Chapter 45 Feeling Guilty
On the day of the graduation ceremony, the sun shone brightly on Hong Kong Island.
Fortunately, the rain that Ho Pui-yu was worried about did not come. If they had been unlucky enough to encounter a typhoon, and the Observatory hoisted Typhoon Signal No. 3 or No. 8, this important day might have been canceled or postponed.
She breathed a sigh of relief from the bottom of her heart.
Friends and family who want to attend her graduation ceremony cannot simply show up in person; they need tickets to get in.
He Peiru was allocated three tickets to the graduation ceremony.
She decided to give it to the two elderly people and Jiang Yici, as for Gu Zhaoqian's...
I was thinking of asking a classmate I know if they had any extra tickets.
However, before she could take any action, Gu Zhaoqian, as if he had expected it, sent her a message first.
Gu Zhaoqian: [Are there any extra graduation ceremony tickets? I've already contacted someone to arrange them.]
Gu Zhaoqian: [If you still don't have enough tickets, I have some left over.]
He didn't want his presence to cause any burden to He Peiru. There was no need to let her expend extra energy on things that his assistant could handle.
After seeing the news, He Peiru felt that Gu Zhaoqian could read her mind.
How could someone guess her plans so accurately?
He Peiru: [I really didn't have enough tickets to go around...]
Gu Zhaoqian: [That's good. If you have any other questions, please let me know.]
He Peiru's major's graduation ceremony was scheduled as the first event, starting at 10 a.m., which saved her the trouble of getting up too early.
Because graduates need to make other preparations, she didn't wait for the others and returned to school alone ahead of time.
Since she could contact them by phone, and there were also Jiang Yici and Gu Zhaoqian, who were very familiar with the University of Hong Kong, she naturally had nothing to worry about.
When she was all ready and sat down in the auditorium where the graduation ceremony was being held, she could finally take out her phone and send a message to Gu Zhaoqian, which was perfectly natural for her.
He Peiru: [Have you arrived? Where are you sitting?]
The first floor of the auditorium was filled with graduates, while the second floor was reserved for their families.
He Peiru didn't intend to turn back and search blindly; at a distance, it probably wouldn't be easy to spot her.
Gu Zhaoqian: [We've arrived. The first row on the left side of the second-floor audience seating area, facing the stage.]
His reply was simple and clear, especially since the audience was already packed with people, making both the man's words and his location easy to spot.
He Peiru turned her head with minimal movement and looked in Gu Zhaoqian's direction, immediately spotting the man waiting for her to turn around.
She was startled, then gave a somewhat reserved smile.
Her elders seemed to be flipping through the distributed brochures or chatting, completely unaware of what was happening between them.
He Peiru quickly looked away and picked up her phone again.
He Peiru: [I thought you wouldn't sit so close to the front, but would choose seats further back.]
Gu Zhaoqian: [Your mother-in-law said the closer you sit to the front, the better, so you can see clearly.]
They were indeed seated in the front row among the family members, a fact that warmed her heart.
He Peiru wanted to reply, but then she saw a new message pop up on the screen.
Gu Zhaoqian: [Stop playing on your phone. It's almost time for you to get ready to go on stage.]
She simply stopped replying and put her phone away.
Sure enough, a few minutes later it was He Peiru's turn to wait in line. Although there was indeed a waiting order, she was still touched by Gu Zhaoqian's thoughtfulness.
However, when she stepped onto the stage, the tight schedule left her no time to think. Bowing, receiving her diploma, turning the tassel, shaking hands, and taking photos—the whole series of actions was done in one go, and it was over before she could even react.
He Peiru stared blankly at her graduation certificate. While waiting to leave, she subconsciously looked towards the second floor, in the direction she had looked at not long ago.
Without exception, all her family and friends were watching her intently, as if they were all waiting for this moment to meet her gaze.
Although they were a little far apart, the smiles on their faces didn't lie; at this moment, they were all genuinely happy for her.
Feeling loved, He Peiru felt courage grow in her heart, and her boldness swelled up. She smiled and waved her graduation certificate at them.
The life she once dared not hope for has now become a reality.
While feeling a sense of unreality, He Peiru also felt that she was the happiest person in the world at that moment.
After the ceremony, there will be free time.
He Peiru came out of the Great Hall of the People and saw Gu Zhaoqian after walking a few steps, but there was no one else with him.
She asked in confusion, "Where are my uncle, grandpa, and grandma?"
“There are a lot of people here,” Gu Zhaoqian replied. “They’ll wait for you in a more open area ahead.”
"Then let's go find them."
After four years of university life, He Peiru finally put on her graduation gown. Moreover, there is only one graduation ceremony for each stage of life, and now she has her loving family by her side. She just wants to quickly record it with her camera.
Just as she was about to take a step, Gu Zhaoqian said, "Wait."
"What's wrong?" She thought she was too anxious and had forgotten about other plans.
Gu Zhaoqian produced a bouquet of blue flowers from somewhere and handed it to her, saying, "Happy graduation."
He Peiru was completely unaware that he was holding something else in his hand. After realizing what was happening, she quickly took it from him and said, "Thank you."
The fragrance of several kinds of flowers instantly filled her nostrils, and she carefully examined the bouquet of flowers in her arms.
