant, yet able to bury hundreds of thousands of enemy soldiers alive without changing expression.

If this contradictory character hadn't had a prototype in the game—and one with extraordinary popularity at that—she wouldn't have spent so long being so selective.

Now, the actor playing Little Zhuge had suddenly stood her up. Where was she supposed to find another actor who fit the character setting on such short notice?

"This is going to be the death of me!" Yuan Jing sighed in frustration, then immediately began cursing as the rage in her heart boiled over. "Those idiots with no respect for contracts! If you look down on us costume drama people so much, why the hell did you come audition?"

"Now that you've taken the role, can't you just finish filming it properly?"

"Every last one of you is desperate to get into movies!"

"You take my paycheck and bail on my production—bastards, eating from one bowl while eyeing another!"

The more Yuan Jing spoke, the more despairing she became. She wanted nothing more than to throw back her head and howl at the heavens, begging them to grant her a man who met her requirements!

"Heavens! Please, give me a Little Zhuge. This humble believer is willing to go without milk tea for a year..."

As Yuan Jing spoke, her gaze happened to sweep over the bustling crowd on Qin-Han Street.

The young assistant behind her tilted her head suspiciously and tentatively called out, "Sister Yuan?"

Sister Yuan ignored her. Instead, she leaned most of her body over the city wall, staring fixedly at someone in the crowd.

—He was a boy who did not look very old. His features were exquisite and handsome, his figure straight as bamboo. In his jade-carved hand, he held an umbrella, though more than half of it was tilted over a lady whose face could not be seen.

The blazing sun scorched the earth without restraint, and the passing crowd could not help revealing hints of restless impatience. Yet this boy alone looked as fresh as if he stood in early spring; not even the brightest sunlight could compare to the faint smile curled upon his lips.

As if sensing something, the handsome young man suddenly looked up in her direction.

In that instant, Yuan Jing felt as though she had been locked onto by a pair of pitch-black, unfathomably deep eyes.

Her entire body seemed to plunge into an ice cellar.

Chapter 18

The instant Ye Mingzhao's gaze swept over her, Yuan Jing's mind went blank. On instinct, she made a decision that would later make her want to dig out a three-bedroom apartment with her toes—her knees went weak, and she crouched down on the spot.

The young assistant standing beside Yuan Jing looked at her boss with an indescribable expression. After hesitating for a moment, she reminded her, "Sister, they're leaving."

Her Little Zhuge!

Yuan Jing sprang to her feet and, under her personal assistant's increasingly speechless gaze, casually brushed the bangs hanging over her forehead.

Only then did she notice that among the people walking with her Little Zhuge was someone who looked very familiar. "...Isn't that Yu Mingze?"

Yuan Jing suddenly remembered that Beggar Prince, written and produced by Yu Mingze, was also filming at Hengzhou Film and Television City. The Little Zhuge Heaven had bestowed upon her was none other than the male lead of the Beggar Prince that had been causing such a stir lately!

Once she matched the face to the person, the questioning incident at Beggar Prince's launch conference yesterday instantly leaped into Yuan Jing's mind as well.

The young assistant had thought of it too and said doubtfully, "He's a complete newcomer, and he's even playing two roles by himself in Beggar Prince. With such a heavy workload, how could he possibly come to Realm Strategy to play a minor character with barely any screen time?"

Even if he agreed, Yu Mingze would never agree, right?

Yuan Jing waved her hand dismissively. "Where there's a will, there's a way!"

With that, she clattered down from the city wall in her sky-high heels like a gust of wind.

The young assistant: "..."

"Teacher Yu, what a coincidence! You came shopping around here too?"

Yu Mingze was enthusiastically introducing the scenic features of Qin-Han Street to the Ye family when an excessively warm voice sounded behind him.

Yu Mingze turned around. He looked doubtfully at the professional woman before him, who was panting, flushed red, and had even loosened her hair bun from running. It took him a moment to remember who she was. "...Producer Yuan?"

"It's me!" The smile on Yuan Jing's face grew even more enthusiastic. She pretended to casually glance toward Ye Mingzhao, who had fallen behind the others. "You brought your friends out for a stroll? And this is..."

Yu Mingze's face darkened. Looking at Yuan Jing, whose face practically read, I came here for him, he could not help complaining inwardly that her acting was far too exaggerated. Still, he observed proper social etiquette and introduced the Ye family to Yuan Jing.

Yuan Jing looked at the Ye family in surprise. She had not expected Ye Mingzhao, an adopted son, to be so doted on by the Ye family.

That was the founder and largest shareholder of Ye Group!

People at a level that producers like Yuan Jing could never reach, no matter how hard they tried to network, had brought the entire family to visit Ye Mingzhao on set the very next day after his new drama began filming. They had clearly seen the commotion at yesterday's launch conference and come specifically to back Ye Mingzhao up.

Yuan Jing's gaze lingered briefly on Chu Hengyi, who was noticeably more than a head taller than everyone else and several shades darker, before she immediately summoned the warmest, most enthusiastic manner of her life and greeted each member of the Ye family in turn.

If one ignored her disheveled hair bun, the bangs stuck to her forehead, and the slightly rumpled business suit from running, Yuan Jing's performance could practically be called that of an elegant lady well-versed in etiquette.

The young assistant who had hurried over afterward closed her eyes in helpless embarrassment. After pondering for a moment, she still did not dare step forward to remind her boss to tidy herself up.

Yuan Jing was already smiling broadly as she looked at Ye Mingzhao, her voice becoming increasingly soft and light. "You must be Ye Mingzhao, handsome. You're even better-looking in person than on camera. Your bearing is good, your temperament is good too—you're especially suited for costume dramas."

Ye Mingzhao looked thoughtfully at Yuan Jing. He had recognized at a glance that she was the woman who had been peeping at him from the city wall earlier.

"I'm Ye Mingzhao." He smiled faintly. The smile softened and brightened his shimmering eyes considerably, diluting the coldness and scrutiny gathered in their depths. "I've heard much about you."

Ye Mingzhao's voice was gentle and unhurried, carrying the fresh clarity unique to a young man. It was like a spring breeze brushing past one's ear, like a stream of autumn water veiled by moonlight, and it made Yuan Jing's ears tingle slightly.

Her breath caught! Who could understand the shock a voice enthusiast was experiencing at this very moment?

Sure enough, he was the Little Zhuge Heaven had bestowed upon her!