Chapter 21 Birthday Preparations
The appearance of Yu Yin was a completely unexpected and delightful surprise for He Peiru.
She had originally planned to invite Yu Yin to her birthday party, but she hadn't figured out how to bring it up properly.
Now that the relationship between Jiang Yici and Yu Yin is clear, she skips the internal struggle and even... they've become family.
He Peiru felt incredibly lucky once again, because Yu Yin was the future aunt she was so curious about, and there was no worry about not being able to get along with her.
A short while later, Jiang Yici abruptly ended their reminiscing, suggesting, "Let's have dinner first, and you can continue chatting after you finish eating."
After sitting down at the restaurant, He Peiru vaguely sensed that Gu Zhaoqian seemed unusually silent today, but her joy at seeing Yu Yin outweighed everything else, so she didn't delve into it.
That night, she was unusually relaxed and talked to Yu Yin about her past experiences.
I roughly understood what it means to be completely at peace.
-
He Peiru was simultaneously choosing her thesis topic and preparing for her birthday banquet.
After that day, Jiang Yici did not take Yu Yin back to the Jiang family's old house. Instead, he booked a hotel in the city and introduced Yu Yin to the two elderly members of the Jiang family under the guise of having a meal.
He Peiru guessed that the next time she would see Yu Yin would most likely be on the day of her birthday party.
Because of this opportunity, their connection became closer.
Jiang Yici would occasionally learn about He Peiru's situation from Yu Yin and others.
That evening, it was just the two of them, uncle and niece, at dinner. Jiang Yici chatted with her casually and asked, "Have you decided on your thesis topic yet?"
Some thorny issues made her hesitate, and she shook her head and replied, "Not yet, but we have a general direction. I'm worried that some data won't be easy to obtain."
Her answer made Jiang Yici sigh helplessly. Whether she hadn't thought of it or felt it was inappropriate, she simply reminded her, "You can check if any of the companies under the Jiang family are in line with the topic. As long as you want, we can have someone prepare the data you need."
He Peiru had indeed forgotten this point. While wanting to agree immediately, she didn't forget to ask cautiously, "...But wouldn't this involve trade secrets?"
Jiang Yici shook his head and patiently explained to her: "There is a public annual report every year, which includes most of the data. It just depends on whether the person who wants to know the data has a way to find it."
He then added, "Those real trade secrets you're talking about are things that no one else would know."
She stuck out her tongue sheepishly and replied, "It seems I was overthinking it."
Jiang Yici smiled and said, "If you need anything at that time, just ask Assistant Li to take care of it. He can have his people prepare it."
She nodded: "Okay, then I'll choose a company under the Jiang family to acquire."
Now that the conversation had started, Jiang Yici took the opportunity to continue, saying, "After you finish your thesis and get your diploma, you can definitely consider traveling around the world or staying in a place that interests you for a while."
He then explained why he had repeatedly suggested this to her: "We hope you can see a wider world, instead of being confined to what's in front of you."
Jiang Yici's repeated suggestions really appealed to He Peiru. Her previous goals were too singular, and she had no room to consider other things.
Now that the Jiang family is backing her up, she can do whatever she wants.
Jiang Yici sensed attraction in her silence. Although he didn't know what had happened between He Peiru and Gu Zhaoqian, he didn't intend to interfere because of his trust in Gu Zhaoqian.
He Peiru is not only an adult, but also about to graduate from university, so they must have their own independent ideas.
If he, as an outsider, chooses to speak up, many things will be completely distorted.
The best course of action for Jiang Yici is to continue to pretend that he knows nothing about it.
She said softly, "I really want to see other places."
Not to mention that she has never been to other countries, she has never even set foot in Shenzhen, which is separated from Hong Kong by a river.
Jiang Yici seemed to have heard the answer he wanted and nodded in satisfaction: "Anyway, there are still more than half a year before graduation, so you can take your time to consider it. Just wait to choose a design plan for the upcoming birthday party, and leave the rest to us."
"good."
She had become accustomed to this life of accepting arrangements.
Since she had nothing else to do, He Peiru wanted to finalize her thesis topic first, so she planned to contact Li Jiale.
