“Great!” Gu Qiuyi agreed without hesitation, “Thanks for arranging it, Brother Ye Chen!”
Ye Chen said, “I’ll give her a call now and set up a breakfast meeting.”
Lin Wanqiu quickly interjected, “Chen’er, have lunch at home. Your Uncle Gu and I have already made arrangements.”
Ye Chen nodded, “Don’t worry, Aunt Lin. Nannan and I will go meet Tawanna, sort out the details, and be back in time for lunch.”
Then, remembering his grandfather’s instructions, he added, “Oh, Aunt Lin, Uncle Gu, my grandpa wants to invite your family of three to our place tonight for dinner. Not sure if you’re free?”
Hearing Ye Chen confirm he’d be back for lunch eased Lin Wanqiu’s anxious heart.
Now, hearing that Ye Zhongquan had invited the whole family to the Ye residence for dinner, she thought the old man must be stepping in, which relaxed her even more. She smiled and said, “Sure, your Uncle Gu and I retired ages ago to focus on health, plenty of time on our hands. Nannan’s just back for a break, so she’s free too, right, Nannan?”
Gu Qiuyi smiled, “I was planning to rest until the last concert, but I might be busy these next few days. Being a guest performer for Tawanna is such an honour, and since I’m from Yanjing, it’s like welcoming a distinguished guest on behalf of the city.”
Lin Wanqiu nodded gently with a smile, “As long as you’re happy, Mum supports you.”
Seeing everything was sorted without any scheduling conflicts, Ye Chen pulled out his phone to call Tawanna.
It was still early, uncertain if Tawanna was awake, but Ye Chen wasn’t overly considerate about it.
The phone rang for a while before she picked up, her voice groggy, “Mr. Ye, why are you calling me so early?”
Ye Chen chuckled, “Sorry for disturbing you this early.”
“No, no, it’s fine!” Tawanna perked up instantly, “Do you need something?”
Ye Chen said, “I’d like to meet you at Buckingham Palace. I’ll bring Miss Gu over to discuss the performance.”
Tawanna asked excitedly, “Miss Gu agreed?”
Ye Chen laughed, “Of course. She’s thrilled to perform with you, so I thought we should nail this down soon. Your concert’s just a couple of days away.”
“Right, right!” Tawanna said, “We need to settle the details, performance duration, song choices, and ideally some interaction between us.”
Ye Chen replied promptly, “Then we’d better hurry. How about we head over now to meet and talk?”
Tawanna laughed, “Perfect! I’ve booked the presidential suite here with a meeting room. If you and Miss Gu haven’t had breakfast, I can have it arranged. We can eat and chat when you arrive.”
“Great,” Ye Chen said decisively, “We’ll head over now.”
He hung up and turned to Gu Qiuyi, “Nannan, let’s go now. The sooner we sort this out, the sooner we’re back, no delay for lunch.”
Gu Qiuyi agreed readily.
Lin Wanqiu, seeing Ye Chen so eager to go handle business, felt a twinge of suspicion. She couldn’t shake the feeling that the meeting was an excuse to avoid something.
But with the Ye family dinner planned for the evening, she decided not to press him. “Since you’ve got business to attend to, go handle it. Your Uncle Gu and I will wait for you to come back for lunch.”
“Alright!” Ye Chen responded quickly, heading out with Gu Qiuyi.
Once in the van, Ye Chen let out a sigh of relief.
He’d been dreading Lin Wanqiu or Gu Yanzhong bringing up that topic in front of him and Gu Qiuyi. If they had, it’d have been a tough spot, and the scene would’ve been painfully awkward.
For now, he’d dodged a bullet.
Just as he was feeling lighter and started driving away from the Gu residence, Gu Qiuyi grinned and asked, “Brother Ye Chen, are you trying to avoid my parents?”
