The Heiress's Game

Gu Yunjin got home after working overtime, and it was almost 11 p.m. She removed her makeup, took a shower, and had just thrown herself into the soft blankets when her phone lit up.

Bai Junze's face was projected onto the screen—he must have just taken a shower, his hair was still wet, his upper body was naked, and he was only loosely wrapped in a white bath towel around his waist.

He leaned back on the sofa, swirling a glass of whiskey in his hand, the ice cubes clinking softly in the glass.

The warm yellow light shone on him, outlining his smooth and strong muscle lines.

The water droplet below her collarbone hadn't dried yet, and it was slowly sliding down along the lines of her abdominal muscles, disappearing into the edge of the towel around her waist.

Gu Yunjin's gaze lingered on the water droplet for less than a second before calmly returning to his face.

"What are you doing? In the middle of the night, is this a beauty emerging from a bath?" Gu Yunjin rolled over and lay face down on the pillow, placing her phone next to the water glass on the bedside table.

Bai Junze didn't take her joke. He swirled the wine glass in his hand and said, "I had a fight with my father today."

"Your dad? They had a fight?" Gu Yunjin was somewhat surprised.

"Because of Meng Wanqing, he wanted her to give a speech on stage as his stepmother, but I disagreed. She can sit in the audience as the second wife of the Bai family, but she can't go on stage."

Gu Yunjin didn't ask why; she changed her position and continued lying down.

"and then?"

Bai Junze leaned back on the sofa, his gaze fixed on the amber liquid in his wine glass.

"When I was ten years old, I came home from school and the maid's expression was very strange when she opened the door."

I didn't understand back then, and I even asked them if Grandpa had bought me a new toy.

Upon entering, I discovered two children in the living room—a boy and a girl, both around four or five years old.

My mom stood in the middle of the living room, motionless.

My dad was sitting on the sofa, holding the girl in his arms, with Meng Wanqing sitting next to him.

That was the first time I met her. I don't really want to recall the years that followed.

"What impressed me most was that my mom and dad argued every day. They were both like powder kegs, ready to explode at any moment."

My mother is such a strong-willed person, she couldn't stand that he had another family in Taicheng.

My dad felt he was right, that the amnesia wasn't his responsibility, that he wanted both wives and both families.

How could that be? I hear them every day when I get home. They make noise from the living room to the study, and from the study to the bedroom. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and hear things being smashed downstairs.

"I'm more afraid of them arguing than of getting a divorce. On the day they actually got divorced, I actually felt relieved, because once they were divorced, they wouldn't have to argue anymore."

After their divorce, I didn't want to live with either of them, so my grandfather came and took me to live with him.

His voice was flat, as if he were talking about something that had nothing to do with him.

"I was extremely rebellious and a real bastard in junior high. I fought, skipped school, went to internet cafes, and basically just didn't study."

Most of the time, my mother would bring my stepfather and a few servants to look for me at each internet cafe.

She searched every internet cafe, big and small, in Yunjing City; she was such a strong-willed person.

Push open the door and walk into that smoky, chaotic place. Search row by row, and when you find me, grab my ear and drag me out.

As Gu Yunjin listened to his description of the scene, she couldn't help but smile.

Bai Junze glanced at her and raised an eyebrow: "What are you laughing at?"

"Sorry, I just thought about it."

"Pulled your ear? Did you really pull your ear? Can you describe the details—how did Aunt Zhuo, who's so powerful, pull it? What was your reaction afterward?"

Bai Junze hadn't expected her to be interested in this detail, and paused for a moment before saying:

"...She just grabbed my left ear and dragged me out. I was tilted to the side as she pulled me through the entire internet cafe. Everyone was watching. I still remember how embarrassing that scene was."

Gu Yunjin finally couldn't help but laugh out loud.

After laughing, she pressed on, "What was your hairstyle back then? It wasn't one of those long bangs that covered your eyes, was it?"

Bai Junze paused for a second, then closed his eyes briefly, as if reluctantly admitting it.

"...Yes, after all, the 'Shamate' style was popular back then." Gu Yunjin laughed until her stomach hurt.

"I shook off her hand at the entrance of the internet cafe and said some very hurtful things."

I told her she doesn't need to worry about me. She's divorced and no longer part of the Bai family. Why should she care about me? She should take care of her own new family.

Later, Uncle Cui pulled me into the car and told me all the way that my mother had been looking for me for four hours, from the south of the city to the north. I sat in the back seat without saying a word.

He put his wine glass on the coffee table. "My dad never comes to internet cafes to see me."

But he will come when the teacher calls his parents.

