Page 9

Even for Yu Mingze himself, although inspiration flowed like a spring when he wrote scripts, his understanding of the character "Fu Shen" remained limited to the page in real life. Like Ye Mingzhao, he had grown up in an environment and received an education that were too privileged and abundant, leaving him unable to understand why anyone in this world would want to create their own wealth by hurting, plundering, and erasing others.

So Yu Mingze was deeply worried that Ye Mingzhao had suddenly decided to play the second male lead, only to be criticized by viewers because his acting was lacking or his personality did not fit the character. It might even affect Ye Mingzhao's future acting career.

That was until Yu Mingze saw Ye Mingzhao's performance after the audition began. That mad, wicked smile beneath his sweet exterior, those eyes colder and more inhuman than a venomous snake's—Yu Mingze felt his heart thump, and only one thought remained in his mind—

Fu Shen had come alive!

At that moment, the character who had existed only on paper suddenly stepped out of the script and stood before him, alive and breathing.

Fu Shen suddenly tilted his head and glanced at Yu Mingze. The venomous yet sweet smile on his face abruptly turned deranged, as though an invisible hand had ripped apart an immaculate mask. Fu Shen's handsome face instantly twisted into a snarl. "...What right do you have to call me vicious? You pampered, high-and-mighty rich people—just because you were born into good families, you think you're morally superior and noble? Bullshit!"

"If you were in my place, you'd probably have done worse than me. You're nothing but a pack of stupid pigs raised in villa gardens. Every last one of you—who could possibly beat me? Didn't I kill you all in the end?"

"I just didn't want to be trampled underfoot for the rest of my life. I seized every chance to climb up. What did I do wrong? If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for letting the wolf into your home. You just had to play some dress-up game. Your parents were killed by a fool like you—what does that have to do with me?"

"Do you think I enjoy being the villain? I spent three years plotting, killed so many people—not because I wanted to do evil, but because I wanted to use this chance to prove myself. I wanted to tell everyone that I didn't live well not because I was incapable, but because this world was!"

Just as he finished speaking, a piercing ringtone suddenly rang through the room. Yu Mingze hurriedly pressed his phone off and looked apologetically at Ye Mingzhao. "It's a call from Yueze. Sorry for interrupting your audition."

The instant Yu Mingze spoke, it was as though a ghost had left his body. The hostility and resentment around Ye Mingzhao suddenly vanished. His gentle brows softened as he curled his lips into a smile, becoming once again the courteous, elegant, and composed young master of the Ye family.

The interviewers secretly studied Ye Mingzhao, only to discover in astonishment that there was not the slightest trace of "Fu Shen" left on him. The Ye Mingzhao before them was precisely Gu Mingchao, the upright, intelligent, and kind male lead described in the script.

So there really were people who could switch personalities without leaving a single trace of acting. The interviewers clicked their tongues in amazement and unanimously concluded: it didn't look acted at all.

Meanwhile, Yu Mingze hung up another call from his fiancé Zhou Yueze, coughed to cover it up, and commented solemnly, "That was excellent. Can you tell us about your understanding of Fu Shen, the second male lead?"

Ye Mingzhao nodded with a smile. "Fu Shen—just as the name suggests, he is a possessing spirit. An evil spirit that takes over another's nest and wants to replace the male lead, Gu Mingchao."

Yu Mingze sighed in some conflict. He had not expected Ye Mingzhao to play Fu Shen so well, even better than some of the other actors auditioning for the role. But he truly did not want Ye Mingzhao to miss out on Gu Mingchao, the male lead.

After all, Gu Mingchao had been created with Ye Mingzhao as the prototype. Though Ye Mingzhao's Fu Shen was equally brilliant, if he had to choose, Yu Mingze still wanted Ye Mingzhao to play the male lead!

The director and the other interviewers looked at the conflicted Yu Mingze, then at Ye Mingzhao—

Although Yu Mingze had not explicitly stated Ye Mingzhao's identity when he arrived, anyone who carefully observed their interactions could tell that their relationship was far from ordinary. Yu Mingze kept saying that the male lead had been created with Ye Mingzhao as the prototype, and he had personally brought Ye Mingzhao to audition. It would have been one thing if Ye Mingzhao's performance had been unsatisfactory, but he had perfectly portrayed Fu Shen's madness and malice. It could even be said that among the dozens of actors who had auditioned so far, he was the one who fit the role best.

