The Heiress's Game

Bai Tianyi hasn't been home for dinner with his parents for a whole week.

This record isn't the longest in his personal history. When he first graduated from university, he once achieved the glorious feat of not going home for three consecutive weeks to avoid blind dates arranged by his mother, but this time is different.

This time he wasn't avoiding it, he was just busy.

As for what he was busy with, he couldn't quite explain it. Anyway, he spent his days following Qian Yuewei around the various popular tourist spots in Yunjing City, eating at dessert shops and hot pot restaurants in half the city, and incidentally dropping two ranks in the King of Glory game.

This kind of busy, fulfilling, and joyful experience is completely different from going to work.

His mother, Wang Shuhui, called twice to urge him, her tone becoming more and more dangerous each time.

The first call was still "Tianyi, what have you been busy with lately? Come back for a meal when you have time." The second call turned into "Bai Tianyi, if you don't come back soon, your dad is going to confiscate the keys to your sports car."

Bai Tianyi weighed the pros and cons. His sports car was his lifeline, more important than his reputation, so he quickly went home.

Four dishes and a soup were laid out on the table. Wang Shuhui specially asked the kitchen to stew the pickled bamboo shoot soup that he had loved since childhood. Bai Jing'an opened a bottle of yellow wine and poured himself a drink.

The atmosphere seemed no different from usual. Bai Tianyi picked up a piece of pork rib and gnawed on it with grease in his mouth, completely unaware that his parents had exchanged glances several times.

When he had finished eating the second piece of rib, Wang Shuhui put down her chopsticks, picked up her teacup, and spoke in a casual tone.

"Tianyi, have you started dating someone lately?"

Bai Tianyi almost choked to death on the ribs. He gulped down half a bowl of soup to wash the meat down his throat, his face flushed, whether from choking or feeling guilty, it was hard to tell.

She waved her hands repeatedly, saying, "No, no, Mom, where did you hear that from?"

"No?" Wang Shuhui raised an eyebrow, her tone still as nonchalant as ever.

"I heard you've been spending every day with a guy lately?"

Bai Tianyi's expression froze.

Male?

"Driving your flashy sports car," Wang Shuhui pointed her finger, painted with mauve nail polish, towards the garage outside the window.

"He's been wandering the streets and alleys of Yunjing City every day. It's all over the social circle that the youngest son of the fourth branch of the Bai family has been inseparable from a man lately."

Bai Tianyi's mouth was agape, and he didn't even notice the braised pork on his chopsticks falling onto the table.

It took him several seconds for his mother's words to travel from his ears to his brain. If this accusation were leveled against him, it would create a huge ripple in the entire gossip circle of Yunjing City.

"Who? A man? I'm with a woman every day! Who's spreading this rumor? My sexual orientation is normal! Exactly normal!"

After he finished speaking, he suddenly realized that he might have said something he shouldn't have.

Bai Jing'an's hand, holding the wine glass, froze in mid-air. Wang Shuhui could no longer hide her smile, her eyes curving into two crescent moons.

The couple exchanged a knowing glance, a glance that conveyed a wealth of emotions—"Just as I thought," "I knew it," and a hint of smug satisfaction at having planned it all.

Looking at the couple, whose combined age was over a hundred, Bai Tianyi suddenly felt like a criminal suspect caught red-handed.

"Oh—a woman." Wang Shuhui drawled, picking up her teacup and taking a slow sip. "Whose family is that girl?"

Bai Tianyi's forehead began to sweat; he knew his parents all too well.

They weren't concerned about his love life; they were conducting due diligence.

The next second his mother will ask about the other person's family background, education, and personality, and the next second his father will start calculating the "matching index".

But all of this is based on the wrong premise; he and Qian Yuewei were not in that kind of relationship at all.

He opened his mouth, wanting to explain, but Wang Shuhui didn't give him the chance.

Bai Jing'an put down his wine glass, cleared his throat, and assumed a posture as if he were about to have an important conversation.

Bai Tianyi gets a headache every time he sees his dad's expression—every time his dad makes that face, not a single word he says afterward is something he wants to hear.

"Tianyi, your mother and I don't object to you dating. It's normal for someone your age to have a girl they like. But there's one thing—"

He raised a finger, his tone shifting from teasing to a serious, earnest tone that Bai Tianyi had heard countless times since childhood.

