Chapter 8

Caught off guard, Chu Suosuo was slapped several times, leaving her dazed.

Her face burned with pain, her ears rang, and stars danced before her eyes.

Growing up, no one had ever dared to touch her, even with a finger.

Enraged, she grabbed the other person's arm and scratched wildly.

The two of them wrestled together.

The Chu family driver, who had been hiding in the corner, rushed over and forcefully pulled them apart.

Only then did Chu Suosuo realize that the person who hit her was Gu Beixian's younger sister, Gu Nanyin, and she was stunned.

Su Ke was also surprised to see it was Gu Nanyin.

Worried that she would be bullied, Su Ke quickly ran over and shielded her.

Glancing at her wrist, which had been scratched by Chu Suosuo and was bleeding, Su Ke felt a pang of pain. She took a band-aid from her bag and carefully applied it, asking softly, "Does it hurt?"

Gu Nanyin, wincing in pain, said, "It's fine, sister-in-law. Did she scratch your face just now?"

Su Ke shook her head, "No."

Gu Nanyin glared at Chu Suosuo angrily and said, "You don't need to be polite with someone like that. Just slap her. What's the point of reasoning with her? Reason is for people, and she's not one!"

Hearing this, Chu Suosuo was almost driven to the brink of fury.

She suppressed her anger, forced out a couple of tears, and said in a pitiful tone, "Nanyin, we grew up together. I've always treated you like a real sister. How could you..."

Gu Nanyin rolled her eyes, "Save it. I don't have a sister like you. My brother treated you so well, and our whole family treated you so well. When my brother had an accident, you ran away faster than a rabbit. Now that you see his leg is fine and he's back to normal, you come back to stir things up and bully my sister-in-law. Don't you have any shame?"

Chu Suosuo's face alternated between white and red, "I have my reasons..."

"Reasons my ass. My brother might believe you, but I don't!"

Just as Gu Nanyin finished speaking, Su Ke's phone rang.

Glancing at the caller ID, it was Gu Beixian.

Su Ke hesitated for a second before answering.

Gu Beixian asked, "Where are you?"

"At the Western restaurant on the south side of the antique street."

"I happen to be passing by. I'll be there in three minutes." He hung up.

The image of him and Chu Suosuo embracing last night flashed in her mind, making her feel uneasy.

Seeing the white roses he had given Chu Suosuo on the table, her heart felt even more constricted, as if a heavy stone was pressing down on it, making it hard to breathe.

A few minutes later, Gu Beixian entered the restaurant with his subordinates.

He was tall and lean, with pale skin and exceptionally handsome features. Wearing black trousers, his long legs moved gracefully, exuding a noble and elegant demeanor that made people unable to look away.

The people in the restaurant had been drawn to the fight between Chu Suosuo and Gu Nanyin.

When Gu Beixian appeared, all eyes turned to him.

Seeing him, Chu Suosuo's eyes lit up, and she ran over, sobbing, "Brother Beixian!"

Gu Beixian's brows furrowed, "What are you doing here?"

Chu Suosuo, with red eyes, said pitifully, "I came to find Sister Su Ke to explain what happened last night, but she started yelling at me before we could talk. Nanyin even hit me."

She pointed to her red and swollen cheek, pouting, "It hurts."

Gu Beixian glanced at Su Ke, "Is what she said true?"

Su Ke smiled.

She never expected the person he cherished so much to be like this—heartless and deceitful, always the first to accuse.

Indeed, those who are favored always act without restraint.

Just as Su Ke was about to speak, Gu Nanyin said, "Brother, think about it. My sister-in-law is such a kind person. If Chu Suosuo hadn't provoked her, would she have yelled at her? When you were sick and had a bad temper, did she ever argue with you? I hit Chu Suosuo because she tried to scratch my sister-in-law's face. I even think I hit her too lightly."

Gu Beixian looked at Chu Suosuo, "How did you provoke Su Ke? Why did you try to scratch her face?"

Chu Suosuo's face turned white, and tears streamed down her cheeks. She said in a pitiful tone, "I didn't, Sister Su Ke and Nanyin misunderstood me. Brother Beixian, you have to believe me."

She reached out to grab Gu Beixian's hand and leaned into his chest.

Gu Nanyin stepped forward, grabbed her arm, and pulled her aside, scolding, "Are you boneless or just a fool? My brother is a married man, and you still try to get into his arms? Weakling! Shameless!"

Chu Suosuo clutched her chest in pain, tears streaming down her face.

Gu Beixian frowned and said to Gu Nanyin, "Say less. Suosuo has severe depression. Don't provoke her."

Gu Nanyin scoffed, "Don't use depression as an excuse for being despicable. I've seen many people with depression, and they are self-respecting, kind, and beautiful. Not like her, who insists on being a troublemaker!"

Chu Suosuo burst into tears and ran out, covering her mouth.

Her driver quickly picked up her bag and check and followed her.

Gu Beixian turned to the bodyguard and said, "Follow her and keep an eye on her. Make sure she doesn't try to kill herself again."

"Sure, Mr. Gu." The bodyguard followed.

Gu Nanyin snorted, "If she really wanted to die, she would do it in a place where no one could see. Crying and wailing, who is she trying to scare?"

Gu Beixian's eyes turned cold, and he scolded, "Nanyin, you've gone too far!"

