Chapter 2

Suguo's heart was a mix of emotions, unsure of how to respond.

She slowly turned her head and looked at Gu Beixian.

He didn't often smile, but when he did, it was truly beautiful, like a gentle spring breeze, his eyes dark and clear, sparkling like the stars and the sea.

He must be very happy, about to be with his beloved.

Suguo also smiled, a smile that came after heartbreak, "I wish you happiness too." After saying this, she turned and got into the car.

As soon as the car door closed, tears streamed down her face, the new pain adding to the old, hurting so much that she just wanted to curl up.

The driver lifted the suitcase and placed it in the trunk, then got into the car and started the engine.

Watching the car speed away, Gu Beixian's smile froze, the light in his eyes gradually dimming.

Back at the Su family home.

Suguo pulled her suitcase into the house.

Su Peilan, seeing her red and swollen eyes and the suitcase in her hand, was shocked, "Daughter, what happened?"

Suguo bent down to change her shoes, trying to remain calm, "I'm moving back in."

Su Peilan jumped up from the sofa, "Are you going to separate from Gu Beixian?"

"Yes, his ex-girlfriend is back."

Su Peilan was instantly furious, "Three years ago, Gu Beixian had a car accident, and the doctor said he would never leave the wheelchair. His ex-girlfriend left him! You were the one who accompanied him, seeking medical treatment both domestically and abroad, massaging his legs, helping him with rehabilitation, taking care of him day and night like a nanny! Now that he can walk and jump, that woman is back. How shameless! And Gu Beixian, to give up on you for such a heartless woman! Is he blind?"

Suguo bent down and took out a check from her suitcase, handing it to her, "This is the compensation he gave me."

Su Peilan stared at the long string of zeros on the check, her eyes widening.

Counting them, there were eight zeros after the one!

Her expression softened slightly, "This isn't about money. Can you just bully people with money?"

Suguo lowered her eyes and said softly, "How many couples get divorced with the man not giving a cent, even plotting against the woman? Some men even kill their wives to avoid dividing their assets. Compared to that, Gu Beixian is not so bad."

"But can you swallow this?"

Suguo smiled bitterly, "What else can I do? Cry, make a scene, and threaten to commit suicide? Would that help? No. His heart is no longer with me, and it's meaningless to force him to stay. Mom, I'm tired, I want to go to sleep."

"Go ahead." Su Peilan looked at her with concern, sighing.

This child is too composed, composed to the point of making one's heart ache.

Suguo turned and went to the bedroom.

She slept for two days and two nights.

Su Peilan was so worried that she often came in to check her breathing.

Actually, Suguo didn't sleep much, she just didn't want to move, didn't feel hungry, her body felt weak and her heart felt like a piece was missing, as if the sky had fallen.

On the third day, she managed to get up.

After cleaning up, she called Gu Beixian, "Is the divorce agreement ready? When can we go to the registry office?"

Gu Beixian was silent for a moment, "I'm on a business trip, let's talk when I get back."

"Okay, I'll go to work. Call me before you come."

"Did you find a job so quickly? Where?"

"At an antique shop, they've been calling me for a while."

"Don't work too hard, let me know if you need money." His voice was low and gentle, like moonlight, making one feel warm.

Suguo's heart ached, and she said coldly, "I don't need it, thank you."

After breakfast, Suguo took a taxi to Gubaozhai.

She was greeted by the young master of the shop, Shen Huai.

Wearing a light blue shirt and khaki pants, he was tall and slender, with a clean and gentle demeanor, like a piece of jade.

After introducing Suguo to the staff downstairs, Shen Huai took her upstairs and introduced her to the senior appraiser, Cui Shousheng.

"Cui Laoshi, this is the successor of the 'Restoration Master' Su, Suguo, who is skilled in restoring ancient paintings. From now on, she will be our antique restorer. If you have any doubts, you can consult her."

Cui Shousheng, nearly sixty years old, looked at Suguo through his reading glasses.

A young girl in her early twenties, how could she be an antique restorer?

At her age, he was still an apprentice, yet the young master held her in such high regard and asked him to consult her!

