After Divorce, She Astonished the World - chapter 5

Having long been accustomed to Su Hua’s gentle and serene manner, it was the first time that Gu Beixian saw her flustered and panicked-she looked just like a startled kitten.

Gu Beixian found this new and amusing.

He curled his lips and teased her with a smile: “You crawled in here yourself, and now you can’t even open the door.”

Su Hua’s ears turned red. “Impossible.”

He smiled even more, “Next time I’ll record it on my phone so you can’t deny it.”

Su Hua was mortified.

She quickly turned her back, grabbed a shirt from the nightstand, and started putting it on.

In her panic, she didn’t even notice she’d buttoned it wrong.

Watching her slender figure rustle as she dressed, Gu Beixian found his mind drifting to the way she looked last night while sleeping.

He didn’t know what kind of nightmare she’d had-she curled up into a tiny ball, shivering all over.

He pulled her into his arms, gently patting and comforting her, but she just mumbled, eyes closed, “A Yao Ge…”

He couldn’t even remember how many times this had happened.

Just how deep must her feelings be, to linger on so stubbornly?

As for Ah Yao, he had people investigate for a long time but found nothing.

The last time he asked her, she had avoided answering.

If she didn’t say, it was an insult to him; if she did say, it was even more of an insult.

The smile faded completely from Gu Beixian’s face. He picked up his watch and strapped it onto his wrist, saying nonchalantly, “I might come home very late tonight. Please help me come up with an excuse for Grandma.”

Su Hua’s hands stilled on her buttons.

She knew that his late return meant he was going to the hospital to be with Chu Suosuo.

She was so humiliated she was about to cry, her heart aching as if pricked by needles.

A long moment passed.

She finally spoke: “I’ll talk to Grandma properly about the divorce. Sorry for making things hard on you.”

Gu Beixian looked at her meaningfully. “It’s hard on you too.”

After breakfast, the old house’s driver took Su Hua to Antique Studio.

She was busy all day.

When it was time to get off work-

Su Hua got a call from the driver: “Young Madam, my car was hit by a drunk driver. I have to wait for the traffic police. Could you take a taxi home?”

“Alright.”

Su Hua slung her bag over her shoulder and walked out of the antique street.

Turning a corner, two men came up behind her and blocked her way.

The tall, thin one spoke: “Are you Su Hua? Please come with us.”

Su Hua looked at the two of them warily.

They looked about twenty-seven or twenty-eight, suspicious in sunglasses at night, with a faint earthy smell on them.

A wave of anxiety swept through her. “Where to?”

The tall, thin man said, “There’s an old painting that needs your restoration. Don’t worry, we mean no harm, and we’ll pay you the market rate.”

Su Hua relaxed a little. “Send the painting to the shop where I work.”

The bald man scowled and said, “Why waste words? Just take her.”

At that, Su Hua turned and ran.

She hadn’t gotten far before the bald man grabbed her arm and dragged her into a black sedan parked by the road.

The car started.

The tall, thin man rummaged through her bag and found her phone. “Call your family and say you’re going out with friends for a few days so they won’t worry.”

Su Hua instinctively wanted to call Gu Beixian, but on second thought, he’d be at the hospital with Chu Suosuo-he wouldn’t have time for her.

Better to call Mom.

She had the tall, thin man find her mother’s number.

Once connected-

Su Hua said, “Mom, I’m going out with friends for a few days. Remember to take your diabetes medicine on time…”

Before she could finish, the tall, thin man took the phone and switched it off.

He took out a piece of black cloth and blindfolded Su Hua.

The car seemed to drive for a very long time before finally stopping.

Su Hua was taken to an old building.

They climbed the stairs to the third floor.

The door opened. In the center of the room stood a large red table, with a safe on top.

The tall, thin man stepped forward, opened the safe, and took out a painting.

The scroll was about a meter and a half long, very old, with severe damage-many parts of the composition missing, requiring restoration.

Su Hua stared intently at the painting. The brushwork was somber and refined, powerful and elegant.

The painting depicted towering peaks, magnificent and beautiful, mountains undulating, forests dense, and deep in a valley, several thatched cottages were faintly visible. Inside one, a recluse sat by the bed, hugging his knees.

She recognized it as Wang Meng’s “Yinju Tu” (Reclusive Scene), one of the masterpieces by a member of the Four Masters of the Yuan Dynasty.

Wang Meng’s most valuable painting had once fetched a sky-high price of four hundred million.

If this painting was properly restored, its starting auction price would be at least tens of millions.

No wonder these two had risked so much to bring her here.

Instead of bringing it to the shop for repair, they insisted she restore it on the spot. That meant the painting’s origins were anything but legitimate-either stolen or dug up from an ancient tomb.

The tall, thin man asked, “Miss Su, how long will it take to restore this painting?”

“It’s a large scroll, badly damaged, and much of the imagery is missing. It’ll take at least half a month.”

