Meanwhile, on the other side of the door, Shao Qile, having just left the study, rubbed her cheeks. That performance had truly exhausted her. One or two fully committed performances were fine, but she feared that over time, she would eventually slip up.
Therefore, it is urgent for me to go to Country F to find a hypnotherapist for hypnotherapy.
Shao Qile had experienced loving and trusting someone wholeheartedly, so she knew what it felt like to love someone like that. However, to ensure the mission was completed smoothly and the game concluded perfectly, some small tricks were necessary.
During his month-long trip to F country, Shao Qile did attend a seminar there. However, aside from rushing to the beginning and end, and making a brief appearance in between, his main activity was undergoing a hypnotherapy session.
Shao Qile originally thought it would be difficult to transfer her buried love for Lin Xuanyu to Shao Qibin, but after several hypnotherapy sessions, she gradually began to have the illusion that she had always loved Shao Qibin. The two were so similar, equally strong and meticulous, equally open and easygoing.
When Shao Qile returned from France, she was accompanied by a handsome blond-haired, blue-eyed foreign man named Michel. Michel was a typical enthusiastic French man who longed for romance, believed in love, and fell in love with Shao Qile at first sight, relentlessly pursuing her all the way.
In fact, the hypnotherapy course was already initially completed in less than twenty days. With the remaining ten days or so, Shao Qile, who was stranded in F country, had a complicated mood. He wandered aimlessly through the streets of F country with his sketchbook, which led him to attract the attention of Michelle, a big and bright peach blossom.
Michelle is cheerful and humorous. When her emerald green eyes wholeheartedly reflect your image, it gives you the illusion that you are the center of the world and placed in the most important position.
Shao Qile even thought that if she had met Michelle before meeting someone she liked, she might have been very happy to have a cross-cultural romance.
In fact, she had already rejected Michelle the first day they met when he confessed his feelings to Shao Qile: "I'm sorry, I already have someone I like, someone I like very much, someone I'll never change my feelings for."
As Shao Qile spoke, two faces flashed through her mind, one veiled by a white mist, while Shao Qibin's face was reflected more clearly. As she spoke, the pain of unrequited love overflowed, mingling with her deepest longing.
"Oh, my angel, don't cry! Even if you have someone you like, please allow me to stay by your side as a knight." Michelle deliberately gave a knightly salute, but her expression was so funny that it made Shao Qile burst into laughter.
Before returning home, seeing that Michelle had also packed a large suitcase, she smiled like an angel and said, "Lele, this time you have to treat me well as the host. I've heard that there are many delicious foods in China."
Shao Qile clearly saw the lingering love in Michelle's eyes, but the words of rejection that were on the tip of her tongue remained unspoken because of a plan in her mind.
If someone in China were interested, Shao Qibin would definitely find out about her coming here to see a hypnotist. Without a suitable reason, it would definitely cause trouble if it came to light. But if Michelle were with her, she could easily use the excuse of wanting to get rid of her twisted love affair, attempting to erase this forbidden love through hypnosis. And in order to move on from this inappropriate relationship as quickly as possible, she seemingly accepted the advances of a foreign follower at lightning speed!
Author's Note: ...I'll be taking a break tomorrow. I feel like nobody cares about me, so I need to take a break...See you the day after tomorrow.
34th Central Academy of Drama
Chapter Thirty-Three: A Play Within a Play
Shao Qile first arranged for Michelle to stay in his apartment in T City. Although the apartment had been empty for a while because of Hua Li's departure, a housekeeper still cleaned and maintained it regularly every week. Therefore, Shao Qile's sudden return with someone to live there didn't seem rushed.
After settling Michelle in, Shao Qile called Hua Li and asked her to look after Michelle, who was new to the area and unfamiliar with the place. Then, Shao Qile quickly tidied up and returned to Shao Qibin's apartment.
As she unlocked the door and prepared to change her shoes in the entryway, she noticed several pairs of women's high heels on the shoe rack that didn't belong to her. The aroma of food wafting through the air and the light streaming from the living room made it all seem incredibly inappropriate for her to return at this time.
A sudden outburst of rage nearly caused Shao Qile to lose her temper and sweep the shoes off the rack. However, as she bent down to change her shoes, the bulging veins on her hands from the excessive force betrayed her momentary loss of control.
"Lele, you're back." Hearing the door open, Shao Qibin went out to greet her and saw that it was Shao Qile, who had been away attending a seminar in Europe and hadn't returned yet, even saying she was going to travel around the surrounding area before coming back. His originally relaxed brows furrowed, but noticing Shao Qile's unusual emotions, his body radiating a barely contained irritability, and almost losing control of his temper, all of which reminded Shao Qibin of Shao Qile's strange behavior before she went abroad.
For a moment, he even began to doubt the veracity of Li Jianmei's absurd words.
