Chapter 398: We're not acquainted, Attorney Gu

Even a simple breakfast made Jiang Lai's cheeks flush; Ke Zhongyu's gaze at her was more intense than his gaze at the food on the table.

Jiang Lai felt shy, annoyed, and helpless.

She raised her hand again to push Ke Zhongyu's face away, hoping he would turn his head; that gaze made her feel like she would drown in it.

As soon as Jiang Lai's palm touched Ke Zhongyu's face, he raised his hand to hold hers, continuing to look at her with a calm, deep, smiling gaze.

Jiang Lai sighed, her tone a bit heavier: "Ke Zhongyu, will you let me eat properly?"

How could Ke Zhongyu not let her?

"You eat first."

Jiang Lai caught the word "first", vaguely guessing there would be something after eating, and she suddenly felt nervous.

This nervousness only faded when Ke Zhongyu lifted her to sit on the cleared table, braced his hands on either side of her, and leaned in to kiss her.

As she had expected.

Ke Zhongyu's movements were much like last night; his hands still weren't separated by her clothing as they gripped her waist, the kiss deep, arousing her again.

As their breaths mingled, Ke Zhongyu whispered against her ear: "Last night you helped me; now I help you."

Jiang Lai tilted her head, breathing difficult: "What?"

She actually hadn't heard his words clearly, only hearing the sound of breathing and her pounding heartbeat, not knowing whose it was, the breathing so heavy, the heartbeat so loud.

Ke Zhongyu said to himself: "You use your legs, I'll use my hands."

The phone beside them buzzed nonstop; Jiang Lai reached out to pick it up.

Gu Sen's voice call.

When the Gu family appeared, the amorous atmosphere gradually faded.

Ke Zhongyu frowned, Jiang Lai panted, glanced at Ke Zhongyu then slid to answer.

"Hello."

"I sent you a few messages; since you didn't reply, I called—am I disturbing you?" The voice on the phone carried a hint of caution.

Ke Zhongyu stepped back from in front of Jiang Lai, gesturing for her to answer the call calmly, while he pulled out a tissue, turned his back to her, and wiped his fingers.

Then he placed the tissue box beside Jiang Lai.

He also wanted to help.

But Jiang Lai wouldn't let him.

Jiang Lai was seriously answering the call: "What's up?"

Her tone was neither cold nor hot.

Gu Sen said: "Your grandparents are arriving today at noon; would it be convenient for you to come home for dinner, Jiang Lai?"

Jiang Lai: "Not very convenient."

There was a silence on the phone.

Jiang Lai felt a bit suffocated, then said: "Sorry."

Only then did she hang up.

The voice call had some leakage; Ke Zhongyu, being close, heard a bit.

"The Song family has come; do you need to go back?"

Jiang Lai nodded, saying: "I'm not going back."

Ke Zhongyu reached out and pinched her nape, not bringing up the topic, but looking at the tissue box: "The tissues are here, or should we go to the bathroom?"

Jiang Lai got down from the table, head lowered, carrying the tissue box into the bathroom.

There were already tissues in the bathroom; she felt she had made a joke of herself.

Thinking she might have forgotten something, she went back out, rummaged through her suitcase for her underwear, and hurriedly ran in to change.

Almost.

Ke Zhongyu's fingers... almost...

Jiang Lai quickly shook her head, couldn't think, couldn't think; even what she imagined wouldn't pass review.

……

Gu Sen watched Jiang Lai hang up the phone.

As expected.

He called home and told the maid: "Don't make the dinner spicy tonight."

The maid paused, then said: "Okay."

The maid told the kitchen staff to remove those G Province dishes and proceed as before.

"The eldest miss won't come back?" someone couldn't help asking quietly.

These days everyone has been holding back their words, afraid that if the second miss hears it she might have a heart attack, which they couldn't bear.

With the second miss absent, the young master went to the airport to pick someone up, the master was at the company, the mistress was resting in her room; only then did they dare to speak.

"According to the master, she won't be coming back."

"The second miss has left; why hasn't the eldest miss returned yet?"

"The second miss just went to the studio; it's not that she never comes back, but if both of them return they'd run into each other, which would be awkward for anyone."

