The Heiress's Game

As Qian Yuewei dragged her limited-edition Rimowa suitcase out of the arrival gate, she had already rehearsed in her mind what she would say to Gu Yunjin the whole way.

Give her a hug first, then say in the gentlest tone, "Sister, a few hundred million is a few hundred million. Money can be earned back."

She even touched up her makeup twice on the plane to make sure she appeared in front of Gu Yunjin as a "reliable best friend".

However, as soon as she stepped out of the arrival gate and saw Gu Yunjin standing in the crowd of people picking up passengers with a coffee in hand, all the lines she had rehearsed instantly vanished.

Gu Yunjin was wearing a blue trench coat, her hair casually tucked behind her ears. She held a coffee in one hand and put the other hand in her trench coat pocket, looking as relaxed as if she were waiting for a friend she had arranged to go shopping with.

Qian Yuewei pushed the luggage cart and jogged up to her, first checking her over from head to toe—she hadn't lost weight, looked haggard, had no dark circles, and her skin was even better than the last time they met.

Qian Yuewei's heart, which had been hanging in suspense the whole way, was half relieved, but it immediately became anxious again.

"Why did you come to pick me up? Why didn't you go pick up your husband? He's the head of the household, what are you doing here—"

"I get to pick up my husband every day, but I don't get to pick up my best friend every year."

Qian Yuewei sniffed, put the coffee on her suitcase, and without saying a word, opened her arms and hugged Gu Yunjin tightly.

"I saw that news in Dahai City and almost fainted on the spot."

Randy was caught soliciting prostitutes! The male guest on your show was caught soliciting prostitutes! Hundreds of millions have gone down the drain! My mom said that's several years' worth of our family's revenue, and it's all gone like that. I'm heartbroken!

Gu Yunjin was being held in her arms, one hand still holding the coffee, the other gently patting her back, a helpless smile appearing on her lips:

"Okay, okay, loosen your grip, or you'll spill the coffee."

"So be it!" Qian Yuewei hugged him for two more seconds before letting go, taking a step back, raising her reddened eyes to look at Gu Yunjin, her voice still slightly nasal.

"Are you alright? Tell me the truth. Is all that money really gone? Will your company's cash flow be cut off?"

"Stop." Gu Yunjin put a finger to her lips, his expression becoming more serious.

"First, the suspension of the program will indeed result in losses, but there will be no problem with cash flow, and it will not be interrupted."

"You might think I'm in Versailles, but I do have to be honest about something."

Qian Yuewei blinked. "What is it?"

"After this incident, Bai Junze's grandfather, Old Master Bai, transferred 80 million to me, saying it was pocket money for the younger generation, and told me not to get upset."

Bai Junze's mother—oh, that's my mother-in-law—said she had some spare money and scraped together 100 million yuan for me.

Then, Bai Junze himself, although he was away on a business trip, didn't miss a beat in transferring money, sending 200 million yuan with the note, "Spend it as you like, and let me know if you need more."

The airport arrival hall was bustling with people. Qian Yuewei stood next to her suitcase, and her expression underwent a complex change in just a few seconds, from heartache to shock to confusion to resentment.

She remained silent for a full five seconds, then slowly spoke, her voice carrying a calmness born of profound understanding:

"So I rehearsed my lines twice on the plane, touched up my makeup twice, and prepared a whole bunch of comforting words—and in the end, you not only didn't go bankrupt, you even made a small profit?"

Gu Yunjin picked up her coffee, took a sip, and nodded sincerely: "That's right."

Qian Yuewei took a deep breath, picked up the coffee from her suitcase, and took a big gulp, as if she was using the coffee to extinguish some kind of emotion.

Then she held the cup up in front of Gu Yunjin and said in a serious tone, "I've changed my mind. I think you should be more concerned about me than those hundreds of millions."

Why?

"Because my entire family's wealth combined probably doesn't even equal the allowance your husband's family gives you."

Qian Yuewei said expressionlessly, "I was actually feeling sorry for someone who is a hundred times richer than me. I felt sorry for myself."

Gu Yunjin reached out and ruffled her hair, then helped her with her suitcase. "Let's go. Bai Tianyi has arranged a barbecue at home tonight to welcome you back."

