Chapter 7.07 Optional
When He Peiru learned that Jiang Yici was outside, she didn't bother to go back to her dormitory to put down her books, but instead turned and walked towards where the car was parked.
She soon met the person she had just spoken to on the phone. Trying to overcome the barrier in her heart, she bit her lip and said, "Uncle."
"Get in the car first."
Jiang Yici gestured for her to sit in the passenger seat.
Now that everything had settled, He Peiru began to wonder about the past events surrounding her mother that she hadn't previously inquired about.
She turned to look at Jiang Yici, who was driving, several times. She could clearly sense that he had restrained his sharpness in front of the outside world, and now he only had the feeling of an ordinary family facing an elder.
She finally spoke, "Can you tell me about my mom and dad?"
The advantage of He Peiru not having many memories is that Jiang Yici can talk about everything from his perspective: "Back then, when Ayan and He Yi were together, your maternal grandparents actually disagreed. We were all worried that your mother wouldn't be able to live a good life."
"But we couldn't persuade her otherwise. After your parents got married, they practically cut off all contact with the Jiang family. We never expected it to end like this..."
"I can only say that I am not at all surprised by what you did, He Zhong."
He Peiru looked at him in surprise and blurted out, "Why?"
“Actually, the Jiang family could have taken care of your parents, but He Zhong refused no matter what. He said he would force them to divorce if they accepted the Jiang family’s help.” Jiang Yici became more and more bitter as he spoke. “Later, Ayan got pregnant. She has a soft personality and could have made it work. But things didn’t go as planned.”
Judging from what he said, it seems that He Zhong's nature is inherently like this. The reason why he hadn't felt it before was probably because his parents swallowed those difficulties.
No wonder he said that Jiang Yiyan was with He Yi because of love.
This incident alone is heavy enough; He Peiru dares not think about how many more painful past events she has gone through.
Seeing that Jiang Yici didn't continue, she tried to change the subject and asked, "Wait a minute... who will I meet when we arrive?"
Perhaps having already accepted the facts, Jiang Yici quickly composed himself after saying all this and explained to her, "The Jiang family's situation is not as the outside world speculates. The relationships between relatives are not too complicated, so there's no need to worry."
He Peiru took a deep breath: "Okay."
She dared not easily believe Jiang Yici's words. The two had completely different experiences. However, in the final analysis, her efforts and her sensitivity and timidity were not contradictory.
The car drove into the parking lot of the Jiang family's ancestral home in silence between the two men.
She looked out the window and saw a garden with artificial hills and ponds, surrounded by valuable flowers and plants. Looking up again, she saw the main building of the Jiang family ancestral home was magnificent and imposing, with a spacious swimming pool on the other side, and beyond that, the sea view.
He Peiru paused in the car. Her emotions seemed calm, but she was actually at a loss.
Jiang Yici opened the car door for her. There was no point in saying more, so he could only say again, "Don't be nervous, your grandparents are very nice people."
Instead of urging her, I took this opportunity to tell her her maternal grandparents' names.
He Peiru silently made a note of it.
Realizing that they had already arrived at the Jiang family's ancestral home, staying in the car would only be a waste of time and would be impolite, she quickly got out and followed Jiang Yici into the house.
After learning of Jiang Yici's arrangements, Jiang Yaozong and Zheng Wanqiao sat in the living room and began to wait anxiously, making several phone calls in preparation for welcoming He Peiru.
Other members of the Chiang family are either still abroad or elsewhere, or the incident happened so suddenly that they cannot arrive in time.
Everyone has their own things to do, so this situation is normal.
The most important thing is to recognize their ancestors and return to their roots; seeing He Peiru first is enough for them.
Zheng Wanqiao directed the Filipino maid to clean the empty room on the second floor of the villa, the one with the best view from the window.
This was originally Jiang Yiyan's room. After she moved out, she didn't leave many things behind. Later, the two elderly people in the Jiang family packed up the remaining items. Fearing that the sight of the room would remind their family of the past, the two elderly people felt that the room would still be useful, so they left it there.
Now that I realize it was fate, I'm waiting for He Peiru to come back.
He Peiru followed Jiang Yici into the house. When she got to the living room, she saw two elderly people with white hair sitting on the sofa. Without Jiang Yici reminding her, she already knew who they were.
She took a few small steps forward and called out, "Father-in-law, Mother-in-law."
"You must be Aru..." Zheng Wanqiao sighed deeply, her gaze fixed on Aru. "What a cruel twist of fate. Luckily, your uncle found out..."
Jiang Yici gently patted He Peiru's shoulder from behind. She immediately reacted and went up to her, replying, "Grandma, it's me, Aru."
Zheng Wanqiao stood up shakily and reached out to hug her: "I'm sorry, we didn't know..."
She choked up as she spoke: "We didn't even know you were still alive. You've had such a hard life all these years."
As time went on, Zheng Wanqiao became unable to speak at all.
He Peiru's experience with family affection ended in first grade. Now, feeling this unfamiliar emotion again, she is at a loss and doesn't know how to respond.
She held on tightly, no matter what her grandmother said.
Unlike his wife, Jiang Yaozong didn't show his emotions outwardly. Instead, he gripped his cane and sighed, "It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back."
"Sit down first, don't all stand." Jiang Yici spoke up at just the right time, telling her, "I've basically told your grandparents about those things, we'll talk about the rest later."
"good."
She helped Zheng Wanqiao sit down, and thankfully, none of the scenarios she had worried about came to pass.
After entering, the uncle and nephew focused their attention on the two elderly people. Then they finally noticed the man sitting on the other sofa. He hadn't made a sound to disturb them, but had just quietly watched the reunion.
