Huo Jin hugged him again, refusing to let go. "Then that settles it. If we only considered suitability, would that be called liking? That's a kind of emotional calculation. Liking is just following your feelings, with no reason to speak of."
Chang Qingchuan didn't know what else to say. He always lost to her in arguments. He didn't know what virtue he possessed to have met such a wonderful girl as Huo Jin.
Su Su was right. Huo Jin was a girl worth cherishing, and he shouldn't give up on her easily.
Helpless against her, he took her hand. "I can't argue with you. You're always right anyway."
Huo Jin smiled and said, "I've accepted your money, and I won't be polite about it. My boyfriend is good at making money, so I'll buy a bag I like tomorrow."
Hearing her say this, Chang Qingchuan felt much better. He pulled her along as they walked out, asking, "What should we do next? Go to the movies?"
"Okay, I want popcorn and a Coke," Huo Jin requested with a grin.
Chang Qingchuan pinched her waist. "Aren't you afraid of getting fat?"
Huo Jin dodged with a laugh. "Why are you pinching me? It's not your flesh, it hurts!"
"We'll get a popcorn combo at the cinema."
"That's more like it. I want to watch a romantic comedy, not another cop action movie. They're too noisy and not good to watch."
"Whatever you say." Chang Qingchuan put his arm around her, and the two of them, reconciled, walked out of the restaurant.
...
Qin Tianyi returned to the seaside villa, his heart feeling like a dam on the verge of collapse, a suffocating gloom he couldn't shake.
As he got out of the car, he saw Xiao Anjing standing at the villa entrance.
"It's so late, why are you here? Is something important happening?"
Xiao Anjing looked at him and said, "There's something important I need to discuss with you, but where are you coming from?"
"I just went out for a bit. I was feeling restless," Qin Tianyi said expressionlessly, intending to walk past him into the villa.
Xiao Anjing blocked the doorway. "You went to see Gu Susu, didn't you."
Qin Tianyi no longer evaded. "Yes. Do I need your permission now to see whomever I wish?"
"Is it appropriate to see Miss Gu at this time?" Xiao Anjing asked worriedly.
Qin Tianyi gave him a cold look. "I don't want to discuss these personal matters with you. If you have something important to say, say it quickly."
"Is it also appropriate for Xiao Xingxing to be living here now?" Xiao Anjing reminded him. "After Miss Shu moves in, will she tolerate this child? It will lead to new conflicts between you. Have you considered..."
"Do I need to consider? You've thought of everything for me," Qin Tianyi said, already impatient.
Xiao Anjing paused, unsure how to persuade him. He understood how much pain and conflict he was in. "Tianyi, you'd best figure out what's most important to you. If it's Miss Gu, whatever decision you make, I won't stop you. We'll bear the consequences together. I've been with you through this, and we've paid so much to get where we are today. If we lose it all, we'll have nothing. And between you and Yang Sijie, will Miss Gu still choose you?"
Qin Tianyi recalled the scene when he had just met Gu Susu. The moment she saw him, she wanted to call the police and sought Yang Sijie's help, finding him repulsive.
His heart ached, and he said stubbornly, "Of course, I will protect the Aoxiang Group we've worked so hard to build, and the plan to revitalize the Xiao family. I won't give up. She means less to me than all of this."
Xiao Anjing nodded. "That's good. The documents are in the living room. Aoxiang's stock price has been rising recently, possibly related to your impending marriage to Miss Shu. But I've noticed someone is selling at a high price, which is a bit unusual."
"Find a skilled trader to look into it. See if someone is playing dirty. This could be a big deal. If there's large-scale selling and the stock price drops, and someone is buying heavily, Aoxiang Group will... will collapse instantly." Qin Tianyi realized the hidden crisis.
Xiao Anjing was also startled. He hadn't considered such severe consequences. "What should we do now?"
"Buy immediately. Let's see tomorrow. We'll buy back whatever anyone is selling outside!"
Xiao Anjing quickly said, "Buying heavily at a high price? That requires a lot of capital. Where can we draw such a large sum from? It might be better to wait until it drops before buying."
Qin Tianyi frowned. "I'm afraid it will be too late by then. Buy as much as possible for now, whatever we can get."
"Okay." Xiao Anjing said no more, trusting that Qin Tianyi knew what he was doing. He immediately drove away, needing to find a capable trader as soon as possible.
Qin Tianyi walked into the villa and sat on the sofa. He felt a dull ache in his back but didn't care at all.
When he finally relaxed, his mind involuntarily drifted to everything that had happened on this sofa that day, scene after scene refusing to fade.
Gu Susu's pained expression. She didn't even want to give herself to him anymore.
The one she had always loved and couldn't forget was likely Yang Sijie, and being with him had been a mistake from the start.
She had never willingly been with him and had never truly cared for him. Now that she was finally with the man she loved, it was natural that she despised him.
Was the subtle change in Aoxiang's stock price a way for Yang Sijie to get back at him for her?
Her words, "My boyfriend won't let you off either," kept echoing in his ears, the heartache bringing him a despair he had never known.
Yang Sijie had stayed in the same orphanage as Gu Susu. What was his background now?
Before, he had been in the open, and Yang Sijie in the shadows. Qin Tianyi felt like a trapped turtle, constantly being ambushed.
Now, he couldn't let Yang Sijie continue to control him passively. He had to uncover Yang Sijie's background and start fighting back.
...
Gu Susu returned to her residence, feeling utterly exhausted.
Tonight, she had been so pathetic in front of Qin Tianyi. Since there was no possibility of getting back together, she couldn't let herself continue in such a state of disarray.
Even if her heart ached, she had to sever the tangled threads connecting her to him.
She remembered the method Wei Yanan had mentioned and took out her phone, dialing a number.
She dialed twice before Wei Yanan answered.
"Su Su, what is it so late at night?" Wei Yanan's voice was tinged with the grogginess of being woken up.
Gu Susu found it a bit strange. Wei Yanan was usually a night owl; why was she sleeping so early tonight?
But she didn't dwell on it, simply asking Wei Yanan, "Is the method you mentioned last time really effective?"
"What?" Wei Yanan's voice on the phone became clearer. "Did something happen to you? You're being vague, don't scare me."
Gu Susu's voice was slightly hoarse. "You said that to completely forget the past, I needed to find a new boyfriend. Is that right? Does this method work? How many times have you tried it? Once you have a new boyfriend, will you never be in pain or sad again?"