"But I don't want you to be sad. We'll live to be a hundred together and leave this world together."
Susu smiled, thinking that he could also say such childish things. However, she didn't want to shatter his fantasy and nodded, "Okay, when we're old, I'll still listen to you."
She lay down beside Tianyi, and they fell asleep embracing each other.
Susu dreamed that she was standing by the railing on the second floor, watching Chen Ma roll down the stairs. She wanted to save her, but her body felt frozen, unable to move or even cry out.
After Chen Ma fell to the first floor, she lay in a pool of blood. A handsome and tall figure appeared on the first floor – it was Tianyi.
His first instinct was to save Chen Ma, trying to stop her bleeding, but it was ultimately futile.
Tianyi suddenly looked up at Susu standing on the second floor with cold eyes, his expression stern, and stared at her with a chilling voice, "What did you do? You've disappointed me so much."
Susu anxiously shouted in her dream, "It wasn't me, I wanted to save her..."
But she felt that Tianyi couldn't hear her. Panicked and sweating, she woke up with her eyes wide open, realizing it was just a dream.
She found herself alone, but the cold sweat was real. The dream felt so vivid, as if her inaction had caused Chen Ma's death.
Tianyi emerged from the bathroom, already dressed, and was heading to the walk-in closet to get a tie. He saw Susu sitting up in bed.
"You're awake. Shouldn't you sleep a little longer? I need to get to the company early; there's a lot going on there these days."
Susu pulled herself out of the strange dream, still feeling tired, and said, "Okay, be careful on your way."
After selecting a tie, Tianyi came to the bed, kissed her cheek, and asked, "Didn't you sleep well last night? You've worked hard accompanying me these past few days."
"I'm fine, you should go. You're busy," Susu kissed him back and gently pushed him away.
Tianyi, tying his tie in a hurry, left first.
Susu was left alone in the room. She sat on the bed, lost in thought for a while. Checking her phone, she realized it was almost ten o'clock, no wonder Tianyi was in such a rush.
Just then, her phone rang. The caller said, "Is this Mrs. Qin?"
"Yes, it is."
"The men's shirts you ordered at our store have arrived. You can pick them up if it's convenient, or we can mail them to you." It was a salesperson from the boutique.
Susu thought for a moment and said, "I'll come to pick them up this afternoon."
"Certainly."
She wanted to see for herself if the shirt she ordered was the same as Tianyi's old one, and if there were any flaws or differences.
It was already this late, so she decided not to go to the studio. She got up, washed up in the bathroom, and slowly walked downstairs.
As she descended, she looked down at each step. She noticed that the stairs, which she walked on frequently, were not steep, and there were handrails on both sides.
When Chen Ma fell, she hadn't tried to grab the handrails, and how could her head have hit multiple steps?
"Susu, you're down. Have something to eat first," Sophie's voice interrupted her thoughts.
She looked up at Sophie and quickened her pace to the first floor, asking, "You're not at the studio today either?"
"No, I saw how busy you've been with the funeral these past few days, not eating or sleeping well. Now that it's over, I decided to stay home. I've made some French pastries and dishes for you, all your favorites."
"Thank you. You've also worked hard helping me with the children and managing the studio these past few days," Susu said gratefully.
Sophie quickly replied, "Our relationship is different from others, why are you saying that? Come and taste my cooking."
Susu felt a little worried that Sophie might still have those inappropriate thoughts. She smiled and said, "Sophie, we..."
"We are good sisters," Sophie said with a calm expression. "I know, we are best friends, and I won't have those absurd thoughts anymore. Don't worry."
Susu smiled in relief and then looked at the stairs, asking, "When Chen Ma fell that day, you were home. Which steps did she hit? I don't see any bloodstains."
Sophie said sadly, "There were many bloodstains on several steps, but Xiao Mei and I cleaned them up so you wouldn't see them and be reminded of the pain. At Chen Ma's age, she couldn't withstand such a fall. When you get old, the scariest thing is falling."
Susu thought that made sense and didn't dwell on Chen Ma's accident anymore. She couldn't let herself be consumed by grief.
It was an accident. The dream she had last night was likely because she had been following Tianyi to handle the funeral all these days, constantly seeing his sad and solemn expression, leading to her thoughts manifesting in her dreams.
After eating the French lunch made by Sophie, she told Sophie she was going to the boutique to pick up the reserved shirt.
Sophie offered to go with her, and Susu didn't refuse. She drove herself and Sophie to the boutique.
She repeatedly examined the light blue shirt but couldn't be sure if it was exactly the same as Tianyi's old one, as she couldn't quite recall the details of the previous shirt.
"Are the buttons on the cuffs the same as the ones you sold here before?" Susu asked the salesperson.
The salesperson, also not remembering clearly, said, "We haven't heard of this shirt model being updated, so it should be the same. Why don't you wait a moment? I'll go find the old promotional catalog."
Susu said, "Okay."
The salesperson went to search for the earliest catalog. Sophie walked over and helped Susu look at the new shirt, casually remarking, "It's exactly the same as the old one, no difference."
Susu was slightly taken aback and asked, "How do you know? When did you ever look closely at Tianyi's shirt?"
Sophie immediately realized she had said too much and tried to cover it up, "I didn't look closely. I just saw Mr. Qin wear it once and noticed the cuff buttons, they seemed to be this kind of platinum inlaid with diamonds."
Susu felt so careless, not even paying attention to the buttons on the shirts Tianyi often wore.
A moment later, the salesperson found the earliest catalog. Susu compared it with the catalog and found that it was indeed the same as before. She signed the receipt.
On the way back, Susu noticed Sophie was silent. She wondered if Sophie was upset about her questioning her with suspicion.
"Sophie, you're more observant than I am. I'm too careless. In the future, if there's anything at home I don't notice, please remind me."
Sophie glanced at her, feeling relieved that Susu didn't suspect her. Her heart settled, and she said, "Actually, I'm also quite scatterbrained. I only pay more attention to people you like, people you care about. I don't pay attention to other things."
"Yes, I understand..."
"In the future, when Mr. Qin is home, I'll maintain a distance. Sometimes when you're not home, it's awkward for us to be alone together. Don't worry, I'll be mindful of boundaries," Sophie expressed her thoughts to Susu.