Huo Zheng said unhappily, "President Qin, but I've rushed all the way here..."
"Huo Zheng, Susu has something else to do tonight, so don't get involved," Chang Qingchuan said, pulling his arm. "You can give your gift next time."
Huo Zheng found it strange. What had happened at the opening ceremony to cause this? But seeing that Qin Tianyi and Chang Qingchuan were both tight-lipped, he knew it was no use asking. He could only leave with them. After all, Susu's studio was located here, and he could visit anytime.
As Qin Tianyi got into Chang Qingchuan's car, he accidentally touched his injured shoulder. He frowned and asked, "Is Sophie okay at the company? Has she ever acted so erratically before?"
Chang Qingchuan thought for a moment and said, "I think she's quite normal when she's working. She just doesn't like to interact much with other colleagues, especially male colleagues. She seems to get nervous when she sees them."
"But she came with you today. Isn't she afraid of you?" Qin Tianyi asked again.
Chang Qingchuan replied casually, "She's fine. At the company, she asks me if she doesn't understand anything. Perhaps it's because Susu told her to come to me if she needed anything."
Qin Tianyi fell silent, pondering. Was Sophie's mental evaluation really normal? It seemed he would have to arrange for her to receive further treatment at the psychiatric hospital in Lancheng.
...
Susu handed over the guests outside to Qin Tianyi and went into the inner office. She saw Ya Nan hugging Sophie and comforting her.
Sophie's emotions had calmed down, and she looked remorseful and lost.
Su Kangxi stood to the side, maintaining a certain distance from them, not getting too close.
As soon as Sophie saw Susu, her expression turned sad. "Susu, I don't know what happened to me just now. Did I mess up your studio's opening ceremony?"
"It's okay. They're all acquaintances and friends; they won't mind." Susu sat down beside her and grabbed her arm, which had been pricked by the fork. She tried to roll up her sleeve. "Are you bleeding? Let me see. Let's go to the hospital."
Sophie hurriedly pressed her sleeve. "No, it's not bleeding anymore. It clotted a while ago. I'll handle the wound myself when I get back."
"How can that be? Doesn't it hurt?" Susu said, still trying to roll up her sleeve to check the injury on her arm.
Sophie insisted, "It doesn't hurt, really. I... I should go back first, so I don't affect your studio's opening."
"Just let us see your wound." Ya Nan was also worried about her and helped Susu hold her arm, rolling up her sleeve. "Susu, do you have a first-aid kit here? Maybe we can help her disinfect it..."
Before she could finish speaking, she noticed that on Sophie's arm, besides the wound from the fork, there were also healed scratches.
Although they were all healed wounds, their colors varied in depth, as if they had been cut by a small knife or blade. They were shocking to see.
Susu and Su Kangxi also saw them and gasped.
Susu cupped Sophie's arm, her voice trembling. "Sophie, why would you hurt yourself like this? You... aren't you better already?"
Sophie quickly covered the scars with her sleeve, hugged Susu, and cried, "I still often think about those past events, and I can't help but want to cut myself. Then I feel a little better. I don't want to, I don't want to be like this..."
Ya Nan, standing beside her, felt suffocated with distress.
"I'll go buy some disinfectant and cotton swabs," Su Kangxi said, turning to leave the office, unable to watch any longer.
Ya Nan stood up and said to Susu, "You comfort her. I'll go with Kangxi to buy the medicine." With that, she quickly followed Su Kangxi.
In the elevator, Su Kangxi leaned against the elevator wall and said, "Yang Sijie actually harmed such a good girl. It's all my fault. If I had discovered Yang Sijie's problems earlier, I wouldn't have kept pushing Sister Susu together with him, and none of this would have happened today."
Ya Nan tugged at his clothes and said, "You can't blame yourself. Yang Sijie's appearance was too deceptive. Who could have guessed?"
Su Kangxi looked at her hand pulling his clothes. "Are you comforting me?"
Ya Nan immediately let go and stopped looking at him. "No."
"Then why did you follow me out?"
"To get some air. Besides, Sophie probably doesn't want too many people pitying her. Susu comforting her is enough..."
Su Kangxi suddenly clasped her waist, forcing her to look at him. "You've actually forgiven me long ago?"
"No, you're dreaming..."
Su Kangxi ignored her words and abruptly lifted her chin, kissing her.
Ya Nan wanted to slap him, but the familiar scent made her heart race, and her heartbeat quickened.
She closed her eyes. In the next moment, the past sadness and heartache seemed to fade away, leaving only an unfeigned joy.
...
It was very late when Susu returned to the seaside villa, exhausted.
Qin Tianyi had gone to the hospital to have his wound treated and had returned. He had been sitting in the living room waiting for Susu.
Seeing her enter, he immediately went to greet her, took her bag, hung it up for her, and asked, "How is Sophie? Has she recovered?"
Susu nodded. "She should be fine. Kangxi and Ya Nan are staying with her at her place tonight."
"That's good."
"How is the injury on your shoulder?" Susu grabbed his hand and began to pull open his home clothes, wanting to see the wound on his shoulder.
Qin Tianyi retreated to the sofa. "Slow down, slow down. Don't be so eager."
"Who's joking with you? Be serious, let me see the wound." Susu knelt on the sofa with a serious expression and looked at the wound on his shoulder. It had already been treated and bandaged, which made her sigh with relief.
Qin Tianyi suppressed a smile and said, "Where else do people pull off someone's clothes so seriously?"
Susu ignored him, carefully helping him put on his home clothes again. "It's good that you know how to take care of yourself and went to the hospital to get your wound treated."
"Of course. I said I would take care of you all for the rest of my life, so I definitely can't let anything happen to myself," Qin Tianyi said, mimicking her seriousness.
Susu felt a pang of sadness and exhaustion. She hugged him and asked, "Has Little Star gone to sleep?"
"Yes, he's asleep." Qin Tianyi kissed her hair. "Is Sophie's mental state still problematic? Let's take her to the psychiatric department in Lancheng tomorrow to have her checked. She still needs further treatment in this condition."
"I spoke with her tonight, but she's unwilling to go back to the hospital. She wants to continue living a normal life and wants to get better on her own," Susu said with some difficulty.
Qin Tianyi objected, "How can that be? Mental illness is also an illness. It must be treated with medication and professional guidance from doctors. You can't cure yourself. You should talk to her again tomorrow and insist that she go to the hospital for a thorough examination. See what the doctor says before making a decision."