After making this decision, Shao Qile put the matter aside for the time being, but then thought of another person, Wu Xinyu, the reborn female supporting character who returned on the same day as Li Jianmei, the reborn female lead.
Three years ago, the rivalry between the snipe and the clam resulted in the third party reaping the benefits, providing Shao Qile with a good show. She was pondering whether she should tip off Wu Xinyu, informing her of Li Jianmei's actions, which were currently happening in S Province. She remembered that the information stated Wu Xinyu was a junior in college, about two years older than both her and Li Jianmei. Because of the start of the semester, even if Wu Xinyu were suddenly reborn, it was unlikely she would immediately abandon everything and run to T City to find Shao Qibin.
This is probably why, in the original outline, Wu Xinyu and Li Jianmei were both reborn but were designated as the female lead and supporting female character, respectively. Li Jianmei, on the other hand, didn't have to consider so many factors.
However, if Wu Xinyu knew about Li Jianmei's whereabouts, she would probably overcome all difficulties and rush over immediately, no matter what was going on at school!
Author's Note:
24 Suspicion
Chapter Twenty-Three: Suspicion
Time flew by, and Shao Qile's mentor, He Jianguo, finished his work in Beijing and flew to T City that afternoon. Prior to this, Shao Qile and Hua Li had already exceeded the targets set by He Jianguo via email.
Upon disembarking from the plane, He Jianguo went directly to the old town for a preliminary field survey before even visiting the designated accommodation provided by the municipal government. By the time he returned to his residence in the city center, it was already quite late. Shao Qile checked the time; it was indeed very late, so she considered staying at her professor's place as well. Hua Li had already moved here from her apartment in T City, before He Jianguo's arrival was confirmed. To keep up with the progress, Shao Qile felt she should perhaps consider moving here as well.
Most importantly, given the current situation, she's been under Shao Qibin's watchful eye. When Wu Xinyu arrives after receiving the news and engages in a fierce battle with Li Jianmei, she'll inevitably suffer collateral damage. If Wu Xinyu, whom she specifically sought out, were to temporarily join forces with Li Jianmei to deal with her first, that would be disastrous.
Naturally, most importantly, Shao Qile also felt that she had been taking good care of Shao Qibin's life lately. Because of the old city project, Shao Qibin had been attending countless banquets and dinners recently, and every time he was hungover, she was the one who took care of everything from head to toe like a diligent little bee. She wasn't a masochist, and Shao Qibin was just her task target; some things were fine as long as the desired effect was achieved. Too much of a good thing could be bad. If Shao Qibin took it for granted and didn't appreciate her efforts, that wouldn't be good.
Shao Qibin initially frowned and disagreed with Shao Qile's decision to move out. He even suggested that if Shao Qile found it inconvenient, the family driver could pick her up and drop her off. However, Shao Qile seemed focused on her studies and diligently following her professor's instructions, completely oblivious to his brother's worry that his sister might be "lured away" by that senior, Hua Li. Her eyes were bright and clear, without a trace of ambiguity or hesitation, making it seem as if he was overthinking things.
At first, when Shao Qile didn't prepare a late-night snack for him when he got home, Shao Qibin would call and have takeout delivered. But after a couple of times, he started to notice the difference in the food. Plus, coming home drunk, with only He Shengming, a rough and unrefined man, to fend for him, he ended up lying on the bed, still fully clothed and dizzy, all night. The next morning, no one prepared any hangover tea or breakfast for him, making the experience rather bleak.
They wanted to get Shao Qile to come back and live with them, but they heard from He Shengming that Shao Qile had been staying in the old city area with He Jianguo recently. He rarely even returned to the government-provided accommodation in the city center. Instead, he found another place to live in the old city and went out early and returned late every day.
In this way, the calculations in my heart faded away.
