Musing on these thoughts, he found himself standing by the window, pushing it open to look down. The sunlight blazed, scorching the entire garden and the small area outside the small building.
Gu Susu was no fool. She knelt, constantly trying to shift into the shade, but seeing that the entire expanse of marble tiles outside the door was bathed in sunlight, she realized that kneeling any longer would not only hurt her knees but likely bake her into a dried fish.
Qin Tianyi, while verbally remarking that she deserved it, inwardly considered telling her to stop kneeling. He figured once the old lady woke from her nap, she would likely forget about it and not dwell on how long she had knelt.
Just as he was about to go down and tell Gu Susu to get up, he saw Mama Rong emerge from the house through the window. After exchanging a few words with Gu Susu, she told her to rise.
Seeing that she was alright, Qin Tianyi quickly closed the window and sat down at his laptop, diligently attending to his work.
After Gu Susu stood up, she rubbed her knees. Mama Rong helped her into the house.
Mama Rong had just come out and said to her, "Young Madam, the Old Madam is doing this for your own good. She worries that if she protects you too obviously, those two will resent you even more."
While kneeling, Gu Susu herself had thought that the Old Madam probably had this reason for letting her kneel after hearing Jin Meiyao's words.
Given the Old Madam's shrewdness, she wouldn't be swayed by Jin Meiyao's words.
The Old Madam punishing her was because Huang Xiuli was, after all, an elder. Since Gu Susu had knelt before her, making her kneel for a while was also a way to prevent the animosity between her, Huang Xiuli, and Jin Meiyao from becoming too deep.
"Mama Rong, I understand. I don't blame the Old Madam. I also thought too simply when facing the situation, which allowed others to take advantage."
Mama Rong smiled, "Young Madam, it's good that you understand. Wait a moment, I'll get some ice packs from the refrigerator for you to apply to your knees in your room."
"Alright, thank you, Mama Rong."
Gu Susu waited for Mama Rong to bring the ice packs, then held onto the banister and slowly made her way upstairs.
In reality, the Old Madam hadn't made her kneel for a long time. However, the reason her knees were so painful was Qin Tianyi's frenzied actions the previous day, which had scraped her skin. Her knees hadn't healed yet today, and kneeling on the cold, hard marble tiles only intensified the pain.
Limping back to her room, she found Qin Tianyi engrossed in his laptop work, not even glancing at her or speaking to her.
She sat down, carefully rolled up her trouser leg, and applied the ice pack Mama Rong had given her to her knee. As she applied and rubbed it, the pain was severe, but she dared not cry out, only gritting her teeth.
Qin Tianyi suddenly turned his head to look at her and said, "It's all red?"
"Yes, the tiles outside are very hard," Gu Susu replied vaguely.
Qin Tianyi got up from his seat, came to her side, and snatched the ice pack from her hand. "That's not how you apply it. Sit properly! Stretch your legs out straight, and don't rub it!"
Gu Susu looked up at him, "I can manage it myself, I don't need your help."
"I don't like repeating myself," Qin Tianyi said, bending down and lifting both her legs onto the chair.
Gu Susu asked warily, "What do you want now?"
"Don't move." Qin Tianyi forcefully straightened her legs and accurately placed the ice pack on the reddened area of her knee. "Keep it like this without moving for a while. After the swelling subsides, you can apply medicinal wine and massage it. Don't rub it now."
Gu Susu sat stiffly with her legs straightened. "Oh, I understand."
Seeing her sitting obediently without moving, Qin Tianyi returned to his laptop and continued with his work.
Gu Susu sat there blankly, feeling bored. She asked, "How did the Old Madam get hold of that financial report? Did you find out about it long ago?"
Qin Tianyi replied indifferently, "You brought it up with Fan Zhihua at the company yesterday. Fan Zhihua probably gave it to Grandma."
"Uncle Fan investigated that quickly? That's impossible. In fact, everything is under your control..." Gu Susu was saying, disbelieving his words, when her phone rang.
She took out her phone and saw it was Ai Yiwei calling. Staring at the caller ID, she hung up after a few seconds of thought.
With both her and Qin Tianyi in the room, she couldn't answer Ai Yiwei's call. She couldn't help but recall seeing Ai Yiwei so intimate with Qin Tianlang outside the club last night, and felt that Ai Yiwei's purpose in having her marry into the Qin family was also not simple.
In college, Ai Yiwei had used her to handle the university advisor. Wouldn't she be trying the same trick again, having her enter the Qin family first to handle Qin Tianlang?
Memories flashed through her mind, and the thought sent a shiver down her spine.
Unbeknownst to her, Qin Tianyi had been watching her. He asked, "Why didn't you answer the phone? Who was it?"
Gu Susu forced a smile. "A telemarketing call."
Qin Tianyi said "Oh" and got up. "Give me the ice pack from your knee. I'll go get a colder one and some medicinal wine while I'm at it."
Gu Susu immediately handed him the ice pack. "Okay, thank you."
As soon as Qin Tianyi left, she immediately dialed Ai Yiwei. "What is it? Speak quickly. Qin Tianyi was nearby just now, so it wasn't convenient to answer."
"You're still being affectionate in broad daylight. It seems that fool has quite strong abilities in that regard. You're lucky," Ai Yiwei's tone was as sarcastic as ever.
Qin Tianyi could return at any moment, and she didn't want to argue with her. She directly asked, "If there's nothing important, don't waste my time. Is Xingxing okay?"
"That little fellow is doing well. I bought him over a dozen new outfits and got his hair cut. I also bought him some toys. I did everything you asked, but how could you cause such a scene? It's already been posted online! Dad told me to tell you that if you get kicked out of the Qin family because of this, you'll never be able to see that child again!"
"Don't worry, the Old Madam of the Qin family is a very reasonable person. I'm fine. Someone will also delete that video from the Qin family's side very quickly."
"That's good. I'll relay what you just said to Dad." Ai Yiwei paused and then added, "There's one more thing. You're living in the Qin family now, and you must see that fool's brother, Qin Tianlang, every day at the Qin family mansion, right?"
Gu Susu's heart skipped a beat. She said, "I've only seen him once. The Qin family mansion is too big, and we live with the Old Madam. Apart from the Old Madam, we rarely see other members of the Qin family. Why are you asking? What's wrong?"
She deliberately feigned ignorance, pretending not to know about Ai Yiwei's affair with Qin Tianlang.
Ai Yiwei also pretended to be relaxed. "Oh, it's nothing. In the future, you help me keep a closer eye on Qin Tianlang. See if there are any women close to him, and if you find any, tell me immediately."
"Understood." Gu Susu took her phone away and hung up forcefully. She knew Ai Yiwei was too ambitious, wanting to tie down Qin Tianlang and marry into the Qin family, and also wanting to use her.
Qin Tianyi had been standing outside the door, not yet going downstairs. He waited until she finished her call before heading downstairs.
As he descended, he carefully considered Gu Susu's words during the phone call. Who was she talking to? Was it that man named Chang Qingchuan?
Her tone sounded like she was planning something with the person on the other end of the line. And she mentioned something about Xingxing with a tone of nervousness and concern.
Xingxing sounded like a child's name. Could she and that man have a child together?
The thought made him crush the ice in the ice pack he was holding.