Chapter 28

Chapter 28

After heading downstairs, Su Hua turned a corner and entered the restroom.

She closed the door and sat on the toilet lid, covering her face with her hands. It took her a long while to calm down before she remembered her task.

She took out her phone and sent a text to Gu Beixian: “Mom wants you both to come down. It’s time to cut the cake.”

Gu Beixian replied: “Okay.”

Su Hua sat for a few more minutes before standing up, pushing the door open, and walking to the sink to wash her hands.

Looking up, she saw her reflection in the mirror; her face was strikingly pale.

She forced a smile, trying to make herself look a bit more normal.

Click, click, click. The crisp sound of high heels approached from a distance.

Then, the door was pushed open, and a dainty figure slipped inside.

It was Chu Suosuo, wearing a midnight-blue starry sky dress.

She glanced at Su Hua and gave a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “We meet again, Sister Su Hua.”

Su Hua gave a faint hum of acknowledgment and picked up a towel to dry her hands.

Chu Suosuo bypassed her and walked to the mirror. She pulled a lipstick from her exquisite clutch, leaned in, and began touching up her makeup. As she did, she peered at Su Hua through the mirror, saying snidely, “Sister Su Hua, that’s a decent knock-off gown. Did you buy it on Taobao?”

Su Hua’s movements paused. She replied with a half-smile, “This gown was designed by my mother-in-law herself. Miss Chu, if your eyesight is that poor, I suggest you visit an ophthalmologist.”

“Oh?” Chu Suosuo turned her head in feigned surprise, looking her up and down again. “If Auntie Qin designed this gown, why does it look like a cheap imitation when you wear it?”

She curled her lip and clicked her tongue meaningfully.

The implication was clear: the person was a ‘knock-off,’ so even the genuine article looked fake on her.

Su Hua remained silent, quietly observing herself and Chu Suosuo in the mirror.

Even though Chu Suosuo was a wealthy socialite raised in luxury, for some reason, Su Hua looked more like a traditional lady of a great house than she did.

Perhaps it was because she had practiced painting since childhood; she had developed a refined, elegant aura. Her eyes were bright and clear, neither fawning nor evasive.

Chu Suosuo, on the other hand, though draped in jewels, had flighty, flirtatious eyes that were full of a certain cheap provocativeness-the kind of look one might associate with a concubine from the old days.

In Gu Nanyin’s words, she was ‘bitchy.’

Su Hua lifted her chin and pointed at the mirror. “Open your eyes and look closely. I am taller than you, more beautiful than you, more talented than you, and I have better grace. It’s perfectly clear who is the genuine article and who is the knock-off.”

“You!” Chu Suosuo’s face flushed with rage. She gripped her lipstick so hard that it snapped.

Su Hua turned to leave.

As she reached the door, Chu Suosuo’s arrogant voice drifted from behind her. “So what if you’re prettier and more talented than me? My father is more powerful than yours. In this circle, having a good father is more important than anything else. I will definitely take Beixian back. Just you wait!”

Recalling what Gu Aoting had said earlier, Su Hua felt as if hundreds of ants were crawling over her heart.

It was a prickly, agonizing sensation.

She gripped her skirt tightly, looked back at Chu Suosuo, and said nonchalantly, “Miss Chu, you’re likely the only person who feels such a sense of superiority about being a homewrecker. I hope your father lives to be two hundred so he can keep protecting you.”

Chu Suosuo’s chest heaved with anger. “I still have my brother!”

Thinking of Chu Mochen, Su Hua smiled faintly. “Your brother has a strong moral compass; he might not necessarily support your actions. You’d better find a way to buy your father more longevity supplements. Every extra year he can protect you counts.”

Slam! Chu Suosuo furiously kicked the restroom door shut.

The smile on Su Hua’s face gradually froze.

What did it matter if she won a war of words?

When it came to Gu Beixian, she had truly lost.

Reality was cruel. No matter how hard one worked, it couldn’t compare to having a good father. Having a powerful father even added value to a marriage.

By the time Gu Aoting and Gu Beixian came downstairs, Su Hua had already composed herself.

Acting as if nothing had happened, she joined them in singing birthday wishes to Qin Shu, blowing out the candles, and cutting the cake.