Because of Shao Qile's busy schedule, Shao Qibin was reminded that on the occasional days when he came home early, Shao Qile would be in her study, calculating, writing, and drawing after preparing dinner, constantly fiddling with things. It really is too hard for a girl to work in the construction industry.
When Shao Qile chose this major, he was quite headstrong, and his family felt that with the Shao family backing him up, he could do anything, so they didn't insist. Now, seeing Shao Qile so busy with work, Shao Qibin, as the eldest brother, feels a little sorry for him.
Especially after Shao Qibin took some time to check on He Jianguo's progress and discovered that Shao Qile had lost weight rapidly in a short period of time and had developed dark circles under his eyes, he felt even more distressed.
However, before she could utter these words of heartache, seeing the sparkle in Shao Qile's eyes as she talked about her design drafts, she ultimately remained silent.
Meanwhile, the brother and sister were each busy with their own affairs. Shao Qibin had resolved the White Tiger Gang's interference in the old city and successfully launched the old city redevelopment project. This effectively resolved the initial pressure from the municipal party committee on him as a new official, allowing him to establish a firm foothold in the T city government. It also prevented the scheming villains who harbored ill intentions towards Shao Qibin, who had risen above them at such a young age, from making any further rash moves.
Meanwhile, during this period, Shao Qibin also transferred his original staff from their previous posts to various departments in T City, and with the addition of those who defected, he had his own network of contacts and sources of information.
However, although the old city renovation plan has overcome the roadblock and been successfully launched, the funding issue has become a major problem for Shao Qibin, posed by the municipal party committee and government.
After checking T City's financial situation in recent years, it was found that although the municipal government had some surplus funds, it was actually struggling to start a major project like the redevelopment of the old city.
When someone maliciously suggested temporarily diverting teachers' salaries and funds from various welfare programs of the municipal government to expedite the old city redevelopment project, Shao Qibin paid close attention to the person who made the suggestion. He was merely being used as cannon fodder, but for the time being, Shao Qibin couldn't act rashly.
Shao Qibin certainly wouldn't embezzle funds, but securing the funds is indeed crucial. He Jianguo's design plan hasn't been officially finalized yet, but once it is, it's best to start construction as soon as possible. It seems we'll have to try and solicit funds from the provincial government.
Just then, Li Jianmei came to his door. At that moment, Shao Qibin had just finished a meeting and returned to his office. He had just sat down when his secretary, He Shengming, told him that a Miss Li Jianmei, who claimed to be from the Li family in Beijing, wanted to discuss something with him.
Shao Qibin immediately thought of what Shao Qile had mentioned to her that day. He had originally thought that Li Jianmei would contact him soon, since based on his previous impression of her, this girl who was completely devoted to him, Shao Qibin, wasn't a patient person. But now, so much time had passed before she finally came knocking. It seemed that the Li family's daughter had improved quite a bit since they last met.
This reflection made Shao Qibin even more wary of the Li family. Especially when he remembered that the person in charge of the provincial finances was a member of the Li family, a distant uncle of Li Jianmei who was several degrees removed from her.
He had just encountered financial problems when Li Jianmei came knocking on his door. There's something fishy about this. It seems he should step back and distance himself from municipal affairs as soon as possible, lest even the slightest thing get out.
Author's Note: It's a bit short, and I'm experiencing some writer's block!
25 Reborn Heroine Fights Back
Chapter Twenty-Four: The Reborn Heroine's Counterattack
Li Jianmei walked beside He Shengming, but in her heart she was thinking about He Shengming's position in Shao Qibin's life.
Li Jianmei's previous life was not easy. As a daughter of the Li family, she was pampered and spoiled from a young age. She knew from childhood that while enjoying the status, wealth, and power bestowed upon her by the Li family, her future was already planned out from birth. She could be rebellious and unrestrained, provided she didn't cross the family's bottom line and fulfilled her responsibilities as a daughter of the Li family. Women are always at a disadvantage in this world. No matter how vigorously the slogan of gender equality is shouted, it cannot change the proportion of men among those in positions of power.
