But Brother Bai was not satisfied with the way things were. His title was salesman, but he wasn't an office worker. While his colleagues were out working, he was playing video games comfortably in Qiao Wenxing and Bai Yue's apartment.

Eventually, Qiao Wenxing asked Bai Yue if she had found a place for her brother. Bai Yue hedged around the answer for a while before saying pathetically, "My brother hasn't been away from home much, and I'm not at ease having him live alone. Won't you please let him stay for a while?"

Brother Bai generally hid in his room playing games all day. His absence made him not as intrusive as his parents, so though Qiao Wenxing felt a little uncomfortable, he gave in upon seeing the look on Bai Yue's face.

By this time, he had been gone from D City for six or seven months. His business was gradually setting itself on the right track, but he was incredibly busy, with no extra energy to waste on taking care of his brother-in-law.

But right then, his mother suddenly called and informed him that she was cutting him off. Shocked, Qiao Wenxing inquired, "Why?"

This time, Mother Qiao was firm. "I was wrong at the beginning. I shouldn't have given you any money at all. If you'd had nothing, you would have come back long ago instead of letting that bastard get his foot in the door! If things go on like this, he's going to take away your status as heir!"

Qiao Wenxing found this unbelievable. "There's no way that will happen, is there? Dad doesn't like him at all. He's just trying to make me submit."

"Whether he likes him or not, that's still his own son! Just like you! And he..."

Mother Qiao couldn't go on. It was just too difficult for a mother to admit that her husband's illegitimate child was actually better than her own son.

She gritted her teeth. "Your father has already brought him into contact with core management! He's formidable, and particularly good at winning people over!"

His mother was describing the fact that other people recognized that illegitimate child's ability by saying that "he was good at winning people over". Qiao Wenxing was her son, and he read her subtle meaning between the lines. His heart began feeling uneasy.

There could only be one heir. A family's inheritance, assets and power should not be divided and spread out. The one named heir would inherit the vast majority, and any others would only drink the soup¹Think of the 'heir' as inheriting the big, meaty, stock bone and everyone else only getting a cup of the soup. Which is honestly the better part in my experience..

Would Father really give up on him?

That day, Qiao Wenxing asked Bai Yue, "If I don't inherit the Qiao Family, what would you do?"

"What would I do?" Bai Yue asked, surprised, "I'll be with you, of course."

Qiao Wenxing felt a little relieved.

"My parents taught me from an early age that 'good girls don't wear a wedding dress²A metaphor for self-reliance.'," Bai Yue said. "When I was in college, I stopped getting a allowance from my parents, and I worked to earn my own living expenses. If I could do that, then of course you can too, you're so amazing~"

He was used to Bai Yue's worship by now. But this time, he only gave her a small smile. He could no longer say the phrase "I'm not as good as you think I am."

Thanks to this, he had another fierce quarrel with his mother. Eventually, he hung up the phone and refused to answer her calls once more. Their relationship fell back down below zero.

Qiao Wenxing was thankful that Mother Qiao had only cut him off after he had begun making a profit. He was a little nervous, but he couldn't stop now, for he had become very attached to his little company. After all, he had built it up, every little part of it, through his own painstaking effort.

A month later, his home computer suddenly caught a virus, causing him to lose some important documents. When he investigated, it turned out that unbeknownst to him, Brother Bai had been playing video games on his high-profile computer and gotten it infected.

Qiao Wenxing was furious. He had never had to share his own belongings, especially not something as important and private as a personal computer. Brother Bai had now been there for almost two months, and Qiao Wenxing's patience with him had reached its limit.

He ordered Bai Yue to move her brother out immediately. She agreed, pale-faced, and rented a small apartment for her brother before moving him out. Brother Bai was tired of Qiao Wenxing's attitude towards him in any case. He was happy enough to move out and live alone.

Anyway Bai Yue was paying the rent.

But Father and Mother Bai still called Bai Yue up in a rage. Their apartment was huge, why wasn't there enough room for one little boy?!

And on top of that, the place Bai Yue had rented for her brother wasn't a high-class apartment. It was not even a house. It was just an old, broken down place! Father and Mother Bai were angriest at the fact that Bai Yue, the sister, was living a comfortable life, while her younger brother wasn't.

Bai Yue couldn't gainsay her parents, and when she finally hung up the phone, she wept. But her brother had been the cause of this problem, so she didn't dare to tell Qiao Wenxing. She could only take it, and be depressed. Meanwhile, Qiao Wenxing was busier than ever. He no longer had the time to pamper her and coax her like before, which frustrated Bai Yue.

During this busy time, several laptops were stolen from the company. Qiao Wenxing called the police, who nabbed the culprit easily.

Brother Bai cried bitterly at the police station. "This is my sister's company! She won't care if I take a few laptops. If you find my sister, she'll tell you that!"

Listening outside, Bai Yue nearly fainted. Qiao Wenxing looked pale.

Brother Bai liked playing video games, and he wanted money to change into virtual game currency. But since he hadn't enough money in real life for that, he had thought of stealing from the company. It wasn't his first time taking a few little things to sell, but prior to this they had all been worthless gadgets, so his colleagues had turned a blind eye. Anyway, the company belonged to the boss, and this is the boss's brother-in-law, so it was staying in the family, wasn't it?

Who would have thought that he would dare to steal four or five laptops all at once, all of them full of proprietary company documents?

Qiao Wenxing looked over the financial report. He called Bai Yue to the office, pointed at the rent they were reimbursing for Brother Bai, and gave her an order. "Tell him to go back to where he came from!"

The gentleman had finally lost his temper.

Bai Yue's tears began to flow.