Su Hua's view was blocked by the umbrella, making it hard to see the road. The umbrella was entirely covering her, leaving Gu Beixian's clothes soaked by the rain.

She raised her hand to push the umbrella handle towards him.

Gu Beixian instinctively glanced towards the Broken Bridge.

The man called Ah-Yao had already disappeared, as elusive as a phantom, like a fleeting shadow.

He secretly breathed a sigh of relief and pulled Su Hua closer into his arms.

Only then did he realize that, for a moment, he had been afraid of losing her.

It was the first time in his life he had felt this way, even he was surprised.

By the time they returned to Grandfather Gu's house, it was already noon.

They hastily ate a bit of lunch.

Su Hua, exhausted and sleepy, walked into the bedroom, took off her clothes, and wanted to sleep for a while.

She had been keeping vigil for her grandmother these past few days and hadn't had much rest.

Gu Beixian followed her in, took off his coat, and draped it over the chair by the bed, intending to sleep with her.

Su Hua's hoarse voice softly said, "You should sleep in the next room. I haven't bathed in three days, and I smell."

Gu Beixian leaned in, sniffed her head, and said, "You do have a bit of a smell."

Su Hua was so embarrassed that she quickly covered her head with her hands to stop him from smelling.

Gu Beixian chuckled lightly, "It's okay, I don't mind."

He lifted the blanket, pushed her into the bed, took off his shoes, lay down beside her, and gently held her, saying, "Your relatives are all watching. If we sleep in separate rooms, they'll definitely gossip."

Su Hua thought for a moment and agreed.

Three years ago, when she married Gu Beixian, some relatives who knew the inside story had secretly said that her mother sold her to a cripple for money.

Now that Gu Beixian's leg was healed, those people were probably waiting to see her make a fool of herself.

People care about their reputation.

Even if they were really going to divorce, they had to keep up appearances in front of others.

Su Hua no longer resisted.

She had been through so much these past few days that as soon as her head hit the pillow, she quickly fell into a deep sleep.

As she slept, she began to have nightmares.

In her dream, the night was pitch black, and a fierce wind whipped up raging flames, filling the air with thick smoke.

The scorching flames licked her skin, and the strong smell of gasoline and acrid smoke filled her nose.

A thin young man struggled to push her out of the fire, but he was struck in the leg by a falling beam.

She reached out, trying to grab and pull him out of the fire, but she couldn't move him.

She cried out loudly, "Brother Ah-Yao, Brother Ah-Yao..."

Gu Beixian was awakened by her cries. Seeing her eyes closed, her face full of pain, and tears streaming down her cheeks, he frowned slightly, pulled a tissue from the bedside table, and gently wiped away her tears.

After wiping her tears, he silently watched her for a while, then pulled her into his arms.

He comforted her by rubbing her back and gently patting her, just like he used to.

But inside, he felt like a stone was lodged in his heart, causing him pain.

Her long eyelashes cast a shadow under his eyes, making his handsome face look inexplicably gloomy, and the air pressure around him dropped to the lowest point.

These past few days, he had dropped everything to stay with her, taking care of her without rest.

He thought he had done enough.

But she lay in his arms, crying out in pain for her Brother Ah-Yao.

He felt like his sincere heart had been misplaced.

This wasn't the first time; he had endured this for three whole years.

He had never been a patient person, rarely tolerating others, but he had kept enduring for her.

Enduring comes with emotions; while enduring, one can't help but feel resentment.

This was an invisible crack between them.

The lack of sleep over the past few days had pushed his emotions to the brink of collapse, and his patience was at its limit.

He wanted to lose his temper at her and then leave in a huff.

But she was too good, smart, beautiful, gentle, and understanding, and now so fragile.

He couldn't even bear to lose his temper at her, let alone have a fight.

After taking several deep breaths, Gu Beixian barely managed to suppress the anger in his heart.

He tightly held the woman in his nightmare, soothing her bit by bit, tucking her in.

He got out of bed, put on his coat, and walked out, wanting to smoke a cigarette.

There were still people in the yard, so he walked outside the main gate.

In front of the gate was an old, abandoned pond.

Across the pond was a sparse grove of poplar trees, with tangled power lines swaying gently in the wind above the treetops.

Gu Beixian took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it with a lighter, shielding it from the wind with his hand, and took a deep drag, slowly exhaling blue-white smoke.

He squinted, looking at the grove across the pond, smoking one cigarette after another.

His usually refined and restrained face now showed a hint of coldness.

From the setting sun to the dark night, the ground was littered with cigarette butts.

