Chapter 12

Chapter 12

“It’s nothing. I accidentally knocked over the vase.” Su Hua crouched down, reaching out to pick up the shattered porcelain shards.

“I’ll do it. Don’t touch them, you’ll cut your hand.” Gu Beixian strode into the bathroom and pulled her aside. He set his phone down on the sink counter and leaned over to pick up the pieces.

He had completely forgotten to hang up the call.

Su Hua found a trash can and held it out for him, warning, “Be careful.”

“My skin is thick; it won’t cut easily,” Gu Beixian said as he picked up several large shards and tossed them into the bin.

“Nonsense. Whose skin is thick enough to not get cut?” Su Hua crouched down beside him to help.

Gu Beixian stopped her, refusing to let her touch anything. “I had a terrible temper during those two years. I was always smashing things. It must have been exhausting for you, having to clean up after me every day.”

Thinking back on those two years of hardship, Su Hua’s nose prickled, and tears nearly fell.

She quickly lowered her gaze and said softly, “I didn’t find it exhausting. Really.”

Gu Beixian stared at her long, downcast lashes for a moment. “You… your temper is so good it’s almost unreal.”

Recalling Xiao Yi’s words, Su Hua asked in a low voice, “Is a personality like mine quite boring?”

Gu Beixian gave a faint smile. “A little.”

“Hey!” Su Hua gave his leg a playful nudge.

Gu Beixian laughed and caught her hand.

Listening to the sounds of the two flirting over the phone, Chu Suosuo hung up in a fit of pique.

With a loud thud, she slammed her phone onto the car seat.

She was so angry she didn’t say a word the rest of the way home.

Back at the Chu residence.

Hua Qirou saw her daughter’s bandaged finger and her livid expression. She quickly asked, “What happened to your hand? Why are you so upset?”

“My hand is fine, just a minor injury.”

“Then why are you so angry?”

Chu Suosuo said indignantly, “She’s just a country girl who acted as Beixian’s nanny for three years, yet he protects her like that. I said a few things about her, and he got upset and even tried to hang up on me. When she was picking up a broken vase, he was actually afraid she’d cut her hand. He was supposed to take me to the hospital tonight, but halfway there, he got a call from Xiao Yi saying Su Hua had gotten into a colleague’s car. He got out immediately, hailed a taxi, and went to find her.”

Hua Qirou was also puzzled. “If he cares about her that much, why does he want a divorce?”

Chu Suosuo kicked off her high heels. “Who knows? Last time Beixian was drunk, he said the divorce wasn’t entirely because of me. He even said using me as the reason was just a front. I don’t know if he was telling the truth or just speaking out of anger.”

“It was probably just the anger talking.”

Chu Suosuo slipped into her slippers, walked over to the sofa, and plopped down. The more she thought about everything that had happened today, the angrier she became.

Hua Qirou comforted her, “The fact that Beixian married Su Hua because she looked like you shows that he couldn’t let go of you. You’re the original; why compare yourself to a counterfeit? Don’t rush. Give him time to accept you again.”

Chu Suosuo frowned. “Seeing how close they are, how can I not be in a rush?”

“Being anxious won’t help. You can’t force these things. The real priority is to figure out a way to steal him back.” Hua Qirou poured a glass of water and handed it to her.

Chu Suosuo took the glass and pouted. “It’s all your fault. A year ago, Beixian was already able to stand. I said I wanted to drop out of school and come back to find him, but you wouldn’t let me. You insisted we observe him for another year. Now look-they’ve developed feelings for each other, and I’m practically out of the picture.”

Hua Qirou rolled her eyes at her. “Car accidents always have lingering effects. If we hadn’t observed him properly and he had a relapse, would you have been willing to serve a man in a wheelchair for the rest of your life?”

Chu Suosuo fell silent and drank her water sullenly.

After a few seconds of silence, Hua Qirou asked, “Did Su Hua take the check you gave her?”

“No.”

Hua Qirou was surprised. “She didn’t even care for twenty million? Is her appetite that big? Three years ago, she was willing to marry a paraplegic for ten million. What is she pretending for?”

At the mention of this, Chu Suosuo’s anger flared again. “Do you know how arrogant she is? She threw the check in my face and said that even if she hadn’t married Gu Beixian three years ago, she could have earned ten million with her own two hands.”

“With her own two hands?” Hua Qirou sneered. “Does a mere restorer of ancient paintings really think she’s that impressive?”

“I had someone look into it. Her grandfather, Su Wenmai, was very famous in the industry before he died. She inherited his skills.”

“So what?” Hua Qirou smiled coldly. “If her hands were ruined, I’d like to see how arrogant she could be then.”

Chu Suosuo’s eyes widened suddenly as she stared at her mother. “Mom, don’t do anything reckless!”

One week later, at noon.
Gubaozhai.

Su Hua locked the door to the restoration room and headed downstairs to a nearby restaurant for lunch.

