Gu Susu took the pill and felt a little calmer, but she slumped onto the table, drowsy.
Seeing her asleep, Sophie picked up the medicine bottle and examined it closely. "What kind of medicine is this? Is it a sleeping pill?"
Qin Tianyi gently stroked Gu Susu's back. Seeing her breathing even out, he took the medicine bottle from Sophie and looked at it. He noticed there was no outer packaging and no indication of what the medicine was.
"You gave her medicine without knowing what it was?"
Sophie explained, "This is medicine prescribed by the best neurologist for her boyfriend. I see her taking this medicine regularly, so it should be fine."
As she spoke, she felt something was amiss. She searched Gu Susu's bag again and found another bottle of medicine. This one also had no instructions, but the bottle was a different color.
She held the two bottles together, utterly confused. "I can't tell which medicine she usually takes. What should we do? Let's take her to the hospital first."
Qin Tianyi didn't hesitate. He quickly picked her up and said to Sophie, "What are you waiting for? Let's go to the hospital."
At a local hospital, Qin Tianyi stayed by Gu Susu's side while Sophie busied herself with payments and paperwork.
A doctor examined Gu Susu and said there was nothing serious, just that she had fallen asleep after taking a sleeping pill.
Sophie showed the doctor the two bottles of medicine she found in Gu Susu's bag. The doctor couldn't immediately identify the ingredients of either medicine but confirmed that one was a sleeping pill.
The doctor asked them to leave samples of the two different pills so the hospital's pharmacy department could analyze them and provide a definitive answer.
Qin Tianyi carried Gu Susu to the car. She was still in a deep, unconscious sleep.
Sophie suggested taking her to the school dormitory, where someone could look after her. She figured that once the sleeping pill wore off, Gu Susu would be fine by morning.
Qin Tianyi had no better ideas, so he followed Sophie's suggestion and took them to the school dormitory.
It was currently the holiday season, and the other person who shared a room with Sophie was away. This meant Gu Susu could sleep in the other bed.
Qin Tianyi gently placed her on the empty bed. He took one last look at her sleeping form before saying goodbye to Sophie and leaving.
On the way back to the hotel, Qin Tianyi couldn't stop thinking about Gu Susu's strong reaction to his and the child's photos. It definitely wasn't an act. It seemed her amnesia was more severe than usual. Besides the memory loss, he wondered if there were other aftereffects from her head injury. Why did she experience such intense pain when she had a headache?
The more he thought about it, the more worried he became. He really wanted to find an opportunity to take her to the best neurological hospital for a comprehensive examination.
But now, she only saw him as a casual acquaintance she had just met. How could he convince her to go for a full check-up?
...
A little boy, about four or five years old, was watching her with wide eyes from not far away. His eyes were dark and round, so pure it was heartbreaking.
The child was calling her. Instinctively, she reached out and pulled the child into her arms, filled with tenderness.
At that moment, someone came to take the child from her embrace, but she was reluctant to let go. The child kept calling her, "Mommy, Mommy..."
"Susu... wake up!" someone suddenly called out to her.
Gu Susu jolted awake. It was just a dream. She saw Sophie standing by her bed, brushing her teeth with a mouth full of foam.
She realized she wasn't in her luxurious apartment in Paris but in a student dormitory. She was still wearing yesterday's clothes, though her jacket and shoes had been removed.
Sophie mumbled, "Are you okay? Does your head still hurt?"
Gu Susu sat up and shook her head. "It doesn't hurt anymore."
Relieved, Sophie went back into the bathroom to continue brushing her teeth and washing her face.
Gu Susu looked out the window, feeling a bit dazed. The sun was shining brightly outside; it was a beautiful day.
But the boy in her dream lingered in her mind. She couldn't remember how she had ended up in Sophie's dormitory. She only recalled having dinner with Mr. Qin and Sophie last night. She had intended to offer some suggestions for Mr. Qin's design drafts, but then she was struck by a splitting headache, and after that, she knew nothing else.
She stared blankly for a moment before checking the time. Good heavens, it was almost nine in the morning.
"Sophie, it's getting late! We need to hurry to the studio. Teacher Emma said she'd arrive at ten!" As she spoke, she got out of bed and rushed into the bathroom.
Sophie had finished washing her face and handed her a new toothbrush and towel. "I don't know if my clothes will fit you. Why don't you wear them for now? I'll toast some bread; we should still make it on time."
"Okay." Gu Susu didn't have time to ask about last night. Her priority was to get to the studio and finalize the design drafts with Emma.
It was another busy day, but their efforts during this time were not in vain. They had completed the design theme for their Eastern New Year series. The success would now depend on the launch performance of that top fashion brand.
As night fell, she and Sophie walked out of the studio, finally feeling a sense of relief. They could have a good rest tomorrow.
Only then did she have time to check her phone and find several missed calls from Yang Sijie.
Sophie was clamoring to go out for a good meal. Gu Susu pointed at her phone, asking Sophie to wait a moment, and immediately called Yang Sijie back.
"Susu, I've been calling your phone since last night, but why haven't you answered?" Yang Sijie asked worriedly.
"I've been extremely busy finalizing the design drafts these past two days. I worked very late last night and ended up sleeping in Sophie's dormitory. I started working again early this morning and only now have time to check my phone," Gu Susu said cheerfully.
Sophie, standing nearby, heard her not telling the truth and made a funny face at her.
Gu Susu quickly signaled her to stop messing around. Yang Sijie said with a pained tone, "I shouldn't have let you stay in Paris during the holidays. Can you handle such hard work?"
"I'm fine, I'm in good spirits. We're about to go out for a big meal with Sophie."
"You didn't answer my calls, and I was worried something might have happened to you. I've booked the earliest flight to Paris for tomorrow morning, so I'll see you then," Yang Sijie said, still uneasy.
Gu Susu quickly asked, "Have you finished your own business? If not, you don't have to rush over. I'm really fine, everything is good."
"Don't you want to see me?" Yang Sijie sensed something was off with her but couldn't quite pinpoint it.
If he had said he was coming to Paris to see her before, she would have been overjoyed. But her reaction on the phone today was too strange.
"Of course, I want to see you," Gu Susu explained. "But you're the decision-maker for such a large group; you have a lot of things to do and immense pressure. It pains me to think of you constantly flying internationally just for me."
Sophie, standing beside her, made a gesture of clutching her heart, looking incredibly cheesy.
Her words dispelled Yang Sijie's concerns. He smiled and said, "My Susu cares about me now. I'm so touched. It's fine; I'm almost done with my work here. We can use video conferencing for anything important. I'll see you tomorrow night; I just want to hold you tight."