"The eldest miss resents that the second miss has occupied her twenty-eight years of wealth and glory, and still wants to keep living in the Gu family; the second miss resents the eldest miss's return, which would leave her forever without proper status or legitimacy."

"I really don't know what the master and mistress are thinking; since they both know they got the wrong baby, they should each go back to their own families."

"You have no kids, so of course you don't understand—can raising a child at home be the same as raising one with outsiders?"

"But you also carried her for ten months!"

"Which is longer, ten months or twenty-eight years? Even a dog, if raised for twenty-eight years, would have feelings no ordinary person could compare to."

The kitchen fell silent for a moment.

Everyone continued picking vegetables, and said no more.

Each side thinks they're right.

This matter isn't for them to worry about; let the employer's family handle it themselves—they're just hired help doing a job for pay.

The maids' words happened to be heard by Song Shiwei, who planned to go to the kitchen to remind them that dinner should still include Yin Xue's portion.

How could Yin Xue not come home?

After giving the reminder, she herself went to fetch Yin Xue back, only to overhear the maids gossiping.

She pulled the door open and entered; the people in the kitchen jumped, seeing it was the madam, and immediately stood straight, heads bowed.

"The Gu family hired you with money not to discuss the employer's affairs—if it happens again, you'll get paid and be fired!"

"Yes, madam."

"Also, I've arranged the dishes my parents like and the ones Yin Xue likes; I'm now going to pick her up to come home for dinner."

Once Song Shiwei left, everyone let out a big sigh of relief, clearly seeing that the madam favored the second daughter, and they understood the situation.

After Gu Zhiyan fetched his grandparents back, he asked where his mother had gone, and the maid said she went to pick up the second young lady.

Gu Zhiyan took a moment to connect the second young lady with Gu Yinxue, then nodded.

Old Master Song asked, "What about Gu Jiang Lai? Has she arrived?"

Gu Zhiyan: "She'll be coming soon; Dad went to tell her."

But the maid said, "Young Master, Mr. just called and said the kitchen doesn't need to prepare the dishes from G Province anymore."

Gu Zhiyan: "She's not coming back?"

Old Madam Song: "Who? Gu Jiang Lai?"

Maid: "Probably the eldest daughter."

Old Master Song: "We came specifically to see her—why isn't she coming back? Not returning home—what kind of behavior is that?"

Old Madam Song also said: "We came all this way just to see our granddaughter—she's not coming back?"

The maid went off to attend to her duties.

Gu Zhiyan comforted the elders: "She won't not come back; she already returned to the Gu residence yesterday—I'll go call my father."

The answer received was that Jiang Lai indeed wasn't coming back, and her father expressed respect for her decision.

Gu Zhiyan felt somewhat displeased: "I'll go fetch her myself."

Having said that, he hung up the phone.

To find Jiang Lai in B City, he went to look for Ke Zhongyu.

He wasn't familiar with A City, but in B City he knew his way around and had many informants; after asking a couple more people, someone told him they'd seen Ke Zhongyu at the mall, indeed accompanied by a tall, slender woman.

Once Gu Zhiyan got the address, he drove over.

On the first floor of the 4S store, he saw the two of them.

"Want to buy a car?" Gu Zhiyan walked over and asked.

His sudden appearance startled Jiang Lai; she silently stepped back and moved closer to Ke Zhongyu.

Ke Zhongyu: "Are we that close?"

Gu Zhiyan and Ke Zhongyu have always been at odds, and since he can't win against him, he can only selectively ignore him, continuing to stare at Jiang Lai: "Do you want to buy a car?"

Jiang Lai: "We're not that acquainted, Counselor Gu."

Gu Zhiyan felt a pang in his chest.

He simply stopped asking further and said bluntly: "Your grandparents have already arrived; I'm here to pick you up."

Jiang Lai: "?"

Seeing the coldness and confusion in Jiang Lai's eyes, Gu Zhiyan furrowed his brows: "You've already returned to the Gu residence—why aren't you going back to your own home?"

Jiang Lai threw his own words back at him: "Am I not supposed to come back?"

"You're the one who said I shouldn't come back, and now you're the one asking why I'm not returning home—you say what you say, and the world revolves around you?"

"You..." Gu Zhiyan was left speechless with anger.

Ke Zhongyu gave a light chuckle.