Chapter 50: Ke Zhongyu remembered her drunken words

Jiang Lai swiftly took off her coat.

Since she couldn't afford it, she returned it.

Ke Zhongyu: "……"

Watching her actions, he was momentarily lost for words.

Ke Zhongying, afraid she was cold, hurriedly helped her put it on, then began scolding her older brother: "What's wrong with you, lion's big mouth? Two pieces of clothing cost 100k—why don't you go rob?"

"Jiang Lai sis, don't listen to him—it's only twenty or thirty thousand; to my brother it's nothing."

Ke Zhongyu stood up and walked toward the dining room: "Let's eat."

Jiang Lai, having redressed, pulled out her phone from her pocket and transferred 30,000 to Ke Zhongyu.

Although it hurt a bit, her bonus was still quite substantial, and after the project goes live she'll have even more.

Ke Zhongyu was slightly surprised: "The Ke Clan hasn't reached payday yet."

"It's mine." Jiang Lai gave him a sideways glance, "If the Ke Chief won't accept it, I'll keep transferring one cent at a time to the Ke Clan's corporate account."

Ke Zhongyu: "……"

He took out his phone and accepted it.

Then he tossed the phone aside, as if he were angry at it.

The three sat at the table; Ke Zhongying lifted the lid, revealing five dishes and one soup—among them a bright red dish made entirely of chili peppers.

Ke Zhongying: "Brother, what is this? Just say outright if you want to spice me to death."

Ke Zhongyu didn't answer; instead, he picked up his chopsticks, pulled a piece of chicken from the plate full of chili peppers, and placed it in Jiang Lai's bowl.

"Eat." His tone still carried a hint of fierceness.

Jiang Lai stared at the spicy chicken, falling into silence.

Ke Zhongying realized then that Jiang Lai liked it, and she fell silent.

Seeing Jiang Lai hesitating to pick up her chopsticks, Ke Zhongyu coldly retorted: "Didn't you want to eat extremely spicy chicken?"

The two drunken remarks from last night were all kept in Ke Zhongyu's memory.

One was a band-aid to stick on the heart.

The other was an extremely spicy chicken dish.

Jiang Lai lowered her eyes slightly, her long lashes veiling the surging emotions in her eyes; she picked up a piece of the spicy chicken with her chopsticks and put it in her mouth, the spiciness instantly filling her mouth.

It was the flavor she liked, but she hadn't had it in ages, so to her it was also very spicy.

Jiang Lai ate bite by bite; eventually the spiciness numbed her tongue, and tears began to well at the corners of her eyes—even Ke Zhongying grew worried and went to the fridge to get milk.

"Jiang Lai sis, you'd better stop eating—my brother this bastard just knows how to bully people."

Jiang Lai lifted her gaze, tears glistening in her eyes, yet the corners of her mouth were smiling.

She said: "It's delicious."

Ke Zhongyu said nothing, eating slowly; after everyone finished, he said: "Remember to be at work on time this afternoon."

Jiang Lai said: "Okay."

The corners of her eyes and mouth still bore a faint smile.

Ke Zhongying didn't quite understand and asked: "Is it really that delicious?"

"I haven't eaten spicy food in four years."

"Why?"

"The Shen family doesn't like it; Shen Xun's stomach is bad, so he dislikes it even more."

Ke Zhongying instantly understood, repeating: "They're happy when they get to eat what they like, but you're miserable—they're really annoying."

Jiang Lai nodded: "Really annoying."

"Hey, Jiang Lai sis, where's your pearl earring?" Ke Zhongying noticed she had lost one earring.

Jiang Lai reached up and touched her ear—sure enough, it was gone.

"It's probably on the bed; I'll go look."

"I'll come with you."

The two went back to the room together to search, while Ke Zhongyu called the maid to come tidy up.

When he put down his phone, he discovered that the pearl earring Jiang Lai had dropped was in his own clothing pocket.

He guessed it must have been knocked off accidentally when he hugged her the night before.

Ke Zhongyu reached out and pulled it out; the white pearl gleamed with a warm, moist luster in the natural light.

"Here it is." Having said that, the two people in the room stopped searching and walked out.

Ke Zhongying breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Ke Chief." Jiang Lai reached out to take it, but Ke Zhongyu raised his hand a little higher and, amid her slightly doubtful gaze, bent down, his other hand touching her ear.

The man's warm fingers had just made contact when Jiang Lai's ear felt as if it had been scalded.

She snatched the earring back with quick eyes and hands, stepped aside a bit, tilted her head slightly, and put it on.

"It's fine—no need to trouble the Ke Chief."

Ke Zhongyu's eyes dimmed slightly; he calmly withdrew his hand, gave a soft "hum," and turned to leave.

He stopped again at the doorway.

"Are you not leaving yet?"

Ke Zhongying pointed back at herself: "Me?"

Ke Zhongyu's gaze fell on Jiang Lai: "Go to the company."

"Oh right, Jiang Lai sis, you go with my brother—his driver is downstairs, so you won't have to hail a cab later. I can't play anymore today; if I don't finish my paper, the old guy will probably chew me out to my parents."

Jiang Lai packed the formal wear into a bag and left together with Ke Zhongyu.

The shoes on her feet were still the white sneakers Ke Zhongyu had thrown to her last night.

……

Ke Clan.

A group of people from afar saw President Ke and a tall woman walking side by side, suit and overcoat, leather shoes and white sneakers, together they looked perfectly matched.

Everyone furtively glanced, then glanced again.

After removing her contacts, Jiang Lai didn't put on glasses; at a distance of ten meters things looked a bit blurry, so she noticed nothing.

She had intended to take the staff elevator, but the tall man beside her grabbed her and pulled her to the CEO's private elevator, and they rode up together.

The three people in the office saw them both appear at the same time, weren't the slightest bit surprised, and naturally greeted them.

"Good afternoon, President Ke."

"Good afternoon, Secretary Jiang."

Ke Zhongyu entered his office, and Assistant Zhou immediately followed, saying: "President Ke, A Da Research Institute sent over a tender invitation; indeed it's the self-developed chip project that was ordered to be suspended back then."

Ke Zhongyu wasn't surprised, took the invitation and glanced at it, then asked him: "Which other companies received it?"

"There's no word yet; I suspect they're keeping it quiet. This project is state-backed, not an open tender, and the requirements are high—I've already listed ten companies." Assistant Zhou handed over the list.

Star Universe Technology is also on the list.

Ke Zhongyu set down the invitation: "We can start writing the bid now—be quick, every step needs my review."

"Yes." Assistant Zhou suddenly asked, "President Ke, can Secretary Jiang and her team be involved?"

Ke Zhongyu raised his eyes: "You're asking whether Jiang Lai is willing to participate in this bid, right?"

Assistant Zhou frankly said, "Secretary Jiang is quite capable, isn't she? And it pertains to her professional field."

Ke Zhongyu looked outside and threw out three words: "Go ask her."

Assistant Zhou understood that President Ke's response meant agreement, and immediately went out to ask: "Secretary Jiang, Ke Clan recently has a project and would like to invite you to participate."

Jiang Lai asked: "How long is the period?"

Assistant Zhou: "Less than a month; you only need to participate in writing the bid and attend the bidding."

Jiang Lai refused: "No, I'm about to resign."

Assistant Zhou froze: "Secretary Jiang, are you really resigning?"

Jiang Lai looked at him in surprise: "Isn't my resignation process underway?"

Assistant Zhou: "……"

The process is moving forward, but President Ke won't let it proceed.