Chapter 12: Pretty Sister, No One Wants My Brother

Jiang Lai remembered.

The man in the hotel elevator who had reminded her to press the floor button.

At the time, afraid someone would see her face, she had deliberately lowered her head and used her hair to block it, which naturally also blocked her view.

That day in the elevator, apart from a pair of shiny red-soled leather shoes and a tall, slender silhouette, she hadn't gotten a clear look at the man's features.

It was actually Ke Zhongyu of the Ke Group?

And he had become her "boss."

The three of them sat in the café; Jiang Lai sat upright, meeting Ke Zhongyu's gaze without a trace of deference or defiance.

Ke Zhongyu looked at Jiang Lai with meaning, a smile at the corner of his mouth.

"Remembered now?" he asked again.

Jiang Lai nodded: "I remembered. Thank you, President Ke."

"What riddle are you two speaking in?" Ke Zhongying lay sprawled on the table, glancing this way and that. "Pretty sister, what did you remember?"

Jiang Lai wasn't used to being addressed that way, but once she met Ke Zhongying's fluttering eyes, she didn't know what to say.

Shen Xun's younger sister Shen Xi also talked a lot and always struck her as noisy, yet Ke Zhongyu's younger sister made her feel was a very cute kid.

"President Ke and I have met before."

"Mm," Ke Zhongyu nodded.

Ke Zhongying was surprised: "Where did you meet? I've never heard my brother mention it."

Jiang Lai: "A hotel."

Ke Zhongying: "No way!!!"

"You two, you two didn't… ahhhhhhh! Cause for universal celebration!" Ke Zhongying suddenly jumped up and said happily, "My brother finally has someone who wants him, someone… mmph!"

Her mouth was covered.

Ke Zhongyu manually muted her, threatening her with his eyes.

Ke Zhongying nodded reluctantly.

"Sit properly. You're fidgety all day long," Ke Zhongyu said sternly.

"Oh." Ke Zhongying sat properly and whispered to Jiang Lai, "Pretty sister, don't let my brother's fierce look fool you — actually… he's fierce behind your back too."

Jiang Lai laughed softly.

"So no one wants my brother. Mom and Dad have been pushing him to go on blind dates until their heads ache."

Jiang Lai didn't pick up the thread; she quietly sipped her coffee, as if the noise of this world had nothing to do with her.

It wasn't entirely unrelated either — Ke Zhongying asked about this and that like a little loudspeaker.

"Pretty sister, are you really not an employee of the Research and Development Center? You look so much like one. I have radar for this. I get locked in the lab by the old man every day — save me! I'm only twenty-two, I'm already this rich and this happy, I don't need to work hard."

"But! For my son's sake, I still have to make an effort!"

"Pretty sister, are you really going to work at the President's Office? My brother already has one Special Assistant and two secretaries. If you come, you'd be the third secretary. Being a secretary is such a waste of your talent, though it seems like you were about to quit… ow! Brother, why did you hit me!"

The back of her hand got smacked.

Ke Zhongyu: "Too talkative."

"What, you want me to be like you, spitting out two words every half day and leaving everything else to guessing?" Ke Zhongying pouted. "Pretty sister, being my brother's secretary — you'll suffer!"

Jiang Lai laughed again.

Ke Zhongying noticed — the pretty sister actually did like her a lot.

"Pretty sister, thank you for catching me today, otherwise I would've fallen. And my data — thank you for your guidance! From now on, we're friends!" She pulled out her phone. "Pretty sister, can we exchange contact info?"

"I promise not to bother you, just let me come hang out with you occasionally."

Jiang Lai hesitated for only a second, then took out her phone.

The page froze.

The top-left corner of the screen was still glitchy.

Ke Zhongying pursed her lips. To her, using a phone to this degree and still not replacing it was too shabby, but her upbringing didn't permit her to say so. She silently pulled out her phone — ding — scanned the code, and successfully added her as a friend.

