Chapter 80: Ke Zhongyu fought and snatched

Jiang Lai retreated quickly, only burning her thumb a little.

Ke Zhongyu opened the kitchen door and went in. Jiang Lai had already put down the kettle, brushed past Ke Zhongyu, found the first-aid kit, sat on the sofa, took off her sock, and applied burn ointment.

Very practiced.

She didn't even change her expression.

Ke Zhongyu stood in front of her, frowning slightly.

He bent down, picked up his phone, and sent a message to Ms. Nian.

【She is too independent; I have no place to be of use.】

Ms. Nian suddenly received her son's message and sat up abruptly, the facial mask on her face falling off.

How many years had it been since her son spoke his heart to her, especially regarding personal relationships, ever since he was fifteen or sixteen?

Ms. Nian watched as her son sent another paragraph, telling her about Jiang Lai burning herself while boiling water and applying the medicine herself.

She smiled.

So her son also had times when he felt like a loser.

【Zhongyu, bring out that momentum you've had since you were a child, where you fought and snatched for everything you wanted.】

【But Mom has something to say: can you restrain yourself a bit? They aren't divorced yet! Not divorced!】

Ke Zhongyu: 【They're getting divorced for sure anyway.】

According to what Ke Zhongying had told him before, Shen Xun's father had connections to get the divorce certificate. Even if the Shen family went back on their word now and didn't get it, he would still intervene and get it done.

Ke Zhongyu put down his phone, just in time to see Jiang Lai using scissors to cut open the gauze.

"I'll do it." He snatched the square gauze from Jiang Lai's hand without a word, squatted in front of her, gently wrapped it for her, tore off the gauze strip, and tied it.

"President Ke, thank you." Jiang Lai put on her shoes.

Ke Zhongyu raised his eyes, looked at her calm eyes, and said coldly, "I'm afraid no one will pour water for me to drink."

"I'll go now." Jiang Lai had just stood up when the man forcibly pressed her shoulders, making her sit back down on the sofa.

Ke Zhongyu turned to the kitchen and took out the kettle, cups, and the plastic jar.

Facing Jiang Lai's puzzled gaze, he said again, "I don't exploit employees to the point where they have to pour me water even when they're injured."

Jiang Lai: "..."

Fine.

He was quite contradictory.

Ke Zhongyu looked at the plastic jar in front of him, twisting the red lid on top while saying, "Where did this thing come from? It's so ugly."

"The orphanage." Jiang Lai reached out and snatched the jar back, hugging it in her arms like a treasure.

Ke Zhongyu realized he had said the wrong thing, his fingers curled slightly, and he reached out to take it from Jiang Lai's arms again.

His large, thick hand covered the entire jar. Jiang Lai held it with both hands, and for the first time, he didn't manage to take it.

He only managed to take it on the second try.

He opened it, and a fragrance wafted out.

"It smells good." Ke Zhongyu said as he poured the honeysuckle into the cup.

Jiang Lai barely forgave him for what he had just said, leaning in and nodding, "Pour a little less; I only have this one jar for the whole year."

Ke Zhongyu's hand stopped.

The fragrance of the honeysuckle became even richer under the stimulation of the boiling water.

"Did your Dean Mom make this for you?"

"And the children in the orphanage." Jiang Lai held the cup. Her hands were warm, and looking at the honeysuckle floating on top, her heart was warm too.

"Honeysuckle blooms twice a year, in April/May and autumn. Dean Mom would take us to pick honeysuckle. Honeysuckle is a Chinese medicinal herb; we could sell it. Back then, it was a few yuan per jin fresh, and after drying, it could be twenty yuan per jin."

This was the first time Ke Zhongyu had heard Jiang Lai mention her past. His breathing became lighter, afraid of disturbing her and making her stop talking.

"The places where honeysuckle vines grow are a bit dangerous; they're either on hillsides or along the edges of field ridges. It needs to wrap around other branches to grow, and most of the time it's hard to get."

