"Yes! I've always been in poor health since I was little. Girls are always more delicate, and because of my health, I was also quite willful. Plus, my brother and I are a few years apart, so maybe because of these reasons, our relationship wasn't very good when I was little. But later, as I grew up and became more sensible, our relationship gradually improved. My brother recently started dating a new girlfriend, and now that his own relationship issues are resolved, he's started caring about me. I've always been my brother's pride, and I won't let him look down on me. After all, I have a lot of admirers."
Michelle listened to the girl's words, a hint of doubt still lingering in her eyes, but she didn't say anything more. Instead, she followed up on Shao Qile's topic a beat later, saying, "Lele, this must be your brother's house. Then I'll be meeting your brother soon. It's my first time visiting, and I haven't prepared a gift yet!"
Shao Qile knew that those half-truths wouldn't fool Michelle, but explaining this matter would involve too much: "Do you remember the red wine you gave me when you were in France? I still have it, it's perfect for my brother."
"Lele, that's a gift for you!" Michelle didn't want to lose face on her first meeting with Shao Qile's brother, so she checked the time and immediately decided, "I'll go back right now to change my clothes and buy a gift. I'll be right back."
Shao Qile stared blankly at the closed door. This guy is too efficient!
Shao Qile simply let Michelle do as she pleased and didn't chase after her. After thinking for a moment, she went back to her room, took out a black and white striped three-quarter sleeve dress, changed into it, braided her hair into a delicate braid at the back of her head, wrapped it around with a hair clip, and pinned a crystal hair clip to her temple. She also put on some light makeup.
After thinking about it, she realized that she was already dressed up and that going into the kitchen to cook would make all her previous efforts futile. So she called and ordered takeout that suited Shao Qibin's taste, and also ordered a few dishes that Michelle liked.
After checking the time, I had a florist near the neighborhood deliver some fresh bouquets to decorate the room.
When the doorbell rang, Shao Qile thought it was Michelle returning. But when the door opened, the "Michelle" on the door was already stuck in the air, and standing at the door was Shao Qibin, who had forgotten to bring his keys and had returned early.
Shao Qibin immediately noticed the meticulous care put into Shao Qile's outfit. His younger sister never liked wearing makeup at home and always preferred a natural look. This elaborate attire, coupled with the mention of "Michelle" he'd just heard, and recalling the intelligence reports, made him realize that Michelle was the suitor Shao Qile had met in F country.
Even though he had already made up his mind to make Shao Qile give up her inappropriate romantic thoughts, seeing Shao Qile dressed up for another suitor, a dark feeling swept through Shao Qibin's heart. Shao Qibin didn't think much of it, simply assuming that he didn't like his beloved younger sister suddenly dressing up for another man, especially since he mistakenly thought that Lele harbored romantic feelings for him.
But is it really just his mistaken belief?
Or is all of this just a smokescreen by Lele?
Author's Note:
37. Suspicion
Chapter Thirty-Six: Suspicion
"Lele, are you waiting for someone?"
"Brother, why are you back so early today?" Shao Qile's surprise widened slightly. He casually brushed a stray strand of hair from his cheek before answering Shao Qibin's question, "Brother, do you remember Michel, the friend I met in France that I told you about? He'll be coming over later."
“I remember Lele didn’t seem to like bringing friends home casually, but now she’s willing to bring Michelle over. It seems they have a pretty good relationship. Come to think of it, Lele is a grown woman now, at the age where she should be dating.” Shao Qibin suppressed the slight displeasure that crossed his mind, adopting the demeanor of a caring older brother. He even patted Shao Qile’s head with a paternal air. However, his eyes carefully scanned every change in Shao Qile’s expression, afraid of missing any subtle emotion or overlooking any clue.
"Brother!" Shao Qile's smile froze for a mere 0.001 seconds before naturally transitioning into a shy, girlish demeanor. She stomped her foot in protest and tugged at Shao Qibin's sleeve, giving it a shake. "Brother, Michelle is just a good friend of mine. If I hadn't told him that China is a vast and beautiful country, a great place for tourism, he wouldn't have come all this way. I invited him over for dinner only because I suddenly received a notice from school that I had to go back. Michelle just arrived in T City and hasn't even had a chance to properly explore yet. I thought that since you're here, I could ask you to take care of my friend. Who knew you'd be thinking such things?"
Shao Qibin's mind was filled with even more doubts. He couldn't tell whether Shao Qile's current hesitant, embarrassed, and angry demeanor—as if her thoughts had been exposed, yet she was desperately trying to explain herself to her parents—was genuine or feigned? Could it be that he was simply being misled by Li Jianmei and overthinking things? After all, they were siblings!
Lele's current behavior clearly indicates that she has feelings for Michelle.
"Is there anything at school that you need your help with, brother?" Shao Qibin asked Shao Qile with concern, seemingly putting Michelle's matter aside.
"Mmm, it's such a small thing, I can handle it myself. My brother is already busy enough." Shao Qile seemed completely unaware that the person behind the school incident was Shao Qibin in front of him. He patted his chest with a smile, acting like a good boy who was already an adult and could handle these things on his own.
Just then, the doorbell rang, and Shao Qile quickly said, "It must be Michelle. Brother, Michelle is from France, so she might be a bit more enthusiastic. Please don't take offense if she's not very hospitable. I'll go open the door first."
