Until the car of Gu Beixian disappeared from view, Su Huai remained standing in place, her gaze fixed straight ahead in the direction the car vanished.
Emotions in her heart were indescribable, a sense of emptiness and melancholy prevailing.
The wind stirred the tree leaves, swirling at her feet.
After standing for a while, Su Huai turned back towards her grandfather's house.
She took the keys and entered the eastern side room, which was her grandfather's ancient painting restoration room, the place where she spent most of her childhood.
The room remained unchanged, with two half-height large red wooden tables placed in the center, adorned with restoration tools such as brushes, an awl, and a sheepskin towel.
It hadn't been cleaned for some days, and a thin layer of dust had settled on the tables.
Thinking of her deceased grandfather due to stomach cancer, Su Huai felt a sourness in her nose, and her eyes welled up.
"Is this where you practiced art in your childhood?" came Shen Huai's voice from behind.
Su Huai nodded, "Yes."
Shen Huai walked to her side, lifted his hand to touch the table, "I truly admire you. When I was young, my grandfather wanted to pass on his skills to me. I gave up within a month; I couldn't sit still, and it was too tedious. Restoring artifacts requires great patience, not something everyone can do."
His grandfather was also well-known in the field of restoring ancient books and paintings.
Su Huai smiled, "Back then, my grandfather wanted to pass it on to my mother. She was the same, couldn't sit still. But it has to be passed down; otherwise, it would be lost."
"Yes, doing this requires a high threshold. It demands tranquility, spirituality, good insight, patience, endurance, and hard work."
"Exactly, especially no impatience. When revealing a painting, it has to be done slowly. Sometimes it takes half a month, and if you rush, the painting will be damaged."
Shen Huai glanced at Su Huai, his gaze tender, "Your childhood must have been quite challenging?"
Su Huai gave a faint smile, "What childhood? While other kids were playing outside, I was constantly copying ancient paintings."
"Poor thing."
Su Huai smirked, "A bit."
During the conversation, Mrs. Liu quietly entered with a cloth, cleaning here and there with a hostile glare at Shen Huai's back.
Shen Huai moved closer to Su Huai, slowly reaching towards her hand, wanting to hold it.
As they spoke, Mrs. Liu rushed in with a mop, headed straight to Shen Huai, and forcefully tapped the floor near his feet, loudly exclaiming, "Dr. Shen, make way! There was a rat running by just now!"
Shen Huai quickly moved aside.
Su Huai looked at Mrs. Liu in confusion.
This room was specially sealed by her grandfather, impervious to cockroaches, so where could there be rats?
Soon, she understood; Gu Beixian must have instructed Mrs. Liu before leaving.
She hadn't realized his possessiveness was so strong; he wouldn't allow her to talk to Shen Huai for even a few sentences.
In the evening, the group had dinner.
After Su Huai finished washing up, she lay on the bed reading a book.
Mrs. Liu ran in with her phone, saying, "Madam, a call from Mr. Gu, urgent matter."
Su Huai took it and asked, "What happened?"
Gu Beixian's low, magnetic voice came through the phone, "Grandma is sick and hospitalized, repeatedly mentioning wanting to see you. I've informed the bodyguards; hurry back."
Su Huai, upon hearing this, quickly put on her clothes.
Having seen Grandma last time, she appeared frail. At her age, catching a cold or fever could be dangerous.
Su Huai dressed and packed quickly, then headed out.
Shen Huai was standing in the yard, smoking.
Su Huai said to him, "I have to go back; Grandma is hospitalized."
Shen Huai extinguished the cigarette, "Alright, I'll go with you."
Three hours later, the group arrived in the city.
After bidding farewell to Shen Huai, Su Huai, accompanied by Mrs. Liu and the bodyguards, arrived at the hospital.
Grandma was in the VIP ward on the top floor.
Exiting the elevator, turning a corner, Su Huai immediately saw Gu Beixian standing at the window, smoking.
He had a tall figure, a handsome appearance, an outstanding temperament, exuding an air of nobility that stood out in the crowd.
Su Huai was about to call out to him when she heard a crisp "Beixian ge" (Brother Beixian).
Following that, a figure rushed out from the fire escape, embracing Gu Beixian's waist and nuzzling against his back, saying affectionately, "I heard Grandma is sick, so I came to see her."
The woman was beautiful, with a fair face and a delicate appearance nurtured by wealth.
She was Chu Suosuo.
Su Huai's heart thudded against her ribs painfully, and her legs felt like they were filled with lead, unable to take another step.
Mrs. Liu quickly shouted, "Mr. Gu, Madam is back."
Gu Beixian, holding Chu Suosuo's hand, moved away from his waist, striding towards Su Huai, saying softly, "Why didn't you call when you arrived? I could have come downstairs to pick you up."
Su Huai couldn't find words, glancing at him with a cool and indifferent look. She shifted her heavy legs, walking towards Grandma's ward.
Entering the room, Grandma was sitting on the bed, sipping bird's nest soup. When she saw Su Huai, her cloudy eyes brightened, "Huai'er, it's been a while since I last saw you. Northstring said you were on a business trip?"
This should be the excuse Gu Beixian came up with for her.
Su Huai responded, restrained her emotions, and placed her injured hand behind her back, smiling, "Grandma, how is your health?"
Grandma sighed, "Getting old is like paper, easily chilled by the wind. Come, come over and let Grandma take a good look at you."
Su Huai bent down to sit by her bedside.
Grandma saw that her hand had been hidden behind her back, curiously reaching out to pull it forward, "What's with your hand?"
"Nothing." Su Huai subconsciously moved back, but she was pulled out.
Seeing Su Huai's left hand with two fingers in a splint, and all four fingernails were purple and black.
Grandma took a sharp breath, extremely distressed, "Quickly tell Grandma, how did you hurt your hand?"
Su Huai calmly said, "A few days ago, I encountered a tomb raider. He was arrested and sent to prison, and his sister came to seek revenge."
Grandma, shocked, trembled, "What kind of audacity does this tomb raider have, daring to target even our Gu family? You must tell me the whole story in detail."
Su Huai explained the whole incident, from the beginning to the end.
After listening, Grandma's eyes
flickered slightly, sinking into thought.
After a while, she spoke, "On the day of the incident, Northstring was also there. They didn't know you, but they could definitely find out about Northstring. How could a small tomb raider be so bold as to seek revenge on you?"
She suddenly looked up towards the door, suggesting mysteriously, "Eight or nine times out of ten, someone incited her and used her as a pawn."
Su Huai's heart skipped a beat, following Grandma's gaze. There stood Chu Suosuo.