Chapter 60: Six Million! Stirring Ye Quanzhen's Heart (First Part)

If only I had met him when I was eighteen.

Strange as it seemed, a line of thought that could never become reality kept appearing in Ye Chuanzhen’s dreams.

When she finally woke up, she found that the day was already bright.

The sunlight streaming through the window made it easy for her to clearly see Ma Xun’s face.

Chiseled features with distinct contours.

It was definitely a handsome face, striking enough to captivate anyone.

Yet, in Ye Chuanzhen’s heart, the man’s handsomeness was actually the least insignificant of his merits.

Yes, Ma Xun was wicked, but he was wicked in a way that made people adore him.

Yes, Ma Xun was quite lecherous, but he had driven Ye Chuanzhen wild for the entire span of last night.

Crucially, Ma Xun possessed methods, capability, and both connections and a powerful background.

What woman wouldn’t fall for such a bad boy?

In truth, Ye Chuanzhen had fallen for him long ago.

It was just that she had constantly been suppressing herself.

Because she was afraid.

She knew how treacherous the world was.

She had weathered many storms and experienced the vicissitudes of life.

She was afraid that if she truly sank into it, she would never be able to escape.

Yet she could do nothing about it.

Ye Chuanzhen understood that in this game between the Prince and Ah Xue, Ah Xue had lost once again.

The movie was make-believe, but the present was real.

She had truly lost, losing completely and utterly.

And yet, this defeat had a flaw.

That flaw was that she had not met the present-day Ma Xun during the prime of her youth.

Naturally, this was something that could never have happened.

Yet this also meant that regret would remain nothing more than regret.

Extending her finger, she gently traced the contours of Ma Xun’s face.

The pad of her finger lightly touched his skin, moving from his forehead down to the tip of his nose.

Suddenly, her mischievous finger was caught.

Ah!

Ye Chuanzhen let out a startled cry of being caught in the act.

Ma Xun had woken up.

Then she heard a thoroughly seductive voice.

"What are you up to?"

"Nothing, I’m not doing anything."

"Were you trying to seduce me just now?"

"What?"

"Still playing dumb?"

"I really wasn’t... I was just startled by you."

"What I heard was: *Again*."

"No, really not... Please, Your Highness, spare Ah Xue."

Ye Chuanzhen truly hadn’t expected Ma Xun to recover his stamina so quickly.

Moreover, his overpowering dominance genuinely frightened her.

That said, fair is fair—that exclamation just now, though genuinely a cry of surprise from Ye Chuanzhen, sounded entirely different to Ma Xun’s ears.

Very well, she would be spared for the moment.

Countless images from the previous night rushed back, and a playful expression appeared on Ma Xun’s face.

Truth be told, Ma Xun felt that in this game between the Prince and Ah Xue, he had lost.

Amidst their mutual tug-of-war, he still hadn’t been able to restrain himself.

Doesn’t that mean he had lost?

So what if he lost?

Ye Chuanzhen was a woman who simply left him unable to quit.

She was mature, of course, but she also retained a sense of green innocence.

To put it simply, maturity and youthful innocence were perfectly blended within her.

This drove Ma Xun to want to explore further.

Naturally, that meant delving deeper and deeper.

Looking at Ye Chuanzhen’s expression, her face naturally possessed the ability to evoke pity in others.

It was like the sense of fragility that arises after being bullied.

Yet, the more she looked like that, the more Ma Xun wanted to bully her.

Constantly bullying her, to the point where it was becoming somewhat addictive.

Of course, one couldn't go too overboard.

And for now...

"Well, I spoke with Bingbing last night."

"Bingbing?"

"Of course. Or does Your Highness intend to pretend you don't know her?"

"Fine. What exactly did you discuss with her?"

"Nothing much. I simply introduced her to He Xiuqiong."

"..." Ma Xun remained silent, a peculiar smile appearing on his face.

Ye Chuanzhen went on unconcernedly, "The moment I saw her, I felt a strong affinity with her, so I figured it would be wonderful to have her play Ziwei's maid, Jinsuo."

