Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Su Hua stood frozen, her eyes fixed on the direction Gu Beixian’s car had disappeared long after it was out of sight.

She couldn’t quite describe the feeling-a hollow sensation, a sense of loss.

The wind kicked up fallen leaves, swirling them in circles around her feet.

After standing there for a while longer, Su Hua finally turned and headed back into her grandfather’s house.

She took her keys and entered the east wing. This was her grandfather’s antique painting restoration studio, the place where she had spent most of her childhood.

The room remained exactly as it had been. In the center stood two waist-high, dark red solid wood tables, topped with restoration tools like wide brushes, goat-hoof knives, and specialized towels.

It hadn’t been cleaned in some time, and a thin layer of dust had settled over the tables.

Thinking of her grandfather, who had passed away from stomach cancer, Su Hua felt a pang in her chest, and her eyes welled up.

“Is this where you learned the craft as a child?” Shen Huai’s voice came from behind her.

Su Hua nodded. “Yes.”

Shen Huai walked to her side and reached out to touch the table. “I really admire you. When I was little, my grandfather wanted to pass the craft down to me too. I gave up in less than a month. I couldn’t sit still for the life of me; it was just too tedious. Restoring cultural relics is a craft that tests your temperament. It’s not something just anyone can do.”

His grandfather was also a restorer of ancient books and paintings, quite famous in the industry.

Su Hua smiled. “My grandfather wanted to pass it to my mother back then, but she was the same-she couldn’t settle her heart. But someone has to carry it on, or else the tradition will be lost.”

“True. The barrier to entry for this profession is actually quite high. You need a calm heart, intuition, a good grasp of the art, patience, resilience, and the ability to endure hardship.”

“Exactly. Above all, you can’t be impulsive. When you’re separating the layers of a painting, you have to do it bit by bit. Sometimes it takes half a month just to peel one layer. If you get even slightly impatient, the painting is ruined.”

Shen Huai glanced at Su Hua, his gaze tender. “Your childhood must have been very difficult.”

Su Hua gave a faint smile. “What childhood? While other kids were out playing, I was constantly copying ancient paintings, one after another.”

“That sounds miserable.”

Su Hua chuckled. “A little bit.”

As they spoke, Aunt Liu quietly entered with a rag. She wiped here and there, glaring with clear hostility at Shen Huai’s back.

Shen Huai leaned slightly closer to Su Hua, his hand slowly inching toward hers, intending to take it.

But just as he moved, Aunt Liu snatched up the broom from behind the door. She rushed behind Shen Huai and slammed it down hard near his feet, shouting, “Dr. Shen, watch out! A rat just ran past!”

Shen Huai scrambled to the side.

Su Hua looked at Aunt Liu, bewildered.

This room had been custom-built by her grandfather with such high sealing standards that even a cockroach couldn’t get in, let alone a rat.

She quickly realized what was happening. Gu Beixian must have given Aunt Liu specific instructions before he left.

She hadn’t realized he was so possessive that he wouldn’t even allow her to have a conversation with Shen Huai.

Evening came, and the group finished dinner.

After washing up, Su Hua lay in bed reading a book.

Aunt Liu came running in with a phone in her hand. “Young Mistress, it’s President Gu. He says it’s an emergency.”

Su Hua took the phone and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Gu Beixian’s deep, magnetic voice came through the line. “Grandmother has been hospitalized. She keeps saying she wants to see you. I’ve already notified the bodyguards. Come back quickly.”

Upon hearing this, Su Hua hurriedly began pulling on her clothes.

Grandmother had looked very frail the last time they met. At her age, even a simple cold or fever could be dangerous.

Once dressed, Su Hua packed her things quickly and headed out.
Shen Huai was standing in the courtyard, smoking.

Su Hua said to him, “I have to go back. Grandma Gu has been hospitalized.”

Shen Huai stubbed out his cigarette. “Alright, I’ll go with you.”

More than three hours later, the group arrived in the city.

After parting ways with Shen Huai, Su Hua headed to the hospital with Aunt Liu and her bodyguards.

Grandma was staying in a VIP ward on the top floor.

As soon as Su Hua stepped out of the elevator and turned the corner, she saw Gu Beixian’s tall, elegant figure standing by the window, smoking.

He was tall, handsome, and possessed an extraordinary temperament. His commanding, noble aura made him stand out from the crowd like a crane among a flock of chickens-he was impossible to miss.

Su Hua was just about to call out to him when she heard a crisp, “Beixian!”

Immediately after, a figure dashed out from the fire escape and threw her arms around Gu Beixian’s waist. Pressing her face against his back, she said affectionately, “I heard Grandma was sick, so I came to see her.”

The woman was very beautiful, with a fair little face and the delicate, pampered look of someone raised in wealth.

It was Chu Suosuo.

Su Hua’s heart thudded against her ribs, the sharp pang making her wince. Her feet felt nailed to the spot, her legs heavy as lead, unable to take another step.

Aunt Liu quickly called out, “President Gu, the Young Mistress is back.”

Gu Beixian took Chu Suosuo’s hands and moved them away from his waist. He strode toward Su Hua and said calmly, “Why didn’t you call when you arrived? I could have come downstairs to meet you.”

Su Hua couldn’t find her voice. She gave him a cool, distant glance before dragging her heavy legs toward Grandma’s ward.

She entered the room.

The old lady was sitting up in bed drinking bird’s nest soup. When she saw Su Hua, her cloudy eyes brightened. “Hua’er, I haven’t seen you in a while. Beixian said you were away on a business trip?”

That must have been the excuse Gu Beixian made for her.

Su Hua hummed in response. Suppressing her emotions, she hid her injured hand behind her back and said with a smile, “Grandma, how are you feeling?”

The old lady sighed. “When you get old, your body becomes like paper; one gust of wind and you catch a cold. Come, sit down. Let Grandma have a good look at you.”

Su Hua leaned over and sat by her bedside.

Noticing that Su Hua was keeping her hand behind her back, the old lady reached out curiously to pull it forward. “Why are you hiding your hand?”

“It’s nothing,” Su Hua said, instinctively trying to pull away, but the old lady managed to catch it anyway.

She saw that two of the fingers on Su Hua’s left hand were in splints, and four of her fingernails were a bruised purple-black.

The old lady gasped, her heart aching for her. “Quickly, tell Grandma, how did your hand end up like this?”

Su Hua said quietly, “I crossed paths with a grave robber a while back. He was sent to prison, and his sister came looking for revenge.”

The old lady trembled with rage. “What kind of grave robber has such audacity? To dare touch someone from our Gu Family-do they have a death wish? Tell me exactly what happened.”

Su Hua recounted the entire sequence of events in detail.

After listening, the old lady’s eyes shifted slightly as she fell into deep thought.

After a long silence, she spoke up. “Beixian was there on the day of the incident. They might not have known you, but they certainly could have found out who Beixian was. How could the sister of a mere grave robber have the courage to seek you out for revenge?”

She suddenly looked up and glanced toward the door, saying meaningfully, “In all likelihood, she was egged on and used as someone else’s pawn.”

Su Hua’s heart skipped a beat. She followed the old lady’s gaze to where Chu Suosuo was standing.