Chapter 70 Good Things Are Coming Soon

He Peiru was unable to break free from Gu Zhaoqian's hand, but she was helpless and said with increasing frustration, "But... let go of my hand."

The sound was faint, as if afraid of disturbing the residents upstairs.

However, Gu Zhaoqian remained silent, and the two stood facing each other in a stalemate, letting time pass by.

After a while, he finally let go of He Peiru's hand and whispered, "Goodnight."

She was not used to her hand being suddenly released.

A sudden, inexplicable emptiness made her feel like she had nowhere to hide, so she took small, quick steps, thinking only of retreating as fast as she could, while saying, "Goodnight."

After calming down, she waved her hand gently and then turned to walk into the lobby.

Just then, the elevators were all going up, and while waiting, He Peiru couldn't help but turn around and look outside.

Through the glass, she could clearly see Gu Zhaoqian leaning against the car door, and his gaze seemed to still be following her.

He Peiru knew that the glass was not clear from the outside; at most, one could only see a vague outline or reflection.

She pursed her lips, pondering what Gu Zhaoqian was thinking when he hesitated and wavered earlier.

It's just not that easy to figure out the reason.

I simply shook my head lightly and then stepped into the elevator.

The only certainty is that their relationship has entered a new phase.

Although He Peiru had returned upstairs, she was still thinking about Gu Zhaoqian. When she came to her senses, she had already walked to the balcony, where she saw that Gu Zhaoqian's car was still parked downstairs, and she could vaguely see his figure when she looked down.

She picked up her phone and quickly typed a line of text on the screen.

He Peiru: [You should go back now.]

Gu Zhaoqian: [Okay.]

He replied instantly again.

He finally got into the car, and the car parked downstairs finally drove away.

He Peiru finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She went back inside, opened the photo album, and looked through the photos she had taken that evening.

The two did not take any photos together; their phones were full of food photos taken at restaurants and bars.

The atmosphere and lighting in both places are perfect for taking photos. She only needs to adjust the angle slightly to take beautiful pictures.

After quickly picking out a few photos she liked, He Peiru posted them directly on social media.

She felt like she had acted on some strange impulse, but since she had already posted it, she decided to treat it as a record of her daily life.

She went to take a shower with that in mind.

I dawdled out of the bathroom, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw my phone screen light up. Without thinking of anything else, I quickly picked it up.

When she discovered that the name on it was not Gu Zhaoqian.

I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

He Peiru then looked closer and realized that it was actually Cherry.

Thinking it was an invitation to some event, she opened the app at a leisurely pace, only to find that the content displayed there was unexpected.

Cherry: [There's a photo I'm not sure if I should send it to you.]

He Peiru: [What photo?]

She was incredibly curious and quickly pressed for more information.

Cherry: [Did you go to a small pub in central London tonight?]

He Peiru: [How did you know?]

Cherry kept it a secret, while a thought vaguely surfaced in her mind.

Fortunately, Cherry didn't delay for too long and sent a photo next.

The fact that the photo captured a human figure confirmed that idea.

Cherry: [A friend who saw you at a dinner party took this picture and sent it to me. I'm not sure if they sent it to anyone else.]

Cherry: [What exactly is going on between you and Young Master Gu...?]

London isn't that big; if two people go out together, they're destined to be seen together someday.

However, He Peiru did not expect this day to come so soon, which left her completely unprepared.

It was something that couldn't be explained in just a few words.

Given the current situation, He Peiru didn't know how to bring it up, and after thinking it over, she decided to try to decline.

He Peiru: [I'll tell you when I have the chance later.]

Ultimately, a relatively compromise was chosen, hoping that Cherry would find it easier to accept.

Cherry: [Okay, it's a deal then.]

She did the same thing when she was dealing with Fang Xiaoxin. Fortunately, Cherry wasn't the type to force things and didn't keep nagging about it, which relieved her.

This matter can be considered to have come to a close, albeit barely.

Gu Zhaoqian did not send any more messages to He Peiru until she was ready to go to sleep.

She lay in bed staring blankly at the ceiling.

Perhaps Gu Zhaoqian got busy after returning home, and she wondered if some busybody had sent him the photos. However, she didn't intend to ask him directly and ended up going to sleep with her doubts.

I woke up the next day.

He Peiru immediately picked up her phone from the bedside table, but to her disappointment, Gu Zhaoqian still hadn't sent her any messages. Instead, her group chat with Feng Shiqi and Fang Xiaoxin had seen hundreds of new messages appear, something that hadn't happened in a long time.

Although she wasn't fully awake, her intuition told her that this was definitely not just casual conversation.

He Peiru instantly regained most of her senses.

She opened the chat history and was about to start reading from the top messages when she was shocked by the photos that came into view.

It's still unknown whether Gu Zhaoqian has seen the photos, but her girlfriends already know.

Looking at this screen full of text, it's as if I can hear their chattering discussion.

Fang Xiaoxin: [The chemistry between you two is just so sweet.]

Feng Shiqi: [Young Master Gu's eyes are all fixed on you.]

Although the two continued their discussion without stopping, He Peiru was not overly surprised.

After all, they only care about themselves.