He agreed on the surface but was very不服气 (unconvinced) in his heart!

After Shen Huai left, he asked Suguo, "Little Su, how many years have you been in this field?"

Suguo smiled faintly, "More than ten years."

Cui Shousheng was incredulous, "How old are you?"

"Twenty-three."

Cui Shousheng thought, this little girl is not only young but also boastful, just wait for her to be humiliated!

In this field, it's all about real skills, not just talking!

As they were talking, a staff member from downstairs came up to invite them.

Suguo and Cui Shousheng went downstairs.

They saw a man in his thirties holding a dirty and old ancient painting, asking if it could be restored.

Cui Shousheng glanced at it, it was hardly recognizable as a painting, just a black, broken, and wrinkled mess, full of insect holes.

This level of damage would require a top-level restorer to have any chance of success.

He looked at Suguo with a smirk, "Little Su, everyone is watching you, don't disappoint them."

Suguo walked over, carefully examined the painting, and said to the customer, "It can be restored."

The customer was delighted, "Who will do it? How long will it take?"

"I will, three days."

"You?" The customer looked at the young and fresh-looking Suguo, full of doubt, "This is a genuine work by Wang Jian, one of the 'Four Wangs' of the late Ming and early Qing dynasties! It sells for millions at auctions, don't ruin it!"

The others also looked at Suguo with doubt, three days? That's too bold.

Cui Shousheng clicked his tongue and stroked his beard, "Little Su, you young people are fearless, which is good, but you must also be realistic. If you ruin the customer's painting, you will damage the reputation of Gubaozhai. This level of damage, even a top-level restorer would not dare to say they can restore it in three days. They usually take months or even years to restore an ancient painting."

In other words, don't overestimate yourself!

Suguo's tone was firm, "Three days. If I ruin it, I will compensate you double the market price."

The customer, who wanted to restore it for auction, was delighted by this offer, "Words are not enough, let's sign a contract."

"Okay."

After estimating the price and signing the contract, Suguo took the ancient painting to the restoration room upstairs.

She pushed open the door.

Inside, there were two large red wooden tables, along with various restoration tools such as brushes, sheep hoof knives, sheep stomach towels, sheep hair brushes, and rice paper.

Restoring ancient paintings involves four main steps: washing, peeling, patching, and completing.

Suguo had a pot of boiling water prepared and used a brush dipped in the water to start washing the ancient painting.

Each stroke was careful, cleaning the dirt without damaging the fragile paper fibers of the ancient painting.

It sounds easy, but it's difficult to do.

Fortunately, she had been restoring ancient paintings with her grandfather since she was young, and she was already very skilled at it.

Gu Beixian's grandparents were also passionate about collecting antiques, and in recent years, she had almost taken on all their ancient painting restoration work.

Not to mention this level of ancient painting, she had restored even older and more damaged ones.

With time being tight, Suguo was busy for the next few days, barely able to lift her head.

Being busy was good, it helped her temporarily forget about Gu Beixian, even easing her sadness.

Three days later, the customer came to pick up the painting.

Suguo brought the restored ancient painting downstairs.

The customer, seeing the painting that was now vastly different from before, was stunned, "Is this the painting I brought? Did you switch it?"

Cui Shousheng, the store manager, and the staff all came over, equally shocked.

The ancient painting showed undulating mountains, steep and dangerous peaks, and lush trees, vivid and lifelike.

Was this the same painting that was like a rag, broken and unrecognizable?

Suguo said calmly, "We can use instruments to verify its authenticity."

After the verification, the customer gave Suguo a thumbs up and left with the painting, satisfied.

From then on, the news spread quickly, and the entire antique street knew that Gubaozhai had a new young and beautiful ancient painting restorer, only in her early twenties, but with skills comparable to a national-level master!

In the evening.

Gu Beixian called, "My car is parked outside your shop, come out."

Hearing the familiar voice, Suguo's heart ached.

She looked at her watch and said softly, "It's almost dark, it's too late to go to the registry office now. Can we go tomorrow morning?"

Gu Beixian was silent for a moment, "It's my grandmother who wants to see us, she says it's very important."