Qian Yuewei followed beside her, muttering things like "comparison is the thief of joy" the whole way.

When we got back to the villa, it was already dusk. All the lights in the yard were on, and the warm yellow light strung between the branches of the osmanthus tree, making the whole backyard feel cozy and pleasant.

Before they even got close, they could smell the aroma of charcoal and grilled meat, as well as Bai Tianyi's signature loud voice—"Aunt Zhang! We're out of cumin powder! Get more! Whole cumin seeds, not powder!"

Bai Tianyi stood in front of the barbecue grill wearing an apron, flipping lamb skewers with his left hand and brushing sauce on with his right. A fine layer of sweat appeared on his forehead, but his expression was as happy as that of a primary school student who had just started summer vacation.

Upon seeing Gu Yunjin and Qian Yuewei enter the backyard, he immediately waved the barbecue tongs in his hand and shouted enthusiastically.

"Sister-in-law! Yuewei! You're back just in time! The first batch is fresh out of the oven, eat it while it's hot!"

This is our Bai family's secret recipe for lamb skewers. Of course, it's the recipe that's passed down, not me; I'm the third-generation inheritor.

"Didn't your Bai family start out in manufacturing? When did you start making secret-recipe lamb skewers?" Gu Yunjin raised an eyebrow.

"This is something I developed myself, and it's been passed down from my generation." Bai Tianyi said confidently, handing out lamb skewers to the two of them and waiting for their feedback with a smug look on his face.

Qian Yuewei took a bite and her eyes lit up: "Tianyi, you're amazing! You could open a barbecue restaurant with this skill."

"That won't do. Running a shop is too tiring and conflicts with my salted fish faith."

While flipping the chicken wings on the grill, Bai Tianyi gestured towards the villa with his chin. "My older brother is changing clothes inside. The first thing he said when he came in was, 'Where's your sister-in-law?' I told him she went to the airport to pick up Yuewei, and his second thing was, 'Then we'll eat when she gets back.'"

Imagine this: someone who's flown for over ten hours on an international flight, waiting hungry for his wife to come home for dinner. What kind of spirit is that? That's love.

Qian Yuewei listened from the side, nudging Gu Yunjin lightly with her elbow, her eyes full of mischievous smiles.

As he spoke, Bai Junze pushed open the glass door and came out.

He changed into a dark gray casual home outfit, greeted Qian Yuewei, and then the barbecue began.

Qian Yuewei had seen Bai Junze and Gu Yunjin together before, but it was mostly on formal occasions, and the two of them were dignified and proper, behaving like a model couple.

This was the first time she had ever seen a scene like this, where people were having a barbecue at home.

What she saw at that moment was Gu Yunjin's husband, the man described in financial news as a "cold-faced devil".

He was sitting next to the barbecue grill, wearing a cotton loungewear outfit, peeling edamame and crayfish for his wife.

The key point is that he remained expressionless while peeling edamame and shrimp.

Qian Yuewei felt that her outlook on life had been impacted to some extent. She held her beer glass and moved closer to Gu Yunjin, speaking in a voice that only the two of them could hear.

"Sister, tell me the truth."

"Um?"

"With your husband's physique, his looks, and those defined arm muscles, how can you concentrate on work when you come home and see him every day?"

Gu Yunjin, holding her beer glass, answered without changing her expression.

"Of course, we often have separate conference calls in the study."

"I'm not asking about your business partnership!"

Qian Yuewei pinched her, exasperated, and lowered her voice.

"I mean, forget it, I'm not saying anything more. Anyway, you have to be happy, you hear me? Otherwise, it would be a waste of the perk of seeing the domineering CEO up close every day."

"I heard you." Gu Yunjin's lips curved into a smile. "You too."

The good times didn't last long; Bai Junze's phone lit up.

He glanced down at the screen, frowned slightly, then stood up and walked aside to answer the phone.

Less than half a minute later, Gu Yunjin's phone rang, and she picked it up and walked to the other side of the yard.

Qian Yuewei silently munched on her chicken wing, watching the couple standing on either side of the yard, each answering work calls. Suddenly, the chicken in her mouth didn't taste so good anymore.

Bai Tianyi walked over with a plate of freshly grilled beef skewers and saw that Qian Yuewei was the only one left at the seat.

