Shao Qile quickly stepped forward to help, supporting Shao Qibin's other arm and helping him to sit down on the sofa. Smelling the alcohol on Shao Qibin, it seemed he had drunk quite a bit that evening. For a mayor like Shao Qibin to drink so heavily, it must be something related to the old city's planning. Ultimately, even a dragon stranded in shallow waters is mocked by shrimp, and a tiger fallen into the plains is bullied by dogs; sometimes even a powerful dragon needs to feign compliance with local bullies.
Although Shao Qile found the political landscape of this world somewhat frivolous—in her original world, even with her family's immense influence, it would have been impossible for Shao Qibin, at his current age, to have reached his current position—in this world where Shao Qibin was the absolute protagonist, the impossible became possible. In just three short years, Shao Qibin, a newcomer from a family not traditionally involved in politics, had achieved one feat after another, becoming a shining stepping stone for his advancement.
Now, the improvement of the old city area of T City will also become an important achievement for Shao Qibin's promotion.
Shao Qibin's current efforts and hard work are stepping stones to his smooth career path.
“Brother He, it’s getting late. I’ll trouble you to take care of my brother. I can take care of him here. You must be tired, so you should go back first. I remember my brother has an important meeting early tomorrow morning.” Shao Qile straightened Shao Qibin’s slumped body on the sofa and hurriedly said to He Shengming.
Speaking of He Shengming, Shao Qile was also acquainted with him, but only through his cousin, He Shengchao. Three years ago, when Shao Qile first arrived, He Shengchao was the first junior he took in. Because of He Shengchao, Shao Qile had some contact with the He family. He knew that He Shengming was now considered one of the most outstanding members of the third generation of the He family. In fact, if it weren't for the emergence of a dark horse like Shao Qibin and his miraculous rise to prominence, He Shengming would have been considered one of the best among the third-generation officials.
This also demonstrates Shao Qibin's ability to subdue He Shengming.
Shao Qile had a high opinion of Shao Qibin's abilities. Moreover, Shao Qibin possessed an additional advantage that others envied: good fortune in the automotive industry. As the protagonist of this world, Shao Qibin was undoubtedly a person blessed with great luck.
"Then I'll leave the mayor in your care, Lele." He Shengming didn't stand on ceremony; he'd already evaded quite a few drinks that night. However, the White Tiger Gang members were not easy to deal with. It could only be said that the young man was too arrogant. This new gang leader, who supposedly killed his own father to take power, was far too haughty and thought too highly of himself. If it weren't for the fact that a major conflict wasn't advisable at this time, the White Tiger Gang wouldn't have been allowed to cause such a ruckus. To dare let a mayor like Shao Qibin drink glass after glass—they really had a lot of nerve!
After seeing He Shengming off, Shao Qile went into the kitchen familiarly to brew hangover tea. She added hot water, wiped Shao Qibin's sweaty body with a hot towel, covered him with a thin blanket, and then went into the kitchen. Seeing that the hangover tea was almost ready, she brought it out and fed it to Shao Qibin.
They'd only fed him halfway when Shao Qibin groggily woke up, his face pale. Shao Qile knew immediately that something was wrong—he was about to vomit. Luckily, she was prepared. She quickly moved the trash can over, swiftly supporting Shao Qibin. Once he'd vomited most of it, she washed a towel in hot water and wiped his mouth. She also gave him a mint to suck on.
"Brother, are you feeling better?" Shao Qile tried her best to treat Shao Qibin in front of her as her lover, as her fiancé from across time. For someone in politics, the etiquette of drinking at the table is often unavoidable. Shao Qile's skill in caring for intoxicated people was something she had honed while looking after Lin Xuanyu. Now, applying it to Shao Qibin, to increase her standing in his heart, Shao Qile made sure that every action, every glance, and every word appeared utterly sincere.
After vomiting, Shao Qibin felt much better. In his dazed state, he sensed someone taking care of him, and a familiar scent lingered around his nose. In truth, he knew who it was.