He Peiru: [Assistant Li, my graduation thesis needs some data from the company. Could you tell me what kind of data you can provide?]
Whether it was because Jiang Yici immediately informed Li Jiale after learning about it, or because the Jiang Group has always been meticulous in handling such matters, Li Jiale quickly sent her a detailed data sheet.
He Peiru glanced at it briefly; all the data she couldn't obtain on her own was in the details Li Jiale had given her.
She immediately felt free of any worries.
It turns out that with the help of external forces, she can really accomplish some things that she never dared to imagine, and save a lot of time right now.
A few days later, after confirming that she was home, the designer of the birthday party came to the Jiang family with a thick stack of design books. It was full of renderings for the birthday party, as if they were afraid she wouldn't find a design she liked.
The designer flipped through the pages one by one, eager to explain every design concept and detail to her, and he didn't want to stop even when his throat was dry.
After the designers finished their presentations, He Peiru flipped through the design catalog again on her own. In the end, she chose the design that looked the simplest and most elegant, but it just so happened to be the most expensive.
After learning about this from Assistant Li, Jiang Yici not only didn't find it inappropriate, but also praised He Peiru after returning to the Jiang family: "You should choose what you like the most. There's absolutely no need to save money for the Jiang family. The Jiang family doesn't lack that much."
Then, he handed two or three shopping bags to Sophia and continued to say to He Peiru, "These are the jewelry that Yinyin prepared for your birthday party that you may need. Once the dress is finalized, Aru can take a look and see which set of jewelry is more suitable."
She wouldn't know what jewelry Yu Yin had given her until she got back to her room. While looking forward to it, she asked, "What's wrong, Sister Yin...?"
I forgot to correct myself: "Didn't your aunt tell me?"
Jiang Yici waved his hand and replied, "Because she thought you might refuse if she told you, she simply asked me to bring it back for her."
...
That guess is correct.
He Peiru looked away shyly and said, "...I'll send her a message to thank her first."
She looked up again after typing, remembering the most important thing she had overlooked from Jiang Yici's words: "By the way, Uncle, what about my dress...?"
Jiang Yici didn't say much, simply replying, "It will be delivered once it's ready."
Jiang Yici's statement was too vague, but He Peiru could only wait for her arrangements in a state of confusion.
-
A few days later, in the afternoon.
He Peiru was organizing the data she had obtained from Li Jiale in her room when Sophia knocked on her door.
She glanced up and saw that it wasn't afternoon tea time yet, so she had no choice but to ask, "What is it?"
"It's Mr. Gu who's looking for you."
Sophia's voice came from outside the door.
He Peiru immediately recalled the incident of Gu Zhaoqian entering her room. She held her breath, got up and walked towards the door. After quickly assessing the situation, she asked, "Did he say what he wanted to see me about?"
Sophia replied, "No, Mr. Gu only said he would be waiting for you downstairs."
"I understand." She opened the door and looked at Sophia outside. "Go down now."
As the number of steps on the stairs decreased, He Peiru followed Sophia with a heavy heart, only daring to raise her head when she stepped onto the ground floor.
The first thing that catches the eye is several eye-catching packaging boxes placed on the coffee table.
He Peiru finally saw Gu Zhaoqian, who hadn't been to the Jiang family for a while. She deliberately covered up the awkwardness of their last meeting. Her attention was on Yu Yin during their last meeting. The next day, she remembered his silence at the dining table, but after thinking it over, she couldn't find a reason to contact him.
So I focused my attention on the paper.
He hadn't informed her of his visit beforehand, and He Peiru was momentarily stunned as to why he was looking for her, but she still walked over to the sofa and sat down: "Brother Qian."
Gu Zhaoqian looked over: "Aru."
His gaze seemed deeper than ever before, and a simple eye contact made He Peiru sense a different emotion within it. She was startled and forced herself to remain calm as she asked, "What do you want?"
"It's like this." He had been thinking about how to say it without sounding too abrupt on his way here. By the time he came to his senses, He Peiru was already standing in front of him.
He pointed to several gift boxes on the coffee table and replied, "These are the dresses from your birthday party, and a pair of high heels."
