Witnessing Su Huan staunchly defending that Yao, Gu Beixian felt quite uncomfortable deep within.
While his expression remained unchanged, his eyes concealed restrained emotions.
"I'll step out for a smoke," he uttered coldly and walked out, closing the door with more force than usual.
However, Su Huan paid no attention.
Her mind was filled with the night thirteen years ago, that nightmarish evening with howling winds, raging flames, endless pain, and desperate cries.
Yao was the key to unlocking that nightmare. Just mentioning him would pierce her heart like a dagger, stirring up turbulent waves of emotion, difficult to calm for a long time.
A tear silently slid down from her eye corner, dropping onto the blurry photo.
After a long while, Su Huan regained her composure.
Wiping her teary eyes with the back of her hand, she returned her gaze to the photo, pondering who might be secretly helping her.
The incident of her hand injury was known to only a few, including herself and a handful of people. Gu Beixian was ruled out; he wouldn't harm the person he loved.
Could it be Shen Huai?
Su Huan picked up her phone, called Shen Huai, and asked, "Shen Shao, do you know Chu Suoluo?"
Shen Huai paused and said, "I seem to have heard that name somewhere. What's wrong?"
"Her hand was smashed with a hammer last night."
Shen Huai said, "Oh, do you want me to help find a doctor for her?"
"No need, it's nothing." Su Huan hung up.
Clearly, Shen Huai wasn't involved either.
Su Huan picked up the photo again, examining it carefully.
Since marrying Gu Beixian, she had led a secluded life, being reserved and taciturn. She had few friends, and the number of male friends was even more scarce.
She racked her brain but couldn't recognize the person from the silhouette.
Gu Beixian smoked half a pack of cigarettes outside before regulating his emotions.
He pushed the door and entered.
Seeing Su Huan sitting on the hospital bed, holding the photo with a furrowed brow, looking concerned, he paused, walked to the bedside, sat down, lifted her frowning brow, and gently smoothed it out.
Gazing deeply into her eyes for a while, he pulled her into his arms, holding her.
The embrace lasted a bit longer than a normal hug.
Su Huan detected a strong smell of smoke from him and softly asked, "Did you smoke a lot?"
"Mm."
"You've just managed to quit; don't start again. Smoking is harmful to your health."
"Okay."
After a while, he said, "I apologize for upsetting you earlier."
Su Huan wanted to say something but found it hard to articulate. She could only say, "I'm hungry; let's eat."
Gu Beixian released her and called the bodyguard to bring the meal.
After eating, Gu Beixian went to the company.
In the evening, Gu Nanyin brought a large bouquet of flowers to visit Su Huan.
As soon as she sat down, she began to complain, "Sister-in-law, why didn't you tell me you were injured? If Brother Mochen hadn't mentioned it casually, I wouldn't have known you were hospitalized."
Su Huan smiled, "You have to go to school. Visiting me would affect your studies."
"I'm about to graduate, and I don't have to look for a job. I don't want to take the postgraduate exam either. I'm bored every day. If you had told me, I would have come over to chat with you. As long as you don't find me annoying."
Su Huan whispered, "You won't."
Glancing at her swollen, red hand in a cast, Gu Nanyin angrily said, "Who's that darned person? Want to die? To be so ruthless to you."
"Some tomb raiders got involved some days ago, and a bald man ended up in prison. His sister sought revenge."
Su Huan briefly explained the cause and effect to her.
Gu Nanyin, after listening, was furious.
The two chatted for a while until it got dark.
Gu Nanyin checked her watch, picked up her phone, and called Gu Beixian, "Brother, I came to the hospital to see Sister-in-law. I want to drink milk tea. Can you bring me one on your way back? You remember what I like, right? Don't forget to bring one for Sister-in-law too."
Gu Beixian's indifferent voice came from the phone, "I'm at the hospital. If you want to drink, ask the bodyguard to buy it."
"I'm in Sister-in-law's hospital room, and I haven't seen you. Where are you?"
"I came to see Suoluo. I'll be back in half an hour."
Gu Nanyin couldn't sit still. She stood up from her chair, walked to the window, and said, "Brother, you really disappoint me. My sister-in-law is injured, and her mood is already not good. Yet, you still provoke her like this. Don't you know what women detest the most? It's when a man gets too close to his ex-girlfriend."
