Gui Nan couldn't refuse, saying, "Alright, but I still have some unfinished business at the firm. I'll come to your place after the New Year."
"Okay, it's a deal," Susu extended her right hand to him.
Gui Nan happily shook her hand firmly.
...
A few days later, Susu met Yu Wei alone at a coffee shop.
She agreed to see him again because she wanted to understand Yu Wei's fabricated reason for Sophie being in Paris.
When she entered the coffee shop, Yu Wei was already seated by the window, wearing a striking royal blue casual suit.
Susu approached him and said, "I'm sorry, I'm late."
Yu Wei glanced at the luxury watch on his wrist and said magnanimously, "You're only a few minutes late. Please, have a seat."
Susu sat opposite him and asked directly, "Is Sophie doing alright in Paris?"
"She seems quite poor, with no source of income," Yu Wei said, observing her expression.
"Oh, that's quite pitiful," Susu said with sympathy.
Yu Wei probed, "You still care about her, don't you think she deserves it?"
Susu asked, "Mr. Yu, what exactly do you want to talk to me about? I care about her because she's not just a designer at my studio, but also my best friend. She's helped me a lot in the past."
Yu Wei, of course, knew about her relationship with Sophie and how much Susu cared for her. He smiled, took out his phone, and showed Susu a picture.
"She's fallen so low that she has to make a living as this kind of model," Yu Wei seized the opportunity when he saw Susu's shocked expression. "You should go to Paris yourself and see her, help her."
Susu looked at the painting on the photo and finally understood why Sophie had betrayed the studio. It turned out they were threatening Sophie in this way.
Moreover, she was certain that this painting was not made while Sophie was modeling in Paris.
Susu smiled faintly and said, "She does look quite miserable. However, I've been too busy lately and simply don't have the time to go to Paris to find her."
Yu Wei was a bit disappointed that Susu didn't show an immediate urge to go to Sophie.
According to his and Sasha's analysis, using Sophie as bait should have lured Susu abroad.
"She brought it upon herself. In fact, we don't need to bother with her," Yu Wei deliberately echoed Susu's words.
Susu didn't want to shut down the conversation completely. "How about this, you're still going to Paris, right? If you run into her again, find out her address and contact information, and then tell me. I'll contact her directly."
"Alright, no problem," Yu Wei said, spreading his hands.
Susu stood up, appearing busy, and said, "Mr. Yu, if there's nothing else, I'll be going now."
Yu Wei simply said, "Oh."
Susu said goodbye efficiently and left the coffee shop.
She had a growing suspicion that Yu Wei seemed to want her to go abroad, likely to harm her.
Fortunately, Tianyi had kept Sophie's confinement very secret, and An Jing had fabricated Sophie's departure records.
The police were also handling the case with secrecy, so no one knew Sophie's true whereabouts except for their small group.
This was why she could see through Yu Wei's scheme at a glance.
However, seeing the painting on Yu Wei's phone had made her truly angry. They had done such a despicable thing to Sophie.
That night, while accompanying Tianyi in the hospital, she was distracted. Tianyi noticed and asked worriedly, "What's wrong? Did something major happen at the company?"
Susu handed him a peeled tangerine and said, "No, An Jing and I can still manage. I've encountered something recently that I can't quite figure out."
"What is it?" Tianyi first fed her a segment of the tangerine before eating one himself.
Susu ate the sweet tangerine and felt that she could discuss this matter with Tianyi and hear his thoughts.
She then told Tianyi about Yu Wei's reconciliation and his deception regarding Sophie being in Paris.
Tianyi listened in silence for a moment before asking, "What are your thoughts on this?"
"They want to lure me to Paris, and it's definitely not for anything good."
Tianyi nodded and said, "However, if they realize this tactic won't work on you, they'll likely come up with other methods."
"Don't worry, I'll be on guard everywhere," Susu said with a smile.
Tianyi praised her, but his mind was on how being cautious could only protect her for a while, not forever. He wondered if there was a way to get rid of Yu Wei first. That would also mean Sasha would have one less helper, making it harder for her to cause trouble.
"It's right for you to be careful in everything," Tianyi said. "But caution alone isn't enough. If we could prevent Yu Wei from going abroad for the time being, keeping him confined to Lancheng would be ideal. If he wants to lure you abroad, it's because he has his own territory there, making things convenient for him."
"That's right. If we keep him in Lancheng, he won't be able to execute his schemes," Susu mused. "But he hasn't done anything illegal, so there's no reason to prevent him from leaving the country."
Tianyi suddenly thought of something and said, "You mentioned he has that kind of painting of Sophie, right?"
"Yes."
"Then this is manageable. I had An Jing investigate him earlier. An Jing found out that he made his fortune abroad by selling these paintings. It's possible he's also secretly conducting this business in Lancheng. If we can search all his galleries, not only will we find Sophie's painting, but also others. Wouldn't that give the police a reason to detain him?"
Susu immediately said, "I need to ask Kang Xi about this, to see if privately selling such paintings is illegal."
Just as Tianyi was about to say something more, his phone suddenly rang.
Susu picked up his phone and saw it was An Jing calling. She handed the phone to him and said, "An Jing calling so late, what could it be?"
Tianyi couldn't guess either. Before he could speak, An Jing excitedly exclaimed, "My mother just called, saying Lan Yu has given birth! It's a girl, and both mother and daughter are safe!"
"Congratulations," Tianyi said, happy for him.
Susu, overhearing, smiled happily and asked, "Tianyi, Lan Yu had a daughter?"
Tianyi handed her the phone. "You congratulate An Jing too."
"An Jing, congratulations," Susu said. "Is Lan Yu doing alright after giving birth? Do you have any photos of the baby?"
"She's fine. My mother said the birth went smoothly. But you just reminded me, I'll ask my mother to send photos right away. You guys wait." An Jing hung up.
It seemed he had immediately informed them as soon as he received the news, sharing his joy of becoming a father.
Tianyi leaned back on the hospital bed and said, "An Jing has worked really hard this time. The company matters kept him tied up, preventing him from being with Lan Yu during her due date. He can only see photos of the baby now."
"I told him earlier to go abroad and stay with Lan Yu for a few days, but he just couldn't stop worrying about Aoxiang," Susu sighed.
Tianyi moved his arms and said, "I'm almost fully recovered. I'll be discharged tomorrow. Let An Jing go abroad quickly to reunite with Lan Yu."