Qin Tianyi gazed at Susu, who had fallen asleep beside him, and gently pinched her cheek.
Damn it, he was furious, but there was nothing he could do about her.
It was their own home, yet they, the hosts, had to sleep in the guest room, giving up their master bedroom to Sophie.
Despite his anger, he understood Susu's feelings. She treated Sophie as a savior and revered her, and he could only go along with it.
What troubled him most was how to tell Susu that Shu Zhongze was her biological father. They had agreed to be honest with each other, but when he faced her, he couldn't bring himself to say it.
Susu was so kind-hearted; how could she accept this truth?
Unable to sleep, he held her and sighed, thinking he would find an opportunity to show her the DNA test results in the morning. Regardless, she had the right to know who her biological father was. As for whether to acknowledge him or how to deal with the Shu family, that was her decision to make.
Lost in his thoughts, he had just closed his eyes when he heard a commotion outside. Someone was walking in the corridor.
He immediately sat up, alert. Had someone broken into the villa? But there were bodyguards on patrol, and the villa's security system hadn't triggered an alarm.
At that moment, the footsteps outside turned into running, and he heard a voice.
"Susu, Susu! Where are you... where are you!"
He recognized Sophie's voice. Sophie's cries grew louder, and she began knocking on doors room by room.
Susu was also awakened. She got up and said, "Sophie is awake. I need to go be with her. She must be scared in a strange place."
Qin Tianyi stopped her, saying, "She's not a child. Her mental state is getting worse. I'll go see what's going on."
"No, she might get even more agitated if she sees you. You'll wake up Xiao Xingxing and Chen Ma," Susu said, putting on her clothes and getting up to comfort Sophie outside.
Qin Tianyi followed her, saying, "I'll go with you."
Susu didn't object further. Together, they opened the door and saw Sophie, barefoot, about to knock on the next door.
Chen Ma had been awakened and turned on the emergency lights on the first floor. Seeing that the young master and mistress had come out of the guest room, she quietly returned to her room.
Fortunately, Xiao Xingxing was not yet disturbed. Susu quickly stepped forward to comfort her, saying, "It's okay, you're safe here. Go back to sleep."
Sophie rushed into her arms, hugging her tightly, and said tearfully, "But I can't sleep. I'm so scared lying alone in such a big room."
Susu patted her back and said, "Then I'll change you to a smaller room."
Sophie buried her head in Susu's shoulder helplessly, "Can you stay with me tonight..."
"No," Qin Tianyi, standing behind them, firmly refused for Susu. "If you're afraid to be alone, I'll have Chen Ma stay with you. She's older and has more experience; she can handle things better than Susu."
Sophie raised her head, her eyes full of tears, and looked at Qin Tianyi. She said with great grievance, "Mr. Qin, I'm sorry for disturbing your rest. It's fine, I'll go back to my room myself."
Qin Tianyi watched Sophie's expression change and suddenly felt that she might take Susu away from him. He calmly reminded her, "Sophie, we all sympathize with what you've been through. But you've received treatment and have recovered both mentally and physically. If you want to start a new life, you should bravely face reality and build a new life for yourself, rather than becoming more fragile and dwelling on the past. Susu and all of us can help you as much as possible, but you can't place all your future hopes on Susu alone. She's not your..."
"Tianyi, stop," Susu said, seeing Sophie's face already streaked with tears, and stopped Qin Tianyi from saying more.
Sophie wiped away her tears, took a breath, and said, "Mr. Qin, you're right. I'll leave now... I should rely on myself..."
Susu linked her arm through Sophie's and gestured for Qin Tianyi to return to their room. She smiled and said to Sophie, "Tianyi always speaks so harshly. Don't listen to him. Where can you go at this late hour? I'll accompany you back to your room. We can talk about anything after a good night's sleep tomorrow morning."
With that, she led Sophie back to the master bedroom, turned on all the lights, and helped Sophie lie down on the bed again, comforting her, "There, is it bright enough now? Go back to sleep."
Qin Tianyi did not go back to their room as instructed. He followed them, watching Susu coax Sophie to sleep like a child. He could only stand at the door and watch silently.
Susu pointed to the phone by the bed and said, "Your phone is here. If you wake up later, call my phone, and I'll come right away."
Sophie hummed. Although she glimpsed Qin Tianyi at the door, she dared not look directly at him. Following Susu's instructions, she obediently closed her eyes.
Seeing that Sophie had calmed down, Susu finally got up and left the master bedroom, gently closing the door behind her.
As soon as she came out, she glared at Qin Tianyi, "Why did you say that just now? Sophie won't be able to handle it."
"But after I said that, she calmed down and stopped pretending to be crazy," Qin Tianyi felt that Sophie's gaze towards Susu was becoming increasingly strange.
Susu felt very tired, yawning as she walked towards the guest room. "We need to use enough love and patience to heal her inner wounds..."
"But I feel like she's taking advantage of that now. The way she looks at you when she sees you is like she's looking at her beloved! No, you shouldn't bother with her affairs anymore. Why don't we notify her family to take her back."
Susu pushed open the guest room door and collapsed onto the bed, utterly exhausted. "Mr. Qin, what nonsense are you talking about? How could she see me as her beloved? Besides, if I don't care for her, who will? She refused to see her family after what happened. And Paris is a place of her sorrow; we can't force her to go back."
"Even if her mental problems are gone, she still has serious psychological issues. Neither of us is a psychologist. Is keeping her by our side truly helping her? I don't think this is a solution. She should still be in the hospital for treatment," Qin Tianyi said. He heard her soft snores and realized she had fallen asleep so quickly.
She had fallen asleep like this, still wearing her slippers, with her jacket draped over her. She must have been truly exhausted.
Qin Tianyi felt heartbroken for her. He carefully took off her slippers, removed her jacket, and gently shifted her to make her sleeping position more comfortable.
As for Sophie's situation, he still needed to talk to Susu. He had to persuade her to either have Sophie admitted to the hospital for treatment or send her back to Paris.
In the dark corridor, Sophie, barefoot, pressed her ear against the door of the guest room where they had stayed that night. She heard Qin Tianyi say he would notify her family, and that Susu shouldn't bother with her anymore, and that she should go to the hospital.
A flame of anger ignited in her heart. She merely wanted to share Susu with Qin Tianyi and rely on Susu, yet Qin Tianyi was so dismissive of her, pushing her aside. That person was right: if she wanted Gu Susu to be with her forever, Qin Tianyi had to disappear forever.