Gu Beixian fell silent for a moment and said, "I will return shortly."
"Come back now, quickly," urged Su Huan.
Gu Beixian ended the call.
Gu Nanyin walked to Su Huan's bed with an indignant expression, sat down, and, after observing Su Huan's hesitation, couldn't help but say, "Sister-in-law, has my brother been getting close to Chu Suoluo lately?"
Su Huan nodded faintly.
Sighing, Gu Nanyin said, "Sister-in-law, you're too straightforward. You can't outplay her. She's always been petty and cunning, especially when it comes to my brother. She clings to him, saying sweet things and acting cute, making my brother do everything for her, like serving her food and peeling shrimp. My brother indulges her completely."
While listening absentmindedly, Su Huan casually remarked, "Is that so?"
"Yes, she always liked to compete with me for my brother's attention. Whenever our families gathered for business or festive occasions, she would stick to my brother, acting all cute and demanding his attention. My brother treated her exceptionally well, tolerating everything."
Su Huan's heart ached, but her face remained impassive.
Continuing, Gu Nanyin said, "Later, unable to tolerate it, I decided to pursue her brother, addressing him in the same affectionate way she did. I called him 'Brother Mochen' and made him spin around doing whatever I wanted, which irritated her."
Su Huan had a favorable impression of Chu Mochen, so she commented, "He seems quite different from his sister, with a significant contrast in personalities."
"They have different mothers. Chu Suoluo's mom is Brother Mochen's paternal aunt, a mistress who gained a higher position. She's quite scheming," Gu Nanyin rolled her eyes.
Su Huan listened quietly.
"Speaking of which, Brother Mochen has quite a pitiful story." Gu Nanyin's mood suddenly turned somber, and she sighed, "His younger sister died a few months after birth, and his mother went insane due to the shock. His sister was originally engaged to my brother in a childhood marriage. If she were alive, she would be around your age."
Unsure of what to say, Su Huan curved her lips.
Not long after, Gu Beixian returned.
He held two cups of milk tea and desserts—one was Su Huan's favorite mango sago and the other was Gu Nanyin's beloved strawberry milkshake from Yunding.
Gu Beixian inserted the straw into the milk tea and handed it to Su Huan. "Bought it from your favorite shop."
Su Huan reached out and took it, catching a faint, sweet fragrance from his suit sleeve—the perfume frequently used by Chu Suoluo.
With a casual glance, she noticed a small red mark the size of a fingernail on his shirt collar—a cherry-red color, the same shade Chu Suoluo wore on her lips when they last met.
It felt like being bitten by a cat, causing her heart to skip several beats.
This wasn't the first time experiencing this, but each time was equally uncomfortable, a hellish torment.
Su Huan held the cup tightly, laughed self-deprecatingly, and said, "Thank you for your hard work, buying us tea despite being so busy."
Gu Beixian casually remarked, "Had the driver buy it."
Gu Nanyin took the milk tea from him, rolled her eyes, and said, "Brother, keep playing around like this, and you might lose your wife. A woman as good as Sister-in-law is hard to find. If you lose her, finding someone like her again will be difficult."
Gu Beixian's gaze fell on Su Huan, who was slowly sipping her tea with long eyelashes hanging down, revealing no particular expression.
He nonchalantly said, "Adult matters, don't meddle in, little girl."
Gu Nanyin, looking frustrated, said, "I'm doing it for your own good. If you don't listen to me, you'll regret it in the future. Hmph!"
Ten days later, at noon.
After inspecting a subordinate company, Gu Beixian rushed back to the hospital.
The two bodyguards stationed at the door were missing, causing a slight displeasure in Gu Beixian's expression.
He pushed open the ward door and saw a stranger lying on the hospital bed.
Gu Beixian's heart trembled, and he quickly asked the approaching nurse, "Where's the patient who was staying here, named Su Huan?"
The nurse pondered for a moment and said, "She has been discharged. She left early this morning."
Gu Beixian's face darkened. They had agreed that he would come over to accompany her when she left the hospital, but she didn't even say goodbye; she just left.
He picked up his phone and dialed Su Huan's number.
A mechanical female voice from the phone said, "The user you are trying to reach is currently unreachable."
He opened WeChat to send a message to Su Huan, but the message couldn't be sent.
She had blocked him.