Chapter 175: Jiang Lai Meets Gu Yinxue

Gu Yinxue first guessed Ke Zhongying, but seeing her brother's expression it wasn't right, then guessed Secretary Cen and Secretary Guan, still wrong.

"I can't guess it anymore, brother, just tell me directly."

Gu Zhiyan was driving, seeing that she really wanted to know and also wanting to make her give up on Ke Zhongyu, he said.

"Her name is Jiang Lai, Ke Zhongyu's attitude toward her is very special, and consequently everyone around Ke Zhongyu is especially friendly to her."

Having said that much, Yinxue should understand now, right?

Even someone as cold and heartless as Ke Zhongyu can have a woman who stands out specially in his life.

In such a case, other women can't squeeze in.

Gu Yinxue was shocked for a moment.

"How special is Ke Zhongyu to her? Does he like her a lot? What about Lin Shutong's boyfriend? It sounds like a drama of two men vying for one woman, this woman named Jiang Lai is more…"

much more formidable than Lin Shutong.

Her older brother is still here, so Gu Yinxue couldn't say anything that would belittle Lin Shutong, and she kept quiet.

This woman named Jiang Lai piqued her interest even more.

Ke Zhongyu has been at the top of the pyramid since birth, with an outstanding family background and appearance; after inheriting the family business he holds high rank and authority. Countless wealthy heiresses and elegant ladies cannot catch his eye, yet he is special toward a woman called "Jiang Lai"?

She wants to go and personally make contact, to see what point has struck Ke Zhongyu's heart.

…

Jiang Lai has finished the renderings for the house at Number Ten Courtyard on Yanping Road, and after specifying the requirements she contacted a design studio, hoping they can provide the renovation design plans as soon as possible.

Since she doesn't need major changes, mostly soft furnishings, the other side's proposal came quickly; they arranged to meet at a business café in the city center to discuss details.

When Jiang Lai left the house, Mo Yi specially took a brown scarf and wrapped it around her.

"Mo Yi, it's not that cold yet."

"In A City, the autumn and winter winds are strong every year; wrap it so the wind doesn't reach your neck. Go ahead, and be careful on the road."

"Mo Yi, bye." Jiang Lai walked to the door, bent down and patted the heads of two German Shepherds, "Da De, Xiao Mu, bye."

Carrying a brown tote bag, she walked into the café, and the people from the design studio saw Jiang Lai quickly and stood up at once.

The two exchanged a brief greeting and then began to discuss business.

"Miss Jiang, here is the design plan; the brands and materials for the soft furnishings are listed, you just need to confirm by checking them off the list."

"Okay." Jiang Lai took the tablet to look at the design drawings, was fairly satisfied: an open kitchen, a connected balcony, and floor‑to‑ceiling windows installed on the balcony side.

"For the opened balcony area, design it as a slightly raised platform to separate it from the living room, still with wooden flooring. I don't need many things at home; on this platform place this dark brown wooden table, and at the back need a built‑in bookshelf in the same color scheme. That's all for now."

"Alright, Miss Jiang, when the time comes, please find time to bring our designer and workers to your house."

"I live at Number Ten Courtyard on Yanping Road; the people who come that day should remember to bring ID cards, and let me know the license plate, model, color, etc., of any vehicle that needs to enter, as it must be registered."

The other side clearly froze for two seconds; to someone unfamiliar, Number Ten Courtyard on Yanping Road is just a slightly better‑located, better‑environment residential complex, and they didn't expect it to be so troublesome.

"Alright, Miss Jiang, no problem, I'll head back now; we can coordinate the rest in the group chat."

The design studio set up a dedicated handover group, where progress and issues will be reported.

Jiang Lai saw the other party off, and after finishing her coffee she also stood up; as she was leaving, she accidentally bumped into a woman who was looking down at her phone.

"Sorry."

"Sorry."

The two looked up at each other at the same time.

The woman was dressed exquisitely, wearing five‑centimeter high heels, her height only about the same as Jiang Lai's in flats.

She had straight bangs, a one‑cut short hair tucked behind the ears, and wore round pearl earrings.

It was Gu Yinxue.

Gu Yinxue stared blankly at the woman before her, whose eyebrows and eyes seemed somewhat familiar.

Both were accidental, and neither intended to cause trouble; Jiang Lai gave a slight nod and turned to leave.

"Wait." Her hand moved faster than Gu Yinxue's voice.

She grabbed Jiang Lai's wrist.

"What's wrong?" Jiang Lai looked at the woman in front of her, who didn't seem like she wanted to pick a fight.

Gu Yinxue blinked, a storm raging in her mind.

The woman's eyebrows and eyes resembled her father's a bit.

"I accidentally bumped into you just now; may I treat you to a coffee?"

Gu Yinxue was eager to keep the woman in front of her.

She didn't know why, but her heart was pounding rapidly at that moment.

Jiang Lai looked at her apologetic eyes, shook her head: "I just had a drink, no thank you." She withdrew her hand and left.

Gu Yinxue stared at her back, growing more nervous the longer she watched.

Especially when the woman stood by the road waiting for a car, she took a pair of rimless glasses from her bag and put them on.

The glasses perched on her high, straight nose bridge; as the cold wind blew, her elegant profile was fully revealed.

The glasses sat on the high, straight nose bridge; a gust of cold wind revealed the superior profile in full.

Even more so.

This profile looked a lot like a photo she had once stumbled upon—a picture of her father when he was young, at work.

Gu Yinxue suddenly recalled a occasional question from her childhood: "Why does this child look unlike both dad and mom?"

Everyone thought the child couldn't understand, but in fact she heard it clearly.

Even though her parents would immediately scold the person for nonsense and tell her she looked like her long‑deceased grandmother, even though she never heard that voice again, the incident left a deep impression on the little her.

Even if her parents would immediately scold that person for talking nonsense and tell her she looked like her deceased grandmother, and even if she never heard such words again afterward, this still left a deep impression on her young self.

It later became a tiny scar in her otherwise happy life.

Gu Yinxue unconsciously touched her own face, her gaze fixed on Jiang Lai waiting by the roadside.

She just forgot to ask for the name.

Gu Yinxue walked toward the roadside.

The car Jiang Lai had called arrived; she opened the door to get in, but was stopped again by the woman just now.

"Hello, may I ask your name? Leave contact info, I'll treat you to coffee next time."

Faced with the woman's relentless pursuit, Jiang Lai felt strange, especially the woman's gaze toward her, which carried a deep scrutiny, making her uncomfortable.

Jiang Lai refused again: "No need."

After getting in the car, she told the driver to drive away.

Gu Yinxue's heart grew increasingly uneasy; she called the friend she had arranged to meet and said they'd meet another day.

Even though she knew following was unwise, she still hailed a taxi and tailed them.

Jiang Lai was chatting with Ke Zhongying, mentioning what had just happened at the café and pointing out the woman's strange behavior.

Ke Zhongying's alarm bells rang; worried she might get into trouble, she immediately drove over from here, and the two arranged to meet at a place.

When Jiang Lai got out of the car, Ke Zhongying arrived in her cherry‑pink car as well.

The taxi‑pursuing Gu Yinxue happened to see Ke Zhongying step out of the car, stride over and link arms with the woman; the previously aloof woman gave Ke Zhongying a faint smile.

Her smile didn't look like that.

Gu Yinxue thought to herself.

She saw that the two were on good terms, and she didn't feel comfortable just stopping the car to call someone; besides, tonight she was going to the Ke Family to visit Ms. Nian, and she could ask Ke Zhongying about it then.