Chapter 83

Chapter 83

“Young Master Gu is here!” a sharp-eyed shop assistant suddenly shouted.

Immediately after, he trotted over to meet him, eagerly pulling open the glass door.

Gu Jinyao walked in, holding an antique rosewood box in his hand.

Hua Tianshou stroked his beard and greeted him with a smile. “Jinyao, what treasure have you brought to be repaired today?”

Gu Jinyao raised the rosewood box slightly and gave a faint smile. “Our family’s genealogy record. It’s badly damaged, so I came to find Su Hua to fix it. I wouldn’t feel at ease letting anyone else do it.”

Hearing this, Su Hua stepped forward, took the rosewood box from his hand, opened it, and moved to the side to examine it.

Hua Tianshou was always thrilled whenever someone praised his apprentice.

Even though he hadn’t been the one to teach her how to restore ancient paintings and calligraphy, he was still bursting with pride. “Yes, yes, yes. When it comes to restoring ancient works, my apprentice is the one for the job. Oh, this apprentice of mine is so talented at such a young age. How are we old-timers supposed to keep our footing in the future?”

Chu Suosuo’s face turned ashen with rage as she listened to her own grandfather praise Su Hua to the heavens.

Hua Tianshou glanced at her. Suddenly remembering something, he pointed at her and said to Gu Jinyao, “This is the granddaughter I mentioned to you last time. Her surname is Chu, and her name is Suosuo. Don’t you think she’s beautiful?”

Gu Jinyao’s eyes were cold as he swept a glance over her. His tone was somewhat perfunctory as he said, “She’s alright.”

Chu Suosuo considered herself a peerless beauty, someone whose face could outshine the moon and put flowers to shame. From childhood to adulthood, she had been showered with praise by elders, friends, and classmates. Which young master in the upper-class circles didn’t have their eyes light up when they saw her?

She hadn’t expected Gu Jinyao to give such a dismissive “she’s alright.”

Chu Suosuo was indignant. When she looked at him again, her eyes were filled with blatant provocation.

Hua Tianshou took Gu Jinyao’s “she’s alright” as a sign of interest. He laughed and said, “Suosuo is still single. If you find her pleasing to the eye, why don’t you two try dating?”

Gu Jinyao curled his lips and said ruthlessly, “I don’t find her pleasing to the eye.”

Hua Tianshou hadn’t expected him to be so blunt. The smile on his face froze, and he muttered, “I see. Well, forget it then.”

Chu Suosuo felt utterly humiliated. Letting out a cold snort, she said huffily, “I’m not interested in him either. I only like men like Beixian.”

The smile on Hua Tianshou’s face turned cold. “Your Beixian and Su Hua were married three years ago. You should go on blind dates and find someone to love. Stop having designs on a married man.”

It was one thing for Old Lady Gu, Qin Shu, and Gu Nanyin to side with Su Hua, but she hadn’t expected her own grandfather to favor her so much as well!

Chu Suosuo was exasperated. A surge of fury rushed to her head!

She blurted out, “They were already at the Civil Affairs Bureau to get their divorce certificate! If it weren’t for Su Hua’s grandmother dying right at that moment, they would have been divorced long ago!”

The moment she finished speaking, Chu Suosuo felt a dark shadow flash before her eyes.

Then came a sharp slap.

A stinging pain erupted on her face. The pain was so sudden that she was stunned into a daze!

It took a long moment before Chu Suosuo let out a scream. Clutching her face, she snarled, “Who just hit me?”

Everyone looked at each other in confusion. No one had seen anyone move, yet Chu Suosuo had clearly been slapped. If it weren’t for the red mark on her face, they would have thought they were hearing things.

The first person Chu Suosuo suspected was Su Hua. She whipped her head around to look at her.

She saw Su Hua holding the rosewood box, seriously flipping through the worn genealogy records inside. Moreover, she was more than ten meters away. Su Hua was a mere mortal; she certainly didn’t have the ability to teleport.

Ruled out.

Chu Suosuo scanned the room. Aside from her grandfather, the only people standing near her were Gu Jinyao and a shop assistant.

She stared suspiciously at the assistant, her eyes gleaming with malice. “Was it you who hit me?”

The assistant was so frightened that he waved his hands repeatedly, shrinking back. “It wasn’t me, it definitely wasn’t me! Second Young Miss, I have no grudge against you, why would I hit you? Even if you gave me a hundred times the courage, I wouldn’t dare!”

He likely didn’t have the nerve. Chu Suosuo turned her gaze toward Gu Jinyao.

