Susu and Qin Tianyi both woke up quite late after Sophie's commotion the previous night.
Chen Ma met them at the top of the stairs as they emerged from the guest room. "Young Master, Young Madam, was Miss Sophie alright last night?"
Qin Tianyi, with a cold expression, didn't answer. Susu smiled and said, "She's fine. She's just not used to sleeping in a strange place."
"I doubt it's that simple," Qin Tianyi interjected abruptly.
Susu glanced towards the dining room downstairs and didn't see Sophie. She subtly tugged at his clothes and whispered, "Alright, she's our guest, so say less."
Qin Tianyi shook her off and sat down at the dining table first.
Seeing his pampered temper flare up again, Susu didn't argue with him. She turned to Chen Ma and asked, "Little Star has already gone to kindergarten. Did he sleep well last night?"
Chen Ma nodded. "He slept well. Little Mei told me this morning. The young master almost woke up too, but she stayed with him and comforted him for a bit until he fell asleep again."
"And Sophie? Has she not woken up yet?"
Chen Ma quickly replied, "Not yet. She's probably tired and still sleeping."
Susu said, "Then let her sleep in. Don't wake her up for now. After Tianyi leaves, I'll go call her."
"Alright." As Chen Ma and Susu were speaking in hushed tones, they saw Qin Tianyi looking at them, waiting for breakfast.
Chen Ma hurried to the kitchen to retrieve the still-warm breakfast. Qin Tianyi pulled Susu to sit beside him and asked, "What were you whispering about with Chen Ma? As soon as Sophie wakes up, send her back to her place. Don't think about having Chen Ma keep her here."
Susu smiled at him. "Sophie is my friend, and you're jealous? Then why aren't you jealous of Ya Nan? We even rented such a small apartment together before..."
"She's not like Wei Ya Nan. Don't lump them together," Qin Tianyi said to her sternly. "In any case, I think Sophie's gaze towards you is off. Don't take it lightly."
Just as Susu was about to retort, she looked up and saw Sophie descending the stairs.
Qin Tianyi followed her gaze, his brows furrowed into a tight line, wishing he could send Sophie away immediately.
Sophie, however, was wearing a water-red, fitted long dress. She gracefully walked down the stairs and asked Susu with a hint of girlish shyness, "Does this look good?"
The more normal and natural her expression, the more awkward it felt.
Susu froze for a moment, feeling Qin Tianyi beside her about to explode.
This dress was chosen for her by Qin Tianyi when they were shopping. She had found the color too bright and hadn't worn it formally yet.
Once, Qin Tianyi had asked why she hadn't worn the dress. She had replied that she wanted to wear it when they traveled to the desert, imagining how striking a red dress would look against the vast, desolate landscape for photos.
Qin Tianyi had agreed with her idea and hadn't pressed further. She had then stored the dress at the very back of their walk-in closet.
Sophie must have searched through their entire closet to find this dress. Her actions were indeed a bit presumptuous and were bound to displease Qin Tianyi.
Susu couldn't answer her for a moment and simply said, "You woke up early? Perfect, come have breakfast with us..."
"Take it off," Qin Tianyi said coldly, his expression stern and his aura intimidating.
Sophie immediately ran down the remaining stairs fearfully, reaching Susu's side and saying, "I'm sorry, shouldn't I have worn this dress? But I couldn't find any other clothes when I woke up, and I didn't want to come out in my pajamas, so..."
"It's alright, it's alright," Susu said, not blaming her. "You look very beautiful in this dress; it suits your temperament."
"Susu! Tell her to go back to her room and take it off, change it!" Qin Tianyi couldn't stand Sophie wearing the clothes he had bought for his beloved woman.
Susu tried her best to signal him, hoping he would be more lenient with Sophie and not fuss over such trivial matters.
But his extremely serious expression made it impossible for her to speak. She feared they would start arguing in front of Sophie if she tried to mediate.
She whispered, "How about we give this dress to Sophie..."
"Chen Ma, Chen Ma!" Qin Tianyi, unable to bear it any longer, loudly called Chen Ma out from the kitchen.
When Chen Ma entered the dining room, she saw Sophie's attire and makeup, feeling an indescribable strangeness. It was unusual for someone to be dressed and made up like this right after waking up. No wonder the young master looked so angry.
Qin Tianyi ordered her, "Accompany Miss Sophie upstairs to change her clothes and have her take off the dress she's wearing."
Chen Ma immediately untied her apron, went to Sophie's side, and persuaded her kindly, "Miss Sophie, let's go change. This dress is a bit cumbersome and inconvenient to wear."
"Susu, but I like this dress. You just said it suits my temperament," Sophie said, leaning on Susu's shoulder, still unwilling to take off the dress.
Susu didn't want to argue with Qin Tianyi, but she was also uncomfortable with his actions. She said gently to Sophie, "Chen Ma is right. Change it first, and then wear this dress for a formal occasion next time. Go change with Chen Ma, then come down for breakfast. Don't go hungry."
Although Sophie was a little reluctant, she still followed Chen Ma to change.
As soon as they left the dining room, Qin Tianyi said with a hint of anger, "The dress I gave you, and you so easily give it away! In your heart, am I not as important as Sophie? For Sophie, will you give up anything, sacrifice anything!"
Susu patiently said, "Can you please not be like this? You are you, and Sophie is Sophie. There's no comparison. It's just a dress; we can buy more..."
"Why don't you understand? This is not as simple as a dress! She is interfering in our lives; she wants to take you away from me!"
Susu felt he was being somewhat unreasonable. She said, "I know you care about me a lot, but don't be so overly sensitive, okay? Her behavior is a bit unusual, but you agreed to it initially. We need to help her overcome her past shadows with patience and warmth. This process won't be smooth; there will always be some twists and turns. Can't you be more tolerant and understanding towards her?"
Qin Tianyi's gaze dimmed. The more he spoke, the more petty and jealous he seemed.
He didn't know how to rationally explain it to Susu because it was his intuition as a man: Sophie wanted to destroy their relationship and take Susu away from him.
"Why do you always say you love me the most, but you never listen to me, while you believe everything outsiders say and do!" Qin Tianyi slammed the fork in his hand onto the table in anger. "Since you want to save Sophie, then go save her. But she cannot stay in my house!"
"You... I..." Susu was also angered by his inexplicable rage. "Fine, if she can't stay in your house, then she won't. At worst, I'll live outside with Sophie."
"Unreasonable." Qin Tianyi, in a fit of anger, kicked the chair behind him and turned to leave.