"You want Ai Yiwei to marry into our Qin family too? To have someone keep you company?" the old lady asked faintly.
Gu Susu didn't know whether to nod or shake her head. She didn't want to see Ai Yiwei at all. Helping Ai Yiwei marry Qin Tianlang was so she could leave.
"I don't know," she said, lowering her head. "She found out she was pregnant, and Qin Tianlang refused to take responsibility, so she came to me for help. I didn't think too much about it, just hoped she could have the child safely. After all, the child is innocent."
"Is that why you went into Tianlang's room last time, to get something for Ai Yiwei that could be used for a DNA test?" The old lady shrewdly connected it to the previous incident.
Gu Susu could only nod in agreement.
"Then what did you get?" the old lady asked.
Gu Susu said, "A few strands of Qin Tianlang's hair, which I gave to Yiwei."
"Alright, I understand," the old lady said. "Have you considered that if Ai Yiwei marries Tianlang while pregnant, Tianyi and you will have even less status in the Qin family? I can protect you for a while, but not forever."
Gu Susu was speechless for a moment. She hadn't thought that far ahead and hadn't considered Tianyi's situation. She only thought that once she left the Qin family, it would have nothing to do with her.
But then she thought, Qin Tianyi had also agreed to her helping with this matter. Did Qin Tianyi himself not realize this?
"I'm sorry, I didn't consider it thoroughly."
The old lady leaned back in her chair and said, "If Ai Yiwei is carrying the Qin family's bloodline, then the child in her belly must be raised by our Qin family. You should have told me about this, but not in front of so many people. By doing this, you wanted Ai Yiwei to become the young madam of the Qin family, just like you."
Gu Susu said, somewhat confused, "She's carrying Qin Tianlang's child, and she doesn't have to marry into the Qin family, just let the Qin family raise the child?"
The old lady smiled, "Of course. It depends on how you think about it; there are many ways."
Gu Susu understood. The old lady valued the Qin family's descendants greatly, but she didn't seem to like Ai Yiwei.
"Old Madam, you originally wanted Yiwei to marry Tianyi. Why don't you want her to marry into the Qin family now?"
The old lady said coldly, "I used to hear that Ai Yiwei was a quite outstanding young lady from a good family. Given Tianyi's condition, I didn't dare to hope for any daughter from a prominent family to marry him. But she agreed to my face, and then went back on her word with Ai Shunan. She even insisted on calling you back from abroad to stand in for her. Hypocritical, scheming, selfish... Fortunately, she didn't marry Tianyi."
As she spoke, the old lady's expression softened slightly as she looked at Gu Susu and added, "You are better than her."
Hearing these four words, Gu Susu felt an indescribable sense of warmth. Since she had arrived here, no one had ever told her she was better than Ai Yiwei.
In everyone's eyes, Ai Yiwei was the best and most dazzling. She was just a country bumpkin who appeared from nowhere.
The thought of leaving the Qin family made Gu Susu a little reluctant to part with the old lady.
Although the Qin family's old lady treated her well out of love for Qin Tianyi, it was the first time she had encountered an elder who genuinely cared for her.
"Old Madam, thank you for praising me like this."
The old lady held her hand and said, "You are good in every way, you just need to be more confident and not always feel inferior to others. With you helping Tianyi, I feel much more at ease."
"Actually, Tianyi, he... he is wise enough to appear foolish. I don't think he's stupid," Gu Susu almost blurted out, revealing Qin Tianyi's act of feigning ignorance to the old lady.
The old lady said with great relief, "It's best that you can see what others cannot and recognize Tianyi's goodness."
"I am not worthy of Tianyi," Gu Susu hoped that after she left, the old lady would find a better daughter from a prominent family for Qin Tianyi.
The old lady thought she was being modest and smiled, "I think you two are very well-matched. One thing I must remind you of is not to interfere with the matter between Tianlang and Ai Yiwei anymore, and be wary of Ai Yiwei in the future. Even if you are sisters, someone like her will not appreciate your kindness and will instead regard you as an enemy after marrying into our Qin family."
"Okay, I'll remember," Gu Susu knew Ai Yiwei's character well. She never expected her to be grateful; it would be good enough if she didn't cause trouble.
As the car neared the Qin family's main entrance, Gu Susu hesitantly took out a light silk cardigan from her bag, wrapped it in special packaging paper, and handed it to the old lady, saying, "This cardigan is my own design and tailoring. Please see if you like it?"
The old lady opened the packaging paper with a hint of surprise. The garment was made of purple-red Suzhou embroidery. She gently stroked the decorative frog buttons and patterns. "It's beautiful, truly beautiful."
Gu Susu couldn't help but smile. Qin Tianyi had prepared a valuable birthday gift for the birthday banquet that evening. He had brought her along, saying it was a gift from both of them to the old lady.
She had also seen at the banquet that all the birthday gifts were very expensive. In fact, she had secretly made a dress for the old lady as a birthday gift, but she couldn't present it in front of everyone.
Now that there was no one else around, she presented the handmade dress to the old lady. Seeing that the old lady liked it, she felt that her efforts over the past few days were worthwhile.
"Old Madam, I wish you good health and longevity," she sincerely wished the old lady again.
"Good, a thoughtful, good child." The old lady unfolded the dress, preparing to try it on.
As they spoke, the car stopped at the Qin family's main entrance. The driver got out and opened the car doors for them.
Rong Ma also got out of the front passenger seat and came to the rear door to help the old lady alight, saying, "Don't rush, I'll help you try on this dress later. Oh my, Young Madam, your hands are so skillful. It must have taken a lot of effort to make such an exquisite cardigan, right?"
Gu Susu smiled, "It's alright, as long as Old Madam likes it."
The old lady, leaning on Rong Ma, alighted from the car and said happily, "Good child, call me Grandma from now on, just like Tianyi."
Rong Ma quickly said to her, "Young Madam, hurry up and change your address. Old Madam liked your gift the most tonight."
"Grandma," Gu Susu called out, still feeling a little unaccustomed to it. She truly envied Qin Tianyi for having such a good grandmother.
The old lady responded, "Good, my dear."
As they were chatting and laughing, the car carrying Qin Tianyi and Xiao Anjing also arrived.
Qin Tianyi got out of the car, Xiao Anjing waved to him, and drove away first.
"Grandma, Rong Ma, are you sharing a joke? You seem so happy, tell me too," he said as he walked up to Gu Susu.
Rong Ma smiled, "Young Master Tianyi, we were talking about how skillful Young Madam is, and how lucky you are."
"Oh," Qin Tianyi looked at Gu Susu blankly and asked, "What skills do you have?"
The old lady shook the silk cardigan in her hand and said, "You silly boy, look how thoughtful your wife is. She specifically made a dress to celebrate my birthday."
"You made it for Grandma, and I didn't know? You didn't tell me," Qin Tianyi said still blankly.
The old lady tugged at Rong Ma, feeling that the boy was too dull and said helplessly, "Let's go back and try on the clothes. We'll leave them to talk."
Rong Ma understood and quickly followed the old lady back to the small building.
For a moment, only Qin Tianyi and Gu Susu were left at the main entrance. They looked at each other, and surprisingly, had nothing to say.