Sometimes, he would feel guilty and ashamed that he, as the older brother, had to trouble his younger sister to take care of him. But for some reason, every time Shao Qile visited him in his assigned area over the years, he always found him weak. Once, during a typhoon, he braved the rain to evacuate people to safety, and after everything was settled, he fell ill. Shao Qile happened to be visiting him, and instead of the older brother taking his sister sightseeing, Shao Qile ended up taking care of him for several days. When he recovered, Shao Qile had to return to school. Another time was similar; he had to attend a dinner party he couldn't avoid, and afterwards, he was completely unconscious, and again, Shao Qile took care of him.
Before he knew it, his sister had grown into a gentle and considerate woman!
If Shao Qile knew what Shao Qibin was thinking, she would definitely scoff. She always managed to arrive by such coincidence. Speaking of which, she really had to thank the system for the prompts. Whenever it involved Shao Qibin as the task target, or when it was of great importance to the success of the task, the system would give her a task prompt from time to time.
It's fair to say that the trust and intimacy levels that have skyrocketed over the years have been earned through these countless acts of thoughtfulness and gentleness.
However, even so, the intimacy and trust values still couldn't compare to the intimacy Shao Qibin had with Zhang Mengxin back then.
This shows the importance of family in this man's heart!
Author's Note:
23. The Divide and Conquer Strategy
Chapter Twenty-Two: The Scheme of Dividing the Enemy
The next day, before dawn, Shao Qile struggled to wake up to the system's incessant howling. Even knowing that the system was making her wake up so early so she could better complete its tasks, the oppressive atmosphere of waking up early still made her irritable for a while.
After a quick and efficient wash, without even applying any skincare products, Shao Qile simply tied her long black hair up in a bun and head off to the kitchen. First, she cooked Shao Qibin's favorite congee with preserved egg and lean pork. Just in case, she prepared some hangover tea, and then quickly made sandwiches using what was in the refrigerator. After a moment's thought, she boiled a few eggs and steamed some custard buns from the refrigerator.
After all that fuss, Shao Qile finally entered Shao Qibin's room to wake the still-sleepy old man from his hangover. Sometimes, Shao Qile couldn't help but marvel at how terrifying the system was. Who would have thought that the proud and arrogant Miss Shao, who had been pampered and protected by all the young men in the Shao family, would actually learn to cook and take care of people in this alternate dimension?
If this were in the past, if someone had said that Shao Qile would one day cook for someone, she would have scoffed. Back then, she leaned against her fiancé with a bright smile, her face full of arrogance, and lazily yet defiantly said, hooking Lin Xuanyu's chin, "You dare make me cook for you?"
Even now, Shao Qile can hardly recall Lin Xuanyu's expression back then, but that softly murmured "How could I bear to!" has been echoing in her mind for a long time, invading her lonely heart adrift in a foreign world during her vulnerable moments in the middle of the night.
Those who care about you will cherish you and would never want you to suffer even the slightest grievance. Those who don't care about you will naturally take your efforts and everything you give for granted.
However, nowadays, Shao Qile would no longer maintain the haughty demeanor of a noble young lady. Even though her family background in this life was similar to before, things were still different. Neither her father, Shao Guanjie, nor her mother, Xia Meiyue, would unconditionally stand behind her. Their primary considerations were for Shao Guanjie, the eldest son of the Shao family, and for the future and reputation of the Shao family.
In this alternate world, Shao Qibin is the true ruler. Gone are the brothers who treated her like the center of their world, and the man she loves. Instead, escaping this world requires careful planning and meticulous steps. For example, starting with a thoughtful breakfast!
In retrospect, the increased attribute points and system prompts over the years also owe some credit to my diligent learning and improved relationship with Shao Qibin.
After Shao Qibin finished washing up, drank some hangover tea (to relieve his headache from the previous night's drinking), ate a bowl of porridge and a few other simple snacks, he checked the time and realized there was still plenty of time before the meeting started. He thought about how he had asked Shao Qile to move in, but now Shao Qile was taking care of him, getting up early to prepare all this stuff – it must have taken her a lot of effort. He then took out a shopping card someone had given him at the dinner party the previous night: "Lele, you've been in T City for quite a while now. The design isn't urgent; we can talk about it when Professor He Jianguo arrives. You're a girl, you can go shopping more. Take this card for now."
"Brother, I have plenty of clothes in my closet. I'm your sister, and my fashion sense is top-notch. I need to finish the design before the teacher arrives; I can't lose to Senior Hua Li." Although Shao Qile said this, she accepted the shopping card from Shao Qibin without any affectation. She wasn't like Zhang Mengxin, who needed to use the excuse of not being greedy for money to show her pride. Besides, for a chauvinistic man like Shao Qibin, a girl being a little submissive was more endearing.
