Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Su Hua looked up at Gu Beixian, her large eyes misty with emotion.

For someone as high and mighty as him to say something like that was no small feat.

How could she possibly not like him?

She loved him to death.

If there was truly something she didn’t like, it was his bad temper. However, over the past year, he had been very restrained whenever he was with her.

She also didn’t like that he had an annoying ex-girlfriend, but lately, he had consistently taken her side.

Ever since she told him how much Chu Suosuo bothered her, he had been deliberately keeping his distance from the woman.

Su Hua’s heart softened. Just as she was about to give him her answer, there was a knock at the door.

The door pushed open, and a young girl who looked like a receptionist walked in. “Miss Su, there’s a phone call for you downstairs.”

When Su Hua had changed into the wedding dress, she had locked her cell phone in a locker in the dressing room.

Thinking someone might have an emergency, she said “sorry” to the photographer and went downstairs to take the call.

Reaching the first floor, she picked up the landline receiver.

Gu Aoting’s indifferent voice came through the line. “Miss Su, one must have integrity. I personally dislike people who go back on their word the most.”

Su Hua felt as if she had been slapped in public; her face burned with shame.

After a moment to compose herself, she finally spoke. “I haven’t gone back on my word. Beixian only returned from abroad yesterday. Today is the weekend, so the Civil Affairs Bureau is closed.”

Gu Aoting said coldly, “I will have my assistant clear his schedule next Monday. I hope you won’t disappoint me again, Miss Su.”

Su Hua gave a soft hum of acknowledgment.

Gu Aoting continued meaningfully, “I value Beixian very much, but if he displeases me, he isn’t my only option. My eldest son, Gu Lin, might have slightly less business talent, but he is decisive, doesn’t get bogged down by romance, and most importantly, he listens to me. A family like ours is different from yours. We have a massive estate; the business world is a battlefield where winners are kings and losers are outcasts. There is no room for sentimentality between father and son or brothers. If Beixian doesn’t become the king, he becomes the outcast. Do you understand what I’m saying, Miss Su?”

The implication was clear: if she didn’t divorce him, she would be the stumbling block on Gu Beixian’s path to success-she would be the sinner.

A veteran of the world truly knew how to speak. He hadn’t used a single vulgar word, yet his speech left the listener feeling like they were being pricked by needles, unable to hold their head up.

What else could Su Hua say?

If she didn’t divorce him, she would be a criminal in his eyes.

With a pale face and a slightly trembling voice, she said, “I understand.”

Gu Aoting hung up.

Su Hua left the front desk with heavy steps and hid in a deserted corner.

She had to work very hard to stabilize her emotions.

Once she felt she was presentable, she feigned nonchalance and returned to the studio.

However, her interest in taking photos had vanished.

After a few rushed shots, she told the photographer, “That’s enough. Let’s just stop here.”

Leaving the studio, she quietly went to the dressing room to change and remove her makeup before leaving with Gu Beixian.

After they stepped out, Gu Beixian asked her, “Who called you just now?”

Su Hua shook her head. “No one.”

Gu Beixian fixed his gaze on her. “Tell me the truth.”

Su Hua avoided his eyes and looked down at her wristwatch, joking half-seriously, “I’m afraid I won’t be able to keep my promise of supporting you financially. How about I just treat you to a meal instead?”

Gu Beixian fell silent.

The faint light hidden deep in his eyes gradually faded away.

He calmly ruffled her hair and said in a teasing tone, “You want to brush me off with just one meal? You little miser.”

Su Hua forced a smile. “If one meal isn’t enough, then I’ll add another.”

Gu Beixian didn’t say anything more.

The two of them found a nearby restaurant.

By the time they finished eating and came out, the sky was pitch black.

They got into the car.

Gu Beixian asked, “Where to?”

Su Hua pulled her seatbelt on and said, “Take me to the hospital.”

“It’s so late, why are you still going to the hospital? Doesn’t your grandmother have a caregiver?”

“I don’t know why, but Grandma has been especially clingy lately. Especially at night, she doesn’t want the caregiver or my mother; she only wants me to stay with her.”

Gu Beixian reached out and carefully tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. His dark eyes locked onto her calmly, wanting to say: I’m very clingy too, especially at night.

But then he felt it was too melodramatic for a grown man to say such things, so the words remained unspoken.

Besides, there was no point in saying them anymore.

By the time the car reached the hospital, it had started to rain.

Gu Beixian parked the car, took an umbrella from the trunk, and walked Su Hua toward the inpatient building.

The umbrella was tilted almost entirely over Su Hua’s side, leaving half of Gu Beixian’s shoulder exposed to the rain.

Noticing this, Su Hua nudged the handle, pushing the umbrella back toward him.

