The Heiress's Game

"Traveling with brilliance won't cause any trouble," Gu Zhenxing said.

"I'll talk to your sister."

Julie smiled brightly and gently patted Gu Zhenxing's arm. The gesture was intimate and natural, carrying a heartfelt joy.

"It seems I can once again regularly enjoy the brilliance of the world."

"Dad," Gu Yunjin seized the opportunity.

"I have something else, a preliminary idea, and I'd like to hear your advice."

Gu Zhenxing looked at her, raised his chin, and gestured for her to speak.

"With Brilliance, we only plan to accept two or three sponsors at the moment, unlike other variety shows that plaster the screen with brand logos."

My idea is that we will make all the clothing, makeup, and jewelry that appear in the show ourselves.

Design, production, and sales – all in one integrated process.

Variety shows are a huge traffic source. The clothes and items that Chen Cui and her family wore and used on the show were sold directly on the same brand's e-commerce store after the show aired.

We've already tested the waters in the apparel sector, and the results were better than expected.

"But clothing is just one aspect," Gu Yunjin continued.

"If we were to expand into clothing, jewelry, and cosmetics, we would need to secure designer resources and supply chains upstream, build e-commerce and after-sales systems downstream, and manage inventory and control quality in the middle—the whole process would require a huge investment."

I don't have enough funds to expand this much, so I'm really unsure of myself. I'd like to hear your advice.

After she finished speaking, she quieted down, crossed her hands on her knees, and adopted the posture of a humble junior seeking advice.

Gu Zhenxing did not speak immediately.

Content-driven traffic generation, scenario-based product seeding, and e-commerce monetization.

They control the design and production upstream, the brand and distribution channels downstream, and use a variety show with the highest national viewership as a connector in the middle.

Once this closed loop is complete, it will no longer be a media company, but a new species spanning three tracks: content, consumer goods, and e-commerce.

He turned his head and looked at Gu Yunjin.

He had to admit that his daughter's business acumen far exceeded his expectations.

This is not a "small project that's done well"; it's a classic case study that could be included in business school textbooks.

The person who brought up this case was his 26-year-old daughter.

Gu Yunjin observed the change in his expression; the time had come.

Her tone softened, carrying a hint of pitifulness:

"But Dad, I really have no money left. Every penny in Xingyao's account has a designated purpose. I feel like I'm standing in front of a pile of gold, but my arms are too short to reach it. You see—"

Julie couldn't help but chuckle.

Gu Yunjin turned to her, her expression still pitiful: "Julie, don't laugh, I really am poor."

"Okay, I won't laugh." Julie picked up her teacup to cover her mouth, but she couldn't suppress the smile in her eyes.

"How about this, I'll invest in your project. I have some spare cash that's just sitting there anyway, so I might as well invest it in your project."

Gu Yunjin was amused and waved her hand, "No, Julie, I told you, the risk is too great. What if we lose money?"

"I'll just consider it a loss as a ticket I bought myself to a variety show," Julie said with a smile, her tone half-serious and half-joking.

"You're quite generous." Gu Zhenxing glanced at Julie, and the corners of his mouth finally twitched slightly.

Gu Yunjin's laughter continued, but her gaze had already shifted back to her father's face: "Dad, look, Julie is about to vote for me. Shouldn't you do the same?"

Gu Zhenxing looked at her like this—just a moment ago she was standing there confronting him, every word of hers sounding like a business negotiation, but now she had turned into a little girl who was smiling and complaining about being poor in front of him.

He switched between these two personas so naturally that he suddenly found his previous anger somewhat ridiculous.

"Alright," he said, "how much do you want?"

"Not much, maybe a few hundred million."

Gu Yunjin picked up her teacup and took a sip, her tone as light as if she were suggesting adding an extra dish to dinner tonight.

"But let me make it clear beforehand, if I lose money, I won't have the money to pay you back."

Gu Zhenxing was stunned for a moment, then suddenly laughed.

Julie was also laughing so hard she covered her mouth, her shoulders shaking.

"A few hundred million is a small amount of money?" Gu Zhenxing laughed and then pointed at her with his finger. "You're really talking big."

"Didn't you just say I was being arrogant? I need to maintain that image," Gu Yunjin said seriously.

Gu Zhenxing chuckled again, then regained his composure, picked up his teacup and took a sip: "Alright, I'll have Xu Bingjun arrange for the money to be transferred to you later. You can check the exact amount with him; you don't need to report it to me again."

"Thank you, Dad," Gu Yunjin said, her voice gentle and obedient.

Then she put down her teacup, as if suddenly remembering something. Her tone was casual yet serious: "Then, does that mean my marriage to Pei Yan can be cancelled?"

Gu Zhenxing looked at her and remained silent for two seconds.

Then he sighed and waved his hand: "It's canceled. If you don't want to get married, then you don't have to. From now on, you can make your own decisions about these things."

A smile bloomed on Gu Yunjin's face. She stood up from her chair, walked to Gu Zhenxing's side, bent down, and hugged him.

The action was so fast that it was over before Gu Zhenxing could even react.

"Thank you, Dad. Don't worry, if I'm looking for a husband in the future, it will definitely be after you agree and approve of me before I marry him."

"I will never marry you if you don't agree."

"Alright, alright," Gu Zhenxing raised his hand as if to shoo her away, "You can get lost now."

"I'm leaving now."

Gu Yunjin walked out of the tea room and along the corridor toward the gallery entrance.

She didn't drive away immediately, but leaned back in the driver's seat and exhaled a long, slow breath.

Then she took out her phone, scrolled to Zhou Ji's chat window, and typed: "Funds in place, marriage alliance canceled, the plan can be fully launched."