She had always avoided confronting her own feelings, even deliberately ignoring her love for him with a hardened heart.
They were constantly hurting and tormenting each other, and she was partly to blame.
With a touch of sadness, she unlocked the password-protected door. The code hadn't changed.
It still held the password she used when she lived there. Pushing the door open, the room was pitch black.
Just as she reached for the light switch by the door, a familiar voice asked, "Who's there?"
Qin Tianyi was just a stone's throw away. Though she couldn't see his face, she could sense the dangerous aura emanating from him.
He seized her shoulders almost in one fluid motion, pinning her against the wall.
"Let go, it's me."
The moment her words fell, Qin Tianyi flicked on the light. His gaze fell upon her face.
Gu Susu blinked, her eyes adjusting to the harsh light before widening completely. The room was eerily silent; even their breathing seemed amplified.
They both started to speak at the same time, then stopped themselves.
Qin Tianyi's hand not only held her shoulder but his other arm also encircled her waist.
"Let me go." Gu Susu hadn't expected him to be here. Not long ago, she had spoken with Xiao Anjing, who had said Qin Tianyi was at the seaside villa.
Qin Tianyi's gaze deepened. Without releasing her, he asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Can you let me go so we can talk properly?"
"You still haven't answered me." His tone was not only dangerous but also tinged with a captivating charm.
"I forgot to take some things from here."
Qin Tianyi pressed, "What things? Didn't you clear everything out? You didn't leave anything in the room."
"Then I must have remembered incorrectly. Nothing was left here. I'll look elsewhere." Gu Susu pushed against him with both hands, trying to maintain distance.
"You come here only to leave," Qin Tianyi sneered. "Where else are you going to look? Yang Sijie's villa?"
Gu Susu, unable to push him away, said in a rush, "If you keep this up, I'll call the police immediately."
Qin Tianyi picked her up and tossed her onto the sofa, saying with amusement, "You break into my house and then want to call the police to arrest me. Don't you find that ridiculous?"
As Gu Susu tried to get up from the sofa, Qin Tianyi immediately covered her entire body, pressing her down.
Flustered and annoyed, she struggled, and the ring necklace around her neck slipped out.
Qin Tianyi stared intently at the ring. "You're getting married? You've even bought the wedding ring."
Gu Susu's eyes welled up with tears of grievance. She said hoarsely, "You've misunderstood. This isn't a wedding ring. Can you let me up so we can talk properly? When did we reach a point where we couldn't talk things through?"
Qin Tianyi wished with all his heart that everything between her and Yang Sijie was just his misunderstanding.
He stopped all his movements and, without hesitation, pulled her up from the sofa. Sitting upright, he asked, "What do you want to say, say it."
Gu Susu took a breath and carefully tucked the necklace back into her collar. She opened her mouth to speak but didn't know where to begin.
"Are you here to ask about Xiao Xingxing?" Qin Tianyi asked, helping her out with a self-deprecating smile. "Don't worry, he's doing very well. Besides, haven't you been secretly keeping in touch with Aunt Chen? You've taken Xiao Xingxing out to play quite a bit when I wasn't around. He's my son; would I treat him badly because of you?"
"That's not what I meant. I know he's well and happy with you." She lowered her head, not looking at him, and asked dully, "And you? How have you been lately? Is your relationship with the Shu family beyond repair?"
Qin Tianyi smiled faintly. "What's wrong with me? Whether I cooperate with the Shu family or not is irrelevant to me. After all, I've reached where I am today without ever relying on anyone."
"But I heard from Chang Qingchuan and Xiao Anjing that the situation for both Aoxiang and Mishang is not optimistic."
"You know about it? I warned Xiao Anjing not to speak carelessly." Qin Tianyi frowned.
Gu Susu quickly said, "He didn't tell me. I asked him myself, and he didn't dare say much. He's also very cautious, even... even suspecting my motives."
Regardless of who told her these things, Qin Tianyi had already decided that he wouldn't let her get involved.
"What exactly are you doing here tonight? Did you have a fight with Yang Sijie and come to reminisce about the past?"
Gu Susu looked at him, trying to explain, "Yang Sijie and I are not what you think. Do you believe me?"
"Does it matter what I think of you two?" Qin Tianyi said irritably. "If you have nothing else, you can leave. If you stay here any longer, I can't guarantee I won't do something I can't control."
The air in the living room became oppressively heavy. Gu Susu didn't know how to make him understand that she was worried about him now and had never stopped caring about him.
"Why did you break off the engagement at the church? Was it because you found me?" Her voice trembled as she spoke, unsure of what she was saying.
Qin Tianyi glanced at her. "I was never interested in Shu Yan and didn't want to delay her..."
"It wasn't because of me? But you said the same thing when you pulled me out of the church last time..."
Qin Tianyi stood up abruptly, grabbed her arm, and tried to drag her out, saying, "Didn't you make it clear last time too? You were happy to see it happen, and I was the one being wishful! Why the hell would I be attracted to a woman like you? Never appear before me again, don't provoke me..."
"You weren't wishful... No! I like you, I like you too!" Gu Susu, already being dragged towards the door by him, blurted out her true feelings with a reckless abandon.
Qin Tianyi froze, unable to believe his ears, feeling as if he were dreaming.
"What did you say?"
"I can be very sure now that you occupy my entire heart, leaving no room for anyone else. I've always been afraid to face this because I felt I couldn't help you, only become your obstacle and burden. But I've figured it out, and it was you who made me understand."
Qin Tianyi asked softly, "What have you figured out?"
"I've figured out that I can't give up easily just because of these things. From now on, I will work hard, earn money, support the family, and become someone who can help you."
Qin Tianyi showed a rare smile. "You'll support the family? Then I can do nothing and wait for you to provide for me?"
Gu Susu said very seriously, "I'm not joking. I want to open my own brand studio, establish my own fashion brand, and become a successful person like you."
"Alright, I'll look forward to it. Go for it."
Gu Susu declared with conviction, "You wait and see, I'll work hard."
With that, she pushed the door open, wanting only to leave immediately, not wanting to stay and be ridiculed by him.
She had mustered immense courage to say all of this. She knew she couldn't help him now, but she would definitely work hard.
Even if he lost everything one day, she could still support him with her own abilities.