Gu Jinyao curled his lips ever so slightly. “This is the first time I’ve met Miss Chu. I have even less reason to hit you.”

Chu Suosuo felt like she must have seen a ghost. Everyone claimed they hadn’t done it.
But she really had been hit.

The burning pain on her face wasn’t lying to her.

This was far too bizarre!

Her suspicious gaze shifted back to her grandfather, tears brimming in her eyes, feeling incredibly wronged. “Grandpa, was it you who hit me just now?”

Hua Tianshou’s face darkened. “You are my own granddaughter. No matter how much you anger me, the most I would do is scold you. How could I bear to hit you?”

Chu Suosuo was on the verge of a breakdown!

She kept patting her swollen left cheek. “But I really was hit! There were so many people here just now-didn’t any of you see who did it?”

Seeing this, the shop assistants quickly scattered, afraid of being suspected by Chu Suosuo.

Gu Jinyao turned away nonchalantly and walked toward Su Hua. “Miss Su, do you think this genealogy record can be restored?”

Su Hua nodded. “Yes. However, it’s quite thick and the damage is severe, so it will take some time to fix. You’re not in a hurry, are you?”

“No rush. Take your time. Once it’s restored, have someone call me, and I’ll come pick it up.”

“Alright.”

“This genealogy is very important to our family. My father said to restore it regardless of the cost.”

Seeing his apparent concern, Su Hua gave a gentle smile. “Don’t worry. A few years ago, my grandfather and I worked together to restore the genealogy of the Yan Clan. I handled most of it myself. I won’t disappoint you.”

“Then I’ll thank you in advance.”

Gu Jinyao took a check for one million yuan from his bag and handed it to her. “This is the payment from my father.”

Su Hua glanced at the amount and said, “It doesn’t cost this much. When we restored the Yan Clan’s records, we only charged two hundred thousand. I’ll give you a fifty percent discount.”

Gu Jinyao forced the check into her hand. “The one thing my father doesn’t lack is money. If you don’t accept it, he’ll be angry.”

Unable to argue with him, Su Hua accepted it.

In this line of work, the clients she dealt with were either wealthy or influential. They didn’t lack money; as long as the restoration was satisfactory, they were very generous with their payments.

She figured she would just give him a larger discount the next time he came to have something else repaired to make up for the difference.

On the other side, Chu Suosuo was so jealous her teeth ached.

She worked as an assistant to the president at her father’s company. Her monthly salary was only a few tens of thousand yuan, and that was a ‘family rate’ her father gave her. Yet, Su Hua could make a million just by fixing a tattered old book. It was infuriating!

She had come today thinking she could become her grandfather’s disciple and find a chance to humiliate Su Hua. Instead, she hadn’t managed to touch Su Hua at all and had been ruthlessly overshadowed. To make matters worse, she had been slapped for no apparent reason and had to watch Su Hua make a million yuan in minutes.

Chu Suosuo was practically collapsing from frustration. She angrily grabbed her bag from the counter and stormed out without even saying goodbye.

Once outside the shop, the more she thought about it, the more suspicious it felt.

She felt that Gu Jinyao was being far too good to Su Hua. Su Hua only wanted a hundred thousand, yet he insisted on giving her a million. No matter how rich someone was, they wouldn’t just throw money away like that. Money didn’t grow on trees.

A sudden idea struck her.

Chu Suosuo took out her phone and dialed Gu Beixian’s number.

Once the call connected, she said in a soft, dainty voice, “Beixian, guess what I saw at Grandpa’s shop today?”

Gu Beixian’s indifferent voice came through the phone. “Speak.”

“I saw Gu Jinyao bringing an old genealogy record to Sister Su Hua for restoration. Sister Su Hua wanted to charge a hundred thousand, but he insisted on giving her a million. Don’t you think that’s suspicious?”

The phone suddenly went silent.

Gu Beixian didn’t respond.

Seeing his silence, Chu Suosuo thought her plan was working. She felt secretly smug, waiting for the two of them to have a falling out so she could swoop in.

After a full minute, Gu Beixian finally spoke, his tone deep. “Su Hua’s craftsmanship is worth that price.”

Chu Suosuo froze. This answer was completely unexpected.

“Beixian, do you really not care at all? No man would give a woman extra money for no reason unless there’s something going on between them.”

“Are you finished?” Gu Beixian’s voice sounded extremely cold.

“Huh? Ye-yes, I’m finished.”

“Miss Chu, your face when you’re trying to drive a wedge between people is truly ugly,” Gu Beixian said coldly before hanging up.