Chapter 29

Chapter 29

That one sentence successfully piqued Su Hua’s curiosity.

She recalled her grandmother saying that Huang Que might have been egged on by someone. At the time, the old lady had suddenly looked at Chu Suosuo with a rather meaningful gaze.

Su Hua looked down at her splinted left hand.

She desperately wanted to know if her injury had anything to do with Chu Suosuo.

After waiting quietly for a moment, she heard Gu Beixian give a low hum of affirmation.

Su Hua turned back, picked up the medical kit, and walked toward him. “Has Huang Que been caught?” she asked.

Gu Beixian ended the call, turned to look at her, and said, “She’s gone missing.”

Su Hua frowned slightly. “Missing?”

“Yes. The people I sent searched her home and her relatives’ houses thoroughly, but they couldn’t find her. Her family has already reported it to the police. We’ll have to wait for news.”

Su Hua’s expression turned subtle. “The timing of her disappearance is quite a coincidence. She went missing right after you sent people to find her.”

Gu Beixian walked over to the sofa and sat down, crossing his long legs. He said nonchalantly, “Her brother was caught for tomb robbing. Once he’s inside, he won’t be able to hold out and will definitely name names. It’s not surprising that someone seeking revenge would come looking for her. Her disappearance isn’t unexpected.”

Su Hua remained silent.

It was the middle of the night, and she didn’t want to argue with him. Without evidence, a pointless argument was just a fight, and fighting solved nothing; it only wore down their relationship.

Placing the medical kit on the coffee table, Su Hua walked to his side and took his right hand to examine it carefully.

Several small shards of glass were embedded in his palm and fingers.

She chided him gently, “How could you be so careless? I’ve injured my left hand, and now you’ve injured your right. Even our injuries have to come in pairs.”

Gu Beixian pulled his hand back, acting indifferent. “It’s just a flesh wound. It’ll heal in two or three days. It doesn’t hurt.”

“How could it not hurt? You’re not made of iron.”

Su Hua used a sterile cotton ball to clean the alcohol and blood from his hand. She found a high-powered flashlight to illuminate the area and used tweezers to carefully pick out the tiny glass shards one by one.

During those two years when Gu Beixian couldn’t stand, he had been depressed and irritable, often throwing things and losing his temper. Getting injured had been a common occurrence.

Su Hua had long since become skilled at this; she handled the wounds quickly and efficiently.

After cleaning them, she applied medicine and gave him a soft warning. “Be careful next time. If you hurt yourself again, I’ll be truly angry.”

Her voice was half-reproachful and half-tender, soft and sweet-more healing than the medicine itself.

The frustration stifled in Gu Beixian’s heart dissipated slightly.

He lowered his eyes, looking into her dark, watery eyes. His gaze gradually deepened, though his voice remained steady. “Didn’t we agree to have a child? Why did you take a contraceptive pill?”

Beneath his inscrutable expression, he was suppressing his true emotions.

Su Hua was slightly stunned. Soon, she turned her face away and said calmly, “I think we’re still young, so there’s no need to rush into having a child. A child isn’t a toy; it’s a life. Once they’re born, we have to be responsible for them. A child can ease conflicts, and they can also intensify them, but they cannot solve the fundamental conflict.”

Gu Beixian’s lips curled slightly as his gaze fixed on her fair, elegant profile. The emotion in his eyes was unreadable. “You certainly have a mind of your own.”

Su Hua didn’t respond. She closed the medical kit, and smelling the faint scent of alcohol on him, she asked, “How much did you drink?”

“Not much.”

“I’ll go make you some hangover soup.” She stood up, but Gu Beixian caught her by the wrist.

With a slight tug, he pulled her into his arms. His chin brushed against her ear as he whispered, “No need, I really didn’t drink much. Your hand is injured; don’t exert yourself.”

As Su Hua was held by him, her back pressed against his broad chest, she could hear his heartbeat. It was beating very fast.

Normally, she would have felt warm, her own heart would have raced, and her body would have heated up.

But now, her heart was a mess of complicated emotions. After a few seconds of silence, she said, “It’s late. Go wash up and get some sleep.”

“Okay.”

Gu Beixian let her go and stood up.

The two went upstairs to the bathroom.

Su Hua helped him unbuckle his watch, unbutton his shirt, and undo his belt. “Do you need me to help you wash?” she asked.

“No need. I can still use my left hand. A quick rinse will be fine.”

“Okay.”

Su Hua walked to the shower area, turned on the water, and adjusted the temperature for him.

She stepped out to let Gu Beixian go in to shower.

As her gaze swept over him, her face flushed slightly.

Walking to the sink, she squeezed out toothpaste for him.

She stepped out of the bathroom but didn’t return to the bedroom, standing quietly by the door instead.

This was a habit she had formed over the past two years.

When the sound of water in the bathroom stopped, she pushed the door open and took a bath towel to help Gu Beixian wipe the water droplets from his body.

