The Heiress's Game

Just after the end of the workday, Bai Junze came out of the conference room, loosened his tie, and glanced at the schedule on his phone.

Tonight he plans to take Gu Yunjin to try a newly opened Cantonese restaurant, and invite Bai Tianyi and Qian Yuewei along as well.

These past few days, he and Yun Jin have been busy. Besides their respective companies, they also have to keep an eye on the business of Brilliant International. Bai Tianyi has been accompanying Qian Yuewei on all her eating, drinking, and entertainment in Yun Jing.

Both out of courtesy and reason, we should treat this kid to a meal.

He walked over to Bai Tianyi's workstation. The guy was staring blankly at his computer screen, the desktop wallpaper was a screenshot of the King of Glory results screen—a big "Failure".

Bai Junze knocked twice on his partition, and Bai Tianyi suddenly came to his senses, only to see that it was his older brother.

Instinctively, I flipped my phone over and placed it face down on the table, the movement so quick it was almost like I was doing something wrong.

"Pack up, let's have dinner together tonight."

Bai Junze said, "Yun Jin and I were busy before, and you've been taking care of Qian Yuewei these past few days. Tonight, the four of us will have dinner together as a way of thanking you."

Bai Tianyi blinked, his facial expression undergoing an extremely complex transformation.

At first, she was stunned, then she struggled visibly, and finally froze in an unnatural awkwardness.

He cleared his throat and spoke in a tone that he thought was natural, but which anyone could tell was off.

"Uh... Brother, tonight isn't a good time."

Yuewei and I have already made plans to go out for dinner alone. Four people is too crowded; it's better if we split up.

Bai Junze looked at him, and the two of them went out to eat alone.

Four people are too crowded; splitting up is just right. These keywords combined in his mind, leading to a not-so-surprising conclusion.

He leaned against the partition of Bai Tianyi's workstation, arms crossed, his gaze sweeping over Bai Tianyi's obviously feverish face. His voice was not loud, but every word carried a weight that could not be easily dismissed.

"What's going on?"

Bai Tianyi tried to argue, chuckled twice, and waved his hand, saying, "Nothing much, just friends having a meal together." But before he could finish speaking, Bai Junze's eyes narrowed slightly.

Bai Tianyi was all too familiar with that look in his eyes; it was that calm scrutiny that seemed to say, "Keep making things up, let's see what kind of nonsense you can come up with."

Bai Tianyi could never last more than ten seconds under such a gaze.

"I confess, I confess!" He clasped his hands together in a pleading gesture, his voice low but his speech rapid, as if afraid of being interrupted if he spoke too slowly.

"I'm with Yuewei! It just happened in the last couple of days! I didn't mean to hide it from you, I just hadn't figured out how to tell you yet—look."

She's your wife's best friend, and I'm your brother. Our relationship isn't exactly close, but it's not distant either. I wanted to wait until things were more stable before telling you all.

His voice grew softer and softer as he spoke, the last few words barely audible in his throat, his ears turning as red as freshly roasted charcoal.

Bai Junze looked at him in this state and remained silent for a moment.

"How many days has it been?" Bai Junze asked.

"Three...three days," Bai Tianyi confessed honestly.

"That was the day neither of us came back. She told me there was a newly opened Japanese dessert shop in Yunjing City that she wanted to check out, and I said I'd go with her. We were eating there and then... and then..."

"Alright, no need to report the details."

Bai Junze raised his hand to interrupt him, took out his phone from the inside pocket of his suit, and swiped his finger across the screen a few times.

A few seconds later, Bai Tianyi's phone vibrated. He looked down and saw a bank message—one million had been deposited into his account.

Bai Tianyi's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets: "Big Brother?!"

"I'll give you a month's leave."

Bai Junze put his phone back in his pocket, his tone as calm as if he were approving an ordinary expense report.

"Have fun with her, and I look forward to your good news."

Bai Tianyi stared at the bank message for several seconds, counting the zeros one by one after the numbers to make sure he hadn't miscounted.

Then he looked up, his eyes slightly red.

A surge of heat rushed from his chest to his eyes. Bai Tianyi felt his dignity as a man was collapsing at an irreversible rate, but he couldn't care less.

From childhood to adulthood, the person who has been the best to him is his older brother.

When he was a child, they took him out to play; when he grew up, they gave him a job and bought him a car; now they even have special funds for dating. This kind of treatment is absolutely unique in the entire Bai family.

He took a deep breath and spoke in an extremely solemn tone, completely unlike his usual carefree persona.

"Big brother, from today onwards, I am yours."

If you asked me to go through fire and water, I, Bai Tianyi, would not even flinch—

"Alright." Bai Junze pulled his hand back and straightened his cuffs expressionlessly.

"Eat when you're supposed to eat, date when you're supposed to date. Don't come here professing your loyalty."

Bai Tianyi wanted to say something more, but Bai Junze had already turned and left.

He took two steps and then stopped, leaving without turning his head to say, "If your 'dear younger brother' is going to have to go through fire and water for me, then it means I'm pretty much done for too."

Bai Tianyi stood there, watching his older brother's tall, straight back disappear at the end of the corridor, the corners of his mouth slowly and uncontrollably stretching to his ears.

His older brother's words, translated, mean: "With me around, you won't have to suffer." His disdain is genuine, but so is his protectiveness.

The problem is I forgot to set the timer. I'll remember to set it in the next chapter, hahaha.