Of course, from another perspective, for the sake of superficial equality and fairness, women's presence is indispensable in certain positions. Even if they cannot reach the highest position, it does not prevent them from shining in their own place.
Li Jianmei had chosen her future marriage partner when she was very young. Since she knew she had to marry someone of equal social standing, why not choose someone she liked? When Shao Qibin, like an angel in the dark, pulled her up from the ground and gently held her in his arms before taking her home, Li Jianmei made her choice in a daze.
However, rushing forward like a moth to a flame is nothing compared to Zhang Mengxin's despair, despondency, and sadness. Her obsessive desire to become the rightful woman standing beside Shao Qibin only brought devastating destruction to her family.
Starting over, Li Jianmei thought a lot, even considering whether to give up. Her family had gone from prosperity to ruin because of her. However, she remembered that Zhang Mengxin had withdrawn from Shao Qibin's world many years ago, and she had even dated Shao Qibin for a while. Although they had separated, things were different now.
After finding the clues and confirming Shao Qile's unusual behavior, she immediately made a decision.
Compared to Shao Qile, who has only known how to scheme against people in secret over the years, is physically weak, and is also Shao Qibin's half-sibling, she has a huge advantage!
He Shengming was the one who stood alongside Shao Qibin on his path to the top. If Shao Qibin's rise was a legend worth writing, then He Shengming was the one who wrote that legend alongside him. Even Li Jianmei, for this reason, was once jealous of He Shengming and, in her ignorance, repeatedly provoked him.
This time, she certainly won't make the same mistake again!
"Brother He, it's been a long time." The He family and the Li family both lived in the same government compound, but their social standing differed. The He family was subordinate to the Shao family, while the Li family was a powerful and independent clan. To be frank, the two families belonged to different social circles, which explained why Li Jianmei in her previous life always looked down on He Shengming with arrogance and a sense of entitlement.
However, the enmity between them has not yet begun. She and He Shengming are just childhood acquaintances who have not seen each other for many years. They are at most familiar with each other's faces and know about each other's personalities because of their age difference.
“Miss He, you can just call me Secretary He. I’m Mayor Shao’s secretary now.” He Shengming was a shrewd man; even though he had already seen through Li Jianmei’s somewhat strange attempts to get close to him, he simply smiled and continued doing what he was supposed to do, leading Li Jianmei towards Shao Qibin’s office. Thinking of the rumored affair between this charming young woman and the seemingly refined but actually domineering man in the office, He Shengming couldn’t help but wonder if the Li family heiress’s act of showing him favor was for Mayor Shao’s sake.
"Brother Qibin, I've been accepted into the School of Politics and Public Administration at T University. I've been busy with the start of the semester lately and haven't had a chance to visit you. I hope I'm not bothering you by coming here unannounced today?"
Shao Qibin put his work aside for the time being. Even though he and Li Jianmei had broken up amicably, and Li Jianmei still wore a friendly smile, as an adult, he wouldn't say anything for the sake of the Li family behind her. She was just a little sister, after all.
"I didn't host a welcome party for you when you came to T City to study, so I admit it was my fault."
Hearing Shao Qibin say this, Li Jianmei breathed a slight sigh of relief. She still remembered the scene of Shao Qibin walking past her with Zhang Mengxin in his arms, his eyes gleaming with indifference and not even glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. At that time, she had already lost the halo of the eldest daughter of the Li family and had even fallen so low that she was eating street food!
She was reborn, yet she clearly remembered the weariness and disappointment in Shao Qibin's eyes when they broke up in this life. She understood that Shao Qibin was an extremely ambitious person; he was proud and powerful, and he wanted to do what he wanted, and he had achieved it. The former Li Jianmei could never understand why Shao Qibin chose Zhang Mengxin and then abandoned her. Clearly, Zhang Mengxin couldn't help him at all.