Chapter 94

After buying the gifts, Jiang Lai went to buy clothes.

She had always thought about saving and saving more, partly to supplement the household expenses, and partly for the orphanage.

Now that she and Shen Xun were divorced, she didn't need to consider supplementing household expenses, didn't need to consider making sure Shen Xun ate well and dressed well; she could spend all her money on herself.

She bought a lot for herself.

She also called Dean Mom to re-tally the heights and weights of the children at the orphanage and send them to her so she could contact the manufacturer for down jackets.

It was still early, so Jiang Lai returned to Nanshan Villa No. 9, hung up the new clothes, and arranged the new shoes.

She wasn't very good at matching clothes, and Ke Zhongying was chatting with her on her phone, so she asked Ke Zhongying along the way.

The two were on a video call.

Ke Zhongying asked her to point the camera at the closet.

"That white wool coat."

"A turtleneck sweater and wide-leg pants in the same color family."

"Mm, as for the shoes..."

"Sneakers in the same color family?" Jiang Lai took the initiative, and the camera pointed at the new white flat shoes, "Should the bag also be white?"

"Smart!" Ke Zhongying smiled, "Sister Jiang Lai, you go ahead and get busy. I'm still looking at my thesis, and I still have to write my graduation thesis for next year, boohoo..."

Mentioning the thesis made her look worried.

"The old man keeps sending it back for me to rewrite. Other people's mentors help their students revise again and again, but the old man won't. He'd rather grind away at it with me here, and he even wants me to pursue my doctorate under him. I won't!"

She snorted coldly.

Jiang Lai raised an eyebrow: "You're really not going to pursue a doctorate under Old Zhao?"

Of course it was a lie!

Ke Zhongying pursed her lips and also hummed softly at her: "I'm not talking to you anymore."

Jiang Lai suddenly laughed.

She had to hurry to the Eden Garden too.

After changing her clothes, Jiang Lai took a taxi. Just as she got out, Secretary Cen messaged her saying they were almost there too.

She simply stood by the side of the road to wait for them.

A stretched Maybach was driving toward her.

Special Assistant Zhou: "President Ke, Miss Jiang Lai has already arrived."

Ke Zhongyu raised his eyes to look; a soft, white-as-moon figure stood by the roadside. As the car got closer, Jiang Lai's figure and face became clearer in his eyes.

Her waterfall-like black hair was tucked behind her ears, her V-neck cashmere coat hung to her calves, and the belt in the same color family outlined her slender waist. The light gray fox fur at the cuffs added a touch of softness to her otherwise cool and aloof demeanor.

Ke Zhongyu's gaze flickered, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

Mm.

She knew how to be attentive to him.

Jiang Lai watched as two cars stopped in front of her one after another.

Ke Zhongyu got out of the first car, his black leather shoes with red soles landing on the ground, followed by his long legs.

A well-tailored suit also outlined his broad shoulders and narrow waist.

His straight legs stood in front of Jiang Lai, a full head taller than her.

She had to look up to speak: "President Ke."

"Mm." Ke Zhongyu looked down at her, seeing her crescent-like eyebrows and the thin red on her lips clearly.

His Adam's apple moved slightly.

He turned his head to look at the car with Secretary Cen and Secretary Guan to calm himself down.

The two were driving the other car.

A driver's license was standard for secretaries.

"Secretary Jiang!" Secretary Guan was the first to go up and hug Jiang Lai, followed by Secretary Cen.

Everyone was here.

The five of them went upstairs together.

The three women stood together: Jiang Lai was as cool and aloof as a bright moon, Secretary Cen was as beautiful as a raging fire, and Secretary Guan was as sweet as frosting.

The two men were even more so—one cold and ascetic, the other gentle and polite.

They attracted frequent glances.

Jiang Lai finally understood the phrase "President Ke's diplomatic dream team."

The waiter saw them and immediately came to greet them: "President Ke, please this way. Sister Ellie isn't here today, call me if you need anything."

