Chapter 18, Part 18: Empathy
Caught off guard, He Peiru heard He Zhong's name and seemed to realize something. She asked, "He... doesn't have much time left?"
Jiang Yici told her about He Zhong's current situation: "Because he has been a heavy drinker for many years, the function of his various organs has plummeted. It is unexpected that he has survived to this day."
It's a pity that he's still alive despite all the heinous things he did, while good people often don't live long.
He Peiru released her pent-up frustrations with a sigh. After moving out of the public housing, all she knew was that He Zhong had moved into a nursing home under her uncle's arrangement; nothing else.
She didn't want to know anything about He Zhong.
However, He Zhong was her only relative on her father's side. Although she had no reason to miss him, she still felt it necessary to see He Yi one last time.
He Peiru seemed to have made a difficult decision, and replied, "I'll go see him."
“Okay.” Jiang Yici nodded as if he had expected this, and said to Li Jiale, “Arrange the visit time as soon as possible.”
Assistant Li immediately picked up his phone and replied, "Understood, I will confirm it as soon as possible."
“I won’t go.” Jiang Yici nodded, turned his head back and continued, “I’ll have Aqian go with you then.”
He Peiru almost instinctively refused, just like before. She pursed her lips, accepted Jiang Yici's arrangement, and asked, "Okay, Uncle, do you have work to do?"
"no."
He immediately denied it, but did not explain why.
He Peiru paused, puzzled, feeling that things weren't as simple as she thought, but he didn't seem to intend to elaborate, so she turned to Gu Zhaoqian politely to ask for his opinion: "As for the timing, Brother Qian, is there any day you need to make concessions?"
The man shook his head and replied, "No need, Assistant Li can handle the arrangements."
The conversation at the dinner table finally paused, and she lowered her head to continue eating her dinner.
The visit to He Zhong at the nursing home was scheduled for Sunday. He Peiru didn't want to waste time imagining how she should react after seeing He Zhong, so she decided to leave in the morning instead, as the scene of He Zhong scolding her would still flash through her mind.
This took up Gu Zhaoqian's rest time, and she inevitably felt guilty, but she didn't know why Jiang Yici wouldn't go with her.
She happened to want to take this opportunity to find out about Jiang Yici from Gu Zhaoqian. Since he wasn't busy with work, he must have other plans.
And as Assistant Li said, Gu Zhaoqian might know all of this.
The day of departure.
After quickly washing up, He Peiru went downstairs for breakfast, but the other members of the Jiang family were nowhere to be seen, perhaps because they did not want to mention He Zhong.
Only Zheng Wanqiao sighed and put her arm around He Peiru after learning that the time had been set, saying, "Just treat it as an ordinary meeting. Our Aru shouldn't let him affect her mood."
"Don't worry, Mother-in-law, it won't happen."
She knew that she was only saying that to comfort Zheng Wanqiao.
He Peiru was lost in thought and didn't notice that she had eaten all the scrambled eggs on her plate. Sophia came over to remind her and told her, "Miss, Uncle Zhang is already waiting in the parking lot and can leave at any time."
"I'll leave after I finish this."
She pointed to the remaining noodles in the bowl.
Although He Peiru agreed to let Jiang Yici let Gu Zhaoqian go to the nursing home with her, she only wanted to minimize the trouble it would cause him.
Then he thought that since he was living in Repulse Bay anyway, he might as well have the driver pick up Gu Zhaoqian when he was about to leave, so that he wouldn't have to make a special trip to the Jiang family.
This approach made her feel relatively at ease, and it wasn't as troublesome as other methods.
The nursing home that Jiang Yici arranged for He Zhong to stay in is in Kwai Tsing District. It takes at least half an hour to get there from Repulse Bay, no matter how fast you go.
She planned to relieve the stress she had been feeling on the journey by chatting with Gu Zhaoqian.
The car quickly entered the area where the Gu family villa was located. He Peiru was about to call Gu Zhaoqian to ask him to come out, but before she could dial the number, she looked up and saw that he was already leaning against the roadside fence, and... there was no impatience in his eyes.
Any distracting thoughts that arose were suppressed by her in the name of Gu Zhaoqian and the Jiang family.
He Peiru immediately moved to the other side of the back seat to make room for Gu Zhaoqian, who was about to get on the bus.
Once Uncle Zhang had parked the car, he opened the door with practiced ease, and He Peiru greeted him with a smile: "Brother Qian."
