The Heiress's Game

The filming location was in a cultural and creative park in the western suburbs of Haicheng. The production team booked the entire outdoor area of ​​the park. Several white parasols and a lot of filming equipment were set up on the lawn. Monitors were lined up in a row, and microphones were mounted on the track like long guns and short cannons.

The sun was blazing down on the concrete ground when a production assistant wearing a fisherman's hat jogged over from the van, holding an unopened bottle of mineral water. He shook his head at the director.

The nanny van in the woods was parked in the parking lot.

The car doors were tightly closed, the curtains were drawn tightly, and the people inside did not show their faces or speak. Only the agent, Sister Zhang, walked to the car door every ten minutes in her high heels.

He symbolically knocked twice, then walked back and shrugged at the Starshine contact.

"Shulin is in a bad mood right now and is still adjusting. Please wait a little longer, just a little while."

The director's surname is Wu. He has been working in the variety show industry for more than ten years and has seen all kinds of difficult artists. Today, he has finally seen something new.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead, threw the soaked tissue into the trash can, and walked to the nanny van in the parking lot.

Trying to suppress his temper, he knocked on the car window again, his voice now carrying a hint of pleading.

"Teacher Shulin, look how hot it is today, and everyone has been waiting for so long. Why don't you come out and try Sister Fei's makeup? You know Sister Fei, she does the red carpet makeup for so many top celebrities in the industry—"

The car window remained completely still.

The carriage curtains were drawn tightly shut, and there was no response from inside.

Under a parasol not far away, makeup artist Sister Fei sat on a folding chair with her legs crossed and an unlit cigarette between her right hands.

She had been waiting for nearly five hours. She was a recognized top figure in the domestic cosmetics industry, and even top celebrities in the industry might not be able to get a turn with her. Xingyao had spent a lot of money to invite her this time.

Her face went from patiently waiting to turning ashen, and finally to a cold laugh.

Her assistant was fanning her and muttering under his breath, "She's acting like a diva, even daring to mess with Faye," but she stopped him with a look.

The other celebrities were sitting under the parasols nearby, ostensibly drinking water and playing on their phones, but in reality, their eyes were all glancing towards the van.

Some people had a sly smile on their lips, some whispered to their assistants, and some simply crossed their arms and leaned back, adopting a posture of watching a good show.

Director Wu went to the van and knocked on the door again. When he came back, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and his voice was hoarse: "He still wouldn't open it. He just said one thing—he wouldn't start filming unless the makeup artist was changed."

Sister Zhang sat under a parasol, legs crossed, holding a glass of iced Americano.

"We at Shulin aren't unreasonable. But he's particular about his personal image, and bringing his own makeup artist is a habit of his. In all the projects we've worked on, no client has ever said no."

Why are you nitpicking over this detail? Faye Wong is certainly a master, but when it comes to makeup, comfort is the most important thing, right?

"If you two are a little more lenient, he'll be in a better mood, and the filming will turn out better, right?"

Just then, a black minivan stopped at the entrance of the filming location, the door opened, and Gu Yunjin got out of the car.

She wore a smoky blue suit jacket over a white silk shirt, and her face was expressionless.

Bai Junze followed her out of the car, his posture relaxed and low-key. He and Li Chunjing walked to the other side of the parasol and sat down. He didn't say a word the whole time, but his presence was so strong that people couldn't help but glance in that direction.

The director practically ran to meet him, his voice brimming with excitement and relief.

"Mr. Gu! You've finally arrived! Teacher Shulin is still in the car; we've been waiting for four or five hours. Sister Fei is also waiting, as are the other celebrities—"

"I understand," Gu Yunjin interrupted him.

"Thank you for your hard work. I'll take care of the rest."

She walked to the center of the filming location, her gaze sweeping over the nanny vans in the parking lot, then over the celebrities with different expressions under the parasols, and finally landing on Sister Zhang.

Sister Zhang put down her iced Americano, stood up, straightened her collar, and put on a professional smile. Just as she was about to start with her standard opening line, "We at Shulin are actually quite willing to cooperate," Gu Yunjin had already walked up to her.

"Take yours and call the woods."

Sister Zhang's smile froze for a moment, then returned to her usual unyielding expression:

"Mr. Gu, Shulin isn't in a good mood right now. I've already talked to him about it many times. How about we wait a little longer—"

"Sister Zhang, you've been in this industry for so many years now,"

Gu Yunjin looked at her and said, "You should know who you can offend and who you can't."