"No matter who you date now, you will eventually marry someone of equal social standing."

These words were like a needle pricking Bai Tianyi's most sensitive nerve.

He slammed his chopsticks on the table, his expression shifting from panic to undisguised annoyance.

He usually acts like a carefree bum in front of his parents, but this topic always manages to ignite his passion.

"Here we go again—what does 'marrying someone of equal social standing' even mean? What era are we living in? Why are you still talking about arranged marriages?"

Do I have to ask a girl for her balance sheet before I can even start a relationship? What does her family's business have to do with us? I'm not a publicly traded company that needs to consolidate its financial statements!

"Let me finish." Bai Jing'an picked up his wine glass, took a sip of rice wine, and put the glass down with a slightly heavier motion than usual.

"In the Bai family of Yunjing City, your grandfather had four sons, and I, your father, am the fourth, and I am the least capable."

He said this calmly, "Look at our fourth branch of the family. Do you think the trading companies your father owns, combined, are enough to fill the gaps of even a single business unit in the other branches of the family?"

Bai Tianyi remained silent.

He could swear to God that the thing he hated most in his life was arranged marriage, but he couldn't refute a single word his father said.

Seeing his son's silence, Bai Jing'an's tone softened somewhat:

"I don't expect you to marry the daughter of a top-tier wealthy family. But at least you should be able to help you and contribute to your career."

Your parents' lives are like this, but yours are different. You are my son, and I hope you live a better life than me, and that you stand firm in your own destiny.

Before Bai Tianyi could react, Wang Shuhui's eyes welled up with tears.

But she quickly blinked to suppress her tears, put on a fierce expression, and poked Bai Tianyi's forehead with a finger.

"If you really like that girl, Mom won't break them up. But all the money you spend on her—eating out, shopping, gifts, gas for your sports car—I'll deduct from your allowance."

Bai Tianyi's eyes widened. He saw a very serious expression on his mother's face, so serious that it sent chills down his spine.

"Mom, are you serious?"

"Of course I'm serious," Wang Shuhui said, arms crossed, her voice full of conviction.

"I'm also planning to check up on that girl's background. If her family isn't good, I'll pay her to break up with you."

Isn't that how it's always portrayed in TV dramas? I've been a university professor for half my life, and I've never played a wicked mother-in-law who throws money around. This is a good opportunity to have some fun.

Bai Tianyi felt like his heart was about to jump out of his throat.

He finally grasped a clear line of logic from the absurd situation before him: the huge sum of money deducted from his allowance.

It will be used to pay his mother's appearance fee for playing the wicked mother-in-law, while he, the person involved, didn't even receive the script for this role.

"Wait! Wait!" He slammed his hands on the table, as if trying to bring the out-of-control conversation to an emergency halt.

"Dad, Mom, you've got it all wrong! I'm not dating Qian Yuewei!"

"Qian Yuewei? Yun Jin's best friend." Wang Shuhui raised an eyebrow and her eyes lit up.

"That's a nice name; it sounds like a pretty girl. From the Qian family? The Qian family from Dahai City? Do they sell jewelry or run real estate?"

"...She sells jewelry. No, that's not important—because we're not dating! She came to Yunjing City to visit my sister-in-law! My sister-in-law is busy, so she asked me to show her around."

We are just friends—pure friends.

Then we played some King of Glory, ate at some trendy restaurants, and when we went shopping, I carried her bag—that's all! There was nothing inappropriate!

He spoke with all his might, every word from the bottom of his heart.

Wang Shuhui picked up her chopsticks and placed another piece of braised pork into Bai Tianyi's bowl, her gentleness like that of someone comforting a heartbroken young man.

"Okay, okay, friend, friend, Mom understands."

Nowadays, young people say they're friends when they're dating, and roommates when they're married.

Don't worry, Mom can tell the difference.

Besides, why can't friends develop into girlfriends?

If you're not interested in her, why would you drive your most prized sports car around Yunjing with her every day?

Even your dad won't let you sit in the passenger seat of your car, and you won't even let anyone touch the steering wheel cover.

So you're letting a 'casual friend' sit here every day? Bai Tianyi, do you think I'm your mother or a fool?

Bai Tianyi opened his mouth, only to find that he couldn't refute it.

He definitely doesn't let others sit in the passenger seat.