After the cake was finished, Gu Beixian said to her, “I’ll have the driver take you back first. I’ll be home a bit later.”
Su Hua nodded with a smile. “Alright, go ahead and get busy then.”

After saying goodbye to Qin Shu, Su Hua left the Gu Family residence and got into her car.

Passing a twenty-four-hour pharmacy on the way, she asked the driver to pull over and went inside to buy a box of emergency contraceptive pills.

She and Gu Beixian had been intimate the night before. She was currently in her ovulation window, and he hadn’t used any protection.

At a time like this, it wasn’t suitable to have a child.

Gu Beixian’s heart was still undecided; they might end up divorced any day now.

She had never experienced a father’s love since she was born and understood that feeling of deprivation all too well. She didn’t want her own child to walk that same path.

Upon returning home, Su Hua popped a pill out of the blister pack according to the instructions and swallowed it with some warm water.

The second dose was to be taken twelve hours later, so she casually placed the box on the sideboard next to the water dispenser.

She went upstairs for a quick shower. After finishing her nighttime routine and lying in bed, she found herself unable to sleep, her mind spinning with a thousand thoughts.

It was nearly midnight when Gu Beixian finally returned, having had a few drinks with the guests.

After changing into his slippers, he unbuttoned his suit jacket with one hand, took it off, and hung it on the rack.

He picked up a glass and walked to the water dispenser to pour a drink. Suddenly, his gaze hardened as he spotted the contraceptives sitting on the sideboard.

He picked up the box and examined it.

There was no mistake; it was indeed birth control.

One pill was left; Su Hua had already taken the other.

She didn’t want to have his child.

Gu Beixian’s expression gradually turned cold. He pulled out his phone and dialed Xiao Yi’s number.

Before long, a lazy male voice came through the phone. “Bro, it’s the middle of the night. What’s up?”

Gu Beixian asked emotionlessly, “If a woman refuses to have her husband’s child, what does that mean?”

Xiao Yi was still half-asleep and his reaction was a bit slow. He replied offhandedly, “What else could it mean? It means the woman doesn’t love her husband.”

Gu Beixian’s heart skipped a beat. Then, he said flatly, “I see.”

He cut the call. His face was eerily calm, but his grip tightened until the phone was nearly deformed under the pressure of his hand.

After a long silence, a few cold laughs escaped his lips. He was laughing at his own absurdity.

To think he had actually wanted to use a child to tie her down-to tie down a woman who didn’t love him.

He tossed the phone onto the table, picked up a wine glass, opened the liquor cabinet, and took out a bottle of red wine. He poured himself a full glass.

He walked over to the sofa, sat down, and took a large gulp.

Thinking of Xiao Yi’s words, he gripped the glass so hard that the veins on the back of his hand bulged.

Suddenly, with a loud crack, the glass shattered in his grip.

Sharp shards of glass sliced into the skin of his palm, but he felt no pain.

Su Hua, who hadn’t fallen asleep yet, suddenly heard the distinct sound of breaking glass from downstairs. She bolted upright in bed.

She walked to the railing and looked down.

She saw Gu Beixian’s right hand covered in a dark red liquid-she couldn’t tell if it was wine or blood. Shattered glass littered the floor.

She hurried back into the room, opened a cabinet to find the first-aid kit, and rushed downstairs.

By the time she hurried down the stairs, Gu Beixian had already walked over to the window to make a call.

His tall, slender figure stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, looking indifferent and heroic. His posture was as straight as a pine tree in a snowstorm.

Some men could captivate the world with just their silhouette.

Su Hua stopped in her tracks, waiting quietly for him to finish his call.

She heard him ask the person on the other end, “Have you found the man who crushed Chu Suosuo’s hand yet?”

Whatever the response was, Gu Beixian suddenly lost his temper. “A bunch of useless trash! Why is it so difficult for you to find one person? Go look again! If you can’t find him, you’re all fired!”

Su Hua froze where she stood, her heart turning cold.

He really did care about Chu Suosuo.

Even in the dead of night, he was still helping her find the culprit.

And here she was, pathetically carrying a first-aid kit down to bandage his wound. How spineless of her!

Su Hua bent over, placed the first-aid kit gently on the floor, and turned to leave.

After a few steps, she heard Gu Beixian’s voice again. “Has that woman named Huang Que been caught yet?”