Chapter 308: Seemingly Targeting Ji Lao, Yet More Like Targeting Jiang Lai

Jiang Lai receives a message from the institute, telling her to come over for an urgent meeting.

She meets Professor Cheng at the institute's entrance, and they walk inside together.

"What happened?"

"I don't know yet; we'll find out in a moment."

After they go in, they see people from the disciplinary inspection department.

Ji Lao has been anonymously reported, accused of academic misconduct and corruption.

The reason they need Jiang Lai's cooperation is that 70‑million‑yuan bank card.

Jiang Lai also realizes that Lin Shutong's parents have exhausted everything to provide 50 million yuan, and the remaining 70 million yuan, even if Lin Shutong has extraordinary abilities and men continuously send money, cannot be gathered in the short term.

The only people who don't want Lin Shutong to be forcibly executed are her parents and her maternal grandfather Ji Lao.

So Ji Lao is the one who provided that money.

Taking the 70 million all at once, it's no wonder they're under investigation.

Jiang Lai cooperates with the investigation, but feels uneasy; the disciplinary inspection officials arrived too quickly, even knowing that the problem lies in the 70 million she holds.

How many people know that Lin Shutong returned this money?

Apart from Ke Zhongyu, who was present that day, she hasn't mentioned anyone else.

After finishing the questioning, Jiang Lai waits for Professor Cheng to come out; Professor Cheng also seems to know that the source of the problem is in the money Lin Shutong returned, and hesitantly asks, "What's going on?"

Jiang Lai shakes her head.

Still clueless.

Professor Cheng is not suspecting Jiang Lai but is worried: "Ji Lao has been autocratic in the circle for a long time, which indeed breeds resentment; there are countless people who want to climb over Ji Lao, and also many who want to bring him down. How did you get entangled in this?"

"Jiang Lai, I suspect this incident is not only targeting Ji Lao, but also you."

Professor Cheng lets out a heavy sigh: "A tall tree catches the wind."

Jiang Lai furrows her brows.

The interrogation lasted the whole morning, and Jiang Lai and Professor Cheng simply ate in the institute's cafeteria, during which many eyes kept turning toward Jiang Lai.

She knows they are all doubting her.

After all, Ji Lao targeted Jiang Lai in many ways last year, even placing his own granddaughter into the Self‑developed Chip Project Team, but in the end the granddaughter was removed from the team and gained no benefit.

People also heard some rumors: Ji Lao's granddaughter stole Dr. Jiang's husband; last year Dr. Jiang was not only busy with her projects but also dealing with a divorce.

Both publicly and privately, Dr. Jiang and Ji Lao have become enemies.

That anonymous letter wasn't written by Dr. Jiang; it's hard to believe.

People privately suspect and doubt, but dare not say it in front of Dr. Jiang.

Sensing these gazes, Professor Cheng feels unusually uneasy and comforts Jiang Lai: "Don't mind it."

Jiang Lai lightly says "mm", finding it tasteless.

The moment she steps out of the institute, a familiar Maybach is parked at the entrance; Ke Zhongyu, dressed in a dark suit, stands upright beside the car, his sword‑like eyebrows sharp and his gaze deep.

Upon seeing Jiang Lai, he withdraws his "no strangers allowed" aura and walks toward her.

"You, why are you here?" Jiang Lai freezes in place, looking at the man walking toward her from the cold wind, and he silently stuffs a hand warmer into her hand.

Ke Zhongyu: "I know about Ji Lao being reported."

The moment he got the news, his thought was the same as Professor Cheng's: Ji Lao getting into trouble at this moment seems aimed at Ji Lao, but actually seems aimed at Jiang Lai.

He worries Jiang Lai will face excessive questioning by disciplinary inspection, so after the early meeting he rushed here, went straight to the institute's entrance, and revealed his identity.

"I am Ke Zhongyu of the Ke Group, here to see Dr. Jiang."

That seemingly simple sentence actually uses his status to remind the institute and the disciplinary inspection people that he is still waiting for Jiang Lai outside.

Ke Zhongyu has known since childhood that social barriers and overwhelming power come with a weight that can crush others.

Watching Jiang Lai emerge unharmed, he silently breathes a sigh of relief.

"Did they do anything to you?"

Jiang Lai looks at the man's worried expression, and slowly shakes her head: "No, just the regular procedural questioning."

"Ke Zhongyu, when did you arrive? Tell the truth."

If Jiang Lai hadn't added those two characters at the end, Ke Zhongyu would have wanted to be a liar, but Jiang Lai added them, and he couldn't refuse her.

"Ten o'clock."

Jiang Lai checks the time; it's now 12:30, and she says, "Two and a half hours."

Ke Zhongyu: "It's cold outside, get in the car first."

He pulls her hand toward the roadside.

The man's palm is a bit cool; Jiang Lai doesn't pull back her hand. At the moment they stop beside the car, she looks at his stern profile and asks, "It was two and a half hours outside, was it cold?"

Ke Zhongyu can hardly bear the look in her eyes when she looks at him—clean, yet tinged with a thread of concern, like a filament that winds around his heart.

"Get in," Ke Zhongyu tells her to sit down, and he follows closely behind. After the car door closes slowly, he looks at the hand warmer in her hand and says, "I have this."

Jiang Lai holds the hand warmer, which looks like a big egg, with both hands; her eyelashes flutter as she says, "Your hand is very cold."

Ke Zhongyu's first reaction is, "Did it freeze you? I'll be more careful next time."

Jiang Lai presses her lips together.

The car drives toward the Ke Group, and she places the hand warmer into Ke Zhongyu's hand, saying, "Ke Zhongyu, crossing class is a skin‑and‑bone painful process; I've already tried it."

Ke Zhongyu is taken aback.

So this is why Jiang Lai couldn't give him an answer.

An invisible massive chasm stretches between the two of them.

But who is Ke Zhongyu? He was born the heir of the Ke Group; his father was a power‑winner of the previous generation, his mother grew up in a perfectly red family, and he, still young, can already run the Ke Group, causing the princes of A City to nickname the day he took office the "Ke Zhongyu Era". As long as he wishes, he can cover the sky with one hand.

As long as he wants, whether breaking class concepts or letting Jiang Lai cross class, it's a matter of a single sentence.

No one can do anything to him.

Even if they are one's own biological parents.

Class? Ke Zhongyu doesn't care at all.

Only an incompetent man would make a woman feel that crossing class is as painful as having skin peeled and bones pulled out.

Furthermore.

"Jiang Lai, don't forget, your twenty‑eighth year is just as brilliant and splendid; we stand before the media, one is Party A, the other Party B, and from beginning to end we are evenly matched."

"Throw away this idea of yours, Dr. Jiang."

He especially called her Dr. Jiang, wanting Jiang Lai to understand that even though he himself is the president of the Ke Group, he still must address her as Dr. Jiang.

"So, you're just worried about the class issue, not because you don't like me?" Ke Zhongyu said calmly, his eyes fixed on her face, the corner of his mouth slightly lifting, "Can I understand that you have a little liking for me?"