Chapter 606 Uneasy
Hearing these two ancient names, He Peiru felt as if she were in another world. Over the years, she would occasionally murmur them in her heart, but she had never actually said them out loud.
After a while, she finally fully digested the question raised by Jiang Yici.
He Peiru opened her eyes wide and asked, "How did you know? Why are you asking me this question?"
Her mind raced, and Jiang Yici didn't rush to answer, but quietly watched her.
In that instant, she suddenly remembered that Jiang Yici shared the same surname as her mother. When she looked up, she met those familiar eyes again and couldn't help but speculate further.
The answer immediately came to mind, and he spoke again: "Could it be that my mother and you..."
He Peiru was shocked by her own thoughts. She opened her mouth, but dared not say anything more.
Given Jiang Yici's capabilities, he must have investigated her before contacting her to meet. The reason he asked her such a simple question seems to be that he wanted to hear her confirm it herself.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have made such a big fuss about contacting her.
Seeing that she had thought it through, Jiang Yici revealed the answer to her: "Your mother is my younger sister, and you are the granddaughter of the Jiang family."
This succinctly confirmed her guess.
He added, "What happened back then can't be explained in a few words. We thought you were with your parents..."
The misunderstanding caused by a series of unfortunate events has caused her a lot of suffering over the years.
The somewhat expected answer gave He Peiru a sense of unreality. Her first reaction was not joy, but rather a feeling of melancholy.
It turns out that there are indeed relatives in this world besides He Zhong, but they are simply unaware of her existence.
The mother's name is unique; the chances of having the same name among the city's seven million residents are extremely slim. Further examination reveals that the names Jiang Yici and Jiang Yiyan were clearly chosen with considerable thought.
He Peiru was immediately overwhelmed with thoughts.
At this moment, the waiter stopped beside the table with a tray and asked, "Whose apple juice is this?"
Jiang Yici gestured to place the drinks in front of her: "I didn't know what you liked to drink, so I ordered juice and sparkling water."
"Thanks."
She took a sip of the nearby hot water, and the carbon dioxide in her mouth suddenly cleared her mind considerably.
He Peiru never imagined that an uncle would suddenly appear out of nowhere, and that the entire family would be extraordinary. This was something she never dared to dream of before.
Her reaction was calm, not because she was worried that her hopes would be dashed, but because the confusion that followed, upon learning that her mother had originally grown up in such an unattainable place, had solidified into a fog.
The inside stories she knew nothing about coalesced into complex emotions.
He Peiru was a little uneasy, suspecting there might be a misunderstanding, and asked, "What if you've made a mistake?"
Her question seemed abrupt, but Jiang Yici quickly caught on and said, "If you're worried, we can arrange a kinship test right now."
The truth is that Jiang Yici spent almost three days reading through all the information she could find since birth.
This suggestion was simply meant to put her mind at ease.
She agreed, saying, "Then let's get it tested."
Jiang Yici had already accepted this niece as his niece, but he still remained restrained: "No problem."
He tried to get closer to He Peiru, and while Li Jiale was contacting the laboratory, he asked, "How much do you know about your mother's situation?"
He Peiru clearly remembers that her parents had an accident when she was in the first grade of elementary school. Before that, she had only felt warmth and endless love from her mother.
As for the rest, she was too young at the time to wait for Jiang Yiyan to say it.
She shook her head and replied, "I don't know many things. Maybe she told me, but I was too young then and forgot."
What He Peiru remembers most vividly is Jiang Yiyan's gentleness. There seems to be another meaning hidden in Jiang Yici's words. She tries to sort out her thoughts and asks, "Why did my mother stay with my father?"
Based on her current understanding, the only possible relationship between her parents is that of a rich heiress and an ordinary person.
Jiang Yici paused for a moment before answering, "Because of love."
That's why Jiang Yiyan fell into that abyss of no return.
He saw his sister's shadow in He Peiru, especially how she became so outstanding on her own.
It seems that all regrets have faded with the passage of time.
Jiang Yici continued to tell He Peiru: "I recognized you because you and Ayan looked exactly alike when you were little. I thought there couldn't be such a coincidence in the world, so I started to investigate after the lecture."
It turns out that he left in such a hurry because of this matter.
He Peiru felt a heavy weight involuntarily and subconsciously wanted to escape: "Tell me about other things after the test results are done."
"So you wanted to put your mind at ease after you came up with the results, right?" Jiang Yici saw through her thoughts and showed a guilty expression. "It's okay, we can chat casually. We'll need some time to contact the laboratory."
She could only nod, because if she remained silent, it would seem awkward.
Jiang Yici then asked, "Could you tell me why you're studying business? It doesn't seem like a major you'd like."
He Peiru replied calmly, "Business majors are relatively easier to find jobs, and I have to consider this issue."
From their limited interactions, Jiang Yici's biggest impression was that his niece was incredibly sensible.
It will inevitably be a tough time.
His expression was inscrutable, and he let out a long sigh: "From now on, you can choose to do whatever you like."
Without absolute certainty, He Peiru couldn't look to the future. Even though the man in front of her was almost certainly her uncle, she still said, "Let's wait for the test results before we talk about it."
Jiang Yici knew she had been through a lot, so it was normal for her to have any concerns. He didn't force her and agreed, "Okay."
Li Jiale finally finished the meeting and said to He Peiru, "If it's convenient for you, Miss He, we can set off now to do the kinship test."
She replied, "No problem, I don't have anything else to do today."
The three of them got up and walked outside.
The journey from the restaurant to the laboratory wasn't far, but He Peiru felt uneasy from the moment she got into the car.
