Chapter 407: Big Box, Small Box, All the Colors

"It's not that we were swapped; it's that I was …" The last two words hadn't been spoken yet, Jiang Lai's hand was seized by Ke Zhongyu; she could clearly feel the man's palm was icy, and his eyes also held a deep, restrained sorrow.

He was feeling sorrow on her behalf.

He didn't want her to utter those two words.

If someone feels aggrieved for you, you won't feel aggrieved; if someone feels affection for you, you won't feel affection. People are like that, Jiang Lai re‑grasped Ke Zhongyu's hand, smiled at him as if to comfort him, and then, with a light, breezy tone, finished her sentence.

"I was discarded by them."

The two elders of the Song family's eyes flickered, their bodies swayed, and they hurriedly supported each other to steady themselves.

The elders clearly didn't believe it.

"Gu Jiang Lai." The Song matriarch called that name, her face fierce as if to launch a challenge, but Ke Zhongyu interrupted.

"Did you say she isn't surnamed Gu, and the elders can't understand human speech?" Ke Zhongyu's tone and expression were clearly impatient.

The Song patriarch reached out and held back the matriarch, his pair of wrinkled, clouded eyes staring straight at Jiang Lai: "Even if the swapping is hard for you to accept, you shouldn't randomly pin blame on your biological parents; what you're doing is gouging at their hearts."

"Who's gouging whose heart?" Jiang Lai retorted, "I'm the one who was discarded; do the elders truly have no sense that discarding me hurts them? I'm a girl, and that fact sits plainly here."

The Song matriarch's pupils narrowed sharply, and she inhaled a sudden cold breath, thinking perhaps this truly could be something her daughter could accomplish; at that time everyone was eager to have another son, and most of the Gu family's daughters‑in‑law had only given birth to one son, so if her daughter could bear two, more children would be a blessing.

"Nonsense." The Song patriarch quickly retorted, "Back then your father was a politician; how could your family possibly have done such a thing?"

"Rather than questioning me, a victim, here, you'd be better off going to ask them about the past," Jiang Lai said to them. "I never called them 'dad' or 'mom'; the elders aren't at fault."

Jiang Lai tightened her grip on Ke Zhongyu's hand: "Let's go." She then said a brief excuse to the elders.

Ke Zhongyu shifted into a holding‑Jiang Lai stance, like an imposing mountain; Jiang Lai could lean on him at any moment.

The two elders, already advanced in age and having waited a long time in the first‑floor lobby of the Ke Group, felt an unprecedented affront; the pair truly lacked junior courtesy, didn't receive them, and even left them here.

"Gu Jiang Lai!" the Song matriarch, unable to bear it, shouted, "We've waited this long without a single bite of food, and this is how you treat your elders?"

Jiang Lai paused, turned her head, cast a sidelong glance backward, but did not turn around to look at them.

"Sorry, you really don't count as my elders, and your sudden appearance and loud questioning constitute a certain degree of harassment toward me; you both are respectable figures, so stop bringing shame upon yourselves."

The elders, fuming, watched Jiang Lai depart, and Ke Zhongyu, the junior, turned back and gave them a cold glance, his gaze holding an implicit warning.

After the person walked away, the Song matriarch complained, "If they weren't raised by their own family, they're never truly tamed; a heart that's grown wild becomes so arrogant."

The Song patriarch kept pondering Jiang Lai's recent words, determined to call tonight to ask his daughter and son‑in‑law what was really happening.

He looked at the Song matriarch: "Where's Zhi Yan? Call him."

The Song matriarch fished out her phone, slowly dialed her grandson, and her tone instantly softened: "Zhi Yan, we're finished here, where are you?"

"Grandma, I'm already on my way to pick you up; have you seen Jiang Lai?" Gu Zhiyan intended to visit the prison this afternoon, but it wasn't permitted; even as a lawyer, it required paperwork.

The Song matriarch: "I saw her, that heartless brat, won't acknowledge anyone, won't call us, and left us hanging here."

Gu Zhiyan frowned: "I'll be there right away, then take you to a meal."

The Song patriarch took the phone, said gravely: "Zhi Yan, I have a question—are Gu Jiang Lai and Gu Yinxue actually swapped?"

Gu Zhiyan was momentarily stunned, retorted: "If it's a swap, what else could it be if it's not?"

The Song patriarch realized his grandson didn't know, urged him to come over, and then hung up.

The Song matriarch also pondered the matter carefully, hesitantly saying: "That damned Gu Jiang Lai can't possibly be telling the truth, can she?"

The Song patriarch was also uncertain: "We'll discuss it when we return."

……

After getting into the car, Ke Zhongyu asked Jiang Lai: "Take it easy, or should we go back?"

Jiang Lai reached out to touch Ke Zhongyu's hand; he instantly turned his palm to clasp hers, pinched her fingers, and then scratched her palm.

Jiang Lai lifted her hand and slapped his palm: "Let's go home for a meal, I'm starving."

"Mm, home for a meal." Ke Zhongyu released her hand, drove calmly, and upon seeing a message from Assistant Zhou, relayed to Jiang Lai, "Today Gu Zhiyan went to see Lin Shutong, but was intercepted."

Jiang Lai felt she hadn't heard that name in a long while; the sudden mention made her pause, and she only said two words: "Alright."

Clearly Lin Shutong had long been kicked out of Jiang Lai's life, no longer affecting her.

And Ke Zhongyu also sensed a trace of fatigue from Jiang Lai's simple two words.

