Chapter 28 Memory Retention
He Peiru originally wanted to tear open the outer gift wrapping, but she didn't know what was inside.
If she discovers any special meaning only after opening it, she will ruin that meaning.
She tried to cut the seal open with scissors, but found that the double-sided tape was stuck on very tightly. Compared to other gifts, it took her much more effort to open it.
He Peiru's heart was filled with a mixture of tension and doubt.
The outer layer of wrapping paper only makes the truth more obvious.
It was as if Gu Zhaoqian was deliberately being mysterious and playing coy with her.
Underneath the gift wrapping was a smoky gray square box, without a logo or a single word on it.
He Peiru knew that as long as she opened the lid, she would know what was inside the box.
But when she thought about how this was supposed to be a simple birthday gift, Gu Zhaoqian's attitude made things suddenly seem more complicated.
She glanced at her phone lying to the side, but knew Gu Zhaoqian would never tell her.
In the end, you still have to rely on yourself to resolve your confusion.
After taking a deep breath, He Peiru lifted the lid in one go.
—Then a lighter came into view.
Without even looking closely, the overwhelming sense of familiarity stirred up memories deep within her heart.
The lighter is covered with the marks left by the passage of time; in any case, this could not possibly be a coincidence.
He Peiru took the lighter out of the gift box in disbelief.
Since things had come to this, she had no choice but to first check if there was a string of English words engraved underneath.
She had no idea what had happened to the lighter, only that the writing on it had become even more blurred and indistinct, and that it was unlikely anyone but her could guess the meaning of the English words.
Looking down, I saw the familiar English outline and immediately recognized that it said Yannis.
It is Jiang Yiyan's English name.
This alone is enough to prove the reality, but she subconsciously wanted to see more and more convincing evidence.
He Peiru put the lighter back in the box and compared it with the details in her memory one by one under the light. There were no major differences in any of them.
The lighter that Gu Zhaoqian gave her could only be the one she threw away back then.
After going around in circles, it somehow ended up back in her hands.
He Peiru was stunned and speechless, unable to believe that such a coincidence could happen in the world.
Could it be that the person she met three times in the back alley was Gu Zhaoqian?
If it weren't for Yu Yin's appearance, she would have considered other possibilities.
But this lighter just so happens to be with Gu Zhaoqian. Since he gave it to her, he must have learned something about it during their interactions.
Connecting these events together, He Peiru finally had a clue what was going on, and everything seemed to make sense.
He Peiru suddenly realized what was happening.
So the person she had always remembered was actually Gu Zhaoqian; the blurry silhouette in the dimly lit alley was finally found.
Shocked, she still wanted a definite answer from him.
He Peiru knew that her emotions were too complicated at the moment, and even if she spoke, she would find it difficult to sort out her thoughts, so she simply gave up the idea of calling him directly and chose to send him a message instead.
Why is the lighter with you?
[Have you kept your lighter all this time?]
Why did you return the lighter to me?
She typed several sentences into the message box, but he deleted them all immediately.
After thinking it over, He Peiru decided to talk to Feng Shiqi first.
Take this opportunity to calm yourself down.
He Peiru: [I know who that person is.]
Feng Shiqi: [Who is it!?]
The familiarity between the two needs no further explanation.
He Peiru: [Gu Zhaoqian.]
Feng Shiqi: [?]
Feng Shiqi: [Are you really not kidding me!?]
He Peiru could imagine her reaction at that moment, which was like a thunderclap from a clear sky.
He Peiru: [No, it's true.]
Feng Shiqi: [No way? I was right?]
She had only guessed that such a possibility existed, but she never expected it to come true, especially since it happened to be with He Peiru, who was one of the closest people to her.
He Peiru naturally recalled Feng Shiqi's words of encouragement back then, which could even be described as having reached an unbelievable point.
Perhaps this is what people mean when they say that the absurdity of reality is far more exciting than drama.
Now that the facts are clearly laid out before us, Gu Zhaoqian knows that the lighter belongs to her, and he must have already learned about other things as well.
Thinking about this, He Peiru realized that what occupied her heart more was her inability to face Gu Zhaoqian. But since she had already opened the gift, she still needed to let Gu Zhaoqian know.
He Peiru opened the dialog box again and retyped the text.
He Peiru: [So that person back then was you.]
He Peiru: [Is that right?]
She added what seemed like a lack of confidence, but in reality, the truth had already been revealed in the previous sentence.
-
Family-oriented.
Gu Zhaoqian looked at Jiang Yici, who was walking into the study, and his expression did not become more relaxed at all because of his appearance. He simply said, "Uncle Jiang."
After receiving the call, Jiang Yici drove over in a hurry, afraid that He Peiru, who had just arrived home, would notice anything amiss.
"You told me on the phone that it was related to Aru?" He pulled out a chair and sat down without any politeness, asking, "So you called me over in such a hurry to be your strategist?"
