Chapter 355: It

At night.

Jiang Lai and Dean Mom said goodnight, closed the bedroom door, the white suitcase still stood there; she walked over, unfolded it on the floor, opened the zipper, and inside many items were neatly arranged—toiletries were all packed separately, each with a label.

The other side held clothing; underwear, pants, and socks were also packed separately.

She took out the toiletries and found the towel, toothpaste, and toothbrush were all new, different from what she used at home; the socks weren't just white either—there were various colors and styles, long and short, thin and thick, patterned and plain, each in two pairs, all stuffed into one bag, everything brand‑new.

Jiang Lai marveled at Mo Yi's thoughtfulness, sent a photo over, and said thank you.

Rather than typing, Mo Yi preferred to send voice messages: "Miss Jiang, I packed the things, but aside from your everyday clothes, the toothbrush, toothpaste, and socks were all bought for you by the Young Master."

Jiang Lai froze for a moment.

【Mo Yi, you mean Ke Zhongyu had you buy these?】

Mo Yi: "Secretary Guan said the Young Master went to buy them himself when he had free time, asked me to pick them up from the Ke Clan, and I packed them for you. The Young Master really—who gives gifts like toothpaste, toothpaste, and socks?"

Jiang Lai couldn't help replying: "The socks are great."

Mo Yi: "As long as Miss Jiang likes them, that's fine. Miss Jiang, hurry up and wash up, get a good sleep—traveling all day is tiring."

Jiang Lai took the toiletries to the bathroom, finished showering and washing her hair, then brushed her teeth and washed her face. Just as she squeezed out a pea‑sized amount of toothpaste, she turned, grabbed her phone, and while brushing her teeth typed to Ke Zhongyu: 【What toothpaste and toothbrush do you use?】

After receiving the message, Ke Zhongyu told the family: "I'm going to wash up and sleep."

It was still before nine o'clock.

The whole family stared at him in shock.

Ke Zhongying: "He's definitely gone to simmer phone soup."

Ms. Nian: "Is Jiang Lai keeping him company while he simmers?"

Ke Yue: "Difficult."

Ke Zhongyu walked straight to the washstand and took a photo to send to Jiang Lai.

Jiang Lai enlarged the picture and saw—sure enough, the same model toothbrush and toothpaste.

She sent a photo over; even without words, the other party could understand.

After finishing everything, Jiang Lai returned to the bed, picked a pair of fluffy thick socks to put on, snapped a picture to show him, and asked: 【Do you also wear these socks?】

Ke Zhongyu: "……"

What grown man wears fluffy socks, especially in light orange?

However, Jiang Lai used the toothpaste and toothbrush he had chosen, wore the socks he had chosen, feeling an unprecedented satisfaction; she thought it would be nice if he could someday provide everything, but Jiang Lai would certainly not let him buy her intimate clothing.

Ke Zhongyu: 【Is it convenient to talk on the phone?】

Jiang Lai placed a voice call, and it was answered almost instantly.

"Is your hair dry?" a low, magnetic male voice came from the phone.

Jiang Lai: "Dried."

Ke Zhongyu: "And the hair oil?"

Jiang Lai: "I've applied it, you're so attentive."

Ke Zhongyu: "You don't give me a chance to worry."

Jiang Lai is too low‑maintenance.

Ke Zhongyu countered: "How do you never cause trouble?"

Jiang Lai puzzled: "Why would I cause trouble?"

Ke Zhongyu: "Then what use am I?"

Jiang Lai propped one hand on the bed's edge, held the phone in the other, lowered her gaze to the socks on her feet—both feet warm—and couldn't help but say: "Just having you by my side is enough."

After a moment of silence on the other end, Jiang Lai asked: "Huh? What's wrong?"

Ke Zhongyu: "Nothing, I was just thinking you don't say this to my face, you say it from afar—deliberately hurting people."

It makes one's heart feel scratched and liver itch.

It's hardly harmless.

Jiang Lai: "We'll be able to meet after the New Year."

