The Heiress's Game

The mosquitoes were created by a link posted by Lin Susu.

At that moment, she was nestled on a beanbag chair scrolling through her phone when a message from Lin Susu popped up at the top of the screen. Lin Susu had sent three messages in a row, each followed by a string of exclamation marks:

"Look at this!!!" "Weibo is in an uproar!" "Chen Cui!!! Gu Mingyue!!!"

Mosquito clicked the link, which was a preview clip for a variety show, less than two minutes long. She was initially watching it lying on her side, but sat up after watching for thirty seconds.

On the screen, Chen Cui and a young girl stood face to face, the atmosphere tense and confrontational.

That girl must be her younger sister—the two have somewhat similar features, but their temperaments are completely different.

The younger sister's voice was high-pitched and shrill, "What makes you so great? Do you really think you're some kind of princess?"

Weren't you used to be Gu Mingyue's handbag attendant?

Standing at the banquet hall entrance helping people carry their limited-edition items, while they went inside to eat, you were squatting in the hallway eating a boxed lunch—you were practically giving them a foot massage! What are you pretending for?

The image shook violently, as if the photographer was so startled by the words that he lost his grip on the camera.

Then came a crisp slap—their mother rushed over from the side and slapped the older sister across the face. The sound was so clear and loud that even through the screen, it made Mosquito's face tingle.

The mother trembled with rage: "What nonsense are you spouting! How did your older sister treat you? Don't you have any conscience?!"

The scene shifts to the younger brother standing in a corner, his face ashen, yelling back at his older sister: "How dare you talk to your older sister like that? If it weren't for your older sister working outside to earn money, would we be able to go to school?"

"You think you'll have anything to eat? That outfit you're wearing was bought by your older sister, take it off!"

The scene cuts to slow motion here—the younger sister covers her face, tears streaming down her face, her lips trembling, whether from pain or anger, it's hard to tell;

The mother's hand was still raised in mid-air, her fingertips trembling; after the younger brother finished yelling, his eyes also reddened, and he turned around and kicked over the trash can next to him.

Chen Cui remained standing still, her facial expression magnified by the close-up shot.

The trailer abruptly ends here, the screen goes black, and several large words pop up: "Walking with Brilliance Episode 4 - She is their eldest sister, and also the Chen Cui you have never seen before."

The mosquito stood frozen in place, its phone held in mid-air, motionless for a long time.

Gu Mingyue? The Gu Mingyue who's the most famous socialite in Dahai City? Chen Cui used to be her handbag carrier?

She almost reflexively opened the search engine.

Type "Gu Mingyue Chen Cui" into the search bar and press Enter. Wow, four out of the top ten trending topics are related to this.

The discussion on the forum was in complete chaos, with someone digging up old photos of Chen Cui standing next to Gu Mingyue.

—In the photo, Gu Mingyue, dressed in a haute couture gown, is surrounded by a group of people as she walks into the banquet hall, with Chen Cui following two steps behind her.

Holding Gu Mingyue's crocodile Birkin bag, she lowered her head, her entire figure out of focus in the background of the crowd.

The blogger added the following caption: "That blurry figure has now become the hottest reality show star in the city."

The comments section has exploded.

"Holy crap, so Chen Cui really used to be Gu Mingyue's bag carrier??? Isn't her family quite wealthy? She was always wearing designer brands on the show???"

"Wake up, upstairs! That's a costume provided by the production team. He climbed up from the bottom."

"Oh my god, that younger sister's words were so awful. What do you mean by 'foot massage'? That's her own sister!"

"What my sister said was harsh, but it's the truth... Isn't it normal for Chen Cui to have done this kind of work before? Everyone has to work part-time before."

"Hilarious! You guys keep arguing, I just want to know where I can watch this variety show. The trailer looks amazing."

"Hey upstairs, go watch 'Walking with Brilliance'!!! The first three episodes have already aired!!! If you don't like it, come back and yell at me!!!"

Mosquito left the trending topics section, immediately switched back to WeChat, and sent a voice message to Lin Susu, her voice trembling:

"Susu, did you see it? That trailer—"

"I've watched it three times."

Lin Susu replied instantly, her tone filled with the excitement of discovering a treasure.

"And I've already started watching the first episode. Hurry up, it's so good, really, I'm not kidding you. I originally planned to watch only ten minutes, but I've already watched forty minutes."

"It's good? Isn't it one of those drama-filled reality shows?"

"What kind of reality show is this, tearing each other apart!" Lin Susu's voice suddenly rose half an octave.

"That's a fashion editorial! Every frame could be used as wallpaper!"

The Chen family is incredibly good-looking; her mother was definitely a campus beauty when she was young.

Her younger brother looks like a miniature version of a Korean drama male lead. Even the older sister who scolded her, although she spoke harshly, has really striking features. And don't you think that kind of real argument is more interesting? It's not acting, it's real.

"Oh my god, what am I saying? Go watch it!"

Mosquito hung up the phone and then searched for "Walking with Brilliance".

Mosquito originally planned to watch for ten minutes and then take a shower. Instead, she watched the entire episode in one go, and then the next episode automatically started playing. By the time she realized what was happening, it was already dark outside.

She leaned back on the sofa, staring at the scrolling credits at the end, with only one thought in her mind—

Oh no, I'm hooked.