He smoked half a pack of cigarettes, but his restless mood still couldn't completely calm down.

Suddenly, his phone rang.

Gu Beixian held the cigarette in his mouth, took out his phone, and glanced at the caller ID. It was Chu Suosuo.

He frowned and directly hung up.

A few minutes later, the phone rang again.

This time it was his father, Gu Aoting.

He answered the call.

Gu Aoting asked, "When are you coming back?"

Gu Beixian replied emotionlessly, "Su Hua's grandmother was buried today. I'll be back first thing tomorrow morning."

Gu Aoting's voice carried a hint of reproach, "Why did it take so long? It's been almost four days."

"Her grandmother passed away, and she's very sad. I can't leave her alone."

"Doesn't she have a mother and relatives?"

"Her mother is also very sad and can't take care of herself. As for her relatives, they're just so-so. Right now, I'm the only one she can rely on."

Gu Aoting snorted, "You're getting divorced, so why are you still being so good to her? Just give her more money. Your time is more valuable than money. The projects you're involved in have all been delayed because of your absence. Do you know how much loss you've caused the company?"

Gu Beixian's eyes lowered slightly, and he said calmly, "Deduct the losses from my personal account."

Gu Aoting said unhappily, "It's not about the money; it's about the company's reputation!"

Gu Beixian was silent for a moment, "Just this once, it won't happen again."

Gu Aoting grunted in acknowledgment, then ordered, "Remember to finalize the divorce when you get back. Dragging it out is too much trouble."

In the bedroom.

In her sleep, Su Hua turned over and instinctively reached out to hug Gu Beixian, but found nothing.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she woke up.

She opened her sleepy eyes, not seeing him, and felt a bit empty inside, also vaguely worried about him.

Rubbing her eyes to clear her groggy mind, she got out of bed, put on her clothes, and went to look for him.

After searching several rooms and not finding him, and not seeing him in the yard either, Su Hua panicked and hurriedly ran outside the main gate.

Under the light at the gate, she saw a tall, proud figure standing by the pond, taking a phone call.

There was a faint orange glow at his left fingertips.

The man was wearing a black long coat, exuding an air of noble detachment, with a unique presence.

It was Gu Beixian.

He was so different from everyone else.

Even just his silhouette could distinguish him from others.

Su Hua's anxious heart suddenly calmed down.

Afraid of disturbing his phone call, she walked towards him quietly.

As she got closer, she heard him say into the phone, "I'm a human, not a beast. When I was at my lowest, Su Hua was there for me. Now that she's so vulnerable, I can't just leave her. The divorce is off."

Su Hua's heart warmed, and her nose tingled.

She quickly walked up and hugged him from behind, burying her head in his back.

Her arms wrapped tightly around his waist, as if afraid that if she let go, he would disappear.

Gu Beixian's eyes softened slightly. Seeing it was her, his gloomy expression eased a bit.

Being held by her like this, the anger in his heart dissipated by more than half.

What a pushover, he thought.

She hadn't even said a word, and he was already almost appeased.

After giving Gu Aoting a few perfunctory responses, Gu Beixian hung up the phone, threw the cigarette butt on the ground, and crushed it with his foot.

He held Su Hua's hand and gently asked, "Why did you come out? It's cold outside, you should wear more."

"I thought you left," Su Hua said softly, her hoarse voice sounding particularly helpless.

Gu Beixian patted her head, lovingly pulling her into his arms, "Even if I leave, I'd tell you first. I wouldn't leave without saying goodbye, don't worry."

Su Hua looked up at him with teary eyes, "Are you leaving tomorrow?"

"Yes, come back with me tomorrow."

Su Hua shook her head, "I want to stay here for a few more days, until after my grandmother's seven-day memorial."

Gu Beixian paused, "Alright, I'll leave a couple of people to protect you."

"Okay."

Su Hua noticed the scattered cigarette butts on the ground and asked, "Why did you smoke so much?"

Gu Beixian casually replied, "Just a bit annoyed, but it's nothing now."

Su Hua stared into his eyes, "Is it because of the divorce?"

To read the uncut version, go to [pawread.com].

"No, it's work-related." Gu Beixian averted his gaze, avoiding her eyes.

Looking up, he saw a tall, sharp figure standing at the edge of the grove across the pond, wearing a black jacket, with short black hair and a mask on his face.

It was that Ah-Yao again!

His gaze instantly turned cold, staring icily at the figure for a few moments, his lips curling into a sinister smile.

He lifted Su Hua's delicate chin and forcefully kissed her.