The Heiress's Game

The afternoon after they met, Gu Yunjin sent Bai Junze a message saying that there was a newly built seaside promenade in Dahai City, and they could go for a walk together.

Bai Junze replied with a single word: Okay.

His impression of Gu Yunjin was based on two vague images.

One was at a barbecue stand, where she turned around and nodded at him amidst the smoke and fumes, but he couldn't even see her features clearly at the time.

Another was last night's dinner party. She sat opposite him in a smoky purple cheongsam dress, and was gentle and proper throughout. She smiled when she should smile and nodded when she should nod, as well-mannered as a porcelain doll.

Both meetings were "opportunities"—one was an accident, and the other was a staged performance. He wasn't sure what the real Gu Yunjin was like.

Gu Yunjin also felt that she had acted like a porcelain doll last night.

She doesn't rule out a marriage alliance—the dowry of 20 billion is there for all to see, and Bai Junze himself is top-tier in every quantifiable way, so she has no reason to reject it.

Since there's no option to quit, she should at least take the initiative to do something, such as getting to know Bai Junze better.

When Gu Yunjin arrived at the seaside promenade, Bai Junze had already arrived.

He wasn't wearing a suit today; instead, he wore a dark gray long-sleeved T-shirt and black casual trousers, with dark blue sneakers on his feet. He no longer had the aloofness he had last night, with his bespoke suit.

He stood by the stone pier at the entrance of the trail, looking at his phone. The sea breeze ruffled his hair slightly. He casually brushed it aside and then looked up to see Gu Yunjin.

Today, Gu Yunjin wore a sky-blue shirt dress, her hair was tied in a low ponytail, and she wore a pair of white flat shoes. She looked refreshing and at ease, completely different from the porcelain doll in a cheongsam and jade last night.

"You're here very early," Gu Yunjin said casually as she walked up to him. "I was planning to come earlier to wait, but you were here even earlier."

"I'm used to it," Bai Junze said.

Gu Yunjin smiled and turned to walk towards the path.

Bai Junze walked side by side with her, maintaining a polite distance between them—not too far, not too close, just enough for two people who weren't very familiar with each other to keep their dignity intact.

The trail winds its way along the coastline, with lush casuarina windbreaks on one side and expansive sea views on the other.

The afternoon sun wasn't too intense, and a thin layer of golden light shimmered on the sea surface. In the distance, several cargo ships slowly glided across the horizon.

The sea breeze, carrying a salty and damp scent, swept over us in gusts, with a sweet and briny aroma of seawater and sand.

The two walked quietly for a short distance.

"Actually, I'm not very familiar with Dahai City either," Gu Yunjin said first.

She walked on the seaside side of the trail, the sea breeze blowing a few strands of hair around her ears, which she tucked behind her ears.

"I went abroad when I was fourteen. At that time, this trail had not yet been built. I remember when I was a child, this area was a very old dock with several fishing boats moored there."

My mom brought me here once, but later the pier was demolished and the fishing boats were gone. It was transformed into the popular tourist spot where people run, cycle, take photos, and check in.

I've been back for a year and a half, and I don't recognize many places anymore. I have to use GPS to get around.

She laughed as she spoke, "Using navigation in my own hometown, it's funny to even talk about it."

"Fourteen years old," Bai Junze continued, "went to England?"

"Yes. I first studied in the UK for secondary school, then spent some time in the US, and then went back to the UK to complete my master's degree."

She didn't look at him as she spoke; her gaze was fixed on the distant horizon.

"It's not that I'm not used to it. I've been in different environments all my life since I was a child, so I'm used to it."

After walking for a while, the thin layer of unfamiliarity and restraint between the two seemed to be blown away by the sea breeze.

Gu Yunjin took the initiative to start a conversation, asking him what sports he liked, what hobbies he had outside of work, and how he usually spent his weekends.

Her questioning style was very natural, as if she were chatting with a friend she had just met.

Bai Junze's answers were still brief, but he answered every question—he rarely engages in sports, occasionally fencing and skiing;

I don't have many hobbies, but reading is one of them.

I spend most of my weekends working, and occasionally my cousin will drag me out for a meal.

Not particularly enthusiastic, but not perfunctory either.

Then, at a bend, Bai Junze suddenly changed his position.

He was originally walking on the outer side near the sea, but after turning around, he quietly moved to the side near the road, giving the inner side to Gu Yunjin.

The movement was so subtle that unless someone like Gu Yunjin, who is particularly sensitive to people's behavior patterns, might not even notice it.

The inner side is away from the driveway, where bicycles occasionally pass by from behind, while on the outer side, delivery scooters whiz past the roadside from time to time.

He offered no explanation, not even a change in expression. He simply turned to the side naturally as he walked, as if the matter was not worth mentioning at all.

Gu Yunjin glanced at him but didn't say anything. However, she reminded herself in her heart: you can't make a judgment based on just one or two things.

He walked for thirty minutes along the trail, then adjusted his stride to give her room on the inside—these details were indeed nice, but details can be designed and behavior can be managed.

For a man who has been in the business world for so many years, this kind of gentlemanly demeanor is probably just muscle memory and doesn't represent anything deeper.

However, she admitted that, at least so far, his behavior had not made her feel uncomfortable.

For someone who has been arranged into a marriage, this is not a bad start.