The Heiress Always Wins

I’m the heiress to an ultra-wealthy family. On a whim, I confessed my feelings to a poor boy. I never expected his childhood sweetheart to say in that syrupy, manipulative tone: "This is nothing more than a rich girl’s little game of love, Alex. Don’t let her fool you." Alex froze for a moment, then timidly accepted my confession. Perhaps he realized that we belonged to different worlds, because after we started dating, he worked desperately to make money, doing everything he could to fit into my social circle. I watched him and gradually grew touched by his sincerity, so I decided to give him a hand. That was until his childhood sweetheart’s scholarship was canceled. Alex came to confront me, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "How could you cancel her scholarship? Do you know how important it is to her?" He had no proof of anything, yet he still came to question me, and I was so angry that I laughed. I didn’t explain a single thing and simply turned around and left. Six years later, when we met again, Alex had already become a rising tech tycoon. Facing me in a basic business outfit, Alex assumed I had fallen into poverty and began targeting me at every turn. He had no idea that I was only conducting a surprise inspection at one of our branch offices that day. After leaving my advisor’s office, the class group chat posted the list of scholarship recipients. I had never paid much attention to this kind of news, and I was about to swipe past it when Alex’s message covered the screen. He asked me to meet him by the lake behind the school. When I arrived, Alex’s childhood sweetheart was clinging to his side and crying. Whitney’s nose was red, and she was sobbing so hard she could barely breathe as she slipped into his arms. A flicker of pain crossed Alex’s eyes, and he moved his arm, but in the end, he didn’t push her away, even gently patting her back to comfort her. Alex and Whitney had grown up together and had been accepted into the same university after high school. Quite a few people around me had advised me that childhood sweethearts like them often didn’t know how to keep their distance and were only playing around, so I shouldn’t give them my true feelings. I had merely laughed it off. True feelings? Did I even have any? At that moment, looking at the embracing couple, amusement flashed through my eyes. I approached them while clapping, my tone full of mockery. "What a perfect… couple." Alex spun around and, upon seeing me, quickly pushed Whitney away and hurried to explain himself. I didn’t look at him, instead noticing Whitney’s fingers, clenched so tightly that they had gone pale. Alex rambled on and on, but I raised my hand and cut him off before asking sincerely: "Did you ask me here to book a room for the two of you?" Whitney’s face turned red as a cooked lobster, her embarrassment mixed with an innocent expression. "Wren, how could you think that about us?" "Alex and I are just friends. That’s all!" Three parts coyness, two parts smugness, and five parts embarrassment and anger. Listening to her made me want to throw up. I raised my eyebrows and turned to Alex. "Do you think so too?" I blinked, my lashes fluttering. Alex froze for a moment. When our eyes met, he nodded. Whitney bit her lip. Seeing that things hadn’t gone as she expected, she grabbed his sleeve and began changing the subject. "Alex, you’re Wren’s boyfriend. Could you… ask her to give my scholarship back?" Her voice was soft and gentle. Alex calmly shook off her hand and glanced up at her. After letting out a breath, he said indifferently, "I remember that, given your circumstances, you don’t need to apply for a scholarship." Although Whitney and Alex were childhood sweethearts, her family was several times wealthier than his. Still, I narrowed my eyes in discomfort at his words. He hadn’t denied that I had manipulated the selection process behind the scenes. "Can I borrow Alex for a while?" Whitney asked timidly. She clearly had something to discuss with him. Alex looked at me too, a trace of pleading in his eyes. Whatever was happening in her family had nothing to do with me. Five minutes later, Alex’s brows were tightly drawn together. "Wren, you…" he began, carefully choosing his words. Whitney hesitated, then tilted her head and glanced at me. Her expression grew even more innocent and helpless, as if she had already decided that I was responsible. I stared steadily at Alex. The atmosphere suddenly became tense."Alex, forget it." Whitney couldn’t bear to watch him struggle. "I can make money. I can get a job or deliver food. I’ll definitely be able to earn enough…" Alex’s eyes suddenly reddened as he remembered his painful past. "Whitney, you don’t have to do that. I’ll get justice for you." He said those words while looking directly into my eyes. I smiled indifferently, my voice cold. "So you think I’m behind this?" Alex neither nodded nor denied it. But his silence was an admission. Whitney bit her lip. "Alex, don’t trouble