The Heiress's Game

When Zhang Zhuoran made an appointment with Gu Yunjin, he said, "I'll take you to a nice place."

Gu Yunjin thought it was a private restaurant hidden in an old house, but when she arrived at the door, she found it was an open-air food stall.

The neon sign hung crookedly, and the red "A-Qiang Seafood" sign was missing half of the character "Qiang," becoming "A-Sui Seafood."

Plastic tables and chairs stretched from the shop entrance all the way to the curb, and the smoke from the barbecue grills drifted half a street away with the sea breeze.

The aroma of cumin and charcoal grilling blended together, so strong it almost brought tears to your eyes, yet so enticing you couldn't tear yourself away.

Gu Yunjin stood by the roadside, looking at the new season trench coat she had just picked up, and remained silent for a second.

Then she took off her trench coat, folded it, and put it in the car. Wearing the black T-shirt underneath, she walked over.

Zhang Zhuoran was already sitting at the plastic table by the sea, with a row of freshly grilled oysters in front of him, their shells covered with minced garlic and vermicelli, sizzling and bubbling with oil.

"You're really down-to-earth," Gu Yunjin said, pulling out a plastic chair and sitting down. He picked up his chopsticks and naturally took out an oyster.

"I thought if you invited me out for a late-night snack, it would at least be a place with a tablecloth."

"You won't get enough to eat where there's a tablecloth," Zhang Zhuoran said, pouring her a cup of tea in a disposable plastic cup.

"These oysters are the best in Ocean City. They're delivered directly from the pier every day, and they're all gone if you come late."

"Miss Gu! Over here!" Bai Tianyi's voice came from overheard.

He was running over from a makeshift shaved ice stall, holding a cup of mango shaved ice in his left hand and a plate of freshly cooked salt and pepper mantis shrimp in his right.

The three people sat around a plastic table, taking turns using their chopsticks to pick up food and eating with great relish.

A sea breeze blew in gusts, mixing the smoke and noise of the barbecue stall with the sound of the waves, and the oyster shells on the table were piled up into a small mountain.

After downing two beers, Bai Tianyi really opened up.

"Let me tell you, my cousin—Bai Junze, please remember this name, because this name represents the most boring human specimen."

He peeled the mantis shrimp shells while indignantly complaining.

"He's practically a work machine. Can you imagine? At 7:30 a.m. on the first day of the Lunar New Year, he called me to ask if the project plan had been revised yet."

It's the first day of the Lunar New Year! 7:30! While everyone else in the country is eating dumplings, he's talking to me about KPIs!

Zhang Zhuoran choked on his beer and coughed several times before he recovered.

Although Gu Yunjin didn't know Bai Junze, Bai Tianyi's imitation was so vivid—he sat up straight like Bai Junze, with a serious expression, and even lowered his voice by an octave—she couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"And there's something even more outrageous," Bai Tianyi said, getting more and more excited. "It's one thing that he has high standards for himself, but he also treats us cousins ​​like military drill instructors."

Last month, I stayed up all night to finish a proposal and handed it to him, thinking he would at least say "not bad," but he only replied with three words—"It's alright."

"Those three words are already very good," Gu Yunjin said with a smile.

"What?! He then sent twelve more revision suggestions! Twelve!"

He slammed the disposable chopsticks on the table, and one of them bounced back, almost flying into the grilled fish on the next table.

"And every suggestion for revision was followed by its priority and references. I'm his cousin, not an intern on his project team!"

"Last time I wore a floral shirt to a family gathering, he glanced at it and only said one sentence—'Donate this shirt tomorrow.' Donate it! He didn't even criticize me, he just sentenced me to death!"

Gu Yunjin laughed so hard she almost dropped her chopsticks.

"And another time," Bai Tianyi said, getting more and more excited as he spoke, drawing circles in the air with the lamb skewers in his hand.

"I posted a picture on my WeChat Moments with the track photo we took at the racetrack that time, and the caption was 'Of course we have to go for a spin this weekend.'"

His immediate comment: "Street racing is illegal, be careful, and read more books in your spare time." Read more books!

He posted a message on WeChat Moments from the racetrack telling me to read more books! Do you think that's something a human being would do?

