"Serves you right for spending carelessly all the time," Huo Jin chided, though seeing Huo Zheng finally willing to do something serious, she was about to offer to fund him herself if their father wouldn't.
But then, someone suddenly approached their table and said in a chilling voice, "It's good you're all here."
The Huo siblings looked at the person. Huo Jin recognized Qin Tianyi and said irritably, "Mr. Qin happens to be dining here too. I don't see the need for pleasantries."
Ignoring Huo Jin's disapproval, Qin Tianyi pulled out an empty chair and sat down. He directly addressed Huo Jin, "Chang Qingchuan told me you brought Susu back from abroad, but failed to keep an eye on her. However, I recently discovered your brother has hidden her away again."
Huo Jin found this baffling. Without even glancing at Huo Zheng, she retorted to Qin Tianyi, "Qingchuan told you this hoping you'd help find Susu too. But are you perhaps having a mental breakdown? It makes sense that Susu wouldn't ask you for help given how serious her situation is."
Although Huo Jin's words struck Qin Tianyi deeply, he didn't argue with her. Instead, he scrolled through his phone, found a photo of Susu, and showed it to Huo Zheng, asking, "You've seen this woman, haven't you? Did you hide her?"
Huo Zheng looked at the slightly blurry photo. The woman was indeed Susu.
"Qin Tianyi! That's enough. How could my brother know Susu? He and Susu are worlds apart..."
"Sis, I know her." Before Huo Jin could finish, Huo Zheng interjected unexpectedly.
Huo Jin's mouth hung open, unable to close.
"Then where is she now?" Qin Tianyi pressed.
Huo Zheng didn't answer his question. He looked at Huo Jin and asked, "Sis, do you all know her? Who exactly is she?"
"Where did you see her? How do you know her?" Huo Jin asked, regaining her composure.
"At a club. She's a cleaner there."
A club, a cleaner? Huo Jin never imagined Susu would end up working in such a place after leaving without a word. Her mind struggled to process this.
Qin Tianyi, eager to know if Huo Zheng had any information about Susu's whereabouts, asked again, "Do you know where she is? You're not going out to clubs anymore and you're starting a company – is she the one pulling the strings behind you?"
His words shocked Huo Jin even further. She and Qingchuan had never stopped looking for Susu, and now it turned out Susu was nearby, with her brother?
Huo Zheng said dejectedly, "If I knew where she was, I wouldn't be trying to start a company to find her."
Huo Jin finally understood that her troublesome brother's sudden change of heart wasn't so simple. She slapped a document onto the table, her expression stern, "Huo Zheng! How many more things are you hiding from the family? You need to tell me everything today."
Qin Tianyi also wanted to know what had happened between Huo Zheng and Susu at that club.
Seeing that his true intentions could no longer be concealed, Huo Zheng recounted how he met Susu at the club and had a few interactions with her, omitting his more reckless behavior.
Qin Tianyi listened to his account, outwardly unfazed. He could tell Huo Zheng genuinely didn't know Gu Susu's whereabouts.
This woman was truly skilled at hiding. He recalled how she had fled with their child and remained hidden from him for two whole years.
One might call her foolish, but when it came to evading and hiding, she was far from it. She was like a turtle retracting into its shell, acutely sensing danger and retreating.
He knew Yang Sijie had people watching him, hoping to learn Susu's whereabouts. And he, too, had people monitoring Yang Sijie's activities. So far, Yang Sijie hadn't found Susu either.
Moreover, many things were confusing him. Before losing her memory, Gu Susu had betrayed him and gotten together with Yang Sijie.
It was logical for her to still be with Yang Sijie after losing her memory. So why didn't Yang Sijie want her to regain her memories?
After regaining her memories, she not only deliberately avoided him but also Yang Sijie, simply because Yang Sijie had used drugs to prevent her from recovering her memories?
Could it be true, as Chang Qingchuan had said, that Susu had never intended to be with Yang Sijie and had always been coerced?
But he had personally witnessed Susu and Yang Sijie looking sweet and affectionate. Was what he saw not the truth?
These doubts, coupled with the conflict of love and hate over the past year, tormented him incessantly.
"Mr. Qin, is there anything else you need to ask? My brother has explained everything clearly."
Huo Jin's words pulled him back from his reverie. He replied, "No."
"Mr. Qin, it's all because you lack the responsibility of a man, and you didn't trust Susu completely without conditions, which is why she suffered so much and is still wandering unknown," Huo Jin said coldly. "As for the other woman, Shu Yan, she's about to give birth, and you still refuse to take responsibility, leaving her no face in the Shu family and forcing her to hide in the countryside."
Qin Tianyi's heart ached upon learning that Susu had been reduced to working as a cleaner. However, regarding Shu Yan's retreat to the countryside, he felt a headache coming on, suspecting that mother and daughter were up to something again.
He didn't respond to Huo Jin and got up to leave.
As soon as he left, Huo Zheng anxiously asked, "Old sis, what's going on? How do you know Susu too? Is her real name Shen Xin? And what's her relationship with Qin Tianyi?"
Huo Jin looked at him and let out a few dry laughs. "I thought you had turned over a new leaf, but it turns out it's to pursue Susu. I think you've lost your mind! Her real name is Gu Susu, and she's Qin Tianyi's ex-wife. I advise you not to get involved in this mess."
As she spoke, her anger flared again. She picked up a document from the table, intending to hit him with it. "Are you saying the current situation isn't chaotic enough? Isn't it?"
Huo Zheng quickly shielded his head. "Old sis, stop hitting me! If you beat me silly, I'll have to rely on you and brother-in-law to take care of me for the rest of my life."
Huo Jin stood up, rolled the document into a scroll, and pointed at him. "You, you..." She was at a loss for words and simply threw the document away before leaving.
Huo Zheng breathed a sigh of relief. He gathered the files he had painstakingly prepared and thought, 'She's just Qin Tianyi's ex-wife, not his current wife. Why can't I pursue her? This Susu clearly has a bad relationship with Qin Tianyi, so why can't someone else pursue her? What kind of twisted logic does my sister have? Anything I like to do is wrong. It's infuriating!'
He felt a hundred percent unconvinced by Huo Jin's words.
...
Qin Tianyi returned to his office at the group, leaning back in his executive chair with a headache. The only clue he had found about Susu's whereabouts had just vanished.
He desperately wished he could find Gu Susu himself and ask her to clarify everything in person.
Just then, Xiao Anjing, as usual, pushed open his office door without knocking and strode in. "Where have you been? Why weren't you at the group this morning again?"