Gu Zhaoqian helplessly spread his hands and told him, "It's because you don't trust other people."
He then asked, "Where is Cui Haonian?"
Gu Zhaoqian shook his head and replied, "I don't want to count on someone who breaks up with his girlfriends in less than three months every time."
He couldn't help but chuckle after saying that.
Jiang Yici clicked his tongue and, speaking from an elder's perspective, complained, "You two really are something else, making me help you and also watching over Aru..."
Even if it's out of necessity, he will still do his best to help when needed.
Gu Zhaoqian smiled, showing no sign of feeling uncomfortable about it.
Looking at him like this, Jiang Yici felt a surge of disappointment and frustration. Suddenly, she remembered the question he had overlooked: "Wait... how did you remind Aru?"
Now he was willing to tell Jiang Yici, saying, "It's something that will remind her of something when she sees it, so I gave it to her as an extra birthday present."
Jiang Yici was completely taken aback by his actions and asked again, "What is it?"
He waved his hand and replied, "I can't tell you."
"Okay, you guys are pretty mysterious." Jiang Yici didn't necessarily need him to give an answer, but just casually asked out of curiosity, "So, did Aru open the gift you gave her?"
Gu Zhaoqian looked at his phone screen and calculated the time. He said with great confidence, "Uncle Jiang, you're already here. I guess Aru will tear it down soon after she goes back."
His answer clearly left Jiang Yi speechless, and she couldn't help but sigh, "If you had said so earlier, I wouldn't have come."
Gu Zhaoqian knew that Jiang Yici did not approve of his handling of the matter, but he would still express his opinion when he needed help, so he said, "How can that be? It's more important to see your attitude, Uncle Jiang."
Now all he has to do is wait.
For some reason, based on his understanding of He Peiru, he was absolutely confident in this matter.
Not long after, Gu Zhaoqian's phone rang with a new message notification.
Jiang Yici looked up and asked, "This should be Aru now, right?"
He quickly picked up his phone, read the text clearly, and told Jiang Yici, "She opened the gift."
Jiang Yici, as if he had heard nonsense, his face practically screaming "speechless," asked, "And then?"
He said, "Should I tell Aru what I learned from Auntie?"
"You should have said so sooner." Jiang Yici was unusually surprised. "I was even thinking of helping you yesterday, but you ended up keeping this up your sleeve?"
Gu Zhaoqian laughed heartily and said to him, "Isn't this what you taught me, Uncle Jiang? I'm just putting it into practice."
After finishing his sentence, he pushed the stack of documents on the table and asked, "What do you think of this Hung Hom project?"
Jiang Yici picked up the document, quickly skimmed through its contents, and then looked up to ask, "If it's a real estate project, I could consider it, but the rate of return is hard to say. But why did you come to consider that area?"
After a moment, Gu Zhaoqian replied, "This land is very close to the housing estate where Aru used to live. My plan is to build a private building here."
He didn't explain it very clearly, but Jiang Yici quickly understood and frowned, saying, "What exactly are you thinking? Do you mean you can go to this lengths for Aru?"
Gu Zhaoqian shook his head: "I just want to help her preserve some memories that can't be erased. That short childhood and all the good people she met are worth remembering."
He further emphasized, "That's all."
Jiang Yici now fully understood what it meant to be a formidable young talent, and decisively handed the decision back to him, saying, "You decide for yourself."
He knew that Gu Zhaoqian always had his own ideas, and the reason he had called him over to the Gu family today was probably to take this opportunity to get his consent.
Now that Gu Zhaoqian had achieved his goal, there was no need for him to stay any longer. He then said, "I'm going back. You can handle the rest yourself."
“Okay.” Jiang Yici did not object, which was tantamount to agreeing. Gu Zhaoqian didn’t hesitate to flatter him further, “Thank you for your hard work, Uncle Jiang.”
After he left the study to see Jiang Yici off, he turned around, checked the text he had just typed on his phone, and then pressed the send button.
Gu Zhaoqian: [That's right, it's me.]
-
When He Peiru saw these five words on the screen, she couldn't help but wonder if fate had already written the script, which was why such absurd things happened.
Although she knew that there were no "what ifs" in many things, she wondered if she could have returned to the Jiang family sooner if she and Gu Zhaoqian had met earlier.
However, this assumption seems unlikely to hold true, since the underlying issues cannot be explained in just a few words.
He Peiru knew that the moment she clicked into the chat box, Gu Zhaoqian's notification had already been marked as read. However, she was currently filled with confusion and bewilderment, and even if she wanted to ask a question, she didn't know where to begin.
After much thought, she typed out the question she most wanted to know.
If we can get an answer, then the rest of the questions can probably be easily solved.
He Peiru: [Why did you return the lighter to me?]
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