Chapter 43 Rumors
He Peiru only realized after watching Gu Zhaoqian pull out the chair that her actions were indeed too bold.
But now that things have come to this, she can only face reality.
Gu Zhaoqian's direct question actually calmed her down more than ever before.
He Peiru didn't rush to answer. Instead, she picked up two glasses and slowly poured flower tea into them.
Then she said softly, "I thought... this matter wasn't important to you."
"..." Gu Zhaoqian paused, his hand still holding the glass, and asked, "Where did you get this misconception?"
He wanted to press for answers, but he was unsure of He Peiru's attitude, so he could only keep telling himself that he needed to calm down.
I reminded myself once again not to rush things.
He Peiru replied, "Because I assumed that my uncle had already told you about this, but you didn't mention it at all, so that's how I came to this conclusion..."
Her explanation was reasonable and well-founded, and it was indeed a very normal idea, so Gu Zhaoqian naturally couldn't find any flaws in it.
He seemed somewhat helpless, but he relaxed considerably and said earnestly, word by word, "Although flying from Hong Kong to the UK isn't exactly troublesome, it's still a very important matter regardless."
Despite the seemingly ambiguous topic, the two of them discussed it with serious expressions.
This gave Gu Zhaoqian the illusion that he was sitting at the negotiating table.
He Peiru's girlish feelings had mostly dissipated because of their conversation, so she mustered up her courage and asked, "So were you angry just now?"
Gu Zhaoqian did not deny it, but nodded: "A little."
Otherwise, he wouldn't have impulsively appeared outside her room out of sheer passion.
"But you..."
She had an urge to press him for the reason he was angry.
However, Gu Zhaoqian didn't let her continue, and asked, "When did you start planning to study in the UK?"
She couldn't tell Gu Zhaoqian her true thoughts, so she could only vaguely reply, "I've had this idea since I returned to the Jiang family. I still want to continue my studies."
Putting everything else aside, Gu Zhaoqian would wholeheartedly support her considerations, but if other factors were taken into account…
He didn't reveal his emotions too obviously, and said as calmly as possible, "That's a good idea, but what are your plans for the future?"
"I haven't thought that far ahead..."
The decision to go to the UK had already kept her so busy that she didn't have the energy to think about anything else.
Gu Zhaoqian wasn't surprised: "Yes, we can think about it slowly, there's no rush."
She seemed to have a hallucination, as if she saw a hint of loneliness flash across the man's face.
He then added, "However, it won't be as easy to see each other in the future as it is now."
Without a second thought, He Peiru instinctively retorted, "Isn't it no different from this period of time?"
Unexpectedly, these words made Gu Zhaoqian laugh. He smiled and looked to be in a good mood: "I thought you would not care."
Her words, spoken reflexively, revealed her truest thoughts.
He Peiru was somewhat annoyed.
She thought she was calm enough, but she didn't expect to inadvertently expose herself. She couldn't even remember how many times this had happened.
She didn't want to be stubborn anymore; arguing would only confirm what she had inadvertently said earlier.
He Peiru just wants to kick Gu Zhaoqian out of the room right now.
Every time I'm alone with him, no matter what we talk about, the conversation always takes an unexpected turn.
She bit her lip and asked, "Is there... anything else you want to say?"
Gu Zhaoqian was absolutely certain that He Peiru was trying to get rid of him, so he didn't intend to end the conversation and leave so quickly. He couldn't help but chuckle and said, "Have you forgotten even the most basic things like your school, major, and address in England..."
You didn't tell me any of this.
He investigated further and found that she absolutely wouldn't leave unless he told her.
Now that things had come to this, He Peiru could no longer object to the man's actions, and she earnestly recounted all the information.
Once he had explained everything, Gu Zhaoqian stopped asking questions and seemed to be in a good mood: "That's about right."
Why was Gu Zhaoqian so concerned about this matter, and why did He Peiru explain it to him in such detail?
The two seemed to have an unspoken agreement not to reveal anything, but they both knew the reason perfectly well.
Gu Zhaoqian felt it was time for him to go back. Before standing up, he thought of a crucial question: "Has the flight to England been confirmed yet?"
She shook her head: "Not sure yet."
"good."
Gu Zhaoqian wanted to continue speaking, but was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Huh?" Now it was He Peiru's turn to wonder who it was. She didn't want anyone to know that Gu Zhaoqian was in her room if she wasn't sure. "I'll go take a look."
He nodded, showing no displeasure at being interrupted: "Go ahead."
Perhaps feeling a little guilty, He Peiru responded while only daring to open a small crack in the door to peek at who was standing outside.
The moment she saw the hem of his clothes, her heart tightened, but she forced herself to remain calm and asked, "Uncle, is something wrong?"
Jiang Yici wasn't unwilling to consider her feelings at this moment, but considering that Gu Zhaoqian had been in her room for almost half an hour, the most urgent thing was to call him away first.
He asked, "Where's Ah Qian? Is he in your room?"
Jiang Yici's matter-of-fact attitude left He Peiru speechless, and she could only awkwardly reply, "...Yes."