He dried his front himself.

She helped him dry the parts of his back he couldn’t reach.
Gazing at his lean, powerful physique, the elegant lines of his muscles, and his broad, handsome back, Su Hua felt a pang of bitterness in her nose.

Back when he was confined to a wheelchair and shrouded in gloom, she had spent every day wishing he could stand up. But now that he truly had, his aunt and father felt she was no longer good enough for him.

Those people in their self-proclaimed upper-class circles truly valued profit over sentiment; to them, interest reigned supreme.

After finishing the sponge bath, Gu Beixian put on his bathrobe.

When it came time to tie the sash, Su Hua used her right hand while he used his left. Each holding one end, they pulled and looped the fabric together in a perfect knot, their coordination seamless.

Gu Beixian gave a faint smile. “What would you call this?”

Su Hua thought for a moment, tilting her head to look at him as her eyes crinkled into crescents. “Mutual support through thick and thin?”

Gu Beixian seemed to be struck by a sudden thought, answering a beat late, “Yes, mutual support.”

He lowered his gaze, staring into her curved eyes. “If I hadn’t had any money three years ago, would you still have married me?”

Su Hua’s heart skipped a beat.

These were the same words Gu Aoting had said to her tonight. Now that he was asking her too, an ominous premonition slowly crept into her heart.

She adopted a forced, lighthearted tone as she countered, “Why ask such a meaningless question?”

“It is quite meaningless. Let’s try another one: if I lost all my money now, would you leave me?”

Su Hua gave it some serious thought before saying, “I have money. I’ll support you.”

Gu Beixian raised an eyebrow almost imperceptibly. “How much do you have?”

“One hundred and fifty-six million.”

Gu Beixian laughed, playing along with a look of feigned shock. “How do you have so much? Haven’t you spent any of the money I’ve given you over the years?”

“I hardly have anything to spend it on. You regularly send people to pay for Grandma’s medical bills. As for living expenses, she has her monthly pension, and so does my mother. Every time I try to give my mother money, she refuses to take it no matter what, telling me to save it for myself. You take care of all my daily food and drink expenses. If I need clothes or makeup, I just use the mall gift cards you give me.”

Gu Beixian patted her head. “Our Huahua is quite the little money-saver.”

Su Hua’s smile grew even sweeter. “I can do more than just save money; I can earn it too. Once my hand is better, I’ll go back to work. You might not know this, but I actually make quite a lot from restoring ancient paintings. Oh, and in our line of work, you can make a fortune by spotting hidden gems. My copies used to be sold under my grandfather’s name; at a Hong Kong auction, the most expensive one went for five hundred thousand. If you ever run out of money, I’ll just paint more.”

Gu Beixian’s smile deepened as he praised her, “Our Huahua is so impressive.”

Not one to shy away from praise, Su Hua added, “I also know a bit about financial management. Just a few days ago, I put a hundred and fifty million into a three-year fixed deposit. The bank gave me a four percent interest rate for a large certificate of deposit. The interest alone comes to eighteen million.”

She cupped his face and said sweetly, “Hubby, even if you lose your money, I can still take very good care of you.”

Gu Beixian’s dark eyes lit up as if dusted with starlight. He reached out to pull her into his arms, kissing her hair tenderly as he whispered, “Why are you so good to me?”

“Because you’re good to my whole family.”

Gu Beixian’s gaze dimmed slightly. “Only because of that?”

Su Hua felt he was being a bit sentimental tonight and laughed. “Then how do you want me to answer?”

Gu Beixian watched her shadow cast upon the floor, his gaze growing deeper and more profound. After a long silence, he finally spoke. “Do you… love me?”

Su Hua snapped back to reality, the smile on her face freezing.

Of course she loved him, but at a time like this, what was the point of saying it?

In a crumbling marriage, no amount of love could withstand reality.

She didn’t believe that a flimsy declaration of “love” could change anything. In the end, he would still listen to his father.

After a long while, Su Hua managed a smile. She slowly backed out of his embrace, stood on her tiptoes to plant a gentle kiss on his chin, and said softly, “Let me help you dry your hair. It’s time for bed.”

She turned around, took the hairdryer from the cabinet, and had him sit down as she skillfully began to dry his hair.

Listening to the hum of the dryer and smelling the faint, fresh scent lingering on her, Gu Beixian’s lips curled into a half-smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

She was willing to be good to him, but she didn’t love him.

No matter what he did, he could never replace her Ay Yao.

Once his hair was dry, they went to bed.

This time, Su Hua fell into a deep sleep quickly.

In the middle of the night, a sudden crack of spring thunder drifted through the half-open window. Su Hua was jolted awake instantly.

Rubbing her bleary eyes, she looked beside her. The space was empty.

Gu Beixian was gone.

A sudden thought struck her like an electric shock, leaving her wide awake. She scrambled up, grabbed her clothes to throw over her shoulders, and jumped out of bed to find him.