The Cannon Fodder Male Supporting Character Is the Zombie King - Chapter 15

In the end, Ye Wei’an agreed to draw a set of grape-themed emojis for Zhou Huaichen. In his eyes, Zhou Huaichen was more like a plump, juicy grape, not an ancient grapevine that had lived for hundreds of years.
Ye Wei’an added, “I’ll also have someone make you a set of pig emojis.”
—【Pig and the Zombie King are a better match!】
Zhou Huaichen: “…Alright.”
Since “Pig and the Zombie King” was apparently a better match, he could only smile and accept it.
After that, Zhou Huaichen drove Ye Wei’an back to his company.
As soon as Ye Wei’an stepped into his office, Assistant Long knocked on the door to give her report.
Just like the Zhou family, the Ye family’s share in the entertainment industry was small. Ye Wei’an had countless matters to handle every day. There was even a project in Africa that required his personal approval.
Having gotten used to being a salted fish, Ye Wei’an felt like he was about to lose it: “…”
He’d better focus on figuring out how to win over Zhou Huaichen’s trusted aides instead.
Once Assistant Long finished her report, she asked Ye Wei’an to sign several documents. At the end, she brought up the group of troublesome fans and said, “Lemon Entertainment’s official account has already posted an announcement. As for how to handle them specifically, we’ll need your instructions.”
Most of those fans were quite young. Still students, in fact.
If Ye Wei’an insisted on pursuing the matter and let it reach the schools and parents, those fans would definitely be in deep trouble.
Ye Wei’an said calmly, “You decide.”
Whether they punished the fans harshly or let them go, it didn’t matter to him.
Assistant Long, who had been left behind by the old master of the Ye family and cared deeply about Ye Wei’an’s safety, immediately decided to give those fans a proper lesson. It will serve as a warning to others and to keep Yan Qing’s fans from stirring up trouble again next time.
Ye Wei’an had no objections.
After Assistant Long left, Ye Wei’an went online to take a look.
The announcement from Lemon Entertainment clearly stated that Yan Qing’s fans had caused a disturbance offline, and the police had found dangerous items in their bags. The company sternly condemned the fans’ disruptive and harmful behavior.
Netizens quickly flooded in, joining the criticism.
【These celebrities’ fans are terrifying. It’s like they’re possessed.】
【Exactly. Fans nowadays all seem a bit unhinged. The studios manipulate them. Once they’re incited, they break the law. The worst part is, many of them are minors. You can only educate them, not imprison them.】
【So the most disgusting ones are those celebrity teams exploiting minors. Absolutely vile.】
Most netizens were criticizing the overall phenomenon, but a small portion targeted Yan Qing directly.
Adding to that, Yan Qing’s rivals secretly hired bots to smear him. Gradually, public outrage focused entirely on him.
In the end, even official media outlets stepped in and named him in their criticism.
Yan Qing was so furious his face turned green. He slammed his phone hard and snarled, “Ye Wei’an, just you wait!”
This time, he was truly enraged. He is determined to teach Ye Wei’an a lesson.
He immediately contacted Bai Yuan to vent his anger.
Feeling sorry for him, Bai Yuan comforted him, saying, “Don’t worry. I’ll help you get your revenge.”
…
Meanwhile, Yan Qing’s official boyfriend, Zhou Yongnan, wasn’t by his side.
That night, he returned to the Zhou family’s old residence, only to face an interrogation by the family elders.
Old Master Zhou tapped his cane against the floor and said sternly, “For the time being, you’ll follow your uncle to the company for your internship. You are not allowed to see that celebrity again!”
Zhou Yongnan wanted nothing more than to stick to Yan Qing like glue. Being separated from him was unbearable. He immediately protested, “I don’t—”
Before he could finish, his father scolded sharply, “Insolent! When your grandfather speaks, you listen!”
Zhou Yongnan’s father wasn’t particularly capable. Following the old master’s arrangements, he had married the daughter of an old family friend and fathered Zhou Yongnan.
He knew he couldn’t hold up the vast Zhou family business on his own and always felt ashamed of failing to live up to the old master’s expectations.
Fortunately, his mother had given birth to Zhou Huaichen, his brilliant younger brother, at the age of forty.
Zhou Huaichen took over the Zhou family business right after graduation. His temperament and skill rivaled those of the old foxes in the industry.
Zhou Yongnan’s father admired him deeply and placed great trust and affection in him.
Zhou Huaichen naturally respected his elder brother. Precisely because he was close to him, he was also more forgiving toward his nephew, Zhou Yongnan.
It was just that Zhou Yongnan was clearly being influenced by Yan Qing. As an elder, he had to say something.
