Susu hugged his waist from behind and said with a smile, "Alright, from now on, I'll tell you in advance wherever I go and whatever I do, okay?"
"It would be good if you could really do that." Tianyi felt that being hugged like this, he couldn't properly wield the spatula. "Let me go first, you're affecting my cooking."
Seeing that he was no longer angry, Susu let go and looked at the pan, saying, "Why are you just stir-frying? Add some soy sauce, oyster sauce, and vinegar... or it will burn!"
"Which bottle is soy sauce, and which is vinegar?" Tianyi quickly asked.
Susu quickly handed him the seasoning bottles but didn't rush him out of the kitchen. Instead, she stood by and taught him how to stir-fry.
She thought it wouldn't hurt if he learned. If she were not by his side one day, he could at least cook something for himself.
Tonight, Tianyi told her about Bai Shuren threatening him with his mother's friendship with Bai Shouzheng.
After hearing this, Susu understood why he suddenly knew she had helped Zhan Jiayi. It seemed he had learned about it inadvertently.
"Then what will you do? Are you still going to help that scumbag Bai Chengyi get acquitted?"
Tianyi smiled and said, "Of course not. This matter has already been resolved. I've also found leverage against Bai Shuren, so he wouldn't dare to act rashly."
"That's good," Susu said. "Now that it's proven that Bai Chengyi and Zhao Jianhua know each other, can Zhan Jiayi's charges be cleared, and can it be proven that she was framed by Bai Chengyi?"
"It's still a bit difficult to prove Zhan Jiayi was wronged based on this alone," Tianyi said, holding her hand. "If you want to clear Zhan Jiayi's name, you might have to involve Huangfu Group and Zhao Jianhua, which will cause quite a stir. It's best to have Gui Nan apply for a closed-door trial to avoid public hearings."
Susu nodded. "Okay, I'll tell Gui Nan."
"Susu," he called out to her, but he still couldn't bring himself to say that he knew who had killed Xi Xianya's father, yet he had to conceal it.
"What is it? Why are you calling me like that?" Susu looked at him inexplicably and asked.
Tianyi smiled and said, "It's nothing, get some rest early."
"And you?" Susu grabbed his collar, wanting him to sleep with her.
Tianyi held her hand and said, "I still have some official business to attend to in the study. You go to sleep first."
"No," Susu said coquettishly, refusing to let go of him.
"Be good, I'll only be half an hour, and I'll be back to sleep later." Saying this, he pushed her onto the bed, patted her head, and left the bedroom for the study.
Lying alone in bed, Susu suddenly wondered what leverage Tianyi had found against Bai Shuren that made Bai Shuren stop threatening him.
She had forgotten to ask earlier. Did Bai Shuren also do something illegal?
She thought it was likely, but then she also thought that since Tianyi's mother could have such a deep friendship with Bai Shouzheng, Bai Shouzheng must have been a very outstanding person.
Qin family's old madam, Bai Qiuping, was also a matriarch with great demeanor. By all accounts, the Bai family members seemed decent, so how could people like Bai Shuren and Bai Chengyi have emerged? It seemed the Bai family was ruined by them!
She dozed off amidst her muddled thoughts.
She slept until dawn and woke up. When she opened her eyes, she didn't even know if Tianyi had returned to the room last night. Seeing the indentation on the pillow next to her, he must have returned, but Tianyi had woken up even earlier than her and was nowhere to be seen.
Although Tianyi had said he wasn't angry with her, and the matter with Bai Shuren was resolved, she always felt that Tianyi was still hiding something in his heart.
But she didn't know if she was being overly sensitive or if Tianyi had encountered some new difficulty.
She got out of bed. Just after washing up, she received a call from Ai Yifeng.
"Brother, good morning."
"Susu, I wanted to tell you that Xianya's case will be heard next week. If you're free, come and observe." Ai Yifeng said.
Susu quickly agreed, "Okay, I'll definitely go next week. By the way, how is Xianya's mood? Is she okay?"
"She's fine. With her mother accompanying and taking care of her, she should be able to face it calmly."
Susu said, "That's good. Brother, are you still living in a rented house? Have you considered buying a house in Lancheng and settling down?"
"Forget it, the housing prices in Lancheng are too expensive..."
"You don't have to worry about that. I can help you secure a house first." Susu knew he would have this concern.
"Please don't do that. Xianya and I have decided that after she's okay, we want to leave Lancheng and buy a house in the city where I work to settle down. Actually, neither of us wants to stay in a big city like Lancheng," Yifeng explained.
Susu was silent for a few seconds, knowing that Yifeng still couldn't let go of the Ai family's downfall back then. However, settling down in a small city wasn't bad.
"Okay, I understand. If you encounter any difficulties after you move there, you must tell me."
"Don't worry, the housing prices there aren't that expensive, and the pace of life is slow, which feels very comfortable," Yifeng said with a smile over the phone. "When you and President Qin have time to visit, I'll show you around. The scenery there is quite nice."
"Yes, as long as you settle down there, we will definitely visit," Susu felt that Yifeng had already planned for the future and was truly happy for him.
After finishing her call with Yifeng, she went downstairs and heard Xiaomei say that Tianyi had indeed left early, without even eating breakfast.
Susu ate breakfast alone and then went to the studio. Upon arriving at her office, she sent Tianyi a message, "Xi Xianya's case will be heard next week. Do you have time to come and observe with me?"
A moment later, Tianyi replied, "I'll be on a business trip abroad next week and should be busy. However, An Jing is staying behind at the group. He said he would go, so why don't you ask him to go with you?"
"Okay," Susu replied with just one word and put her phone aside.
Thinking that Tianyi had to personally go on a business trip abroad, she started thinking about preparing his essential luggage.
...
On Thursday morning, Xi Xianya's case finally went to trial.
Susu and An Jing sat in the last row of the observers' seats.
After Zhao Jianhua was stabbed, it was widely reported by the news media, and all sectors of society had various speculations about the case.
Therefore, this case was publicly tried, hoping to reveal the truth and prevent the public from fabricating more rumors and disturbing people's minds.
In the front row of the observers' seats sat the families of the defendant and the victim, as well as news reporters.
Xi Xianya, who was not nervous initially, stood at the defendant's dock. Seeing the scene, she couldn't help but feel nervous.
Ai Yifeng kept gesturing to her, encouraging her not to be afraid.
After the trial began, the prosecutor and the defense lawyer engaged in a fierce debate.
The focus of the debate was whether Xi Xianya acted in self-defense or had subjective intent.
Xia Ming's testimony strongly indicated that Xi Xianya's situation at the time was indeed very critical, and if she hadn't resisted, she might have been bullied by several people.