Chapter 220: Male Model Brother

Gu Yinxue found a secluded corner and called Lin Shutong.

After a brief exchange, she got to the point: "I came to G Province to shoot some footage, saw Jiang Lai; she returned to Fuli Yuan and hasn't been in A City lately, so your boyfriend can't see her, giving you more time together."

Gu Yinxue's way of speaking has a trait: she is altruistic.

It sounds like she's always thinking of others, giving advice for others, while inserting the information she wants to convey and guiding the other person to give her the information she wants.

Lin Shutong was indeed surprised: "Jiang Lai returned to Fuli Yuan? No wonder..." No wonder Shen Xun said Jiang Lai wouldn't sue for the time being.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Gu Yinxue's tone sounded like she was concerned about her.

Lin Shutong said: "Recently something happened; Jiang Lai was pressuring us, then suddenly stopped, probably because she has something more important to do."

"So that's how it is." Gu Yinxue smiled, "It's fine as long as Jiang Lai isn't pressuring you, as long as you're okay."

"Thank you, Yin Xue."

"Nothing." Gu Yinxue probed, "But what's so important that Jiang Lai suddenly flew back to G Province?"

Could Jiang Lai be looking for her birth parents? Has there been news about them?

Gu Yinxue's heart raced.

She already had a heart condition; when nervous, her heartbeat was much faster than a normal person's when nervous.

She struggled to calm her emotions.

G Province is also a plateau, which is very unfriendly to her, who has always lived on the plains and has a heart condition.

When Lin Shutong said she didn't know either, Gu Yinxue made up an excuse and hung up.

Lin Shutong also wondered deep down, what kind of urgent matter could make Jiang Lai pause her lawsuit?

Filing the lawsuit doesn't require her to be present; she can just leave it to her lawyer.

Lin Shutong picked up her phone, preparing to call Shen Xun to ask what was going on.

She didn't want to be kept in the dark.

As soon as she picked up the phone, she was met with a scolding from her grandfather.

"Again contacting Shen Xun? Instead of wasting time on romance, you'd better hurry up and finish what I entrusted you with!"

"Have you finished sorting the asset list? Once you're done, I'll have someone sell it for you—if you don't see it, you won't feel the pain!"

Lin Shutong pouted: "I'll get it done right away, Grandfather."

She turned to leave.

"Do it right in front of me!"

Lin Shutong dared not leave, unwillingly sitting in front of her laptop.

Ji Lao stood beside Lin Shutong, staring at her with a stern, cold expression.

……

Fuli Yuan

After Jiang Lai and Gu Yinxue briefly communicated, Gu Yinxue seemed to become more settled, saying she was going back to her room to edit footage.

Jiang Lai was waiting for Ke Zhongyu to arrive.

Before he arrived, she first received a call from Ke Zhongying.

"Has my brother arrived yet?"

"Not yet." Jiang Lai glanced at the gate; aside from the vehicles going back and forth on the asphalt road, she saw no car heading this way.

Ke Zhongying curiously asked: "What did you give my brother as a favor?"

She knew her real brother wouldn't want Jiang Lai's favor, but if he didn't take it, going to G Province would leave him out.

Jiang Lai: "Eight hundred per day."

"Pfft!" Ke Zhongying spat out a mouthful of water, coughing several times; Jiang Lai's sister on the phone was anxious, so she quickly said, "It's fine, it's fine, Jiang Lai sister, I'm fine—I just thought the daily wage of eight hundred was hilarious."

"Huh?" Jiang Lai didn't understand.

Ke Zhongying: "Mozi Ge is also eight hundred."

She thought Jiang Lai probably didn't get it, so she explained: "It's the male models, the hostesses, you know? Usually they're eight hundred, but given my brother's height and build and that face handsome enough to make gods and men resentful, if he went into the industry he'd easily fetch at least a hundred thousand."

Jiang Lai: "……"

Beep-beep.

Someone honked the horn.

Jiang Lai turned around; a black Cullinan was parked at the Fuli Yuan gate.

Ke Zhongyu stepped out of the car, as always first revealing his long legs.

Then came the face Ke Zhongying had described, so handsome it made gods and men resentful, indeed with sculpted sharp contours and deep-set eyes.

"Zhongying, I'm hanging up first."

"What's up?"

Jiang Lai's mind stalled, and she blurted out, "Mozi Ge has arrived."

Ke Zhongying: "Hahahahaha……"

Oh dear, I've led Jiang Lai sister astray.

Hahahaha……

Jiang Lai hung up amid a hearty laugh, recalling her own words "Mozi Ge," then looked at Ke Zhongyu and couldn't help feeling embarrassed.

She strode over, glanced at Ke Zhongyu, and immediately told the security guard, "He's my friend, here to see me."

The security guard opened the gate and let them in.

Jiang Lai directed Ke Zhongyu to park the car in an open spot, which was also a windy spot; the whooshing cold wind lifted her hair.

She swept all her hair behind her ears, revealing her whole face, her nose tip reddened by the cold wind.

Ke Zhongyu saw her reddened nose tip, frowned slightly, stepped to her side, and the hair that had been fluttering gradually settled.

Wear a mask.

"Forgot." Jiang Lai led him saying, "Let's go see Dean Mom first; she's uneasy about me going alone to look for Ping'an's news, so she had me find a reliable person to follow. Are you tired?"

Ke Zhongyu understood her meaning; he intended to go find Ping'an as soon as possible.

Ke Zhongyu said in a low voice: "Not tired."

Jiang Lai looked up at him, then remembered Gu Yinxue was also here.

