These days they had no more intense conflicts. Gu Susu felt she had found a way to get along with him, agreeing with him in conversation and yielding to him in all matters. They indeed seemed like a couple who respected each other as honored guests.
Qin Tianyi could sense she wasn't as resistant to him as before, but her every frown and smile seemed utterly insincere.
He had an inexplicable feeling that she could disappear from his sight at any moment, like quicksand that slips through one's fingers the tighter one tries to grasp it.
While they ate dinner together, Gu Susu occasionally glanced at the Qin family's elderly matriarch. She wondered if the leverage the old lady had mentioned before, which could ruin Ai Shunan and even bankrupt the Ai family, was the villa's quality inspection report that Ai Shunan had told her about.
Why could a single inspection report bankrupt the Ai family? Just how many quality issues did that villa project have?
She ate her dinner, her mind full of questions, but she couldn't bring herself to ask the old lady about it. She would have to figure it out herself.
The old lady noticed her looking over frequently and assumed she wanted to eat the soft, sweet pastry. She signaled Rong Ma to place the sweet and sour pastry in front of her and said, "Do you want something sour? Eat as much as you like if you enjoy it."
Gu Susu had no choice but to nod and pick up two pieces of the appetizing hawthorn-filled pastry.
Rong Ma chuckled beside them and said, "Could the young madam be pregnant?"
Gu Susu nearly choked and quickly took a sip of soup.
Qin Tianyi was stunned for a moment, then reacted and even echoed Rong Ma, saying, "That's also a possibility."
"Right, has the young madam not... not had her period for some time?" Rong Ma asked, her heart delicate and her tone a little hesitant.
"Are you talking about my period? It's late this month," Gu Susu said without any reservation. She was certain she wasn't pregnant, but the birth control pills had caused some menstrual irregularities.
The old lady, however, felt there was hope and became invigorated. "Then that's it, maybe she really is pregnant. Tianyi, accompany your wife to the hospital tomorrow. You might have good news."
"Alright, alright," Qin Tianyi said, feigning happiness.
"You silly boy, fools are blessed," the old lady said, pointing at him and laughing.
Gu Susu could only lower her head and eat. She couldn't definitively tell them she wasn't pregnant, fearing she would only disappoint the old lady.
When they returned to their room that night, while Qin Tianyi was taking a bath, she secretly looked up the villa project Ai Shunan had mentioned. A news article from last year astonished her.
The news reported that at a construction site, a foreman's improper operation caused a hoist to suddenly fall, crushing two workers to death.
Afterward, the foreman was arrested for a safety accident, and the Ai family's construction company paid a symbolic amount of money to the victims' families.
The families of the two deceased workers had also confronted the construction company. The Qin family had also intervened, sending a specialized quality inspection department to the site. The conclusion was still that the foreman's operation was improper, so the families did not pursue further compensation.
This villa project was developed by the Qin family and constructed by the Ai family's construction company. Therefore, both families had jointly stepped in to quell the incident.
Gu Susu stared at the news on her laptop, knowing there must be something wrong. It was likely more than just the foreman's improper operation; the Qin and Ai families had covered up something together.
Hearing Qin Tianyi open the bathroom door, she quickly switched the webpage to fashion design. In her mind, she wondered where the old lady would keep such important documents. Would they be in her own room, or had she rented a safe deposit box elsewhere?
She would have to inquire with Rong Ma about this.
"You've been distracted. What exactly did Ai Shunan tell you?" Qin Tianyi asked, drying himself with a towel around his waist.
Gu Susu dared not look at his well-defined, muscular upper body and changed the subject, "It's nothing. Yi Wei is rushing me again. When should we tell the old lady about this? Her belly is going to get bigger day by day, and she's anxious."
"The day of the Little New Year happens to be Grandma's birthday. That's when you should present Ai Yi Wei's paternity test report in front of everyone," Qin Tianyi gave her a definite time.
Gu Susu immediately checked her phone calendar and said, "Little New Year? That's less than ten days away. Yi Wei can rest assured now."
Qin Tianyi walked behind her, put his arm around her shoulders, and whispered against her cheek, "We'll go to the hospital tomorrow. After the check-up, if you disappoint Grandma, we can use that opportunity to tell her that Ai Yi Wei is pregnant with Qin Tian Lang's child, which might make her happy."
"But will Qin Tian Lang's child make the old lady happy?" Qin Tianyi speaking to her like this made her heart pound.
She was again thinking of how to find an excuse to prevent Qin Tianyi from touching her tonight.
"Regardless, that's still her great-grandchild," Qin Tianyi said, his hand already sliding to her abdomen, gently resting on it, making it seem as if there really was a baby inside.
Gu Susu carefully moved his hand away and said, "Whether we can have a child is a matter of fate. Let's talk about it after we go to the hospital tomorrow."
She hadn't wanted to go to the hospital for a check-up at all, but now she was in a difficult position. She knew she couldn't explain it to the old lady without going.
Qin Tianyi scooped her up and said with a wicked smile, "If you haven't conceived yet, then we'll have to try even harder."
Gu Susu said nervously, "But what if I'm already pregnant? You'll hurt him like this. Let's sleep separately tonight. I can sleep on the sofa and give you the bed."
"No need, it's fine to sleep together. Do you think I don't have this much self-control?" Qin Tianyi pushed her onto the bed, preventing her from going to the sofa.
Gu Susu turned her back to him and scoffed inwardly. What a scoundrel, calling that self-control!
When he got aroused, he could toss and turn her several times a night, only caring about his own pleasure, never about her feelings.
"Alright, then I'm tired. I'm going to sleep," Gu Susu didn't want to say more. She closed her eyes, wishing only to fall asleep quickly.
Qin Tianyi, having said that himself, couldn't take back his words. He had to let her go and lay on his back for a while.
But he couldn't sleep. He turned over and hugged her. Her fragrant body made him lose some of his restraint, and he still wanted to be intimate with her. However, he heard her soft, snoring breath.
Unexpectedly, she had fallen asleep so quickly. Qin Tianyi propped himself up with one hand to see if she was truly asleep.
He saw her eyelashes like fans, her face slightly flushed, her lips parted, sleeping soundly!
He couldn't help but kiss her cheek, sigh, and get up to go to the bathroom again, dousing himself with cold water.
Gu Susu heard the rushing water from the bathroom and secretly opened her eyes, wondering if Qin Tianyi hadn't seen through her little trick, or if he had a little affection for her. Was he willing to endure hardship himself and take a cold shower?
She closed her eyes and continued to pretend to sleep. No matter what he thought, marital intimacy should be a matter of mutual consent. But she was forced into it, unwilling, so no matter what he did, she shouldn't think he was good in any way. She must never fall for any man, never!