Chapter 25, Part 25: The Same Cake
He Peiru eventually forgot about the gift.
Even if she was tempted, even if she was really curious about what was inside, she still felt that the time was not right, and that she should let things take their course or wait for the right opportunity to open it.
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The following afternoon.
He Peiru was idly leaning against the sofa in her room, about to turn on her computer to look at online travel destinations to make further preparations, when her phone, which was lying next to her, rang. She picked it up and looked at it.
Gu Zhaoqian: [Did you send my suit jacket to the dry cleaners?]
She had finally managed to clear her head, but unexpectedly, Gu Zhaoqian contacted her. She immediately sat up straight and quickly replied.
He Peiru: [Yes, do you need it now?]
He Peiru: [I'd like to ask the Filipino maid when the dry cleaning will be finished.]
Just as she was about to get up and call Sophia, her actions were interrupted by the newly received reply.
Gu Zhaoqian: [No need, I'm at your house right now.]
Gu Zhaoqian: [I was just asking casually. I'm not in a hurry. I'll pick it up next time I come back after it's washed.]
He Peiru stopped moving. She wanted to go downstairs to see what Gu Zhaoqian was doing, but she didn't seem to have a suitable excuse.
Perhaps they were discussing work-related matters.
It seems pointless for her to just sit there.
not to mention.
Gu Zhaoqian didn't ask her if she was home, perhaps because he didn't care. It was better for her to pretend she didn't care about the question either.
She frowned and quickly typed on the screen.
He Peiru: [I'll let you know as soon as the dry cleaning is finished.]
Gu Zhaoqian did not answer her question; instead, other content popped up on the screen.
Gu Zhaoqian: [Aren't you home right now?]
She was somewhat taken aback.
He Peiru: [Yes, what's up?]
Gu Zhaoqian: [It's nothing, I just thought you went out because of your reaction.]
She naturally couldn't reveal her true thoughts.
Anyway, making up an excuse was not difficult for her, so she just randomly chose a relatively reasonable one to reply.
He Peiru: [I was preparing my thesis, and it seemed there was nothing urgent going on downstairs, so I didn't go down.]
Gu Zhaoqian: [So that's how it is.]
Looking at the messages Gu Zhaoqian sent, He Peiru didn't want to think about them anymore.
But he was like a mind reader, able to guess her thoughts perfectly.
The feeling of being exposed left He Peiru momentarily at a loss for words.
She simply put her phone aside again and then actually turned on her computer, continuing to organize the data used in her paper according to the instructions on her phone.
However, as soon as she opened the document, she was greeted by a bunch of tedious and complicated procedures. Just staring at the screen was enough to make her eyes sore.
But involuntarily, she thought of Gu Zhaoqian.
Since he appeared at the Jiang family's residence, he must have come to see Jiang Yici for a different reason.
Anyway, these things usually have nothing to do with her.
He Peiru tried her best to calm down and refocus her attention.
Just as she looked back at the computer screen, there was a knock on the door.
She asked, somewhat puzzled, "Who is it?"
Sophia's voice came from outside the door: "Miss, it's me."
In the brief few seconds of waiting for a reply, He Peiru had unrealistic hopes, which were often dashed by reality.
She replied, "Just come in, what's wrong?"
He Peiru watched as the door opened from the outside, and Sophia walked in with a tray, saying, "Miss, here are two cakes and Earl Grey tea."
"Huh?" She looked at the two delicate cakes on the tray with a puzzled expression and asked, "Where did these cakes come from? Did your uncle buy them when he came back?"
Logically speaking, even if Jiang Yici were to return from the company, it wouldn't necessarily be on his way.
If I had been prepared, I would have told her in advance for convenience, but I didn't today.
Sophia shook her head and told her, "It was brought by Young Master Gu. He thought you would like it, so Mr. Jiang instructed me to bring the cake up."
He Peiru murmured, "Like this..."
She was taken aback to learn that it was Gu Zhaoqian who had given the order, and worried that Sophia would notice her unusual behavior, so she quickly said, "I understand, just put it on the table."
"OK."
Sophia put down the tray, arranged it, and then turned and left the room.
He Peiru only looked down at the two cakes on the plate after she heard the door close.
It was obvious that she didn't need to check separately to be certain that it came from the cake shop she and Feng Shiqi had eaten at in Tsim Sha Tsui last time.
Moreover, both of these flavors were ones she had never tried before.
He Peiru immediately recalled the day she ran into Gu Zhaoqian while eating cake; back then, their relationship was nowhere near as close as it is now.
Was he doing it on purpose?
He Peiru couldn't understand it, nor did she know why he did it, so she could only guess.
Maybe he just happened to be passing by when he bought it.
After she sat down, she stopped paying attention to the pile of data on the computer screen.
Regardless of Gu Zhaoqian's reasons for choosing this cake shop, she should remain clear-headed and rational in both reason and emotion.
He Peiru: [Sophia told me you brought the cake, thank you.]
