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She had said they should have notified Director Li and Producer Yu before coming. It was improper to show up uninvited.

Who visited another production set without informing them first? Now this was awkward, wasn't it?

Yuan Jing looked expressionlessly at her little assistant. Sometimes, having such a thin-skinned assistant by her side really was helpless.

Seeing the two women's reactions, Yu Mingze and Li Zhengzheng exchanged a glance, only then realizing that they might have overreacted a little.

Yu Mingze cleared his throat, trying to ease the awkward atmosphere. He turned to Ye Mingzhao and asked, "Didn't you say you wanted to experience the life of a delivery rider to prepare for this afternoon's shoot? How was it?"

"It was all right." Ye Mingzhao's smile remained unchanged as he handed the two bags of cold drinks he was carrying to Yu Mingze. "When I was picking up orders at the milk tea shop, I saw there were a lot of people in line, so I ordered some cold drinks for you all."

In the drama, Fu Shen had taken on many part-time jobs to save enough money for tuition and living expenses. He had washed dishes in restaurant kitchens, delivered takeout, and worked as a night-shift taxi driver. Yet these were all jobs Ye Mingzhao had never encountered. Though he was an orphan abandoned by his biological parents, he had been adopted by the Ye family from a young age and had never needed to worry about money.

To portray Fu Shen's struggle at the bottom of society more accurately, Ye Mingzhao had decided to personally experience the lives of a taxi driver and a delivery rider. So during his downtime, he had applied for a delivery job at a restaurant near Hengzhou Film and Television City, and had even asked Director Li Zhengzheng to recommend him to a taxi company, in the name of the production crew, for a part-time night-shift driving job.

So Ye Mingzhao had brought back these cold drinks while working his delivery job?

Yuan Jing's face alternated between green and white. Ye Mingzhao's words—"Unauthorized personnel are not allowed to enter the set freely"—echoed in her ears once more.

He really had been talking about her!

Yuan Jing felt like crying noodle tears inside, but she still had to look strong on the outside. She even remained composed and praised Ye Mingzhao with a smile. "Mr. Ye is truly dedicated. To think you would personally experience the character's past and life before filming. That's something many young artists can't manage."

Ye Mingzhao smiled faintly, warm as a spring breeze. "Since I chose to become an actor, naturally I have to be responsible for the pay I receive."

Yuan Jing pretended not to understand. Under Yu Mingze and Director Li Zhengzheng's enthusiastic invitation, she entered the rest tent.

The moment she stepped inside, a wave of cool air hit her face, instantly refreshing her. She casually sat down beside Ye Mingzhao. "I wonder what plans Mr. Ye has after finishing this drama?"

Before Ye Mingzhao could speak—or perhaps because she was afraid he would—Yuan Jing continued on her own. "It seems you haven't accepted any other roles. Would you be interested in acting in a costume drama?"

As she spoke, Yuan Jing pulled out the script for Realm Strategy from her bag and handed it to Ye Mingzhao. She looked at him eagerly. "It's still the role I mentioned to you before. Would you like to take a look? Maybe you'll like it?"

She had even brought the script?!

Yu Mingze took an astonished sip of his iced kumquat lemon tea. Chewing as he spoke, he commented, "Producer Yuan, you really are sincere. You brought the script over before even signing a contract. Aren't you afraid something might go wrong?"

After all, the lesson from the leaked Beggar Prince script was still fresh. Yuan Jing still dared to do this; it had to be said that she had plenty of nerve.

Yuan Jing gave a bitter smile and said dejectedly, "Sincerity is about all I have left now."

"To be honest, I'm at the end of my rope too." Yuan Jing pitifully played up her misery. "I'm sure you've heard about the situation with Realm Strategy. Zhou Film and Television Company invested in The Prince's Transformation and poached the Little Zhuge I had just selected..."

At that, Yuan Jing could not help casting Yu Mingze a resentful look.

She had never expected that when Yu Mingze and Zhou Yueze went head-to-head, the one injured would be her Realm Strategy production crew.

