Chapter 4.04 Not Worth Mentioning
He Peiru finally came to her senses, and the scene from not long ago flashed through her mind.
The man leaning against the door had vanished. If she hadn't confirmed that the lighter was no longer in her pocket, she would have almost thought what had just happened was a dream.
Gradually, I realized what I had done impulsively.
He Peiru couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.
This lighter should have been hidden in the storage cabinet under the bed; her thought just now was too terrible, and it was really not suitable to carry it with her.
Fortunately, this item wasn't important; her father had simply left it lying around at home, and she only put it away later when she found it.
Otherwise, if He Zhong saw it, he would definitely sell it and use the money to buy wine.
If that man hadn't spoken up in time, He Peiru would have almost caused a major disaster, and she felt somewhat annoyed.
This also shows that she is not suited to keep a lighter.
But not only could she not see the man's face clearly, his voice also sounded muffled, as if through a layer of fog.
All she knew was that this was a complete stranger.
And the other person happens to be the only one in the world who knows that she is teetering on the brink of collapse.
He Peiru even forgot to say thank you.
All I remember is that tall, slender figure; he was probably a customer at the bar. I wonder if I'll ever see him again.
As more and more customers arrived and new tableware was brought in, she stopped thinking about it, quickly washed away her tears, and continued washing the tableware.
After calming down, He Peiru quickly composed herself.
Her life cannot be affected by He Zhong; she absolutely cannot entertain such thoughts again, lest she ultimately harm herself and those who are good to her.
She wants to do everything she can to live a better life.
He Zhong made no attempt to cover up his actions, as if he didn't think there was anything wrong with what he did.
When He Peiru returned home, she saw several more cases of beer next to the sofa. She was filled with hatred, but she only glanced at He Zhong with a calm and indifferent look.
Anyway, there's no point in saying more.
He Zhong, however, sneered at her while holding a beer bottle, saying, "Studying is good too; the funding I get is enough to buy me a lot of beer."
She had no intention of relying on this stubborn person anymore and went straight back to her room.
-
He Peiru's life went on. About a week later, Yu Yin asked her to help in the kitchen again.
She was so engrossed in the sound of running water and the rinsing of the dishes that she didn't notice anything else.
"Hmm?" A man's voice came from not far away. "It's you."
He Peiru hesitated and looked up. The man was standing in a backlit position, so she could only recognize him by his silhouette and apologize: "You're the one from that day..."
Gu Zhaoqian did not deny it, which she interpreted as an admission. She said softly, "Thank you for that day."
He dismissed it and asked, "You look quite young, are you still in middle school?"
"Yes." Since she was always facing strangers, He Peiru didn't dare to give a completely clear answer. She hesitated for a moment, "I'm in Form 5."
Gu Zhaoqian continued, "Doing part-time work to earn pocket money?"
Regardless of whether the man could see her or not, she instinctively shook her head: "It's to earn a living."
He Peiru had been in a bad mood lately, and an urge to confide in someone suddenly arose within her, and she blurted it out without realizing it.
Although the man seemed to mention it casually, she knew she wouldn't continue answering if he asked further questions.
Fortunately, he didn't say anything more.
He Peiru caught a glimpse of a scarlet light between the fingertips of the man not far away, but she was choked by the slowly drifting smoke and couldn't help but cough.
Gu Zhaoqian had made a point of observing before lighting the cigarette. Originally, the smoke wasn't blowing in her direction, but he hadn't anticipated that people would be going in and out of the other doors connecting to the back alley, which caused a gust of wind to blow in.
He stubbed out his cigarette: "Sorry."
The cigarette, in He Peiru's eyes, instantly transformed into currency of equal value. She shook her head violently: "It's okay, don't worry about me."
Gu Zhaoqian raised an eyebrow, finding her reaction somewhat strange.
Others would have thought his actions were considerate and would have immediately expressed their gratitude, but she showed resistance.
However, the details were none of his business, so he naturally wouldn't ask any further questions.
Seeing that her attention was focused on the stainless steel basin, Gu Zhaoqian turned around and walked back into the bar.
When Cui Haonian saw Gu Zhaoqian return, he asked, "You were just having a smoke, why did you take so long?"
"Nothing, just a little curious..." He poured half a glass of wine into his glass and replied, "What could be so infuriating that could make a teenage girl so disheartened that she's unafraid of life and death?"
“Oh?” Cui Haonian pondered for a moment and answered seriously, “At this age, they either argue with their families or have conflicts with their classmates, or there may be more complicated reasons.”
"I don't know, never mind." It's impolite to gossip about others in private like this. Gu Zhaoqian picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and said, "I should think about what I should do next."
"What else do you want to do?" Cui Haonian poured him some more wine. "Of course, we'll take over all the businesses your old man owns. Otherwise, if those women he keeps on the side really take over..."
Gu Zhaoqian placed the glass back on the table, the ice ball inside making a crisp sound as it collided with the glass.
