Qin Tianyi couldn't help but lower his head and gently kiss her lips. With just that light touch, the fire within him was ignited, sparks flying. He held her tightly, leaving her no room to dodge, and his kiss became intense and lingering.
They pressed together, their lips and teeth entwined.
Gu Susu's face flushed crimson. For some reason, she no longer resisted his kiss, and for the first time, she found kissing to be a pleasurable experience.
Qin Tianyi also sensed her reaction was different from before. He no longer suppressed himself, impatiently sweeping a pile of bowls and plates from the counter, and then carried Gu Susu over.
She felt as if she had been electrocuted, trembling from head to toe. Yet, she hadn't lost her senses. She gripped his collar with her boneless hands, her breath coming in rapid gasps, and said, "Chen Ma is still in the villa. Please, not here, okay?"
Qin Tianyi scooped her up like a whirlwind and headed towards the room.
Gu Susu leaned into his embrace, her arms hooked around his neck, looking at him submissively.
She had never been so bold and unrestrained with any man before, but at this moment, she wanted him. She simply wanted him.
When morning came, Gu Susu was curled up in the covers, unable to even open her eyes. Qin Tianyi carried her into the bathroom.
He placed her in a bathtub filled with hot water and helped her wash with rose-scented bath salts.
Last night's indulgence had left her muscles aching all over. She opened her eyes to find Qin Tianyi beside her and said, "Please, let me go. I'm too tired."
Qin Tianyi stood up straight beside the bathtub and said coldly, "It's good you're awake. Wash yourself. Who was it that couldn't get enough last night? Now you know you're tired. Serves you right! Once you're clean, come with me somewhere."
Just as Gu Susu was about to ask where, Qin Tianyi strode out of the bathroom.
She soaked in the bathtub, and the thought of last night's intimacy made her feel as if she had gone mad. Why had she acted like that?
She should have been afraid of Qin Tianyi. It was precisely because he had rescued her from the warehouse immediately and hadn't been so cold-blooded as to just punish Zhang Gaoyuan and his wife, but had also considered their children, that she had harbored illusions about him?
Gu Susu slid down, burying her head in the hot water of the bathtub, holding her breath to clear her mind. She also wished for a normal relationship and marriage. Just in that moment in the kitchen last night, she felt as if they were a couple with the warmth of everyday life.
If only they were an ordinary couple, without deceit and hidden secrets, how wonderful that would be.
But she knew it was just a dream. She was already a woman with a child. Even if Qin Tianyi could accept her, could he accept her child?
If the man she loved couldn't accept Xiao Xingxing, she would rather remain alone for the rest of her life.
Gu Susu held her breath in the water for a few minutes before finally needing air. She tossed her head out of the water, feeling much clearer.
"Are you done? Hurry up." As soon as she dried herself, she heard Qin Tianyi urging her from the doorway.
She quickly changed into clean clothes and glanced at the bathtub. Suddenly, the feeling of Qin Tianyi carrying her into the bathtub when she was dazed felt a bit familiar, as if... as if someone had put her in the bathtub like this when she was drunk once.
But Qin Tianyi had said Rong Ma helped her bathe. Was it not Rong Ma?
She shook her head, thinking she was overthinking things, and immediately opened the bathroom door. She saw him waiting, fully dressed.
He was wearing a black suit, and even his tie was dark.
Gu Susu looked at the plain clothes she had just put on, mostly gray and black, and guessed, "Are you taking me to your mother's grave?"
"Every time I come, I go there to spend time with her," Qin Tianyi said with a somber expression. "If you don't want to go, you can stay here and wait for me."
"I want to go," Gu Susu said without hesitation.
She had already heard many things about Xiao Yongmei from others and genuinely wanted to accompany Qin Tianyi to the grave to pay respects to this true lady from a prominent family.
"Then let's go," Qin Tianyi said, walking ahead.
Chen Ma had prepared a bouquet of daisies and handed it to Gu Susu, saying, "Young Madam likes these pale purple daisies the most. She'll like you when she sees you holding this bouquet."
Gu Susu carefully took the bouquet and nodded, asking, "Chen Ma, aren't you coming with us?"
"No, I live here, so I can go see Young Madam anytime I wish," Chen Ma said with a slight smile.
Qin Tianyi drove her himself to the edge of a cliff. After parking the car, they sat in silence for a while.
Gu Susu saw his pained expression. From the car, she could see a large black marble tombstone not far away. Behind it was a grave mound built with stones from the seaside. That must be Xiao Yongmei's resting place.
She wondered why Xiao Yongmei's grave was built here, but she didn't want to ask too many questions at this moment.
Qin Tianyi seemed to have made a significant decision and said, "Get out of the car."
Gu Susu merely hummed in response, taking the bouquet of daisies prepared by Chen Ma. She wondered if Qin Tianyi still couldn't accept the fact that he had lost his mother.
Thinking of her own birth mother, who treated her worse than a stranger, she felt a pang of envy for Qin Tianyi, who at least had a mother who loved him dearly.
They walked to the tombstone. Gu Susu squatted down, took out a tissue, and carefully cleaned the dust and debris blown by the sea breeze from the tombstone. Then she placed the daisies in front of it. She didn't know what to say to Qin Tianyi's mother, so she remained silent.
Qin Tianyi seemed to have many things to say to Xiao Yongmei, but perhaps because she was present, he couldn't speak them.
Discreetly, she paid her respects to Xiao Yongmei and then walked aside, strolling around the cliff.
She reached a spot some distance from Xiao Yongmei's tombstone, standing there and gazing at the rolling waves below, lost in thought. The scenery here was truly beautiful.
With the sea as her companion, Xiao Yongmei wouldn't be too lonely buried here.
She didn't know how long she had been gazing at the sea. Casually, she looked back at Qin Tianyi. He was already sitting in front of Xiao Yongmei's tombstone, talking to his mother.
He, who was usually stingy with his words, seemed to have endless things to say here.
At least he had a relative to confide in. But what about her?
Gu Susu felt a chill after standing by the cliff for a long time. She hugged herself and looked out at the sea, feeling how small she was in the face of nature.
Suddenly, she felt someone drape a jacket over her shoulders. Turning around, she saw it was Qin Tianyi. It seemed he had finished confiding in Xiao Yongmei.
"Let's go back," Qin Tianyi said.
Gu Susu saw that he was still in a bad mood and didn't know how to comfort him, so she said, "The scenery here is beautiful, facing the sea, with flowers blooming in spring."
Qin Tianyi said coldly, "It's a pity we couldn't enjoy such beautiful scenery with the one we love when she was alive."