He cast a cool glance at Zhou Yongnan and said, “I have a hotel acquisition project in my hands. If you do it well, I can grant you one request, one of which would be persuading the family to accept Yan Qing.”
That project would require going abroad. He wouldn’t be able to see Yan Qing for at least half a month.
But Zhou Yongnan dared not defy the old master or his father, nor his uncle, so he could only agree reluctantly: “Understood.”
…
After Bai Yuan got Yan Qing’s call, he went to see Xie Siming.
Xie Siming had just finished shooting a big male-lead film and happened to be resting at home.
Bai Yuan got straight to the point: “Yan Qing’s been bullied. What do you think we should do?”
Xie Siming, wearing loungewear and holding a cup of coffee, looked at him lazily: “Say it straight.”
Bai Yuan didn’t waste words and laid out his plan: “I’ve planted people in the production team of 《The Year the Wind Rose》. Once the crew officially starts filming, I’ll have someone stage an ‘accident’ so the production collapses outright. By then, Ye Wei’an will likely suffer a huge loss of investment.”
“As for you, I heard Ye Wei’an is also set to make a big male-lead TV drama, 《Nine Heavens》. You could take the lead.”
Xie Siming looked at him. “Why should I be the male lead?”
Bai Yuan said, “You’ll go undercover. Get close to Ye Wei’an so we can keep track of his every move in real time.”
Xie Siming stared at him as if looking at an idiot. “Do you really think the dignified president of the Ye Group has the time to keep an eye on a film crew every day? I could be filming for months and never see him even once.”
Bai Yuan said, “Then sabotage it! Make 《Nine Heavens》 collapse, too!”
Xie Siming: “…”
With a teammate this stupid, he felt utterly exhausted.
He slammed his coffee cup down heavily on the table and said, “You don’t deserve to like Qing Qing.”
Bai Yuan glared at him in dissatisfaction. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Xie Siming didn’t bother responding and simply showed him out. “The grievances Qing Qing suffered, I’ll make sure he gets justice. But we don’t need to work together.”
Seeing Xie Siming’s obvious disdain, Bai Yuan stormed off in anger.
The moment he stepped outside, he contacted the insider he’d planted in the 《The Year the Wind Rose》 crew. “Proceed as planned.”
…
A few days later, Qi Changbai agreed to direct 《The Year the Wind Rose》, and the production officially began.
After the previous uproar over the role switch between Yan Qing and Lin Chang, plus the clash between Yan Qing’s fans and Ye Wei’an, the drama had attracted a great deal of attention.
Ye Wei’an was invited by Qi Changbai to attend the opening ceremony. He conveniently brought Zhou Huaichen along.
Zhou Huaichen had also invested in the film. Since this was the first collaboration between their two companies, Ye Wei’an took it quite seriously. He figured Zhou Huaichen would, too.
Sure enough, Zhou Huaichen agreed without hesitation.
It was autumn, the weather pleasant, the sunlight soft and bright.
The cast and crew solemnly made offerings to the gods, then took plenty of photos while holding their red envelopes.
Ye Wei’an and Zhou Huaichen simply watched from the side, not stepping into the spotlight.
After the ceremony, Qi Changbai came over and said, “We have an important scene to film this afternoon. Would the two CEOs like to stay and watch?”
It was Ye Wei’an’s first time observing a film shoot on-site. He was quite intrigued. He nodded and said, “Sure.”
Naturally, Zhou Huaichen stayed with him.
The afternoon scene was a crucial one.
After being released from prison, the male lead reunites with the female lead, a rich family’s daughter. Despite his inner struggle, he can’t let go of his feelings for her and decides to confess his love.
However, as he walks along the sidewalk toward the café, he gets hit by a car.
Meanwhile, the female lead stands at the café entrance, watching helplessly as the male lead is struck and thrown into the air.
A very clichéd setup. But in an art film, such tear-jerking moments are almost essential.
To help the leads get into character quickly, Qi Changbai chose to start with a highly challenging scene.
He directed the cameraman to adjust the angles, then called the two leads over to explain the scene to them.
Ye Wei’an watched Qi Changbai busily moving around, clearly entertained.
—【Obviously good-looking enough to be a star, yet insists on relying on talent to be a director. Love that. Love it.】
He’d looked up Qi Changbai on Weibo earlier. That was an actual quote from one of Qi Changbai’s fans.
Zhou Huaichen silently glanced at him, then at Qi Changbai’s face.
…Good-looking enough to be a star, huh?
So, in Ye Wei’an’s eyes, Qi Changbai had high “star-level” looks.
Ye Wei’an had no idea what Zhou Huaichen was thinking and turned his gaze to Lin Chang instead.
It was Lin Chang’s first time as a film’s male lead. He looked quite nervous, repeatedly practicing the points Qi Changbai had mentioned—blocking positions, facial expressions, and body language for getting into character.
