Although Shao Qibin was speaking to Hong Xinran, and even looked at her tenderly, his peripheral vision was also glancing at Shao Qile when the two of them weren't paying attention. He naturally took in Shao Qile's subconscious lowered eyelids and the bitterness and relief mixed in his eyes!
Author's Note:
35 siblings clash
Chapter Thirty-Four: Clash Between Siblings
After taking a shower, Shao Qile didn't leave the room. She wrapped a white towel around herself, dried her long, still-dripping hair, and sat down in front of the vanity mirror. The mirror reflected the woman's rosy complexion from the steam of her bath. However, the dark emotions etched in her eyes, like the swaying shadows of tree branches outside the window in the night, added a somber, melancholic depth.
"You like Shao Qibin, you like him a lot!"
If someone were to approach at this moment, they would notice that Shao Qile's lips were opening and closing, and she was speaking in an almost whispered voice, uttering only this one repeated word. As these low murmurs and suggestions intensified, the nauseating feeling in Shao Qile's eyes caused by Shao Qibin's infidelity was suppressed, and the emotions that occupied her heart more were replaced by the love transferred through hypnosis.
Shao Qibin arranged for a driver to take Hong Xinran back to the film set before calmly knocking on Shao Qile's door, suppressing his turbulent thoughts. However, after knocking for a while, there was no response. After a moment's thought, he opened the door himself. Pushing the door open, he saw Shao Qile's long hair swept to the front, revealing half of her smooth, delicate white back, which appeared languidly alluring under the light.
Undoubtedly, this is a very feminine back!
Before we knew it, the tiny baby who was lying fragilely in the incubator back then had grown into a graceful young lady.
In the past, seeing Shao Qile looking disheveled after washing up wouldn't have given Shao Qibin any thought. But tonight, some subtle clues that hadn't previously caught his attention began to surface, slowly forming a suspicion. Seeing this scene again, he instinctively turned his gaze away. However, remembering that there were some things he needed to say to Shao Qile, and considering that he had knocked on the door for so long while Shao Qile, who was clearly inside, had ignored him, he felt it was better for the siblings to clarify things between themselves.
"Lele! Change your clothes and come find me. I'll be waiting for you in the study!"
Seeing Shao Qile suddenly shrink back in surprise, and then turn around to see her with a look of astonishment mixed with a hint of bewilderment in her eyes, and traces of painful struggle still lingering on her face, the displeasure she had felt for Shao Qile's willful and deliberate lack of response vanished instantly.
Lele, she probably didn't even hear him knocking on the door.
"Brother, why did you come in without knocking!" Even though she still looked a little panicked, Shao Qile blinked and composed herself, putting on a big, natural smile, just like a proud little sister saying something coquettish to her brother.
"It was my fault. Next time I will definitely knock before entering your room. Okay, get ready, I'll wait for you in the study." Hearing Shao Qile say this, Shao Qibin confirmed his suspicions and didn't dwell on whether he had knocked or not. He directly admitted his mistake, took a step back, and avoided looking at Shao Qile.
Thinking of the way Shao Qile's breasts, barely covered by a white bath towel, were faintly visible when she turned around, Shao Qibin's expression remained unchanged, but his heartbeat wavered for a moment.
Men are driven by their lower instincts, and throughout history, countless royalty and nobles have fallen prey to the allure of beautiful women. It is precisely because of this inherently lustful nature that the "honey trap" has proven so consistently effective. And the perverse stimulation that violates ethical norms is sometimes like tiny sparks—fragile yet harboring immense potential. It can be extinguished at any moment, or, with a single favorable wind, ignite a prairie fire.
Shao Qibin's feelings for Shao Qile have always been complicated since childhood. The sibling relationship has only eased in recent years due to Shao Qile's deliberate attempts to get closer to him. In addition, Shao Qile's several unintentional tips and assistance in his career have also brought out the guilt he had hidden in his heart for many years, which has led to a deeper sibling bond between them.
But if he's right, and Shao Qile's feelings for him are extraordinary, then the question arises: was Shao Qile's previous advice, which he had previously dismissed as accidental, simply a result of naiveté or a deliberate attempt to embarrass his older brother by speaking in such a childish tone? If this guess is true, then Shao Qile's courage and insight at such a young age are truly astonishing.
Regardless, a sense of vanity still arose in Shao Qibin's heart. Perhaps he didn't have much affection for Xia Meiyue, his stepmother, to begin with. For a moment, an evil thought even popped into his mind. Shao Qibin was thinking, so what if Xia Meiyue took the place of his biological mother next to his father? The daughter she had raised with such love and care harbored such feelings for him, her brother.
However, Shao Qibin carefully concealed these thoughts, and on the surface, he always appeared magnanimous and composed, standing on the moral high ground. Besides, he wasn't lacking in women, so naturally he wouldn't allow himself to fall into an abyss.
Shao Qile changed into her pajamas and went to the study with her hair still wet. As soon as she pushed open the door, she saw Shao Qibin, who was once again engrossed in official documents, looking very busy. "Brother, I've been on a plane for a long time and I'm so sleepy. Is there something you really need to tell me?"
"Lele, what do you think about me being with your sister Ranran?"
