Su Hua stared blankly at the ceiling, seemingly oblivious to everything around her.

Gu Beixian sighed, gently patted her shoulder, and then turned to leave.

As he exited, he instructed the bodyguard at the door, "Keep Su Hua safe, and call me immediately if anything happens."

The bodyguard responded, "Understood, President Gu."

After getting into the car,

His assistant reported to Gu Beixian, "We checked all the surveillance along the route and mobilized resources from several parties before we found Huang Que. When we caught her, she was in a black taxi, trying to flee to the countryside to hide."

Gu Beixian's eyes were icy, "What's her background?"

"Huang Que is Huang Guang's sister. Huang Guang is the bald man who kidnapped Madam to restore ancient paintings. After that incident, he was found to be involved in a tomb-robbing gang and was sentenced to seven years. Surveillance showed that in recent days, Huang Que disguised herself as a delivery person, lurking around the antique market, looking for an opportunity to take revenge on Madam."

Gu Beixian's hand by his side clenched tightly, his knuckles turning white.

Arriving at the building where Huang Que was detained,

Huang Que, with short hair, a sallow complexion, red-rimmed eyes, and chapped lips, bore a striking resemblance to her bald brother, with a very androgynous look.

Gu Beixian sat down on the sofa, raised his eyes, and gave her a cool glance, "Why did you break Su Hua's fingers?"

Full of resentment, Huang Que gritted her teeth, "She caused my brother to go to jail!"

Gu Beixian sneered, "Your brother deserved jail for tomb-robbing and kidnapping Su Hua."

Huang Que glared at him sideways, silent.

Gu Beixian's lips curled into a half-smile, speaking slowly and deliberately, "I never hit women, but you, you're despicable!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he grabbed the ashtray from the coffee table and hurled it at Huang Que's head.

Huang Que dodged, but the assistant held her down, and she couldn't escape.

"Bang!"

The glass ashtray grazed her head and shattered on the floor.

The assistant kicked Huang Que's leg.

With a "thud," she fell to her knees on the broken glass, trembling with pain, whimpering non-stop like a wounded stray dog.

Gu Beixian stood up from the sofa, looking down at her with an indifferent gaze.

The assistant, understanding the cue, stepped on Huang Que's hand and ground it down.

Sharp glass shards pierced her fingertips.

Huang Que cried out in pain, begging for mercy, "My hand, it hurts, it hurts, please spare me."

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Gu Beixian laughed, "You know pain now? When you used the door to break Su Hua's fingers, didn't you think about her pain?"

Those were the hands she cherished more than life itself.

Those hands had tirelessly massaged his legs for two years, gently soothing his body and soul.

Such a kind and gentle girl, unassuming and peaceful, yet her most precious fingers were broken by this scum.

Gu Beixian suppressed his anger, casually put a hand in his pocket, and said nonchalantly, "Her hands are too vile, see to it."

The assistant quickly responded, "Understood, President Gu."

Gu Beixian turned and left.

After he was gone, the assistant grabbed Huang Que's hand...

"Crack!"

A flash of cold light, and Huang Que let out an inhuman scream!

"Thud!"

She fell stiffly to the ground, convulsing, eyes rolling back, and fainted!

Back at the hospital,

Gu Beixian sat down by Su Hua's bedside.

Seeing her in such a daze, his heart clenched, and he was about to tell her that her vengeance had been served when she suddenly grabbed his sleeve.

Her exterior was gentle, but her spirit was resilient, rarely showing her vulnerable side.

Now, she was vulnerable, helpless, and looking to him for support.

Gu Beixian's heart softened, feeling needed.

He coaxed her gently, "Don't be afraid, I'm not leaving. I'll stay with you for the next few days."

Only then did Su Hua slowly let go of his sleeve.

Gu Beixian carefully brushed her disheveled hair behind her ear and said, "Close your eyes and sleep for a while. I'll watch over you."

But Su Hua couldn't sleep. Her four fingers were swollen and throbbing, the pain shooting straight to her heart with every heartbeat.

Her fingernails had all turned black and purple, a frightening sight.

With her eyes closed, she endured every second, her heart aching.

If her fingers didn't heal properly, it would be such a disservice to her grandfather's years of careful nurturing.

"Knock, knock," someone was at the door.

Gu Beixian got up to answer it.

Standing outside was Shen Huai, tall and clad in a white coat, holding a bouquet of white roses.

