Former Hong Kong actress Gigi Lai has changed her Chinese name from "Li Zi" to "Li Jia Er" after a geomancer told her that this would increase her chances of getting pregnant. Upon hearing this news, Lai's husband, businessman Ma Ting Qiang decided to reward her efforts by forking out HK$20 million (S$4 million) to expand Lai's beauty salon. The 38-year-old former actress had been married to Ma, 52, for the past 11 months. When they got married, she promised to give the Ma family an heir but her efforts so far have been in vain.
Desperate for a child, Lai went to fertility specialists and even consulted a geomancer on the matter, despite being a devout Christian. A geomancer claimed that Lai's old name "Li Zi" benefited her career but conversely decreased the chances of her having a child. Even if she conceived, the child will more likely be a daughter than a son. Lai's new name "Li Jia Er" - which sounds the same phonetically as the phrase "adding a son" - is believed to change her fortune and improve her chances of gaining a son.
However, the new name will reportedly give her less luck with interpersonal relationships. This would not affect Lai much since she has retired from the entertainment industry and will not need to meet as many people as before. Lai has asked all her acquaintances to address her by her new name. She also replaced all instances of her old name in her passport and other documents, on the advice of her geomancer. Accoring to the geomancer, her name change will be more effective if people forget about her old name quickly.
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