The Heiress's Game

When Zhou Ji walked into Xingyao Media's office, Gu Yunjin was nestled in a sofa chair by the floor-to-ceiling window, flipping through a variety show proposal.

She wore a cream-colored cashmere cardigan today, and her hair was casually tied in a low ponytail.

"Boss Gu," Zhou Ji said, closing the door and sitting down opposite her with a smile on his face.

"You know there are rumors about your marriage everywhere?"

Gu Yunjin didn't even look up, turning to a page of the proposal: "What version is being circulated?"

"Bai Junze, the eldest grandson of the Bai family in Yunjing, will receive a dowry of 3% of the Bai family's shares, with the Gu family adding another 3%. The dowry is worth 20 billion yuan, and the industry is already in an uproar."

Zhou Ji grinned. "Congratulations, it's finally settled."

Bai Junze is a smart guy, much more reliable than Pei Yan.

Gu Yunjin was too lazy to argue with him and simply gave a soft "hmm".

"Is this all you're going to do?"

Zhou Ji raised an eyebrow. "A dowry of over 20 billion is right in front of you, and you don't even blink? At least give some reaction, even if it's just feigned excitement."

That's Bai Junze—the youngest Fortune 500 leader in the Yun Jing business circle; financial magazines practically want to put him on their covers as a regular feature.

"How should I react?" Gu Yunjin asked calmly.

"The Bai family gave shares, and the Gu family gave shares. The total amount from both sides is indeed a considerable sum."

With so much money to pave the way, if I said I wasn't willing, even my dad would think I was ungrateful.

So the marriage is settled, it doesn't matter. Anyway, in a political marriage, it doesn't matter who you marry.

Gu Yunjin is not opposed to the marriage, but she also has no expectations for it.

It was as if a new long-term investment project had suddenly been inserted into her life. She assessed the risks and rewards, found them acceptable, and then filed it off.

"Have you seen him?" Zhou Ji asked.

"I've met him once."

"She's quite good-looking, but being good-looking can't put food on the table."

Zhou Ji remained silent for two seconds, then did not press the matter further.

"Zhou Ji, would you say Bai Junze is a true self-made man?"

Zhou Ji thought for a moment and answered honestly, "It doesn't count."

He is indeed a business genius, and his own company has become one of the world's top 500 companies, but he is, after all, the eldest grandson of the Bai family.

He was born with the Bai family's resources, connections, platform, and credit backing.

He didn't rely on his family, but he benefited from the Bai family's influence; the two cannot be completely separated.

"But at least he can stand up with his head held high and say that he did it."

Gu Yunjin continued, "His resume speaks for itself; no one would question whether he relied on his family connections."

Because his abilities were so strong, so strong, that everyone felt it was only natural for him to take the Bai family's resources, because he deserved them.

"Sometimes I think, if only I could be like him—get resources and platforms from the Gu family."

"Use my connections, stand openly before everyone and say, 'I am Gu Zhenxing's daughter, I am the second young lady of the Gu family, and the company I run is my own achievement.' I will definitely reach his level, or even surpass him."

Zhou Ji sat opposite her, listening quietly until she finished speaking, without interrupting.

Bai Junze was born with the status of the eldest grandson of the Bai family, and all his successes can be seen, acknowledged, and written into the family's glory.

He only needed to work hard, but Gu Yunjin needed something a hundred times more than just hard work—she needed to hide it.

"Yun Jin," Zhou Ji said.

"To be honest, you're more capable than Bai Junze."

Gu Yunjin turned to look at him, her tone tinged with disbelief: "Is this some kind of workplace survival skill for comforting your boss?"

No, I'm stating the facts.

Zhou Ji sat up straight and started counting on his fingers. "First, you are six or seven years younger than him."

Twenty-six versus thirty-three—that seven-year gap, in the business world, means you still have plenty of time to surpass his current achievements.

"Secondly," he said, breaking off another finger, "you said that Bai Junze wasn't entirely self-made, right?"

And what about yourself? Ms. Gu, how many short-selling deals has Yunwhale Capital made to reach its current scale, earning billions in profits—did the Gu family give you a single penny?

Did the Gu family give you a connection? No.

You were sent abroad at the age of fourteen, and from that day on, you have been fighting alone.

Every penny Yunwhale earns is something you've earned yourself from the market. How old are you? If you're talking about starting from scratch, even Bai Junze would be second to you.

Gu Yunjin was finally amused by the way he was cracking his knuckles one by one.

"Alright,"

"With all that praise from you, I almost thought I was going to be on the cover of Forbes tomorrow."

"It's only a matter of time," Zhou Ji added without wavering.

Gu Yunjin chuckled.

"I just feel that he can stand there and be seen, while I can only stand here and be guessed at."

"But it doesn't matter. One day, I will let everyone know that the name Gu Yunjin doesn't need to rely on the Gu family or the Bai family."

