Chapter 93

Chapter 93

Today was Hua Tianshou’s birthday, and the house was packed with guests.

Su Hua didn’t want to get into a confrontation with Chu Suosuo, so she said to him, “Master, you go ahead and attend to your guests. I’ll step outside for a walk.”

Hua Tianshou knew there was bad blood between her and Chu Suosuo, so he didn’t insist. “Alright,” he said kindly. “Just take a stroll around the courtyard, but don’t go too far. Come back when it’s time to eat.”

Su Hua felt a wave of warmth.

They weren’t related by blood, and their relationship was merely that of master and apprentice, yet he looked out for her so much.

He reminded her of her own grandfather.

A lump formed in Su Hua’s throat as she replied, “Okay, Master.”

She scanned the crowd for Gu Beixian and saw him sitting with Chu Mochen in the southwest corner of the living room, deep in conversation.

They were undoubtedly discussing business.

Not wanting to disturb him, she stepped out alone.

The residence Hua Tianshou lived in was designed in the style of a classical Suzhou garden.

It featured white walls, dark gray tiles, upturned eaves, and intricate Chinese carvings.

The spacious courtyard was decorated with rockeries, viewing corridors, a Zen-inspired pavilion, and elegant, grand landscaping.

The overall aesthetic was graceful yet firm.

Next to the pavilion was a lotus pond.

The lotus leaves were lush and green, though they hadn’t bloomed yet.

A gentle breeze blew past, carrying the refreshing scent of lotus leaves, which was crisp and pleasant.

Su Hua strolled over.

Standing by the edge, she gazed at the pond full of emerald-green leaves.

She remembered the pond in front of her grandfather’s house; every summer, it would be filled with lotus leaves just like this.

Back then, to help her practice her fundamentals, her grandfather would set up a small easel for her every day and have her paint ink-wash lotuses by the pond.

She had started doing that when she was only four or five years old.

Seeing these familiar sights made her miss her grandfather terribly.

Thinking of him brought back memories of her grandmother and Ay Yao.

Unfortunately, the dead cannot be brought back to life.

Those who are gone are gone forever; they can never return.

Just as she was immersed in the past, her heart full of sorrow, a high-pitched, delicate voice suddenly came from behind her.

“You really are shameless. Stealing my Beixian wasn’t enough, and now you’re trying to steal my grandfather too? Why do you love stealing my things so much?”

That pampered and overbearing voice-Su Hua didn’t even need to guess to know it was Chu Suosuo.

Su Hua smiled.

She turned around to look at the flashily dressed Chu Suosuo. Straightening her back, she said coldly, “Miss Chu, let’s get one thing straight. It was Master who insisted on taking me as his apprentice. We paid the tuition, and a million yuan is no small sum. As for Gu Beixian, he is my legal husband. You are the one who intruded between us as a mistress. We are both adults with reputations to uphold; please stop twisting the truth and confusing right with wrong.”

Chu Suosuo suppressed her anger and gave a charming smile. “It doesn’t matter if Grandfather praises you to the heavens all day; I’m still the one he loves most.”

Su Hua couldn’t be bothered to compete for favor with her; it felt childish. She gave a faint, indifferent hum of acknowledgement, then turned back to continue admiring the lotuses.

Seeing Su Hua concede so easily made Chu Suosuo quite angry.

It felt like punching a bale of cotton; there was no sense of achievement in her victory.

Suddenly, her eyes lit up. She saw Hua Tianshou walking down the garden path toward the main gate.

He was likely going to personally welcome an important guest.

An idea flashed through Chu Suosuo’s mind.

“We’ll see who Grandfather cares about more!” With that, she suddenly reached out and gave Su Hua a violent shove from behind.

Splash!

There was a loud sound as Su Hua was pushed into the lotus pond, caught completely off guard.

The water in early summer was still quite cold.

Su Hua’s pores constricted instantly, and she couldn’t help but shiver. The bottom was filled with silt-soft, slippery, and sucking her feet down.

She didn’t know how to swim; she was a complete landlubber.

Instinctively, she flailed her arms, struggling to stay afloat.

Then came another splash as Chu Suosuo jumped in as well.

She intentionally grabbed Su Hua’s hand and dragged her toward the deeper water.

On land, Su Hua would have had no trouble dealing with her. But in the water, her body was out of control, her feet were sinking, and her hand was being held down. Su Hua found it incredibly difficult to cope.

She yanked her arm with all her might and shouted angrily, “Let go of me! You lunatic!”

As she spoke, her body lost its balance, and she swallowed a mouthful of dirty water.

Chu Suosuo gripped her arm and pushed down hard, while simultaneously screaming at the top of her lungs, “Grandfather, save me! Grandfather! Help! I fell in! Help! Grandfather!”

Hua Tianshou had been hurrying toward the gate to meet his old friend. Hearing the cries for help, he whipped his head around toward the lotus pond.

What he saw was terrifying!

Chu Suosuo and Su Hua had both fallen into the pond, with only their shoulders and heads visible above the water.

His face paled in shock as he shouted, “Someone! Quick! Someone help! People have fallen into the water!”

