Chapter 52
Chapter 52
Su Hua guessed that he might be angry and hurried to explain, “That painting was in his office and a regular customer bought it for thirteen million. He transferred the extra million to me, but when I tried to send it back, he refused and suggested he treat me to a meal instead. I declined and painted a new Ink Lotus Painting for him as a gift, but then he insisted on treating me to dinner again. I couldn’t keep turning him down, so I had to ask you to come with me. If you’re busy, I’ll just ask Shen Yuan to go.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Gu Beixian’s voice came through the phone: “I’m free.”
Su Hua smiled. “Thank you.”
The next day, at 6:00 PM.
Su Hua and Gu Beixian arrived at the private restaurant Gu Jinyao had chosen.
The owner of this establishment was said to be a descendant of imperial chefs from the palace. They only served eight tables a day, with eight dishes per table. They didn’t accept orders and never made extra food.
Despite this, business was incredibly good.
Dining there required a reservation three days in advance; at its peak, one had to book three months ahead to secure a table.
The restaurant was housed in a renovated small western-style building that had belonged to a warlord during the Republican era. The atmosphere was vintage and enchanting, possessing a unique charm.
When the two arrived, Gu Jinyao was already there.
Seeing Gu Beixian standing beside Su Hua, Gu Jinyao’s eyes darkened for a moment before he curled his lips into a smile. “Hello, President Gu.”
Gu Beixian’s expression remained cold and indifferent. He gave a slight nod as a greeting.
The three of them took their seats.
Su Hua carefully unrolled about a third of the painting in her hand and handed it to Gu Jinyao. “Mr. Gu, please take a look. Are you satisfied with it?”
Gu Jinyao took it and unrolled it bit by bit, lowering his eyes to appreciate it closely.
After finishing his inspection, he moved his gaze from the painting to Su Hua.
A hint of a smile appeared at the corners of his mouth as he praised, “I truly wasn’t wrong about you. This painting possesses form, spirit, and charm. It’s vivid and lifelike. Thank you on behalf of my father.”
Su Hua gave a faint smile. “It was only right.”
As she sat down, she caught a glimpse of Gu Beixian drinking tea with a frosty expression out of the corner of her eye.
She reached her hand under the table and rubbed his leg to coax him.
Gu Beixian caught that mischievous hand and held it in his palm, slowly stroking it.
His expression softened slightly.
Since the meal had been pre-ordered, the dishes arrived quickly.
There was Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, bear paw with broccoli, shark fin soup with wolfberries, and bird’s nest with rock sugar.
Gu Jinyao gently nudged the rotating glass lazy Susan, bringing the bird’s nest to Su Hua. “Miss Su, I ordered this specifically for you.”
Su Hua said politely, “Thank you.”
Gu Beixian’s eyes turned slightly cold. He looked up and beckoned to the waitress waiting nearby.
The waitress walked over and asked respectfully, “President Gu, is there something you need?”
Gu Beixian pulled a card from his wallet and handed it to her. “This table is on me. Swipe the card.”
Su Hua didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
They had agreed that Gu Jinyao was the host.
Just because the other man said one sentence, Gu Beixian wanted to settle the bill. It was quite disrespectful to their host.
The waitress smiled and said, “President Gu, this Mr. Gu has already settled the bill in advance.”
Gu Beixian’s hand, holding the bank card, remained suspended in mid-air. He said in a commanding tone, “Refund his money and swipe my card.”
The waitress was caught in a dilemma and could only look at Gu Jinyao. “Mr. Gu, what do you think…”
Gu Jinyao’s lips curled into a very faint, mocking arc. He said to Gu Beixian, “President Gu, this one is on me. You can treat next time.”
Su Hua turned to look at Gu Beixian.
He remained in his original posture, unmoving.
Su Hua knew he was proud and needed a way out.
She gently took the bank card from his hand and tucked it back into his wallet.
Seeing that his expression was still somewhat sour, she picked up a spoon, scooped some bird’s nest, and fed it to him. She said with a smile, “You’ve been busy with work lately. Have some bird’s nest to soothe your nerves.”