"Yun Jin, I have a question for you."

Gu Yunjin raised an eyebrow.

Zhou Ji continued, "If I gave you a chance to do it all over again..."

"Would you still choose this path now? I mean, starting from the age of fourteen, keeping all your cards hidden in the dark."

If you were to start from scratch and do it all over again, would you try a different approach—for example, by revealing your identity as the second young lady of the Gu family and openly competing with Gu Mingcheng and his sister for resources and positions?

Gu Yunjin put down the proposal in her hand, leaned back in the sofa chair, and thought about it seriously.

Then she shook her head.

"Won't,"

"I'll still do what I'm doing now—stir things up secretly."

Zhou Ji chuckled, adopting an attitude of listening attentively.

"Think about it yourself, Zhou Ji. What is my situation in the Gu family?"

"My mother passed away a long time ago, and my father has never stopped having women around him. Wang Manyun married into the family and became the head of the household; she has her own son."

Gu Mingcheng is the heir, and Gu Mingyue is the most pampered eldest daughter in the family.

What do I have? I was sent abroad at the age of fourteen, and in that house, I didn't even have a servant to speak up for me.

I am the weakest in the family—I have no mother to support me, no father's attention, no shares, no resources, nothing at all.

"But I have very big ambitions."

She smiled as she said this, a smile that contained no embarrassment, only the composure that comes from complete honesty with herself.

"A person who has nothing but great ambitions—what do you think she should do?"

Is he going to jump out and declare war on everyone? Tell Wang Manyun, "I'm going to fight your son for the inheritance"?

"Tell Gu Mingcheng, 'I also want to sit in your position as heir'?" She chuckled softly and shook her head.

"That's not bravery, that's courting death."

If I showed any wolfish ambitions at the age of fourteen, Wang Manyun would be the first to try to prevent me from returning to China. She might not even let me finish university and would instead send me to some remote corner to get married.

Gu Mingcheng won't let me build the company up quietly. The reason they're not on guard against me now is precisely because, in their eyes, I'm the weakest member of the Gu family, not worth being wary of.

She laughed. "So, developing stealthily is much better."

When no one takes you seriously, you can secretly and carefully arrange the chess pieces one by one.

By the time they realized what was happening, the situation on the chessboard was already beyond their control.

As Zhou Ji listened to her, he couldn't help but chuckle softly.

"You know what?" he said with a touch of emotion.

"If outsiders heard you say that, they would probably be terrified. The second young lady of the Gu family is as beautiful as an angel."

You speak so softly, but all you think about is sneaky tactics and playing dumb to outsmart others—do you even deserve that face of yours?

"As long as I've lived up to my brains," Gu Yunjin replied without any politeness.

"I just like to play dumb to fool others. Think about it, when you're in the open, everyone will be watching you, analyzing you, targeting you, and guarding against you."

But when you stand in the shadows, everyone thinks you're just a docile and harmless ragdoll cat—you can slowly devour their pieces one by one, and they'll all think someone else did it.

This feeling is much more satisfying than winning outright.

Zhou Ji suddenly felt that perhaps no one in the world was more suitable for the phrase "white on the outside but black on the inside" than her.

Her whiteness is a carefully maintained camouflage;

Her darkness is a mind that operates intricately in the shadows.

She doesn't need applause or recognition; she just needs to be unnoticed, unguarded, and not seen as a threat.

Then she can quietly do what she does best—take everything that's rightfully hers when no one is watching.

"So your current mindset is—"

"Marriage is fine, we have money to pave the way anyway. What you really want to do is to develop stealthily and continue to expand your chessboard in the shadows."

"almost."

"Openly, there are the resources of the Bai family; secretly, there's the capital of Yunwhale—running on two tracks simultaneously, with each providing cover for the other. Don't you think this is a perfect setup?"

Zhou Ji sighed sincerely, "What if one day in the future, Gu Mingcheng and Wang Manyun find out the true background of Yunjing and Xingyao?"

Looking back on what you said today, they'll probably regret not nipping you in the bud when you were fourteen.

Gu Yunjin chuckled. "They won't regret it. Because they'll never know—at least not now."

She looked at Zhou Ji, her face still bearing that harmless expression.

"Besides, even if they find out, what can they do to me?"

When I was thrown out of the country at the age of fourteen, none of them expected that I would come back.

I'm back. I'm twenty-six years old, and I have a lot of money and many businesses they don't know about. Soon, I'll also have shares in the Bai family and the Gu family.

The weakest of them all, the second young lady, whom they looked down upon back then, now stands here with more confidence than any of them.

There will be a few more chapters later, maybe one or two.

I was planning to post this tomorrow morning, but I'm so speechless, ughhhhh.

It won't be available until tomorrow, no need to wait. The article might not be out until noon tomorrow.