She always spoke unhurriedly, like spring water just after the ice had melted, gurgling and flowing, carrying a trace of coldness, yet also having the warmth of spring sunshine.

Ke Zhongyu savored the water steeped with honeysuckle.

"After picking them, you have to steam them; boiling them is useless. Once steamed, you put them in a round winnowing basket, spread them out, and put them under the sun to dry. This way, the honeysuckle retains its original color, looks good, and the medicinal properties are preserved."

"How much is a jin of dried honeysuckle?" Ke Zhongyu asked, turning his head.

Jiang Lai was a bit surprised that he would ask this, which meant he had been listening.

In the past, when she told Shen Xun these things, he would always interrupt her with a look of pity, saying that the bitter days were all in the past.

However, she didn't feel that her childhood was bitter.

To her, these were very beautiful childhood memories.

And it was this kind of childhood that made her who she was.

"A few taels, maybe not even half a jin." Jiang Lai pursed her lips and smiled faintly, "It shouldn't be hot anymore, President Ke, drink it."

"Mm." Ke Zhongyu took a sip and asked her, "Does the orphanage still pick honeysuckle to sell now?"

"No, no one buys it now. There are people who specialize in planting honeysuckle, and Chinese medicine halls go to those places to buy it." Perhaps because honeysuckle clears internal heat, Jiang Lai's mood improved a lot. Since no one had chatted with her about these things for a long time, she added, "Actually, we also sold mugwort back then, but it was very cheap."

She didn't continue after that.

"That's it?" Ke Zhongyu seemed a bit unsatisfied.

Jiang Lai said, "I've said too much."

"I don't think so." Ke Zhongyu drank all the water in the cup and refilled it for himself, "Keep talking about the mugwort."

Jiang Lai was speechless for a moment: "... President Ke, this isn't a teahouse, and I'm not a storyteller."

Ding-ling.

Someone rang the doorbell.

Jiang Lai stood up and went over, looking at the video panel at the door.

"Excuse me, is this Ms. Jiang from Number Nine? You have a food delivery."

Ke Zhongyu said, "Tell the property manager to bring it over."

Jiang Lai did as he said.

Soon, the property manager brought over two bags of takeout.

Jiang Lai took them, turned back to look at Ke Zhongyu, who didn't seem to have any intention of leaving, so she asked, "President Ke, have you eaten?"

"No." Ke Zhongyu stayed for dinner as a matter of course.

While eating, Jiang Lai glanced at her phone. The message from Shen Xun was that if she didn't reply, he wouldn't leave from outside Cui Zhai.

Simply a nuisance.

Jiang Lai used a new number to send a message to Lin Shutong, telling her Shen Xun's location.

Lin Shutong asked who she was.

Jiang Lai didn't reply and continued eating.

"You cooked a meal for Ke Zhongying last time?" Ke Zhongyu suddenly spoke up.

"I asked Zhongying to help with a favor."

"I've helped you twice." Ke Zhongyu left this statement there, and the meaning was already very obvious.

Jiang Lai nodded: "What does President Ke like to eat?"

Ke Zhongyu: "You decide."

Jiang Lai nodded again.

After the meal, Ke Zhongyu had no excuse to stay longer and left on his own initiative.

On the way, he changed the note for his mother, Ms. Nian: Strategist.

When Lin Shutong found Shen Xun, Shen Xun was sitting in the driver's seat smoking.

"Axun?" Lin Shutong opened the car door and sat in, "Where is your Bentley?"

"Crashed." Shen Xun's gaze remained fixed on the direction of Cui Zhai.

Lin Shutong was shocked: "When did this happen?"

"In the evening." Ke Zhongyu intercepted his car and took Jiang Lai away from his side.

He flicked the cigarette ash with his hand.

Lin Shutong frowned: "When did you learn to smoke?"

"During the time you just left." Shen Xun said, staring at the cigarette in his hand.

But.

Jiang Lai didn't like the smell of smoke, and it seemed he hadn't smoked again after they were married. ===== CHAPTER 81 =====