Chapter 357: Dr. Jiang Is My Girlfriend

Ke Zhongyu's New Year's Eve was no different from previous years—receiving family relatives as usual, presiding over family affairs, and playing tai chi with the relatives.

Every year it was like this; knowing full well that in the end no one could do anything about him and could only act according to his principles, they still tried probing him with different tactics, never tiring of it.

If they weren't tired of it, he didn't care either.

On New Year's Eve the whole family gathered together for a reunion dinner, and on the first day of the new year they paid respects to their ancestors according to custom—these sacrificial affairs had always been handled entirely by Ke Guanjia.

The Ke Clan was internally divided roughly into three factions: the collateral line that had branched off and established itself in the early years, the main line to which Ke Yue belonged, and the White Tower, managed directly by Ke Guanjia.

In Ke Zhongyu's view, these three parties could essentially be categorized into three types: those who supported him holding the family's power, those who coveted the authority in his hands, and the White Tower, which maintained a neutral stance and followed whoever was in charge of the family.

Ke Zhongyu held three sticks of incense between his fingers and stood at the very front—before absolute power, even parents and elders had to stand behind.

This year's ancestral hall sacrifice was somewhat different; not only did he ask the ancestors to bless the Ke Family's estate, he also asked them to bless him with being able to marry Jiang Lai.

On the second and third days of the new year, Ke Zhongyu couldn't go anywhere—his eldest aunt's family of five had come back from B City.

The four families had six children in total; Ke Zhongyu was the oldest, and he handed out New Year red envelopes one by one, receiving a chorus of "Thank you, oldest brother."

Ke Zhongying quietly opened her red envelope.

Why quietly? Because her red envelope every year was different from her other siblings'—besides cash, there was always something extra, sometimes jewelry like a bracelet or necklace, casually stuffed inside the envelope where you couldn't tell.

Occasionally it would also turn out to be a car or a house—the documents and keys of course couldn't fit in a red envelope, so her brother would handwrite a note inside: if it was a house, the address; if it was a car, the model.

Ke Zhongying pinched open the red envelope and looked inside—still a note, an address, plus three characters that read "laboratory."

"!!!"

She looked up in shock at her brother, then ran over clutching the red envelope and asked in a hushed voice, "You built me a laboratory?"

Ke Zhongyu disliked her dramatic fuss: "Mm."

Ke Zhongying was so happy she wanted to give her brother a hug, but just as she spread her arms she immediately jumped back.

Ke Zhongyu: "?"

Ke Zhongying: "You're my best friend's boyfriend. Stay away from me."

Ke Zhongyu: "…"

On the fifth day of the new year, Ke Zhongyu went with his parents and younger sister to the Nian Family in B City; the guards at the gate let them through after seeing their car.

Two low-profile luxury cars were also parked in the courtyard.

Ms. Nian and Ke Yue exchanged a glance—someone had arrived earlier than them, and they didn't need to guess which family it was.

Compared to the Gu Family and the Ke Family, the Nian Family was not large in number; Ke Zhongyu's maternal grandparents only had two children—one was his mother, the other his uncle.

His uncle had two sons.

Both were in the military—the older one thirty-three, the younger one thirty—and both were already married, with wives and children at the family quarters. They had come back for New Year's Eve and left on the second day.

It was hard for Ke Zhongyu and his sister to run into them, but they would always leave red envelopes for their parents to give to the two siblings; red envelopes were mainly for good luck.

The Nian Family wasn't exactly bustling during the holidays, but it wasn't desolate either—plenty of people came to pay New Year's visits, though most were turned away at the door.

The Gu Family, being old family friends of the Nian Family, were different—every year they would be properly received.

Every year three members of the Gu Family would come: Gu Kai, the family's de facto second-in-command, Gu Sen, and Gu Hai.

This year only two came—the Gu Hai family didn't come, but their gift arrived.

Gu Sen explained why his younger brother Gu Hai hadn't come: "Their district has a large academic symposium being held there on the seventh, and he needs to oversee it personally."