She turned her head to look elsewhere; the pile of her belongings still sat in the corner.

She got up, walked over, bent to lift the whole cardboard box onto the table, and began taking the items out one by one.

Hearing some movement, Ke Zhongyu asked: "What are you doing?"

"Just sorting through my pile of things." In fact, Jiang Lai herself wasn't sure what she was supposed to do here; when she had laid everything out before her, she suddenly realized she didn't feel completely indifferent about her origins.

Jiang Lai stared at the old blanket and suddenly called out to Ke Zhongyu.

"Ke Zhongyu."

"Huh?" Ke Zhongyu first frowned in confusion, then quickly realized she might just be calling his name, and replied affirmatively: "Hmm."

Jiang Lai gently stroked the blue blanket that wasn't meant to welcome her birth, yet was the sole source of warmth when she was abandoned in the ice and snow.

"As for my origins, you ought to know more than I do."

"Yes." Ke Zhongyu, remembering his mother's instructions, turned to Jiang Lai and asked: "Do you want to ask me?"

Jiang Lai fell silent for a moment: "Let's ask again when we go back; I just want to have a good, ordinary New Year."

Ke Zhongyu: "All right."

The Ke family all guessed wrong; Jiang Lai kept Ke Zhongyu company while simmering phone soup, and the voice call lasted all night.

The first to wake was Ke Zhongyu; worried that washing up would disturb Jiang Lai, he specially set the phone to silent, yet he still carried it wherever he went.

Until the voice call ended, the display showed the other party's network abnormality.

Jiang Lai opened her eyes, recalled talking on the phone with Ke Zhongyu all night, her first instinct was to reach for her phone—only to find it powered off.

After charging and turning it on, the call log showed a duration of eleven hours.

Hmm… that's a long time.

It's still the first time doing this.

Still want to do this.

Jiang Lai sent two characters over: 【Woke up】.

The voice call came again, just like that; during the period before and after New Year's Eve, the two were either on the phone or sending each other large photos and videos, sending everything—sometimes even sending the clouds in the sky.

Jiang Lai sends either children or scenery; Ke Zhongyu sends either "great virtue little herdsman" or his annoying little sister.

Ke Zhongying often sends photos of her own brother to Jiang Lai.

Jiang Lai only then realized that even the so-called New Year's Eve holiday, Ke Zhongyu doesn't take a break—just changes location to work; besides company affairs, there are also family affairs.

Obviously swamped, yet they still find time to reply to her with a sentence or two—sometimes a photo, sometimes just an "hng"—but they never fail to reply.

Dean Tang looked at Jiang Lai's state and joked: "I've never seen you this fond of playing with your phone."

Jiang Lai smiled slightly: "Ke Zhongyu is on the other end of the phone."

Dean Tang sighed: "Youth is great, and there's the passionate love period—how wonderful the passionate love period is."

The two stood on the rooftop terrace of Fuli Yuan, gazing at the distant overlapping peaks and nearby towering skyscrapers.

Dean Tang: "I went into your room yesterday and saw you put that pile of things on the table; do you want to find them?"

Jiang Lai didn't answer whether she wanted to, but instead threw out a doubtful bombshell: "I roughly know who they are."

Dean Tang exclaimed in surprise: "Who?"

Jiang Lai tilted her head: "Dean Mom, don't you also think I look like him when he was young?"

Dean Tang's heart gave a great jolt: "President Ke told you?"

Jiang Lai didn't deny, and also said: "They also found me themselves, but not for me—for their son and daughter."

Her calm tone stabbed Dean Tang's heart; she instantly understood that Jiang Lai had suffered another grievance, and this grievance came from someone suspected to be Jiang Lai's parents.

Dean Tang opened her mouth: "Are you sure? Have you verified?"

Jiang Lai shook her head: "No."

Dean Tang frowned: "Why?"

Jiang Lai: "Neither side wants to, I guess."

Everyone fears it's true; no one wants to open this blind box, nor dare to open it.

Schrödinger's cat—self-deception.