His dad wanted to ride in the car last time, but he refused, saying that "the passenger airbag has been unstable lately."

Every time Qian Yuewei sat in the passenger seat, he not only didn't stop her, but he would also adjust the angle of the passenger seat to the most comfortable position in advance and prepare her favorite oolong tea in the glove box.

But that doesn't mean anything; it's just... just gentlemanly conduct.

Yes, gentlemanly manners.

They did the same thing in the Rift. He played support, letting her farm all the minions while he hid in the bushes to provide vision for her.

This is called teamwork, not dating.

Wang Shuhui put down her chopsticks and looked at her son's face, which was full of resentment. Suddenly, she felt that there were some things she could no longer keep to herself.

She had discussed some of these points with Bai Jing'an in private countless times, but she had never actually laid them out in front of Bai Tianyi.

Since we've already come this far, let's get straight to the point.

"Tianyi, you think our talk about marrying someone of equal social standing was putting you in a difficult position, right?"

Her tone softened, "Then let Mom do some math for you."

Bai Tianyi looked at her warily, wondering what kind of trouble his mother was going to dig this time.

"Our fourth room is located in one of the other rooms of the Bai family's house, which is like a small shop."

She didn't look at Bai Jing'an when she said this, but under the table, she reached out and took her husband's hand.

Bai Jing'an didn't say anything, but simply shook hands gently in return.

"By your generation..."

"Everyone here holds a high position in the Bai Group, but what about you? I know what you're thinking; your older brother dotes on you."

You latched onto your older brother's coattails early on, got a job in his company, and are living a life of luxury under his wing.

Your parents aren't blind or stupid. They know your older brother is genuinely good to you, and they know your feelings for him aren't based on snobbery, but rather on admiration. You've liked your older brother since you were little.

But this doesn't change the fact that each generation is worse than the last.

Bai Tianyi wanted to retort, but Wang Shuhui raised her hand to stop him.

"I'm not saying your older brother won't take care of you. Your older brother is a man of principle. You're his younger brother, and he'll protect you for life."

But think about it yourself, ask yourself honestly, can you rely on your older brother for the rest of your life?

Your older brother is now the boss of a Fortune 500 company, but he built his career on his own hard work and shouldered all the pressure himself.

What can you do to help him? If you work for his company, your older brother won't treat you badly.

When the day comes for the Bai family to divide their assets, what will be the status of the other branches?

What level are you? They can eat meat while you can have soup, but how many lifetimes can you drink soup like that?

Bai Tianyi opened his mouth, but finally fell silent.

"If you impulsively marry a girl from an ordinary family, do you know what that means?"

"It means that not only can she not help you, but you also have to give money to subsidize her family."

Her parents rely on you for their retirement, her younger siblings rely on you for their education, and even her relatives on her mother's side will rely on you after losing money in business.

You think this is just a melodramatic scene from a TV drama? I've been a university teacher for thirty years, and among the students I've taught, there are many who struggled to make it in ordinary families, and just as many who were dragged down by both sides of their families after marriage.

You have money in your pocket now, and your older brother is protecting you, so you don't care.

But what about ten years from now? What about twenty years from now? Your older brother has his own wife and children to support, and a business to manage. He can't take care of you for the rest of his life.

By then, you'll be supporting two families on your own, one of which is your parents' side, which already has a weaker foundation than the other families.

On the other hand, there's your wife's endless financial burden. Do you think your limited abilities are enough to fill either one?

Bai Tianyi remained silent for a long time. The grandfather clock in the living room ticked away, and a thin film of oil gradually formed on the soup noodles of the pickled bamboo shoots and pork stew.

He looked down at the cold braised pork in his bowl, a thousand rebuttals churning in his mind, but none of them could be uttered.

His mother wasn't scolding him; she was dismantling the world that had protected him so much since childhood, piece by piece, for him to see.

He took a deep breath, looked up, and said, "Mom, you're right."

I know you mean well, but there's one thing I need to make clear, just one thing.

Wang Shuhui raised an eyebrow slightly, waiting for him to speak.

"I admit that I owe it to my elder brother's powerful connections."

I did benefit a lot from him; he gave me the job, and he always cleaned up the mess I made.

"Do you think I don't know what people call me behind my back? They call me Bai Junze's lackey, they call me the most useless member of the Bai family, I know it all."