Unfortunately, the servants were all in the living room, busy attending to the guests.
The courtyard was empty of bystanders.

Seeing that Chu Suosuo and Su Hua were both about to sink beneath the water, Hua Tianshou rushed toward them as fast as he could.

The poor old man, over eighty years old, was being put through the wringer by Chu Suosuo. At his advanced age, he was forced to jump into the water to save them.

Without even taking off his shoes, he plunged into the lotus pond. He grabbed Chu Suosuo with one hand and Su Hua with the other, dragging them toward the shore.

However, his age made it incredibly difficult, especially while trying to rescue two people at once. Hua Tianshou struggled immensely, unable to even look after himself as he swallowed several mouthfuls of dirty water.

Su Hua struggled to help Hua Tianshou, but her hand was gripped so tightly by Chu Suosuo that she couldn’t break free.

Chu Suosuo’s stubborn streak had flared up; she was determined to fight Su Hua to the bitter end!

Just as the three of them reached a critical moment, two loud splashes echoed through the air.

Two tall, slender figures dived into the water, one after the other.

Gu Jinyao was in the lead, followed by Gu Beixian.

Gu Jinyao instinctively swam to Su Hua. Without a second thought, he reached out to grab her hand and liberate her from Chu Suosuo’s grasp.

Seeing this, Gu Beixian swam over quickly, hooked his arm around Su Hua’s waist, and snatched her away from Gu Jinyao.

Holding Su Hua tightly with one arm, he swam toward the shore with startling agility.

“Beixian, save me!” Chu Suosuo thrashed in the water, calling out to Gu Beixian in a weak, delicate voice as she reached out to grab him.

Gu Jinyao, finding her an obstacle, kicked her away with considerable force.

The kick nearly knocked the wind out of Chu Suosuo, and she immediately became much better behaved. She floated on the surface without moving, glaring at Gu Jinyao with a resentful expression, though she didn’t dare say a word.

Having forced Chu Suosuo to settle down, Gu Jinyao grabbed Hua Tianshou’s arm and swam toward the bank.

Though Hua Tianshou was elderly, he was a tall man. Movement in the water was far more difficult than on land, and the old man’s wet clothes were heavy. Even though Gu Jinyao was a veteran of the Special Abilities Team, rescuing him required a great deal of effort.

On the shore, Gu Beixian brought Su Hua to safety. He picked up the coat he had tossed on the ground earlier and wrapped it around her.

Su Hua was soaked and shivering from the cold. Her hair was dripping, and she let out two consecutive sneezes. Because Chu Suosuo had been dragging her down, she had accidentally swallowed several gulps of the murky water. Her stomach felt unsettled, and she felt a wave of nausea.

Gu Beixian patted her back, helping her cough up the water. Once the dirty water was out of her system, he bent down, scooped her up in a bridal carry, and prepared to leave to find a room where she could change.

Su Hua gripped his arm to stop him and asked Gu Jinyao, “Is my Master alright?”

Gu Jinyao was laying Hua Tianshou flat on the concrete bank, firmly pinching the man’s philtrum. He replied, “He should be fine. Go change your clothes quickly.”

Su Hua’s teeth chattered as she said, “Mr. Gu, please, you must wake my Master up.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll wake him,” Gu Jinyao said. He kept his eyes lowered, not looking at her, but his voice was incredibly gentle-a complete contrast to the tone he used with anyone else.

Feeling a pang of discomfort, Gu Beixian said nothing and walked away with Su Hua in his arms.

Chu Suosuo’s cries for help echoed behind them. “Beixian, save me! Save me!”

Gu Beixian didn’t even turn his head. Carrying Su Hua, his pace was as swift as the wind. Finding an empty room with a bathroom, he set Su Hua down and told her to go in and take a hot shower.

He pulled out his phone and called his driver, instructing him to go to Riyue Bay to get Su Hua’s clothes and bring two sets of new clothes for men as well.

Back at the lotus pond.

Realizing no one was coming to save her, Chu Suosuo climbed out of the water herself. She knew how to swim; though she wasn’t particularly skilled, she could manage well enough to keep herself safe. That was why she had been bold enough to pull such a stunt in the first place.

Once on shore, she saw Hua Tianshou lying on the concrete, his eyes tightly shut and his lips turning blue.

Chu Suosuo was gripped by intense fear. She slumped down beside him and asked Gu Jinyao nervously, “Is my grandfather okay? He was a great swimmer when he was young-he could swim across the Yangtze River! What happened to him today?”

Gu Jinyao was pressing down hard on Hua Tianshou’s chest, performing CPR. Hearing her question, he looked up and swept a cold, indifferent gaze over her.

“If anything happens to Elder Hua, you are a murderer!”

Chu Suosuo’s tears burst forth instantly, her heart filled with bitter regret. She hadn’t intended for things to go this far. She only wanted to test who was more important in her grandfather’s heart: her or Su Hua.

Terrified and worried, she grabbed Hua Tianshou’s hand and cried out, “Grandpa, stay strong! Please, you have to wake up!”

But the hand she held was wrinkled, icy, and devoid of warmth.