Susu did not bring up Sophia’s matter again, feeling that the most important thing now was to find a suitable bone marrow match for Xiaoxiao and perform the bone marrow transplant surgery.
“Tianyi, I want to go see Shu Zhongze and ask the Shu family to donate bone marrow for Xiaoxiao.” She wasn’t sure if this approach would work, and her heart pounded as she voiced it, wondering if Tianyi would agree.
Qin Tianyi, who had been feeling sleepy, lost all his drowsiness upon hearing her idea and asked, “Haven’t you found a bone marrow match for the child yet? Is it that difficult to find one in the bone marrow bank?”
“It’s not that suitable bone marrow is hard to find, but there’s a waiting list. I heard from the doctor that every patient waiting for a transplant is waiting for their life to be saved. There are too many people waiting in line through the bone marrow bank, and it will take at least another six months for Xiaoxiao to get her turn. Six months! She can’t wait that long.” Susu’s heart grew anxious at the thought of the child’s pale little face.
Qin Tianyi expressed his concern, saying, “If you go to Shu Zhongze at this time, without revealing your blood relationship, will he even bother with you?”
“I heard from a colleague who designs suits for Shu Zhongze that Shu Zhongze intends for me to personally deliver the designed suit to him,” Susu said. “I want to use this opportunity to meet him and talk about Xiaoxiao. Now that Shu Yan is gone, doesn’t he want to place his grief for his daughter onto his granddaughter?”
Qin Tianyi thought about it seriously and said, “Alright, if you want to try, then try. But Xiao Anjing and I must accompany you. Xiao Anjing helped Shu Yan with Xiaoxiao’s matters, so he’s more familiar with it than we are. It should be more convincing if he tells Shu Zhongze what Xiaoxiao has been through since birth.”
“Okay, I don’t want to face Shu Zhongze alone either.” Susu didn’t know if she could maintain a calm demeanor when facing Shu Zhongze again, and whether Shu Zhongze had already investigated her identity also caused her heart to ache.
Qin Tianyi kissed the top of her head. “Don’t worry, Xiaoxiao will be fine. This child is fortunate to have a mother like Shu Yan. It’s already a miracle that she’s lived this long.”
“Yes, you must be tired after a long day. Go to sleep. Goodnight.” Susu lay in his arms, still unable to sleep, but cherishing the feeling of being held by him.
…
A week later, Susu arranged a time with Shu Zhongze through a colleague at her studio.
She personally carried the redesigned suit to the Shu family’s mansion. Qin Tianyi held her hand, Xiao Anjing carried the suit for her, and two bodyguards waited at the outermost gate.
As they entered the main hall of the house, they saw Shu Zhongze sitting alone on the living room sofa, a financial magazine casually spread before him, looking somewhat weary.
Shu Zhongze looked up and saw them. His gaze fell on Susu, and without getting up, he said, “Gu, the great designer, personally delivering a suit. What a grand occasion. Accompanied by two CEOs of Aoxiang, with bodyguards waiting at the door.”
Susu smiled, took the suit from Xiao Anjing with a composed demeanor, and said, “Mr. Shu, are you satisfied with this redesigned suit?”
Shu Zhongze beckoned her over and said, “Bring it here for me to see.”
Qin Tianyi wanted to help her, but she stopped him and personally brought the suit to Shu Zhongze, saying, “Please try it on. If anything is not suitable, I can alter it immediately.”
Shu Zhongze stood up, took the suit with a smile, and said to Qin Tianyi and Xiao Anjing, “Mr. Qin, Mr. Xiao, please sit. If you all stand like this, others will think I want to drive you out.”
“No need,” Qin Tianyi refused with a cold expression.
Shu Zhongze tried on the suit and said to the household servants, “Serve them some tea and refreshments.”
His initial intention for Susu to deliver the suit personally was to obtain her DNA for identification and see if there was a blood relationship between them.
Later, when Shu Yan had an accident, this idea was put on hold. Now that Shu Yan was gone, and it was all because of Qin Tianyi and Susu, he even had the urge to kill them for revenge.
“Gu, the great designer, is not living up to her name. This suit, after being redesigned, still lacks novelty.”
Susu didn’t mind his deliberate fault-finding and smiled, saying, “Alright, then it seems our studio cannot take on your order. You should find someone else.”
As she spoke, she prepared to take back the suit, but Shu Zhongze had no intention of returning it. He said, “Although I don’t like it, it can still be used by the servants to wipe the floor. I will pay for all the expenses.”
Qin Tianyi’s expression immediately changed, and he shielded Susu, saying, “Mr. Shu, what do you mean by that?”
Susu, however, was unfazed. She smiled slightly at Tianyi and stood before Shu Zhongze again, saying, “Mr. Shu, you have money, so you can be willful. After all, you bought it with your hard-earned money, and you can do whatever you want with this suit. However, I have one more thing to tell you today.”
“Oh.” Shu Zhongze handed the suit in his hand to a servant, sat down again, and crossed his legs, saying, “With such a grand entourage you brought today, I knew it wasn’t just about delivering clothes.”
Susu decided to go for it. She glanced around the hall and asked, “Isn’t Mrs. Shu at home?”
Shu Zhongze chuckled lightly, “If she were home, she certainly wouldn’t let you set foot in here.”
“I know you are still grieving for Shu Yan’s death, but we are here today for something related to Shu Yan as well. It would be best if we could discuss it together and think of a solution,” Susu said, looking at him.
Shu Zhongze gazed at Gu Susu’s face. He didn’t hate her to the bone and adopted an attitude of listening, saying, “What is it? It’s the same if you tell me. I can still make decisions for her. Please, all of you, sit down.”
Susu chose a chair furthest from Shu Zhongze and sat down, signaling Tianyi and Xiao Anjing to sit as well. For Xiaoxiao’s sake, they couldn’t be too confrontational with Shu Zhongze.
They had to persuade him to acknowledge Xiaoxiao and donate bone marrow from all Shu family members who were blood relatives to Xiaoxiao.
Qin Tianyi and Xiao Anjing naturally understood this reasoning and sat down close to Susu.
Shu Zhongze gestured for her to speak.
Susu didn’t want to beat around the bush and said directly, “Mr. Shu, although Shu Yan is gone, her child, your granddaughter, you have the responsibility and obligation to care for her, don’t you?”
“When did she have a child? What granddaughter?” Shu Zhongze said in shock. “What do you mean by that? You forced her to death, and you still won’t let her rest!”
He couldn’t help but become enraged, pointing at Qin Tianyi and saying, “She shouldn’t have married you back then, nor should she have truly fallen for you! You deceived her, used her, and pushed her to a dead end. Don’t you feel even a shred of guilt? And now you’re colluding with them to slander her!”
Susu immediately defended Qin Tianyi and retorted, “No one forced or harmed her. It was she who maliciously killed Huo Jin. It was she who refused to let us go, even at the last moment, she wanted to take us down with her by setting the warehouse on fire. We advised her, but she insisted on her own way!”