She hadn't slept much last night, got up early for class, after lunch break did product testing, and after finally finishing work, ran into a pair of troublesome old couple; even high‑energy people can't endure such strain.

Jiang Lai slowly squinted and closed her eyes.

Ke Zhongyu slowed the car, fell silent, quietly drove into Number Ten Courtyard, turned off the lights, and gently opened and closed the door.

He removed his coat and draped it over Jiang Lai, then carefully bent down and lifted her.

Jiang Lai wasn't that deeply asleep; she sensed someone holding her, the scent familiar, the embrace familiar, she knew it was Ke Zhongyu, her eyelids grew heavy again, and she drifted back to sleep.

Ke Zhongyu liked Jiang Lai's reliance on him; behind that reliance lay complete, wholehearted trust.

When someone is willing to fall asleep in front of you, unguarded, exposing their delicate neck, it's an incredibly exhilarating thing.

A slight lean forward lets you claim her lips.

A slight raise of the hand lets you choke her breath.

She belongs to you.

Dim light illuminated the upturned corner of Ke Zhongyu's lips.

Ke Zhongyu carried Jiang Lai to the front door, slightly freed a finger to press the numeric code; after opening, Mo Yi immediately emerged from the kitchen, about to call "Miss Jiang" when Ke Zhongyu halted her with a single glance.

Miss Jiang fell asleep.

Mo Yi softened her steps, pushed open the master bedroom door, and then went to the kitchen to turn off the stove.

Ke Zhongyu placed Jiang Lai on the bed, kissed her forehead, pulled the quilt over, and as he was about to leave, he realized his sleeve was being tugged by Jiang Lai's hand.

He didn't know when she had grabbed it.

He could have easily pulled the sleeve out with a gentle tug, but he didn't.

Ke Zhongyu sat on the bedside, quietly watching Jiang Lai.

Mo Yi saw the bedroom door still ajar and no movement inside, glanced in, only realizing that the household's Young Master couldn't bear to leave Miss Jiang, and she took out her phone to ask whether to eat dinner first or wait for Miss Jiang to wake.

But waking up like this, it's probably already midnight.

Ke Zhongyu let Mo Yi go back first, and they would reheat the food after Jiang Lai woke up.

Tonight Ping'an didn't come back; Ping'an was kept after class by Chi Grandma, so he was allowed to rest there.

In A City, besides Jiang Lai's home, Ping'an was most familiar with the Chi Family Medical Clinic, and he was no longer a stranger there.

Mo Yi wiped her hands on the apron, took it off and left, but before leaving she seemed to think of something, first went to the supermarket, came back holding a black plastic bag, placed the items on the table, took a photo and sent it to the Young Master, then left reassured.

Mo Yi didn't say what it was, Ke Zhongyu couldn't guess from just a plastic bag, and with Jiang Lai tugging at his hem he couldn't open it, so he could only sit quietly.

Keeping Jiang Lai company, he never felt bored, because he had work to do, modern technology being so advanced, online work is the norm, mobile work too, just not very convenient.

When handling tasks grew tiring, he would glance sideways at the sleeping person and then continue working.

Jiang Lai works better than coffee.

Until eleven at night, when Jiang Lai loosened her grip on his sleeve, Ke Zhongyu knew she was about to wake, so he put down his phone and looked over, indeed meeting her hazy eyes.

"Ke Zhongyu..."

"Mm, awake." Ke Zhongyu liked it when Jiang Lai called his name, like a love bug; each time she called him, he liked her a bit more.

Jiang Lai sat up and just saw Ke Zhongyu lighting his phone screen; it was already eleven, and she had slept at least two and a half hours.

"You've been sitting here the whole time?"

"Mm, someone's tugging at my clothes and won't let go." Ke Zhongyu stood up, reached out to pull her, "Have something to eat then continue sleeping."

Jiang Lai rose accordingly and said to him, "You can pry it open."

Ke Zhongyu looked at her: "Nice try."

Jiang Lai: "Huh?"

She chuckled lightly, the two walked out, Ke Zhongyu had her sit in the dining room while he went to reheat the food; the microwave's beep posed no problem for him.

Watching him skillfully roll up his sleeves and enter the kitchen, Jiang Lai felt utterly comforted.

After catching up on sleep, her boyfriend was by her side.

Life's beautiful moments.

A casual glance revealed the black plastic bag on the table; she walked over and opened it casually, and various big and small boxes came into view, not only colorful but also with assorted functions.

It looked like she had ransacked a supermarket shelf.

Jiang Lai recalled that Ping'an hadn't returned today and Mo Yi wasn't there either; her ears instantly heated, and she immediately closed the plastic bag.

Just then Ke Zhongyu's voice came from behind asking what she was doing; she hurriedly hid the plastic bag behind her, her gaze evasive as she said, "Nothing."

Trying to cover it up only made it more obvious.

Ke Zhongyu took off his heat-resistant gloves, approached Jiang Lai, bent slightly, and leaned forward to take what she had hidden behind her.

In their tussle, the unfastened bag came loose, and the big and small boxes fell to the floor.

Just from the packaging box and the words on it, anyone not blind could tell what it was at a glance.

Ke Zhongyu pressed his lips together.

Jiang Lai turned her head, quickly slipped into the kitchen, put on her own heat-resistant gloves, and began to serve the dishes.

Ke Zhongyu crouched down, picking up the boxes one by one, putting some back into the plastic bag and holding some in his hand.

"A Lai..."

"Ah, ah?" Jiang Lai's face was still warm, and her replies sounded a bit nervous.

Ke Zhongyu: "I'll go into your room to put something there."

What to put, they both understood without words.