It is wrapped with different varieties and shades of blue flowers, with a Disney graduation doll in the center. If you look closely, you can see that the doll's name is embroidered under the collar of its graduation gown.
He Peiru had heard of this series of Disney figurines before, as they were very popular among students when she was in secondary school, but this was the first time she had ever owned one in person.
Gu Zhaoqian looked down at her movements and saw that she had already discovered the name on the front, so he continued to remind her, "There are also embroidered words on the back. You can take them off and take a look when you get home."
He initially wanted to send her a bouquet of plush toys, but then he thought there would be many opportunities to do so in the future, while her university graduation ceremony was a once-in-a-lifetime event.
It would be better to bring up the story of "giving flowers to He Peiru for the first time" today.
After all, he didn't know if He Peiru had received flowers from other people before.
He Peiru's mind was filled with the joy brought by the bouquet of flowers.
This was the first time she had ever officially received flowers, and she never imagined it would be under such circumstances, especially from Gu Zhaoqian.
She unconsciously hugged the bouquet of flowers tighter, tilted her head back, and grinned, saying, "Thank you."
People were coming and going around them, which didn't affect the two of them at all, but He Peiru suddenly realized that she seemed to be in the center of a whirlpool. She said softly, "Let's go find Grandma and the others."
"Okay." Gu Zhaoqian continued in a low voice, "And... never mind."
Other surprises will have to wait for her to discover them herself.
He Peiru never pressed for answers to these abruptly ended questions; even if doubts crossed her mind, she never intended to ask further.
Instead, she quietly followed Gu Zhaoqian's steps and walked out.
After walking a short distance, she noticed that the entire Jiang family was looking in her direction.
The eye-catching bouquet she was holding naturally became an unmissable presence.
While waiting, the Jiang family also had the bouquets they had prepared for He Peiru delivered one by one.
Unexpectedly, Gu Zhaoqian acted even faster.
Although Jiang Yici smiled, He Peiru felt it wasn't genuine. He said, "I told you to wait for Aru, and you actually delivered the flowers first?"
Gu Zhaoqian had always been reserved in front of the two elders of the Jiang family and did not intend to refute Jiang Yici's sarcastic remark.
On the contrary, Zheng Wanqiao glared at her son and then spoke up in defense, saying, "Qian is one of us too, what's the big deal?"
This statement made He Peiru lower her eyes and look at the bouquet in her arms.
And I felt guilty.
She silently hoped that Zheng Wanqiao was unaware of her relationship with Gu Zhaoqian.
Fortunately, they only regarded it as a minor incident, and apart from Gu Zhaoqian, no one else thought there was anything wrong with his actions.
Even though the first bouquet He Peiru received came from Gu Zhaoqian, she felt there was no need to distinguish between first and last; every bouquet symbolized everyone's love for her.
Seeing that she was surrounded by bouquets of various styles, Zheng Wanqiao nodded with satisfaction and added, "We also prepared graduation gifts for Aru, and Sophia put them in your room. You can open them slowly when you get home."
Next comes the most important thing today.
Taking advantage of He Peiru wearing her graduation gown, they planned to take a special family photo.
Throughout the entire process, Gu Zhaoqian watched quietly from the side, not only not disturbing the process, but also seemingly deliberately minimizing his presence.
He Peiru could clearly sense that his emotions seemed to have changed somewhat from before, but it was an emotion she couldn't understand.
Just then, Jiang Yici's voice rang in his ears: "Aqian, come here."
Jiang Yici's sudden words caught Gu Zhaoqian off guard, and then he heard him continue, "Come and take a picture with us too."
Gu Zhaoqian naturally couldn't refuse, and as a junior, he was standing right next to He Peiru.
Everything seemed so natural.
Then He Peiru took individual photos with them. When it was Gu Zhaoqian's turn, she tried her best to put aside her awkward feelings and wanted to make good memories.
The Jiang family did not intend to spend the rest of the time with He Peiru, but rather to give her some personal space. They simply told her, "Aru, go and play with your friends and classmates. We'll have lunch together later."
She nodded: "Okay."
Even though he had already arranged for someone to take the bouquets back to the car around the right time, Gu Zhaoqian still seemed a little uneasy: "Do you want me to stay here and help you?"
He Peiru shook her head abruptly and refused without hesitation, saying, "No need, you should just walk around with your uncle and the others."
Her intention wasn't to get rid of Gu Zhaoqian, but rather...
She felt uneasy because there were always menacing eyes watching her from all sides.
Gu Zhaoqian wasn't unable to understand, and he smiled helplessly, but still agreed with her statement.
One by one, He Peiru's classmates came up to take photos with her. Those who were closer to her boldly said, "Young Master Gu was here just now, I didn't dare to come over and take a picture with you..."
"His aura is a bit too intimidating, don't you think so too?"
No wonder she could vaguely hear discussions behind her—
"Jiang Yici and Gu Zhaoqian... As expected, the graduation ceremony was full of hidden talents."
"I had heard before that Young Master Gu had a close relationship with the Jiang family, and it seems that's true..."
He Peiru suppressed the urge to smile. So this was how Gu Zhaoqian was perceived by outsiders.
She shook her head gently: "It's alright."
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