"But I clung to my older brother's coattails not because he was rich, nor because I was a snob."

I've loved following him around since I was little. You can say I admire him or that I'm useless, but I just like him, I admire him, and I'm willing to follow him around for the rest of my life.

It's not because he's rich, it's because he's my older brother.

"Mom knows." Wang Shuhui reached out and touched Bai Tianyi's hair.

"Of course Mom knows how you feel about your older brother. Okay, let's not talk about that anymore, let's talk about Qian Yuewei."

The emotion that Bai Tianyi had just begun to feel shattered instantly.

He had lost all his temper and was struggling weakly in his death throes.

"Mom, I'm saying this one last time—Qian Yuewei and I really didn't—"

"The Qian family is in the jewelry business in Dahai City," Wang Shuhui said, turning to Bai Jingan.

"Gu Yunjin and I are best friends. I remember that the Qian family's jewelry brand has stores in several southern provinces. Although it is not as big as Bai's, it is still a well-known brand in the jewelry industry."

Compared to our fourth wife's family, they're about the same, a good match.

Bai Jing'an held his wine glass and nodded thoughtfully: "Hmm, not a loss, not a loss."

"Where is this not a loss?" Wang Shuhui glared at him. "This is a profit. The Qian family's main business is jewelry, and our fourth branch is in the trade business, which includes the import and export of luxury goods. Isn't this a perfect complement?"

After we get married, we can help each other in business.

She and Tianyi share common interests, and it's rare to find two young people who get along so well.

"Yes, yes, yes," Bai Jingan nodded repeatedly, "I was worried that this kid would find some internet celebrity or live streamer to come back, but now it seems I was overthinking it."

"And think about it," Wang Shuhui said, getting more and more excited, "Qian Yuewei and Gu Yunjin have a good relationship, so the sisters-in-law will get along well in the future."

Unlike Meng Wanqing from the second wife, who is always being sarcastic and unpredictable.

I like Yun Jin; she's smart and generous. A girl who gets along with Qian Yuewei can't be a bad person.

"Mom!" Bai Tianyi cried out in despair, "Are you even listening to me—"

"Tianyi really proved himself this time." Bai Jing'an put down his wine glass and looked at Bai Tianyi with a look of relief that said, "My son has finally grown up."

"He used to say he hated arranged marriages, but in the end, the girls he found were no worse than those he married into. He said no, but his body said no."

"I don't!"

"Okay, okay, you didn't, you didn't." Wang Shuhui patted his shoulder perfunctorily and turned to continue discussing with Bai Jingan.

"Do you think we should talk to the Qian family? I've heard that the head of the Qian family, Old Master Qian, just retired last year."

"Qian Yuewei's older brother is in charge now, and he's a pretty upright person. How about I ask Yun Jin to help make a connection—"

"Yes, yes, let Yun Jin sound her out first. After all, she's a girl, we can't be too rash."

"Yes, that's what I meant too. Let's ask Yun Jin first to see what Qian Yuewei usually likes and what her taboos are, so we can make preparations accordingly."

"By the way, Lao Bai, what do you think is a good gift for a first meeting? We don't usually give expensive things around here, it seems tacky—"

Bai Tianyi sat blankly in the chair, watching his parents enthusiastically discuss his and Qian Yuewei's future plans.

From discussing the bride price to choosing the wedding venue, from discussing the children's school district housing to the future name of his grandchildren, no one paid any attention to him.

His clarification was like a pebble thrown into the ocean; it sank to the bottom without even a bubble.

He opened his mouth, but eventually gave up struggling, picked up his chopsticks, and stuffed the now-cold braised pork into his mouth.

Forget it, I won't explain anymore. No one will listen anyway.

But as he swallowed the piece of meat, the image of Qian Yuewei sitting in the passenger seat suddenly flashed through his mind.

She took off her shoes and sat cross-legged on the seat, drinking the oolong tea he had prepared in advance while complaining about her teammates' positioning. The sunlight outside the car window shone on her face.

He was sitting at the dining table, chewing on cold braised pork, when he suddenly realized something.

The marriage alliances, social standing, and family interests that his parents talked about were on a completely different level from the inexplicable emotions in his heart.

He didn't want to admit it, but it seemed like his parents had seen through something much earlier than he had.