Ye Wei’an rubbed his chin.
—【Lin Chang actually looks pretty handsome when he’s serious. He’s got that watermelon vibe even stronger now.】
—【Ah, I want to eat watermelon.】
But it was autumn now. No more in-season watermelons to be found.
Ye Wei’an felt a little downhearted.
He didn’t realize Zhou Huaichen was studying Lin Chang.
Handsome.
Watermelon vibe.
Zhou Huaichen turned those two words over in his mind, then lifted his gaze slightly and asked Ye Wei’an softly, “Which tastes better, grapes or watermelon?”
Without thinking, Ye Wei’an replied, “Grapes!”
—【Actually, watermelon’s pretty good, too…】
Zhou Huaichen’s eyes darkened.
Ye Wei’an didn’t notice the change in his expression. Suddenly, he patted Zhou Huaichen’s shoulder excitedly and said, “It’s starting!”
Over on set, Qi Changbai had already called for action.
The first scene was of Lin Chang lying in a pool of bl00d, locking eyes with the female lead from afar.
Since it was his first time filming, Lin Chang didn’t perform very smoothly.
When meeting the female lead’s gaze, he was supposed to convey memories of their past, despair over their lost future, and a gentle sorrow. It was his wish not to let her suffer.
But no matter how he tried, his expression just didn’t feel right.
Qi Changbai told Lin Chang to take some time to think it over, and decided to film the female lead’s part first.
The female lead was a true actress, a performer with real skill. She slipped into character almost instantly.
Facing the camera, she managed to cry within three seconds.
Ye Wei’an: “!”
—【So this is what a real actress looks like.】
—【I’m getting Assistant Long to poach her for Lemon Entertainment! Poach! Poach! Absolutely must poach her!】
Zhou Huaichen: “……”
Ye Wei’an probably didn’t know that this female lead was an artist under Ziyun Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Zhou Group.
The previous actress had been recommended by Bai Yuan. When Bai Yuan left, she left, too.
When it came time to recast, Qi Changbai personally named this actress for the role.
The system knew all this and couldn’t help but sigh emotionally.
The host was incredible. He’d recently set his sights on stealing the Big Boss’s team of trusted assistants, and now he wanted to poach the artists under his company.
At this rate, the entire Zhou Group would end up on the host’s radar!
Then the system suddenly froze in horror: 【……】
Could it be that one day, the great Boss Zhou himself would come with a dowry to marry into the host’s hands?!
On the other side, under the female lead’s influence, Lin Chang gradually slipped into character as well.
The first scene went smoothly.
Qi Changbai then began setting up for the second scene, the moment when Lin Chang gets hit by the car.
They started by filming a shot of the car speeding forward, using a dummy placed on the crosswalk. Later, they would shoot the scene of Lin Chang actually falling.
From the sidelines, Ye Wei’an watched Qi Changbai command the crew with full authority, his presence radiating confidence and focus. He couldn’t help but nod to himself in approval.
—【As expected, a man looks his best when he’s serious.】
Zhou Huaichen’s gaze darkened as he looked toward Qi Changbai.
Good-looking. Handsome. Those were Ye Wei’an’s words of praise for Qi Changbai.
He suddenly began to wonder if introducing Qi Changbai to Ye Wei’an had really been such a good idea.
Meanwhile, Ye Wei’an was still studying Qi Changbai.
—【He’s so handsome. Should I take a few photos and sell them to his fans?】
—【I heard he’s got a rich fan who pays several thousand per photo.】
—【If I sell them, I’ll split half the money with him.】
Zhou Huaichen: “…”
Zhou Huaichen let out a quiet, helpless laugh, suddenly realizing that he still didn’t know Ye Wei’an well enough.
It seemed he needed to make more time to spend with him.
Both of them had been busy these past few days, only managing to exchange a few short voice messages each day.
The reason Zhou Huaichen agreed to come today was precisely because he hadn’t seen Ye Wei’an for quite a while.
His gaze softened as he looked at Ye Wei’an and said gently, “Let’s have dinner together tonight.”
Ye Wei’an turned his eyes toward him, his expression lighting up with excitement. “Sure!”
—【Perfect! He’s the best appetizer!】
Zhou Huaichen: “……”
Lin Chang was handsome. He had that watermelon vibe.
Qi Changbai was handsome, too. A talented, serious director with striking looks.
And he… was apparently just the “appetizer”.
Well, fine. At least in Ye Wei’an’s eyes, he was something appetizing to look at.
Ye Wei’an continued watching the shoot.
A driver pulled the car into position before the camera, while Qi Changbai stood nearby explaining exactly when the driver should hit the brakes.
Ye Wei’an fixed his gaze on the driver, his eyes narrowing suddenly.
