"It's alright; I accidentally knocked over the flower vase," Su Huai bent down, intending to pick up the shattered porcelain pieces.
"I'll handle it; you shouldn't touch it to avoid injuring your hands," Gu Beixian briskly entered the bathroom, pulling her aside. He casually placed his phone on the sink and leaned down to pick up the fragments.
The call was forgotten.
Su Huai found a trash can and handed it over, cautioning him, "Be careful."
"My skin is thick; I won't get cut," Gu Beixian picked up a few large shards and tossed them into the trash.
"Nonsense; there's no skin too thick to cut," Su Huai crouched down next to him, helping with the cleanup.
Gu Beixian stopped her, preventing her from touching, "During those two years, my temper was terrible; I often threw things around. You must have been quite overwhelmed cleaning up after me every day."
Thinking about the torment of those two years, Su Huai's nose tingled, tears nearly falling.
She hurriedly lowered her eyelids, gently saying, "I didn't feel overwhelmed, really."
Gu Beixian stared at her lowered long eyelashes for a while and said, "You, with your good temper, don't seem entirely real."
Recalling Xiao Yi's words, Su Huai asked softly, "Is my personality considered dull?"
Gu Beixian chuckled, "It's a bit."
"Then, I'll hit you," Su Huai lightly pushed his leg.
Gu Beixian laughed, taking hold of her hand.
Listening to the playful banter between the two on the phone, Chu Suosuo hung up in frustration.
With a loud "bang," she tossed the phone onto the car seat.
She remained silent throughout the journey.
Back at the Chu residence, Hua Qi Ruo saw her fingers bandaged, face livid, and asked, "What happened to your hand? Why are you so angry?"
"My hand is fine, just a minor injury."
"Then why are you angry?"
Chu Suosuo was indignant, "Just a country girl, playing the nanny for Beixian for three years, and he protects her like that. I casually mentioned a few words about her, and he got upset, even hanging up on my call. She's picking up the pieces of a broken flower vase, and he's afraid she'll cut her hand. Originally, he was going to take me to the hospital tonight. Still, halfway through, he received a call from Xiao Yi, saying that Su Huai got into her colleague's car. He immediately got out of the car, hailed a taxi, and went to find her."
Hua Qi Ruo couldn't understand, "If he cares so much about her, why does he want to divorce her?"
Chu Suosuo kicked off her high heels, "Who knows? Last time, when Beixian got drunk, he said the divorce wasn't entirely because of me. He even said mentioning me was just a pretense. I don't know if he was speaking the truth or just venting."
"It's probably just venting."
Chu Suosuo removed her slippers and sat down on the sofa, contemplating the events of the day. The more she thought, the angrier she became.
Hua Qi Ruo consoled her, "Beixian marrying Su Huai in your image suggests that he can't let go of you. You're an authentic product, compared to an imitation. Don't rush; take your time and give him a process of reacceptance."
Chu Suosuo frowned, "Seeing their relationship so good, how can I not be anxious?"
"Being anxious won't help. This kind of thing can't be rushed. Think of a way to win him back; that's the main concern." Hua Qi Ruo handed her a glass of water.
Chu Suosuo took the glass, pouting and complaining, "It's all your fault. A year ago, Beixian could already stand, and I said I would return to China to find him. You stopped me, insisting on observing for a year before deciding. Now, they're in love, and I'm almost irrelevant."
Hua Qi Ruo cast her a glance, "Accidents have lasting effects. If we didn't observe carefully, and he had a relapse, sitting in a wheelchair, would you be willing to serve him for a lifetime?"
Chu Suosuo didn't speak, burying her head in drinking water.
After a quiet moment, Hua Qi Ruo asked, "Did Su Huai accept the check you gave her?"
"No, she didn't."
Hua Qi Ruo was surprised, "She rejected two million; is her appetite that big? Three years ago, for a million, she married a man with lower body paralysis. What's she pretending now?"
Thinking about the matter, Chu Suosuo became infuriated, "Do you know how arrogant she is? She threw the check in my face, saying that three years ago, if she hadn't married Gu Beixian, she could still earn a million with her own hands."
"With her own hands?" Hua Qi Ruo scoffed, "A person who restores ancient paintings, is she that amazing?"
"I checked; her grandfather, Su Wenmai, was quite famous in the industry before he passed away. She inherited his true teachings."
"So what?" Hua Qi Ruo sneered, "If her hands become useless, let's see how arrogant she can be."
Chu Suosuo suddenly widened her eyes, staring at her, "Mom, don't mess around!"
One week later, at noon.
