The Heiress's Game

At 9 p.m., Gu Mingyue updated her social media account with a nine-grid photo collage: a Dior haute couture gown, a front-row seat at the show, and a solo photo with the designer after the show.

And a carefully edited photo of her back, with the glass dome of the Grand Palais in Paris in the background, light filtering through the cast iron frame and falling on her, making her look as if she were plated with gold. The caption was only one line: "Thank you for the invitation, Dior. This season is so beautiful."

In less than half an hour, the comment section was flooded with messages.

"Sister Mingyue is so beautiful!! Even her unedited photos are stunning!"

"This dress is simply tailor-made for my sister; no one else can pull off this aura."

"The title of 'Number One Socialite of Dahai City' isn't given lightly; she looks like she's straight out of a magazine just by standing there."

"Sister, do you need someone to carry your bag? I'm available! No salary, just meals!"

Gu Mingyue leaned back in the chaise lounge of her hotel suite, her slender fingers slowly swiping across her phone screen as she scrolled through the comments one by one.

All the stars revolve around the moon, but there can only be one moon.

There was a gentle knock on the suite door, and the personal assistant, Kobayashi, pushed the door open and came in.

Holding a tablet in her hand, she hesitated for a moment before speaking after standing beside Gu Mingyue:

"Ms. Gu, there's something I need to tell you."

"What is it?" Gu Mingyue didn't look up, still scrolling through the comments.

Xiaolin took a deep breath: "There's a very popular variety show recently called 'Walking with Brilliance,' and the female lead is an artist named Chen Cui."

In the latest episode, she revealed her experience as your personal assistant.

This topic is now trending online and it's everywhere.

The show used this incident to generate buzz, and it's already scheduled to air on Hunan TV's Friday night slot.

Gu Mingyue's finger stopped on the phone screen.

"Chen Cui?"

"It's the one who used to be your personal assistant."

Xiaolin's voice grew softer and softer; she knew what kind of reaction this name would provoke.

She had worked as Gu Mingyue's assistant for several years and had seen Gu Mingyue have a cold face all day because the stylist used the wrong foundation shade.

Now, this Chen Cui didn't use the wrong foundation, nor did she write a report that upset her; instead, she used Gu Mingyue's name as a ladder to climb onto the prime-time slot on satellite TV. Xiao Lin dared not think any further.

This girl is now trending on social media, and she got there by association with Gu Mingyue.

Gu Mingyue picked up her phone and went straight to the search engine. When she typed in "Chen Cui Gu Mingyue" and the search results page popped up, her pupils contracted slightly—more than 70 million results.

The top spot, with seventy million views, is a clip from the fourth episode of "Walking with Brilliance," with the title proclaiming, "Was Chen Cui once treated like a servant by Gu Mingyue? The person involved responds personally."

Second on the list is a 10,000-word article from a marketing account, with a more direct title: "From Gu Mingyue, the handbag carrier, to the queen of reality shows, whose face did Chen Cui's road to success slap?"

"Which TV station did you say she appeared on?" Gu Mingyue asked.

"Fruit TV, Friday nights at 9 pm, features exclusive variety shows."

Hunan TV is a trump card among domestic satellite TV channels, backed by unfathomable capital and deeply entrenched political and business relationships.

Once a variety show airs on Hunan TV's prime time slot, it's not something Gu Mingyue can make disappear using conventional methods.

She was well aware of her own worth—she was a socialite, not capital itself.

Her power stems from the fact that she is Gu Zhenxing's daughter and the second young mistress of the Zhao family, not from any substantial say she has.

But if we can't demolish the building from the front, then let it become a dangerous building.

"I really can't control the prime-time variety shows on Hunan TV."

"Should we notify Mr. Gu?" Xiaolin asked tentatively.

The "Mr. Gu" she mentioned refers to Gu Zhenxing, Gu Mingyue's father.

To everyone, the father's doting on his eldest daughter was a well-known fact throughout Dahai City—from childhood to adulthood, Gu Zhenxing had never said no to anything Gu Mingyue wanted.

Gu Mingyue remained silent for a moment. If she spoke up, her father would definitely help her.

However, if Gu Zhenxing were to take charge, it could very well result in him directly putting pressure on Hunan TV, or even getting the program's license revoked by the cultural authorities.

This approach, while quick to produce results, is too crude.

The entire internet is currently discussing Chen Cui and her relationship. If "Walking with Brilliance" is suddenly taken down at this critical juncture, everyone will point the finger at her.

She didn't want to be the one being pointed at and accused of "bullying others with her power." What she wanted was for the show to collapse because of its own "problems," and for it to have nothing to do with her, Gu Mingyue.

"Not for now, but if in the end I can't solve it on my own—"

She glanced at Kobayashi, and the meaning in that glance was clear: then don't blame me for being uncivilized.

There are only two things that Gu Mingyue can't accept in her life: one is being overshadowed by others, and the other is having her name used to steal the limelight.

Chen Cui possesses both qualities.

"But what if this show is illegal in some way?"

Kobayashi was stunned: "You mean...?"

"Get ready,"

"Go back to Dahai City next week."

Xiaolin nodded quickly, turned around and left.

As she reached the door, she glanced back at Gu Mingyue—her employer had already sat back down on the chaise lounge, her phone lit up again, displaying the nine-grid comment section on the screen, the praise continuing, but her expression as she looked at those comments had changed.

The seventh most popular comment appeared out of nowhere: "Has anyone watched Chen Cui's variety show... I think she used to be Gu Mingyue's assistant, and now she's even more famous than Gu Mingyue. It's such a strange feeling."

There are already over a hundred replies to this comment, most of which are discussing Chen Cui, her variety show appearances, and her "inspirational comeback" story.

Gu Mingyue stared at the comment for five seconds, then long-pressed the screen and deleted it.

She can delete one comment in her own comment section, but she can't delete 70 million search results.

What she regretted wasn't anything else. What she regretted was that she should have denied Chen Cui even the right to carry her handbag in the first place.