Chapter 215: Thanks, President Shen, for pushing her toward me

"Once bitten by a snake, ten years fearing the well rope." Ke Zhongyu turned his face slightly aside, a cold light glinting in his pupils, his browbone slightly sunk; his gaze toward Shen Xun was a kind of contempt from above, even carrying a hint of a smile-not-smile.

Thank you, President Shen, for pushing her toward me.

Shen Xun's throat was instantly blocked.

His fingers clenched into a fist, digging hard into his palm, then loosened the next second; he lifted his eyes and locked gazes with Ke Zhongyu.

"If President Ke succeeds, will he still come out from inside?"

Ke Zhongyu curled his lip in retort: "I said I'm not President Shen, I don't have the habit of sleeping with people without marrying them."

Shen Xun quickly retorted: "I didn't even before marrying Jiang Lai!"

Ke Zhongyu's gaze lingered: "Are you talking about you and Jiang Lai?"

He was referring to Shen Xun and Lin Shutong.

"You and Jiang Lai are divorced, yet you still won't marry Lin Shutong, waiting for her to give birth, and you'll add another charge of abandoning your child."

Shen Xun's pupils trembled slightly.

They knew Shutong was pregnant.

Ke Zhongyu: "If we didn't know Lin Shutong was pregnant, how would we have sent a lawyer's letter?"

"You and Lin Shutong—neither of you can escape."

Shen Xun felt another surge of panic, yet he stubbornly denied: "I don't know what President Ke is talking about."

Ke Zhongyu's contempt was already evident.

Shen Xun knew he couldn't win a war of words against Ke Zhongyu, so he planned to leave.

Just then, the door behind him opened.

Jiang Lai came out holding a black umbrella, stood before Ke Zhongyu, and said, "Umbrella."

Only then did he notice Shen Xun standing by the wall as well.

Jiang Lai instantly scrunched her face.

Ke Zhongyu took the umbrella, opened it, and the large black umbrella covered both of them.

Only Shen Xun was left out in the snow; some of the snow on him melted, and under the streetlight his wet clothes were clearly visible.

"Jiang Lai." Shen Xun called her gently.

Jiang Lai ignored him.

There were no Sno people here; she had no reason to continue pretending to be a couple with Shen Xun.

She looked at Ke Zhongyu and said, "Assistant Zhou said he drove the car away; you have to walk back to Number One, and you didn't bring an umbrella."

Ke Zhongyu furrowed his brows.

Assistant Zhou had indeed dropped him off here and left, but Assistant Zhou would call the driver to come pick him up.

Walk back? He certainly didn't have the leisure for that.

Jiang Lai was also easily fooled.

He suddenly understood why Jiang Lai could be deceived by Shen Xun for four whole years—as long as the people around her colluded, they could surely fool Jiang Lai.

Ke Zhongyu let out a heavy sigh in his heart.

"Jiang Lai, don't believe everything anyone says."

"Whatever anyone tells you, you can believe at most seventy percent."

Shen Xun, standing aside, was about to speak to tell Jiang Lai, "Ke Zhongyu, together with the people around him, is deceiving you!"

As it turned out, Ke Zhongyu himself said it.

Shen Xun stared blankly for a moment.

"Remember these two sentences." Ke Zhongyu had just finished speaking when the driver pulled up in his car, stuck his head out, and explained why he hadn't arrived promptly when President Ke left: the snowy roads were slippery, so he drove slowly.

Ke Zhongyu glanced at the driver, said nothing, and instead handed the umbrella back to Jiang Lai.

"Go inside."

Jiang Lai gripped the umbrella handle, still retaining the warmth of Ke Zhongyu's palm.

Jiang Lai walked inside under Ke Zhongyu's gaze.

Throughout, Jiang Lai ignored Shen Xun.

At this moment, Shen Xun's heart was colder than the snowflakes falling on his face.

Ke Zhongyu got into the car, knowing that bodyguards, a German Shepherd, and Mo Yi were inside, so Shen Xun couldn't rush in to disturb them.

The car slowly pulled away.

Ke Zhongyu immediately reprimanded the driver: "You're not a new driver; calculating travel time based on the weather is your job."

So that remark about snowy roads being slippery is just an excuse.

The driver knew President Ke was angry and immediately apologized.

"Sorry, President Ke, it won't happen again."

"Hmm." Ke Zhongyu looked at him, "Stop deceiving Jiang Lai; she's been deceived enough."

"Pass this on to Assistant Zhou."

"Yes, President Ke." President Ke now knew that having Miss Jiang deliver the umbrella was a plot between Assistant Zhou and himself, and the driver felt a pang of guilt.

……

Jiang Lai lay on the bed, turned off the light.

Outside the window was a vast whiteness, faint light filtering in; she felt no trace of sleepiness.

One side was how to find news of Ping'an; the other side, Ke Zhongyu's image would occasionally pop into her mind.

She fingered the brass filigree key she wore, rubbing it gently.

When she received this gift, she hadn't told Ke Zhongyu; she really liked this key-shaped necklace.

Even if this key won't open any substantive door.

Jiang Lai's notion of home stems from a key.

In elementary school, she heard classmates discuss keys—some kept theirs in backpacks placed by parents, some hung them around their necks, and others complained that carrying them was a hassle, saying their family keys were kept under flower pots or on windowsills, requiring a stool to reach.

A home's key only opens that home's door; if the key is lost, you must go to a locksmith to have a new one made while standing there; if all keys are lost, you can only replace the lock, and after replacing the lock, there will again be a unique key.

She pieced together an image of "home" from her classmates' casual remarks.

Later, in middle school and college, she kept her dorm key around her neck, and after graduation she would store it properly.

However, as technology advanced, most now use smart locks that recognize numeric passwords and fingerprints; when she first married Shen Xun, she still felt a slight regret—when she truly had a home, there was no key, only a string of numbers.

Jiang Lai thought and thought, and under the glow of the snow she gradually fell asleep.

She dreamed back to the time when her elementary school classmates discussed their home keys.

She watched her younger self secretly draw a weird-looking key in her textbook, and when someone peered over, she quickly shut the book, preserving her little self-esteem.

The next second, a teacher who had not been there at that moment suddenly called her out.

She walked out; the classroom entrance was a blank white haze, and a blurry figure stood there.

A tall, slender figure handed her a key.

The next day, Jiang Lai woke up gripping that key.

The brass engraved key, having been held all night, became quite warm.

Jiang Lai slipped it into her undershirt; touching her skin, she felt no chill.

However, her heartbeat seemed to have become slightly irregular.

The snow stopped.

Outside, the snow was pure white; the tranquil Nanshan Villa was clad in silver, Jiang Lai was in a good mood, and thinking of going to have lunch with her master's wife made her feel even better.

Mo Yi called her to have breakfast.

After breakfast, Ke Zhongyu's driver waited for her outside.

Mo Yi again personally escorted her to the car with that black umbrella, reminding her to stay safe on the road.

At the same time.

Lin Shutong, who was at the Ji family residence, was forcibly put into a car; Ji Lao, with a stern face, instructed: "I've inquired—if Jiang Lai is not at Nanshan Villa, she's either at the Ke Clan or the Cui Family; if she's not at one place, go to another. I don't care what method you use; even if you have to beg her, you must get her to agree to settle this matter privately! Tell her to give us some time to raise the money."

Lin Shutong: "Grandfather..."

Ji Lao: "Did you hear that!"

Lin Shutong, compelled, nodded: "I understand."