Chapter 376: Ke Zhongyu Curses: That Old Bastard of the Gu Family

Old Master Gu took Jiang Lai's return very seriously; the welcome banquet was organized by Gu Kai, but every detail had to be approved by the old master first, especially the guest list.

In truth, something like a switched-at-birth mix-up was best kept from outsiders as far as the Gu family was concerned; the old master throwing a lavish banquet was clearly because he valued Jiang Lai's strength and prospects, wanting to bind Jiang Lai to the Gu family.

Gu Kai had a question in his heart: "Since Jiang Lai and Gu Yinxue were switched at birth, and now Jiang Lai is back, what about Gu Yinxue?"

Old Master Gu: "That is Gu Sen's business."

Gu Kai knew this meant he should not interfere, so he said no more; stepping out of the old master's door, he looked toward Gu Sen's house and couldn't help but remark: "The palm and the back of the hand are both flesh."

……

Jiang Lai had no objection to the paternity test; she too wanted to know for certain where she came from.

Old Master Gu asked her to return to the Gu family for the Lantern Festival, so the whole family could meet and have a reunion dinner first, and do the paternity test along the way.

The paternity test was fine, but the reunion dinner was unnecessary.

Ke Zhongyu said he would come back and eat tangyuan with her.

They hadn't been together on New Year's Eve, so they had to be together on the Lantern Festival; spending the Lantern Festival with Ke Zhongyu was meaningful, while spending it with the Gu family was not.

Ke Zhongyu kept his word and returned to A City on the day of the Lantern Festival, but while on his way to see Jiang Lai, he learned that the Gu family was throwing a welcome banquet for her; the invitations hadn't been sent out yet, but the Nian Family already knew.

Ke Zhongyu's expression instantly froze, and he asked Ms. Nian on the phone: "Who forced her? With what did they force her?"

Ms. Nian didn't know; she sighed and said, "Your grandparents want you to bring Jiang Lai over to the house for a meal when you have time."

Ke Zhongyu's voice dropped: "It's because of me."

Ms. Nian knew her son would definitely go to spend the Lantern Festival with Jiang Lai, and advised: "Don't act impulsively when you see her; if you say something that hurts her, I'll scold you."

Ke Zhongyu's fingers crackled: "That old bastard of the Gu family."

Ms. Nian: "……"

She gave a light cough: "Cursing behind his back is one thing, but he's an elder after all."

Ke Zhongyu chatted with his mother for a couple more lines before hanging up.

The car was parked in the underground parking garage of the Ke Clan building; Ke Zhongyu got out and took his private elevator straight to his top-floor office.

It was lunch break time; Ke Zhongyu and Special Assistant Zhou both instinctively lightened their footsteps as they entered; Secretary Cen was lying on a camp bed with a heated eye mask on, while Secretary Guan was resting her head on the desk, idly playing with a pen; hearing the commotion, she looked up and her eyes instantly lit up.

She mouthed the words President Ke and Zhou Zhou.

Special Assistant Zhou gave a slight smile.

Secretary Guan looked at President Ke again and pointed toward the lounge.

Ke Zhongyu turned and headed to the lounge; the lounge door was only pushed to, and he gently pushed it open a crack, took one look at Jiang Lai sleeping on the sofa bed, then pulled the door closed again and returned to his own office.

Secretary Guan: "???"

What had happened?

A fight?

President Ke and Dr. Jiang hadn't practiced driving every noon before, either; when Dr. Jiang wasn't practicing driving, she would sleep in the lounge, and even when President Ke wasn't resting, he would sit inside; today he hadn't even gone in?

She reached out and tugged Special Assistant Zhou's arm, pulling him outside.

Special Assistant Zhou looked down at where they were touching.

Once outside the office, Secretary Guan let go and asked aloud: "What's going on? They can fight even when they're not together?"

"They didn't fight," Special Assistant Zhou said. "President Ke was afraid of disturbing Dr. Jiang's lunch break."

Secretary Guan: "I never saw him disturb her before, either; at the end of the day, they're just sulking; looks like President Ke is giving the silent treatment."

Special Assistant Zhou neither confirmed nor denied.