Zhang Zhuoran couldn't help but laugh, almost knocking over his beer glass.

Bai Tianyi laughed as he said this, picked up his beer and took a big gulp, then slammed the glass on the table and sighed: "But to be fair, he is really capable."

He managed all of the Bai family's numerous businesses perfectly on his own.

When Grandpa mentioned him, he said, "He is the finest horse of the Bai family."

Comrades, I am a wild horse, he is a thoroughbred. What a difference!

As they were talking, a dark-colored Bentley slowly drove up along the narrow road next to the food stall.

The Bentley pulled up next to the table for the three people.

The rear window slowly rolled down, revealing a man's profile.

He looks to be in his early thirties, with sharp, cold features. He's so good-looking he could debut as a singer or perform on a dating show like "Love Song" any minute now.

He rolled the car window down completely, glanced at Bai Tianyi, then at Zhang Zhuoran and Gu Yunjin sitting opposite him, his expression unchanged.

Just moments ago, Bai Tianyi was holding a wine glass and passionately making accusations, but now he seemed to have been put on pause.

His hand holding the wine glass froze in mid-air, and the expression on his face changed from indignation to horror, and from horror to "Heaven is going to kill me."

"Brother—Big Brother—weren't you in Yunjing? When did you come to Dahai City? What are you doing here?"

Bai Tianyi hurriedly put down his wine glass, stood up, and pushed the plastic stool back with a creak.

Bai Junze glanced at him indifferently, and then spoke.

"You were just praising me?"

Bai Tianyi's expression froze for a second, then he nodded frantically:

"Yes, yes, I'm praising you! I've been praising you the whole time! I told them you're the pride of the Bai family, a benchmark in the business world, and—"

"But I can read lips, my silly little brother."

Bai Tianyi looked like a goose with its neck being choked, its mouth open and a very faint, hesitant sound coming from its throat.

The scene became very awkward.

Zhang Zhuoran cleared his throat, stood up, and tried his best to make his voice sound like a normal person.

"Mr. Bai, it's an honor to meet you. I'm Zhang Zhuoran, a friend of Tianyi. We were just joking around—"

Bai Tianyi pointed at Gu Yunjin as if grasping at a straw: "Brother! This is Miss Gu! Miss Gu Yunjin!"

Bai Junze's gaze shifted to Gu Yunjin. Gu Yunjin was still holding a half-eaten salt and pepper mantis shrimp, her fingers covered in salt, pepper, and oil.

She looked up, waved to him with her other hand, and smiled brightly and relaxedly, as if to say, "Hi, hello, I have shrimp in my hand so I won't shake your hand."

Bai Junze's gaze lingered on her face for a second, then he nodded slightly.

"Brother, do you want some late-night snacks?" Bai Tianyi pressed his advantage, his eagerness practically wagging his tail.

"These oysters are amazing! Zhang Zhuoran recommended them! He's been around this area since he was a kid, he knows exactly which oysters are good!"

Zhang Zhuoran kicked him, but still maintained a polite smile and continued the conversation:

"Mr. Bai, it's rare for you to come to Dahai City. Why don't we grab a bite to eat together? I'll ask the owner to add a few more dishes."

Bai Junze glanced at Bai Tianyi and said, "Get in the car."

Bai Tianyi's face fell: "Huh? Are we going back now?"

"Isn't this too sudden? I just escaped from that mess at home and only had three months of peace and quiet."

"I want to rest for another five months."

Bai Junze didn't answer him, but simply rolled the car window back up.

Bai Tianyi quickly turned back to Zhang Zhuoran and Gu Yunjin and said, "I'm leaving now. I have to go back to Yunjing. My brother is looking for me. I'll treat you to something better another day."

Then, like a small animal being pulled by the scruff of its neck, it crawled into the passenger seat of the Bentley.

Before the car door closed, he leaned against the window and looked at Gu Yunjin with an extremely resentful gaze, mouthing a few words—Gu Yunjin understood, it was "Save me".

She wanted to laugh but held it in, waved to him, and made a "take care" gesture.

The Bentley's taillights gradually disappeared into the night amidst the smoky atmosphere of the food stalls.