This was truly a case of a fire at the city gate bringing disaster to the fish in the moat!

Yu Mingze awkwardly rubbed his nose. Though the matter could not really be pinned on him, Yuan Jing's look inexplicably made him feel guilty.

"Well..." Yu Mingze cleared his throat and casually picked up a cup of iced lemon tea, handing it to Yuan Jing. "It's hot out. Drink this to cool down."

Yuan Jing accepted the lemon tea and thanked him listlessly. Her voice was low, her mood dispirited. "You also know that Realm Strategy is Starjoy Film Company's main investment project this year. The production costs alone are two hundred million yuan! But ever since filming began, problems have kept cropping up."

The biggest problem was the casting of Little Zhuge, the drama's villain. Because this character was extremely popular in the game, Yuan Jing had been especially cautious. She had selected two actors in succession for the role, yet both had backed out one after the other. Even though the production crew had received breach-of-contract payments twice, the costs and time wasted during filming were also money!

Most fatal of all, Little Zhuge had been recast and then abandoned twice, severely slowing the production schedule. Starjoy Film Company had originally planned to air the drama during winter break, but as things stood, they simply could not wrap filming on time.

If they could not even complete principal photography, post-production was out of the question.

The company's upper management and shareholders were furious over the matter, and Yuan Jing herself had lost all face. After all, both candidates for Little Zhuge had been recommended by her. Now, one had gone off to act in a film, while the other was playing the second male lead in another company's idol drama. Only the Realm Strategy production crew had lost both time and money, and Yuan Jing, as producer, could hardly escape blame.

Yuan Jing knew she had to take responsibility for this mess. But the urgent priority was to find a reliable Little Zhuge—someone who not only matched the role in acting ability and appearance, but could also surpass the previous two candidates in public attention. Only then could Yuan Jing make up for her mistakes.

But in such a rush, where could she find a supporting actor who both suited the role and came with built-in buzz?

Just then, Yuan Jing heard acquaintances from several other crews filming in the studio city praising the superb acting of Beggar Prince's male lead.

An idea struck Yuan Jing, and she immediately came up with a good plan.

"I truly had no other choice, which is why I came to find you." Yuan Jing looked at Ye Mingzhao eagerly. "I can wait until you finish filming Beggar Prince before you join the crew. For Little Zhuge, no one but you will do."

Chapter 27 ### Yuan Jing was very clear about the difficult situation she faced.

Ye Mingzhao was not only the male lead and second male lead of Beggar Prince; he had also filled the funding gap left after Zhou Film and Television Company withdrew its investment, becoming the drama's biggest investor.

In other words, Ye Mingzhao and Beggar Prince were tied to the same rope. Even setting aside Ye Mingzhao's personal friendship with Beggar Prince producer Yu Mingze, this interest-based relationship alone was not something the Realm Strategy production crew, which could only offer a mere five million yuan in pay, could shake.

Right now, it was the Realm Strategy production crew—or, more accurately, Yuan Jing herself—who needed Ye Mingzhao to play Little Zhuge, not Ye Mingzhao who wanted to take part in Realm Strategy.

Once she understood that, Yuan Jing lowered her stance even further.

She directly handed Ye Mingzhao the complete script of Realm Strategy, rather than only the portions featuring Little Zhuge. That alone was enough to prove her sincerity.

Ye Mingzhao accepted the script and placed it on the table. "I'll consider it carefully."

Yuan Jing glanced at the script, then at Ye Mingzhao sitting properly before her. Rising to her feet, she smiled. "Then I'll wait for your call."

As she spoke, she placed her business card on the script's cover, exchanged a few pleasantries with Director Li and Yu Mingze, then left the rest tent without hesitation with her little assistant.

Yu Mingze plopped down beside Ye Mingzhao and asked curiously, "Are you really going to take this drama?"

Based on Yu Mingze's understanding of Ye Mingzhao, if he had no interest in the role, he would never even have accepted the script.

Ye Mingzhao smiled faintly.