Su Ke shielded Gu Nanyin and said, "If you want to blame someone, blame me. Nanyin was standing up for me."

Looking at Su Ke, Gu Beixian's gaze softened. He took out a tube of imported ointment from his bag and handed it to her, "This is a scar removal cream sent from abroad. Follow the instructions and apply it so the wound on your neck doesn't scar."

Su Ke stared at the ointment, feeling a mix of emotions.

She knew he didn't love her, but sometimes it felt like he cared.

She smiled bitterly to herself. If he really cared, how could last night have happened?

Last night's incident was too painful.

Painful enough to make her lose the courage to question.

Gu Nanyin took the ointment, handed it to Su Ke, and glared at Gu Beixian, "Brother, if you dare to betray my sister-in-law, I won't recognize you as my brother!"

Gu Beixian said coolly, "Adult matters, children shouldn't meddle."

"I'm only one year younger than my sister-in-law, not a child!"

Gu Beixian ignored her, took Su Ke's hand, and said gently, "Have you eaten? If not, I'll take you to eat."

Su Ke, as if electrocuted, pulled her hand away, "I'm full."

Gu Beixian looked down at her, his gaze unusually gentle, "I said last night was a misunderstanding. Do you believe me?"

Su Ke straightened her neck, her usually gentle voice slightly sharp, "I came at an inopportune time and disturbed you."

Gu Beixian's smile was deep, tinged with a bit of helplessness, "Forget it, let me take you home."

Su Ke picked up her bag and walked out.

Gu Beixian followed with long strides, his assistant trailing behind.

Exiting the Western restaurant, they passed a flower shop. Su Ke pushed the door open and walked in.

Looking around, she pointed to a bouquet of white roses and said, "I'll take one."

The shop assistant asked, "How many would you like?"

Thinking of the twenty roses Gu Beixian had given Chu Suosuo, Su Ke said in a huff, "Two hundred."

The shop assistant paused, then smiled, "Please wait a moment."

After a long wait, the flowers were finally wrapped. Su Ke then understood why the shop assistant had paused.

Two hundred roses, when wrapped, had a diameter of nearly a meter.

They were large and heavy.

She struggled to carry them, but it felt satisfying. If she wanted flowers, why wait for someone to give them to her? She could afford them.

Gu Beixian took out his card to pay, but Su Ke handed him her card and said, "I have my own money."

She spoke firmly.

The money she spent was earned from her job.

Gu Beixian smiled faintly, knowing she was upset.

After paying, Su Ke walked out with the large bouquet of white roses.

The size of the bouquet made her appear even more slender, like a tall, straight bamboo, delicate yet strong.

Gu Beixian reached out to take it.

Su Ke stepped aside, avoiding his hand.

Gu Beixian's hand hung in the air for a second before slowly retracting.

They walked side by side.

Looking at the dense roses in her arms, Gu Beixian asked, "Do you like white roses?"

"No."

"If you don't like them, why did you buy so many?"

"Um!"

Gu Beixian's eyes twinkled with amusement, "I didn't expect you to like flowers. I thought you only liked painting."

"I'm a woman too!"

Seeing her usually gentle demeanor replaced by a puffed-up one, Gu Beixian found it fresh, "What flowers do you like? I'll send them to you next time."

Su Ke pursed her lips and said nothing.

Growing up with her grandparents at the foot of a mountain, she liked the wildflowers in the mountains, such as the marigold, dandelion, and the iris, sunflowers, and peas planted under the window.

She had feelings for these simple, resilient flowers but no feelings for the expensive, delicate imported roses in her arms.

She bought so many purely out of spite.

As they approached the antique shop, Su Ke suddenly stopped and said, "Don't send me anything anymore."

Gu Beixian's eyebrows raised slightly, "Afraid your colleagues will see me?"

"Eventually, we will divorce, won't we?" Her voice trembled, her heart quivering.

The current situation, where they were neither divorced nor together, felt like being cut by a dull knife, painful and drawn out.

Gu Beixian fell silent for a moment, stopped, and watched her figure gradually fade into the distance, his eyes deep and calm like the sea.

Su Ke reached the entrance of the antique shop and met the young master of the shop, Shen Huai.

He smiled, "Such a large bouquet of flowers, from your boyfriend?"

"No, I bought them myself."

Shen Huai's smile deepened, "They must be heavy. Let me carry them for you."

Su Ke handed him the flowers and smiled, "Thank you."

Shen Huai said half-jokingly, "You're the backbone of our shop. Helping you carry flowers is nothing."

"Mr. Shen is joking."

They chatted and walked into the shop side by side.

Gu Beixian stood there, watching them from a distance, his eyes cold and chilly.

He couldn't quite describe the feeling.

It was like a carefully tended cabbage for three years suddenly being approached by a pig, ready to root it up.

He almost instinctively wanted to chase the pig away.

He realized he wasn't as magnanimous as he thought.

His tongue lightly swept his lower lip, and he instructed his assistant, "Find out about that man."

"Sure, Mr. Gu."

The two got into the car and headed back to the company.

Half an hour later.

The assistant received a call and reported to Gu Beixian, "Mr. Gu, the man is named Shen Huai, a doctor. The antique shop belongs to his grandfather. Three years ago, he had communication records with the young lady."

Gu Beixian raised his eyes, a cold light in his eyes, "Find out Shen Huai's childhood name and see if it's 'A'Yao'."

"Sure, Mr. Gu."