A single sentence successfully piqued Su Hui's curiosity.
Recalling her grandmother's words, she pondered that Huang Que might have been incited by someone. At that moment, she glanced intriguingly at Chu Suosuo.
Su Hui lowered her head to look at her left hand in a splint. She was eager to know if her injury had any connection with Chu Suosuo.
After waiting in silence for a while, she heard a low hum from Gu Beixian.
Su Hui turned back, picked up the medical kit, and approached him, asking, "Has Huang Que been caught?"
Gu Beixian pinched his phone, turned to look at her, and said, "She's missing."
Su Hui furrowed her brows slightly, "Missing?"
"Yes, the people I sent searched her home and relatives' houses thoroughly, but couldn't find her. Her family has reported to the police. Let's wait for updates."
Su Hui's eyes became subtle, "The timing of her disappearance is quite clever. Just when you sent people to find her, she immediately went missing."
Gu Beixian walked to the sofa, sat down with crossed legs, and casually said, "Her brother, who was involved in tomb robbing, got caught. After going in, unable to withstand the pressure, he will surely reveal some people. Naturally, those seeking revenge will come knocking, so her disappearance is not unexpected."
Su Hui remained silent.
In the middle of the night, she didn't want to argue with him.
Without evidence, meaningless arguments were just quarrels, which couldn't solve any problems and would only consume emotions.
Placing the medical kit on the coffee table, Su Hui walked to his side and carefully examined his right hand.
His palm and fingers had multiple small glass shards embedded.
She chided, "Why are you so careless? I injured my left hand, and now you've injured your right hand. Injuries seem to come in pairs."
Gu Beixian withdrew his hand, indifferent, "Just a minor flesh wound, it'll be fine in two or three days, not painful."
"How can it not be painful? You're not made of iron."
Su Hui took a disinfectant cotton ball, cleaned the alcohol and blood from his hand, used a strong light flashlight, and tweezers to carefully extract the embedded glass fragments.
During those two years when Gu Beixian couldn't stand up, he was often depressed and irritable, frequently breaking things and getting injured became commonplace.
Su Hui had already mastered the art of quickly and skillfully handling wounds.
After cleaning, she applied medicine to him and softly admonished, "Be more careful next time; if you keep getting injured, I'll be angry."
Her tone was half-annoyed and half-complaining, her voice gentle and soothing, more healing than the medicine.
Gu Beixian's pent-up dissatisfaction eased a bit.
He lowered his gaze, looking at her eyes as dark as water. His gaze gradually deepened, but his voice remained calm, "Didn't we agree to have a child? Why are you taking contraceptive pills?"
Beneath the indifferent expression, he suppressed genuine emotions.
Su Hui was momentarily stunned and quickly, her face turned away, calmly saying, "I think we're still young, and there's no need to rush about having a child. A child is not a toy; it's a life. Once born, we are responsible for it. A child can alleviate conflicts or intensify them but cannot solve the fundamental issues."
Gu Beixian slightly lifted the corners of his lips, his gaze fixed on her pure and beautiful profile. The emotions in his eyes were unclear as he said, "You have a strong opinion."
Su Hui did not respond, closed the medicine box, and detected a faint smell of alcohol from him, asking, "How much did you drink?"
"Not much."
"I'll make you some sobering soup." She stood up, but Gu Beixian grabbed her wrist.
With a little force, he pulled her into his arms, rubbing his chin against her ear, and said in a low voice, "No need, I didn't drink much. Your hand is injured; don't bother."
Su Hui was held by him, her back against his broad chest. She could feel the rapid beating of his heart.
Normally, she would find it warm, her heartbeat accelerating, and her body warming up. But now, with mixed feelings, she stayed silent for a few seconds and said calmly, "It's late; go wash and sleep."
"Okay."
Gu Beixian released her and stood up.
The two of them went upstairs and entered the bathroom.
Su Hui helped him remove his watch and shirt buttons, opened his belt, and asked, "Do you want me to help you shower?"
"No need, my left hand can still manage. Just a quick rinse is enough."
"Okay."
Su Hui went to the shower area, turned on the showerhead, and adjusted the water temperature for him.
She stepped back, letting Gu Beixian enter the shower.
As her gaze flickered over him, her face blushed slightly.
Walking to the sink, she squeezed toothpaste onto the toothbrush for him.
Leaving the bathroom, she didn't return to the room but stood at the door, quietly waiting.
This was something she had gotten used to in the past two years.
When the sound of water in the bathroom stopped, she pushed the door open and went in, taking a towel to help Gu Beixian dry off.
