Chapter 157: The Dog's Nose Arrived

Mo Yi turned back to ask Jiang Lai: "Miss Jiang, Miss, the driver took the wrong route, bringing the Young Master here. Are we to let the Young Master eat here, or let him go back to Number One?"

Everyone's here; there's no point in rushing back.

Jiang Lai is a polite person.

She personally came out and said: "Boss Ke, please come inside."

Ke Zhongyu got out of the car and said to the driver: "Troublesome."

The driver chuckled: "Young Master, I'll head back to Number One first; call me if you need to return."

Ke Zhongyu strode over to Jiang Lai with his head held high, and Ke Zhongying also came out, leaning by the door, mimicking: "Boss Ke, please come inside~"

Ke Zhongyu gave her a cold look: "You have no bearing."

Ke Zhongying rolled her eyes at him: "Putting on airs."

Every time she watched the siblings bicker, Jiang Lai's understanding of what family means deepened a little.

It turned out that family isn't about one side constantly backing down; it's about give and take.

The three of them sat down.

Mo Yi introduced tonight's dinner, listing a bunch of dishes, telling the Young Master that Jiang Miss's dietary needs were being accommodated, showing she was being well taken care of.

If you entrust Jiang Miss to her care, you can be completely at ease about the Young Master.

I guarantee I'll turn Jiang Miss into the Young Master's wife!

"Young Master, tonight there's a special dish."

Ke Zhongying brought out the dish from the kitchen: "Stir-fried shredded potatoes with salted egg yolk, made by Jiang Lai sis—you're in for a treat!"

Ke Zhongyu raised an eyebrow: "Hmm."

The tail of his voice rose slightly.

Jiang Lai thought the siblings were being overdramatic: "It's just a plain stir-fried shredded potatoes with salted egg yolk, a home-cooked dish."

"Home-cooked dishes aren't ordinary—you made it for me." Ke Zhongying held the plate in front of her older brother, gave it a little shake, lifted her chin, and said: "I said I wanted some potatoes, so Jiang Lai sis made it for me; you're only eating it because of me, got it?"

Ke Zhongyu let out a cold laugh.

With the first chopsticks at the table, he snatched away two-thirds of the shredded potatoes.

Ke Zhongying: "?"

"You're cheating!"

"You're shameless!"

Ke Zhongyu ate elegantly in front of her, and with great relish.

Ke Zhongying reached out to grab it, but Ke Zhongyu pressed down with the serving chopsticks.

"If you keep grabbing, it'll spill."

"Then let go!"

Ke Zhongyu indicated his refusal with his actions.

"Jiang Lai sis, you manage them!"

Ke Zhongyu also looked at her, his eyes seemingly saying, "You should manage the one on your right."

Jiang Lai looked at the two on her left and right, truly caught in the middle, torn between them.

She chose to stand up.

She walked back into the kitchen.

She stir-fried another plate of shredded potatoes with salted egg yolk.

Just as she picked up the knife to cut, a shadow fell from behind, the potatoes were taken away, and the knife in her hand was pressed down.

Ke Zhongyu's low, magnetic voice came from beside her ear.

"Go eat."

"I'm not competing with her."

Ke Zhongyu pressed his hands on her shoulders, turned her to face him, lifted a hand to push aside her hair, his palm wrapping around the back of her neck, and took off her apron.

Jiang Lai blinked, dazed.

The man's hand then slipped around her waist, undoing the knot tied at her back.

The apron came completely undone.

"Where should I hang it?" he asked.

Jiang Lai pointed to the hook on the wall.

Ke Zhongyu lifted his hand to hang it up, using his gaze to signal her to return to the dining table.

Ke Zhongying sat on the dining table, looking at the two with deep meaning.

"I'm not competing either, not competing—give it all to my brother. After all, I'm just a poor wretch who only occasionally gets to have a meal with Jiang Lai sis."

Ke Zhongyu felt that the greatest threat on his long journey was his own younger sister.

……

Shen Xun had already been standing in front of Number Twenty Villa for nearly four hours.

The lights inside were clearly on, but no matter how he rang the doorbell or what he said, there was no response.