"Brother, what's there to think about? It's you and Ranran who're dating, not me. You two are great together. I admire you the most, brother, and my favorite celebrity is Ranran. You two are a match made in heaven, a perfect couple." Shao Qile blinked, pouted impatiently, and casually smoothed her still damp hair. "Brother, if you don't have anything else, I'm leaving."
“Lele, since you also think that your sister Ranran and I are a good match, then when you go back to Beijing in a while, please tell Aunt Xia for me. As for Dad, I'll talk to him.” Shao Qibin had never planned to announce his relationship with Hong Xinran so quickly. Or rather, it had only been a short time; he and Hong Xinran simply found each other pleasing to the eye and hadn't been together for very long. He hadn't considered anything that far ahead. However, to take this final step and confirm things, he couldn't help but test the waters.
Shao Qile puffed out her cheeks, her breath slightly unsteady, her face turning deathly pale for a moment. Her hands, which were at her sides, clenched into fists. "Brother is so annoying. This is clearly your own business, yet you make me run errands. If you really want to say something, then go and say it yourself. I bet you won't help. I don't care anymore, I'm going back to sleep."
After saying that, without waiting for Shao Qibin's reply, she turned around, pushed open the door, and left the room.
As soon as the door closed, Shao Qile felt weak and leaned against the door. After calming down, she composed herself and walked step by step towards her room.
As for Shao Qibin, who remained in the study, he frowned deeply. After thinking for a moment, he picked up the phone and dialed a number.
Given Lele's current situation, it's not appropriate for her to stay in T City.
Author's Note:
36. Therefore, a feint was created.
Chapter Thirty-Five: Creating a Deliberate Deception
What had been a clear, cloudless day, with the sun shining brightly just moments before, quickly turned into a gloomy, overcast sky, as if a storm was brewing. After Shao Qile hung up the phone, a heavy rain was already pouring down outside. Raindrops pounded against the windowpane, creating different shapes of splashes, their sharp edges sliding down the glass and leaving winding trails.
Her graduate assistant professor in Beijing suddenly called, asking her to return to Beijing. Although she had already made arrangements beforehand, she needed to submit some final papers and assignments. According to the professor, if she wanted to graduate with a master's degree, she also needed to complete the required credits for political science courses. Because of her attendance issues, the school had some problems, and she needed to return to school immediately to make up for the missed classes and submit the corresponding papers and assignments.
Such matters had already been taken care of at home, so there was no need for her to do anything. Now that these problems have suddenly come together, it's probably obvious who did what and how.
Is her dear older brother trying to wear down her love through this long-distance estrangement?
The rain outside the window came suddenly and went quickly, but because of the heavy rain, when you looked down through the window, you could see water accumulating in the drains on the ground.
Shao Qile watched quietly for a while, then turned and took out her phone to call Michelle. Half an hour later, the doorbell rang, and Michelle, with her dazzling blonde hair and an angelic smile, rushed over as fast as she could.
"Lele, your knight, awaiting your call, I come to serve you." After saying this, Michelle bowed in a knightly salute and naturally gave a kiss on the hand. If there wasn't a hint of smugness in her eyes, her overall performance would be a perfect 100.
Shao Qile was quite amused by Michelle's antics, and his previously gloomy mood brightened considerably. He welcomed Michelle inside: "Black coffee?"
"Yeah, Lele really knows me best."
She took out some dessert ice cream and some simple handmade cookies from the refrigerator. Shao Qibin, a quintessential man, had a small, unspoken fondness for desserts, something most men don't particularly enjoy. However, out of a sense of male pride, he rarely revealed this preference in public. Knowing this, Shao Qile always prepared dessert ice cream and handmade cookies in the refrigerator for Shao Qibin to take to the office. To avoid attracting attention, the snack box contained savory cookies on top and sweet cookies underneath.
Sometimes, even when Shao Qile herself saw the traces of herself left in this room, she would sigh at the thought and effort she had put into Shao Qibin. She even thought that when she was cherished by her fiancé in the main world, she had truly taken her blessings for granted. And if he knew that she was now going to such lengths for another man, she wondered what he would think.
She shook her head. The thought had barely crossed her mind before it was immediately overtaken by another emotion. Subconsciously, she stopped thinking about her fiancé in the main world, and her mind went blank for a moment, guiding her emotions back to how to deal with Shao Qibin.
“Michelle, I hope you can temporarily play the role of my boyfriend. I’m going back to Beijing in a few days, but my brother seems a little worried about my dating situation. He feels that I’m so old and haven’t even had a relationship yet, and he’s a bit uneasy about it.” Shao Qile didn’t say any polite words. Facing Michelle, this cheerful foreign boy, perhaps because he knew that this was a character who had never appeared in the original outline, or perhaps because of his own selfish motives, which had dragged this innocent boy into this vortex, Shao Qile instinctively revealed some of his true willfulness in front of this boy.
Michelle looked at the Asian girl in front of her and saw a brief moment of complex vulnerability. She wondered what this girl, who had been so strong since they first met, had gone through to become so weak.
This is a very opinionated girl, but now she has made the absurd suggestion that her brother pretend to be her boyfriend because of his worries. Even though Michelle thinks this is a good opportunity to take advantage of the situation, she can't help but feel a sense of crisis about the brother that Shao Qile mentioned.
"Lele, you and your brother have a very good relationship?"