Gu Zhaoqian replied quickly, giving her no chance to put down her phone.
Gu Zhaoqian: [What did she tell you?]
He Peiru: [Huh?]
He Peiru: [She just said that the cake was brought by you...]
The last sentence was, "She didn't want to be presumptuous."
Gu Zhaoqian: [Hmm.]
You can't tell anything just by looking at one word.
Unable to fathom his emotions, He Peiru simply put her phone aside once again and began eating the cake without any hesitation.
The two cakes that Gu Zhaoqian brought were sweet but not cloying, and had a very rich texture. Each flavor had its own unique characteristics, which were exactly the type she liked. It was no wonder that she could finish them without any trouble.
However, when she put down her fork and glanced at the suddenly lit screen, she noticed that Gu Zhaoqian had sent her another message.
Gu Zhaoqian: [You can try them and see if you like either of these flavors.]
He Peiru immediately grabbed her phone in a flurry of activity.
He Peiru: [I've already finished eating what I liked. I didn't see the message just now...]
Gu Zhaoqian: [It's alright.]
He replies almost instantly.
When the message popped up, He Peiru immediately held her breath, and for a moment she had the illusion that Gu Zhaoqian had been waiting for her reply.
At the same time, the thought made her feel hot all over, and even though she was alone in the room, she turned her head away somewhat awkwardly.
She seemed to want to get away from her phone so that she could eliminate the influence Gu Zhaoqian had on her.
He Peiru's silence made the room even quieter. She vaguely heard the sound of a car starting and tiptoed to the balcony to look outside.
It was indeed Gu Zhaoqian's car.
He Peiru watched the sports car drive away from the Jiang family's residence and inexplicably felt a sense of relief.
She turned back to look at the empty plates on the table with a sigh of relief. She didn't plan to call Sophia up to clear them away, but instead wanted to go downstairs to get some fresh air and check on the situation downstairs.
As soon as she came down the stairs, she saw Jiang Yici sitting on the sofa and called out, "Uncle."
Jiang Yici looked over and replied, "Why don't you ask Sophia to go up and collect it?"
His words reminded He Peiru, who quickly realized what was happening, and asked as if she knew nothing about it, "Where's Brother Qian?"
“Just got back.” Jiang Yici seemed to have something to say, so He Peiru stopped and waited for him to continue. “I was originally going to have Sophia call you down.”
She handed the plate to Sophia, who had come forward, and asked, "What's wrong?"
Jiang Yici stood up unhurriedly and simply replied, "Let's talk in the study."
He Peiru's heart had just calmed down when Jiang Yici's reaction made her heart leap again.
It should be noted that her uncle only called her into his study a handful of times.
She followed Jiang Yici, feeling lost, until they sat down on either side of the desk. Jiang Yici finally spoke slowly, "How was it attending the charity gala with Aqian?"
The image of him standing on the stage giving his speech flashed through He Peiru's mind. Still dominated by the emotion called being moved, she dared not say more, but instead chose to omit a lot and answered, "It's fine."
Jiang Yici continued, "So, what does Aru think of him?"
She hadn't expected to hear this question from Jiang Yici. Suppressing her inexplicable emotions, she replied casually, "He's a nice person. What's wrong?"
Jiang Yici did not answer immediately, but remained in the same position as before, looking at her seemingly calmly.
It was as if they wanted to see a flaw in her face.
He Peiru tried her best to remain calm, and miraculously, she could read the troubled look on Jiang Yici's face, but she did not intend to speak.
After a while, he finally spoke, continuing, "Do you know about the rumors circulating about our marriage alliance with the Gu family?"
She paused in her instinctive act of speaking, for a fleeting moment certain that Jiang Yici was asking a question she already knew the answer to, and felt that all the pretense she had put into front of Jiang Yici seemed so powerless.
He Peiru couldn't guess his intentions, and figured there was no point in hiding it, so she bit her lip and said, "I know."
Jiang Yici nodded and then asked, "What do you think of this statement?"
She never expected that Jiang Yici would directly throw the question at her.
He Peiru carefully considered how to begin without revealing her thoughts, but under Jiang Yici's gaze, she opened her mouth and said, "I..."
After uttering the word, she felt her mind go blank, completely clueless about how to respond.
Especially since Jiang Yici had never mentioned a similar issue so directly before, several possibilities immediately came to He Peiru's mind.
Seeing her reaction, Jiang Yici didn't intend to force her to give a specific answer. He smiled and said, "Let me ask you another way: do you mind those rumors?"
He Peiru gently shook her head and replied, "No."
Two simple words seemed too weak, so she replied again, "Anyway, it's not true, so whether I mind or not doesn't seem to make much difference."
Jiang Yici hadn't expected his niece to be so blunt. He fiddled with the pen on his desk and said, "Have you ever thought about..."
"What if these rumors come true someday?"
He Peiru asked in surprise, "What?"
When she looked up, she met her uncle's calm and composed gaze.
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Author's note: My uncle still got involved, but I don't know how things will turn out :)
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