The Heiress's Game

Su Nianrong spent a full three weeks arranging this event.

She has been a producer for twenty years and has organized hundreds of events, but she has never put in as much effort as she has this time.

The location was chosen to be a recently opened members-only club in the eastern part of Yunjing City. It was secluded, private, and high-class enough that Gu Yunjin wouldn't feel it was beneath her, but it wasn't so formal that it would arouse her suspicion.

She carefully selected her companions and finally settled on four: Lao Zhou, the most persuasive screenwriter in Taicheng, who could turn a one-page outline into the hope of Chinese-language films.

Old Sun, a financial advisor who is an expert in film and television capital operations, always talks about betting and premiums.

There are also two somewhat well-known producers, one talkative and one quiet, who are responsible for setting the mood.

With Su Nianrong added in, it's five against one, so the odds are in my favor.

Gu Yunjin arrived right on time, wearing a yellow knitted dress, her hair casually draped over her shoulders, and a perfectly timed slight smile on her face.

Su Nianrong smiled and introduced them to her one by one. Old Zhou was the first to take the lead. It only took less than three minutes to go from small talk to familiarity. They talked about everything from the weather to tea, and from tea to the recent film market, transitioning smoothly from one topic to another.

He said he had just finished writing a script last month, and several directors were vying for it, quadrupling the copyright fee. He spoke of it casually, as if he were telling someone else's story.

Old Sun quickly added a set of data: this year's Spring Festival box office broke records, with a medium-budget comedy film grossing over 3 billion yuan, resulting in a return on investment of over 1,000%.

The other two producers chimed in at the opportune moment, and the entire private room was filled with a fervent atmosphere that said, "If you don't invest in the film, you're throwing money away."

While pouring tea for Gu Yunjin, Su Nianrong observed her reaction out of the corner of her eye. Gu Yunjin held her teacup, listening quietly, nodding occasionally, her expression serious and polite. She would occasionally ask a question or two, such as "What percentage of the total budget is typically allocated to marketing and distribution costs?" or "What is the specific period for box office revenue sharing?" She asked very professional questions, and Lao Sun answered them in great detail, creating a warm and harmonious atmosphere.

Su Nianrong smiled and said, "Yun Jin, you've heard so much, do you have any thoughts?"

We're all honest people. If you're interested, we can find some time to go and take a look.

"I'll take you to the film set and show you how it actually works. That's much better than you just listening to us talk theory."

This is a clever way of putting it; instead of directly asking "Do you want to submit?", it presupposes "You are interested".

The next step is to discuss when and how to look at it.

This is a negotiation tactic that Su Nianrong often uses: to create a fait accompli by using assumptions.

The private room fell silent for a moment, and all eyes were on Gu Yunjin.

She calmly placed the teacup back on the table, looked up, her smile still gentle and warm, and then said something that surprised everyone.

"Sister Su, everyone, to be honest, movies are indeed a great thing, and I know that everyone here is a top talent in the industry. But when it comes to how quickly you can make money..."

She paused, her eyelashes drooping slightly, as if she were choosing her words carefully, or perhaps recalling something interesting.

"In all these years, the things I've seen that make money quickly haven't really been movies."

Old Zhou became interested and leaned forward: "What does President Gu think makes money quickly?"

"Stock trading," Gu Yunjin added as if she had just remembered.

"Oh, and there's cryptocurrency trading. If you do these two right, the profits in one night can equal the return on investment for a movie in half a year."

The atmosphere in the private room subtly changed.

Old Sun's expression softened first.

He pushed up his glasses, and his previous composed demeanor as a "film and television capital operation expert" unconsciously softened by a fraction.

He also dabbles in stock trading in private. Last year, he bought a new energy concept stock at a high price and lost a lot of money, and he hasn't been able to recover it yet.

As for cryptocurrencies, he had heard of them but had never touched them, always thinking they were a game for young people.

Hearing Gu Yunjin say this, he couldn't help but ask, "Does President Gu also invest in stocks?"

"Do a little," Gu Yunjin said, her tone still unhurried.

"Not much, just a hobby. A couple of years ago, I invested in a Chinese concept stock. I was lucky; I held it for four months and it nearly tripled in value."

Old Sun's eyes lit up, and the producer next to him also put down his chopsticks.

Only Su Nianrong's heart sank half an inch; she clearly felt it.

The attention in the private room was gradually shifting away from the movie, drifting in another direction following Gu Yunjin's casual words.

