After three days, Su Hua finally pieced together the painting by Zhu Da, the Sage of Eight Mountains.

It was so fragmented that it gave her a headache.

Once she finished piecing it together, she began the restoration process.

After enduring countless hardships, she finally restored the painting without a trace of damage.

Upon completion, she was quite satisfied with the Ink Lotus Painting.

The entire painting was composed with refined and resolute brushwork, its style grand and enduring, with a cold and austere artistic conception. It incorporated Zen into the painting, with a simple composition yet leaving endless aftertastes.

Zhu Da broke through the traditional painting methods in terms of conception, composition, and style, using variations in ink's dryness, wetness, thickness, and lightness, with a rhythmical brushstroke to create the lotus.

The lotus stems were round and upright, completed in one stroke, seemingly swaying in the wind yet exuding elegance, harmonizing beautifully with the bending lotus leaves.

With the restoration complete, the next step was to find a buyer.

She called Shen Yuan, "Which auction house in the capital is reliable?"

Shen Yuan was surprised, "You restored such a fragmented painting in such a short time?"

"Yes, you can't see any repair marks."

"Oh my god, you're amazing!"

Su Hua slightly furrowed her brows, holding the phone a bit away from her ear.

She felt that although Shen Yuan and Shen Huai were siblings, their personalities were quite different; Shen Yuan was too lively.

But it was a perfect complement to her own calmness.

Shen Yuan said she'd inquire and then hung up.

Not long after, she called back, "I found out that the largest auction houses in the capital are Zhengrong Auction House and Poly Auction, with a transaction rate of up to 80%. These two auction houses have accumulated more than half of the country's high-end collectors. These collectors are all worth tens of billions, even hundreds of billions."

Su Hua asked, "Which one is closer to us?"

"Zhengrong Auction House is slightly closer."

Su Hua thought for a moment, "Then let's go to Zhengrong Auction House."

"Okay, I'll come pick you up."

An hour later, Su Hua and Shen Yuan arrived at Zhengrong Auction House.

Upon entering the lobby, they saw, goodness, there was a queue.

At least fifty or sixty people were ahead, all from different parts of the country, bringing their collections here for auction.

Because before the auction, items need to be appraised, reviewed, and the starting price discussed, the procedures are quite cumbersome.

Since they were already there, Su Hua and Shen Yuan joined the queue in the lobby.

From morning until noon, only half of the line had moved, and their legs were getting sore from standing.

Su Hua said, "Why don't we try another place?"

"Let's wait a bit longer; the other place might not have fewer people." Shen Yuan bent over to massage her sore legs.

After a while, she straightened up and stretched.

Suddenly, her eyes lit up, and she pointed towards the elevator, shouting to Su Hua, "Look, a handsome guy!"

Her voice wasn't quiet.

Everyone turned their heads to look at her.

But they only glanced at her before shifting their gaze to Su Hua beside her.

Because Su Hua was simply too striking.

With her dark hair and red lips, her oval face was so fair it seemed to glow, her beautiful eyes were moist, and her gaze was calm. She stood there gracefully, as if she had stepped out of an ancient painting.

Under everyone's gaze, Su Hua felt a bit embarrassed.

She turned her head, avoiding their eyes, and looked in the direction Shen Yuan was pointing.

The man was indeed quite handsome.

Tall, wearing a stylish black jacket and black pants, with short hair, his features were handsome and deep, especially his eyes, dark and brooding, as if they carried stories, striking directly at Su Hua's heart.

Su Hua recognized him at once.

He was the man she had bumped into at the Kyoto Grand Hotel a few days ago.

He had eyes that were strikingly similar to Ah-Yao's.

Thinking of Ah-Yao, Su Hua felt a tightness in her chest, unable to breathe, her heart aching and curling into a small ball.

She pressed her hand to her chest, her brows furrowed.

The man seemed to notice them, turned his head, said a few words to the person behind him, and left.

Not long after, a staff member in a suit and tie came over to Su Hua, saying, "Excuse me, are you Miss Su Hua?"

Su Hua nodded, "I am."

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"Our young master would like to see you."

Su Hua was slightly surprised, "I don't know your young master."

The staff looked at the rolled-up painting in her hand, "Aren't you here to auction an ancient painting?"

"Yes."

"Our young master wants to see the painting in your hand."

Su Hua and Shen Yuan followed the staff member to their young master's office via elevator.

The office was large, decorated in a classic style.

On the east wall hung an Ink Bamboo Painting by Zheng Banqiao, backed by a large floor-to-ceiling window.

