Bonus Kofi chapter
“Who are you talking about?” Ye Zhou asked in disbelief, his voice changing pitch due to his intense emotions.
Being an honest person, He Feiyang didn’t sense the shock in Ye Zhou’s words, thinking he was just unclear. So, he repeated, “Zhong Bai.”
As if afraid Ye Zhou wouldn’t recognize the name, He Feiyang added, “The one guaranteed to win awards for any role he takes…”
“You don’t need to say more,” Ye Zhou interrupted, his gaze unfocused. “I know.”
Of course, he knew. If Xie Gefei was a genius in the art of acting, then Zhong Bai was Xie Gefei’s ultimate counterpart.
Unlike Xie Gefei’s humble beginnings, Zhong Bai was born into an artistic family. His father was a scholar, and his mother was a renowned actress who had been at the pinnacle of the industry in her prime, among the top actresses in the circle.
Influenced by his mother, Zhong Bai developed a keen interest in acting from a young age and had already become a famous child star in the country by thirteen or fourteen. However, he didn’t directly enter the entertainment industry but instead focused on his studies.
At eighteen, he won his first Best Actor award for his debut role as “Ah Que,” and from then on, it was as if he had unlocked a cheat code, winning an award for every film he appeared in.
A Zhong Bai production was a guaranteed masterpiece—that statement wasn’t an exaggeration.
There was even a running joke in the industry that whichever film managed to cast Zhong Bai had already secured half of the awards.
If even Zhong Bai couldn’t save the movie, the director might as well hang themselves.
Fortunately, Zhong Bai had extremely high standards for film quality, and his works were always among the best of the best, which was a crucial reason for his solid position in the industry.
Zhong Bai never had to worry about resources, always choosing the scripts himself instead of being chosen for roles.
His requirements for scripts and directors were always extremely high, resulting in a new film every two or three years at best. As he grew older, he rarely appeared in films anymore.
It had been a full six years since Zhong Bai’s last film, and he had just turned thirty-two this year.
Although he hadn’t explicitly stated it, Zhong Bai’s intentions to retire were clear, gradually fading from the entertainment industry over the years. Everyone with a discerning eye could see it, except for his die-hard fans who continued to diligently check his Weibo every day, urging him to make a comeback.
The reason Ye Zhou knew so much about Zhong Bai stemmed from the protagonist, Cheng Ran, in the novel.
In the story, the protagonist couple’s twisted love was deep, but after a brief period of bliss, the protagonist gong’s white moonlight, Yu Qiuze, finally returned to the country.
It was then that Cheng Ran realized the seemingly sweet relationship, where his lover doted on him, was nothing but a hypocritical scam from start to finish.
The reason Jiang Yu liked him was solely because Cheng Ran bore a sixty to seventy percent resemblance to Jiang Yu’s white moonlight1白月光 (bái yuèguāng) = “white moonlight, refers to a person who is the first and unrequited love of another person, and who remains in their heart as an idealized and pure image, like the white moonlight in the night sky. , Yu Qiuze.
Now that the unattainable “moonlight” had finally returned, the substitute, Cheng Ran, naturally lost his value.
Under the influence of Jiang Yu’s cold violence and his ambiguous relationship with Yu Qiuze, the couple entered a twisted love lasting several months. It ultimately ended when Cheng Ran witnessed Jiang Yu and Yu Qiuze in bed together, causing an emotional breakdown that led him to leave Jiang Yu for good.
After Cheng Ran left, Jiang Yu finally realized he had unknowingly fallen in love with him. Recognizing his true feelings, he regretted everything and embarked on a journey to win back his “wife2追妻火葬场 (zhuī qī huǒzàngchǎng) = chasing his wife in the crematorium, refers to a trope where the gong is an asshole who ignores, hurts, or misunderstands the shou who loves him deeply. The shou eventually leaves the gong, either physically or emotionally, and the gong realizes his mistake and regrets his actions. The gong then tries to win back the shou’s love, often by groveling, apologizing, or suffering. The shou may or may not forgive the gong easily, depending on the plot and the character development..”
As for Cheng Ran, emotionally and physically drained, he took the substantial breakup compensation from Jiang Yu and boarded a flight to Country Y. On the plane, he coincidentally encountered the famous movie king Zhong Bai.
Perhaps Cheng Ran looked too miserable at the time, causing even the usually aloof Zhong Bai to feel a twinge of sympathy for him.
As soon as Cheng Ran got off the plane, he lost his luggage. Already in a terrible state, he broke down, crying hysterically at the airport. Unable to watch any longer, Zhong Bai took him back to his home.
In a daze, the two ended up living together.
Basking in the protagonist halo, Zhong Bai gradually grew fond of the strong and kind-hearted Cheng Ran, helping him in various overt and covert ways.
At this point, readers familiar with the trope should understand—yes, like all clichéd, melodramatic novels with mild abuse, there would be a devoted second male lead. Correct, Movie Emperor Zhong Bai was that devoted second male lead!
When Cheng Ran expressed his desire to step out from behind the scenes and achieve his dream of becoming an actor through his abilities, Movie Emperor Zhong Bai recommended one resource after another.
Cheng Ran complained about his poor acting skills, so Movie Emperor Zhong Bai not only personally coached him but also introduced his mentor, the renowned Master Fang Huaishan, who accepted Cheng Ran as a disciple.
When Cheng Ran lamented his lack of fame, Movie Emperor Zhong Bai spent money to get him on a popular variety show in Country Y to gain fans, issuing press releases, deploying internet armies, and employing various marketing tactics—leaving no stone unturned.
With such formidable resources and the protagonist halo, it was no surprise that Cheng Ran became a sensation in Country Y.