But before Su Nianrong could interject, Old Zhou spoke first.

Today, he was in charge of persuading Gu Yunjin to invest in the movie, but after trying for a long time, he couldn't convince her. Instead, he himself became curious.

He rubbed his hands together and said in a half-joking tone:

"I really don't understand cryptocurrencies. But I heard that some people made a fortune from Bitcoin a few years ago. Have you seen it, Mr. Gu?"

"I've seen it." Gu Yunjin smiled, her tone as calm as if she were saying that the price of eggs in the supermarket had gone up by two yuan yesterday.

"When I was in school, Bitcoin had just come out not long ago. I thought it was quite interesting, so I collected some."

Old Zhou was stunned, and so was Old Sun.

What was the price of Bitcoin when it first came out?

A few cents? A few dimes? Later, the price rose to nearly $70,000 each.

If she had acquired some back then—"acquired some"—how much was "some"?

Old Zhou's eyes widened, and his body involuntarily leaned forward, completely forgetting his previous composure as the "Godmother of Cinema."

"Mr. Gu, are you talking about Bitcoin? That Bitcoin? You—you bought it back then?"

"Yes." Gu Yunjin nodded, her expression innocent as if she were talking about a trivial matter.

"I just thought it was fun at the time, and I didn't spend much money. Later, the price went up, and many people around me said I was lucky."

Old Zhou took a deep breath and was about to continue asking questions when the young producer who hadn't said much suddenly spoke up, his voice filled with barely concealed urgency.

"Mr. Gu, is it still safe to get involved in cryptocurrencies? I heard there's been another surge recently, but I haven't dared to invest yet. What do you think?"

Su Nianrong finally couldn't maintain her composure. She had orchestrated this scheme to trap Gu Yunjin, not to have her own people led astray.

She coughed loudly, almost deliberately, and then laughed before anyone else could.

"Hey, how come you all went off-topic while listening to this?"

Su Nianrong smiled and waved her hand, trying her best to sound relaxed and casual.

"Look at how badly Bitcoin has fallen these days. Weren't there plenty of people who jumped off buildings after being liquidated a couple of years ago? Let's talk about something more reliable—"

Gu Yunjin turned to look at her.

"Sister Su is right, Bitcoin has indeed fallen sharply recently, and the ones I bought back then have shrunk considerably in value."

That's why I said this is all about luck, it's unpredictable. Real-world businesses like filmmaking are much more reassuring.

She spoke so eloquently that she even managed to steer the conversation back on track for Su Nianrong.

But Su Nianrong was not at ease at all. Old Sun and Old Zhou exchanged a glance, and she knew all too well what was written in that glance.

That's the expression of a fish that's been caught. After they get back, they'll definitely ask Gu Yunjin for her WeChat in private.

There will definitely be times when I secretly search for Bitcoin trading information late at night, and I will definitely keep thinking about the phrase "it has almost tripled".

Su Nianrong looked at the young woman in front of her, who was smiling with her head turned to the side, holding a teacup in both hands, and seemed harmless. Suddenly, she felt a thin layer of cold sweat seep down her back.

She's definitely not a naive and innocent girl.

After the tea party ended, Gu Yunjin was in the parking lot.

She leaned against the car door and sent Bai Junze a message:

"Your stepmother arranged a movie investment scheme for me, but I declined. I also taught them a little about stock and cryptocurrency trading, and I didn't charge them tuition."

Less than half a minute after the message was sent, Bai Junze called.

"What was their reaction?"

Gu Yunjin couldn't help but curl the corners of her mouth into a smile: "Your Aunt Su's expression is quite interesting."

"She's not my aunt," Bai Junze corrected her.

"Su Nianrong and Meng Wanqing have a deep-rooted conflict of interest. This whole affair is aimed at you."

"I know," Gu Yunjin said, her tone as flat as if she were talking about the weather.

"What do you think she'll do next?"

"She won't organize any more parties; she'll wait for you to 'figure it out yourself.'"

"Then she can wait patiently."

Gu Yunjin opened the car door and got into the driver's seat.

"But I am quite curious—does your stepmother want me to pay compensation, or does she want me to get tainted with something that can't be washed away?"

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone. "She'd better not be thinking anything. Otherwise—"

"Don't rush." ​​Gu Yunjin started the car.

"She gave me a cup of tea; I should treat her to one sometime. It would be impolite not to reciprocate."