The hall gradually emptied, with few people coming and going. Only one or two on-duty staff remained, but Tianyi still hadn't come down.
The front desk staff refilled her coffee and cast a sympathetic glance at her as they left.
Susu had already drunk four cups of coffee and didn't want any more. She suddenly stood up and walked towards the elevator that led directly to the top floor, pressing the buttons next to it forcefully, but there was no response.
The security guard on duty walked over and stopped her, saying, "Madam, this elevator requires a special card. Please wait patiently in the lounge area."
"Give me the special card, I want to see your Mr. Qin," Susu said with authority.
The security guard on duty apologized, "I'm sorry, Madam. I'm just a grassroots employee and don't have a top-floor exclusive card. Mr. Qin is probably still busy. Please don't worry and wait a little longer, you might be able to see him."
Susu knew it was useless to talk to the security guard and sat back down in the lounge area, not believing Tianyi would never come down.
In the top-floor office area, Xiao Anjing went to Tianyi's office and asked with some dismay, "What's wrong with you today? You know Susu is downstairs waiting to see you, but you won't let her up, nor will you let me go down to get her. Didn't you say you didn't mind those photos?"
Tianyi stood by the floor-to-ceiling window of the office, looking down at the night view outside, and said, "It has nothing to do with those photos. There are some things I haven't figured out how to tell her. She won't agree with my approach, but I can't let her be too soft-hearted anymore."
"What do you mean? What did you deal with last night?" Anjing asked.
"I've locked up Sophie. She's very likely the murderer of Chen Ma."
Anjing said disbelievingly, "Didn't Chen Ma die in an accident? Why would she kill Chen Ma? There's no reason!"
"What reason does a madman need to kill!" Tianyi raised his voice and said, "I shouldn't have let her live in the villa in the first place, otherwise, otherwise Chen Ma wouldn't have died!"
Anjing stared at him with wide eyes and finally understood, saying, "She was the one who stole your clothes? She's having an episode again, but she was kind to Susu..."
"Even so, you can't let her kill and set fires!"
Anjing realized the seriousness of the situation and asked, "Do you have conclusive evidence that she murdered Chen Ma?"
"Not yet," Tianyi said, painfully suppressing his anger.
Anjing fell silent, knowing that if he dealt with Sophie without conclusive evidence, Susu would definitely not accept it.
Tianyi took a deep breath, checked the time, and said, "I've thought about it. We'll say Sophie has returned abroad, and her relatives there urgently need her. We'll coordinate our stories. You help me forge the illusion of Sophie going abroad."
"What if Susu notices?"
"We'll deal with it then. For now, we absolutely cannot let Sophie stay in our house or have any contact with Susu."
"Okay, I understand." Anjing couldn't help but say again, "Why not just tell Susu clearly and let her know Sophie's mental illness has never been cured..."
"Then she'll just send Sophie for treatment, which is useless. Sophie is very smart, and before long, she'll be released with normal test results. I can't let Chen Ma die in vain. I want Sophie to pay the price, she deserves to be locked up in a dark and gloomy place forever!" Tianyi said resolutely.
Anjing didn't try to persuade him further and nodded, saying, "No matter what you decide to do, I will support you."
"Thank you, I'll go down now." Tianyi instructed him, "After I take Susu away, you can leave the company."
"Okay, I'll leave last." Anjing smiled at him slightly and returned to his office.
Susu sat there, feeling like a statue.
Suddenly, her phone rang. It was Tianyi.
She almost dropped her phone and answered it in a hurry, "Hello, Tianyi..."
"Look behind you," Tianyi said.
Susu held her phone, stunned for a few seconds, then turned her head and saw Tianyi standing not far behind her.
Seeing her disheveled hair and haggard appearance as she huddled in the slightly oversized chair, Tianyi's resentment towards her instantly vanished. It was as if he saw his own weakness, and he couldn't bring himself to get angry with her.
At first, he had reminded her about Sophie, saying that helping Sophie was fine, but there should be boundaries, and it was best not to let Sophie live at home.
But she hadn't listened to him and had insisted on giving Sophie the best care and fulfilling all her wishes. And the result? The result was the current consequence!
Susu immediately stood up, picked up a small pastry from the plate, ran to him, and offered it, saying, "You've been busy all day, you haven't had dinner yet, are you hungry? Do you want to eat something?"
Tianyi looked at her silently, not taking the pastry she offered. The words of blame were stuck in his throat. He suddenly hugged her tightly and said in a low voice, "Why didn't you wait for me at home? What are you doing sitting here foolishly?"
Susu's eyes immediately welled up with tears, and she buried her head in his chest, "I was afraid you'd never talk to me again."
"Silly girl, let's go eat something first." Tianyi held her tightly and led her out of the group building.
When they arrived at the restaurant for dinner, neither of them spoke, and they ate in silence.
Susu wondered if she should pretend to know nothing and stop asking him what had happened with Sophie.
No matter what Sophie said to her, she wouldn't listen or take it seriously. It would be fine once enough time had passed.
"Susu..."
"You've worked hard today, eat more."
They spoke at the same time. Susu quickly put some food on his plate for him, but her hand holding the chopsticks trembled slightly.
"I'm sorry, my phone was dead last night." Tianyi put down his chopsticks, looked at her, and realized that some things had to be faced.
Susu lowered her head and looked at the food in her bowl, saying with difficulty, "I know, it's okay. I came to Ao Xiang to find you because, because Sophie, she also didn't come back last night, and she still hasn't returned today, nor has she gone to the studio. Do you know where she is?"
"Oh," Tianyi said casually, "She and I had some drinks last night, and then I called a car for her to go home. Didn't she go back?"
Susu looked up, her tense heart relaxing a little, and stared into Tianyi's eyes, asking, "After drinking, you didn't... go with her..."
"No, I was a bit drunk at the time. After I sent her off, I couldn't think of where to spend the night, so I called a designated driver, and unknowingly, the driver took me to the Qin family's mansion. I spent the night there, but when I woke up this morning, the place brought back many unpleasant memories, and I was in a particularly bad mood, so I didn't reply to anyone's calls."
They had been together for a considerable amount of time, and Susu could sense that nothing had happened between him and Sophie. She couldn't help but breathe a long sigh of relief.
"If what you say is true, Sophie should have returned last night. But I haven't seen her. Where could she have gone?"
Tianyi said faintly, "I don't know."