But after only a few steps, the umbrella drifted back over her side again.
Su Hua reached out to push the umbrella away again, but Gu Beixian caught her hand and said softly, “I’m a grown man; a little rain won’t hurt me. You’re a young woman; you shouldn’t catch a chill.”

Su Hua’s eyes stung. She took his arm and didn’t let go again.

She only released him when they reached the door of the hospital ward.

That night, Su Hua helped her grandmother wash her face and feet.

Looking at the loose, wrinkled skin on the old woman’s face, Su Hua felt a pang of sorrow.

She had been raised by her grandparents since she was a child, and her bond with her grandmother was even stronger than the one she shared with her mother.

Late at night, she lay down beside her grandmother and hugged her from behind.

Her grandmother, who used to be tall and sturdy like a tree, was now thin and narrow, like a piece of withered grass swaying in the wind.

During her full-body checkup a few days ago, the doctors found that all her internal organs had aged significantly, especially the kidney she had received in a transplant three years ago.

At her age, the doctors no longer recommended surgery; the risk was too high. They could only take it one day at a time, counting down the days she had left.

Su Hua had too much on her mind to sleep.

Her grandmother wasn’t sleeping either.

In the darkness, she heard her grandmother’s raspy voice speak slowly. “Child, I’ve been a burden to you. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have married into a family like that, let alone be getting a divorce now.”

Su Hua buried her face against the old woman’s bony back. It took a long while before she spoke. “I don’t regret marrying him. I really don’t.”

Her grandmother didn’t say anything, only letting out a heavy sigh.

The next day was Monday.

Su Hua and Gu Beixian met at the Civil Affairs Bureau as agreed.

As she stepped out of the car, Su Hua looked up and saw an elegantly decorated café by the roadside. She paused, her footsteps faltering.

Three years ago, that was where she and Gu Beixian had met for the first time.

She remembered it was during a cold snap in early spring; the weather had been freezing.

He had been wearing a black cashmere overcoat, looking even more handsome than he did in his photos. He had a cool, aloof aura-the kind of striking beauty that seemed lonely at the top.

Though he was sitting in a wheelchair, he couldn’t hide his innate air of nobility.

He had beautiful eyes-dark, deep, and framed by heavy double eyelids. His eyelashes were so long that they drooped slightly at the outer corners of his eyes.

Yet those beautiful eyes were melancholy and cold, like pearls covered in dust.

Looking into his eyes, she had felt an inexplicable ache in her heart.

Those eyes looked so much like Ah Yao’s.

Thirteen years ago, when she saw him for the last time in the hospital, he had an oxygen mask over his face. Unable to speak, he had just looked at her silently with those eyes, staring and staring.

His gaze had been so melancholy, so heartbreaking.

Seeing that same melancholy in Gu Beixian’s eyes, she had wanted to pull him into a hug, to kiss his eyes, and to slowly smooth away the pain hidden within them.

“Why have you stopped?” Gu Beixian’s deep, pleasant voice pulled Su Hua back from her memories to reality.

He took hold of her cold fingertips.

His own fingertips were just as cold.

Su Hua murmured a response and followed his lead.

As they reached the entrance of the Civil Affairs Bureau, she looked back at the name of the café: Love at First Sight.

There were many people at the Civil Affairs Bureau for divorces, and they had to take a number and wait in line.

Most were young people around their age, divorcing over the slightest disagreement.

The young couples ahead of them all had cold expressions, the atmosphere between them tense and hostile as if they were enemies.

Only she and Gu Beixian were holding hands, their eyes full of affection, looking for all the world like they couldn’t bear to be apart.

Because they were so unusual and both so exceptionally attractive, everyone cast surprised glances their way.

Feeling a bit embarrassed by the attention, Su Hua turned around to face Gu Beixian.

He pulled her into his arms, his fingers naturally stroking her back to comfort her.

They didn’t look like they were here for a divorce; it looked more like they were here to flaunt their love.

Finally, someone couldn’t help themselves and pointed toward the marriage registration desk. “Marriage licenses are over there. Did you two go to the wrong place?”

Gu Beixian’s expression remained cool as he said calmly, “We are here for a divorce.”

The people present immediately began to whisper among themselves.

They clearly couldn’t understand why a couple who seemed to have such a good relationship would want to get a divorce.

Just as it was almost their turn, Su Hua’s phone suddenly rang.

She took the phone out of her bag and walked over to the window to answer it. Before the person on the other end could finish half a sentence, tears were already streaming down her face.

Sensing something was wrong, Gu Beixian walked over.

Seeing her face covered in tears and her complexion turn deathly pale, he felt a sharp tug at his heart. “What happened?” he asked urgently.

“Grandmother… Grandmother is… I don’t have a grandmother anymore…” Su Hua sobbed, her knees buckling as she started to collapse toward the floor.

Gu Beixian quickly caught her, sweeping her up into his arms, and strode toward the exit.