—【That’s a strong lemon scent… disgusting, unbearable.】
—【Even worse than Yan Qing!】
Zhou Huaichen was startled and followed his gaze.
The driver, apparently one of the crew’s prop handlers, was listening attentively as Qi Changbai explained the scene. Nothing about him seemed out of place.
But Ye Wei’an continued to squint suspiciously.
Yan Qing also carried that lemon scent he disliked, but it had never made him feel this instantly uncomfortable.
Still, it was over in a flash.
Moments later, that lemon scent from the driver faded away, leaving him once again colorless and scentless.
Ye Wei’an tilted his head slightly.
Maybe it was just his imagination.
But after ten years of surviving in the apocalypse, his sense of danger was razor sharp.
He watched the driver for a long while. When he confirmed that there was nothing unusual—no scent, no aura—he finally looked away.
—【Maybe I was overthinking it.】
He turned toward Zhou Huaichen and suddenly asked, “How’s Zhou Yongnan doing?”
The sudden lemon scent had reminded Ye Wei’an of Yan Qing, which naturally made him think of Zhou Yongnan as well.
The last time Zhou Yongnan had been summoned back to the old family estate by Zhou Huaichen, Ye Wei’an didn’t know whether or not he’d been disciplined.
Zhou Huaichen said, “He took over a project and went abroad on a business trip.”
Ye Wei’an replied, “Oh.”
—【Confirmed. Zhou Yongnan definitely got disciplined.】
Zhou Huaichen let out a faint laugh.
Ye Wei’an then asked, “Has Yan Qing tried to contact you lately?”
Bai Yuan had been quiet these past few days, and so had Yan Qing.
But knowing Yan Qing’s temperament, Ye Wei’an doubted he would stay quiet for long. He suspected Yan Qing might have gone to bother Zhou Huaichen instead.
Zhou Huaichen said, “I’m not sure.”
He had already instructed his people to turn Yan Qing away on sight, so he didn’t actually know whether Yan Qing had tried to approach him or not.
Ye Wei’an gave a soft “oh”, secretly thinking that Zhou Huaichen truly lived up to his title as the Big Boss. He was completely immune to Yan Qing.
Just as that thought crossed his mind, the system suddenly blared an alarm: 【Host, something’s about to happen!】
Ye Wei’an frowned. “Talk.”
System: 【In thirty seconds, the car used for filming will lose its brakes. Lin Chang is about to be hit and killed.】
System: 【Host, hurry! Save him!】
Ye Wei’an tilted his head.
As a zombie king, he didn’t really have the concept of saving people.
System: 【……】
The system could only try to reason with him desperately: 【If Lin Chang dies, the entire production will shut down. Your investment will go up in smoke… You have to save him!】
The moment Ye Wei’an heard the words investment up in smoke, he couldn’t sit still any longer.
Save. He had to save him!
He sprang to his feet and dashed toward the danger zone.
Zhou Huaichen looked slightly startled, not knowing what Ye Wei’an was trying to do.
They were about thirty meters away from where the incident was happening. Under normal circumstances, there was no way Ye Wei’an could outrun a moving car.
But he was the zombie king!
Before anyone could even react, he had already closed the distance with inhuman speed.
By that time, the car had completely lost control, barreling straight toward Lin Chang, barely half a meter away.
Everyone around screamed in horror.
Lin Chang was so frightened that he froze completely on the spot.
He knew perfectly well that he should run. But it was as if his legs had been filled with lead, and he couldn’t take a single step.
At that very moment, Ye Wei’an lunged forward and tackled Lin Chang out of the way.
He even quietly used his leg to block the car for a split second.
Miraculously, the car came to a stop.
Everyone: “!”
Propping himself up with his arm, Ye Wei’an looked down at Lin Chang and asked, “Are you alright?”
Lin Chang: “……”
Everyone else: “……”
The entire set fell into dead silence.
Even Zhou Huaichen, who had just caught up, stood outside the crowd, staring at Ye Wei’an in disbelief.
Ye Wei’an’s arm was scraped, and his face had been rubbed against the ground. It stung a little.
Seeing everyone staring at him with strange expressions, and even Zhou Huaichen watching him darkly from the edge of the crowd, Ye Wei’an couldn’t help but frown.
His first reaction was to touch his own face.
—【What’s wrong, what’s wrong, did my face get ruined? Am I not handsome anymore?】
—【I have to get to a hospital right now! How could I let such a beautiful, handsome face get disfigured!】
Zhou Huaichen: “……”
System: 【……】
Host, your concern is about whether your face still looks good?
You want to go to the hospital because you’re afraid of being disfigured?
As expected of you!

Author’s Note:
Ye Wei’an: Looking good is the bottom line of a zombie king.