The Heiress's Game

Bai Tianyi has been kept at the old house by the old man for the past few days. He spends his days fishing with him, his evenings drinking tea with him, and occasionally he has to act as a "guest boy" in the flower hall.

—When the old man received guests, he would sit next to him, occasionally being praised by name, and then obediently lower his head and pretend to be modest.

He acted properly on the surface, but in his mind he was already counting down the days: It's been three days, when will my older brother come to relieve me?

That afternoon, guests arrived at the flower hall.

The guest was no ordinary person; he was another important figure in Yunjing—Qin Hansheng, the patriarch of the Qin family, who had known Bai Lingfeng for many years. They were both business allies and old rivals in the game of chess.

Two old men sat on rosewood armchairs in the flower hall of the old house. A servant brought two cups of Longjing tea. Amid the fragrant aroma of the tea, they talked about everything from the international situation to the marriages of the younger generation in the family.

Bai Tianyi sat on the mahogany round stool next to him, his posture unusually proper.

No matter how unruly he is at home, he still knows his limits in front of guests—especially guests of Old Master Qin's stature, even his father has to sit obediently and smile when he comes.

Qin Hansheng sighed as he held his teacup, saying that his son had recently been causing a huge uproar over a girlfriend.

He was so angry that he suspended the guy's credit card for three months after hearing about "true love above all else" and "freedom of marriage."

Bai Lingfeng picked up the purple clay cup and took a sip.

"Marriage is never just a matter for a child."

If someone is capable enough to go out and make their own way in the world without relying on their family for food, then they have no problem with choosing their own spouse—they have the confidence to do so.

Those who lack the ability to do so still have to rely on their family's resources and platforms, and therefore must obey the family's arrangements.

Wanting to use the family's money and also wanting to make decisions for yourself? There's no such thing as a free lunch.

Qin Hansheng nodded in deep agreement: "Old Bai is right."

My younger siblings are all mediocre, yet they all keep saying they want to date freely.

If they had Junze's abilities, they could go out on their own, without relying on their families, and build their businesses into Fortune 500 companies. They could marry whomever they wanted; I won't waste any more words.

Bai Lingfeng chuckled and put down his teacup: "Junze is an exception."

If he ever tells me he doesn't accept arranged marriages, I really won't know what to do with him—not that I can't control him, but that I don't have the confidence to.

He earned more on his own than the Bai family gave him, so what reason do you think I have to pressure him?

The two old men looked at each other and smiled. Their smiles contained a mutual appreciation, but also a sense of helplessness that "children and grandchildren have their own blessings, but we still have to take care of them."

Bai Tianyi listened from the side, silently giving his older brother a thumbs up in his heart—listen to that, thirty-three years old and still unmarried, even his grandfather couldn't do anything about it, that's the highest level of living.

"Tianyi," Bai Lingfeng suddenly turned his gaze to him, a teasing smile on his lips.

"Your Grandpa Qin just said that the purpose of arranged marriages is to ensure that children who are not capable enough can still contribute to the family. Which category do you consider yourself to be?"

Bai Tianyi paused, looked up, blinked twice, and then said with a matter-of-fact expression, "Grandpa, I think it's a waste for a good-for-nothing like me to get married."

Look at me, my performance is terrible, I can't manage, and all I know how to do is eat and play.

"If any young lady were to marry me, it wouldn't be a political alliance, it would be charity. Our Bai family wouldn't do something so deceitful, right?"

Qin Hansheng burst into laughter, and Bai Lingfeng laughed too, pointing at him with his finger: "You do have some self-awareness."

However, you can't keep being this lazy—you need to work harder and become like your older brother, so that you can make your own decisions.

You can marry whomever you want, or you can choose not to have an arranged marriage; no one can force you.

After laughing, Qin Hansheng wiped his eyes and joined in the joke.

"Tianyi, if you were as capable as Junze, I'd introduce you to my granddaughter—my own granddaughter, not a niece, the prettiest one. Do you have that ambition?"

Bai Tianyi quickly waved his hand: "Grandpa Qin, don't scare me. I'm most afraid of pressure. You should leave your granddaughter with someone more suitable. She deserves better."

Bai Tianyi sat on the round stool, a well-behaved and bright smile on his face, nodding frequently and responding with "uh-huh" sounds.

Becoming someone like the eldest brother through your own efforts? That's not a question of whether you work hard or not; it's about choosing the wrong skill set when you were born.

At the same time, his mind was racing, faster than anyone else's—to become the second Bai Junze?

Gentlemen, do you know what kind of life my elder brother is living?

I get up earlier than the chickens, and I'm still reviewing reports at 11 p.m., flying all over the world to discuss projects. I don't even have time to eat an oyster. If I could live like that, I wouldn't be lying around doing nothing.

However—he picked up his teacup to cover the barely suppressed smile on his lips—there was another shortcut.

Once my elder brother is in power and he marries my sister-in-law, I'll just appease her, won't that solve the problem?

I give my sister-in-law whatever she wants, and she receives a constant stream of gifts during holidays. When my brother scolds me, my sister-in-law always says, "Never mind, he's still young."

Isn't this much more effective than me trying on my own? My brother's biggest weakness in this life is that he can't do anything about me. Once my sister-in-law marries into the family, I'll have two people who can't do anything about me.

When the couple speaks up for me together, what do I have to fear about an arranged marriage? What do I have to fear about family arrangements?

The more he thought about it, the more he felt that his line of reasoning was absolutely flawless, and he couldn't suppress the smile on his face no matter what he did.

Seeing him sitting there grinning like a weasel that had stolen a chicken, Old Master Qin turned to Bai Lingfeng and said, "What mischief is this kid up to now?"

Bai Lingfeng held the teacup, his gaze lingering on Bai Tianyi's face for two seconds. He didn't ask any further questions, but simply shook his head slightly, though the smile on his lips wouldn't fade.