Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Hua Qirou was struck so hard she nearly fainted from the pain.

Her hand instinctively flew to her nose as her mind went blank. She never expected Su Hua, who looked so gentle and easy to bully, to suddenly strike with such ruthlessness.

Looking down, she saw her fingers were covered in bright red blood.

Both pained and humiliated, her embarrassment turned into a roar of rage. With a shrill scream, she lunged toward Su Hua.

Aunt Liu quickly stepped forward and grabbed her around the waist to hold her back.

Hearing the commotion, bodyguards burst through the door and pulled Hua Qirou away.

Gu Beixian walked in with his assistant, his expression dark and somber. He cast a cold glance at Hua Qirou before turning his gaze to Su Hua. Seeing that she was unharmed, his expression softened slightly.

Holding her bleeding nose, Hua Qirou lodged a complaint with Gu Beixian. “Look! This is the ‘good woman’ in your eyes. She looks gentle and virtuous, but she’s vicious! She hurled a cup at me and nearly killed me!”

Gu Beixian’s voice remained flat, without a hint of emotion. “Su Hua has always been gentle, calm, and indifferent to conflict. If she laid a hand on you, it’s certainly because you pushed her too far.”

He looked at Su Hua and asked softly, “How did she provoke you?”

Su Hua was actually surprised.

She hadn’t expected Gu Beixian to take her side at a time like this, especially since Hua Qirou was the mother of his sweetheart.

She pursed her lips slightly and glanced at Aunt Liu, signaling for her to speak.

Aunt Liu spoke up hurriedly, “The Young Mistress was just sitting in bed reading when Mrs. Chu suddenly barged in to curse at her. She even tried to hit her, but I stopped her. Then she just kept hurling insults at the Young Mistress-terrible, nasty things that even I, an outsider, couldn’t bear to hear. The Young Mistress has a good temperament and listened quietly for a long time, but she finally couldn’t take it anymore and fought back.”

Gu Beixian’s eyes turned icy as he said to Hua Qirou, “Apologize to Su Hua.”

Hua Qirou was stunned, thinking she had misheard. “Beixian, I’m clearly the one who’s injured! If anyone is apologizing, it should be her apologizing to me. Look at how cruel she was to me. Suosuo’s hand must have been smashed by someone she hired, too!”

Gu Beixian’s expression was stern. “I can understand your distress and loss of control over Suosuo’s hand injury. However, without evidence, you cannot slander Su Hua. Physical harm is an injury, but mental harm is also an injury. Since you insulted Su Hua first, you must apologize.”

His voice wasn’t loud, and his emotions didn’t fluctuate much, yet it exerted an inexplicable pressure on those listening.

Hua Qirou felt a bit intimidated, but if she apologized now, she would lose all face.

She stiffened her neck and braced herself. “Beixian, the Gu Family and the Chu family have been business partners for many years. I hope you will consider the big picture and rethink who should be apologizing.”

Her words were laced with a clear threat.

Gu Beixian looked at her for a second, the corners of his lips curling into a faint, mocking smile. He pulled out his phone and dialed a number. “Mochen, your stepmother is making a scene in Su Hua’s hospital room. Please send someone to handle this.”

Chu Mochen paused for a moment before replying, “I’m in Suosuo’s room. I’ll be right over.”

Gu Beixian gave a curt hum of acknowledgment and hung up.

Hua Qirou clutched her bleeding nose, trembling with rage. “Beixian, there’s a limit to favoritism! You’re aiding and abetting a villain!”

Gu Beixian didn’t even bother to look at her. He walked over to Su Hua’s bedside, sat down, and straightened her crumpled collar. “Are you hurt?” he asked, his voice softening.

Su Hua shook her head.

He reached for her hand. “Does your hand still hurt?”

“It’s alright.”

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, looking into her eyes as he asked quietly, “Are you still angry?”

“Yes.”

“You did the right thing today. If someone bullies you, hit back.”

Su Hua lifted her gaze, her watery eyes staring at him silently. She wanted to ask: *You bullied me too, so how should I hit back?*

However, with outsiders present, she didn’t ask. In times like this, they had to maintain a united front against the common enemy.

Watching the two of them exchange looks and act so affectionately, Hua Qirou couldn’t stand to stay another second. She wanted to turn and leave immediately.

But leaving like this felt like a defeat, yet staying only made her more furious.