Shao Qi was pleased to see that Shao Qibin had finished eating and wasn't in a hurry to clean up. She had done an excellent job of preparing the food. The cleaning staff would naturally take care of the rest.
"Brother, I heard that Li Jianmei is coming to T City to study at university, and it seems she arrived quite early. She even brought some people to visit Professor Bi. On the first day we visited Professor Bi, we had just left when He Jianmei arrived with people who were supposedly distant relatives of Dr. Hua. It's a pity we didn't run into them."
When Shao Qile said this, he was completely in a teasing and mocking manner, just like every younger sister who sees her brother being pursued by a girl and feels a mix of smugness, amusement, and amusement.
Since Li Jianmei has already blacklisted her and incited hatred, she should naturally take action as soon as possible. To avoid Li Jianmei focusing on Shao Qibin's actions and evoking positive emotions in Shao Qibin, such as being moved, she might as well bring it up herself first.
Shao Qibin can be quite suspicious and stubborn at times!
"Lele, this is an adult's matter. Just focus on your design and don't worry about it."
In Shao Qibin's eyes, even though his younger sister has risen to prominence in recent years and has achieved a prodigious speed of skipping grades, attracting the amazement of countless people, Shao Qile is still a little girl, the one who was born with a weak constitution and had to stay in an incubator.
Whether it's because Zhang Mengxin, who initially appeared as a substitute for his sister, is no longer there, or because of Shao Qile's painstaking planning and careful maneuvering over the years, she has finally won over her brother Shao Qibin's affection for his sister. Shao Qibin now truly regards Shao Qile as an important family member, a sister who needs his care and love.
He'd been busy negotiating with the White Tiger Gang lately, and finally, Old Master Bi had relented. There was no need to worry about that stubborn old scholar; as long as the White Tiger Gang offered their support, the old city's redevelopment would proceed smoothly. Because of all this, he genuinely didn't know that Li Jianmei, whom he'd broken up with a while ago, had come to T City to study.
Upon hearing the news that Li Jianmei had actually led a group to visit Elder Bi, Shao Qibin, out of the caution of a politician, immediately suspected that there might be some conspiracy involved.
His sudden rise to prominence has shaken the political arena. For the Li family, a long-standing political force, has it aroused some apprehension, which is why Li Jianmei stepped forward to try to do something?
While pondering these thoughts, Shao Qibin didn't want them to affect Shao Qile, who was politically clueless. Even though some of Shao Qile's wildly imaginative ideas had helped him a lot over the years, Shao Qibin always assumed it was just a coincidence and didn't think too deeply about it. Even though Shao Qibin now felt more wary of Li Jianmei and even planned to have He Shengming investigate the Li family's recent movements and Li Jianmei's actions after arriving in T City, he had no intention of telling Shao Qile.
After thinking for a moment, Shao Qibin added, "Focus on your drawing and don't contact Li Jianmei too much."
"Ding, congratulations to the host for successfully worsening the relationship between the mission target and the reborn heroine, making the mission target wary, and the reborn heroine's trust value has dropped to a negative number, currently at (-2/100). The host is rewarded with five attribute points and one lucky potion."
After seeing Shao Qibin off, Shao Qile decisively added five of his own attribute points to his health. Seeing that the value had become (72/100), Shao Qile finally felt less anxious, less like a sword of Damocles was hanging over his life.
Holding the lucky potion, Shao Qile thought for a moment, then drank it directly. She saw her luck stat change from 15/100 to 18/100. Shao Qile assumed this was the potion's effect, but just as she returned to her study to continue drawing her designs, she received a call from her professional manager. A stock she had invested in based on system prompts had skyrocketed after the market opened, its value increasing several times over to a full 300 yuan. Because this was an exceptional case, her manager called to ask her whether she should take the profits or wait and see.
Shao Qile pondered for a moment, subconsciously connecting this to the lucky potion she had just drunk. Then she noticed a small pink bar next to her name in her attribute panel, indicating that the lucky potion's effects would last for 10 hours. Shao Qile issued an order to sell all her stocks in the last hour of the day's stock market trading.