Gu Susu squatted down, trying to explain to him, "He has something important to do today and won't be back. Be good, be obedient. After Mom finishes these fireworks with you, we'll go to sleep, okay?"
"But..."
"Little ones shouldn't sleep too late."
"But what could be more important than spending time with me?"
Gu Susu didn't want him to be hurt, so she told him, "His father is sick and in the hospital. He needs to stay there to take care of him."
"Dad's dad, that means my grandpa," Xiao Xingxing responded quickly. "Mom, can we go to the hospital to see Grandpa too?"
"No, we can't go." Gu Susu felt the child was becoming more disobedient and asking too many questions. She put on a stern face.
Xiao Xingxing wanted to ask why, but seeing Gu Susu was a little angry, he held back and said unhappily, "Okay, I'll go to sleep. Shall we save this box of fireworks to set off when Dad has time?"
Gu Susu nodded, helped him put away the fireworks, and took him back to his room to sleep.
After staying with him for a while and telling him a bedtime story, he finally fell asleep reluctantly.
As Gu Susu left his room, she couldn't help but sigh. The child still wanted to stay up until Qin Tianyi returned.
But he was too young to understand. With such a major event, if Qin Yangye's condition was unstable, Qin Tianyi would likely be staying at the hospital.
She came downstairs, wondering if she should ask Xiao Anjing specifically which hospital it was, so that Chen Ma could send him some necessities for staying at the hospital.
While looking at her phone, she walked downstairs. Distracted, she slipped, stumbling down several steps. Seeing her balance falter, she was about to fall all the way down.
Qin Tianyi happened to be entering from outside. Seeing this, he rushed down the stairs and caught her.
She spun, trying to regain her balance, even flinging her phone away. With another one-hundred-and-eighty-degree spin, she landed directly in Qin Tianyi's arms.
Qin Tianyi held her waist steadily and met her gaze. He couldn't imagine how she could be so clumsy on the stairs.
Gu Susu was very surprised to see him and didn't know what to say. She stammered, "I just put Xiao Xingxing to sleep and came downstairs without paying attention... You... why are you back..."
Before she could finish, Qin Tianyi swept her up and headed back upstairs.
Gu Susu's cheek rested against his jacket, and she could smell a faint scent of disinfectant. He must have come back from the hospital.
"Where are you taking me? My room is on the first floor."
Qin Tianyi strode upstairs and said, "That's not your room. It was just a guest room for you to recover. Now that your ankle injury is fine, you should return to our bedroom and fulfill your duties."
"But... but all my things are still in the room on the first floor." Gu Susu was flustered and couldn't think of a reason to not share a room with him.
"Just a few clothes. I'll have Chen Ma pack them up and move them upstairs tomorrow."
"But..."
"No 'buts.' We are husband and wife, so of course we should sleep in the same bedroom. If one lives upstairs and the other downstairs, what will the household staff think? They'll assume we're separated." Qin Tianyi had his reasons and had already carried her into his bedroom.
Gu Susu glanced at the king-size bed with its dark blue sheets in his bedroom and struggled, saying, "Put me down. My leg is fine, I can walk myself."
Inwardly, she thought she wasn't an object to be thrown onto the bed like anything else. She didn't like this feeling.
Besides, hadn't his father, Qin Yangye, had an accident? How could he still be in the mood to roll around with her in bed? Was he a donkey?
Qin Tianyi released her, letting her feet touch the ground. He took her hand and said, "What's that strange smell on you? Go take a bath."
Qin Tianyi pulled her into the bathroom, but Gu Susu felt he was a bit off tonight. His cold eyes held a hint of sorrow. She forcefully shook off his hand, "You're the one who smells! You came back from the hospital. Is your father okay now?"
Qin Tianyi turned to look at her, his eyes reddened, and he remained silent.
Gu Susu found his expression terrifying and quickly explained, "Xiao Xingxing has been waiting for you to come back to set off fireworks with him and refused to sleep. I had to message Xiao Anjing. He said your father had an accident and was in the hospital, but he didn't tell me anything else. Honestly, I don't know anything else."
But Qin Tianyi just looked at her, still not speaking, like a wounded beast.
Gu Susu instinctively recoiled, trying to find something to say, "It's good that your father is okay. You can wash yourself. I'll go move my things from downstairs first."
Qin Tianyi, however, grabbed her, preventing her from leaving, and said domineeringly, "Accompany me to wash."
Gu Susu's mind raced, and she quickly said, "I've already washed."
Qin Tianyi pulled her into his embrace with a slight force, hugging her tightly as if only by holding her tightly could he feel better.
Gu Susu felt his embrace lose its usual aggression, seeming to seek comfort. She couldn't bring herself to break free from him.
"Who said he's okay?" Qin Tianyi rested his head on her shoulder. "Do you always resent being with me?"
"No, it's just that your actions always catch me off guard." Gu Susu concealed her fear and complex emotions. "No one said your father was okay. I guessed he must be fine, which is why you came back from the hospital."
As soon as she finished speaking, she felt his grip on her tighten. She wondered if she had said something wrong again and angered him.
"You guessed half correctly. He's not in mortal danger, but the doctor said they don't know when he'll wake up. Maybe... maybe he'll never wake up." His voice became mournful as he spoke into her ear.
The word "vegetative" flashed in Gu Susu's mind. Qin Yangye had become a vegetable?
She slowly raised her hand and patted his back twice, saying, "As long as he's alive, there's hope."
He stiffened, then smiled and said, "I hate him. Don't be so clever." He then picked her up and, like throwing a sack, tossed her directly into the bathtub and began to fill it with water.
The water sprayed from the showerhead onto her face and eyes. She couldn't open her eyes and blocked the spraying water with her hands, shouting, "Qin Tianyi, what madness are you pulling now?"
Qin Tianyi stepped into the bathtub, still in a commanding tone, "Accompany me."
Gu Susu tried to climb out of the bathtub, but Qin Tianyi embraced her waist from behind, making it impossible for her to move.
As the water in the bathtub rose, Gu Susu's clothes became soaked and clung uncomfortably to her body.