Bai Xue’s hand lifted. Xiaokai reflexively leaned away, but the hand just landed on Bai Xue’s own face, one finger tapping his lips. “I want to know what your opinion of your brother is. Your father always wanted him to take over the position, but what do you think?”

This…wasn’t what Xiaokai had expected. He thought Bai Xue would want to ask him about Xingyu’s loyalty, about his connection to Liu Baiyan’s death, about what he’d been doing since he’d been back. He wanted to know what Xiaokai thought about him? At least he could still be honest with his answer, just as Sun Yue had recommended he should be.

“The truth is that I hate him,” he said. “That’s the truth.”

Bai Xue tilted his head. “Why do you hate him?”

“The reasons are endless. Because he was the favorite. Because Liu Baiyan never looked at me. Because I was just a tool to them. Because he almost killed me when I was six. Because he left me when I needed him.” Because Weiran fell in love with him. Because he couldn’t hold onto Weiran. Because he lost Weiran to me.

Bai Xue was still smiling. “But you still think he’ll get the position.”

“The board doesn’t care how I feel about him. Why should they?”

“You don’t think they’ll consider you?”

“I know they won’t. If it was ever a possibility, I would have been told in any one of the ten years that Liu Xingyu was gone. Liu Baiyan, all of them on the board—they were just waiting for the true heir to return.”

“So it isn’t a matter of whether you think he should have it. You just know that you’ll never get it, and that the board has always preferred him.” There was a strange look in Bai Xue’s eyes, something like disappointment—something that Xiaokai couldn’t get himself to ignore. He tried to steady his breathing again.

Be honest, Xiaokai. “I don’t want him to have it, but I think he should have it. Even if I was in the running, I only trained for ten years for the position. He trained for almost two decades. He’s cruel, but he’s determined, and there’s no one who understands more than he does just how important the company and his position is. Liu Baiyan would have never let him forget it.”

The disappointment cleared. Bai Xue smiled again—slow and satisfied, like he’d just eaten a full meal. “You don’t think anyone on the board is better suited? Or your mother?”