She asked instinctively, "Did your uncle ask you to deliver this to me?"
"Didn't Uncle Jiang tell you?" He Peiru's question eased Gu Zhaoqian's panic, but he didn't expect Jiang Yici to not mention it at all. He explained, "We discussed it and decided that since it's your birthday, we'll each prepare some things you need."
No wonder Yu Yin gave her jewelry.
He Peiru pressed further, "So...you're going to...prepare the dress for me?"
That sentence took away most of her courage.
She clearly didn't dare to get too close to Gu Zhaoqian, yet she was now wearing the suit he had prepared for her birthday party, as if he were always by her side, making her even more aware of his presence.
He Peiru never expected that the dress Jiang Yici said would be delivered soon would appear here in this way.
"Once the dress is delivered, my mission is complete. You can try it on first."
"If you like them, all three dresses are yours."
After Gu Zhaoqian finished speaking, he stood up and glanced at He Peiru one last time before giving her a final look: "I have other things to do, so I'll be leaving now."
He Peiru was still processing the situation and could only say, a beat late, "Thank you, Brother Qian."
After seeing Gu Zhaoqian off at the villa, Sophia immediately turned back to help her tidy up the boxes on the coffee table, saying, "Miss, let me take these back to your room first."
Instead of forcing herself to accept what had just happened, she might as well go back to her room and try on the dress that Gu Zhaoqian had sent her.
She should have asked Jiang Yici a few more questions earlier.
He Peiru first asked Sophia to leave, and then opened the three gift boxes alone in the room. The boxes contained a rose gold halter dress, a silver shimmering off-the-shoulder dress, and a glacier blue fishtail dress.
The shoebox contained a pair of champagne-colored, fully rhinestone-encrusted high heels.
She couldn't take her eyes off each one; just looking at them made her imagine how stunning they would look when worn.
She stopped watching and decisively called Sophia back to help her try on the three dresses, taking photos of each one.
He Peiru sent the photos to Feng Shiqi and Fang Xiaoxin, this time she could not just refer to Sophia's advice.
She received a reply from Feng Shiqi shortly after posting the photo, but there was still no response from Fang Xiaoxin.
Feng Shiqi: [They all look so good.]
Feng Shiqi: [But I can't choose.]
These three gowns are not only gorgeous, but their styles are also very suitable for He Peiru. After wearing them, it is obvious that the size has been adjusted to fit her figure perfectly.
She wasn't sure if this was Gu Zhaoqian's intention; perhaps he had delegated the selection of the style to his subordinates from the very beginning.
He Peiru couldn't help but pour cold water on herself.
Then the phone notified me of another new message.
Fang Xiaoxin: [Wow! Where did you get these three haute couture gowns?]
Fang Xiaoxin: [I had my eye on a haute couture piece from this brand, and after contacting them for a long time and getting help from someone, I finally managed to buy it.]
He Peiru knew that the world of formal dresses was even more complicated, but the dresses she wore before were basically arranged by Jiang Yici. She knew they were expensive, but she never thought that it would be so troublesome to own one.
She paused for a moment while holding the phone before continuing to type.
He Peiru: [Actually, I don't know much about it...it was prepared by my family.]
Her writing was inevitably tinged with personal bias.
Fang Xiaoxin didn't find anything wrong with her reply.
Fang Xiaoxin: [You don't need to worry about anything else, just remember that wearing a dress from this brand will absolutely make you the center of attention.]
Fang Xiaoxin: [Of these three, I would recommend the glacier blue one. For a birthday party, guests' dresses are usually not too bright, so blue would be just right.]
Just as He Peiru was about to reply to Fang Xiaoxin, a message from Gu Zhaoqian popped up on the screen.
Gu Zhaoqian: [Have you tried on the dress? What do you think of it?]
He Peiru: [I like them all, thank you.]
She bit her lip and asked boldly.
He Peiru: [Did you choose all three of these dresses?]
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Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2024-02-18 23:57:23 and 2024-02-19 23:57:32!
Thank you to the little angel who watered my nutrient solution: Wang Chuqin Health Growth 1 bottle;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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