The next morning, Lin Che finally saw Zhang Rui.
She hadn't slept well at all the night before. Every time she closed her eyes, flashes of that man from the East Wing filled her mind. Those eyes, that voice… Why did they feel so familiar?
"Che Che, are you even listening to me?" Nan Lu poked her cheek with her chopsticks.
"Huh? I— I am!" Lin Che blinked and looked down at the table, pretending to be interested in her porridge.
Nan Lu squinted suspiciously. "You've stirred that porridge for ten minutes now. Are you trying to make soup out of it?"
Lin Che sighed and set her spoon down. "I just… didn't sleep well, that's all."
Before Nan Lu could reply, a voice came from the doorway.
"Young Master Gong has arrived."
The servant's tone carried that certain respectful weight, and everyone at the table turned toward the door.
Lin Che froze.
The man who stepped in was… Zhang Rui. Yet, he didn't look like her Zhang Rui anymore.
His hair was neatly styled, his clothes sharp and perfectly tailored. Even his posture screamed confidence. The easygoing smile he always wore was still there—but now, it felt practiced, as if it belonged to someone else.
"Grandpa," Gong Rui greeted cheerfully, walking up to Old Master Zhang. "It's been too long."
Grandpa Zhang froze for a few seconds before a smile found it's way on his lips.
Before, it had been dad but now it was...grandpa!
A stinging sensation was felt in his heart.
Old Master Zhang laughed. "Look at you! One week in the city and you already look like a different man."
Gong Rui chuckled softly. "Maybe it's the air here. Or maybe the pressure."
Ever since he was taken back by the Gong Family, there had indeed been a lot of pressure on him as this was the first time he was interacting with people from high society.
His mother by rated him before lots of people that he did not know and he was expected to make the acquaintance and it was honestly quite tiring.
Seeing the people he was accustomed to, he could not help but give a gentle smile.
When his gaze shifted to Lin Che, his smile faltered for just a moment.
"Lin Che," he said quietly.
There was away the name road out of his mouth in such a distant manner
Lin Che could already feel the shift.
She could do nothing else but smile yet it did not reach her eyes.
Nan Lu, of course, noticed everything immediately.
Her head snapped toward Lin Che, then toward Zhang Rui, then back to Lin Che again—like a gossip radar locking onto a storm.
But before she could open her mouth and cause irreversible chaos, Gong Rui had already taken his seat beside Grandpa Zhang.
The servants moved quickly to prepare a plate for him, placing dishes with practiced grace.
He didn't even look surprised at the luxurious spread.
He looked… used to it.
Lin Che felt her chest tighten again.
He picked up his chopsticks, took a bite, and let out a soft sigh.
"This is good," he murmured, almost to himself. "Mother insists the chef practice a new menu for the banquet. I think he's gone a little overboard."
The word 'Mother' rolled off his tongue with such ease. The three could only sigh and say nothing more.
Nan Lu stared at the table full of dishes, her jaw hanging loose.
"Overboard? OVERBOARD?!" She pointed at a crystal bowl filled with some glowing soup. "Nan Lu has never even SEEN half these foods! Is that jelly? Is that edible?!"
"It's bird's nest," Gong Rui said calmly.
Nan Lu dropped her spoon. "A BIRD HAS A NEST INSIDE THIS SOUP?!"
She had lived in the village all her life and the birds nest soup was something that only the reach code afford so it was a no brainer that she did not know what it was!
Lin Che rubbed her forehead.
"…That's not what it means."
Gong Rui laughed—a gentle sound, warm, familiar.
But then he glanced at Lin Che again, and the warmth melted a little.
As if he was trying to hide something.
"Che Che," he said softly, "are you eating well?"
Lin Che looked down at her untouched porridge.
"Mm."
Nan Lu leaned in. "She's not! She barely slept and she—"
Lin Che elbowed her immediately.
"Nan Lu!"
"Aiya! Why are you hitting me?! I'm telling the truth!"
Gong Rui blinked. "You didn't sleep?"
"No," Lin Che said quickly. "I mean—yes. I mean—I did! Just… not very well."
Her mind flashed back to a pair of dark eyes in the moonlit room and she nearly choked on air.
Gong Rui watched her carefully.
"You're pale," he murmured. "If you're uncomfortable, I'll ask the doctor—"
"No!" Lin Che waved her hands frantically. "No doctor! I'm fine. Very fine. Extremely fine!"