Their young master sat in a black leather chair.

Very young, around twenty-five or six, handsome and neat, wearing a black jacket, somewhat out of place with the classic decor.

The young master was the man they saw in the lobby earlier, the one with eyes strikingly similar to Ah-Yao's.

Su Hua was stunned.

Up close, the man's eyes resembled Ah-Yao's even more, almost identical.

But only the eyes were similar; the nose, face shape, skin color, and height were different.

The Ah-Yao in her memory was a fair and slender young man, as if he had walked out of a comic book.

The man in front of her had a darker complexion, a strong and upright build, short hair, deep and well-defined features.

All his masculine traits were very pronounced.

He was a handsome and sharp mature man.

Shen Yuan's eyes lit up again, whispering in admiration, "Such a young, handsome, and stylish young master."

The man stood up from his chair, striding over to them with long legs.

Su Hua stood there quietly, her eyes fixed on his eyes.

Those eyes were like a key to her painful memories, unlocking layers of untouchable pain.

The man stopped in front of her, extending his right hand politely, "Hello, Miss Su, my name is Gu Jinyao."

Su Hua paused at the mention of "Yao," instinctively looking at his outstretched hand, his fingers long and strong, with a thin layer of calluses on the sides of his right index finger.

It was the hand of someone who had held a gun for years.

Shen Yuan, seeing Su Hua standing still, nudged her arm, "Su Hua, shake hands with him."

Only then did Su Hua reach out to shake his hand.

They shook hands for a long time.

Longer than a normal handshake.

Since seeing Gu Jinyao's eyes, Su Hua's mind had been in a daze, not realizing the handshake had lasted too long.

Until Shen Yuan coughed and said, "Su Hua, show the painting to Mr. Gu."

Su Hua realized her faux pas, quickly withdrawing her hand from his.

Gu Jinyao reached for her painting, his eyelashes slightly lifted, glancing at her left hand that had been caught in a door.

Such beautiful fingers bore scars, the nails still a blackish-purple, not fully healed.

His gaze cooled slightly as he took the painting, calmly unrolling it, examining the image and paper, then looking at the few red seals on it, saying, "It's an authentic work by the Sage of Eight Mountains. How much are you planning to sell it for?"

Shen Yuan quickly said, "I checked online, the Ink Lotus Painting by Zhu Da, the Sage of Eight Mountains, has sold for over ten million in past years."

Gu Jinyao ignored her, asking Su Hua again, "How much do you want to sell it for?"

Su Hua, pale and slightly distracted, absentmindedly said, "Anything is fine."

Gu Jinyao placed the painting on the table, saying lightly, "I'll offer twelve million; I'll buy this painting."

Su Hua was extremely surprised, "You want to buy it?"

Gu Jinyao nodded slightly, "My father loves collecting paintings by the Sage of Eight Mountains and happens to lack an Ink Lotus."

Seeing he was serious, Su Hua pulled herself together, saying, "This painting was severely damaged and restored by me; you don't need to offer such a high price."

Whether it was restored or not, a test with instruments would reveal it.

Su Hua didn't want to hide it, nor could she.

Gu Jinyao looked down at her, expressionless, saying, "Money can't buy what I like, so twelve million it is. Cash or transfer?"

Su Hua hesitated, "Either is fine."

"Give me your account number, and I'll have finance transfer the money to you."

Su Hua didn't expect him to be so straightforward, hesitating, "Aren't you going to have an appraiser verify its authenticity?"

Gu Jinyao glanced at the painting on the table, his tone very certain, "The Ink Lotus by the Sage of Eight Mountains is unique through the ages, an extraordinary piece. It's hard for ordinary people to imitate. Even if they imitate, they can only imitate the form, not the spirit. This painting has both form and spirit, it's obviously genuine. The seals on it are also real; I trust my own judgment."

Su Hua wanted to say something.

Shen Yuan nudged her hand, signaling her not to say more.

Su Hua then gave her bank account number.

The other party must have enabled real-time large transfer functionality, as after signing the contract, Su Hua received a notification of twelve million credited to her account.

The process went so smoothly that Su Hua felt a bit unreal, dazed, as if in a dream.

After thanking Gu Jinyao, she took the contract and left with Shen Yuan.

As they walked out the door, she heard the man call from behind, "Su Hua."

That call of "Su Hua" seemed full of deep emotion.

For some reason, Su Hua suddenly felt a thin layer of tears in her eyes.