The two elders of the Nian Family said, "Work matters are more important."

Ke Zhongyu and Ke Zhongying greeted everyone one by one.

Ke Zhongying only greeted her grandparents, uncle, aunt, Uncle Gu Kai and Aunt, but did not greet Gu Sen's family—leaving both the Nian Family and the Gu Family stunned.

She wasn't usually this willful.

The Ke Family wouldn't have indulged such willfulness before either, but this time they said nothing about the child; Ms. Nian merely smiled with an apologetic air: "Sorry, the child has been going through some things lately and isn't in a good mood."

The Nian Family and Ke Family had only this one girl, so naturally everyone doted on her; hearing that their granddaughter had encountered difficulties, the two elders didn't think to reprimand her, and instead asked with concern what had happened.

Ke Zhongying glanced toward Gu Sen's family and said casually, "It's nothing—my own business, just haven't gotten over it yet. The car ride was tiring, can I go rest first?"

Her tone carried a hint of coquettishness.

Her uncle Nian Jingchuan nodded: "Go ahead."

Ke Zhongying obediently greeted everyone once more, and once again did not greet Gu Sen's family—anyone could see it was blatant targeting. Gu Sen knew full well and said nothing, his face still wearing an elegant smile, but Song Shiwei's expression wasn't so good.

Gu Zhiyan frowned and parted his lips, about to say something, when Ke Zhongyu's cold gaze swept over: "It's not your place to say anything about her."

The originally fairly harmonious atmosphere instantly turned somewhat tense.

Everyone knew the two didn't get along, but no one expected it had reached this extent.

Ke Yue: "Zhongyu."

Gu Sen: "Zhi Yan."

Each used a look to discipline his own son; Song Shiwei felt indignant on her son's behalf—they were all the same age, so why should Ke Zhongyu always lord over him.

By contrast, Ms. Nian was very composed, signaling her daughter with her eyes to go back to her room and rest.

Aunt Cui Moyuan, seeing the situation turn unfavorable, seized the moment when the nanny came over carrying fruit and pastries, and immediately smiled to smooth things over: "Have some fruit. Zhaoning, you all drove a long way here—it's been hard."

Nian Zhaoning picked up the thread of conversation, and the atmosphere gradually eased.

The three families sat together, and the conversation went back and forth over just two topics: the children's futures and the children's marriages.

Nian Jingchuan looked at his nephew and asked about the Three-Region Project: "I remember the project you won had a solo intelligent equipment R&D component, right?"

Mentioning this, Ke Zhongyu turned serious, saying formally: "Yes, the solo intelligent equipment is primarily developed by Dr. Jiang."

Nian Jingchuan: "I know her. Gongda's invitation was turned down by her—she went to A Da instead. A Da got a bargain."

Nian Jingchuan had come from Gongda, so naturally he spoke up for his alma mater.

Ke Zhongyu recalled what Jiang Lai had once written on a piece of paper and replied: "Gongda is too far. She has elders she respects in A City, and besides, she doesn't focus on the military-industrial direction."

Based on his understanding of Jiang Lai, Jiang Lai intended to support and care for Professor Wang.

Nian Jingchuan: "You know this partner of yours quite well."

"Hn." Ke Zhongyu raised his eyebrows slightly, "Girlfriend."

Ke Yue: ……

Ms. Nian: ……

They just knew this kid couldn't tolerate even a little.

Ke Zhongyu had once posted on his social media; the Nian family knew he was already dating, but they hadn't seen clearly who the person was. Ke Zhongyu intentionally protected them, so it wasn't good to investigate directly, lest he upset this kid.

Now they knew; it turned out to be Dr. Jiang, who had succeeded Academician Cui and continued developing the homemade chip, achieving great success.

As a half‑head of the Gu family, Gu Kai, upon learning that Ke Zhongyu already had a girlfriend and that the girlfriend carried such weight, instinctively glanced toward the Gu Sen household, especially Gu Yinxue.

How did they let someone else get ahead?

Gu Yinxue tightened the fingers resting on her lap.