Upon learning Gu Yinxue was there, Ke Zhongyu narrowed his eyes, feeling wary.

Yet he kept a calm expression while looking at Jiang Lai: "Don't give yourself away."

What giveaway?

Oh, it's about lovers.

Jiang Lai's mind went blank for a moment, she blinked, then asked him: "Do we still need to include after-sales service for this?"

Ke Zhongyu: "..."

I don't know where he learned those weird metaphors.

He nodded: "Mm."

Jiang Lai thought that hiring Ke Zhongyu for only eight hundred instead of a hundred thousand was a bargain, and wrapping up the previous matter with after-sales service wasn't a big deal.

Ke Zhongyu originally wanted to assess the scale and facilities of this Fuli Yuan, but Jiang Lai urged him onward to see the Dean Mom she mentioned.

After learning which Fuli Yuan Jiang Lai was at, Ke Zhongyu looked it up: the dean was Tang Ying, fifty-one, once honored as a provincial advanced worker.

This is Jiang Lai's natal family.

Or rather, he had met Shen Xun's natal family.

Arriving at the dean's office door, Ke Zhongyu actually felt a hint of nervousness.

"Dean Mom, my friend has come." Jiang Lai and Ke Zhongyu stood before Dean Tang, earnestly introducing: "His name is Ke Zhongyu, the 'yu' meaning island."

Tang Ying lifted her head, put on her reading glasses as she rose, saw that the other's aura surpassed those she'd met at the representative conference, and extended her hand: "Mr. Ke, hello."

"Dean Tang, hello; just call me by my name like Jiang Lai does." Ke Zhongyu, though not overly talkative, was polite, especially with an innate nobility.

Not just a big shot.

He was a noble, exalted big shot.

Tang Ying glanced at Jiang Lai, wondering in her mind: boyfriend? sweetheart? pursuer? Or really just ordinary friends.

Although she was merely the dean of a small Fuli Yuan, not well-traveled, she also knew that big shots have their own social circles, which existed from childhood.

Making new friends at this age is uncommon, rare.

"Dean Mom, come for the down jacket distribution tonight; it's still early, I plan to go look for news of Ping'an." Jiang Lai felt a bit uneasy.

Dean Tang knew she was anxious, but she still didn't know whether this man before her was reliable.

Suddenly.

Ke Zhongyu took out his ID, placed it before Dean Tang: "Please rest assured."

Dean Tang was startled.

Jiang Lai was also startled.

Afterwards, Ke Zhongyu took out his business card and gently pushed it over.

"If something happens to us, call any of the numbers above. If Jiang Lai comes to harm because of me, the entire Ke Clan's reputation rests here."

The Ke Group's subsidiaries are too many to count on two hands; especially standing on the skybridge of the Ke Building and looking down, it's clearly a concrete business empire.

The Ke Clan's reputation weighs as much as all the skyscrapers towering in the clouds combined.

Jiang Lai's eyes flickered.

Tang Ying suddenly smiled, took the ID and card: "Thanks for the trouble, Mr. Ke."

Ke Zhongyu nodded: "Mm."

Tang Ying realized the biggest difference between him and Shen Xun: one is warm‑hearted but doesn't do practical work, the other is cold‑hearted and solely does practical work.

She personally saw them off, at the same time reminding Jiang Lai that the county's security is worse than the city's, so be extra careful in everything.

Jiang Lai nodded.

Looking up again, she saw Gu Yinxue walking toward them, presumably having heard the commotion.

Gu Yinxue smiled and said: "Zhongyu, how did you come here?"

Ke Zhongyu responded coldly: "It's none of your business."

Gu Yinxue was used to his attitude toward her, still greeted him with a smile, then turned to Jiang Lai: "Your relationship is really good."

Ke Zhongyu said unhurriedly: "As long as we're not blind."

Gu Yinxue: "..."

She gritted her teeth and continued asking: "Where are you two going?"

"Back." Jiang Lai had always been on guard against Gu Yinxue.

Gu Yinxue nodded: "Just came and already leaving?"

Tang Ying had just sensed the atmosphere among the three was off; she rolled her eyes, smiled, and said: "I have some urgent business with Jiang Lai, which is why I called her back in a hurry; after it's done she should head back."

Gu Yinxue noticed Dean Tang also starting to guard against her, so she didn't continue speaking, just gave a faint smile.

But inside she kept worrying about the so‑called "urgent matter," fearing it related to what she had in mind; even Lin Shutong said Jiang Lai had returned for an urgent matter.

While speaking, Jiang Lai suddenly felt a warm flow, and told Ke Zhongyu: "Wait a moment, I'll go to the restroom first."

Her period had started at noon today, fortunately without pain.

Jiang Lai had taken two steps, then turned back to grab her bag, almost forgetting to take her sanitary pad.

Gu Yinxue's gaze fixed on Jiang Lai's movements.

Most girls would understand what the action of turning back to fetch the bag signifies.

Gu Yinxue's eyes flickered as she recalled the parent‑child identification sampling method she had looked up in the room.

Until she figured out why Jiang Lai looked like her father and whether she was connected to the Gu family, she could not eat or sleep in peace.

Jiang Lai returned from the restroom, wiping her hands with a tissue, gave Dean Tang a quick hug, nodded slightly at Gu Yinxue, and got into the car driven by Ke Zhongyu.

Just as she fastened her seatbelt, she heard a bit of Gu Yinxue's voice nearby.

"Dean, I'm going to the restroom, then I'll get back to continue editing the material; if you need a hand anywhere, just knock and call me."

"Okay."

Jiang Lai lifted her gaze and saw Gu Yinxue heading toward the restroom.