"Aru." He strode in and sat down, then looked at Uncle Zhang who was driving and said, "It's been a long time since I've ridden in Uncle Zhang's car."
Uncle Zhang chuckled and said, "You already have your own driver, why would you need Uncle Zhang?"
As if afraid that He Peiru didn't know, Uncle Zhang added, "I used to often take Young Master Gu back to HKU for classes."
"I didn't know such a thing existed."
It seems that Uncle Zhang's job is to take good care of these younger generation members.
Just how complicated is the Gu family?
He Peiru felt that their relationship wasn't close enough for Gu Zhaoqian to be willing to tell her.
Uncle Zhang refocused his attention on the road ahead, and He Peiru took the opportunity to turn her head and look at Gu Zhaoqian, asking in a low voice, "Do you know if my uncle has any other plans today?"
"No," he denied. "He wasn't home when you left?"
He Peiru shook her head and replied, "I didn't see anyone else."
Then, getting straight to the point, she asked, "I want to know... does my uncle have someone he likes?"
Gu Zhaoqian hadn't guessed that her previous build-up was to bring up this question. After quickly analyzing it in his mind, he asked in return, "Is it because he let you win the pink diamond at the auction that you made this guess?"
She nodded in agreement, then, remembering what Assistant Li had said about Gu Zhaoqian possibly knowing, she continued, "Do you know?"
Gu Zhaoqian lowered his eyes and met her intense gaze, replying, "I have indeed heard about it, but I'm not entirely sure."
Ho Pui-ju was overjoyed, as if she had already received the answer: "So there really is such a person?"
He nodded: "Yes, you could say that."
With her doubts finally resolved, another question arose in her mind. He Peiru muttered, "If that's the case, then what exactly is the reason Uncle didn't come today..."
To make He Peiru more comfortable in the Jiang family, Jiang Yici would selectively withhold certain things from her.
But seeing her racking her brains, Gu Zhaoqian couldn't help but tell her the truth: "Uncle Jiang doesn't want to see He... your grandfather, so he asked me to come with you."
In He Peiru's mind, Jiang Yici could handle anything with ease, so she didn't consider this aspect at all.
After getting the answer from Gu Zhaoqian, she seemed to have a sudden realization, but her expression suddenly tightened, and she murmured, "No wonder..."
“The nursing home that Uncle Jiang arranged for him is one of the best, but Uncle Jiang doesn’t want to see him even once.” Gu Zhaoqian rambled on, repeating Jiang Yici’s original words, “Uncle Jiang said he was afraid he would lose control and hit him.”
"Huh!?"
These were the most ruthless words she had ever heard coming from Jiang Yici.
No wonder Jiang Yici only briefly explained He Zhong's arrangements to her at the beginning, and never mentioned anything related to him again afterward.
It seems that Jiang Yici also harbors deep disgust for He Zhong.
Recalling the conversation at the dinner table that day, He Peiru felt that she had been too hasty in her pursuit of answers.
Jiang Yici spoke cryptically, but it was she who was agonizing over the issue with her own divergent thoughts.
Their conversation had just ended when the car pulled into the nursing home.
After leaving her information at the entrance, He Peiru followed the instructions to He Zhong's room.
She hesitated outside the door, but after a moment she raised her hand and knocked. Without waiting for a response from inside, she turned the handle and gently pushed the door open.
He Zhong was sitting in a wheelchair at the moment. He adjusted himself with some difficulty to face the door. The next moment, he looked up and He Peiru met his gaze unexpectedly.
Perhaps it had been too long since she had looked at He Zhong properly, but her first reaction was that he had aged considerably, and his appearance made him seem even more unfamiliar to her.
He Peiru leaned against the door, opened her mouth, and said, "Grandpa."
She was met with silence.
The grandfather and grandson remained silent as always.
He Peiru looked at him quietly.
He forgot that Gu Zhaoqian was still following behind him, and his mind kept replaying memories from the time his parents passed away until he went to university.
She couldn't even find any positive information about He Zhong.
He Peiru felt she couldn't stay in the room for another second, but the caregiver walked in from the door that hadn't been closed yet, breaking the silence: "Are you Grandpa He's family? I'm Miss Ye. It's time to take Grandpa He out for some sunshine, or would you like to have some time with us first?"
She kept her eyes fixed on He Zhong and had no intention of making a choice for him.
The next second, He Zhong answered himself, "Push me out."
Miss Ye was not quite sure what was going on in the room, but since He Zhong had said so, she could only do as he said: "Okay."