“Alright. Write down whatever tools and materials you need, and we’ll prepare them.”
Su Hua picked up the pen, wrote the materials on the paper, and handed them over.

The tall, thin man took it and said, “We’ll go get things ready. You have a good rest.”

Su Hua nodded.

The two went out, and with a “click”, locked the door from the outside.

Su Hua looked around.

This room had a bathroom, a bed, a table and chairs, and food. Clearly, it had all been prepared in advance.

Not far outside the window stretched a range of endless mountains. The scenery was desolate and unfamiliar, with only a few scattered lights faintly visible-it must be far from the city center.

Her stomach growled with hunger.

Su Hua picked up a pack of instant noodles, tore it open, ate a few bites, and drank some water.

After washing up, she lay down on the bed.

The surroundings were eerily quiet, but she couldn’t sleep.

She had disappeared-would Gu Beixian be worried?

Probably not.

In his eyes, there was only Chu Suosuo. He might still be at the hospital with her.

Thinking of Chu Suosuo’s suicide attempt, and the way he rushed anxiously to the hospital, Su Hua felt as though her heart was filled with stones, hurting with every breath.

She tossed and turned, unable to sleep until late into the night.

She got up to use the bathroom.

Suddenly, she heard faint noises from outside.

She pressed her ear to the crack of the door and heard the tall, thin man shout, “Baldy, what are you doing?”

Baldy lowered his voice and said, “Can’t sleep. Came to see if the girl’s behaving. You really think a little girl like her can restore our painting? This stuff is worth tens of millions, even over a hundred million. If she ruins it, the boss will blame us.”

“The boss had someone look into it. Her grandfather is Master Restorer Su Wenmai, who taught her by hand since childhood. There’s a rumor that most of the paintings he restored in his later years were actually done by this girl.”

“Then I’m relieved,” Baldy chuckled. “The little girl is so pretty, haven’t you thought about it?”

The tall, thin man scolded, “Put away your dirty thoughts. Restoring the painting is what matters. Once it’s sold and we get our cut, you’ll have all the women you could want.”

“Women you pay for have been with countless men. How could they compare to her? Once that chick finishes the painting, then I’ll make a move, alright? She’s so damn pretty, fair and tender, with those big watery eyes-makes me itch all over.”

The tall, thin man was silent for a moment and then said, “Fine. But you absolutely must not touch her before the painting is restored.”

“Got it.”

Su Hua was disgusted.

They really were nothing but a rabble!

Hearing the two walk away, she yanked hard on the doorknob.

The door was locked tight, and there were no suitable tools for picking the lock.

She walked to the window and looked down. This was the third floor, with a cement ground below-escaping by jumping was out of the question.

Besides, there was a big wolfdog in the yard. If she ran, the dog would bark.

She could only hope for outside help.

On the way here, when the tall, thin man let her call her mother, she had reminded her mother to take diabetes medicine on time. It was a signal that she was in danger-her mother didn’t actually have diabetes.

Would she understand?

The next day, Su Hua started cleaning the painting, and after that, removing the mounting.

She was busy like this for three days.

As the day the painting would be finished approached, she became more and more anxious.

She couldn’t sleep well at night, and several times heard Baldy pacing outside her door late at night.

That night, in the second half, she had just started to feel sleepy.

Suddenly there was barking outside, and the sound of hurried footsteps.

Su Hua jumped up and started putting on her clothes.

The door creaked open. The tall, thin man rushed in, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her out. Baldy went to get the painting.

Just as they reached the doorway, a group of people rushed up the stairs.

At the front was a man dressed in black, tall and handsome, with deep-set features-it was Gu Beixian.

Behind him was a group of well-equipped police officers.

A tidal wave of surprise surged in Su Hua’s heart.

She could hardly believe her eyes.

She stared at the man and asked shakily, “Is it really you? Beixian.”

“It’s me.” Gu Beixian strode forward. The tall, thin man pulled her toward the window.

Before Su Hua could react, a knife was suddenly pressed against her neck.

The tall, thin man held the knife to her throat and shouted at the police, “Put your guns down! Step back! Or I’ll stab her!”

The blade cut into her skin. Su Hua’s ears rang and her vision blurred from the pain.

Gu Beixian’s fists clenched tightly. His eyes reddened as he stared at her, holding back his anger. “Put the guns down! Everyone, out!”

The police exchanged a glance with him, then bent down, put their guns on the floor, and retreated.

Baldy kicked the guns into the corner.

The tall, thin man pushed Su Hua onto the windowsill. “Jump!”

Su Hua gripped the window frame tightly, refusing to jump. This was the third floor-if she jumped, she’d either die or be crippled!

“Jump! You won’t die!” The tall, thin man lost patience, grabbed her arm, and tried to drag her down.

In a flash, there was a loud bang, and a scream pierced the night sky!