Before long, Chu Mochen arrived with his people.

After greeting Gu Beixian, he looked at Hua Qirou’s blood-stained face and then at Su Hua. His gaze lingered on Su Hua’s face for an extra moment before he said politely, “Mrs. Gu, my stepmother was overcome with grief and lost control of her emotions because of Suosuo’s hand injury. For any offense she has caused, I apologize on her behalf.”
He leaned forward slightly, bowing his head in a sincere gesture. “I’m sorry.”

Su Hua was a reasonable person by nature. Seeing Chu Mochen apologize so earnestly, she said calmly, “Forget it.”

Hua Qirou snapped, “You can forget it, but I can’t! My nose is killing me after you hit it. I’m going to get a forensic injury assessment! And Suosuo’s hand-there’s a good chance you sent someone to do that, too. I’m going to sue you for intentional assault!”

Chu Mochen frowned and waved his hand impatiently at his subordinates. “Take her to get her wound treated, quickly.”

The men rushed forward, grabbing Hua Qirou by both arms and hauling her away.

Chu Mochen spoke politely to Su Hua. “Once you’re discharged, I’ll treat you and Beixian to dinner to apologize on behalf of my stepmother.”

Su Hua couldn’t help but steal another glance at him. “You’re too kind,” she replied.

She found Chu Suosuo loathsome, but for some reason, she couldn’t feel the same way about Chu Mochen. He seemed like a man of integrity and great refinement.

Gu Beixian asked Chu Mochen, “Did they catch the person who hurt Suosuo?”

Chu Mochen’s expression darkened slightly. “No. The person has strong counter-surveillance skills; they avoided almost all the cameras along the route, and no fingerprints were left at the scene. Since it was an underground parking lot, there were too many footprints for the police to collect. The only lead is a blurry photo of a back captured on surveillance that matches the time of the incident.”

Gu Beixian raised an eyebrow. “Do you have the photo? Let me see.”

Chu Mochen pulled an envelope from his trench coat pocket, took out a seven-inch photograph, and handed it over.

Gu Beixian took it and studied it carefully.

The photo was indeed quite blurry.

Under the dim lighting, the silhouette of a man’s back was faintly visible.

The man was tall with long legs, wearing a black windbreaker, a black baseball cap, and black gloves. He held a hammer in his hand. His build was athletic, and he took large strides.

Even from just a blurry back, one could tell this person was no ordinary individual; he possessed an aura that common people lacked.

A certain person came to Gu Beixian’s mind, and his grip on the photo tightened.

He said to Chu Mochen, “Let me keep this photo. I’ll have my people help look for him.”

“I appreciate the help.”

“It’s only right.”

After Chu Mochen left, Gu Beixian asked Aunt Liu to step out first.

Once the door closed and the room fell silent, Gu Beixian said to Su Hua, “Do you remember that Bald Man who took you away to restore the ancient painting?”

Su Hua nodded. “I remember.”

“The one who crushed your fingers was his sister. She hated you for sending her brother to prison and was looking for a chance to retaliate. I’ve already taken revenge for you; I ruined her left hand.”

Su Hua listened, her heart trembling with fear.

She looked down at her splinted left hand, still feeling a deep sense of sorrow.

What was the use of revenge?

Her fingers were already broken, and there was no telling what the future held for them.

Gu Beixian said with an unreadable tone, “This matter had nothing to do with Suosuo. Your side retaliated against the wrong person.”

Su Hua’s heart skipped a beat.

She snapped her head up and glared at Gu Beixian, her voice trembling. “You suspect I found someone to crush Chu Suosuo’s hand?”

Gu Beixian’s gaze deepened. He stared at her for a moment before taking her by the shoulders. “Don’t be angry. I believe it wasn’t you. What I mean is, someone is secretly helping you take revenge, but they targeted the wrong person. Suosuo didn’t do it; she’s innocent.”

Su Hua suppressed her emotions. “Then who do you say is helping me in secret?”

Gu Beixian handed her the photo. “It’s this person.”

Su Hua reached out and took the photo, staring intently at the figure’s back.

However, it was difficult to tell who it was from the back alone.

Gu Beixian watched her with a meaningful look. “Is the person in the photo Ah Yao?”

Su Hua’s nose stung, and her eyes suddenly turned red. Her fingers tightened around the photo as she said with intense emotion, “It’s not him! It could be anyone, but it couldn’t be him!”