Jiang Lai knew her phone was overly shabby. Having been burdened with matters lately with no one to talk to, she took the initiative to speak at this moment.

"I haven't had the money to replace my phone — it's all gone toward the family."

"Then your family is very lucky to have you, but you're not so lucky yourself." Ke Zhongying pouted, seeming a little sad.

Jiang Lai never expected to be pitied by a young girl, and a thread of warmth stirred in her heart.

Ke Zhongyu, who had been silently observing and listening all along, suddenly spoke: "President Shen can't even afford a phone worth a few thousand yuan, and can't support a family — it seems Star Universe Technology doesn't treat people like humans."

Jiang Lai's gaze sharpened.

Ke Zhongyu had investigated her.

"Miss Ke, I've finished. Thank you for the coffee." She stood up. "President Ke, may I ask what my work responsibilities are?"

"Assistant Zhou will tell you."

"Alright."

Jiang Lai left.

Ke Zhongyu leaned back, picked up his coffee, and took a sip, warning his sister: "Next time, no ordering Americanos."

Ke Zhongying pouted: "I'm used to drinking it. It keeps me awake — essential fuel for research livestock."

"Brother, who's this President Shen you just mentioned? You seem to have made the pretty sister angry."

"Adults' business is none of a child's concern." Ke Zhongyu also stood up and left, his strides long.

Ke Zhongying muttered: "So what if you've got long legs — I don't believe you can catch up to the pretty sister."

Slap.

A hand reached into the nearly-closed elevator doors, startling Jiang Lai.

The elevator doors opened again, and Ke Zhongyu walked in, composed.

Jiang Lai stepped aside: "President Ke."

"Hmm." Ke Zhongyu glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, noticed she was distracted, but didn't ask further.

Jiang Lai also said nothing, followed Ke Zhongyu out of the elevator, and then Assistant Zhou came to explain her job duties.

Her main responsibility was managing President Ke's schedule, including meetings, business trips, collaborations, and so on.

For Jiang Lai, it was easy.

Assistant Zhou reported to Ke Zhongyu: "Secretary Jiang picked things up quickly."

Ke Zhongyu thought of something, looked up and asked, "What's the typical annual salary for a professional manager? Take Shen Xun of Star Universe Technology, for example."

Assistant Zhou: "……."

President Ke, are you really trying to poach someone?

"On the market, it ranges from several hundred thousand to over a million, but Shen Xun of Star Universe Technology is estimated to earn over five million annually, not including his shares in the company."

Even senior management usually holds some company shares; even if only 0.5%, the year-end dividend exceeds the annual salary.

Ke Zhongyu let out a cold chuckle: "Interesting. A man with tens of millions in net worth, and his wife still uses an old phone? He even has to scrape together a pittance of a salary to cover household expenses?"

Assistant Zhou pushed up his glasses, his eyes flashing with intelligent light.

"Two possibilities. One, the man either lost money in stocks or is gambling; two, his money isn't spent on his wife, but on another woman."

After thinking, he added: "Recently, Miss Lin moved into the home of President Shen and Secretary Jiang."

Ke Zhongyu looked at him with a half-smile: "Quite a bit has been found out."

"To relieve the boss's worries."

"What does that have to do with me?" Ke Zhongyu's gaze passed through the glass door to Jiang Lai at her workstation, and he snorted coldly, "Really, you can put up with it."

"Call her in."

Assistant Zhou called her in.

"President Ke, you're looking for me?"

"How's your data‑handling ability?"

"Average."

"Give you one day to organize all the data in this pile of reports."

Jiang Lai reached over and in one motion lifted the whole stack of documents—this arm strength came from handling lab equipment at work and tossing pots and pans while cooking at home.

Ke Zhongyu froze.

He had wanted to call someone in to help her, but swallowed the words.

Such a slight person, and that much strength?

Just what has Shen Xun been making her do at home?

Ke Zhongyu furrowed his brow slightly.