The Heiress's Game

Meng Wanqing returned to Taicheng.

Her family sent a car to pick her up. The driver was the same old driver who respectfully greeted her as "Second Miss".

She sat in the back seat, watching the Taicheng street scene flash by outside the car window—betel nut trees, arcades, neon signs—everything was the same, but she could see everything through a layer of hazy fog.

The eldest brother and sister-in-law still live in their old house in the old city of Taicheng. It is a three-story villa where the Meng family has lived for generations for decades.

When Meng Wanqing pushed open the iron gate and entered the courtyard, her sister-in-law was squatting by the flower bed pruning the bougainvillea branches. Hearing the noise, she turned around, her gardening shears frozen in mid-air.

Her sister-in-law was only a few years older than her. She was a kind-hearted and plump woman. Her family ran a seafood wholesale business. She was not scheming and her biggest worry in life was whether the typhoons in Taicheng would flood their fishponds.

"You're back?" The sister-in-law put down the scissors, walked over and took the light carry-on suitcase from her hand.

Dinner was cooked by her sister-in-law herself, consisting of Taicheng home-style dishes that Meng Wanqing loved since childhood.

Milkfish belly soup, clam and loofah, garlic water spinach, and I also specially steamed a red-spotted fish.

Meng Wanqing's eldest brother was away on business and couldn't come back, and she didn't want to see her nieces and nephews either.

At the large dining table, only the two women, the sister-in-law and the aunt, sat facing each other. The dishes on the table were steaming hot, but Meng Wanqing didn't have much of an appetite. She picked up her chopsticks, poked at the fish a couple of times, and then put them down.

She was too ashamed to wait until she was pressed for money from her family to bring it up.

He put down his chopsticks, picked up the winter melon tea on the table, took a sip, and explained his plans in detail.

Many of the properties she owns have already been listed with real estate agencies, and there are already buyers in talks. She is waiting to sell all of these properties.

After paying off the bank mortgage, the remaining money was enough to pay off the debt owed to her family.

After hearing this, the sister-in-law put her chopsticks on the table, her tone slightly reproachful.

Why are you telling me this? I didn't pressure you. You can pay back the money whenever it's convenient for you, or you don't have to.

To tell you the truth, over the years we've followed you and Jingchuan in business, we've earned more than ten times the money we initially invested.

What you owe us isn't money, it's yourself.

Look at yourself! Your mouth is sore, and your eyes are sunken. Haven't you slept for days?

"I can't sleep."

"You have to sleep whether you can or not. If the sky falls, there are tall people to hold it up. Isn't there Wenxiong's dad? Why are you worrying so much?"

After speaking, her sister-in-law picked up a large piece of fish belly and put it in her bowl, pointing with her chopsticks.

"Eat first, and after you finish eating I'll make you a cup of chamomile tea. It's calming, so you can get a good night's sleep."

Meng Wanqing lowered her head, looked at the piece of fish in the bowl, and her eyes stung with tears.

She hadn't been taken care of like this in a long time.

In the Bai family, she was the one who took care of others, looking after Bai Jingchuan's daily life, Bai Wenxiong's career prospects, and the social interactions within the social circle of wealthy women.

She is everyone's Aunt Meng, Sister Meng, and Mrs. Meng, but not Meng Wanqing who can be weak, ask for help, or be imperfect.

Only when she returned to the old house where she grew up, and stood in front of her sister-in-law, could she barely recapture a little bit of the feeling of being a younger sister.

After dinner, she and her sister-in-law snuggled up on the sofa, watching a local Taicheng prime-time soap opera on TV. The plot was so cliché that it made her want to yawn.

My sister-in-law watched the show while eating sunflower seeds, occasionally making comments about the plot.

"Sister-in-law, tell me, who's behind all this trouble at Brilliant International?"

My sister-in-law stopped eating sunflower seeds. In a soap opera, the male and female leads were arguing in the rain, their strained Taiwanese dialogue filling the living room.