She never imagined that what she thought was related to her studies or internship would turn out to be a family affair with Jiang Yici. The inexplicable emotions left her feeling lost about the future.
Jiang Yici seemed determined to dispel her doubts, arranging for all possible methods of identification, including blood tests, hair collection, saliva sampling, and oral cell scraping.
These processes were quick, taking less than twenty minutes from start to finish, and then all that was left was to wait for the final result.
As she was leaving, He Peiru stood outside the laboratory, looking up at the man before her, unsure of how to address him. She was speechless, unable to think of a way to begin.
Seeing her hesitant expression, Jiang Yici could roughly guess what she wanted to say, so he answered directly, "I'll tell you as soon as the results are out. Should I take you back to school now? Or..."
He Peiru preferred to be alone at that moment, and without thinking, she replied, "Please take me back to school, thank you."
Jiang Yi nodded, wanting to tell He Peiru that there was no need to be so polite, but looking at her calm face and thinking about what his niece had been through over the years, he didn't say anything more.
He and Lai Ka-lok retraced their steps and took her back to the University of Hong Kong.
That night, she dreamed of the happy family of three she remembered from years ago.
-
Perhaps because Jiang Yici tried his best to expedite the process, He Peiru received the results of the kinship test early the next morning.
He most likely got her contact information from Li Jiale, and now that things have come to this, there's no need for them to communicate through Li Jiale anymore.
Jiang Yici: [The test results are in; we are related.]
Jiang Yici: [The reason I had Assistant Li contact you yesterday was because I was worried that the uncertainty might scare you.]
She repeatedly clicked on the results and zoomed in to examine them closely.
Despite being prepared, she couldn't think of a reply.
Her chest was filled with a mix of emotions, as if even a TV drama couldn't compare to the drama of her life over the past twenty years.
A while later, another new message popped up on my phone.
Jiang Yici: [Aru, I'm your uncle. From now on, we're family.]
Jiang Yici: [If you have any concerns, you can talk to me about them.]
The message he sent almost filled the entire screen.
He Peiru thought she wouldn't be affected by the result, but tears suddenly streamed down her face.
If she had the protection of the Chiang family in the past, would she not have had to live such a hard life?
However, she also deeply understood that hesitation was pointless.
He Peiru: [I do have some concerns...]
He Peiru: [As you should know, the Jiang family's environment was completely different from my own growing up. There are many things I'm not sure how to do.]
If Liang Wenlei hadn't put her in charge of the reception work for that lecture, He Peiru probably would never have had the chance to meet Jiang Yici, let alone all of the subsequent events.
-
For Jiang Yici, none of the things she was worried about were problems. The Jiang family gave her the confidence to act recklessly, and she didn't need to consider other people's opinions when she acted.
The more he thought about his niece, the more heartbroken he became. A few days ago, he worried that the elders of the Jiang family would be disappointed, so he decided to wait until there was no doubt about it before telling them.
Early in the morning, I returned to the Chiang family's ancestral home in Repulse Bay with the results of the kinship test.
Jiang Yaozong and his wife Zheng Wanqiao were having breakfast when they saw their son rush in. They rarely saw him like this, so they stopped and asked, "Why are you back so early?"
"Dad, Mom, please don't get too excited when I tell you." Jiang Yici handed them the test results. "I've found Ayan's biological daughter."
"What?"
The two elderly people were shocked and looked down to carefully read the words on it. "Back then, Ayan's daughter wasn't..."
"It was a misunderstanding." He sighed softly. "It's also our fault for being too hasty back then."
Before his parents could finish reading the report, he sat down and began to recount He Peiru's experiences, from the past to the present, without daring to omit a single detail.
Jiang Yaozong and Zheng Wanqiao's eyes reddened without them realizing it. They repeatedly emphasized and instructed Jiang Yici: "Let's prepare well and get the person back as soon as possible."
"How could such a blunder happen? She's had such a hard time all these years..."
Even if the desire to acknowledge He Peiru back is strong, her wishes still need to be asked.
Jiang Yici didn't delay any longer and immediately drove to the University of Hong Kong.
Whatever her intentions, you must make her feel the sincerity of your family.
-
He Peiru was just coming out of the library when she received the call.
"Hello?"
She couldn't bring herself to call him "uncle," and calling him "Mr. Jiang" as before would feel too distant. She didn't know what to say next.
Before she could think any further, Jiang Yici said, "You can try calling me uncle, and I'll call you Aru just like everyone else."
"Okay." She took a deep breath and mustered her courage. "Uncle."
He told He Peiru everything that had happened that morning: "Your maternal grandparents really want to see you. If possible, I'll take you back now."
“It is possible, but…” she looked through the glass at the people studying in the library, “I don’t know if I can meet your expectations, or if I will disappoint you.”
Jiang Yici could only try to dispel her worries: "Don't worry about these things, just do what you want to do, the Jiang family is your support."
"good."
A single word, seemingly insignificant, was enough to strike a chord deep within Jiang Yici's heart.
He Peiru's voice sounded too calm, but he knew he wasn't the person involved. What she had experienced, as seen on the surface, was difficult enough, not to mention what was unseen.
I wonder how much suffering she endured.
Jiang Yici couldn't help but make arrangements: "We also hope that you can move back to the Jiang family. As for your grandfather's side, just leave it to us."
He Peiru felt a vague sense of anticipation mixed with unease.
She had seen many stories of wealthy families in TV dramas, and she wondered if she would find herself in the same complicated situation if she returned to the Jiang family.
A note from the author:
----------------------
Originally, I wanted to address my maternal uncle as "舅父" (jiùfù) based on the Cantonese context.
However, it sounded a bit awkward to read in Mandarin, so I gave up on it _(:з」∠)_
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