He dried the front himself.
She helped him with the areas on his back that he couldn't reach.
Looking at his strong physique, beautiful muscle lines, and vigorous back, her nose felt a bit sour.
In the past, when he sat in a wheelchair, depressed every day, she hoped he could stand up. But now that he had stood up, his aunt and father felt that she was no longer worthy of him.
People in their supposedly high-class circle truly prioritized material gain over everything else.
After drying, Gu Beixian put on a robe.
While tying the robe, Su Hui used her right hand, and he used his left hand.
They each held one end of the belt, seamlessly tying a knot together.
Gu Beixian lightly smiled, "What do we call this?"
Su Hui thought for a moment, turned her head to look at him, and raised her eyes, "Mutual support?"
Gu Beixian, in a somewhat slow rhythm, responded, "Yes, mutual support."
He lowered his gaze, staring at her gently curving eyebrows and eyes, the emotions in his eyes ambiguous, and after a while, he spoke, "If three years ago, I had no money, would you have married me?"
Su Hui's heart skipped a beat.
This was what Gu Aoting had said to him tonight, and now he was asking her again. A foreboding feeling slowly climbed into her heart.
She playfully asked in a light tone, "Why ask such a meaningless question?"
"It is quite meaningless. Let's change it. If I run out of money now, would you leave me?"
Su Hui thought seriously for a moment and said, "I have money; I'll support you."
Gu Beixian subtly raised his eyebrows, "How much money do you have?"
"Fifteen million."
Gu Beixian
laughed, cooperating with her to act surprised, "How do you have so much money? You didn't spend the money I gave you over the years?"
"I hardly spend much money. For my grandmother's medical expenses, you arrange for regular payments. As for living expenses, she receives a pension every month, and my mother does too. Every time I give money to my mother, she refuses to take it, asking me to save it for myself. I handle my daily expenses, and you take care of that. For clothes and cosmetics, I use the shopping cards you gave me at the mall."
Gu Beixian patted her head, "Our Hui Hui is really good at saving money."
Su Hui's smile became even sweeter, "Not only can I save money, but I can also earn it. When my hand heals, I'll go to work. You may not know, but I earn quite a bit from restoring ancient paintings. By the way, in our line of work, we can also profit from fortuitous findings. The imitations I created were previously auctioned in my grandfather's name, and the highest one sold for five hundred thousand. If you run out of money, I'll paint more in the future."
Gu Beixian's deep laughter was full of praise, "Our Hui Hui is amazing."
Su Hui praised herself, then said, "I also know a bit about financial management. A few days ago, I deposited the fifteen million in a three-year fixed deposit. The bank gave a 4% interest rate for large deposits, and the interest alone is eighteen million."
She cupped his face, sweetly saying, "Husband, even if you run out of money, I can still take care of you very well."
Gu Beixian's dark eyes glittered with starlight, lifting his hand to press her into his embrace, softly kissing her hair, and asking in a low voice, "Why are you so good to me?"
"Because you're good to our whole family."
Gu Beixian's eyes slightly darkened, "Just because of that?"
Su Hui felt that he was a bit melodramatic tonight, and she laughed, "How do you want me to answer?"
Gu Beixian gazed at the shadow she cast on the ground, his eyes growing deeper and more profound. After a long time, he spoke, "Do you... love me?"
Su Hui suddenly woke up, and the smile on her face froze.
Love was undoubtedly there, but at this moment, saying "I love you" seemed meaningless.
A shaky marriage, no matter how much she loved, couldn't withstand reality.
She didn't believe that a light, airy "love" could change anything. In the end, he would still listen to his father.
After a long while, Su Hui forced a smile, stepped out of his embrace, tiptoed, and gently kissed his chin, saying tenderly, "Let me blow-dry your hair; then, let's go to sleep."
She turned around, took the hairdryer from the cabinet, let him sit down, and skillfully blew his hair.
Listening to the humming sound of the hairdryer and smelling her faint fragrance, Gu Beixian curled his lips, seemingly smiling but not smiling.
She would only treat him well, but she didn't love him.
No matter what he did, he couldn't replace her brother, A Yao.
After drying his hair, the two went to bed.
This time, Su Hui quickly fell into a deep sleep.
In the middle of the night, a loud thunderclap echoed through the half-open window, waking Su Hui abruptly.
Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she looked to the side—empty.
Gu Beixian was gone.
Suddenly remembering something, Su Hui jolted up, put on her clothes, and jumped out of bed to look for him.