The Heiress's Game

Just as Dong Yuwei was stuffing the last stack of clothes into her suitcase, her phone rang.

Shen Ziqian's image appeared on the screen. She wiped her hands and answered the call, her voice brimming with excitement.

"Ziqian! I was just about to call you—"

"Yuwei, the lab's been so busy lately. My advisor took on a huge project and's been working non-stop every day, so I haven't had a chance to contact you. Are you... alright?"

"I'm fine!" Dong Yuwei sat on the edge of the bed next to her suitcase, her fingers unconsciously twirling the charging cable, eager to tell him everything that had happened in the past few days.

"Oh, by the way, I changed jobs. I'm going to work as a jewelry designer at a big company, and—"

Shen Ziqian interrupted her, "That's good. But Yuwei, it's like this, the lab needs to pay a materials fee recently, and the funding from the supervisor hasn't been approved yet, so I'm a little short on cash..."

He paused his words at just the right moment.

Dong Yuwei replied almost reflexively, "How much do you need? I just received my onboarding bonus, I can transfer it to you."

As with countless times before, she gave it to him without him having to ask.

Dong Yuwei continued talking about her trip to Milan for more than a month.

"Milan? Further studies? Your little shop was doing just fine, how come you're suddenly involved with big companies and Milan?"

Are you sure it's true? You haven't been scammed, have you? There are so many telecom frauds these days. There's no such thing as a free lunch; you'd better verify these things carefully.

"It's true!"

Dong Yuwei held her phone between her ear and shoulder, and while talking, she sent him the course schedule from Milan.

"Look at WeChat, I sent you the documents—this is the invitation, this is the course schedule, and this is my employment contract. It's all stamped with the company seal, it's not a scam."

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a few more seconds.

Shen Ziqian gave a soft "hmm". He couldn't be bothered to look at what Dong Yuwei had sent. Dong Yuwei had probably been scammed, but what did that have to do with him?

He actually planned to break up with Dong Yuwei.

For a girl like Dong Yuwei, who graduated from an ordinary school, even if she got a job at a big company, she would only be a junior designer, earning a fixed salary each month, which wouldn't change anything.

She never asked for anything, and she even gave him money every month on her own initiative—yes, she did it voluntarily, not by asking him for it.

He never forced her; she gave it to him voluntarily, so what's the problem?

It's already lucky for a girl who graduated from an ordinary school to be able to date a graduate student from a prestigious university who has the face of a campus heartthrob.

To put it bluntly, all the money she's given him over the years is the cost she paid for this stroke of luck.

He's about to graduate, and his future looks bright.

He wants to work for a big company, earn a million-dollar annual salary, and make a name for himself.

What can a small shop owner and designer like Dong Yuwei offer him?

She could only cry at home after her designs were stolen, and now she's being scammed.

The kind of girl who's good enough for him is someone like Anna. She comes from a powerful family, and her father has influence in the industry.

A simple phone call can pave the way for him; that's the kind of life partner he needs.

He's been seeing Anna lately, and she likes him too, but hasn't made it clear yet.

As for Dong Yuwei, it should have been over by now.

Since she's going to Milan and getting scammed, that's fine, it saves us the trouble of breaking up.

It's more dignified for her to walk by herself than for him to ask her to come.

He leaned back in his chair, thinking about these things absentmindedly, but said encouragingly, "Since it's a legitimate company, do your job well and take good care of yourself over there."

Dong Yuwei's eyes welled up with tears when she heard those words.

So much has happened these past few days—her trademark was stolen, she posted a video seeking help but got nowhere, she interviewed at Xingyao, got her design back, and was sent to Milan—it all feels like a dream.

At this moment, the person she liked finally gave her a word of recognition and encouragement, which was sweeter than anything else.

She nodded vigorously, her voice tinged with laughter, "Yes! I'll definitely study hard! When I come back, I'll bring you Milan chocolates!"

Shen Ziqian hung up the phone and gave a cold laugh.

Milanese chocolate? Forget about it.

He opened WeChat, found Anna's profile picture, and started typing: "Senior, are you free this weekend? There's a new Japanese restaurant that just opened, I heard it's really good, want to try it together?"