Arriving at a Hong Kong-style eatery, she ordered shrimp fried rice, found a seat against the wall, and began to eat quietly.

She possessed a gentle, serene temperament, with porcelain-white skin and delicate, elegant features. Her slender fingers, pale as scallion stalks, held her ebony chopsticks as she chewed slowly and carefully. Her refined manners made her stand out distinctly in the noisy restaurant.

After finishing her meal and settling the bill, Su Hua picked up her bag and walked gracefully to the entrance, raising her right hand to push open the glass door.

The door was a bit heavy. Once she managed to push it open a crack, she used her left hand to grip the edge of the door, putting her strength into pushing it outward.

Suddenly, a figure from outside rushed toward the door like a whirlwind. With a loud bang, the door was slammed open.

Su Hua tried to pull her hand back, but it was too late.

A wave of agonizing, heart-wrenching pain shot through her fingers.

She felt like she was about to black out from the intensity of it.

Her legs shook so violently she couldn’t stand. She slumped to the ground, clutching her left hand as tears began to fall uncontrollably.

Four fingers on her left hand were visibly swelling, the bones seemingly shattered. Blood seeped out, dripping onto the floor in a stark, chilling crimson.

Through her dizzying haze, she heard someone apologizing to her. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to!” The woman’s voice was harsh. She was wearing a yellow delivery uniform and a motorcycle helmet.

She pulled a stack of cash from her bag and dropped it at Su Hua’s feet. “Take this for your medical bills. I have an emergency. Let’s get in touch later, okay?”

Su Hua was in too much pain to speak.

Through blurred, tearful eyes, she stared at her hand.

Her hand. Her hand. The hand she had spent nearly twenty years of early mornings and late nights working tirelessly for. The hand that carried the legacy of her grandfather and five generations of ancestors before him.

The hand she had valued more than her own life since childhood.

It was ruined, just like that.

Her entire body trembled, her face deathly pale, her eyes filled with a grief so profound it bordered on total despair.

By the time the restaurant owner heard the commotion and hurried over, the person who had injured Su Hua was long gone.

The owner drove her to the hospital.

After the bleeding was stopped, Gu Beixian arrived just as she was about to get an X-ray.

Dressed in a high-end bespoke suit and tie, he had been a third of the way through a meeting when he received the call that Su Hua’s hand was injured. He had dumped the meeting on his subordinates and rushed over.

Su Hua was supported by the restaurant owner as she walked out of the radiology department.

She looked small and frail, barely able to stand. Her eyes were red and brimming with tears, her expression listless and soul-crushed.

Anyone who saw her would have felt their heart ache.

Gu Beixian’s expression was grim. He stepped forward to take Su Hua from the owner, suppressing his fury as he asked, “Who hurt her? Where are they?”

The owner, a woman in her early forties, was somewhat intimidated. Her voice trembled as she said, “The customers said it was a delivery person. They’ve already run off.”

Gu Beixian gritted his teeth and instructed the assistant behind him, “Find them! Scour the earth if you have to, but dig that person out for me!”

“Yes, President Gu.” The assistant could feel that Gu Beixian’s emotions had reached a breaking point; he was a powder keg ready to blow.

Not daring to delay, the assistant immediately took men to investigate.

The restaurant owner didn’t dare linger either, hurrying after the assistant to return to the shop and cooperate with the review of the surveillance footage.

It would take a while for the X-ray results to come out. Gu Beixian helped Su Hua to a chair and pulled her into his arms, holding her with extreme care, as if she were a fragile infant.

Su Hua was still shaking, her hands and feet ice-cold.

Gu Beixian unbuttoned his suit jacket with one hand, took it off, and draped it over her. He held her tight, his chin resting against the top of her head, his expression cold and stern.

When the X-rays were ready, they were shown to the doctor.

The doctor stated that Su Hua’s middle and ring fingers were fractured and required surgery for open reduction and internal fixation.

Gu Beixian sent for Old Bai, the best orthopedic surgeon, to perform the operation.

Over an hour later, the surgery was complete.

After the observation period, Su Hua was moved to a ward. Her fingers were swollen like carrots, and the broken digits were stabilized with splints. She needed an IV drip.

She was in a terrible state-silent, lying there like a wooden doll, her eyes filled with a despair that suggested her entire world had collapsed.

Gu Beixian watched her in silence for a while before taking a towel dipped in warm water to wipe her face. Afterward, he fed her porridge and helped her take her medicine.

Su Hua was very obedient, submissively eating and taking her meds, but she didn’t say a single word.

Around eight o’clock that evening, the person who had injured Su Hua was caught.

The assistant walked over to Gu Beixian and whispered a few words in his ear.

The more Gu Beixian heard, the colder his expression became. By the end, his jaw tightened instantly, and his brow twitched several times in sheer anger.

He took several deep breaths to stabilize his emotions.

Leaning down, he said to Su Hua, “I need to step out for a moment. I’ll be back soon.”