Goodbye, Scumbag! The Powerful CEO Is My New Devoted Lover - Chapter 11

“It’s fine.”

Su Xiao squeezed Xu An’s hand in return. “An’an, go back and take down the trending search.”

“I won’t! I never realized before just how shameless he could be.” Xu An was nearly fuming. “When you were affected by scandals, he didn’t lift a finger. Now that something happens to Xia Zhi, he comes running immediately? Is he being led around by his lower half? How else could he do something like this?”

“I scammed him out of two villas on the Second Ring Road.”

The sunlight fell slanted across the white hospital sheets. Su Xiao slowly lowered her gaze, a few stray hairs brushing against her cheek, making her look even thinner and more fragile.

“Holy crap! Two villas!” Xu An’s mouth hung open so wide it could have fit an egg. “Yan Mingshen really paid a steep price this time.”

“That’s right, An’an. One for each of us. Once I’m divorced, you can stay with me.” Su Xiao’s eyes crinkled into a bright, beautiful smile.

Early the next morning, when Su Xiao checked her phone, all the news regarding Yan Mingshen and Xia Zhi had been wiped clean.

Xu An had gone to a scheduled appearance, so Su Xiao handled her own discharge papers, hailed a taxi, and headed to Qin Yu’s studio.

As soon as she walked in, the energetic receptionist greeted her and directed her to the third floor. Usually, the second floor was for receiving guests and performing simple restorations, but the items rescued from the gallery were far beyond “simple.”

Despite being mentally prepared, Su Xiao was still startled by the scene upstairs. The original workbenches had been pushed together in the center of the room. Works with minor damage had already been assigned by Qin Yu and were moving through the restoration process. The severely damaged pieces were either in crates or spread across Qin Yu’s desk. The entire studio was practically overflowing.

“Senior Sister! You’re just in time.” Qin Yu’s eyes lit up when he saw her. Skipping the pleasantries, he hurriedly beckoned her over. “Take a look at this.”

Spread out in the center of the workbench was a meticulous “flower and bird” ink wash painting—the one belonging to Mr. Lin. The burn marks weren’t extensive, but the difficulty lay in the fact that the ruined area happened to be right at the corner of the bird’s eye.

“This spot is the hardest to handle. If the brushwork isn’t perfect, the whole painting is ruined.” “Dotting the eyes” was equivalent to giving a work its soul; everyone’s interpretation was different, making it nearly impossible to achieve a perfect restoration.

“It’s okay, I’ll handle this one.” Su Xiao touched the edges of the burn marks. Fortunately, not much of the paper had discolored from the heat. Otherwise, even if the famous master from the Tang family came, it wouldn’t be salvageable. “Help me find someone to make a list and calculate the losses.”

She planned to call the collectors of the rescued works tomorrow. For the rest, she would apologize in person after the funeral. The longer this was delayed, the more troublesome it would become.

“I knew you could save it.” Hearing her speak, Qin Yu let out a sigh of relief. He carefully packed the painting and handed it to Su Xiao. “Xiao Li is already working on the calculations. I’ll send them to your email by tomorrow noon at the latest.”

Although they were trained by the same master, Su Xiao was more talented and had started earlier. If she hadn’t given up traditional Chinese painting back then, he wouldn’t even be in the picture today.

Su Xiao took the painting and found an empty spot on the workbench. She flattened it out and began bit by bit to clear away the charred debris. Calligraphy restoration was time-consuming work; Su Xiao spent almost the entire day immersed in the studio until the Su family called that evening.

“Su Xiao, the Old Madam wants you back to keep watch over the casket.”

“I understand.” Su Xiao rubbed her aching temples.

Calculating the time, it was indeed time to keep watch for her father. These past few days, things had piled up one after another; when she focused on one, she neglected the other, leaving her overwhelmed.

“Qin Yu, I have to go back to the old estate for a bit.” Su Xiao looked at the restorers working hard under their desk lamps and felt truly guilty. “I’ll order some food for you guys. Don’t stay up too late; this much work can’t be finished in a short time.”

“It’s fine, Senior Sister, we’re getting overtime pay. Besides,” Qin Yu pushed up his glasses, his eyes shining under the lamp, “having access to so many ancient paintings is a rare opportunity for us.” Their studio wasn’t large, and they didn’t get to work on pieces of this caliber very often.

“…Thank you.” Su Xiao’s eyes felt a bit warm. Being a restorer herself, she knew how grueling this profession was. She wasn’t good at pretty words, so after a long pause, she only managed to repeat, “Thank you. Once the money from those two houses comes through, I’ll calculate double overtime for everyone.”

The real estate agent had messaged her this morning saying the houses were sold, but the payment would still take a few days.

Su Xiao bid farewell to the studio staff and went downstairs. The Su family car had been waiting for some time, with the same driver as before. She leaned back against the seat, watching the car slowly leave the city center.

She hadn’t ridden in a Su family car many times growing up, and every time she did, it never ended well. The most recent time was in her second year of university when her father was away on business. She had been taken to the old estate, and at the time, she was both terrified of and hateful toward Old Madam Su. Even when she was struck with a whip, she didn’t dare make a sound. It was only when Yan Mingshen noticed she hadn’t come to class and caused a scene at the Su house that he was able to take a battered Su Xiao away.

Back then, he was such a good person. How could he have changed so much now?

The car stopped in front of the courtyard house. Someone was already waiting for her at the entrance. “Little Miss, the Old Madam is waiting in the ancestral hall.”

“Okay.”

Su Xiao got out and followed the butler into the courtyard. The doors to the ancestral hall were open. There weren’t many people inside, and her father’s funeral urn sat lonely in the center.

“Kneel.” Old Madam Su sat to one side, lifting her eyelids to give Su Xiao a cold, sideways glance.

Su Xiao said nothing. She walked to the prayer mat in the center and reached out to touch it. Inside the mat, beneath a very thin layer of cotton, it was stuffed with thorny brambles. This was an old trick of the Su family; the thorns weren’t long, and the cotton padding meant it wouldn’t cause a visible injury, but it was enough to keep someone bedridden for half a month.

Su Xiao picked up the prayer mat, weighed it in her hand, and flung it directly at Old Madam Su’s face.

“I think you’ve lived long enough.”