When I got home, he didn't ask me why I skipped school or who I fought with at school. He just started hitting me with a belt.

I remember the pain of the belt hitting my back very clearly. He wasn't the kind of father who would reason with you; he only spoke with his belt.

The harder he hit me, the more resentful I became.

Grandpa never hit me. Every time I got into trouble, he would make me move a stool to sit next to his desk and he would personally supervise me.

He never lectured me; he just stayed with me copying, and we'd spend the whole afternoon doing that.

One time, my mom dragged me back from the internet cafe, and my grandpa punished me by making me copy books.

He told me, "If you keep acting like this, you'll ruin my savings for my funeral."

He was laughing as he said this, his mustache twitching as he laughed.

Looking at his full head of white hair, I suddenly felt like a bastard.

Grandpa is getting old, and my mom is tired. No one is obligated to always support me.

From then on, I started studying, taking exams, and learning business. Although I still argued with my mom often, at least I stopped skipping school.

Uncle Cui has been helping us mediate between us.

Gu Yunjin rested her head on her arm, quietly watching him through the screen.

"You should really thank Grandpa and Mom. If it weren't for them, you wouldn't have been able to get back on your feet."

You're probably the most notorious spoiled brat in Yunjing now, driving your sports car around causing trouble every day. I won't see you at the barbecue stand anymore.

Bai Junze chuckled softly.

Bai Junze poured himself another half glass of wine and leaned back on the sofa.

"Later, my mother married Uncle Cui and had Yiyi. Yiyi is very cute and has always been very attached to me since she was little."

My mom brought her to the old house to see me. She couldn't speak very well yet, so she would hug my legs and call out "Brother, brother," getting all over me with her drool.

"Meng Wanqing's two children were the same. When they were little, they would timidly call me 'Big Brother' every time they saw me. Later, I don't know why, they liked to follow me around from a young age."

But I just can't like them. I know it has nothing to do with them; they didn't understand anything when they were born, but I just can't help it.

Gu Yunjin gave a soft "hmm".

"Even though my mom has Yiyi, she has never stopped caring for me."

She and Uncle Cui moved to a new house and specially reserved a room for me. At that time, I was rebellious and refused to go, so she would come to the old house every week to wait for me.

Later, I kept thinking about what exactly was the difference between my dad and my mom's attitude towards me.

The difference isn't in what you say or think—it's in what you do.

My mom scolds me the most and disciplines me the strictest, but she also spends the most time on me.

After she remarried and had Yiyi, she didn't show any less care for me.

I made every phone call that needed to be made and ran every errand that needed to be run.

"What about my dad? He comes too, and he cares about me. But only when he has time."

Bai Junze's voice was very calm. "He's very busy. He's busy with company matters, business in Taicheng, and his home in Meng Wanqing's area."

When my time conflicts with his schedule, my things are always put on hold later.

He felt that men shouldn't waste their time on such trivial matters; the mother should be able to take care of the children.

"I think he feels more guilty towards you," Gu Yunjin said.

"Perhaps. But his guilt never translated into action."

Later, when I stopped being rebellious, he would have a meal with me a long time later, remain silent for a long time, and then say, "You did a good job."

And so, there was no "I should have spent more time with you back then".

He probably felt that saying what he meant was enough, but many things can't be resolved with just a few words.

Bai Junze lowered his eyes. "So later I figured it out."

Ultimately, the amount of time my mother spent on me and the amount of time my father spent on me are clearly accounted for.

Where love is, time is; time doesn't lie.

There was a moment of silence on both sides of the screen. Gu Yunjin rolled over from lying face down to lying on her side and brought the phone closer.

"Do you even realize that you're now the most powerful person in the Bai family?"

Upon hearing this, Bai Junze raised an eyebrow slightly and looked down at the screen.

Gu Yunjin's expression was serious. "You are the most capable person in the Bai family, and soon you will have a capable wife like me."

If anyone makes you unhappy again, I'll be the first to rush up and yell at them for you.

Bai Junze chuckled softly at her words.

"Okay, then I'll rely on you for protection from now on."

He said it with a smile in his voice.

"Of course." Gu Yunjin pulled the blanket up and wrapped herself up in it, then yawned slightly.

"Are you free tomorrow? Could you help me choose a nail color and design? I've picked out a few, but I can't decide."

Send it to me, and I'll help you choose.

"Are you even good at judging character?"

"I have a pretty good eye for choosing wives, so I probably won't be too bad at choosing nail salons either."

Gu Yunjin was speechless, stumped by his logic. She could only blush and mutter "Goodnight" before hanging up the phone.