Sitting in the car, Tianyi gently held her shoulder, and they looked out at the street, just washed by the rain.
Xiao Anjing turned on the car stereo, still muttering, "Your flight times are really good. It just stopped pouring, and if you had landed any earlier, you would have been caught in the downpour."
It was currently summer, and also the season with the most heavy rain in Lancheng. Although the city's drainage system had been renovated repeatedly, it was rare to see puddles on the road now.
The streets were still bustling with traffic, and pedestrians hurried along both sides of the road.
Entering the busy downtown area with its crowds and cars, Xiao Anjing's speed noticeably decreased, following the cars ahead almost step by step.
Suddenly, by the roadside under the shade of a tree, Susu saw a familiar back. She could hardly believe her eyes.
It was the back of a middle-aged woman wearing a round-neck shirt and cotton trousers, squatting under the shade of the tree with several boxes of something in front of her, talking to the onlookers, seemingly haggling.
Susu immediately tugged on Tianyi's sleeve and said, "Look quickly, doesn't the woman under that tree look like Jia Nanfang?"
Tianyi also noticed. At first glance, she looked no different from any ordinary middle-aged woman on the street, but upon closer inspection, the back really did resemble her.
"Hmm, she looks a bit like her."
Having received Tianyi's confirmation, she quickly called out, "Anjing, stop the car, stop the car quickly!"
"Susu, you can't stop here. If I stop, all the cars behind will be blocked," Xiao Anjing could only slow down as much as possible, unsure of what was happening.
"Find a way to pull over. We think we saw Jia Nanfang." Tianyi also thought the person looked more and more like her as she looked.
Xiao Anjing looked from side to side, "Ah, where?"
Tianyi rolled down the car window, trying to get a clearer look, and said, "Under the tree to your right."
Just as Xiao Anjing was about to look, he heard someone on the roadside shout, "Someone's coming to arrest them, someone's coming to arrest them!" The woman under the tree quickly gathered her things and ran.
In the confusion, Susu caught a glimpse of half of the woman's face and realized she didn't look like Jia Nanfang, and her hairstyle was different. She said, "It seems we mistook her. Let's go."
Xiao Anjing stepped on the accelerator. As soon as he got the car to move at a snail's pace, the cars behind him started honking incessantly.
After driving past the bustling section, Xiao Anjing said, "I've seen plenty of people like that. The woman setting up the stall was actually running a scam, selling fake antiques or fake medicine. You see those people gathered around? They're all in on it, acting as if they want to buy something to trick passersby. You should never join the commotion at stalls like these. It's safest to just walk away without even looking."
"You're so knowledgeable," Tianyi teased him.
However, the fact that Jia Nanfang had not yet been apprehended remained a concern for him. When they heard about her plastic surgery abroad, they learned that Lü Yuanhong had been sentenced to death by Southeast Asian authorities for drug trafficking alone, and the sentence had already been carried out.
But the local police had never managed to catch Jia Nanfang, and they still didn't know where she was hiding.
Furthermore, when the finances of Lü Yuanhong's seemingly legitimate pharmaceutical group and hospitals were later audited, a large sum of laundered money had been taken by Jia Nanfang, and she had not left a single cent for Lü Yuanhong's two young sons.
As a result, after Lü Yuanhong's case concluded, the two children sent back to Southeast Asia ended up in local orphanages and could not attend boarding schools.
Susu had been worried all along. Occasionally, she would think of Xiaoxiao and say, "Actually, finding Jia Nanfang and having her face legal sanctions is secondary. The main thing is that Xiaoxiao has been with her, and we don't know how she's doing. Xiaoxiao hiding everywhere with her is not good for the child's development."
Xiao Anjing sighed and said, "Yes, Xiaoxiao should be over two years old now. If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have let her take Xiaoxiao."
"Don't both of you be so glum," Tianyi said. "Jia Nanfang is, after all, related to the child by blood. She probably wouldn't treat the child too harshly."
Upon arriving at the seaside villa, they got out of the car. Xiao Anjing told them to go inside and called Xiao Lin to help with the luggage.
Xiao Lin ran over, looked at Qin Tianyi excitedly, and couldn't help but say with red eyes, "Young Master! Young Madam, you're finally back."
Tianyi patted Xiao Lin's shoulder and said, "Don't be like this. I'm fine. I'm back safe and sound, aren't I?"
"Yes, yes, I should be happy. Everyone is inside..."
Xiao Anjing stopped him from revealing the surprise and called out, "Don't be so fussy. Come and take these suitcases, they're so heavy."
"Young Master Anjing, I'll do it, I'll do it."
Tianyi and Susu walked hand in hand, looking at the warm house before them, their home, and walked towards it with smiles.
As soon as they reached the entrance, someone opened the door from inside, followed by several loud bangs, like fireworks.
Tianyi instinctively shielded Susu. Before they could react to what was happening, they saw petals fluttering down towards them.
They then realized that everyone in the living room was holding a party popper. The moment they walked in, everyone twisted their poppers, creating a festive atmosphere.
"Welcome back!"
"Welcome home!"
...
Susu broke free from Tianyi's embrace and found the entire ground floor living room beautifully decorated, with flowers, balloons, and colorful, shimmering streamers everywhere.
She looked at everyone with immense surprise, not knowing what to say, "You guys, this is too grand."
Yanan ran up to them and first said to Qin Tianyi, "Mr. Qin, it's good that you're alright." Then she linked her arm with Susu's and smiled, "How is it? Do you like this kind of welcome ceremony?"
"I do," Susu said emotionally, looking at everyone in the living room. She had initially thought only Aunt Chen, Xiaomei, and Yanan were waiting for them, but unexpectedly, everyone had come.
Kang Xi, Qing Chuan, Huo Zheng, Yi Feng, her studio colleagues, and Shu Zhongze...
"It's good that you like it. Music, play the music!" Yanan signaled to Huo Zheng, the temporary DJ for the day, to play music, and the living room instantly became lively.
Aunt Chen, who had been watching Tianyi intently, could no longer contain herself and hugged Tianyi tightly, crying, "Eldest Young Master, it's good that you're alright, truly alright. Young Madam finally brought you back safely. I thought, I thought you..."
Tianyi also hugged Aunt Chen, "You worried about me again. It won't happen again."
While Tianyi and Aunt Chen were talking, Susu greeted everyone else in turn. When she reached Shu Zhongze, she looked at him and said thank you.
Shu Zhongze wanted to hug her, but he only touched her head and said, "What are you thanking me for? Your and Qin Tianyi's survival of the ordeal is all due to your own destiny. I just heard you were returning today and came to see. Now that I see you are well, I should be going."
Susu didn't mind him touching her head and called out, "Wait a moment. Since you're here, why not join in the fun with everyone? And do you want to see the children?"