Since that was the case, they were happy to do him a favor. The director smiled and suddenly said, "Since Young Master Ye is the prototype for the male lead, and his second male lead is so outstanding, should we consider having Young Master Ye play both roles?"

Chapter 8

The director's proposal for Ye Mingzhao to play two roles completely cured Yu Mingze's indecisiveness. He slapped the table and exclaimed excitedly, "That's a great idea! Why didn't I think of that before?"

As he spoke, he motioned for his assistant to prepare the contracts. Before he could finish, Zhou Yueze called again.

Yu Mingze answered impatiently. Whatever the other side said, Yu Mingze responded with a scornful snort. "So that's what it was. You were the one who introduced him? And you want to recommend him for the male lead? So you were also the one who leaked the script to him privately..."

"...Who do you think he looks like? Say that again if you dare."

As though he had suffered immense provocation and humiliation, Yu Mingze immediately became agitated. "How could that cheap knockoff possibly be mentioned in the same breath as Zhaozhao? Zhou Yueze, are your eyes broken?"

"...Impossible! My male lead has already been decided... the second male lead has been decided too... and there's no chance for the third male lead either!"

"What do you mean, I'm not giving you face? You're an investor, and I'm the producer! Zhou Yueze, you'd better understand your position. What exactly is your relationship with him? Why are you so determined to stuff someone with no acting experience whatsoever into my production?"

Of course, it was because Zhou Yueze had fallen in love with Chu Qingyi at first sight. Drawn to Chu Qingyi's personal charm, he was willing to offer him an opportunity to display his ability and charisma.

In the original novel, Ye Mingzhao had not come to audition, and the male lead of Beggar Prince had ultimately been played by Chu Qingyi, a newcomer who bore a thirty-percent resemblance to Ye Mingzhao.

Later, after Beggar Prince became a massive hit, netizens researching Chu Qingyi, who played the male lead, inadvertently discovered his relationship with Chu Hengyi. That led them to uncover the connection between Chu Hengyi and the Ye family, as well as between the Ye family and Ye Mingzhao. On top of that, Yu Mingze, the screenwriter and producer of Beggar Prince, had personally stated that Ye Mingzhao was the prototype for Beggar Prince.

For a time, the netizens' enthusiasm for digging into the past made Ye Mingzhao, an outsider to the entertainment industry, famous overnight. Everyone agreed that Ye Mingzhao was the true white moonlight, the male lead in real life. No matter how outstanding a fictional character was, they could not compare to an outstanding person in reality.

Unfortunately, the good times did not last. It was soon exposed that Ye Mingzhao had hired private detectives to investigate Chu Hengyi and had secretly sabotaged him. Chu Qingyi's fans, who had long been seething over the unconscious comparisons and put-downs by netizens, were the first to strike.

They spread evidence of Ye Mingzhao targeting Chu Hengyi across the internet, then immediately flooded the social media accounts of Ye Mingzhao and Ye Group on every platform with vicious abuse. Their foul language overwhelmed the private messages of Ye Mingzhao and Ye Group, seriously affecting Ye Mingzhao's work and Ye Group's normal operations.

Ye Group's image was damaged, and its stock price plummeted. Chu Hengyi joined forces with the Ye family's competitors to short Ye Group, then frantically bought up Ye Group shares when the stock price hit rock bottom. He made a fortune in the process, while also laying the groundwork for his later acquisition of Ye Group.

Everyone sympathized with Chu Hengyi's experiences and, by extension, favored the Chu family that had adopted him. Correspondingly, they developed an intense hatred for the Ye family and Ye Mingzhao. Anyone who spoke up for Ye Mingzhao and the Ye family at the time was subjected to cyberbullying from Chu Qingyi's fans. This included Yu Mingze, the screenwriter and producer of Beggar Prince, who developed depression under their cyberbullying and could no longer write a single word. The first film he supervised was also spontaneously boycotted by netizens. The movie, which had cost two hundred million to make, failed to earn even fifty million at the box office after a month in theaters, resulting in a catastrophic loss.