Gu Susu sat in the garden, lost in thought, until Xiao Xingxing ran over to find her, snapping her back to reality.
She played with Xiao Xingxing for a while, but her mind was elsewhere. Seeing that Xiao Xingxing was getting sleepy, she asked Xiao Mei to take him to bed.
She returned to the bedroom, took out the suitcase she always carried, emptied its contents, and unfastened the lining at the bottom, retrieving the document.
Reading the contents again, she was still shocked.
The project had been cut corners, using inferior mechanical materials, which led to a malfunction in the construction site's elevator. It plummeted from the fifth floor directly to the first, killing three workers inside instantly.
Three lives meant three broken families. She had considered handing it over to the police. If this accident was thoroughly investigated, Ai Shunan would be undeniably responsible.
At the time, he was the person in charge of the construction project. Without his approval, who would dare to cut corners and neglect inspections?
Gu Susu tightly gripped the folder and handed it to Qin Tianyi for him to handle. Then she could leave with her child and live a free and easy life again.
However, she couldn't bring herself to send her own father to jail with her own hands, so she could only hand it over.
Gu Susu barely slept that night. Besides working on a brand-new design proposal, she was still struggling with this matter, unable to calm down.
But she had already set her terms with Qin Tianyi, and he had agreed. She couldn't go back on her word.
Qin Tianyi didn't return all night. It wasn't until five in the morning, when the bar closed and was cleared out, that he and Xiao Anjing left. They found a designated driver to take him back to the villa.
He didn't disturb anyone, quietly returning to the bedroom on the second floor. He saw Gu Susu asleep on the desk in front of the computer.
She rested her head on the drawing paper, sleeping soundly.
Qin Tianyi noticed a manila envelope on the edge of the desk, likely the document he wanted.
He gently picked up the envelope, sat to the side, and took out the document to look through it.
Gu Susu woke up from a dream, feeling someone behind her. She turned and saw Qin Tianyi holding the document. She quickly said, "Give it to me."
Qin Tianyi retracted his hands, put the document away, and said, "It's mine now. Don't forget, you promised me yesterday."
Gu Susu stared at him. She had just had a terrible nightmare where Ai Shunan found her and asked her like a vengeful spirit why she was harming the Ai family, which had scared her awake.
"Where's the divorce agreement?"
"Xiao Anjing has already asked a lawyer to draft it."
Gu Susu hadn't fully recovered from the nightmare. She asked with unease, "With this evidence, what do you plan to do?"
"You don't need to worry about that."
"I have a small request."
"Speak."
"When someone does wrong, they should be punished, but please don't be too harsh on the Ai family, okay?" Gu Susu asked cautiously.
Qin Tianyi answered quite frankly, "Okay, I won't take their lives."
Gu Susu felt a little more at ease knowing he could at least give her a baseline promise. She checked her phone; it was already seven in the morning. It was time to go to the company.
"Alright, once the divorce agreement is drafted, we'll sign it as soon as possible. I need to go to work." With that, she closed her laptop and got up to go to the bathroom.
Qin Tianyi casually took hold of her wrist. "As a boss, I have good judgment. I have an employee as dedicated as you. However, it pains me to see you working yourself so hard every day. If you continue like this, I won't allow you to work."
Gu Susu shook him off, thinking that since they had agreed to divorce, he had no right to control her anymore. "After we divorce, we will have no relationship. From now on, we go our separate ways. Don't speak to me in that tone anymore, and I don't have to listen to you."
"Alright." Qin Tianyi leaned back on the bed and gave her a lazy smile.
Gu Susu ignored him and walked directly into the bathroom. But as soon as she closed the bathroom door, she felt something was wrong. He had actually smiled.
For someone like Qin Tianyi, who rarely showed a hint of a smile 365 days a year, that smile was truly bizarre and made her feel uneasy.
His smile was more terrifying than his usual expression. Did something happen that she didn't know about? Did he have some new scheme?
Gu Susu decided not to dwell on it. She would divorce him first. At least without the legal ties of marriage, what could he do to her?
Having not slept much the previous night, she was the first to arrive at the company's design department. Her colleagues hadn't arrived yet, only a cleaning lady was doing her rounds.
As the cleaning lady tidied the office area, she asked Gu Susu curiously, "Are you a new designer? This floor is so clean this morning. Did the company hire another cleaner to be responsible for the same floor as me?"
Gu Susu didn't know how to answer her. Last night, due to Tang Na's difficulties, she had helped the cleaning lady significantly reduce her workload.
"I'm new, and I'm not sure."
"Young lady, what's your name?"
"My surname is Gu. Just call me Xiao Gu."
"Okay, okay." The cleaning lady said, dragging her mop past Gu Susu's desk.
Gu Susu began busy organizing the design proposals from the past few days. Once they were compiled, she planned to submit them to Chang Qingchuan today and then start working on the next steps.
In the morning, after Chang Qingchuan reviewed her design proposal, he was immediately impressed. He approved it without any objections.
In the afternoon, he gathered a few trusted individuals from the design department for a meeting in the small conference room, where Gu Susu explained her design proposal and concept.
Gu Susu noticed that Tang Na was not among the two or three designers whom Chang Qingchuan trusted the most, which made her feel less apprehensive when speaking.
After she finished speaking, the small conference room fell silent. After about half a minute, the attendees raised their hands and applauded her.
"Chief Chang, Xiao Gu is simply a genius in fashion design! How did you think of integrating the scarf and the trench coat into one design? It's fashionable and playful. This piece will surely be loved by female consumers when it's launched," praised a male designer who looked to be in his thirties.
Chang Qingchuan nodded, signaling Gu Susu to sit down, and said to the male designer, "Jansen, you and I think alike. The entire design theme has captured the trend and surpassed it. This collection is bound to cause a sensation and lead the trend this season when it's launched at the spring fashion show."
Gu Susu felt a bit embarrassed by their praise. She said, "You flatter me. You are all my seniors, and I still have much to learn from you. Without market testing, no one can predict what will happen when it's launched. Moreover, many talented designers from well-known brands are still in the early stages of competition, and it's too soon to say who will stand out."
Several designers nodded slightly, whispering to each other privately, but their eyes showed that they had already recognized Gu Susu to some extent.
Chang Qingchuan cleared his throat and said, "Alright, since everyone has no objections to this proposal, we need to expedite the subsequent work and strive to complete all pre-launch tasks within a month."
"Yes, no problem," the designers replied in unison.
Chang Qingchuan stood up and said, "By the way, only a few of us know about this proposal. It's crucial to maintain confidentiality and not leak it. Meeting adjourned."