He sighed as if it were nothing out of the ordinary, put the plate on the table, and sat down opposite Qian Yuewei.

"It's starting again." He picked up a can of beer, pulled the tab with one hand, and his tone was a mixture of sympathy, helplessness, and a deep understanding of the uncontrollable factors.

"One manages a company worth hundreds of billions, and the other manages a media company. Together they can't even finish a whole barbecue."

"Do they always act like this?" Qian Yuewei asked.

"Normal." Bai Tianyi took a sip of beer and gestured with his chin toward both ends of the yard.

"Just wait and see. After these two finish their calls, they'll sit for five minutes at most, and then they'll tell you, 'Sorry, there's an urgent matter at the company that we have to go over there.'"

I've seen it at least eight or ten times, do you know how I feel now?

"What do you think?"

"They're a match made in heaven," Bai Tianyi concluded in a philosophical tone.

"Think about it, who else in this world can understand a workaholic? Only another workaholic. My brother comes home late at night, and my sister-in-law is also working overtime in the study."

My older brother flies to Europe for a meeting this weekend, and my sister-in-law flies to Haicheng to look at projects.

Anyone else would have been arguing non-stop, but these two are perfectly compatible, enjoying each other's company immensely. What else could this be but fate? Therefore—the eldest brother is meant to be with the eldest sister-in-law; a perfect match, a match made in heaven.

Qian Yuewei was silent for two seconds, then raised her beer can and clinked it against Bai Tianyi's.

"You're right." She tilted her head back and took a big gulp, her gaze passing over the barbecue grill in the yard and landing on the two figures in the distance, each talking to their phones.

"So for us ordinary people, we should just eat barbecue and drink beer. Life is about enjoying it."

"That's exactly right!" Bai Tianyi leaned forward excitedly, as if he had found a kindred spirit.

"Qian Yuewei, I've discovered that we share the same values."

"That's right," Qian Yuewei grabbed a skewer of beef, winked at him, "Otherwise, how could we play duo queue?"

"Speaking of duo queue—" Bai Tianyi lowered his voice and took out his phone, waving it under the table.

"I haven't logged in to claim my login rewards yet. While my brother and sister-in-law are busy saving the world, shall we play a game?"

"Last time, your Angela ambushed the enemy jungler in the bushes and made him completely demoralized. I've been replaying that moment for days."

"Here you go." Qian Yuewei quickly wiped her hands, took out her phone, and replied in a low voice.

"However, I, Zhen Ji, have also been severely targeted by the enemy Lanling King. Today, I will seek revenge."

"Don't worry," Bai Tianyi said, having already opened the game interface and casually opened another can of beer.

"With Zhang Fei here, I'll roar at anyone who tries to kill you. We're the golden duo, and today we'll wipe out the King's Canyon!"

On the other end of the courtyard, Bai Junze hung up the phone and walked back, and Gu Yunjin also hung up the phone at almost the same time.

The two exchanged a glance, both with a hint of apology in their expressions. Just as Bai Junze was about to speak, Bai Tianyi waved his hand without looking up:

"Go ahead, go ahead, I know you're busy."

Don't worry, we'll eat the barbecue for you, we'll play the games for you, and Qian Yuewei and I will take care of all the leisure activities in this family.

Bai Junze paused for a second, then turned to look at Gu Yunjin.

Gu Yunjin picked up her can of beer, finished the last sip, stood up, and patted Bai Junze on the shoulder:

"Let's go, let's take care of things first."

Bai Junze nodded, and the two walked into the house side by side.

Qian Yuewei looked up and saw Bai Junze open the French window door for Gu Yunjin. As Gu Yunjin went in, she said something, and Bai Junze listened with a slight smile.

She looked away and noticed that Bai Tianyi was also looking away at the same time. The two exchanged a knowing glance and sighed in unison.

"Lock it up," Bai Tianyi said.

"Lock it up." Qian Yuewei nodded vigorously.

Then the two of them lowered their heads at the same time, and their four thumbs began to fly wildly across the phone screen, while reminding each other.

"The enemy Lanling King is definitely camping me in the blue buff area. Tianyi, come closer! Forget about the top lane, come protect me!"