"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. I'll handle my romantic affairs myself."
"A man like Jian Zhou is one in a million. Don't let that white lotus bitch An Qiu Yan take advantage of the situation, or you'll regret it when it's too late."
"I know, why are you more nagging than my mom?"
"Didn't your mom pass away?"
Jiang Ling: "..."
Back in her own room, Jiang Ling rested her elbows on her chin and gazed at the dressing table for a long time, feeling a pang of unease.
Everyone praised her for being exceptionally intelligent and insightful, able to easily resolve the schemes and betrayals in the competitive entertainment industry.
But only she knew how much of a rookie and how naive she was when it came to matters of the heart, having been single her entire life, twice over.
Perhaps it was because the shares in the three luxury goods groups came too easily, making her not fully consider their value. This led to her feeling a sense of inferiority when facing the vast Jian family behind Jian Zhou.
This, in turn, reminded her of several female celebrities from her previous life who married into wealthy families. Without strong personal economic backing, they couldn't hold their heads high in their in-laws' eyes and were unable to engage in equal dialogue with their husbands. The result was a life of constant suppression after marriage.
It was this line of thought that made her hesitant to develop a deeper relationship with Jian Zhou, fearing she wouldn't be able to handle the consequences later.
Some might find her too pragmatic, placing so much importance on wealth and status.
But true marriage is indeed pragmatic. Daily life, from food and fuel to even soap and paper, all require money to purchase.
Money is not only a man's dignity but also a woman's foundation for strength and independence.
Last year, while filming and deeply immersing herself in the character of Ye Tian Yu, Jiang Ling had once experienced such a delight.
If she were a Cinderella like Ye Tian Yu, married to a rich and handsome man like Dan Jun Hao, and if after marriage, Dan Jun Hao didn't want her to work so hard, wanting her to be a full-time housewife, spending her days shopping, getting beauty treatments, and living a leisurely life – would she accept such a life?
Jiang Ling told herself, no.
In her opinion, the notion of "I'll earn money to support the family, and you just need to be beautiful" is the greatest form of emotional manipulation, or PUA, towards women.
She would rather work in a factory, screwing in bolts, earning a modest three to four thousand yuan a month for her hard work, but still strive for economic independence.
Because without economic independence, one cannot achieve personal independence.
In youth, they might be inseparable, living in blissful harmony, but it's impossible to guarantee that in old age, one's partner won't grow tired of them and seek new affections.
After decades of being a full-time housewife, severely disconnected from society, you would have lost the ability to re-enter the workforce. What would you do then?
If you can't survive a divorce, you can't leave. If you don't want to divorce, you can only endure and watch your husband be intimate with other women.
Such a life, just thinking about it, is terrifying.
Life is precious, love is priceless. For the sake of freedom, both can be cast aside.
The freedom here is not just physical freedom, but also spiritual freedom.
She would rather remain unmarried her entire life, rather remain an old maid, than allow herself to lose her spiritual freedom.
In wealthy families, rules are abundant, and restrictions on spiritual freedom are particularly severe.
Without sufficiently strong economic capabilities, it's almost impossible to resist this constraint.
This is the fundamental reason why she wants to cut ties with Jian Zhou.
However, after much thought, she had completely overlooked the fact that in addition to being a celebrity, she was also a major shareholder of luxury goods groups.
If she had remembered this earlier, she wouldn't have said those words. Now, it's hard to take them back.