He Peiru stood there watching Miss Ye grip the handle of the wheelchair, intending to take a breather once He Zhong was wheeled out of the room.
However, before she even reached the door frame, she heard He Zhong's hoarse and weak voice: "Aru, I'm sorry."
The sudden three words left He Peiru in a daze. She looked at He Zhong's hunched back, and the anxiety she felt when she came amplified.
Fortunately, reason prevailed. The hardships she had endured and experienced in the past could not be easily washed away by these three words.
Instead, it stirred up those painful memories again.
He Peiru stood still for a few deep breaths, then looked blankly at Gu Zhaoqian and asked, "Should we wait for him to come back?"
Gu Zhaoqian could clearly sense that she was in low spirits after entering the room, not to mention that after He Zhong spoke, her whole demeanor seemed to plummet instantly. He suggested, "Let's go for a walk in the garden outside?"
She nodded without saying anything.
The garden also belongs to the nursing home, and He Peiru judged upon entering that it was mostly used for leisure and recreation. At this time, the residents of the nursing home seemed to have separate arrangements, and there was no one to be seen on the lawn.
He Zhong's words eventually affected her emotions. She and Gu Zhaoqian remained silent the whole way. When she saw a garden bench, she turned her head and said, "I want to sit for a while."
"Please sit down."
He didn't say a word more than necessary, letting He Peiru do whatever she wanted.
However, once you stop, both the natural scenery before your eyes and the fresh air you breathe in the open space become mediums that trigger feelings of grievance.
The moment she sat down, He Peiru hunched forward, her head almost buried in her legs, and tears immediately streamed down her face like raindrops.
Then it turned into sobbing.
Today was the first time Gu Zhaoqian had met He Zhong, and unexpectedly, the atmosphere between him and He Peiru seemed to be on the verge of exploding the moment they met.
Although Gu Zhaoqian knew about their story, seeing is believing; only by experiencing it firsthand can one truly understand.
No wonder Jiang Yici was worried about letting her go alone. If no one was watching over her, she probably would have gotten into a conflict with He Zhong in the room.
Gu Zhaoqian's mind was filled with confusion. The familiar figure reminded him of the girl he had met in that back alley. She hadn't cried as desperately as He Peiru, but she had exuded the same sense of despair.
He sighed inwardly, thankful that he always carried tissues with him. He handed one to He Peiru and said, "Do you need a tissue? You can wipe your tears."
He knew better than anyone that in this situation, no amount of comfort would help; the only thing he could do was stay by her side.
However, He Peiru couldn't calm down at all. She held onto the door tightly and started talking to Gu Zhaoqian as if he were her confidant: "I thought that after moving out for so long after starting university, I wouldn't care if I saw him again. But when I opened the door, I realized that I would still be very sad."
"When I see him, I am reminded of the hardships I have endured in the past. I know that my parents must have left behind a lot of money, as well as the compensation we received later, but my grandfather is unwilling to spend any of it on me."
“You know, when I was in high school, he impersonated me and applied for financial aid in my name. He used the money he got to buy alcohol.”
For He Peiru now, the amount she needed back then was less than a fraction of the pocket money Jiang Yici gives her now, but the pain it caused is still fresh in her memory.
She continued, "No matter what I want to buy, I have to earn the money myself through part-time jobs, and then he scolds me when I get home at night..."
She became more and more upset as she spoke, as there was no end to what He Zhong had done.
He Peiru couldn't stop her tears. Gu Zhaoqian gently patted her back and whispered, "Consider it the end of suffering and the beginning of happiness. You'll never have to go through those things again."
“Besides…” he paused, “we won’t see him again.”
When He Peiru heard about He Zhong's current situation from Jiang Yici, she was not relieved; instead, she was overwhelmed with other complex emotions.
The weather was lovely today, and Gu Zhaoqian, not wanting her to dwell on her painful past, comforted her, saying, "If you'd like, feel free to come to me if you need an outlet for your sadness or grief in the future."
He Peiru's breathing finally calmed down. She wiped away her tears and nodded obediently, "Okay."
Meeting He Zhong just once had already exhausted He Peiru's energy, which immediately dispelled her idea of going back into the room, so she simply decided to leave.
Gu Zhaoqian naturally agreed with her approach.
On the way back to Repulse Bay, Gu Zhaoqian pondered whether it was necessary to comfort He Peiru or to start a new conversation to try and distract her.
When he turned around, he found that He Peiru had fallen asleep in her seat.
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