Secretary Guan: "Looks like you know something; can you tell me?"

Special Assistant Zhou: "Not for now."

Secretary Guan: "Then it must be personal."

If it was personal, the assistants and secretaries shouldn't gossip too much; however, after the lunch break ended, Special Assistant Zhou still gave Jiang Lai a heads-up.

"President Ke already found out about you returning to the Gu family on the way back."

Jiang Lai's heart skipped a beat, and she asked: "How long have you been back?"

Special Assistant Zhou: "Over forty minutes."

Jiang Lai looked toward Ke Zhongyu's office; the blinds were drawn, and she couldn't see anything inside at all.

Secretary Guan said from the side: "Just coax him and it'll be fine."

Secretary Cen had woken up and roughly understood the situation too, and chimed in: "Coax him."

Under everyone's gaze, Jiang Lai went and knocked on the door; a single word came from inside: "Come in."

It was a bit cold.

Jiang Lai's footsteps paused, and another line came from inside: "The door isn't locked."

Maybe not so cold after all.

Jiang Lai pushed the door and went in; Ke Zhongyu, seated at the desk, lifted his eyes to glance at her, then quickly lowered his head and continued working.

Jiang Lai pursed her lips.

Ke Zhongyu was indeed angry.

The people outside didn't think so, however; in fact, the moment the office door closed, they all smiled in unison.

If President Ke hadn't immediately added that second line, they would have believed he was angry; right now President Ke was angry and giving the silent treatment, yet afraid that if he truly ignored her, she would end up ignoring him instead.

All things in the world counter and complement one another.

Jiang Lai walked toward Ke Zhongyu, and Ke Zhongyu abruptly said: "I'm busy."

"Okay, you go ahead and work." Jiang Lai stopped and turned to leave; her foot had just stepped forward and hadn't touched the ground yet when another cold line came from the man behind her.

"Where are you going?"

"The lab."

"Stand there." Ke Zhongyu looked at Jiang Lai as she stopped, got up, and walked over.

A huge shadow pressed down, and Jiang Lai looked up and called to him: "Ke Zhongyu, you're back."

A simple sentence, and Ke Zhongyu's anger dissipated by half.

"You've grown some skills."

Jiang Lai's chin was pinched—said to be pinched, but in fact only the moment her fingers touched her face felt a little painful, and the next second it was gone, her chin not yet lifted gently upward.

The questioning words fell from above.

"Why did you agree to return to the Gu family? The Gu family is a place that devours people and doesn't spit out their bones."

Jiang Lai let him pinch her chin, didn't answer directly, but instead countered: "You're clearly going to T Province to investigate my affairs, so why say it's a business trip?"

"Treating it as work isn't that a business trip?" Ke Zhongyu knew what she was up to: "Don't argue; we're not the same."

"How are we not the same?" Jiang Lai gazed into the man's deep, worrisome eyes, took a small step forward, letting the distance between them shrink a bit.

Ke Zhongyu wanted to investigate clearly what had happened back then, so that Old Master Gu wouldn't use this matter to disturb her.

She agreed to return to the Gu family to prevent the Gu and Nian families from using Yin Xue's matter to disturb him.

They are the same.

Ke Zhongyu released her chin and said, "Sharp-tongued."

Jiang Lai explained: "I negotiated terms with the Gu family."

Ke Zhongyu let out a cold snort.

"Don't snort." Jiang Lai said, and Ke Zhongyu let out another short cold snort.

Jiang Lai: "……"

She said he was childish.

He said she had big ideas.

Jiang Lai just looked at him like that, purely looking at him, even smiling, the corners of her lips lifting in a small arc, which also made her brows and eyes bend.

"Smiling at me is useless." Ke Zhongyu's tone was hard.

Jiang Lai asked: "What is useful?"

Ke Zhongyu didn't speak, he turned around, and Jiang Lai followed, shifting her steps.

Wherever he turned, Jiang Lai went there, stood before him with her head raised, and asked: "What is useful?"

Ke Zhongyu finally witnessed her stubbornness, and couldn't stand her circling around him.

"Forget it."

"Come over for a hug."