She didn't let her tears flow like a river, wiping them dry with the back of her hand before entering the bathroom.
She knew that when Tianyi said "later," he meant after everyone else had fallen asleep. It seemed he would be staying home tonight, perhaps this was their chance to mend their rift.
After her shower, she deliberately chose the most flattering nightgown she owned. She looked at herself in the mirror several times, still feeling too shy to appear before him so openly.
Later, she put on a bathrobe and walked out of the bedroom to the study door.
She stood at the study door, peering through the crack to see that the light inside was on. Tianyi must be in there.
Gently pushing the door open, she saw Tianyi sitting in front of the computer in the study, and a pillow and blanket were already laid out on the sofa.
So, even if he stayed home tonight, he planned to sleep in the study.
He looked up at Susu, noticing her gaze fixed on the blanket on the sofa. He said naturally, "I was afraid I'd be busy too late, so I didn't want to disturb you in the bedroom. I'll make do here, so I asked Chen Ma to prepare these for me."
Susu tightened her grip on the bathrobe, wrapping herself even more tightly. It seemed she had been overthinking things.
He wore a smile as natural as could be, as if there were no misunderstandings between them that needed explaining or resolving.
The slight awkwardness she had felt vanished, and she asked, "Oh, did you need me for something?"
"I wanted to tell you about Jia Nanfang's matter after she was brought back, but I didn't expect the news to break already..."
"I understand, I don't blame you," Susu interrupted him and asked, "Is there anything else besides this?"
Qin Tianyi had intended to explain the Jia Nanfang situation in detail, but with her simple "I understand" and her unwillingness to listen, it stirred his displeasure.
His gaze was dark and piercing, carrying a chilling intensity as he replied, "No."
"Alright," Susu just wanted to leave the study immediately.
But in the next second, Qin Tianyi, who had already stood up, grabbed her arm, pulled her back, and without allowing her to protest, lifted her chin and asked, "What do you understand?"
Susu met his eyes unexpectedly, feeling as if her breath had stopped. But she quickly turned her face away, broke free from his grasp, and said petulantly, "It's none of your business what I understand. If I understand, I understand!"
"Without me, you're still living very well, aren't you?" Qin Tianyi's inherent possessiveness made him unable to suppress his growing anger.
Ever since he had made his decision and hadn't come home for a few days, he found himself thinking of her whenever he had free time.
Yet, he hadn't received a single call from her, not even a text message of greeting.
After Jia Nanfang's incident hit the trending searches, he thought she would finally react, at least call him to question him. But still, there was no news from her.
He returned home using this as a pretext to see her, and now, as soon as he opened his mouth, she stopped him from speaking further.
"You want to calm down, I listened to you, letting you calm down, is that also wrong?" Susu pushed him away, feeling wronged.
He, however, firmly locked the study door, roughly untied her bathrobe, and looked at the thin silk pajamas she wore underneath. The simmering anger in his heart gradually subsided.
"Who are you planning to show yourself off to, dressed like this?"
Susu hadn't expected him to pull at her bathrobe. In her haste, she tried to retie the belt, saying with a lowered head, "I'm dressing for myself. Who says women must please men? Can't they please themselves?"
Qin Tianyi gripped her chin again, staring at her mouth, which evoked both love and hatred in him, and kissed her fiercely.
Susu felt his kiss was so intense it was almost suffocating. She struggled desperately in his arms.
Tianyi loosened his grip slightly and said, "You are still my woman, and you have the obligation to please me."
"You're crazy, get away from me!" Susu's pent-up grievances finally poured out. She clenched her fists and repeatedly pounded his chest.
Qin Tianyi let her hit him, grabbed her shoulders, and pushed her down onto the sofa.
Susu leaned back against the soft sofa, panting. Looking at his cold eyes, she felt her heart slowly cracking. She wanted to say something but couldn't. Perhaps it would be useless to say anything.
Qin Tianyi pressed his forehead against hers and sighed, "You know, as long as it makes you happy, I'm willing to die for you. But in your heart, who is truly the most important? Or do you value him more than anyone else?"
Susu didn't want to cry in front of him, but tears still fell uncontrollably, "I've said it before, you and he are different, this can't be compared..."
"You don't want him to die, from his fall off the cliff before to this time when he and Allen perished together, you actually never wanted him to die?" Tianyi finally asked this question. In truth, he already knew the answer in his heart, but he still wanted to hear it from her directly.
Susu nodded, "We made promises to each other before, no matter what, we should live well..."
"Enough, I don't want to hear it." She indeed couldn't let go. He didn't want to delve further into her thoughts. "I can't have your whole heart, but you are, after all, still mine."
He kissed her tears away, with his usual domineering manner, sweeping her away like a storm...
Sophie had been standing in the dimly lit corner downstairs, watching Susu enter the study.
When she moved in, she had promised not to disturb their marital life again and not to go to the second floor.
But she was just curious about what had happened between them. Their once enviable affection seemed to be gone.
She saw Susu enter the study, and shortly after, the door was heavily shut from the inside. Susu hadn't come out since.
Why didn't the couple sleep in their bedroom and instead chose to sleep together in the study?
What were they doing? Was it a form of foreplay, or was there some hidden agenda?
Sophie, her curiosity piqued, watched the study on the second floor from the living room downstairs until she couldn't stay awake any longer and returned to her room to sleep.
The next day, before dawn, Susu woke up.
She found herself lying alone on the sofa in the study. She wondered if Tianyi's frenzy last night was just a dream.
A complex mix of emotions churned within her. Suddenly, she heard Qin Tianyi's voice, "You're awake?"
Susu immediately looked towards the desk. Tianyi was already sitting at the computer, busy with work.
"Don't you need any rest?"
Tianyi's eyes remained fixed on the computer. "No need, I'm used to it."
Susu tugged at the corner of her mouth. When she was with him before, she never felt that his heart was solely focused on work. They always lingered, wanting to spend as much time together as possible.
But now, it seemed different. Even their intimate physical contact carried a business-like tone.
Susu picked up the bathrobe from the floor and put it on, no longer wanting to linger on this mere physical need. "You're busy," she said, then gently opened the study door and quickly walked out.
Everything between her and Tianyi was like a dream. Recalling it was so beautiful, but precisely because it was too beautiful, it was as fragile as a bubble.