Gu Susu tried her best not to let out a choked sob as she coaxed Little Star, "Mommy has to work and earn money to buy you good food and toys. Mommy will come see you in a few days. You must be good, eat and sleep well, understand?"
"I'll be very good and obedient, Mommy, don't leave me, please come see me soon..."
"Take this brat away," Ai Yiwei's voice came from the other end of the phone. Little Star's crying became increasingly faint.
"Ai Yiwei! What have you done to my child?" Gu Susu asked angrily.
Ai Yiwei chuckled, "Don't worry, I've had the nanny take him to his room. I was being kind by letting you hear the child's voice; you should be thanking me."
"If even a single hair is missing when I see my child again, I won't let either of you go!" Gu Susu said sternly, holding back tears.
Ai Yiwei laughed on the phone, "What gives you the right to threaten me? Just based on your status as the Qin family's young madam? Don't you realize that being Qin Tianyi's wife is worthless in the Qin family?"
"If this status is worthless, then why did you force me to marry into the family? What benefit is there for you?" Gu Susu retorted.
Ai Yiwei said impatiently, "Dad wants me to remind you to serve that idiot well, appease the Qin family's old madam, and don't offend anyone in the Qin family, understand?"
Gu Susu mumbled a perfunctory "mm," her mind already understanding that Ai Shunan needed her to get close to the old madam and destroy the evidence that could ruin him.
"Oh, and how was your wedding night with that idiot yesterday? He didn't notice what kind of person you are, did he?" Ai Yiwei taunted her deliberately.
Gu Susu fired back, "If you want to know how it tasted, why don't you find an idiot and try it yourself?"
"You! Shameless..."
Gu Susu hung up before Ai Yiwei could finish.
Ai Yiwei gripped her phone tightly, gnashing her teeth in hatred. "You, Gu Susu, let's see how long your sharp tongue can last. Once you're no longer useful, I'll make sure you and that annoying little brat disappear from this world completely!"
Gu Susu wiped away her tears. For her child, she had to be strong. She had survived those difficult and desperate days in prison; nothing in this world could break her now.
Leaning against the door, she closed her eyes. She was so tired. With a complex mix of emotions, she drifted into an exhausted sleep.
Qin Tianyi got into Xiao Anjing's car. Under the guise of going to see a rehabilitation doctor for his brain condition, he changed cars at the hospital's back entrance and left.
Arriving at the top-floor office of a high-rise building in the financial center, Xiao Anjing personally brought him coffee and closed the door, ensuring no one would disturb them, to discuss the recent events in the Qin Group with Qin Tianyi.
Qin Tianyi listened quietly, deep in thought.
Xiao Anjing took out several more documents and called Qin Tianyi's name a few times, but he didn't respond. Xiao Anjing couldn't help but tap the desk in front of him. "Tianyi, what are you thinking about? Are you going to look at these documents related to the Qin Group's recent collaborations or not?"
Qin Tianyi responded with an "oh," snapping back to attention. He casually flipped through the documents and asked, "My father hasn't noticed that we've already sidelined the Qin Group in the Future City project, has he?"
"Uncle probably hasn't noticed. He said he was going to Southeast Asia to inspect projects, but in reality, he's taking your elder brother and... and that woman on vacation by the sea," Xiao Anjing said, observing Qin Tianyi's expression.
Qin Tianyi's brow furrowed, and his expression turned extremely cold.
Xiao Anjing knew that mentioning Qin Zhaoye's current wife and Qin Tianyi's half-brother would always displease Qin Tianyi.
Frankly speaking, Qin Zhaoye was nothing like a father to Qin Tianyi. Knowing that Qin Tianyi's wedding was a major event, he had taken his wife, who was promoted from a mistress, and his son, using the pretense of inspecting projects to go on vacation, showing no respect to Qin Tianyi, not even as much as an outsider.
Qin Tianyi closed the folder, his surface calm. "It's good that he hasn't noticed. Have the companies in Southeast Asia play along fully, and when the time is right, we'll kick my father out and make sure his investment this time is a complete loss."
"Understood. This isn't the first time we've done this. Don't worry, it's absolutely foolproof."
Qin Tianyi looked up at him, giving Xiao Anjing a sense of inexplicable pressure, making him feel a chill run down his spine.