Chapter 50, As She Wish

The move-in date for the Mountain Mansion was set a week later, a date determined by Zheng Wanqiao through a feng shui master with close ties to the Jiang family.

In this matter, He Peiru naturally followed her mother-in-law's arrangements.

The preparations that follow become much easier.

He Peiru had already decided who to invite and had mentioned it to her girlfriends, so now she just needed to inform them directly.

To be on the safe side, He Peiru would directly send them a message with the time, saving the need to repeat herself.

All she needed to do next, besides continuing to decorate the mansion, was prepare for that day to arrive.

The other people's replies were simple and clear, but Gu Zhaoqian asked other questions.

Gu Zhaoqian: [Who else did you invite?]

He Peiru told him everything.

Besides her two girlfriends, she also invited several familiar faces from the industry, as well as mutual friends of Fang Xiaoxin.

Gu Zhaoqian: [What are your plans? Would you mind if I brought my brothers along?]

He Peiru: [Okay, I'm thinking of just treating it as a simple meal.]

Gu Zhaoqian: [Then it's settled. I think it'll be quite lively.]

The more lively the housewarming party, the better.

In the days that followed, Sophia accompanied her to the Mountain Mansion several times.

Each visit brings a lot of new things.

In particular, several different brands have sent new clothes several times in a row, and to exaggerate a bit, the quantity is almost comparable to that of Repulse Bay.

She still remembered what Jiang Yici had said—

"Just pick and choose what you like when it's delivered. If you don't like it after a while, you can get rid of it."

He Peiru once again affirmed that she still hadn't gotten used to this kind of life.

With all the clothing and daily necessities provided, He Peiru couldn't think of anything else she might lack.

If all else fails, we can always prepare it when we remember.

Before we knew it, it was time to move into the new house.

Her invited friends all arrived at the mountain mansion before dusk.

I'd like to help decorate this new home, and I'd also like to see if there's anything I can help with.

This was the first time He Peiru had hosted friends as a hostess. Since they were all around the same age, she decided to have everyone sit in the living room and chat.

"The mountain mansion is quite comfortable to live in, and it's convenient to go anywhere."

“I think so too. I came here with my dad before, but we couldn’t find a floor we liked.”

“Aru, the floor here is high enough, and the view from the balcony is also quite good.”

Sitting next to Gu Zhaoqian, Cui Haonian, who had been silent, spoke up at this moment: "It's easy, there are still empty rooms on the lower floors."

"Contact me if you'd like to buy."

Seeing that they were having a good chat, He Peiru felt relieved and stood up to prepare other things.

He Peiru planned to have hot pot for dinner.

Otherwise, Sophia alone would obviously be too busy.

He Peiru was itching to get started after she went into the kitchen alone. Although Sophia was very good at these things, she still wanted to do things herself from time to time.

Although she had a difficult life before, she rarely cooked for herself. Most of the time, she would go to the tea restaurants near the school that catered to students and offered discounts for showing her student ID.

Unexpectedly, Gu Zhaoqian followed her in and asked, "What's wrong?"

As she turned around, she explained earnestly, "It's nothing, I just wanted to come in and see what I could do."

On the stove was a pot that was already boiling. The simple soup base didn't need complicated seasoning. Sophia had already chopped most of the ingredients, and all that was left was to plate it simply.

From this perspective, it seems that Sophia is no longer needed.

Moreover, with Gu Zhaoqian standing right here, he really didn't want his thoughts to be exposed too thoroughly in front of Sophia.

"Sophia, you go and rest. I'll take care of the rest."

He Pei said decisively.

Sophia could vaguely understand her meaning; she certainly didn't press the matter further, but obediently followed her employer's instructions: "I'll go back to my room first. Please call me anytime if you need anything, Miss."

"good."

She nodded.

“Then you…” He Peiru watched Sophia enter the maid's room before turning to Gu Zhaoqian and saying, “Why don’t you go out and play with them?”

The man seemed to smile at her words, then shook his head and refused, saying, "See if you need any help."

Since he has already said it, he probably doesn't intend to give her a chance to refuse.

He Peiru pursed her lips, but still replied, "No need..."

She glanced at the remaining ingredients on the island counter and decided to cut the vegetables.

So she quietly began to work.

Gu Zhaoqian stood to one side without saying a word, nor did he offer any "help" as he had promised. The two were so close they couldn't touch, yet He Peiru felt she could hear the man's breathing.

I can only try to force myself to focus on the task at hand.

Gu Zhaoqian spoke up when she was least expecting it, saying, "Be careful, don't cut your hand."

After saying that, as if he was still not convinced, he continued, "Give me the knife."