yourself." Alex suddenly grabbed my hand. "Wren…" Whenever Alex needed something from me in the past, he had worn this same expression. I shook off his hand and stared at Whitney, suddenly finding the whole thing ridiculous. "Do you really think I care about three thousand dollars?" My mocking tone instantly ignited the inferiority buried in both of them. Whitney pressed her lips tightly together, tears gathering in her eyes as if they might fall at any moment. But she forced herself to hold them back, like a stubborn little flower. "Yes! Three thousand dollars might mean nothing to you, but to me, it could save my entire family!" I snapped my fingers. "Fine. Let’s go see the advisor." Whitney immediately wilted, gripping her hands tightly and looking utterly wronged. When Alex couldn’t see, however, she gave me a meaningful look. I raised my eyebrows, grabbed her arm, and started dragging her toward the advisor’s office. "The heiress likes playing games. I’m enough to keep her company by myself." Alex laughed, wearing a smile I had never seen on his face before. It was strange. A mocking laugh. A sarcastic laugh. There was a barb in his voice. "Everyone knows the heiress is close to the advisor." "And besides, you just came out of the advisor’s office. Don’t tell me you really didn’t know about this?" I was speechless. I had no time to play along with his ridiculous performance of protecting his childhood sweetheart. The selection criteria were written clearly in black and white, and the students who had participated in the evaluation were all in our class. There were countless ways for him to verify the truth. Yet he had chosen the most absurd one. People who don’t believe you will never believe you, no matter how much you explain. "Believe whatever you want." I strode away. Alex lost his temper and shouted behind me, "Someone like you could never understand how much a scholarship means to people like us!" The winter wind was bitter and fierce. I had come out too quickly, and my face had turned purple from the cold, so I couldn’t help sneezing. Jason appeared from somewhere and threw a fur coat at me, teasing me. "It’s rare to see Miss Wren looking this pathetic." I elbowed him. "If you have something to say, say it." Jason flashed an obsequious smile. "Lend me some money." I knew it. After fiddling with my phone, I headed toward the apartment. "You really are as generous as ever." After checking his phone, Jason shouted at my back, "Thanks, sis!" Jason ran into Alex, who was hurrying over. He looked at Alex with obvious disdain, walked around him, muttered something under his breath, and left without even sparing him a glance. Alex watched me walk away in the fur coat, then lowered his head and looked at the shabby jacket in his hands. A wave of self-mockery rose in his heart. But he still ran up to me and apologized in a low voice. "Wren, I didn’t disbelieve you. I just…" "You just have a problem with me," I interrupted, covering my mouth dramatically. "Oh, no! You’re prejudiced against people like me." Alex lowered his eyes and tried to grab my hand, but I dodged him. I understood his pride, but I cared more about how I felt. He made me uncomfortable. I looked him over from the corner of my eye. The only attractive thing about him was his face. Back then, it was because I had fallen for that face that I tolerated Whitney’s syrupy manipulation. "It’s not like that." His words fell into the cold wind and disappeared with it. Alex looked dejected, the tip of his nose red and tears faintly shining in his eyes. There was no doubt that anyone I chose as my boyfriend would be good-looking. I suddenly remembered when Alex and I had just started dating. He had worked hard every day to fit into my social circle, saving money just to buy me an expensive necklace. The necklace was ordinary among my many pieces of jewelry, but Alex had spent an entire month coding to afford it.Whitney anonymously submitted the whole incident to the campus confession page. The post drew hundreds of comments. Based on her description, our classmates quickly identified me as the target. Everyone in the class knew what I was like, so they all looked down on Whitney’s behavior. During class, the students looked at Whitney with contempt. Whenever that happened, Whitney would perform her signature act: biting her lip, lowering her eyes, pretending to speak but not saying anything, and reddening the corners of her eyes. She looked as if she were the most wronged person in the entire world. No one cared. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. Someone did care. Alex reappeared after disappearing for a week. Whenever Alex disappeared, it was because he was saving money to buy me a gift. This time was no exception. Alex handed me a gift box. Inside was a bracelet. The diamond-studded bracelet glittered beneath the sunlight. Alex carefully fastened it around my wrist, as docile as a lamb. When he saw my expression soften, Alex relaxed without realizing it, and even his voice became calm and unhurried. "Could you…" Alex softened his tone. "Could you let Whitney off the hook?" For a moment, my mind went blank. After sorting through everything that had happened, I looked at him coldly. "Is that why you came?" The wind began to blow. The winter wind was nothing like the gentle breeze of spring. It was more like a knife scraping across my face and leaving behind bloody scars. I scoffed. "Do you think I led the entire class to ostracize her?" Alex parted his lips, but swallowed every word. His meaning was obvious. I tore the bracelet from my wrist and threw it at him. The silver bracelet hit the ground and broke in half. He slowly crouched down and carefully picked it up. "Break up." I gathered my hair and uttered those two words indifferently before turning and walking away. Alex gradually came back to his senses. He slowly stood up and remained frozen in place. He couldn’t believe I would break up with him over this. He seemed to call my name. But his weak voice vanished into the howling wind. As expected, that was the last time we saw each other. I was leaving the country. The next time I saw Alex was six years later. It was during the signing of a contract between our companies. Alex, dressed in a custom-tailored suit, kept glancing in my direction. Confusion and subtle amusement flickered through his eyes. I lowered my head and looked at my clothes. I was wearing the company’s most basic business attire. No wonder. No wonder he had that look in his eyes. I stood there quietly, mocking him in my heart. Alex probably thought the heiress had fallen into poverty. The manager noticed him repeatedly glancing over and prepared to introduce me properly. I stopped him discreetly. The manager understood immediately and merely mentioned my name. His indifferent attitude further confirmed what Alex had assumed. Alex lowered his gaze, his tone relaxed but loaded with meaning. "Could you have her explain the details to me?" He raised his hand and pointed at me. As the client, he had the right to make such a request. The manager’s pupils shook violently. He stared at Alex in disbelief. "Chairwoman… Wren?" Under my stare, the manager’s tone twisted awkwardly. Alex was focused entirely on me and failed to notice the brief exchange. He nodded without hesitation, but still asked politely, "Would that be convenient?" The manager hesitated and kept looking at me. I gave him a meaningful glance. After receiving my signal, the manager decisively left and quietly closed the door. The moment the door shut, every sound from outside was cut off. In the enormous conference room, only our breathing could be heard. Alex stood up and walked over to me. A faint trace of concern flashed through his dark eyes. "Miss Heiress." His voice was low and slightly hoarse. It sounded like an emotion he had been unable to let go of for six years. Or perhaps it was the unbearable tension of our reunion. I sniffed. Alex had once loved calling me "Miss Heiress," but after I corrected him once, he had never used it again. I hadn’t expected to hear that familiar title again after seven years. "What do you want?" I glanced at him. He was more mature than before and no longer timid and submissive. Alex bent slightly and leaned close to my ear. "I’ve missed you so much." His masculine scent made me uncomfortable, so I shifted slightly to the side. But Alex suddenly pulled me into his arms. "All these years, I’ve been thinking about you." "Did you… ever think about me?" His voice trembled faintly with a choked sob. I remained unmoved and whispered two words beside his ear. "No." Alex froze, then laughed bitterly before letting me go. "Do you regret it?" he asked. Did I regret leaving him? I didn’t know where he got the nerve to ask that. Was it because of the small company he had founded? Or did he think that I had fallen into poverty and that he could finally mock me? Alex stared at me, refusing to miss even the slightest change in my eyes as he tried desperately to find a flaw in my expression. Unfortunately for him, I had never regretted it. If I had never truly invested my feelings, what was there to regret? Even if I had once wavered, those feelings had already been completely drained away. I had gone abroad for six years to further my education, not to hide from him out of spite for six years! Unfortunately, Alex had never understood any of this.Alex kept delaying the signing of the contract. The manager came to see me and tactfully conveyed Alex’s request. "Have Wren bring the contract to me, and I’ll sign it." I spent most of my time at headquarters and rarely visited the branch office. Alex had secretly asked about me more than once, but had never gotten any useful information. With no other choice, he focused on the contract and tried to force me to show up by making the signing dependent on my presence. The manager finally found me and hurriedly explained what had happened, asking what I wanted to do. After our last meeting, the manager had assumed Alex and I had