The Heiress's Game

Li Chunjing hadn't thought about Li Xiaoxiao for almost half a month.

She now gets up at 6:30 every morning to first go over the day's schedule with the filming team, and then confirm the makeup, hair and makeup, movement, interview outline, and venue coordination for Chen Cui's family of six.

She followed this family around from morning till night.

"Sister Chunjing, the outline for tomorrow's studio interview has been revised to the third version. Please take a look."

A young female stagehand ran over and shoved the tablet into her hand. Li Chunjing took it, glanced at it, marked two places on it with a pen, and handed it back.

"The second question about the father was too direct. We should have changed it to 'What was the hardest thing for the family back then?' Let them say it themselves, instead of us saying it for them."

The factory worker nodded and ran off. Li Chunjing stood at the factory gate, holding a half-cold cup of coffee in her hand. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the tin roof and fell on her shoulders. She squinted as she watched the bustling activity—every second was burning money, but every second was also making money.

The production cost of this show is S+ level. Gu Yunjin remembers every penny she invested clearly, and her own monthly salary is now 60,000.

Every time this number pops into her mind, she feels like she has inexhaustible energy.

Her phone vibrated. She glanced down at the caller ID—Zhou Xiulan.

She placed the coffee cup on the equipment box next to her and only picked it up after walking outside the factory.

It wasn't a feigned sob, nor the strained weakness that came across as theatrical when he pretended to be sick to trick her into going home last time.

It was a real, tangible fear of being crushed by something.

"Chunjing—Chunjing, please save your mother—Xiaoxiao has gone mad—she says she's going to marry me off—she says she's going to find me an old man to collect the bride price."

"She brought a man home today, and the moment he walked in, he stared at me like I was something—Chunjing, I'm really scared—"

Li Chunjing took the phone away from her ear, leaned against the outer wall, and looked up at the clouds slowly moving across the sky.

Zhou Xiulan's voice was still pouring out of the receiver, incoherent and choked with sobs.

Once the crying on the other end of the phone subsided a little, Li Chunjing spoke, her voice as steady as when she was rehearsing the script on set.

"Mom, I can't help you with this."

Zhou Xiulan's crying paused abruptly, as if someone had grabbed her throat.

"I'm very busy; the projects I'm working on can't be stopped for even a day. I can't possibly abandon my work to deal with this kind of thing."

Li Chunjing's tone was flat, "But I can help you call the police. We live in a society governed by law. If someone takes you to a place you don't want to go against your will, that's illegal detention."

If they force you to marry, it's a violent interference with your freedom of marriage. You can call 110 (the police emergency number), and they will handle it.

"You are now facing a situation where Li Xiaoxiao is trying to force you into a marriage with someone else without your consent. This is illegal."

You don't need me to go back, and you don't need anyone's approval of her arrangements.

All you need to do is pick up the phone, dial a number, and call the police. The police will come and handle it.

"Call the police?!" Zhou Xiulan's voice was full of disbelief.

"You want me to call the police to arrest your sister? She just got out of there, and you want to put her back in—"

"Then go and get married."

There was silence on the other end of the phone. Utter silence; even the sobbing stopped.

"Mom, you do have a choice."

"You have a choice, but every choice comes with a price. If you choose to listen to her, then you'll marry that old man and live the life she's arranged for you."

If you choose not to listen to her, let her make a scene. If she dares to force you, call the police.

Zhou Xiulan remained silent for a long time on the other end of the phone.

After a while, Li Chunjing thought the signal had dropped, so she took it off to check the screen, but it was still in a call.

"Chun Jing," Zhou Xiulan's voice suddenly changed.

"Are you—really going to abandon this family?"

"I have already said that I am severing ties with you, and I am following the formal court ruling."

Even after severing ties, I still transfer alimony to your account every month on time, without missing a single penny.

Why? Because you gave birth to me, which is a legal obligation, and I accept it.

But apart from that, your business is your business, Li Xiaoxiao's business is Li Xiaoxiao's business, and it has nothing to do with me.

Zhou Xiulan started crying even louder on the other end of the phone, her cries a mixture of incoherent explanations and pleas.

"Mom," she said, her voice lower but still steady.

"I've done right by you. I'll continue to give you money monthly. But I won't interfere in your affairs anymore."

She hung up the phone and stood there for five seconds.

The phone screen went dark, and the lock screen wallpaper was a calendar screenshot—the day the court judgment took effect was circled in red, with two lines of text in the notes: the first line read "End of mother-daughter relationship," and the second line read "From now on, I am myself."

She glanced at the two lines of text, turned her phone over and held it in her palm, then turned and walked back to the factory.