Susu smiled and said, "I'm not that petty. I believe in Tianyi and I believe in you. By the way, you should really loosen up a bit, go out more, meet new friends, and maybe you'll find someone suitable. Although I hope you can stay by my side forever, you should also have your own family, a husband, children, and a happy home."
Sophie said sadly, "I haven't dared to have such hopes for a long time. I feel happiest just being by your side."
"That's because you haven't met your destined one yet. Don't worry about it, you won't think this way when you do," Susu comforted her, looking ahead at the road.
Sophie, however, shot her a fierce, resentful glance, thinking Susu was finding ways to drive her away.
But she didn't want to leave the seaside villa, nor did she want to leave Qin Tianyi. She wanted to be with them forever.
Upon returning home, Chen Ma's presence was no longer in the kitchen, and no one had much appetite.
Xiaomei was still very sad and stayed with the two children.
Susu also had no appetite, and only Sophie was busy in the kitchen preparing her Western dishes.
Susu went to her room and hung the new shirt in Tianyi's closet, wanting to surprise him. She then listlessly sat in front of the computer, casually browsing online to distract herself from her heavy mood.
She casually sent a message to Xu Shishi, saying she would be back at the studio tomorrow to resume normal work.
Xu Shishi had previously known that although Susu was out of the police station, some things had happened at home, so she felt awkward about disturbing her.
Upon receiving Susu's message today, she initially wanted to call Susu directly but restrained herself, replying only to her message.
"Okay, you can come to the studio tomorrow to take a look. While you were away, Sophie changed many of your design drafts, and some clients even approved her changes."
Susu was a bit bewildered by this reply but could sense that something had definitely happened in the studio during her absence. She decided to call Xu Shishi.
"Sister Gu, is everything alright at home?"
Susu said, "Yes, a senior relative passed away. The funeral has already been held."
"My condolences. I know you want to ask about Sophie," Xu Shishi said, knowing Susu was going to inquire about Sophie and thinking about how to tell her. "Is Sophie with you?"
"No, I'm in my room." Susu asked directly, "What did you mean by that message you just sent?"
Xu Shishi said, "During the time you left Sophie in charge of the studio, she took over many of your designs, even altering projects you had already completed. She also privately brought in an investor. I'm not sure who it is, but she's preparing for a personal showcase. I'm worried, worried it might affect the studio..."
"Alright, I'll talk to her and get to the bottom of it." Susu suddenly felt very uncomfortable.
Earlier, Sophie had accompanied her to the boutique, and on the way back, she hadn't mentioned any of these things she had done at the studio.
"Sister Gu, don't say I told you this. I'm afraid... Oh, I don't know what I'm afraid of. But sometimes when I see Sophie's dismissive gaze, it makes me feel scared." Xu Shishi didn't know how to accurately express this feeling.
"I understand. Don't worry, thank you for telling me this," Susu said, hanging up. She couldn't understand Sophie's reasons for doing this.
Susu contacted a client with whom she had a good relationship, pretending she knew nothing and engaging in casual conversation.
The client expressed satisfaction with the revised design. Susu found it difficult to expose the truth and could only say that she had forgotten to save the revised design images, asking the client to send her the drafts.
Susu put down her phone. Not long after, the client sent the drafts.
She looked at the altered design, which had completely distorted her original concept, merely catering to the client's demands.
She didn't understand why Sophie would do this, arbitrarily altering her designs, leaving her with an indescribable feeling.
She picked up her phone and quickly left the bedroom, going down to the kitchen. She saw Sophie wearing Chen Ma's apron, happily and meticulously preparing Western dishes.
For a moment, Susu felt as if Sophie had replaced Chen Ma and become the mistress of this vast kitchen.
Susu stood at the kitchen doorway, not questioning her immediately. She stared at Sophie blankly for a moment until she was discovered.
"Susu, when did you come down? Are you hungry? Try the salad I made." Sophie said, holding up a plate of salad for Susu to taste.
Susu said calmly, "I'm not hungry yet. Put it down first and come sit."
She then sat down at the small kitchen table. Sophie placed the salad on the table and sat opposite her, asking, "What's wrong?"
Susu opened the design draft on her phone and showed it to her, saying, "The client just sent this to me. She said she's still not entirely satisfied with this design..."
"How can that be? She confirmed with me the day before yesterday and said she was very satisfied," Sophie interrupted before Susu could finish, asserting her claim.
Susu said nothing more, only staring at her and asking, "Why did you change my design without asking me, and even communicate with my clients?"
Sophie immediately understood that Susu's previous statement was a test.
"Sister Li had been trying to contact you, but couldn't reach you, so she found me. At that time, you and President Qin were busy with Chen Ma's funeral. I knew you had no time to revise designs for her, so I thought I'd help you with it. As long as she was satisfied, and the order was secured for you, I wouldn't mind," Sophie explained.
Listening to Sophie's explanation, although it sounded as if she was thinking of Susu in every way, it made Susu feel extremely uncomfortable.
She pointed to some of the altered parts of the design draft and said, "This kind of design is completely different from the quality and style I pursue. I don't care if this order can be completed. Since you modified this order, you can take it over, but you must clearly tell Sister Li that it was you who altered the design, not me. We cannot deceive clients."
"But Sister Li only wants you to design it. If she knows it wasn't you who personally modified it..."
"That's something you need to explain to her properly. The design fee can be refunded if necessary," Susu said with a firm attitude. "Didn't you communicate very well with her when I wasn't at the studio?"
Sophie looked helpless and began to act pitiful again, "You're blaming me, aren't you? I really just wanted to help you when you couldn't attend to these major clients..."
"Besides Sister Li's order, what other designs have you changed, and how many clients have you helped me secure?" Susu asked, unmoved.
As the boss and chief designer of the studio, she always had her own design style.
Each of her designs was unique, allowing clients to experience the benefits of exclusive design.
Although there were other designers in the studio, everyone had their own style and did not interfere with each other's designs.