Hearing the noise by the door, Gu Zhaoqian got up and walked over. There was no embarrassment on his face at all about being caught, and he asked frankly, "What's wrong, Uncle Jiang?"
Jiang Yici asked bluntly, "Have you finished talking with Aru? Come out now."
Even though he turned a blind eye to Gu Zhaoqian's actions, he still felt that he had the right and the right to reprimand Gu Zhaoqian.
It wasn't because he was dissatisfied with Gu Zhaoqian. On the contrary, as far as he knew, He Peiru had never dated before. Even if Gu Zhaoqian was the most suitable candidate, he still hoped that she would make a decision after meeting more people and seeing a wider world.
He Peiru discreetly observed Jiang Yici's expression, hesitating whether or not to speak up in defense of Gu Zhaoqian. Fortunately, he did not show any displeasure, but his expression was still far from pleasant.
She opened her mouth, still somewhat at a loss, and said, "Uncle..."
As expected, reality always takes an unexpected turn.
Jiang Yici softened his tone: "It's nothing, my uncle just needs to talk to him about some work-related matters."
After saying that, he raised an eyebrow at Gu Zhaoqian.
He Peiru believed Jiang Yici's words completely and quickly replied, "Then you all go ahead and get busy!"
Then Gu Zhaoqian chuckled, seemingly helplessly, and replied, "We're done talking."
He Peiru watched the two walk downstairs in a daze. It was obvious that Gu Zhaoqian still had something to say, and it seemed that even if he wanted to know, he would have to wait until next time.
-
Jiang Yici and Gu Zhaoqian walked downstairs one after the other.
After entering the study and making sure the door was completely closed, Jiang Yici said what he didn't want He Peiru to hear: "I can't control what you do, but don't push your luck."
Gu Zhaoqian replied seriously, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
He snorted: "Your actions tonight don't seem like you have any sense of propriety at all."
“Uncle Jiang, you know me.” He revealed a nonchalant smile, “If I hadn’t been careful, things wouldn’t be like this.”
Jiang Yici fell silent immediately.
He wasn't unfamiliar with Gu Zhaoqian's lack of tact; otherwise, people in the industry wouldn't be so wary of him, fearing they might accidentally offend him.
"You do have a good sense of self-awareness." Jiang Yici's expression gradually became serious. "Don't forget to deal with those rumors circulating in private, so as not to affect Aru."
"knew."
Gu Zhaoqian had previously ignored the matter because he was curious about He Peiru's reaction and attitude.
There's no longer a need to use such indirect methods; it's essential to shut out these seemingly true but actually false statements.
-
He Peiru closed the door again, her gaze falling on the glass filled with flower tea that had been placed in front of Gu Zhaoqian.
She didn't know when it became empty; perhaps when she went to open the door, the man drank the contents of the bottle in one gulp.
She took a deep breath and called Sophia in to tidy up.
Once the room was back to normal, she picked up her phone again.
He Peiru: [I just let Brother Qian into the room.]
They knew something must have happened when they suddenly disappeared while they were having a nice chat.
But I never expected that the progress would be so rapid, like a rocket launch.
Fang Xiaoxin: [How dare you!!]
Feng Shiqi: [Tell us what happened!?]
He Peiru briefly recounted what had just happened in writing, a story so outrageous that even she, as one of the parties involved, couldn't help but marvel at its absurdity.
Feng Shiqi: [You two are just one step away from making your relationship official.]
Fang Xiaoxin: [Isn't this stage just being in an ambiguous state? We're not actually dating yet, so this is a perfect opportunity to get to know each other better.]
Without a full understanding of each other, their relationship is indeed very likely to be difficult to maintain.
She remembered those things that were on her mind.
Despite her two friends' previous comforting words, she couldn't help but overthink and just wanted to ask Gu Zhaoqian in person.
Even though there was no one else in the room, He Peiru tiptoed out onto the balcony, intending to use this as a way to determine whether Gu Zhaoqian had left the Jiang family.
If he had already left, she wanted to send him a message to ask him what he hadn't finished saying.
However, He Peiru forgot that Gu Zhaoqian had gone directly to the Jiang family home in Jiang Yici's car, and he had many options and ways to get home, so she had to give up the idea.
She could always contact Gu Zhaoqian later.
He Peiru had just sat down on the sofa again when her phone popped up with several new messages.
Gu Zhaoqian: [Actually, I've heard all the rumors circulating lately. It's not that I'm deliberately ignoring them, but I feel that responding would be like indirectly satisfying some people's voyeuristic desires, so I've chosen to handle it quietly.]
Gu Zhaoqian: [Many things can't be explained in just a few words, but I can assure you that all of this is based on the premise that you are you, and not on any other reason.]
After carefully reading the text that almost filled the entire screen, He Peiru was stunned and had no idea how to respond.
The messages popped up as if Gu Zhaoqian had already edited them and then sent them to her all at once.
It turns out that he not only cared about these things, but also had his own standards of judgment from the very beginning.
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