Gu Beixian didn’t refuse. He opened his mouth, took the food, and ate elegantly. His expression gradually returned to normal.
Su Hua breathed a secret sigh of relief.
She had finally managed to smooth things over.
Before coming here, she never would have expected that Gu Beixian-who was usually refined, polite, and handled matters with great grace-could be so stubborn.
Clearly a business elite with high IQ and EQ, as well as a sophisticated bearing, he was currently acting like a hot-headed young lad in love, full of jealousy.
It was quite out of character.
While Su Hua was lost in thought, Gu Beixian picked up a spoon, scooped some shark fin soup, and held it to her lips. He gazed at her with tender eyes and said softly, “You’ve been staying up late to paint recently. You must be exhausted. Have some shark fin to nourish yourself.”
Su Hua felt a bit embarrassed.
Gu Jinyao was sitting right across from them, watching.
She wasn’t even that close to him. To be feeding each other like this in front of someone else was quite awkward.
However, Gu Beixian was feeling competitive, and she couldn’t deny him face. She opened her mouth and ate it, saying with a smile, “You eat too.”
Gu Beixian gave an “en” and pointed at the bird’s nest in front of her. “Feed me.”
Su Hua was caught between laughter and tears.
But since she was the one who had asked him to come to this dinner, she naturally had to give him enough face, so she complied.
Gu Jinyao watched coldly from the side and gave a very slight shake of his head.
A man understood men best.
He understood Gu Beixian’s thoughts.
This overwhelming sense of insecurity was truly something else.
For the rest of the meal, Gu Beixian fed Su Hua from time to time.
Su Hua was dying of embarrassment inside, but she couldn’t rebuff him, so she could only force herself to eat calmly.
Gu Beixian, on the other hand, was perfectly composed, not feeling the slightest bit of awkwardness.
Gu Jinyao sat silently across from them, watching the “loving” couple without saying a word.
Despite the table being filled with delicacies, the food tasted like wax to him. He only wanted to finish quickly and leave.
When they had almost finished eating, Gu Beixian said to Su Hua, “I’m going out for a smoke.”
Normally, Su Hua didn’t like him smoking.
But since they were out, she gave him plenty of face and said with a smile, “Go ahead. Just don’t smoke too much.”
Gu Beixian gave a hum of acknowledgment, shot a look at Gu Jinyao, pushed back his chair, and stood up, leading the way out.
“Miss Su, I’ll go have a smoke as well,” Gu Jinyao said to Su Hua before following him out.
The two men went to the smoking room, one after the other.
Walking to the window, Gu Beixian pushed it open, took out his cigarette case, shook one out, and handed it to Gu Jinyao.
Gu Jinyao took it but didn’t light it, merely rolling it between his fingers. He pulled over a chair and sat down, crossing his long legs. Though there was a smile on his face, the sharp edge between his brows was hard to hide.
Gu Beixian’s noble and tall figure leaned lazily against the window frame. He looked at the other man with a cold gaze and raised an eyebrow. “Is your surname Lu?”
Gu Jinyao’s dark pupils hardened slightly. “My surname is Gu,” he said tonelessly. “I am Gu Zhengrong’s son. I only returned to the country this year.”
Gu Beixian didn’t respond. He pursed his lips and watched him with a cool, detached gaze for a few seconds. He placed the cigarette in his mouth, flicked his lighter, and lit it. Taking a deep drag, he slowly exhaled a cloud of smoke.
As the white smoke swirled, the contours of his handsome, gallant face became blurred, making his expression difficult to read.
Neither of them spoke.
A heavy, oppressive silence filled the entire room.
After a long, icy stretch of silence, Gu Beixian finally spoke.
He didn’t look at Gu Jinyao. Instead, he lowered his eyelashes and looked down at the cigarette in his hand, saying in a nonchalant tone, “You’re the one who did that to Chu Suosuo’s hands and face, aren’t you?”
