Chapter 67 Social Dinner
With Sophia present, He Peiru originally intended to reject Gu Zhaoqian's idea.
But then I thought about it again, and realized that it was he who brought it up himself.
One of the principles for getting along with Gu Zhaoqian now is that if he is doing something willingly, saying certain things would be a downer.
So it's better to just accept it as a matter of course.
The three of them then went upstairs.
Gu Zhaoqian put He Peiru's luggage down in the entryway. She was about to ask Gu Zhaoqian if he wanted to come in for a cup of tea, but he spoke first, "I'm going back now. Remember to get some rest."
"I will." She swallowed the words she wanted to say and instead showed concern for Gu Zhaoqian, "Be careful on the road, and you should get some rest too."
"good."
A slight smile played on his lips as he turned and entered the elevator.
Sophia went inside and immediately started packing the luggage that He Peiru had brought from England, while He Peiru contacted her friends in England to let them know that she had returned to England.
After sending it to Cherry, she received a reply very quickly.
Cherry: [You're back just in time! There's a dinner party coming up, and it's a shame you can't come since we didn't know when you'd be back.]
He Peiru: [When is the banquet?]
He Peiru: [So, my return is just in time?]
Cherry: [That's right! I came back just in time.]
Cherry: [The dinner is tomorrow night. I hope you don't have any other plans.]
The reason Cherry didn't tell her in advance was probably because she didn't know exactly when she was flying to the UK.
He Peiru: [That's wonderful! I don't have any other plans yet.]
Cherry: [Tomorrow night is just a regular social dinner; there are no other plans.]
Cherry: [They even invited people in the industry who basically never attend dinners, so I think you absolutely have to come!]
He Peiru: [Okay, I'll go!]
Since Cherry had brought it up so much, she decided to go and see who was worth all this trouble.
After the brief conversation ended, the only contact that remained unbroken on the British side was with Gu Zhaoqian.
When he came back this time, he told her in detail even about the smallest details of his work.
In response, He Peiru also told Gu Zhaoqian about her arrangements.
He Peiru: [Cherry has invited me to a social dinner hosted by the Wu family tomorrow night.]
Gu Zhaoqian: [That's good, it's a good opportunity to relax.]
In her memory, it seemed that every time these things were mentioned, he unconditionally agreed.
It's as if they hope she can step into a wider world and meet more people.
Since the topic had been brought up, she simply took screenshots of what Cherry had said and sent them to Gu Zhaoqian.
He Peiru: [You know more about the British side, so perhaps you know who she's talking about?]
Gu Zhaoqian: [I'm not too sure about that. Didn't she tell you?]
He Peiru: [No...]
He Peiru: [It seems we won't know until tomorrow.]
Gu Zhaoqian: [Leaving some surprises and suspense is also good.]
He Peiru: [That's not a bad way to think about it.]
-
The next afternoon.
After everything was prepared, He Peiru decided to set off for the Wu family's manor ahead of schedule.
Since she hadn't seen Cherry for many days, she could catch up with her briefly and also ask Cherry who she had invited.
She arrived at the Wu family home with this thought in mind, but when she tried to get an answer from Cherry, Cherry pretended to be mysterious and said, "You'll find out soon enough!"
She leaned closer and whispered, "Actually, I send them an invitation every time, but this is the first time they've agreed to attend."
He Peiru became even more curious, but she simply tilted her head and replied, "I see."
About half an hour later, the banquet finally began.
Cherry, as always, pulled her through the crowd, as if afraid there might be people she didn't recognize.
Just then, Cherry gently patted her and said, "You're here!"
He Peiru followed her gaze and looked over, and then she took a closer look.
It turned out to be Gu Zhaoqian and Cui Haonian, whom she hadn't seen in a long time.
No matter the occasion, she could not pretend not to know them.
At the same time, not knowing how Gu Zhaoqian would reveal their relationship next prompted her to start brainstorming.
Before she could come up with a solution, Cherry had already pulled her forward.
Uncle Wu, who had been greeting guests, suddenly appeared beside them and said with a smile, "Thank you both for attending the Wu family's dinner party. Please let me know if you need anything."
"Uncle Wu, you're too kind." Gu Zhaoqian casually picked up a drink from the waiter's tray, gently swirling the glass in acknowledgment. "Speaking of which, I should thank you for taking care of Aru."
Although Cui Haonian did not speak, he nodded to the side.
Uncle Wu seemed surprised that he brought up this matter first. After a moment of stunned silence, he quickly recovered and replied, "It's nothing. In that case, I was the one who was impolite."
He then masked his surprise with a smile and said, "Now it seems that everyone knows about the relationship between the Gu family and the Jiang family; it's just that I didn't think of it for a moment."