A few years later, Cheng Ran returned to his home country, transforming from a shy, inexperienced newcomer into a superstar.
Logically, with Movie Emperor Zhong Bai’s kindness, Cheng Ran should have ended up with him. However, no matter how good the second male lead, he was ultimately just that—a second lead. Initially, the plan was to return home solely to exact revenge on the scumbag Jiang Yu.
But after a few attempts at vengeance, seeing Jiang Yu’s increasingly haggard appearance, Cheng Ran’s heart softened.
The now superstar Cheng Ran defeated the “moonlight” and tore apart the white lotus mother-in-law. After overcoming countless hardships, he and Jiang Yu finally had their happy ending.
As for Movie Emperor Zhong Bai, who had provided Cheng Ran with so much help and harbored deep feelings for him…
Unfortunately, due to his overly intimate relationship with Cheng Ran early on, the protagonist gong Jiang Yu became jealous and had him kidnapped. Jiang Yu called in some bodyguards to stage compromising photos and demanded a hefty ransom from Zhong Bai’s parents.
After receiving the money, not only did he blind Zhong Bai, but he also spread the staged photos far and wide.
What’s a second male lead worth? Aren’t they meant to be abused?!
It was too tragic, so tragic that even Ye Zhou, a cannon fodder character, felt sympathy for him. However, with his own survival uncertain, Ye Zhou had no intention of getting involved in others’ affairs. After all, he didn’t even know if he would live long enough to witness Movie Emperor Zhong Bai’s appearance!
Never in his wildest dreams did he expect to hear Zhong Bai’s name mentioned.
Seeing Ye Zhou spacing out, having received no response for a long time, He Feiyang finally realized something was amiss after his friend’s reminder.
“Mr. Ye, I’ve actually had a friend discreetly inquire about Zhong Bai. Money isn’t that important to him; he really enjoys acting. It’s just that he hasn’t found a suitable script in recent years, which is why he hasn’t taken on any new projects.”
He Feiyang scratched his head and smiled sheepishly. “I feel like he’ll definitely love the script Liu Zhao and I have written.”
“…” Ye Zhou had just regained his senses when he heard this, unsure of how to respond.
Where did this dripping confidence come from? This was Zhong Bai they were talking about—the ultra-prestigious, award-winning movie emperor whose hands must be sore from all the trophies!
What made him think he would be interested in their movie, just because they titled it ‘Tears Behind Bars’? Weren’t they aiming a bit too high?
Fortunately, although He Feiyang was unreliable, the screenwriter Liu Zhao was quite dependable. Seeing Ye Zhou’s silence, he quickly stepped in to smooth things over: “Don’t listen to his nonsense, Ye-ge. We’re already preparing for auditions. We’ll surely be able to find suitable actors.”
Ye Zhou organized his thoughts before speaking: “Yeah, there are actually quite a few decent new-generation actors these days. Director He, you’ve seen my movie, right? You know Xie Gefei, the actor who played No. Three? He’s very talented…”
Though a bit slow, He Feiyang wasn’t stupid. He could clearly sense Ye Zhou’s rejection and dejectedly lowered his head, looking like a dejected little chubby bear who had lost his toy, with sadness written all over his face.
“Okay.” Although saddened, He Feiyang knew it was already difficult to secure investment for their film. Liu Zhao had repeatedly told him that Mr. Ye was their benefactor, so he couldn’t cause any trouble for Ye Zhou, no matter what.
Seeing his reaction, Ye Zhou felt a little awkward.
As a director, Ye Zhou deeply understood He Feiyang’s mindset. Finding suitable actors for a film was incredibly difficult. Nearly eighty percent of casting choices did not truly match the director’s expectations but were compromises.
Finding a truly perfect match was as challenging as finding a needle in a haystack.
It was fine if that actor never existed, but if they did and the director still had to forgo the best match for a less suitable option, it was undoubtedly a cruel and excruciating decision.
After much hesitation, Ye Zhou gritted his teeth and told He Feiyang, “Go ahead and give it a try. Send him the script first. If he’s interested, we can afford to offer him as much money as needed.”
His words left He Feiyang stunned, and even the usually-composed screenwriter Liu Zhao was dazed by Ye Zhou’s statement.
Liu Zhao had always believed his friend’s desire to cast Zhong Bai was merely wishful thinking, completely unrealistic. Although Zhong Bai was the most fitting choice in his mind, Liu Zhao never dared to hope.
He repeatedly denied his friend’s wishes and convinced himself that settling for the second-best option was acceptable, as securing investment was already fortunate.
Liu Zhao had envisioned countless scenarios of Ye Zhou’s reaction to this idea—anger, ridicule for their delusion, or even withdrawing funding for perceiving them as unreliable.
He had considered all these reactions except the present one.
His friend’s cheers rang in his ears, but Liu Zhao still felt a sense of disbelief. Trembling, he uncharacteristically asked, “You… you just said… what?”
Ye Zhou was also startled by their reactions. “Don’t get too excited. I only said we could try. But you must understand that for an actor of Zhong Bai’s caliber, money alone is no longer enough.”
“So don’t get your hopes up too high.” Ye Zhou stated his thoughts honestly.
However, the next second, a huge force slammed into him as he was embraced tightly. Before he could push the person away, he heard He Feiyang’s choked voice of gratitude in his ear.
“Thank you, thank you so much, Mr. Ye! I… I’ll definitely do my best, and I won’t let you down!” He Feiyang was like a big brown bear, tall and sturdy, leaving Ye Zhou no room to escape.
“No need to thank me, just let go…” Ye Zhou struggled to break free from the bear hug.
But something even more unexpected happened.
The office door was pushed open from the outside, and Boss Jiang’s figure appeared in the doorway, his cold aura almost freezing the entire room.
“What are you doing?”
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