Sophie's heart was filled with sweetness at the thought of going to a hotel with Tianyi, and she didn't care if this sweetness was stolen from his drunken state.
"Hmm, I'm also afraid Susu will always blame me. Let's drown our sorrows together."
As she spoke, Sophie picked up the wine bottle and took a drink.
Tianyi's gaze was inscrutable. He glanced at her, picked up a bottle of wine, and clinked it with hers. He absolutely could not let an abnormal person like Sophie stay by Susu's side.
...
Susu was alone at home. Although she knew Tianyi wouldn't be back tonight, and he had sounded concerned and affectionate when they spoke on the phone, she still felt a void in her heart with him not by her side.
After the children had gone to bed, she realized that not only Tianyi, but also Sophie hadn't returned.
Could Sophie have been meeting a client tonight, and the meeting was taking so long?
She herself didn't go upstairs to sleep, choosing to wait in the living room for Sophie to come home, her gaze occasionally drifting towards the door.
Through the floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room, she could see the indistinct figures of two bodyguards on patrol.
When she returned from Shu's Group today, she had noticed extra bodyguards outside the villa. Little Lin had said Tianyi had hired them.
Tianyi was so vigilant, treating it like a major enemy was approaching. It seemed the person holding photos of her and Yang Sijie was not simple and would be difficult to deal with.
She followed Tianyi's instructions, appeased the two shareholders at Shu's Group, and reassured everyone else.
Uncle Xu praised her highly, saying as he saw her out that her father had chosen an heir with great foresight. The older generation at Shu's Group now all believed in her.
Waiting and waiting, Sophie still hadn't returned. She called Sophie's phone, but although the call connected, no one answered, which made her a little worried.
She had to call Tianyi's phone again, to see where he was staying tonight, and she wanted to tell him about how she had handled the internal affairs of Shu's Group.
But Tianyi's phone also connected and went unanswered. Just as she was about to hang up her phone, the other party suddenly answered.
"Susu, are you looking for President Qin?"
Sophie's voice came from the other end of the phone. Susu looked down at the number she had dialed; it was correct. She had just dialed Tianyi's number.
"Are you... with him?" Susu reacted, her words stuttering in surprise.
Sophie's voice sounded a bit slurred, as if she were drunk. "Yes, we're drinking together. He asked me to accompany him to drink to my heart's content... I, I originally wanted to persuade him not to be angry with you, but you know what he said..."
Hearing Sophie speak like this, Susu knew she was drunk and followed her lead, asking, "What did he say?"
"You, you... wait a moment." Sophie's voice sounded drunk, but when she took out her own phone and opened the recording function, she did so calmly, not at all like someone who was drunk.
At this moment, Susu heard Tianyi's voice on the phone, "She and Yang Sijie were like that, she'll never forget him. A woman like that doesn't deserve to be my wife!" "Divorce? She can dream. I won't touch her, but I'll keep her trapped for life, make her a mere decoration."...
Susu asked, somewhat dazed, "Is Tianyi next to you? Let him take the phone."
"He just stepped away, probably going to the restroom." Sophie continued to speak as if drunk, "Susu, I've always told you men are no good, and President Qin is the same. You understand now..."
"This isn't his true feeling, it isn't." Susu said with certainty, "He's acting. You don't need to persuade him. Hurry back. He's saying this for my own good, to protect me..."
"I'm not going back tonight. President Qin said he's taking me to a hotel later." Sophie laughed strangely and said, "When we get to the room, I'll record it and play it for you. You... you'll understand that this man is just like other men. No man dislikes variety, no man is faithful forever. There are no devoted men in the real world, only the ones you fantasize about!"
"Sophie, you're drunk. Don't keep drinking with Tianyi. Come back, I'll tell you what's going on."
"I'm not talking to you anymore, President Qin is back."
"Where are you drinking..." Before Susu could finish asking, Sophie had already hung up.
When she tried to call again, Tianyi's phone was once again connected but unanswered.
Unwilling to give up, she called several more times, but still, no one answered.
After Sophie hung up, she cleared all the incoming calls from Tianyi's phone and set it to silent. Even if there were incoming calls, there would be no sound or vibration.
Tianyi had used the excuse of going to the restroom to deliberately leave his phone behind. He couldn't let Sophie suspect anything.
After all, Sophie still had people behind her. He went to the restroom, borrowed a waiter's phone, and called his own people, instructing them to prepare everything.
When Tianyi returned to his seat, he resumed drinking with Sophie. Sophie's alcohol tolerance was actually quite good, far exceeding his expectations.
He ordered another bottle of red wine and a dozen beers. He himself was starting to feel a bit tipsy.
Sophie, pretending to be dizzy, said to him, "Susu just called me and told me to go back early. I can't drink anymore, I have to go back."
"Don't mind her. We haven't finished drinking yet. Let's continue." Tianyi poured wine for her himself.
Sophie deliberately brushed against Tianyi's fingers holding the wine bottle, trying to stop him. "President Qin, if I drink any more, I'll be completely drunk."
"It's okay, aren't I here?" Tianyi pushed her hand away, filled her glass to the brim, and then drank his own in one gulp.
Sophie raised her wine glass and said before drinking, "Then I have to let Susu know that I can't go back tonight."
As she spoke, she sent a message to Susu in front of Tianyi, and also sent the photos she had secretly taken of Tianyi earlier to prove that she was indeed with Tianyi.
Tianyi, pretending to be drunk, said, "Tell her that we're drinking and she doesn't need to manage us. She'll never be able to manage me again!"
...
Susu, holding her phone and feeling worried, suddenly received another photo from Sophie.
The lighting in the photo was dim. They were clearly in some bar. Tianyi's figure and outline were tall, but his features were not clearly visible.
This indicated that Sophie had secretly taken the photo without Tianyi noticing. The hand holding the phone trembled slightly, and she couldn't figure out what Sophie intended to do.
She felt somewhat uneasy. When she tried to call again, both Tianyi's and Sophie's phones were turned off.
...
In the bar, Tianyi saw that they had drunk enough. If he drank any more, he would get drunk too. His vision blurred as he said, "We're both drunk. Let's go to a hotel."
Sophie's face was flushed red, her lips were also red from drinking, and her skin appeared particularly pale. She said shyly, "President Qin, this isn't good. We're a man and a woman alone. I should take a taxi back. I'm afraid Susu will worry..."
Tianyi stood up, grabbed her arm, and said with drunken anger, "Don't mention her again, it ruins the mood! Come with me."
Sophie leaned softly into his embrace, "I, I'll listen to you."