He Peiru didn't know who this man was. He was wearing a pure black shirt with matching trousers, exuding an air of nobility and unruliness.
Just as she was about to turn to ask Jiang Yici, she heard him ask, "What are you doing here?"
The man replied, "I went to the company to look for you, but your assistant said you had an urgent matter and went back to Repulse Bay, so I just came to check on you."
And so he heard the whole story from the two elderly members of the Jiang family.
“No wonder.” Jiang Yici replied, looking at He Peiru. “Your uncle watched him grow up. His name is Gu Zhaoqian. He’s seven or eight years older than you, so you’re of the same generation.”
"If you feel awkward calling him 'Brother,' you can call him 'Ah-Han' like everyone else does."
After saying that, he looked at the man named Gu Zhaoqian and asked, "What do you think?"
"You've already made up your mind, what objections could I possibly have?" Gu Zhaoqian raised an eyebrow, and although it was clear he was joking, He Peiru couldn't help but feel a joking startle and looked over timidly.
Gu Zhaoqian then met her gaze, his tone becoming more serious: "Just call me what the others call me. We'll be seeing each other all the time anyway, so there's no need to be so polite."
"Okay, thank you."
She still dared not relax and answered cautiously.
Jiang Yici wanted to remind her that she didn't need to be polite at home all the time, but he was afraid that saying it would have the opposite effect, and he also anticipated that she would need time to adapt.
He decided to steer the conversation back to the topic and asked, "What do you want from me?"
Gu Zhaoqian replied, "I wanted to talk to you about the project we evaluated before, but it seems inappropriate now."
He Peiru quickly waved her hand and said anxiously, "I'm fine, don't worry about me."
Her answer made Gu Zhaoqian pause in his teacup, but that was all. He calmly declined, saying, "It's nothing urgent. You've just been recognized, so of course your affairs are more important."
“He’s right.” Jiang Yici nodded in agreement, trying to soothe her doubts. “This will be your home from now on. Your uncle will show you around first, and we’ll arrange other things later.”
He Peiru longed for family affection, and even though she still had concerns, she accepted his approach and suggestion without hesitation, replying, "Okay."
As we walked out with Jiang Yici, we once again clearly felt just how big the Jiang family ancestral home really was.
The bathroom, which is built separately in the garden, is more spacious than the public housing she and He Zhong live in.
She had never experienced such a stark gap between the rich and the poor.
Jiang Yici explained the area divisions to her in great detail. It was more appropriate to call it a small manor than the Jiang family's ancestral home.
Just living here offers countless activities every day.
After walking around, He Peiru only had a vague impression of the place.
Jiang Yici didn't deliberately ask her what she thought. Instead, he said, "I transferred some pocket money to your usual bank card. The hard times are over. You don't have to make yourself suffer anymore."
The concern from her family brought tears to her eyes, and she forced back her tears, saying, "Thank you, Uncle."
Jiang Yici sighed inwardly, "We're family, there's no need to be so polite."
Then came another round of instructions: "A Filipino maid will be specially arranged to take care of your daily life. If there is anything that makes you uncomfortable or is not done well, you must tell us. There is no point in hiding it from us."
"And also..."
"Now that you're back in the Jiang family, you don't need to be too sensible or too obedient."
After speaking, He Peiru nodded vigorously.
She didn't want Jiang Yici to worry anymore.
Jiang Yici seemed quite satisfied with her reaction and said, "Anyway, it's the weekend, so you can stay at home for the next few days and we'll take care of everything else."
The uncle and nephew returned to the living room, and she noticed that there were several more people inside. The noise they made when they entered made them all turn around.
It seems that Zheng Wanqiao is in charge of something.
Seeing her return, Zheng Wanqiao waved to her: "Aru, come over and have your measurements taken. Your mother-in-law will have someone send you some new clothes."
The moment Zheng Wanqiao saw her, she was certain that she had inherited almost all of Jiang Yiyan's good qualities.
It's easy to imagine that with just a simple outfit, she could stand out in a crowd.
This led the Jiang family to unanimously decide to make up for all the opportunities she couldn't have in the past.
Zheng Wanqiao stayed by He Peiru's side the whole time. The staff's actions were quick and gentle, making her feel that her life had undergone earth-shattering changes.
It seemed as if they had already arranged everything, so she didn't have to put in any effort.
Afterwards, Zheng Wanqiao patted her hand and said, "Your room still needs some time to prepare. You can sit and rest now, or you can wander around some more. You can do whatever you want."
Sitting here would be boring, so she replied, "Okay, I'll go for a walk."
What impressed her most just now was the swing and chairs in the garden, and He Peiru found the location by following her vague memory.
After sitting down, she looked at the surrounding scenery and fell into deep thought.
In less than half a day, the love I felt from the Jiang family was more than the total love I felt after my parents passed away.
She still repeatedly felt like she was in a dream.
What are you thinking about?
Just then, a man's voice rang in her ears, and He Peiru immediately snapped out of her daze and turned to look for the owner of the voice.
It was Gu Zhaoqian.
"I've already heard about what happened to you."
The two elderly people invited him to stay for lunch, but they were just bored and wanted to help Jiang Yici find out where He Peiru was.
But she looked worried and unhappy, showing no joy at being recognized by the Jiang family.
Thinking of her difficult past, it inadvertently stirred up Gu Zhaoqian's memories.
The person deep in my memory always seems to place me in a dispensable position.
He paused for a moment, then condensed all his thoughts into one sentence: "The Jiang family are all good people, you don't need to worry about not being able to fit in."
A note from the author:
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Good news: We've reunited!
Bad news: They didn't recognize each other.
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