"Oh, I understand now. But wasn't Yang Sijie's personal subordinate also dead? Who else could have had intimate photos of him and Susu? Anyone who could access such photos must have been Yang Sijie's confidant."
Tianyi couldn't think of anyone else who was Yang Sijie's confidant. Mark, the assistant who always stayed by Yang Sijie's side, was already dead.
Besides Mark, Yang Sijie had no one else he truly trusted. Who else could have accessed Yang Sijie's private matters?
He thought about it and couldn't come up with anyone. He said, "Get someone to investigate first. Is there anyone we overlooked or didn't pay attention to before?"
"Okay, I'll take care of this."
"Right... forget it." Tianyi originally wanted to ask An Jing out for a chat, but then he remembered he had to accompany Lan Yu, who was pregnant, so he didn't say it.
"What do you mean, 'forget it'?" An Jing asked inexplicably. "Why have you started speaking in half-sentences?"
"Let's talk about it after you find some clues," he said, hanging up the phone. He estimated the time and thought Sophie should be back soon.
He walked out of the study and went directly to find Xiaolin, asking Xiaolin to stay at home and pay more attention to the safety of Susu and the children.
Xiaolin asked a bit confusedly, "What is Young Master worried about? The two children and Young Madam are all at home. The villa's security system is also activated. What danger could there be?"
"Keep an eye on Sophie's every move," Tianyi added.
Xiaolin immediately understood what to do. So, the Young Master was wary of Miss Sophie.
He didn't ask any more questions, just nodded in response.
Tianyi took the car keys and drove away from the villa himself.
Indeed, not long after, Sophie also returned from the event.
She walked into the living room cautiously, like a child who had done something wrong. The living room was empty, and she couldn't hear Qin Tianyi or Susu's voices.
After changing her shoes, she wondered if Qin Tianyi and Susu hadn't returned yet. Just as she was about to tiptoe back to her room, she saw Xiaomei holding a bottle of freshly prepared milk and heading to the nursery.
"Xiaomei, have Mr. Qin and Susu returned?" she called out to Xiaomei.
Xiaomei replied, "Young Master and Young Madam are back, but they didn't come back to the room together. Young Master stayed in the study for a while and then went out again. It's so late, I don't know if Young Master will be back tonight?"
Sophie feigned surprise and exclaimed, "Did they have a fight?"
"I wanted to ask you the same thing. They haven't said a word to each other from the time they returned until Young Master went out again. Young Madam has locked herself in her room and hasn't come out. Weren't you with them before they returned?" Xiaomei was full of doubts and worries. She recalled that before, when the Young Master and Young Madam had disagreements, there was Aunt Chen to advise the Young Master.
Now that Aunt Chen was gone, no one dared to ask the Young Master anything when he had a dark expression.
Sophie shook her head and said, "We weren't together. Be careful not to let the milk get cold. Go take care of the child quickly. I'll go upstairs to see Susu and comfort her."
"Okay, you're the only one who can comfort Young Madam now," Xiaomei said without thinking too much and went to the nursery.
Sophie went to the bedroom door and knocked, but didn't speak.
Susu, who was browsing the internet with her laptop, immediately closed it when she heard the knock. She lay down on the bed and said with a crying voice, "The door is unlocked, come in yourself."
Her tone sounded like she was sulking with Qin Tianyi.
Sophie gently pushed the door open and walked in, feeling an inexplicable sense of triumphant excitement.
After Sophie went upstairs, Xiaolin came out of the kitchen and quietly went upstairs too, guarding outside Susu's bedroom and listening to the sounds inside.
Susu, lying on the bed, couldn't see who had entered, but she knew it was Sophie. She and Tianyi had agreed to pretend to be in a cold war when they got home.
Now, Tianyi had likely gone out to make the pretense more convincing, and he wouldn't be back tonight.
She had just received a video from Tianyi. He had gone to a boxing club to hit the sandbag, wanting to reassure her that he wasn't out fooling around in nightclubs.
Susu wanted to laugh when she saw his video, but now she had to pretend to be sad in front of Sophie, so she had to conjure up her emotions again.
As Sophie approached the bed, she softly said, "Susu, I'm so sorry. I don't know how it turned out like this?"
Susu pretended to be startled, sat up, and looked at her, saying, "Why is it you? Where is Tianyi?"
Sophie said with a look of apology, "Mr. Qin, he... he went out. I just came back and heard Xiaomei say that Mr. Qin didn't say where he was going when he left?"
Susu said sadly, "He saw those photos. He must despise me and doesn't want me anymore..."
"No, no," Sophie said, sitting on the edge of the bed, trying to comfort her. "Mr. Qin is just in a bad mood and went out for some fresh air."
Susu pushed her away forcefully, "Don't lie to me! No man can accept such photos. He definitely won't love me anymore... It's all your fault. Tonight was your personal press conference. Why did those photos appear in the slideshow you presented? Go away, get away from me!"
Sophie stood up again, looking helpless, and tried to explain, "It really wasn't me. I honestly don't know where those photos came from. You know, I'm terrified whenever I hear Yang Sijie's name. How could I have photos of Yang Sijie?"
As she spoke, fear appeared in Sophie's eyes.
Susu was stunned for a moment. Looking into her eyes, she knew Sophie was telling the truth. She had indeed been extremely afraid of Yang Sijie all along.
It seemed this matter had nothing to do with Sophie. But who could have tampered with the backstage computer, adding photos without Sophie even knowing?
She thought she should ask Tianyi to investigate all the staff who had access to the backstage computer.
Seeing Susu's expression change towards her, without any more blame, Sophie relaxed and moved closer, saying, "Susu, if even you don't believe me, what will I do in the future?"
Susu felt a bit regretful about acting in front of Sophie. Yes, she could disbelieve anyone, but how could she disbelieve Sophie?
She couldn't help but hold Sophie's hand, wanting to tell her the truth. But as the words reached her lips, she remembered Tianyi's instructions: even if this matter had nothing to do with Sophie, they couldn't stop acting halfway if they wanted to find the person behind it.
She still said with a bit of sadness, "Why can't we ever escape the shadow cast by Yang Sijie? If my and Tianyi's home falls apart, what will I do in the future?"
Sophie hugged Susu and said, "This is still my fault. I should have been more careful and checked the slideshow more thoroughly before presenting it. Mr. Qin's anger is just temporary. I'll go explain to him. Those photos weren't something you wanted to take. Everyone knows you only love Mr. Qin. You had amnesia at the time, which is how Yang Sijie took advantage of the situation."
"You're right, he won't be angry for too long. Don't worry about me," Susu said, feeling a little less sad. "By the way, was your press conference today affected?"