Shao Qibin watched as Shao Qile practically ran to open the door as soon as he finished speaking. He pressed his temples. If he had really been overthinking everything, then all the arrangements he had made for Lele to return to the capital seemed to have been unnecessary.
When Shao Qile opened the door, besides Michelle, who had changed her clothes and was carrying a gift, the takeout she had ordered had also arrived.
"Lele, I've already paid, so I let the delivery guy go home first." Michelle smiled so brightly, revealing a set of teeth so white they could be in a toothpaste commercial. "By the way, what do you think of my outfit? Is it too impolite to meet your brother?"
“Michelle, my brother is home. Remember to follow my instructions later, okay?”
"Lele, don't worry, I will definitely do my best and won't embarrass you in front of your future brother-in-law."
Upon hearing this, Shao Qile wondered if she had made a mistake. They had agreed it was just an act, but Michelle seemed to be taking it too seriously. However, it seemed they were already in a bind, and at least her mission should be her top priority.
"Lele, your friend's here. Why don't you invite him in?" Shao Qibin heard Michelle's words as he walked towards the door after seeing Shao Qile go to open it but not come in for a long time. His heart skipped a beat, and he thought of this burly foreigner, who was completely mismatched with his genius sister. His silly smile made his Lele deserve better. He didn't want to entrust Lele to this big, clumsy guy.
However, Shao Qibin, who was thinking this way, did not realize whether the resentment he felt was from the perspective of an older brother or from the perspective of a man.
"Brother, this is Michelle, my good friend. Michelle, this is my brother Shao Qibin. You can call him brother like I do."
Shao Qibin's mood sank even further after Shao Qile's introduction. If he hadn't long since developed the ability to conceal his emotions, he probably would have already been coldly criticizing Michelle. But his facade was always impeccable, especially since he was deliberately trying not to let anyone see anything amiss. Even Shao Qile, if it weren't for the system constantly warning him in his mind, saying something like "The target's emotional index is soaring, anger level is rising, and various values are becoming unstable. Host, please treat this with caution," would have assumed that Shao Qibin hadn't reacted to his move at all.
"Brother, Michelle knows you like to have a little red wine before bed, so she brought you some small gifts. My takeout just arrived too, you must be hungry. How about we eat and chat?"
"Brother, nice to meet you. I've heard Lele mention you a lot. I have some little thoughts on you that I hope you'll like. If you do, Lele will be so happy, hehe." After saying that, Michel ran his fingers through his golden, tousled hair. Although the gesture was a bit silly, his handsome appearance still earned him a score of over 90 overall.
Shao Qibin watched as Shao Qile skillfully took the gift from Michelle and arranged it, then directed Michelle to set the takeout on the table. He joined in to help, but Shao Qile pulled him down to sit down: "Brother, you've been busy all day, have a cup of tea and rest. Michelle and I are here."
What was meant to be a kind word of concern sounded particularly jarring to my ears!
What a great line, "And then there's Michelle and me!"
It's true what they say, daughters grow up and leave home; we've only known each other for a few days, and she's already excluded her own brother from "me"!
Throughout the meal, Shao Qibin grew increasingly displeased with Michelle. However, as her older brother, before Shao Qile could clarify their ambiguous relationship, he couldn't do anything that might be misunderstood or impolite in front of his sister's best friend. Yet, he was seething with anger. Watching Michelle awkwardly use her knife and fork, occasionally needing Shao Qile's help to pick up food, he thought to himself that his sister, as the eldest daughter of the Shao family, should be waited on hand and foot even after marriage. Instead, she was being served by some foreigner. He completely failed to appreciate how hard Shao Qile had worked for him, preparing meals for him.
"Lele, if you're going to Beijing, I'm going too!" Michelle, being an intuitive man, keenly sensed Shao Qibin's displeasure with him. Although he was slightly annoyed, he didn't want to ruin Shao Qile's plans, so he could only hide his feelings. However, upon hearing at the dinner table that Shao Qile was about to leave T City, he immediately stopped eating and expressed his desire to follow.
"But Michelle, you haven't really explored T City properly yet."
"Wherever Lele is, that's where I'll be!"
“Mr. Michel seems to be older than Lele. Judging from what you just said, anyone who didn’t know better would think Lele is Mr. Michel’s nanny. Or is it that Mr. Michel is an adult and needs someone to take care of him wherever he goes?” Shao Qibin’s anger finally showed a hint of itself after hearing Michel’s words, which sounded like a confession.
"No, no, no, I like Lele, so of course I'll be wherever Lele is! Isn't that how you should pursue someone you like?"
Shao Qile almost let her smile slip, but she managed to cover it up in time, only showing an embarrassed and shy expression. She lowered her head and even playfully punched Michelle under the table. All her little actions perfectly portrayed the image of a woman in love.
"Michelle, shut up!" Shao Qile said in a low voice, then looked up slightly, seemingly embarrassed, and said, "Brother, don't listen to Michelle's nonsense. Let's eat, let's eat!"
Because of this awkward remark, the three of them hurriedly put down their chopsticks and forks, and Shao Qile directly and decisively told them to go home: "Michelle, it's getting late, you should go home now."