If you want to continue working in the entertainment industry, call him now.

The smile on Sister Zhang's face completely vanished.

Her fingers trembled slightly as she held the phone. Under Gu Yunjin's gaze, she dialed Shulin's number and handed the phone over.

Gu Yunjin took the phone, and as soon as a lazy "feed" came from the other end, she started cursing.

Everyone in the room was listening, and she didn't lower her voice at all.

"Shulin, I am Gu Yunjin. Who the hell do you think you are?"

You think winning Best Actor gives you the right to act like a big shot in front of me? You really think you're something special?

What a joke. You've only been famous for a few days, and you already know your own limitations.

Open your dog eyes and see how you got that Best Actor award—how much money did your company spend on press releases, trending topics, and judges before the awards ceremony last month? Do you think nobody in the industry knows?

That little stunt can only fool your underage fans; it's no secret in the industry.

It was completely silent on the other end of the phone.

Gu Yunjin's speech became faster and faster, and her tone became higher and higher.

"You still dare to act like a big shot in Xingyao's group? You left Sister Fei out in the sun for four or five hours, and you left Director Wu here begging and pleading like a grandson."

Faye Wong has been in the industry for twenty years. She's won the Best Makeup and Styling Award at the Asian Makeup Awards. Giving her makeup is an honor, you know?

You want to bring your own screenwriter? You want to bring your own makeup artist? What kind of mess did your own makeup artist make you look like? Haven't you looked in the mirror yourself?

Last month's Weibo Night red carpet photos were ridiculed online. "Your retouched photos make you look a full 20 pounds heavier than you actually are. Do you think netizens are blind?"

The celebrities under the parasols were all dumbfounded.

Some people quietly took off their sunglasses, some put their legs down, and some put their phones face down on the table, no longer daring to use them.

Sister Zhang stood to the side, her face as white as a sheet of paper. Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but she couldn't utter a single word.

"Let me tell you, if you don't go on this show, there are plenty of people lining up to go on it."

You think you're irreplaceable? Believe me, I can make one phone call right now and all your endorsements will be canceled tomorrow.

The day after tomorrow, your Weibo super topic will be restricted by the platform, and within a week you won't even be able to get a third male lead role in a third-tier web drama.

You're a god in the eyes of your fans, but in my eyes you're just data that can be replaced at any time.

You want to negotiate with me? What right do you have to negotiate with me?

You're not even worthy to carry my company's receptionist's shoes! I'm just asking you one question right now—are you going to come out and apologize to everyone yourself, or wait for me to make you disappear from this industry completely?

I'll give you one minute. If you still haven't come out after one minute, it's okay, you can stay in your van.

If you want to try, I don't mind using you as a guinea pig. I will make sure you disappear from this industry completely, and I mean it.

After hanging up the phone, Gu Yunjin took it away from her ear.

This isn't over yet; she doesn't want anyone to act like a diva on Xingyao's set again.

She glanced at Sister Zhang's face, which was plastered with a stiff smile, then raised her arm high and slammed Sister Zhang's phone to the ground.

With a sharp "crack," the phone screen shattered into a spiderweb pattern, bounced twice on the ground, and rolled to the side of the awning pillar.

Sister Zhang jolted as if she'd been electrocuted, her lips trembling. She instinctively took a step forward but then abruptly stopped.

"Sorry, my hand slipped."

Gu Yunjin spoke casually, as if she were saying that the weather was nice today.

"We will compensate you with the price of a brand new Xingyao phone."

Sister Zhang's expression underwent an astonishing transformation in an instant, from fear to fawning.

She bent over and waved her hands repeatedly, her voice soft and gentle, a stark contrast to when she was sitting with her legs crossed, drinking an iced Americano and negotiating: "No need to compensate, no need to compensate! Mr. Gu, you're too kind!"

It's just a cell phone, it's worthless, there's really no need to pay for it! It was our inconsiderate behavior in the woods today.

I'm so sorry for causing you trouble, for causing trouble for the production team—"

Gu Yunjin didn't look at her again and turned to walk towards Sister Fei.

The cigarette in Sister Fei's hand was still between her fingers; she had forgotten to light it. She had been holding back a lot of anger and grievances.

She had originally planned to have a serious discussion with the higher-ups, as she had been in the industry for over a decade and had never suffered such humiliation.

But seeing Gu Yunjin's actions just now, all her anger seemed to dissipate as if blown away by the sea breeze, and inexplicably vanished.