Ancient Treasures Auction House.
Su Huai locked the restoration room door and descended to a nearby restaurant for a meal.
Arriving at a Cantonese-style restaurant, she ordered a shrimp and rice dish, selected a seat by the wall, and began to eat quietly.
Her temperament was gentle and serene, her porcelain-white skin and delicate features, with fingers like leeks holding ebony chopsticks. She chewed slowly, exhibiting an extremely refined dining manner, standing out in the bustling restaurant.
After finishing her meal and settling the bill, Su Huai picked up her bag, walked elegantly to the door, and raised her right hand to push the glass door.
The glass door was a bit difficult to push; as she managed to open a gap, she used her left hand to support the door frame and pushed it with force.
Suddenly, a figure rushed over from outside, forcefully slamming the door open with a bang.
Su Huai wanted to retract her hand, but it was too late.
A tearing and heart-wrenching pain surged from her fingertips.
She was in such pain that she almost fainted.
Her legs trembled, and she couldn't stand. She crouched on the ground, holding her left hand, tears falling rapidly.
The four fingers of her left hand visibly swelled, the finger bones seemed broken, blood oozing out, dropping to the ground, vividly red.
In a daze, she heard someone apologizing, "Sorry, sorry, it was not intentional." The woman's voice was firm, wearing a yellow takeout uniform with a motorcycle helmet.
She took out a stack of money from her bag and placed it at Su Huai's feet, "Consider this as your medical expenses. I have urgent matters, let's connect later, alright?"
Su Huai was in too much pain to speak.
With blurred eyes, she looked at her injured hand.
Her hand, her hand, the hand that she had worked hard for nearly twenty years, inheriting all the skills of her grandfather and his five generations of ancestors.
The hand she regarded as more important than her life since childhood.
And now, it was ruined.
She trembled all over, her face pale, her eyes filled with sadness and despair.
By the time the restaurant owner heard the commotion and approached, the person who had harmed Su Huai was long gone.
The owner drove her to the hospital.
After stopping the bleeding and undergoing an X-ray, Gu Beixian arrived.
Dressed in a high-end suit with a tie, having left a third of the meeting, he received a call saying Su Huai had injured her hand. He left it to his subordinates, hastily rushing over.
Su Huai was assisted by the owner as she walked out of the radiology department.
Thin and frail, unable to stand steadily, her eyes were red, teary, and lost.
Anyone who saw her would feel pity.
Gu Beixian's face was grim. He approached Su Huai, holding her carefully, suppressing his anger, and asked the restaurant owner, "Who injured her? Where is the person?"
The owner, a woman in her forties, was a bit scared. Her voice trembled as she said, "According to the customers in the restaurant, it was a delivery person, and she has already run away."
Gu Beixian clenched his teeth and instructed his assistant behind him, "Go find! Dig three feet into the ground if necessary, but bring that person to me!"
"Yes, General Gu." The assistant sensed that his emotions were reaching a critical point and promptly led a team to search.
The restaurant owner, not daring to delay, hurriedly followed the assistant to return to the restaurant to cooperate in checking the surveillance.
The X-ray results would take a while, and after they were available, Gu Beixian supported Su Huai, finding a chair for her to sit on. He held her gently, as if cradling a baby.
Su Huai continued to shiver, her hands and feet cold.
Gu Beixian used one hand to undo the buttons of his suit, taking it off and draping it over her. He held her tightly, his jaw against her head, his expression stern.
When the X-ray results came out, he showed them to the doctor.
The doctor said that Su Huai's middle finger and ring finger were fractured and needed to be cut open for surgery to reset.
Gu Beixian dispatched someone to find the best orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Bai, to perform the operation.
Over an hour later, the surgery was completed.
After the observation period, Su Huai was transferred to the ward. Her fingers were swollen like carrots, and the broken fingers were immobilized with splints, requiring intravenous therapy.
Her condition was very poor, silent, lying like a wooden person, eyes filled with despair as if the sky had collapsed.
Gu Beixian silently watched her for a while, then dipped a towel in warm water to wipe her face. After wiping, he fed her porridge and medicine.
Su Huai was obedient, silently drinking the porridge and taking the medicine, but she didn't speak.
Around eight in the evening, the person who had harmed Su Huai was caught.
The assistant walked to Gu Beixian's side and whispered a few words to him.
The more Gu Beixian listened, the colder his expression became. At the end, he clenched his jaw for a moment, his brows twitching with anger.
After taking a few deep breaths, he calmed his emotions.
He leaned over and said to Su Hua, "I'll go out for a trip and be back soon."