In a strange clarification by Chinese producer Li Shao Hong who has been getting lots of media attention for supposedly producing the Chinese drama version of the Korean hit drama Heirs, the drama started filming last week and it turns out NOT to be an adaptation of K-Heirs at all. Li Shao Hong finally put an end to the speculation by revealing the C-drama called Billion Dollar Heir (亿万继承人) is a completely different story than the drama starring Lee Min Ho and Park Shin Hye. It doesn’t even share the bare bones synopsis of high school or a bunch of Heirs. Does that mean we should let out a sigh of relief or scratch our heads that Li Shao Hong let the rumors go for so long that she was making the C-version of Heirs. I still think her drama will end up being call C-Heirs as a way to easily reference it because of its title, and that may be the brilliance of Li Shao Hong to let the rumors fly and drum up curiosity about her drama which isn’t beholden to the clunky K-version and has its own story and universe. The SARFT filming permit application was submitted for C-Heirs in June of 2013 before K-Heirs even aired lending credence to Li Shao Hong’s claim that her version is not a remake of the Korean one. I’ve translated the plot outline below that was submitted to SARFT and trust me when I say it bears zero resemblance to K-Heirs other than the male lead is the Heir to a whole lotta cash and seems to be quite emo with mommy issues. Super Junior member Choi Si Won will play one of the two male leads while the other role goes to Li Shao Hong protege Yu Xiao Tong. Si Won’s character is described as the hidden heir grandson who ends up in an inheritance battle. The drama is a two male lead-two female lead structure so it’s not correct to say Choi Si Won is headlining the drama. With that said, he’ll probably end up having more screen time since he’s a better known star internationally. Si Won was spotted on set already in Bei Hai, Guangxi province in China, and the other male lead Yu Xiao Tong snapped a hanging out picture with one of the female leads Kan Qing Zi also from the set.

Plot outline for Billion Dollar Heir:

Lu Zi Hao is the son of Da Zi Development Corporation President Lu Da Di and the heir to a family fortune of tens of billions. To outsiders he was born with a silver spoon but he sees himself as the orphan of happiness. His father’s desertion of his mother cast a huge shadow on him causing him to become a profligate playboy. His father’s sudden death leaves behind billions in inheritance and three strange letters. It pushes Lu Zi Hao to the crossroads of his life – the depths of the ocean, the burning fires, the tops of the mountains, the bottom of the abyss, where does Lu Zi Hao’s path lie? Thank goodness he meets the angel in his life Leng Mei, whose boyfriend ends up dying in a mountain rescue of Lu Zi Hao who is stranded there. Initially Leng Mei is filled with anger and ill-will towards Lu Zi Hao but gradually fate brings her into the world of the brash and arrogant second generation heirs. It allows Lu Zi Hao to transform into a brave, resilient, and upstanding real man.