Chapter 321: Kiss First, Then Leave

Jiang Lai's steps faltered slightly as she reached the doorway.

From the room, Ke Zhongyu's voice continued: "If you give her ten hundred million, it will backfire."

Ms. Nian nodded: "Right, Jiang Lai is like that; we'd better not scare her. Don't bring up marriage or anything, don't mention it."

She looked at her husband.

Ke Fu gave a serious "hm."

Jiang Lai was stunned again and again; they had only gotten together last night, and this morning she already heard the word "marriage."

Even a plane ride isn't that fast.

She and Ke Zhongyu are still in the trial stage.

Thump thump.

Jiang Lai raised her hand and knocked.

Ke Zhongyu lifted his gaze to the doorway: "A Lai is here."

Ms. Nian and Ke Fu instinctively sat upright, determined to make a good impression before Jiang Lai.

It's said that parents pick the daughter‑in‑law, but in their eyes it should be the daughter‑in‑law picking the parents‑in‑law, since she has to marry into the other family.

Anyway, when their daughter later dates and marries, she'll certainly consider the character of the groom's parents.

They ought to set an example themselves.

Jiang Lai, holding a glass of water in one hand and medicine in the other, politely called out and came to Ke Zhongyu's bedside.

Ms. Nian stood and said, "We'll go downstairs to sit; Ke Zhongyu, you must listen to Jiang Lai."

Ke Zhongyu watched his parents leave.

Standing there, Jiang Lai looked a little at a loss.

"I'm here to deliver some medicine."

She was only here to bring the medicine.

Ke Zhongyu's lips curled slightly as he patted the spot beside the bed: "Sit here."

Jiang Lai sat down; the edge of the mattress gave a slight dip, and she handed the hot water and medicine to Ke Zhongyu at once.

A glass straw was stuck in the cup, the one she and Mo Yi had requested.

Ke Zhongyu stared at the straw; he was a man of twenty‑eight or twenty‑nine, yet he drank plain water with a straw.

Jiang Lai explained, "If you can't tilt your head down or up, the straw makes it convenient."

She placed the medicine at Ke Zhongyu's lips.

The man's deep eyes drifted lightly toward her, carrying a faint, barely discernible smile.

Ke Zhongyu opened his lips, the lip edges touching Jiang Lai's finger; Jiang Lai's finger curled slightly, twirling the glass straw and pressing it again to the man's lips.

"Just drink with the straw."

Ke Zhongyu obediently took a big gulp, easily swallowing the medicine, his gaze never leaving Jiang Lai's face the whole time.

Jiang Lai couldn't resist the man's stare; her cheeks flushed easily, though she rarely shows joy or anger on her face, yet her usually cool voice unintentionally took on a hint of softness at that moment.

"Is there something on my face?"

"Nothing." Ke Zhongyu was just looking at her.

Even if some words aren't spoken, they'll spill out of the eyes.

Jiang Lai pursed her lips, set the cup aside, and said, "I'm getting ready to go to the Research and Development Center; you shouldn't go to work for the next couple of days. Leave the work matters to Jiu Er and Guan Guan first…"

"Oh?" Ke Zhongyu raised an eyebrow, "Since when have you called them so affectionately?"

In the end, he didn't.

Jiang Lai's voice faltered slightly, then she finished, "It's fine to sign paperwork, but not to think things through; President Chi said it's not appropriate to use your brain."

Ke Zhongyu's thoughts were entirely on Jiang Lai's intimate way of addressing others, and he asked, "What about me?"

Jiang Lai: "What?"

Ke Zhongyu: "Don't pretend."

Jiang Lai slightly opened her lips, closed them, and after a moment opened them again: "It's just a title."

Ke Zhongyu said casually, "Hmm, just a title. What about me?"

Jiang Lai looked at him with a hint of amusement, still calling him by his full name: "Ke Zhongyu, be normal."

"I can't be normal." Ke Zhongyu tentatively reached for her hand; they were already together, it was posted on social circles, family and the partners listed all knew, so why was holding hands still so cautious?

He didn't believe in superstitions.

He simply gripped Jiang Lai's hand and forced, "Change the title; anyone hearing it will know we're a couple."

Ke Zhongyu almost wanted to proclaim it to the world.

Jiang Lai isn't flamboyant; accustomed to being low‑key, after thinking it over she could only drop the surname.

When the two characters "Zhongyu" left Jiang Lai's mouth, Ke Zhongyu always felt something was off, since his parents and relatives all called him that.

Jiang Lai is a lover, more than a family member.

"Change it again."

Jiang Lai: "Coach Ke, get better quickly; we still haven't practiced the third part of the driving test."

Ke Zhongyu: "……"

He had no way to handle her.

Hearing this unusual address, Ke Zhongyu still lifted his lips, pinched her finger, and said, "After breakfast, we'll go to the Research and Development Center."

Jiang Lai's gaze softened: "Hmm, I understand."

She stood up.

Ke Zhongyu kept holding her hand without letting go, just watching her.

Jiang Lai looked puzzled; she tugged again, but Ke Zhongyu still didn't loosen.

He said she should finish breakfast before going to the Research and Development Center, yet his actions wouldn't let her leave.

Jiang Lai sat back down: "Coach Ke, we should talk about communication; sometimes I can't read your mind, and I hope you can tell me directly what you want to do, what you want."

Ke Zhongyu: "Kiss me once, then you can go."

Jiang Lai: "……"

She was careless.

Ke Zhongyu hummed lightly: "Isn't it that I should just tell you what I want to do?"

"Kiss me once, then you can go." He repeated his inner desire.

Jiang Lai silently swallowed, looking at Ke Zhongyu's lips.

Ke Zhongyu: "I can kiss you, but my head can't make a big arc… hmm."

Jiang Lai's kiss came down.

A dragonfly skims the water.

One touch and it ends.

After the kiss she quickly got up to leave, Ke Zhongyu lifted his hand to press her nape, pushed Jiang Lai's head back, and pressed his lips to hers.

Just like last night, he deepened the kiss.

He was slow to let go.

It lasted longer than last night's return kiss, exploring deeper.

Jiang Lai's mind went blank, her body became numb and soft under the man's increasingly heavy breathing.

She still hasn't learned how to breathe while kissing.

When she was about to gasp for air, Ke Zhongyu reluctantly parting their lips, their foreheads pressed together, noses occasionally brushing.

Their breaths interlaced.

Breaths tangled.

"Reciprocity." Ke Zhongyu summed up his recent return kiss in four words.

Jiang Lai's cheeks flushed red, her lips the hottest spot.

"Ke, Ke Zhongyu."

She was kissed to the point that even her words stumbled.

"Not calling you Coach Ke anymore?"

"Ke Zhongyu sounds nice."

Ke Zhongyu closed his eyes, hearing her say that, lifted the corner of his mouth and compromised: "Call me however you like, as long as you call me."

"Ke Zhongyu, I'm going to be late." Jiang Lai blinked, her eyelashes fluttering lightly.

Ke Zhongyu gently stroked the back of her head, released his hand, and gazed at her reddened lips.

He had just left his own mark here.

Ke Zhongyu's lower belly tightened instantly; he let her go, fearing he might do something even more beastly.

"I'm leaving."

"Mm." Ke Zhongyu's gaze lingered on her face, unwilling to depart.

"A Lai, be careful on the road."

"Ke Zhongyu, rest and recover at home." Jiang Lai's voice paused, "I'll be back after work."

Ke Zhongyu: "How about you don't go, and work from home instead?"

He still couldn't hold back.