Turning to Meng Wanqing, he asked, "Is there anyone you suspect?"

Meng Wanqing looked down at the pale golden tea in her teacup and remained silent for a long time.

Of course she did; the first people she thought of were Bai Junze and Gu Yunjin.

Bai Junze never concealed his hostility towards the second wife. The way he looked at Wen Xiong, at his stepmother, and at Bai Jingchuan was always cold.

She had reason to believe that, given the opportunity, he would never let go of any chance to suppress the second wife.

However, she discussed this possibility with Bai Wenxiong, who directly rejected it.

According to Bai Wenxiong, there are three reasons.

First, Bai Junze could have acted much earlier if he wanted to; he didn't need to wait until his stock price reached 120 yuan and the betting agreement was signed before taking action.

Bai Junze's style of doing things is quick, accurate, and ruthless, without any hesitation. This kind of interlocking and progressive short-selling method is unlike his usual approach.

Secondly, the operations involved in this matter are too complicated—from securities firms lending shares to creating acquisition expectations in the market, from driving up stock prices to forcing him to take over at high prices.

From the triggering of bank pledge risks to the coordinated efforts of the media and public opinion, every step was precisely timed, with international institutions like Olson Capital also entering the fray.

This level of financial operation requires not only substantial wealth, but also extremely professional short-selling skills and a deep understanding of global capital markets.

Bai Junze started his business in manufacturing, and his strengths lie in technological barriers and supply chain integration, not financial attacks.

As for Gu Yunjin, Bai Wenxiong denied it even more decisively.

She does indeed have dual master's degrees in law and finance, impressive academic credentials, and a sharp mind. She can talk fluently about investment principles in the film and television industry at the dinner table, but that doesn't mean she has practical investment skills.

There is a huge gap between theory and practice, especially in the fields of short selling and capital operation. It is impossible to achieve this level of precision without years of front-line practical experience.

More importantly, Olson Capital, a top London-based capital group, was involved in the betting agreement of Brilliant International.

With its strong capabilities in cross-border mergers and acquisitions and strategic investments on a global scale, what resources and channels does Gu Yunjin have to connect with international capital of this caliber?

In the end, Xingyao Media, which she runs, is just a variety show and merchandise company, completely out of touch with Wall Street.

"So who do you think it is?" the sister-in-law asked.

Wenxiong believes that it was a scheme orchestrated by Olson Capital and other investors behind it.

They create acquisition expectations in the market, drive up stock prices, force him to buy at high prices, and then coordinate with bank pledge risks and media opinion, one link after another.

He waited until he ran out of cash flow, then triggered the bank's risk control measures. Everything was timed so precisely.

It doesn't seem like a personal grudge; it's more like a pure, cold-blooded financial predation.

"If it really were Bai Junze, he wouldn't have waited until now to make his move."

If he wanted to do that, Brilliant International wouldn't even have the chance to go public.

He didn't need to orchestrate anything; a single sentence was enough to bring Brilliant International to an abrupt end at any time.

The sister-in-law remained silent for a long time, then sighed softly and patted her on the shoulder.

"No matter who did it, there's no use thinking about it now. Focus on getting better and settling your debts first. We can deal with the rest later."

Meng Wanqing raised her head and looked at her sister-in-law's round and gentle face.

She knew her sister-in-law was right, but she just couldn't get over it; she lost without understanding why.

Throughout her life, she meticulously planned and schemed within the Bai family, paving the way for her son and betting all her assets on Wenxiong's career.

Now that the company is gone and the money is gone, her words carry little weight with Bai Jingchuan.

She wasn't even sure who her opponent was; it felt like walking through a pitch-black tunnel.

She was shoved hard from behind and fell to the cold ground, scraping her knee.

Her palms were bleeding, and she was in so much pain that tears almost welled up in her eyes. But when she turned around, there was nothing behind her, only darkness.