With Tianyi gone, the tasks that required her were all crucial. She had to step forward and protect the soaring group, Tianyi's life's work.
After Xiao Anjing finished speaking, seeing that she remained silent, he assumed she was nervous and unsure of what to do. He added, "Don't worry, I'll arrange everything before you attend the board meeting. I'll tell you what to say and how to act."
Susu nodded. It seemed she had no other choice and no time to dwell on self-pity or wallow in grief. The reality of the situation forced her to pull herself together.
In the evening, she and Ya Nan saw Xiao Anjing and Su Kangxi off. She felt utterly exhausted.
Su Kangxi didn't say much to her as he left, only telling her to take care and to notify the police immediately if she discovered anything.
She nodded perfunctorily. She was skeptical of the police's investigative capabilities. The entire process of Tianyi's accident was so obvious, why couldn't the police just arrest and interrogate Lu Yuanhong directly?
Watching Su Kangxi's receding figure, Ya Nan linked her arm through Susu's and asked, "Are you feeling any better? What did Mr. Xiao say to you?"
"Yes, I'm feeling better," she replied as they returned to the hall. "He told me about the group's affairs and asked me to compose myself and attend the board meeting."
"Ah, you've just been discharged from the hospital, and Xiao Anjing wants you to help him prop up the soaring group? That's too pragmatic," Ya Nan said indignantly. "When we were eating earlier, I noticed Xiao Anjing wasn't sad at all about President Qin's death. I suspect he was already calculating how to get you to attend the board meeting..."
"You also felt he wasn't very sad?" Susu interrupted.
Ya Nan nodded vigorously. "That's how businessmen are. No amount of mutual support between brothers can compare to immediate profit."
Susu didn't pay much attention to her complaints, saying faintly, "You can't blame him. The Earth will keep spinning no matter who is gone. Tianyi is gone, but the group must continue. It's not just about the shareholders' interests, but also the employees. Everyone has to keep living."
Ya Nan felt both saddened and happy hearing Susu speak like this. Sad that she was so strong, and happy that she was finally no longer solely consumed by grief.
"That's true, reality is like that," Ya Nan said considerately. "You must be tired. Go back to your room and get some good rest. Tomorrow is another day."
"Ya Nan, are Xiaomei and Xiaoxing doing alright at Mama Rong's? Xiaoxing doesn't know about Tianyi, does he?"
"Don't worry, they've arrived safely. Xiaoxing doesn't know. He just thinks President Qin is sick and needs to recuperate."
"That's good."
"I'll escort you back to your room. I'll be staying in a guest room not far from yours. Call me anytime if you need anything." Ya Nan escorted her back to her room, knowing it was already a great achievement for Susu to be able to face reality.
Back in her room, Susu collapsed onto the bed, feeling as if her entire being had been hollowed out. She finally understood why people said the one who survives is the most tormented.
In her sleep, she saw Tianyi again. He was desperately swimming in the icy river. He managed to reach the shore, climbed up with all his might, and lay on the grass, completely soaked.
The explosion had left a shocking scar on half of his face. Susu wanted to call for help, to call an ambulance, but she couldn't make a sound.
She frantically rushed over to help him up, only to find his hair had turned completely white. His face suddenly transformed into Lu Yuanhong's, terrifying her and causing her to wake up abruptly.
She opened her eyes, still shaken. She was alone in the empty bed. The time on her phone showed two in the morning.
Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she realized she had woken up after sleeping for only a short while. She tried to close her eyes again, but sleep eluded her.
Looking around the room, an invisible sense of desolation and emptiness clung to her. She got out of bed, drank a glass of water, and remembered the diary. For a moment, all she wanted was to understand the grievances between Lu Yuanhong and the Shu family back then, what made him so terrifying.
She retrieved the diary. Her previous good impression of Wen Shuman had vanished, simply because Wen Shuman was also Lu Yuanhong's mother.
Lu Yuanhong, capable of anything for revenge, must have had an inseparable connection with Wen Shuman. Since she had escaped the Lu family and remarried, she had failed to properly guide her two sons; one was cold and promiscuous, the other utterly wicked.
With a heart full of indignation, Susu opened the diary again.
As she read, she became deeply engrossed in the diary's contents, only falling into a hazy sleep as dawn approached.
She woke up to find it was already noon. Her phone, set to silent, showed several missed calls, all from Shu Zhongze.
She no longer avoided Shu Zhongze and called him back.
The call was answered quickly. After a few seconds of silence, neither of them spoke first.
After a pause, Shu Zhongze finally spoke, "Susu, am I disturbing you?"
"What is it?"
Shu Zhongze paused and said, "Are you feeling better? Could you come to Shu Group to see me? There are some things I want to discuss with you."
She didn't feel any paternal affection for Shu Zhongze. However, after reading the diary last night, she understood him a little better. She hadn't expected him to have been so devoted once.
She just didn't know what happened to the woman he loved, as Wen Shuman's diary entries stopped abruptly when she was preparing Shu Zhongze's wedding.
Susu could guess that Shu Zhongze hadn't married the woman he loved, otherwise, he wouldn't have married Jia Nanfang later. And the woman who was about to become his daughter-in-law in Wen Shuman's diary was clearly not Jia Nanfang.
"Okay, I'll come to see you this afternoon."
Susu readily agreed, which slightly surprised Shu Zhongze. He quickly said, "Then I'll be waiting for you all afternoon."
...
After lunch, Ya Nan accompanied her to the headquarters of Shu Group.
Susu put on a little light makeup before leaving, making herself look a bit more energetic. She silently told herself that Tianyi wasn't dead; he was just missing. He must still be alive somewhere.
She was not yet a widow who had lost her husband. She had to live well and wait for Tianyi's return.
Ya Nan, by her side, looked at the building in front of them and exclaimed, "The headquarters of Shu Group is so grand! Are those two stone lions at the entrance antiques?"
It was rare for large enterprises nowadays to place a pair of stone lions at the entrance of their office buildings. Susu walked closer to examine the weathered stone lions. Below them was an inscription, engraved with the opening date of Shu's Trading Company, symbolizing good fortune, prosperity, and blessings for future generations.
"Yes, they are quite old," Susu said, her heart filled with complex emotions as she entered the gates of Shu Group.
They approached the reception desk. As soon as they stated their names, the front desk staff respectfully escorted them to the elevator that led directly to the top floor.
Ya Nan and the accompanying bodyguards waited outside the president's office. Only Susu walked in alone.
Seeing Susu, Shu Zhongze's eyes lit up with joy. He stood up and personally welcomed her, saying, "You look much better. Don't just stand there, please sit down."