In this situation, Uncle Wu spoke succinctly, even taking the blame for the "oversight."
Gu Zhaoqian was certain that He Peiru had not revealed the most basic relationship to anyone present. He raised an eyebrow and smiled at He Peiru before saying, "Aru is usually quite low-key, so it's normal that Uncle Wu doesn't know."
Suddenly becoming the center of attention, He Peiru was stunned for a moment, even seeming embarrassed and at a loss for what to do.
All eyes in the banquet hall fell on her, leaving her no time to hesitate. She immediately gave a perfectly timed smile and replied, "That's right, and it's my fault for not thinking of that."
No one in the UK knows how she got back to Hong Kong, and she's always been reserved when talking to others, so she naturally won't say too much.
Furthermore, due to the information gap between Hong Kong and the UK, even though everyone knows that the Chiang family and the Gu family have a good relationship, Gu Zhaoqian's character is well-known, and He Peiru has only been recognized by the Chiang family for a year or two. It's normal that outsiders wouldn't make the connection.
Moreover, in this situation, the choice to speak or not lies with He Peiru.
She has the confidence to speak with conviction.
She also made sure to give the Wu family face, so her words were naturally more appropriate.
"So that's how it is."
Uncle Wu responded with a smile as well.
He Peiru discreetly observed his expression; it seemed he considered it a perfectly normal thing to do and expressed his understanding of it.
Everyone present was shrewd; they all treated it as a minor incident and quickly immersed themselves in the atmosphere of the dinner after the conversation ended.
Especially since Gu Zhaoqian rarely makes an appearance, some guests at the banquet no longer cared that this was originally just an ordinary social dinner.
Many people stood by, watching him intently; it was obvious to anyone with eyes that they were waiting for an opportunity to strike up a conversation with him.
Given the situation, Gu Zhaoqian could only lower his voice and say to He Peiru, "Don't rush to leave after the banquet, I'll take you home."
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, she quickly replied with an "okay".
As Gu Zhaoqian was about to head to other places, people started coming up to greet him.
He Peiru turned her head and looked at Cherry with some helplessness. She heard Cherry mutter, "I was being so mysterious about who the invited guests were, but I didn't expect you two to be so familiar with each other."
She looked a little embarrassed, stuck out her tongue and smiled, "But you didn't ask me..."
"Okay, that's true."
Cherry couldn't possibly be angry with her over this; everyone in this world has secrets, right?
Whether He Peiru speaks about these things or not is her own choice.
However, Cherry keenly noticed—
The close relationship between He Peiru and Gu Zhaoqian was definitely not just due to their family ties.
However, Cherry also knew that this was not a question that should be asked aloud, as she and He Peiru were not close enough to be able to talk about anything.
As for other matters involved, she shouldn't delve into them, at least not openly.
This otherwise ordinary social dinner suddenly became much more lively because of Gu Zhaoqian's appearance, with more people approaching He Peiru to strike up a conversation.
Most people feel that as long as there is even the slightest connection, any indirect method is acceptable.
She instantly understood why Cherry had been so mysterious at the beginning.
As the banquet drew to a close, Gu Zhaoqian was still surrounded by several guests, and the conversations surrounding him continued unabated.
Even if he wanted to get away, it was clearly not an easy task.
Cherry went to greet the guests who were about to leave, while He Peiru sat on the sofa in the lounge area and looked at the crowd.
At this moment, Uncle Wu finally stepped forward as the host, standing beside Gu Zhaoqian and saying, "It's getting late, everyone should go back and rest early."
She then added, "There will be many more opportunities in the future, and we can talk about it next time."
Since things had come to this point, everyone present knew that taking up any more of Gu Zhaoqian's time would be inappropriate, so they tactfully dispersed.
He Peiru could clearly feel that Gu Zhaoqian breathed a sigh of relief.
With no other guests around, Gu Zhaoqian seemed to have known her location beforehand and walked straight over.
Cui Haonian was still beside him.
He Peiru could even hear him say, "You said you haven't attended any of these dinner parties since you came to England, but tonight you're making a rare appearance, and all you've done is socialize."
"It's alright."
Gu Zhaoqian seemed to have anticipated this situation, and regained his composure, looking towards He Peiru.
When he was still two or three meters away from He Peiru, Cui Haonian spoke up: "Sister Aru, it's been a long time."
Only then did he have a real time to greet her, and he said, "I have other things to do, so I'll head back first."
"Long time no see." He Peiru waved slightly at him. "Bye-bye."
Gu Zhaoqian then stood beside her, his suit making him appear even more imposing, drawing frequent glances from some of the guests who hadn't yet left.
He didn't sit down, but instead put one hand in his pocket, looked down at her and said, "Thank you for waiting so long, let's go back."
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