After descending the stairs, Su Hua turned a corner and entered the restroom.

She closed the door, sat on the toilet lid, covered her face with her hands, and took a while to calm down before remembering the task at hand.

Taking out her phone, she sent a message to Gu Beixian: Mom says it's time for you to come down and cut the cake.

Gu Beixian replied: Okay.

Su Hua sat for a few more minutes, then stood up, pushed the door open, and walked to the sink to wash her hands.

Looking up, she saw her own reflection in the mirror, her complexion was alarmingly pale.

She forced a smile, trying to make herself look more normal.

The crisp sound of high heels approached from afar.

Then the door swung open, and a charming figure in a night-blue starry dress entered—it was Chu Suosuo.

She glanced at Su Hua and said with a mock smile, "We meet again, Sis Su Hua."

Su Hua hummed indifferently and reached for a towel to dry her hands.

Chu Suosuo walked past her to the mirror, pulled out lipstick from her exquisite clutch, and began to touch up her makeup. While doing so, she sneakily glanced at Su Hua in the mirror and said sarcastically, "Sis Su Hua, that dress is a pretty good imitation. Did you buy it from an online store?"

Su Hua paused in her actions, smiling wryly, "The dress was personally designed by my mother-in-law. Miss Chu, if your eyesight is failing, I suggest you visit an ophthalmologist."

"Really?" Chu Suosuo feigned surprise, turning to size her up again, "A dress designed by Aunt Qin, yet you manage to make it look like a knockoff."

She pursed her lips, clicking her tongue meaningfully.

Implying that no matter how genuine the dress, it looked fake on Su Hua.

Su Hua remained silent, quietly observing both herself and Chu Suosuo in the mirror.

Despite Chu Suosuo being a pampered heiress, somehow Su Hua seemed more like a traditional lady of high society.

Perhaps it was her upbringing in painting that cultivated an elegant demeanor, her gaze bright and clear, neither fawning nor evasive.

In contrast, Chu Suosuo, despite her glittering attire, had a flitting, flirtatious gaze, exuding an air of a concubine from olden times.

To quote Gu Nanyin, she was the epitome of a schemer.

Su Hua lifted her chin, pointing at the mirror, "Open your eyes and see clearly. I'm taller than you, prettier than you, better than you, and I have a better temperament. It's obvious who's genuine and who's the imitation."

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"You!" Chu Suosuo was so angry her face turned red, and in her agitation, she snapped her lipstick.

Su Hua walked away.

As she reached the door, Chu Suosuo's defiant voice followed, "So what if you're prettier and better than me? My dad is more powerful than yours. In this circle, having a powerful father trumps everything. I will win Brother Beixian back, just you watch!"

Remembering the words Gu Aoting had said, Su Hua felt like hundreds of ants were crawling in her heart.

It was unbearably irritating.

She clenched her dress tightly, turned back to Chu Suosuo, and said dismissively, "To be a mistress and feel so superior, Miss Chu must be one of a kind. I hope your father lives to be two hundred years old to keep protecting you."

Chu Suosuo was breathing rapidly in anger, "I also have a brother!"

Thinking of Chu Mochen, Su Hua smiled faintly, "Your brother has decent principles; he probably won't support what you're doing. Better find some life-extending medicine for your father, every extra year he can protect you counts."

Bang! Chu Suosuo slammed the restroom door in a huff.

Su Hua's smile slowly solidified.

What was the point of winning a verbal spat?

With Gu Beixian, she had truly lost.

How cruel reality was, no matter how hard one tries, it's not as good as having a powerful father, a father who can even add points to your marriage.

By the time Gu Aoting and Gu Beixian came downstairs, Su Hua had already composed herself.

As if nothing had happened, she joined them in singing a birthday song for Qin Shu, blowing out the candles, and cutting the cake.

After the cake, Gu Beixian said to her, "I'll have the driver take you home first; I'll be late coming back."

Su Hua nodded with a smile, "Okay, you're busy."

After bidding farewell to Qin Shu, Su Hua left the Gu Family home and got into the car.

Passing a 24-hour pharmacy on the way, she asked the driver to stop, went in, and bought a box of emergency contraception.

She had been intimate with Gu Beixian the previous night, during her ovulation, and he hadn't taken any precautions.

This wasn't the right time for a child.

Gu Beixian was indecisive, and who knew if they might divorce someday.

Having never experienced fatherly love since birth, she knew too well the feeling of its absence and didn't want her child to walk the same path.

Back home, Su Hua followed the instructions and took a pill with warm water.

The second pill was to be taken 12 hours later; she casually placed the box on the cabinet next to the water dispenser.

After a quick shower upstairs, she lay in bed but couldn't fall asleep, her mind racing.

Around midnight, Gu Beixian returned, having had a few drinks with guests.

Changing his shoes, he unbuttoned his suit with one hand, took it off, and hung it up.

He picked up a cup, went to the water dispenser for a drink, and his gaze suddenly hardened when he spotted the contraceptive pills on the cabinet.

He picked them up and looked at them.

No mistake, it was indeed contraception.

One pill was left; the other had been taken by Su Hua.

She didn't want to have his child.

Gu Beixian's expression grew colder by the second, and he dialed Xiao Yi's number.

Soon, a lazy male voice came through, "Bro, what's up so late at night?"

Gu Beixian asked emotionlessly, "What does it mean when a woman refuses to have her husband's child?"

Xiao Yi, still groggy, replied without thinking, "What else could it mean? She doesn't love her husband."

Gu Beixian's heart skipped a beat, then he said flatly, "Got it."

He ended the call, his face eerily calm, but his grip on the phone tightened until it nearly deformed.

After a while, a cold laugh escaped his lips, mocking himself.

He had thought to bind her to him with a child, to bind a woman who didn't love him.

He threw the phone on the table, picked up the wine glass, opened the liquor cabinet, took out a bottle of red wine, and poured a full glass.

Sitting on the sofa, he took a big gulp.

Remembering Xiao Yi's words, he gripped the glass tightly, the veins on his hand standing out.

Suddenly, the glass shattered in his grip.

Sharp fragments cut into his palm, but he felt no pain.

Su Hua, who hadn't fallen asleep, suddenly heard the clear sound of breaking glass downstairs and sprang out of bed.

She went to the railing and looked down.

She saw Gu Beixian's right hand covered in a dark red liquid, indistinguishable between wine or blood, with broken glass scattered on the floor.

She hurried back to her room, found the first aid kit, and headed downstairs.

By the time she rushed down the stairs, Gu Beixian had already moved to the window to make a phone call.

His tall and slender silhouette stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, aloof and dignified, his posture straight as a pine in the snow.

Some men, with just their silhouette, can captivate the heart.

Su Hua paused, waiting quietly for him to finish the call.

She heard him ask, "Have you found the man who smashed Chu Suosuo's hand?"

Whatever the reply, Gu Beixian suddenly lost his temper, "A bunch of useless fools! How hard can it be to find one person? Keep looking! If you can't find him, you're all fired!"

Su Hua froze, her heart turning cold.

He really cared about Chu Suosuo.

In the dead of night, he was still trying to find her assailant.

And there she was, foolishly carrying a first aid kit, coming down to tend to his wounds—how pathetic!

Su Hua bent down, gently placed the first aid kit on the ground, and turned to leave.

After taking a few steps, she heard Gu Beixian's voice again, "Have you caught that woman named Huang Que?"