It seemed empty.

Once the seed of doubt was planted, Shen Xun no longer just stood at the doorway; he began pacing back and forth on either side.

As he reached out to stroke the outside of a tightly shut window, he noticed something was wrong.

There was a thick layer of dust.

Other spots had been wiped, but this inconspicuous little corner had actually been forgotten.

That wasn't Jiang Lai's style.

Jiang Lai has mild obsessive-compulsive disorder, especially when it comes to cleaning; it's impossible for her to miss anything.

If it were a hired maid cleaning, he had been standing at the doorway for so long—how could there be no movement at all?

If Jiang Lai didn't see him, the maid would also come down to attend to him.

Shen Xun stepped back, looking at this villa; the more he looked, the more it seemed empty, devoid of any signs of life.

Qiao Chuan might have been mistaken.

Or, Qiao Chuan was deceived; this place is a trap.

One doesn't even need to think to know who did this on purpose.

That day he came to rent the house, and Ke Zhongyu actually came in person; the more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed.

Ke Zhongyu also had a maid following him.

This villa was built by the Ke Family; it's the main building where Ke Zhongyu should reside, the only villa numbered with a capital "One" (Yi Hao).

He wanted to try his luck.

"Number One" definitely couldn't be entered; he drove to the guardhouse and asked, "I have some business with the maid of Yi Hao Bie Shu; last time I rented a place, she dropped something at my building."

"Aunt Mo?"

A nearby guard said, "Aunt Mo isn't at Yi Hao Bie Shu, she's usually at the Number Nine villa."

Shen Xun drove his car toward the Number Nine villa.

The courtyard was clean and tidy,

the lights were bright.

He rolled down the car window to look inside, and through a glass pane saw a familiar back view.

It looked extremely like Jiang Lai.

Unable to wait, he opened the car door and got out; there was a small gate in the courtyard's large iron door, which he pushed open without permission and entered.

The closer he got, cheerful conversation could be heard coming from the white door that wasn't fully closed.

"Aunt Mo, when did you buy these Roman red rubies?" Ke Zhongying looked at the bright red grapes, picked one up, and immediately handed it to Jiang Lai's lips, saying, "Try it; it's very sweet and juicy."

Aunt Mo said, "They were just delivered; picked this morning, put on the plane at noon—nothing went wrong, right?"

"No." Jiang Lai had just opened her mouth to take a bite, then, inexplicably, asked, "Was it air‑freighted? How much did it cost?"

Ke Zhongying picked up a grape, chewed it contentedly, and said, "This bunch on the plate should be over two thousand."

Jiang Lai was startled by the price, took a bite, and juice ran down her lips.

Ke Zhongyu, quick‑eyed and quick‑handed, reached out to catch it, then pulled out a tissue and calmly wiped her mouth.

Jiang Lai sat there stunned: "Two thousand, a bunch…"

What an obscure number and unit.

"Hmm." Ke Zhongyu knew her mind was still on the price, didn't notice who was wiping her mouth, and told her, "Turn your head over and look that way."

Jiang Lai obeyed, turned her head, then realized the grape in her mouth was expensive; she quickly kept playing with it in her mouth, chewing, chewing…

When she lifted her gaze, she discovered Ke Zhongyu was right before her eyes.

The two were standing very close to each other.

Shen Xun, seeing exactly this scene through the window, instantly became agitated; his eyes turned scarlet again, and he raised his hand, thumping on the window.

Hearing the knocking, everyone turned their heads to look.

Jiang Lai saw it was Shen Xun and frowned.

"Did the sniffer come?"

Shen Xun walked to the white door, found it not latched, and pushed straight in.

He rushed over to Jiang Lai, reached out to pull her up, and, not forgetting to demand, shouted, "What are you doing!" Not forgetting to demand, he shouted, "What are you doing!"

"His wife is actually being so ambiguous with another man!"

Ke Zhongyu, with one arm around Jiang Lai's waist and a kick to Shen Xun's abdomen, executed the move in one fluid motion.

Shen Xun was kicked, staggered back two steps, and widened his eyes in disbelief.