This time they changed to a quiet spot, a round table, and the surrounding tables were specifically left empty for fear of disturbing them.

Ke Zhongyu sat down first, and only then did everyone else dare to take their seats.

Jiang Lai's seat was to the left of Ke Zhongyu and to the right of Secretary Cen.

As soon as she sat down, she presented the gifts she had been carrying the whole way one by one. Ke Zhongyu was the leader, so she handed his to him first, while the others handed theirs one by one.

Secretary Guan knew what it was just by looking at the packaging box, and she asked Jiang Lai with starry eyes: "Secretary Jiang, can I open it and look now?"

It was actually impolite to open gifts in front of others.

Jiang Lai didn't mind and nodded: "You can."

So everyone opened theirs.

"A talking Baphomet sheep!" Secretary Cen looked at the unopened blind box, excited, "Thank you, Secretary Jiang, this is my gift for you!"

She handed her gift over.

Secretary Cen looked at the eight black thin-tube lipsticks in front of her, her red lips lifting: "Simply my favorite, Secretary Jiang, this is my gift."

"This is mine." Special Assistant Zhou also handed over his gift and thanked her, "Many thanks for the eyeglass chain, Miss Jiang."

Because President Ke was here, he didn't dare take off his glasses to put on the chain.

Secretary Guan smiled and said: "This eyeglass chain is such a fitting gift for Zhou Zhou, because all of Zhou Zhou's glasses are just decorations."

Jiang Lai: "?"

Hm?

Fake?

Special Assistant Zhou pushed up his glasses and smiled slightly: "Glasses give people a sense of invisible wisdom."

Jiang Lai: "..."

She almost lost her composure.

Only Ke Zhongyu's gift remained unopened, and only his gift consisted of two items.

Because of this, a hint of triumph appeared in Ke Zhongyu's eyes.

He opened it.

A box of tea, a black thermos cup.

Ke Zhongyu: "..."

Everyone else's gifts were age-appropriate; his gift was geriatric.

Secretary Cen immediately raised her hand to cover her face, afraid of being seen by President Ke while she was secretly laughing.

Secretary Guan also immediately lowered her head, wishing she could bury it under the table.

Only Special Assistant Zhou's expression remained unchanged, and he eventually looked away silently.

Everyone suddenly fell silent. Jiang Lai looked around and realized she had given the wrong gift.

"President Ke, how about I make it up to you next time?" She reached out silently, preparing to take the gift back.

The back of her hand was suddenly tapped.

Ke Zhongyu: "Take your hand away."

There was no such thing as taking back a gift once given to someone.

Jiang Lai withdrew her hand and sat upright, just like a good student in her school days, quietly waiting for the teacher's reprimand.

Ke Zhongyu covered the gift back up, and at the same time took out his wallet and placed his ID card in front of Jiang Lai.

Pointing to the date of birth on it, he said: "Look clearly, I'm the same age as you."

Jiang Lai: "..."

She nodded: "I see clearly, President Ke."

Ke Zhongyu put away his ID and handed her a square gift box, which felt light in her hand.

"Thank you, President Ke." Jiang Lai accepted it, not planning to open the gift now, and was just about to put it to the side when the man's cold, deep voice reached her ears.

"Open it."

Jiang Lai immediately opened the box, and inside was a stack of bound documents.

She picked them up.

Secretary Guan happened to be opposite Jiang Lai and couldn't see the words on it; from the back, it was just white printer paper.

"President Ke, who gives a stack of paper as a gift? Aren't you and Secretary Jiang just six of one and half a dozen of the other..." Secretary Guan's voice got quieter and quieter because President Ke's murderous gaze had already slanted over.

"President Ke, Secretary Guan means that you and Miss Jiang are evenly matched, a perfect pair." Special Assistant Zhou provided a god-tier rescue.

Ke Zhongyu withdrew his icy gaze and looked at Jiang Lai.

Jiang Lai hadn't been paying attention to what they had just said; her attention was entirely on the contents of the document.