Ma Xun had already guessed this outcome just moments ago.

It seemed that what was bound to happen would happen after all.

There was a trace of surprise, a bit of helplessness, and a hint of amusement.

"Your Highness~ What kind of expression is that?"

Ye Chuanzhen’s soft, gentle voice made Ma Xun put on a stern face.

"Ah Xue, you've grown quite bold lately. You're even making decisions on your own accord now."

Not to mention, his imposing aura was genuinely formidable.

Ye Chuanzhen was startled on the spot. "Ah Xue knows her wrong. Please punish me, Your Highness."

As she spoke, that pitiful expression that could melt anyone's heart reappeared.

Ma Xun thought to himself: This woman is truly the death of me.

*Slap*—the sound landed squarely on her tofu-soft buttock.

Ma Xun withdrew his large hand, which was still trembling slightly.

"Forget it. What you did isn't all that serious. But you must understand whose person you are."

"Yes~"

It had to be said, this game was becoming increasingly interesting.

Ma Xun then intended to discuss some serious matters.

"You must take this upcoming production of *My Fair Princess* very seriously."

"Of course."

"I see you still don't understand what I mean."

"Ah? Could it be..."

"If this drama succeeds, you will more or less get your wish."

"Really?"

Seeing her astonished look, which bordered on disbelief, Ma Xun knew that Ye Chuanzhen still did not grasp the formidable power of *My Fair Princess*.

Their previous agreement was that Ma Xun would help Ye Chuanzhen break free from the control of the Bamboo Union Gang.

This drama, *My Fair Princess*, presented an exceptional opportunity.

In truth, Ye Chuanzhen had already been in the industry for a decade, and the Bamboo Union Gang no longer kept as tight a leash on her as they used to.

Once a massive blockbuster drama like *My Fair Princess* hit the screens, Ye Chuanzhen’s standing in every aspect would experience a massive elevation.

Wu Dun was no fool; he would certainly know what course of action to take.

At the very least, as long as Ye Chuanzhen remained on the mainland, the Bamboo Union Gang could do nothing to her.

For Wu Dun, doing a favor out of convenience was the best choice.

And thus, the freedom they had discussed initially would be achieved.

As for these matters... we can talk about them another day.

Ye Chuanzhen had already flipped over, straddling him once more.

"If things truly turn out as Your Highness says, then Ah Xue will willingly serve Your Highness like a beast of burden for the rest of her days."

What more could Ma Xun say?

Let her take the initiative.

...

The Prince and Ah Xue stayed together for three full days.

Only then did Ah Xue return to Taiwan with lingering reluctance.

Of course, before leaving, He Xiuqiong and Ma Xun had already finalized and signed the contract, settling all the arrangements.

Only, whenever He Xiuqiong looked at Ma Xun... she would occasionally wear a rather strange expression.

When Ma Xun looked into the mirror later, he understood.

He had lost a whole circle of weight.

Whether Ah Xue would serve the Prince like a beast of burden remained to be seen, but Ma Xun had certainly worked harder and more exhaustingly than any beast of burden.

Still, exhausting as it was, the gratification was equally real.

According to his original plan, Ma Xun intended to stay in Changsha for a while.

The film *Devils on the Doorstep*—wait, *The Road Home*—entered its final preparatory stage.

The actors were not fully in place yet, but certain details could be settled.

Huo Jianqi had arrived with his wife.

Sister Hong held a titular title as director, leaving many of the actual tasks for Ma Xun to oversee closely.

Things such as storyboards and the design of specific visual compositions, for instance.

Huo Jianqi originally came from an art background.

Ma Xun knew that the reason *The Road Home* possessed such breathtaking visuals was precisely because of this.

Huo Jianqi intended to use an abundance of green tones, which suited the characteristics of the mountainous setting.

To achieve this, he planned to utilize Sony’s technology.

Sony’s color rendition was indeed very saturated—one might even say over-saturated.