He greeted, "Cousin," and said, "I just finished surgery and heard that Su Hua was injured, so I came to see her."

Gu Beixian's expression was unchanging, but his tone was quite cold, "Dr. Shen seems to have many roles."

Shen Huai smiled, "My main profession is a doctor, and Ancient Treasure Studio is my grandfather's shop."

Gu Beixian ignored him and sat down beside Su Hua.

Shen Huai placed the flowers on the bedside table and examined Su Hua's hand, asking gently, "Does it still hurt?"

Su Hua nodded.

"Don't worry too much. I heard that Dr. Bai performed your surgery, and he's highly skilled. Plus, you're so young; your fingers will definitely heal."

"Thank you," Su Hua said softly.

Shen Huai looked at her darkened fingernails and said, "Your fingers are bruised; we need to let some blood out. Once the blood is released, the pain will lessen a bit."

He called for a nurse to bring a needle.

Gu Beixian raised an eyebrow at him, "Are you sure you can do it?"

Shen Huai flashed his work ID, "Attending physician, I've operated before, letting blood isn't difficult."

Soon, the nurse brought over the needle and disinfectant cotton.

Shen Huai disinfected the needle, inserted it along the edge of Su Hua's nail, and squeezed out a lot of bruised blood.

After the bloodletting, Su Hua felt a slight relief from the pain.

Shen Huai cleaned up and patted her arm gently, "It's getting late. Rest well, and I'll come to see you tomorrow."

Gu Beixian stood up, saying indifferently, "I'll see you out."

They walked out one after the other,

Gu Beixian closed the door and gave Shen Huai a cool look, saying indifferently, "Su Hua doesn't fancy your type; stay away from her."

Shen Huai's expression shifted slightly, and he smiled, "Then what type does Su Hua like?"

Gu Beixian imagined Ah-Yao's appearance, unable to picture him fitting any type, and said, "She likes my type."

Shen Huai's smile deepened, "Too bad you're her cousin."

A chill settled in Gu Beixian's eyes, "I am her..."

"Ring, ring," Shen Huai's phone rang.

He pulled it out from his coat and waved it at Gu Beixian, "Cousin, I need to take this call."

After answering, he walked away while talking.

Gu Beixian, feeling a surge of irritation, returned to the ward with a dark expression. Seeing Su Hua in such discomfort, his anger dissipated.

He glanced at his watch; it was getting late.

Gu Beixian called for Sister Liu to bring three basins of hot water.

He wiped Su Hua's face with a towel, then lifted the corner of the blanket and her foot, intending to clean her feet.

Su Hua withdrew her foot, resisting.

Gu Beixian's tone was gentle, "For two years when I couldn't stand on my legs, you took care of me. Now it's my turn to take care of you."

Su Hua stayed still, her eyes rimming with red.

After cleaning her feet, Gu Beixian moved to take off her pants.

Suddenly realizing what he intended, Su Hua clamped her legs together, refusing to let him proceed.

Gu Beixian smiled faintly, "We're husband and wife, and you like to be clean. It won't be comfortable if you don't wash. Let me help you."

Su Hua looked at him with a trace of reproach in her eyes.

The word "divorce" had come up, and with Chu Suosuo stirring things up, even without a divorce certificate, their relationship had changed. It felt awkward to let him clean such a private area.

Seeing her reluctance, Gu Beixian paused for a moment, then asked, "Should Sister Liu do it?"

After a few seconds of silence, Su Hua's legs slowly relaxed.

Compared to Sister Liu, Gu Beixian was certainly closer.

Sister Liu tactfully stepped aside.

Gu Beixian was meticulous in his task.

Su Hua's face turned as red as a glowing ember.

After finishing, Gu Beixian also cleaned her legs and upper body.

Sister Liu came to take the basins away.

Late into the night, Su Hua finally fell asleep.

Gu Beixian lay beside her, not daring to sleep, worried that she might move her hand in her sleep and dislocate the bones, so he kept holding it.

After a while, Su Hua had a nightmare again, trembling and curling up.

Gu Beixian held her gently in his arms, patting her like a child.

Su Hua felt safe and instinctively snuggled into his embrace, murmuring with closed eyes, "Ah..."

Gu Beixian placed his hand over her lips, silencing the rest of the words, and waited until she calmed down before removing his hand, whispering softly, "Ungrateful little thing."

In her sleep, Su Hua turned over.

She couldn't hear his words, nor did she know how many times she had called out "Brother Ah-Yao" in her nightmares.