Chapter 263: Looks a Bit Like You When You Were Young

Gu Zhiyan abruptly stood up, clearly too angry to stay in the same place as Ke Zhongyu.

Ke Zhongyu lifted his gaze slightly and gave him a casual glance.

Though he was the one seated, his disdainful look carried an air of authority pressing down from above.

One remained impassive.

One wore an angry expression.

Anyone with eyes could tell who had the upper hand.

Gu Sen, who had been wearing a kindly expression moments ago, changed his expression, and when he looked up at his son, his eyes carried sternness: "Sit down."

Gu Zhiyan had no choice but to sit down again, but unwilling to let Ke Zhongyu disparage the woman he loved, he retorted: "President Ke, disparaging one woman for the sake of another."

Ke Zhongyu: "At least you have self-awareness."

Gu Zhiyan was angered once more, his voice rising slightly: "It's a fact that Jiang Lai is an orphan who grew up in Fuli Yuan. I'm merely stating a fact."

Ke Zhongyu: "I'm also merely stating a fact."

Gu Zhiyan: "Shutong isn't that kind of person! On the contrary, Jiang Lai is the one who's been divorced. President Ke, your taste is truly unique."

Ke Zhongyu sneered: "None of us is eighteen anymore. Who doesn't have a past? Jiang Lai has only one past; Lin Shutong's pasts are countless. Do you have NTR tendencies?"

"Ke Zhongyu!" Gu Zhiyan was so angry his face flushed red and his neck thickened—not only because the other party disparaged Lin Shutong and disparaged him, but even more so because Ke Zhongyu, disregarding the presence of his father as an elder here, uttered a word like NTR to his face; it was practically an insult on a personal level.

Gu Yinxue also felt Ke Zhongyu had gone too far, actually disregarding an elder's face for Jiang Lai's sake, and immediately said: "Brother, Zhongyu, let's discuss private matters privately. Dad is still here."

"It's fine. I happen to want to know as well what kind of person could make my son defend her so." Gu Sen appeared to lack any elder's airs, but the moment the words left his mouth, they carried the authority unique to an elder over a junior, like an invisible oppression of the upper class upon the lower class.

Gu Zhiyan's heart tightened: "Dad, hearing is believing, seeing is the truth."

He didn't want his father learning about the woman he loved from someone else's mouth.

Ke Zhongyu: "It seems Miss Gu didn't tell you about the course and outcome of this morning's court hearing."

The tense one now became Gu Yinxue: "I'll tell my brother later. Isn't it bad for us to keep discussing other people right now? One of you doesn't want to hear people talk about Jiang Lai, the other doesn't want to hear people talk about Lin Shutong—aren't you both the same? Put yourselves in each other's shoes and call a truce, Brother, Zhongyu."

Her helpless voice carried a trace of coquettishness.

Gu Zhiyan was the first to stop, saying nothing more.

He chose not to act recklessly, and Ke Zhongyu had no interest in continuing to insult someone in front of an elder either, so he also fell silent.

Gu Yinxue breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Gu Sen observed the three of them, having already noted in his heart the Jiang Lai and Lin Shutong they spoke of.

Lin Shutong could be looked into; this person called Jiang Lai would be hard to investigate—she was someone Ke Zhongyu protected.

Though Ke Zhongyu was his junior, on the business field, one was President Gu and the other was President Ke; setting aside the interactions among the Gu, Nian, and Ke families, they were on equal footing.

The group not only drank tea but also took a stroll around Chengxin Pavilion. Gu Sen had an assistant following behind him, and Ke Zhongyu had Secretary Cen and Secretary Guan behind him. When the group walked out, the scene was somewhat impressive.

The conversation between Ke Zhongyu and Gu Sen covered both private and business matters, though no one brought up Jiang Lai or Lin Shutong again.

Gu Zhiyan didn't interject the entire time, nor did he want to say another word to Ke Zhongyu. Instead, he quietly asked about the court hearing from behind.

Gu Yinxue didn't intend to say more for now, using the excuse that their father didn't like juniors gossiping behind his back to deflect, planning to discuss it in detail after their father left, otherwise it would provoke more of their father's displeasure.