He didn't rush to reach out; he simply stood patiently to the side, as always.

He Peiru was momentarily tempted by his suggestion, but the next second she felt it was inappropriate and quickly declined, saying, "It's alright, and besides... you're a guest today."

Gu Zhaoqian leaned against the cabinet, not saying anything more, but quietly watching her.

He Peiru felt extremely uncomfortable under the man's gaze, and had no choice but to turn her head to look at him, asking, "What are you doing here..."

Gu Zhaoqian repeated, "Give me the knife."

He still didn't make a move, but his tone was undeniably firm.

She had no choice but to compromise, carefully handing the knife to the man and saying, "Be careful then."

Don't worry.

The corners of his mouth turned up, as if he was quite pleased with her reminder.

He Peiru never expected that her impulsive decision to enter the kitchen would result in her becoming Gu Zhaoqian's assistant.

This feeling is really wrong.

A delicate calm remained between the two until everything was ready, at which point the others, as if sensing something, came in and took everything out.

This dinner was finally getting underway.

The conversation at the dinner table consisted of light-hearted topics, mainly about everyone's recent situation and concern for He Peiru, the person involved.

The welcome-home dinner eventually ended with them chatting casually.

After the meal, no one rushed to leave. Instead, they all took out gifts they had prepared for He Peiru. For them, it wasn't the price of the gift that mattered; rather, it was a small, carefully chosen item.

It seems that everyone has reached a tacit understanding on this matter.

The first thing He Peiru unpacked was a painting. Its French style was surprisingly consistent with the interior decoration, and she quickly figured out where to hang it.

Fang Xiaoxin prepared a set of Japanese-style ceramic bowls and plates for her, while Feng Shiqi gave her a scented candle set, along with other gifts that were clearly carefully selected.

These are all beautiful and practical items, or items that can add to the ambiance.

All of them were sent to cater to He Peiru's preferences.

After the gift-opening activity was over, it was time for everyone else to leave.

Feng Shiqi, who had already stepped out the door, seemed to suddenly remember something, turned around and hugged her, and said sincerely in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "It's so wonderful to see you living such a happy life now."

He Peiru said something similar when she was recognized by the Jiang family, and she said the same thing this time.

As true friends, their friendship can continue no matter how life turns out for them.

A thousand words stuck in He Peiru's throat, and in the end she could only gently pat Feng Shiqi's back and reply, "Thank you."

After they let go of each other, they didn't say anything more, but just looked at each other and smiled.

As He Peiru prepared to see them off, she felt Fang Xiaoxin's gaze lingering between her and Gu Zhaoqian, but Fang Xiaoxin remained silent.

She was somewhat puzzled, but since it wasn't the right time to ask, she kept her question to herself.

Feng Shiqi walked towards Fang Xiaoxin, who was waiting for her to leave together. The next second, Fang Xiaoxin pulled her and quickly said to He Peiru, "Then we'll go first, bye-bye!"

It was as if they had some urgent business to attend to and left in a hurry, which amplified the strange feeling in He Peiru's heart.

She subconsciously turned to look at Gu Zhaoqian, as if hoping he would understand her feelings, and said, "What are they doing...?"

Gu Zhaoqian didn't seem to find anything strange, but still answered seriously, "Maybe it's something urgent."

Perhaps she was overthinking it.

He Peiru then realized that Gu Zhaoqian had been standing to one side from the very beginning, and now that almost everyone had left, he was slowly walking toward the elevator.

However, Feng Shiqi and her group left in a hurry, and the elevator doors had already closed and started descending.

She naturally stayed with him while he waited.

As He Peiru watched the numbers flashing on the screen, she suddenly remembered something she had forgotten and quickly called out to Gu Zhaoqian, "Brother Qian, wait a minute."

Gu Zhaoqian turned around at the sound and asked, "What's wrong?"

She had already jogged back into the house.

He Peiru hurried into the room, stood in front of the bedside table, opened the drawer, took out the exquisite box inside, and then went back out the door. Without hesitation, she stuffed the box into the man's arms and said, "This is for you."

Before he could respond, she added, "Consider this... a thank you gift for the trouble you've caused me during this time."

The gift that had been prepared beforehand now had a chance to be given. He Peiru couldn't help but feel glad that she had suddenly remembered it.

This gift was clearly unexpected by Gu Zhaoqian.

He saw the familiar brand logo on the packaging box and asked curiously, "What is it?"

"You'll see when you open it." Fearing the man might do something else, she quickly spoke up to stop him, "...but not now."

"Okay." Despite his curiosity, Gu Zhaoqian put the box away as she wished. "Then I'll go back."