Chapter 351: I Look Down on You

First Professor Wang told Jiang Lai not to dwell on her surname, then Ping'an wanted to take Jiang Lai's surname, and then Jiang Lai said "let's leave it at this" — Ke Zhongyu knew that Jiang Lai had no intention of dwelling on the matter of her origins anymore.

He was different.

He had to continue investigating the full story and know exactly where things stood, especially since Gu Yinxue kept quietly involving herself in Jiang Lai's affairs, which left him uneasy.

But he hadn't expressed his thoughts to Jiang Lai.

Jiang Lai threw herself entirely into work.

With Ke Zhongyu around, Gu Zhiyan couldn't harass her at all. As for any letter of forgiveness — that would never happen in this lifetime; he might as well behave and serve his time.

Gu Sen and Song Shiwei had also suddenly quieted down.

Song Shiwei no longer went looking for people to persuade Jiang Lai.

Gu Sen no longer tried to engineer chance encounters with Jiang Lai either.

Everything appeared so calm.

But this calm was punctured by Ms. Nian.

Ms. Nian and Ke Fu met with Gu Sen privately.

Ms. Nian opened by asking, "You've been in A City for so long — the New Year is almost here and you still haven't gone back?"

Gu Sen knew why Ms. Nian had come. They had grown up together, and even after each marrying and having children, they still maintained the friendship of their youth.

In families like theirs, friendship was a rare thing indeed.

"I will go back. The Gu family visits the ancestral hall every year to pay respects to our ancestors." He answered unhurriedly.

Ms. Nian: "There aren't many days left, and the Gu clan doesn't need you holding down the fort. You clearly don't want to deal with Zhi Yan's business either, so what are you staying here for? Who can't you bear to leave?"

Gu Sen took a sip of tea: "No one."

He knew Nian Zhaoning's standing in the Ke Family — no one would keep anything from her — so the things he had said when he saw Jiang Lai that day must have been relayed to Nian Zhaoning's ears without missing a word.

Anyone who wasn't a fool could guess that he and Jiang Lai had countless ties binding them together.

Ms. Nian looked at him: "I don't care whether Jiang Lai is your legitimate daughter or born out of wedlock. As long as my son doesn't act stupid, she will be me and Ke Yue's daughter-in-law from now on."

Ke Yue: "Your son wouldn't dare act stupid. If he does, I'll thrash him."

Ms. Nian continued: "Gu Sen, the fact that you won't give the child an explanation — I look down on you for that."

"This has nothing to do with the child, only with yourself. Among all the people in our compound, you're the only one I've truly opened my heart to. Among our generation — who never experienced the kind of life-and-death battles our grandparents fought, born into a peaceful era, into noble houses, carrying the halos passed down from our forebears — few are not full of themselves. How many in our compound are truly grounded? You're one, I'm one, and yet you pull something like this? What's happened has happened, and you don't even dare face it?"

"Are you still the Gu Sen I know?" Ms. Nian stood up, glaring at the man before her who neither argued back nor showed any anger. "I don't know what's weighing you down, what's holding your feet back. The fact that you won't give the child an explanation — I will always look down on you for that."

"Let's go, Ke Yue."

"Alright." Ke Yue stood up.

The moment the two stepped out, they ran into Song Shiwei, who had come looking for them. All three froze for a second.

Song Shiwei frowned: "Zhaoning, did you meet with Gu Sen privately for some particular reason?"

Ms. Nian was still fuming and couldn't help showing her displeasure. She linked her arm through her husband's: "There are two of us. Nothing private about it."

Ke Yue gave Song Shiwei a cool glance and followed his wife away.

Song Shiwei, suddenly shown a cold face, went slightly pale. Her hanging fingers tightened, but as she walked toward her husband she revealed an unperturbed smile once more.

"Gu Sen, we need to go back. The New Year is coming."

"Gu Sen?"

Gu Sen slowly raised his head and looked at his wife: "Mm, let's go back."

Song Shiwei: "Zhi Yan has already agreed. After the New Year he'll meet the Qu Family's second young lady for an engagement."

Gu Sen: "What did you promise him this time?"

Song Shiwei: "Ji Lao is getting old. He can't go to prison."

For a moment Gu Sen didn't know what to say. He brushed past his wife with a wave of his hand. Song Shiwei opened her mouth to call after him, then immediately followed: "I've already agreed, Gu Sen. Our son is thirty — he needs to marry the Qu Family's second young lady quickly so we can get back to our original plan. Gu Sen, Gu Sen…"

Gu Sen largely ignored her.

Song Shiwei suddenly stopped in her tracks and said angrily: "Why are you angry at me? Zhi Yan is our own son! Shouldn't we be thinking of him?"

Gu Sen got into the car and didn't close the door, waiting for her to get in.

Song Shiwei paused for a moment before getting in.

……

Ke Yue could tell his wife was furious. His wife was a gentle and kind person, stubborn and opinionated underneath, and it was rare for anyone to make her this angry.

He tried to coax her. It didn't work.

At times like this, the two little ones had to be put to use. One phone call summoned both son and daughter back.

His and his wife's daughter was a warm little comfort — the best at acting cute and coaxing people, the finest bonding agent in the world.

His and his wife's son, though not as attentive, was still a sensible one. Occasionally he could say a couple of words to warm his parents' hearts. All in all, he had his uses — better to have him than not.

Ke Zhongyu exchanged a glance with his father and roughly knew what was going on. He sat down beside his father. A servant brought tea; he took a sip — Silver Needle white tea.

"Why the switch?"

"Don't you like this?" Ke Fu glanced at him. "Your sister said so, and your mother had someone prepare it. Nice, isn't it — you can drink the same flavor Jiang Lai sent even at home."

Ke Zhongyu watched his sister hanging off their mother's neck, coaxing her into laughter with just a few words. Their mother pinched her daughter's cheek and said: "Alright, I know your dad sent you. Mom is fine."

"I'm the one Dad sent! I'm always yours!"

"So sweet." Ms. Nian went over and sat down on the sofa.

Ke Zhongyu looked at his mother: "Give me a trick. A Lai won't spend my money."

Ke Zhongying: "Jiang Lai has her own money too. She just doesn't talk about it or show it off. She has plenty, and once the project succeeds, even more."

Ke Fu: "She's not good at spending money."

Ms. Nian agreed with her husband: "If you're waiting for Jiang Lai to spend money herself, forget it — she's long past the age for retaliatory spending. Just give things to her directly."

Ke Zhongyu: "I did. She won't use them."

Ms. Nian: "That's because you didn't give enough; if she looked around and saw only what you gave her, she would have used it."

Ke Zhongyu raised an eyebrow: "Got it."

Besides, in the year Uncle Gu left politics for business, did the Gu family have any incidents?" he asked his parents.

Ms. Nian: "That incident blew up big—Gu Sen knelt in the ancestral hall and even got beaten; Song Shiwei was ill, so no one said anything about her. As far as I recall, nothing else happened in the Gu family during that period."

Ke Yue thought for a moment: "There was one."

Ke Zhongyu's gaze fell entirely on his father; Ms. Nian and Ke Zhongying also looked over.

Ke Yue looked at his wife: "You forgot? That year Gu Hai took the civil service exam; back then it wasn't very standardized, there was no fixed exam date nationwide, the process was simple and quick. I remember Gu Hai took the written exam in November, got his results in less than a month, and then came the interview, physical, and political review stage."

Ms. Nian then recalled: "I remember Gu Hai started his job back in April that year; over twenty years have passed, and he's now firmly established in B City."

Ke Zhongyu suddenly recalled that Zhong Poqian had once said that year the law regarding abandonment had been amended.