some kind of special relationship and didn’t dare make a decision lightly. I didn’t even blink. My voice was as cold as ice. "Let him do whatever he wants. Deep Sea has no shortage of potential partners." "Next time, make your own decision over something this minor. Don’t come to me." The manager had already reached the door when I called him back. "Make Alex suffer a little." The manager acknowledged my order and closed the door behind him. I stood up, stretched my muscles, and looked out the window. The view outside was completely unobstructed. Six years had passed. Deep Sea Group had become the leader of the industry. I had finally fulfilled my mother’s dying wish. … Not long after I returned to the country, Jason got dumped and insisted on dragging me out for hot pot. Ever since I took over Deep Sea, words like "hot pot" had been far removed from my life. But the craving stirred up my appetite. When I arrived at the hot pot restaurant, Jason was hugging a liquor bottle and crying so hard that his nose was running. I avoided him with some disgust and asked the server to give me another private room. When he saw me leaving, Jason ignored the alcohol stains on his clothes and grabbed me. "Are you leaving too? I only have you…" I held back the urge to kick him and kept reminding myself that he was my younger brother, born to the same mother. In the end, I couldn’t hold back and hit him anyway. The server moved me to another private room. While I had a moment to spare, I went to the restroom to clean the stains from my hands. Cold running water poured over them. "Wren?" a woman’s voice asked tentatively. I turned toward the sound and saw a familiar face. "It really is you!" The woman’s sincere surprise and fake smile appeared together. She discreetly looked me up and down. When she saw that I wasn’t wearing any designer logos, she suddenly looked relieved. Her tone became more affectionate. "How have you been all these years?" Whitney and I had never been close enough to ask about each other’s lives. I ignored her and walked straight out of the restroom. Whitney shouted angrily at my back. "What are you pretending for? You’ve fallen so far that you have to eat here, yet you still think you’re some rich heiress!" The people passing by heard her words and looked at her with disapproval. Whitney seemed to realize that she had said the wrong thing. She pulled her lips into an innocent expression, tears welling in her eyes. The same old routine. I gave a soft, mocking laugh. "Wren?" Another familiar voice sounded. What a small world. I must have forgotten to check my horoscope before leaving home today. Alex, who had originally come looking for Whitney, unexpectedly saw me. His gaze burned into me. The smell of hot pot spread everywhere, like cockroaches that could never be exterminated, scattering and hiding in every corner. Time seemed to freeze in that moment. We stood face-to-face, sizing each other up. Compared with the last time we met, the dark circles beneath Alex’s eyes looked especially stark against his pale face. I laughed quietly to myself. It seemed my manager had been doing his job seriously. The corner of Alex’s lips twitched slightly. Suddenly, Whitney let out a cry, but it failed to draw Alex’s attention. I raised my eyebrows, my tone light and teasing. "Hey, your childhood sweetheart is hurt." Alex opened his mouth to argue, but a muffled sound from behind him interrupted him. His expression flashed with panic. After hesitating for two seconds, he decisively rushed toward the back. I turned to look. Whitney had fallen to the floor. Alex carried Whitney away. As they passed me, Whitney opened her eyes and curled her lips into a smile at me. "Look down," I suddenly said. Although Alex seemed confused, he still did as I said. The moment he lowered his head, Whitney hurriedly controlled her expression. How boring. I turned around and went back to my private room. I was enjoying my hot pot when the door suddenly opened. Alex stood in front of me with his eyes lowered, breathing slightly harder than usual. The dark strands of hair on his forehead were dotted with sweat. I glanced at my watch. Only ten minutes had passed. What a master of time management. Alex pulled out the chair beside me and sat down without asking. He didn’t say a word. After I finished eating, Alex instinctively picked up a napkin and brought it to the corner of my lips. My gaze darkened by three shades. Come to think of it, I was the one who had trained him to do that. In other words, all my former boyfriends had developed the same habit. When he saw that I didn’t pull away, Alex went a step further. The burning warmth of his fingers passed through the napkin and onto my face. Alex wiped me carefully and seriously, as if he were handling a priceless treasure. It was something he could have finished in thirty seconds, yet he took two full minutes. Only after noticing the impatience on my face did Alex slowly pull away. Then he spoke in an unhurried tone. "Wren, can we talk?"