He leaned back, mocking himself: "That's true, otherwise I'd have to rely on you if I got kicked out of my house one day."
Cui Haonian made a clinking motion with his glass, unable to laugh: "Don't joke like that."
-
Summer vacation has arrived in the blink of an eye.
Everyone He Peiru encountered while working part-time at Wu Yang showed her nothing but kindness.
When Yu Yin first introduced her to the company, she was clearly holding back. The tips she received each time she did a part-time job were much more than she had expected.
Looking at the ever-increasing numbers in her bank account, she genuinely felt that life was much easier than before.
He Peiru hadn't been helping out in the kitchen during this time. While standing at the reception desk outside Wuyang, she looked around but didn't see anyone who resembled the man she had met in the back alley.
Perhaps he was just one of the kind passersby, and she shouldn't overthink it.
Yu Yin now gives her much more concise instructions: "Aru, you'll help out in the kitchen today."
"no problem."
Anyway, it's not her turn to assist Wu Yang's professional chef. Going into the kitchen would only get in the way. Fortunately, she now quite likes the feeling of being alone in the back alley.
Moreover, it's possible that He Zhong felt guilty, or perhaps Feng Shiqi told her mother the whole story, and the neighbors scolded him.
Even though the grandfather and granddaughter still dislike each other, He Zhong has stopped scolding her recently.
He Peiru couldn't have been happier during this time.
Just as she was about to walk towards the dressing room, Yu Yin said again, "By the way, the Tsim Sha Tsui branch is about to open. You can work part-time there then."
"OK."
Yu Yin had previously told her the address of the branch she was preparing for, which was very close to her school, saving her a lot of money on bus fares.
This is excellent news.
He Peiru sat on the low stool as usual, and not long after, a sudden sound came from not far away.
The sound of a lighter igniting.
He Peiru looked up, trying to determine if it was the man in the absence of light.
The other person seemed to have recognized her, and waved the object in their hand, asking, "Should I return the lighter to you?"
"No need." The two seemed to be so familiar that they could skip the greeting. She shook her head. "I told you before that you don't need to pay me back."
"Yes, that's true."
Gu Zhaoqian put the lighter back in his pocket, and couldn't help but marvel at how calm she could be.
With nothing else to do, he tried to start a conversation with her: "You said last time that you were working to earn living expenses, but I haven't seen you lately?"
He Peiru hadn't expected him to be so observant. Now that she'd been discovered, there was no need for her to mince words. She replied, "I usually greet guests inside the restaurant and only occasionally come to the back to help out."
"I see." No wonder he had noticed several times while smoking that the person washing dishes in the back alley wasn't her. He continued, "How have you been lately?"
He Peiru, who had been living a relaxed life recently, tilted her head and replied, "It's fine."
"That's good." Gu Zhaoqian's mind still occasionally replayed the scene from that day, so he advised, "Don't have any more impulsive thoughts in the future."
Seeing that the pile of dishes in front of her was almost washed, He Peiru remembered Gu Zhaoqian's kindness and boldly asked, "Are you a customer from the bar next door?"
"Yes." Gu Zhaoqian felt that she wasn't just making conversation, so he asked in return, "Why do you ask that?"
She explained, "Because I feel like bar patrons don't come this early."
“That makes sense.” Gu Zhaoqian understood her doubts, so he told her, “It’s a bar owned by my friend, so it doesn’t matter when you come.”
"No wonder."
No wonder He Peiru saw him appear near dusk on all three occasions.
"Excuse me for asking," he continued, "since we've started chatting, why do you need to earn your own living expenses?"
She frankly admitted, "My parents have passed away, so I have to earn money by working part-time."
Gu Zhaoqian paused awkwardly, then said, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."
He Peiru wasn't ready to open up to him; they had only met three times, and she didn't even know his name.
She smiled and said, "After all, you saw it last time, so you must have found it strange."
“That’s right,” he admitted. “To be honest, I was quite startled by you at the time.”
She bit her lip, hesitated briefly, and then said, "I didn't have a good time during that period. My family, who I lived with, wouldn't let me continue my studies. After a lot of things piled up, I broke down."
Gu Zhaoqian finally understood how she felt at the time, and for a moment he felt compassion. He asked, "Have you solved your school problem now? If it really doesn't work, you can apply for legal aid."
"It's temporarily resolved, and this part-time job helped me a lot." Looking back now, He Peiru realizes that what she faced at the time was not a difficult hurdle, and she feels relieved from the bottom of her heart. "After getting through it, I found that many things are not as difficult to solve as I imagined."
He leaned against the door, seemingly no longer as heavy and helpless as before.
Immediately afterwards, He Peiru heard him sigh softly, "That's good."
Gu Zhaoqian wasn't kind enough to rescue her from her dire situation, but he couldn't bear to ask her a few more questions.
In comparison, the troubles he faces every day are insignificant.
A note from the author:
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The next chapter will be about the reunion (before)!
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