Gu Zhiyan understood this reasoning, but from what Ke Zhongyu had implied earlier, a lot had happened at the court hearing.

With Zhong Poqian making a move, Meng Lü couldn't handle it.

He guessed they would lose the case.

Precisely because they lost, he was even more worried.

Gu Zhiyan was absent-minded the entire afternoon. Gu Yinxue looked as usual, chiming in with a remark from time to time, so the atmosphere was quite harmonious.

During this time, Ke Zhongyu glanced back at Secretary Cen and Secretary Guan. The two understood without a word—Secretary Cen continued following along, while Secretary Guan went to call Assistant Zhou.

On the phone, she asked about how the lunch gathering among Dr. Jiang and the eldest miss had gone today.

Assistant Zhou said everything was fine; the key point was that there had been no drinking. Miss Jiang had returned to the Research and Development Center, the eldest miss had been called away by her advisor, and the others had each gone home.

However, Doctor Chi had something about Miss Jiang to discuss with President Ke, and wanted President Ke to reply to his message when free.

This was the second key point.

Secretary Guan hung up the phone and, finding an appropriate moment, relayed the contents of the call.

Ke Zhongyu took out his phone for a look—Chi Ce had indeed sent him a message, mentioning a bit of information he had inquired about at Fuli Yuan.

Ke Zhongyu typed a one-handed reply, put his phone away again, and asked in passing: "Is dinner arranged?"

Secretary Guan: "The venue was decided by you and Ms. Nian. We can go directly."

Ke Zhongyu nodded, and when the time was about right, led the group to dinner.

Gu Hui hadn't been present during the afternoon tea; he had returned while they were strolling, so naturally he joined them now.

Gu Sen noticed Gu Hui glancing at him repeatedly, as if he had something important to say. Taking advantage of the moment they entered the private room and just sat down, he said in a low voice: "Whatever it is, we'll talk about it after we go back."

Gu Hui nodded.

At the dinner table, Gu Sen noticed that his daughter still subconsciously showed concern for Ke Zhongyu, while his son quietly targeted him.

The children's affairs were for the children to resolve themselves.

He simply pretended not to see.

"Zhongyu, when will your parents be back from their trip to B City?"

Ke Zhongyu: "Depends on how long Ms. Nian wants to stay."

Ms. Nian was more attached to home, and his father was more attached to his wife—if one didn't come back, the other wouldn't come back alone either.

Gu Sen smiled: "Then I can still run into them when I go back."

Gu Yinxue: "Dad, when are you going back?"

"What about you?" Gu Sen noticed something slightly off about his daughter. "When will your work be done? New Year's Day is almost here."

Gu Yinxue: "I'll go back for New Year's Day."

Gu Sen gave an "Mm" and looked at his son again: "Go back with me in a couple of days."

Gu Zhiyan furrowed his brow slightly, politely refusing: 'Nothing much lately.'

Gu Sen: 'You should even more go home to keep your parents company.'

Gu Zhiyan didn't say anything.

He actually never understood: as the parents' children, his father was always strict with him, but indulgent toward his sister, letting her do whatever she wanted without having to consider the family's arrangements.

He chose the lawyer's path, and the Gu clan will likely be handed over to his sister; in this situation, shouldn't he and his sister be treated with equal strictness?

Gu Sen knew he was unhappy, and in Ke Zhongyu's presence he didn't press further on his son's dignity, shifting the topic.

Ke Zhongyu understood why Gu Zhiyan wanted to stay here, the corner of his mouth twitching into a faint sneer, but he didn't expose it.

"Uncle Gu decided to let me know before he goes back."

"Okay." Gu Sen smiled and nodded.

After dinner, the family of three headed to the hotel where they were staying, the one Gu Sen had specially booked.

However, Gu Zhiyan and Gu Yinxue took one car, while Gu Sen and Gu Hui took another.

In the car, Gu Hui related an incident: 'I met a young man about twenty-seven or twenty-eight today beside the Clear Heart Pavilion on the Dusk River Terrace; he looked somewhat like you when you were young, named Jiang Lai, a friend of Ke Zhongying.'