The further into the chat history, the more persistent the curiosity about their relationship remained.

Fang Xiaoxin: [@He Peiru, you guys are now...]

Feng Shiqi: [Right now, I just want to know when you two will get together.]

The two of them were talking to themselves, and it seemed that they didn't necessarily expect to get a reply from her.

He Peiru quickly composed herself and typed a question.

He Peiru: [Could you please tell me where this photo came from?]

Fang Xiaoxin: [A British friend wanted to know about Gu Zhaoqian, and happened to come to me to ask.]

Fang Xiaoxin seemed to be waiting for her, and quickly replied with a long string of text messages.

The coincidences of the whole thing made her feel that not only was London really small, but the whole world was unbelievably small.

Despite feeling helpless again, she still answered politely.

He Peiru: [Our relationship... remains the same.]

Fang Xiaoxin: [Let's not talk about that now.]

Fang Xiaoxin: [How have your family members reacted to what's going on between you two?]

He Peiru was immediately stumped by this question.

My family must have heard rumors, but they haven't expressed any opinion about it in our daily interactions, so I have no idea what they think.

Besides, she's too shy to test her family on this topic for the time being.

What she wants to know even more now is whether Gu Zhaoqian has seen the photo or not.

However……

She still didn't have the courage to ask Gu Zhaoqian, and he still hadn't sent her any messages.

He Peiru really couldn't figure it out.

Another day has passed.

Her thoughts were still in a mess, and she was wondering if she should do something else to calm herself down when her phone suddenly rang.

It is Jiang Yici.

He Peiru was somewhat surprised, as he rarely made direct phone calls like this, so she quickly answered the call—

"uncle?"

“Aru, it’s Uncle.” There was some noise on Jiang Yici’s end, and a mechanical female voice could be faintly heard through the receiver. “I just landed in England and thought I’d give you a call first.”

The sudden trip caught her completely off guard, and when she thought about the photos, she panicked and asked, "Uncle, what... what are you doing in England?"

She tried her best to make her voice sound more natural.

"I had some work to take care of," Jiang Yici said calmly. "Your uncle was thinking of having dinner with you, but I've received too many invitations to banquets. You usually attend all the banquets hosted by the Wu family, right?"

She answered each question in turn: "I will go almost all of them. There will be plenty of opportunities to eat out. Uncle, you should finish your important business first."

It seems inevitable that she will run into Jiang Yici at the banquet, especially since she remembers there is a banquet in the next two days.

He Peiru dared not imagine what would happen next.

Her best course of action is to be flexible and adaptable to changing circumstances.

Time quickly came to the day of the banquet.

Attending the banquet at the Wu family's house was something He Peiru was already very familiar with, but when she thought about the high probability of seeing Jiang Yici, her steps involuntarily became heavy.

She found Cherry with mixed feelings.

As the hostess, Cherry knew better than anyone which guests would be attending tonight. Although she wasn't entirely clear on many things, she still asked bluntly, "Your uncle didn't come to England because of that photo, did he?"

"I don't know either..." she sighed softly, her voice filled with uncertainty. "It shouldn't be that bad, right?"

“But that’s not how I see it.” Cherry shook her head, seemingly completely disagreeing with her statement. “Otherwise, why would he suddenly come to England?”

He Peiru was momentarily stumped by Cherry's question, and tried to struggle but her tone was somewhat weak: "He told me he had work."

Cherry still disagreed, continuing, "I think this is just an excuse he made up; he can't very well tell you the truth, can he?"

"Hmm..."

Having come this far, she simply couldn't bring herself to deny it any longer.

The two chatted like this, watching the guests enter one after another, and finally saw Jiang Yici appear just as the banquet was about to begin.

Gu Zhaoqian also appeared with him.

The current situation made He Peiru gasp, while Cherry, as if she had a god's-eye view, said, "Now I'm starting to wonder what Mr. Jiang will say to you."

She pursed her lips tightly, knowing she couldn't delay any longer, and walked towards Jiang Yici.

"uncle."

He Peiru had already spoken before she had even stood still.

"Aru." Jiang Yi nodded to her, but before he could say anything else, someone stepped forward—

"I've heard that the two families have been on very close terms recently. I wonder if something good, such as a marriage alliance, is on the horizon?"

The abrupt question startled He Peiru. She subconsciously looked at her uncle while somewhat awkwardly glancing past Gu Zhaoqian.

A direct denial would seem too strange.

"These are matters between the younger generation..." Jiang Yici replied calmly, "It's better to let them decide for themselves. We elders don't intend to make the decisions."

With just a few words, he made his attitude clear; he was obviously aware of these things but had no intention of interfering.

He Peiru immediately thought of what Jiang Yici had said in the past: everything should be based on her wishes.

My heart was instantly filled with a sudden surge of warmth.

One of the advantages of having Jiang Yici present is that if a similar situation arises, she won't need to deal with it herself.

The person who had just spoken had been persuaded to come up, and upon hearing Jiang Yici's words, could only smile awkwardly and say, "Mr. Jiang is right."

It was as if they wished nothing had happened.

Jiang Yici nodded, then turned to He Peiru and said, "Let's go, your uncle will take you to meet some friends."