The smile on Gu Jinyao’s face froze. His fingers tightened, snapping the cigarette in half.
His voice was incredibly indifferent. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Gu Beixian’s gaze swept over the broken cigarette. His eyes gradually took on a meaningful glint as he parted his thin lips. “Su Hua is my wife. No matter what your surname is, do not disturb her.”
Gu Jinyao shrugged, his expression quite provocative. “What are you afraid of?”
Gu Beixian’s eyes turned cold as he glared at him, his aura instantly dropping to a freezing pressure.
Gu Jinyao curled his lips at him.
That smile seemed to hide a blade.
Gu Beixian laughed as well. He flicked the ash into the ashtray and said flatly, “Su Hua was the one who took the initiative to ask me here today. You saw for yourself just now how much she cares about me.”
His tone was low and his lips were curved in a smile, yet his true emotions remained inscrutable.
Gu Jinyao paused, his smile fading.
“Protect her well.” Leaving those words behind, he pushed back his chair and stood up to leave.
Gu Beixian’s gaze was chilling. “Don’t you think it’s inappropriate for an outsider to be so concerned about my wife?”
Gu Jinyao stopped in his tracks. “A talent like her is a once-in-a-century find,” he said expressionlessly. “Anyone who sees her would want to protect her.”
With that, he threw the broken cigarette into the trash can and walked out.
Watching his departing figure, Gu Beixian’s eyes grew extremely dark, and his fists slowly clenched.
He squeezed the cigarette in his hand.
The burning cherry scorched his palm, but he didn’t even feel the pain.
Discarding the cigarette, he pulled his phone out of his trouser pocket and dialed Su Hua. “Let’s go.”
“Okay, I’ll see you in the first-floor lobby,” Su Hua said gently.
Gu Beixian gave a faint hum.
Su Hua hung up the phone and walked out with her bag, happening to run into Gu Jinyao.
She gave him a slight smile. “Thank you for your hospitality tonight.”
Gu Jinyao’s smile deepened. “It was my pleasure.”
Su Hua said politely, “Goodbye.”
Gu Jinyao looked down at her, his gaze tender. “Goodbye,” he said softly.
If one listened closely, they could hear a hidden longing buried beneath those two ordinary words.
Unfortunately, Su Hua wasn’t listening closely; her entire heart was focused on Gu Beixian.
She walked away quickly, like a gust of wind.
Gu Jinyao watched her back in silence.
That slender, delicate figure moved further and further down the hallway.
Only when she was completely out of sight did he slowly withdraw his gaze. His dark eyes grew even deeper, like a bottomless lake.
Su Hua reached the first floor and met up with Gu Beixian.
The two of them left the private restaurant.
As soon as they stepped out, Su Hua let out a long sigh of relief.
This meal had been truly exhausting.
But if she hadn’t asked Gu Beixian to come and he found out later, he would definitely have been unhappy again.
Their marriage was already precarious; she had to nurture it carefully.
The two of them got into the car.
As soon as the car door closed, Gu Beixian suddenly reached out, pulled Su Hua into his arms, tilted her chin up, and began to kiss her.
The kiss grew increasingly fierce and forceful, as if he were competing with someone.
Being kissed with such intensity actually offered no pleasure at all, but Su Hua didn’t push him away.
There was nothing for it; he was her man, so she just had to spoil him.
Meanwhile, Gu Jinyao left the restaurant with Su Hua’s painting.
Back at his residence, he had just sat down when he received a call from his mother abroad. “I heard you went to see Gu Beixian?”
Gu Jinyao frowned slightly and gave a faint response.
“I only agreed to let you return to the country because you promised me you wouldn’t see that family.”
Gu Jinyao’s expression was indifferent. “I invited Su Hua to dinner. He came on his own.”
“Su Hua is also a member of that family. You’d best look out for yourself.” His mother hung up the phone.
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suanty.meii
haloo, ni blm tamat, kenapa dipaksain buat tamat??? pening aku