Zhang Yimou was particularly fond of Sony, which was why the vibrant, intense color expressions could be seen throughout his films.

Take *Hero*, for instance.

Countless soldiers in black armor stood before the palace, yet the red plumes on their helmets were strikingly vivid.

Then there was *Curse of the Golden Flower*.

The palaces in this film were opulent and resplendent, with a sharp and dramatic contrast of colors.

Well, Ma Xun had to admit that he too had been captivated by the countless buxom beauties in that film.

Sony truly possessed very distinct characteristics when it came to color.

However, Ma Xun personally preferred Nikon.

The imagery produced by Nikon tended to lean slightly cold, yet possessed a powerful texture.

This naturally lent itself to a strong sense of storytelling.

Consequently, he and Huo Jianqi engaged in numerous debates.

In the end, Huo Jianqi arrived at a conclusion.

"This investor is not someone who can be easily fooled."

Very well, having that conclusion reached was quite satisfactory.

Ma Xun had achieved his goal.

Don't try to fool me, because I am keeping a close eye on you.

Meanwhile, the talent search show for *My Fair Princess* began airing.

As soon as it hit the screens...

"Ah! Mr. Ma, haha... I really didn't expect it! The ratings are actually quite impressive!"

Station Director Ouyang had even taken the initiative to drop by in person.

After all, he had a good relationship with Kang Jianmin.

Did he really mean "quite impressive"?

Judging by the delighted grin on his face, how could it possibly be merely "quite impressive"?

Ma Xun responded with a couple of modest remarks, "That’s good, that’s good. To be honest, I was feeling rather anxious myself."

Truth be told, Ma Xun had been full of confidence all along.

After all, this talent search format was a novel and innovative program.

No one had ever produced anything quite like it before.

With its originality, it was bound to attract a wave of viewers.

Furthermore, this talent search had a strong connection to Qiong Yao's television dramas.

Over the past few years, Station Director Ouyang’s primary work had been introducing Qiong Yao's dramas to the economic channel.

In other words, the market for this channel had already been well-cultivated.

A talent search program tied to this would have to be extraordinarily unlucky not to become a hit!

As expected, the ratings for the *My Fair Princess* talent search were immensely gratifying.

And with that success came a wealth of benefits.

The six-million-yuan check issued initially was ostensibly seed money.

Yet afterward, Ma Xun never uttered a single word about the money again.

The show was produced right here on your economic channel and recorded entirely in your studios.

Essentially, that six million had been left entirely in their hands.

Did they want more?

Ma Xun had long since made up his mind to play dumb.

Now that the ratings were fantastic, it was all settled.

There was no longer any need to play dumb, because Station Director Ouyang stopped bringing it up as well.

They made their profits through split-screen commercial inserts during the show.

Meanwhile, Station Director Ouyang could broadcast commercials at the very beginning and end of the program.

High ratings translated directly to economic returns.

Naturally, there was no longer any need to mention the subsequent funds.

Following this, the news of the high ratings for the *My Fair Princess* talent search generated a chain reaction.

Bai Daqing took the initiative to visit, delivering a check for six million yuan.

"We'll definitely make even more money together in the future!"

Leaving those gleeful words behind, the fellow flew off again.

Ma Xun considered that he couldn't simply pocket this six-million-yuan check for himself.

He gave Sun Donghai a call.

"Just keep that six million. Long Wu’s two million was mine, so that settles it nicely. Why bother making a fuss over it?"

Sun Donghai’s meaning was crystal clear.

And Ma Xun understood it as well.

Based on their sixty-forty profit split, he had actually gotten the better end of the deal.

Sun Donghai was being so straightforward probably because of the matter Bai Xiaohang had mentioned earlier.

With things standing thus, Ma Xun accepted the money with a clear conscience.

He merely looked at the six-million-yuan check in his hand.

Giving it a flick with his finger, it emitted a crisp, sharp sound.

The sound of money—a bit crisp.

And more was on the way.