"Sister Fei," Gu Yunjin walked up to her, her tone completely different from when she was cursing Shulin earlier.

"This matter today is due to Xingyao's poor arrangements, which has made you wait for so long."

Your participation in this project is an honor for Xingyao, not something you owe us.

On behalf of the company, I apologize for causing you distress.

Fei was stunned for a moment. She picked up a lighter and finally lit the cigarette with a click. She took a puff, exhaled a thin layer of smoke, and then waved to Gu Yunjin.

"Mr. Gu, you're too kind. In our line of work, waiting an hour or two is nothing; we've even waited all night."

I've really seen something new today. Just because of what you just said, I'll do any project your company undertakes for free from now on.

Under the parasol on the other side, Li Chunjing stood to the side and slightly behind Bai Junze, her expression beyond shock.

She had followed Gu Yunjin for so long, from the founding of Xingyao to the present. She had seen Gu Yunjin stand firm at the negotiating table and act with ease at parties.

But she had never seen Gu Yunjin swear, let alone smash her phone.

She knew Gu Yunjin wasn't the kind of person to be bullied, but seeing her tear off her gentle mask still left her completely stunned for several seconds.

She snapped back to her senses, turned to look at Bai Junze sitting quietly in the chair next to her, and alarm bells went off in her head instantly.

—It's over, Mr. Bai saw all of this.

Will he be frightened? Will he think that Miss Gu is just pretending all the time?

Will going back make me have any negative thoughts about this marriage?

He comes from a wealthy family in Yunjing. Aren't wealthy families supposed to prefer gentle and virtuous women? No, this needs to be rectified immediately.

"Mr. Bai!" Li Chunjing took half a step to the side, clasped her hands in front of her, her posture respectful but her speech was noticeably faster than usual.

"Well, actually, Miss Gu isn't usually like this!"

She is usually very gentle and kind, and never gets angry with her employees—today is a special case.

That celebrity went too far; they really crossed the line, which is why she had no choice but to—

Bai Junze raised his hand and waved it gently, interrupting Li Chunjing's incoherent explanation.

"Assistant Li, don't be nervous."

His voice was deep and steady, with a gentle smile on his lips.

"I know what kind of person Yun Jin is; she's a very good person."

Li Chunjing was stunned.

She took a closer look at Bai Junze and realized that he was genuinely smiling.

The smile spread from the corner of his eyes to the corner of his mouth, carrying an undisguised admiration and pride.

Bai Junze turned his head to look at the figure in the distance. His wife was standing under the makeup booth, talking to Sister Fei with her head tilted to the side. The sea breeze blew a strand of hair behind her ear, and she raised her hand to tuck it behind her ear, her movements calm and confident.

Looking at Bai Junze's expression, Li Chunjing slowly shut her mouth.

The door of the nanny van opened.

A young man wearing a trendy hoodie, with messy, unkempt hair, stumbled out of the car. His face was pale, his eyes were slightly red, and his lips were trembling.

He walked up to Gu Yunjin, lowered his head, and dared not look her in the eye.

Sister Zhang followed closely behind him, her smile a mixture of flattery and fear, her back bent lower than the trees.

"Mr. Gu, I'm sorry."

The sound from the woods was tinged with sobs, but more than anything, it was a genuine fear.

"It was my fault. I shouldn't have acted like a big shot. I shouldn't have made those unreasonable demands. Please give me another chance."

"Shulin, remember this: I am Gu Yunjin, the boss of Xingyao Media."

I'm not just some random Tom, Dick, or Harry; I'm the cream of the crop.

"That's enough for today. From now on, in Xingyao's group, you must follow all the rules."

If you can do it, then continue filming. If you can't, you can terminate the contract anytime, and I won't stop you.

"We can do it! We can do it!" Shulin and Sister Zhang said almost in unison, nodding as fast as two chickens pecking at rice.

Gu Yunjin didn't say anything more and turned to walk towards Bai Junze.

Bai Junze had already stood up, holding a bottle of mineral water with the cap unscrewed, waiting for her.

He walked up to Sister Fei, bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle, and said in a hoarse and dry voice, "Sister Fei, I'm sorry, it's my fault. Please help me with my makeup."

Then he walked up to the director and bowed at the same 90-degree angle: "Director Wu, I'm sorry for taking up everyone's time."

Then came the camera crew and the lighting crew, who bowed and apologized one by one.

Then the lighting technician from the camera crew reacted first, snapping on the main lights. The whole scene seemed to have been put back on play, and everyone started working at the same time.