Until Gu Beixian's car was out of sight, Su Hua remained standing in place, her gaze fixed on the direction where the car had disappeared.

She couldn't quite pinpoint her feelings; there was a sense of emptiness, a touch of melancholy.

The wind whipped up leaves, twirling them around at her feet.

After standing for a while longer, Su Hua turned and headed back to her grandfather's house.

She took the keys and entered the east side room, which was her grandfather's studio for ancient painting restoration and where she had spent most of her childhood.

The room was preserved as it had always been, with two large red solid wood tables standing in the center, almost as tall as a person. The tables were covered with restoration tools such as brushes, hoof knives, and sheep's wool cloths.

The room hadn't been cleaned for some time, and a thin layer of dust had settled on the tables.

Remembering her grandfather who had passed away from stomach cancer, Su Hua felt a sting in her nose, and her eyes moistened.

"Is this where you learned your craft as a child?" Shen Huai's voice came from behind her.

Su Hua nodded, "Yes."

Shen Huai walked up beside her, reaching out to touch the table, "I really admire you. My grandfather also wanted to pass his skills on to me. I gave up after less than a month, couldn't sit still, it was too tedious. The art of restoring cultural relics requires a lot of patience, not just anyone can do it."

His grandfather was also a restorer of ancient books and paintings, well-known in the industry.

Su Hua smiled, "My mother was the same, she couldn't settle down. But the craft needed to be passed down, otherwise it would be lost."

"Yes, this profession has a high barrier to entry. You need a calm mind, spirituality, good comprehension, patience, resilience, and the ability to endure hardship."

"Right, especially you can't be impatient. When peeling off the layers of a painting, you have to do it bit by bit, sometimes it takes half a month. Just a bit of impatience can ruin the painting."

Shen Huai looked at Su Hua with a tender gaze, "Your childhood must have been quite tough, right?"

Su Hua offered a faint smile, "What childhood? While other kids were playing outside, I was endlessly copying ancient paintings."

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"That's tough."

Su Hua chuckled lightly, "A little."

As they spoke, Sister Liu quietly entered with a cloth, wiping here and there, casting a hostile glare at Shen Huai's back.

Shen Huai leaned closer to Su Hua, his hand inching towards hers, wanting to hold it.

But in a flash, Sister Liu grabbed a broom from behind the door, rushed behind Shen Huai, and gave a forceful smack near his feet, shouting, "Dr. Shen, step aside! A rat just ran by!"

Shen Huai quickly moved aside.

Su Hua looked at Sister Liu, puzzled.

The room was specially made by her grandfather, extremely well-sealed; not even cockroaches could get in, let alone rats.

Soon, she understood; Gu Beixian must have instructed Sister Liu before he left.

She hadn't noticed his possessiveness before; she couldn't even have a few words with Shen Huai without his disapproval.

In the evening, everyone had dinner.

After washing up, Su Hua lay in bed reading.

Sister Liu hurried in with a phone, saying, "Madam, Mr. Gu is calling, it's urgent."

Su Hua took the phone and asked, "What's wrong?"

Gu Beixian's deep, magnetic voice came through, "Grandmother is sick and in the hospital, she's been asking for you. I've informed the bodyguards, come back quickly."

Upon hearing this, Su Hua quickly grabbed her clothes and started dressing.

The last time she saw the elderly lady, she had seemed very frail. At her age, even a cold or a fever could be dangerous.

Su Hua dressed quickly, packed her things, and left.

Shen Huai was standing in the yard smoking.

Su Hua told him, "I have to go back, Grandmother Gu is in the hospital."

Shen Huai extinguished his cigarette, "Okay, I'll go with you."

Over three hours later, the group arrived downtown.

After parting with Shen Huai, Su Hua, accompanied by Sister Liu and the bodyguards, went to the hospital.

Grandmother Gu was in a VIP ward on the top floor.

Exiting the elevator and turning a corner, Su Hua immediately spotted Gu Beixian, tall and distinguished, standing by the window smoking.

His tall figure, handsome features, and extraordinary demeanor made him stand out in a crowd, catching everyone's eye.

Just as Su Hua was about to call out to him, she heard a crisp "Brother Beixian."

Then, a figure dashed out from the fire escape, rushed forward, and hugged Gu Beixian's waist, pressing her face against his back, affectionately saying, "I heard Grandmother is sick, so I came to see her."

The woman was very beautiful, with a pale, delicate face, exuding a pampered air.

It was Chu Suosuo.

Su Hua's heart thudded against her ribs, the pain sharp and sudden.

Her feet rooted to the spot, her legs heavy as if filled with lead, unable to take another step.

Sister Liu called out, "Mr. Gu, Madam is back."

Gu Beixian, holding Chu Suosuo's hand, moved it away from his waist and strode towards Su Hua, his voice cool, "Why didn't you call when you arrived? I would have come down to meet you."

Su Hua was speechless, giving him a cold glance, and moved her heavy legs toward Grandmother Gu's ward.

Entering the room.

The elderly lady was sitting up in bed, sipping bird's nest soup. Seeing Su Hua, her cloudy eyes brightened, "Hua'er, it's been some days since I've seen you. Beixian said you were on a business trip?"

That must have been the excuse Gu Beixian came up with for her.

Su Hua responded, keeping her emotions in check, and with her injured hand behind her back, smiled and said, "Grandmother, how are you feeling?"

The elderly lady sighed, "At my age, the body is like paper, a little wind and I catch a cold. Come, sit down, let me have a good look at you."

Su Hua bent down to sit by her bed.

The elderly lady, noticing her hand was always behind her back, curiously reached to pull it, "Why are you hiding your hand?"

"It's nothing." Su Hua instinctively pulled back, but her hand was still drawn out.

Seeing the splints on two of Su Hua's left fingers and the purple-black nails, the elderly lady gasped in pain, "Tell me, how did you hurt your hand?"

Su Hua spoke quietly, "Some time ago, I angered a tomb raider, and he was thrown in jail. His sister came seeking revenge."

The elderly lady trembled with anger, "How dare a mere tomb raider be so bold as to harm a member of the Gu family? Are they seeking death? Tell me exactly what happened."

Su Hua recounted the entire incident to her.

After listening, the elderly lady's eyes flickered thoughtfully.

After a while, she spoke, "On the day of the incident, Beixian was there too. They may not know you, but they could certainly find out about Beixian. A petty tomb raider, where would his sister get the courage to seek revenge on you?"

She suddenly glanced towards the door with an inscrutable expression, "Most likely, someone incited her to use her as a pawn."

Su Hua's heart skipped a beat, following the elderly lady's gaze, she saw Chu Suosuo standing there.