Ten days after Lele went abroad, Li Jianmei arranged to meet him. Recently, the Li family had been providing significant convenience in government affairs, greatly aiding the development of T City. Shao Qibin naturally wouldn't be too heartless in certain matters. What he thought would be just a casual dinner with friends turned into something unexpected. Li Jianmei subtly hinted at Lele's excessive attention to him, even suggesting a affection that went beyond sibling boundaries, implying that Lele's feelings for him were being guided in a direction that violated ethics and morality.
He coldly ended the conversation, not taking Li Jianmei's nonsense to heart. But now, looking at Lele's irritable and emotionally charged state, for some reason, Li Jianmei's meaningful words floated into his mind.
"Speaking of which, Lele is such a good little sister, she takes such good care of you, her brother."
"I don't think any other younger sister would wash Qibin's underwear by hand like Lele. A delicate young lady who never lifts a finger in the kitchen, she specially enrolled in a cooking class to learn how to cook for Qibin."
"I heard that learning medicinal cuisine requires a lot of effort. It's just that Qibin is busy with official duties and is a bit tired. I'm even a little envious of Qibin for having such a sister. If I didn't know that Lele is related to Qibin by blood, I would even suspect that the reason why Qibin broke up with me was because of his sister Lele."
...
When Shao Qibin's voice rang out, Shao Qile reflexively composed herself, discreetly placing her hands slightly behind her sides. When she looked up, her face was radiant with a bright smile, leaving only a dark shadow in her eyes, as if she were telling something in a soft voice.
"Yeah, brother, I'm back. Did you miss me? I brought back lots of gifts." She took a deep breath, slightly turned her head to avoid Shao Qibin's slightly probing gaze, and then bent down to pick up the bags and packages from the ground.
Shao Qibin naturally took the bags from Shao Qile's hands: "Didn't you say you were going to play for a few more days? Why did you come back early? Did you run out of money?"
"Brother, I need money, and I won't be polite with you." Shao Qile smiled, her starry eyes crinkling, as if the person who had been so furious and ready to devour someone just moments before was not her at all. "I met an interesting friend who is very interested in China, so I came back early. But brother, are you blaming me for coming back at the wrong time? Did I have a date with a beautiful lady? Am I becoming a third wheel?"
As the siblings chatted and laughed, they had already left the entrance hall and entered the living room. When Shao Qile saw Hong Xinran sitting at the dining table in her home clothes, he subconsciously bit his teeth, and a hint of fierceness flashed in the corner of his eyes. However, this emotion was immediately concealed without a trace, and a bright smile of blessing even bloomed in his eyes, while a flawless teasing smile appeared on his lips.
"Oh dear, I knew my brother was keeping a mistress at home! You two are really not fair! You were secretly together without telling me! I was your matchmaker, after all!"
A dark glint flashed across Shao Qibin's eyes. A slight tremor ran through his heart, but he subconsciously suppressed the thought that had arisen in his mind, pretending that he knew nothing and that the way Shao Qile acted, in accordance with her sister's principles, was the truth of the matter.
"Ding! The target's emotions are fluctuating too much, causing the trust value to jump wildly. Congratulations, host, your trust value has surpassed the passing grade and successfully jumped three levels. The current value is (70/100). The intimacy value remains at (55/100). Please keep up the good work and strive for even greater achievements!"
When Shao Qile heard the system notification, a hint of sarcasm flashed through his mind. This is what men are like. Even if they put on a serious and righteous act because of various dignity and ethics, they will still be fluctuating inside because they realize this abnormal crush.
Li Jianmei's visit to Shao Qibin was entirely within her expectations. She had even arranged everything before leaving the country, destroying Li Jianmei's cooperation with Wu Xinyu and subtly provoking Li Jianmei, which led her to attempt to make a move against her first between Wu Xinyu and Shao Qile.
And this was the opportunity she had been waiting for!
All sides have already made their appearances, and one after another, women with admiring eyes are appearing. If she is still only at the stage of pure feelings between simple brother and sister, then even if she cuts down all the women who fawn over Shao Qibin, the probability of completing the mission in the end is still extremely slim.
Sometimes, the constraints of sibling ethics and forbidden love can be a shortcut to success!
"Lele, you're back. Don't blame your brother. To be honest, your brother and I just started dating. We had a great time abroad, so we didn't tell you. You must be tired since you just got back. Sit down and have something to eat. We ordered food and drinks from Song Yue Lou. You like hairy crabs, right? We happen to have some too."
Hong Xinran didn't notice anything amiss between the siblings. When she saw Shao Qile return, she quickly came over from the dining table, naturally taking the things from Shao Qibin's hand. The two of them first put the things on the sofa, and then led Shao Qile to sit down at the table.
Shao Qile smiled and let Hong Xinran hold her hand affectionately. Unless one was very observant, they probably wouldn't have noticed her slightly trembling fingertips. Because the tremor was so subtle, and Shao Qile tried her best to conceal this vulnerability, picking up the chopsticks with perfect control, she didn't let Hong Xinran notice anything amiss. However, Shao Qibin, who had been silently observing from the side, saw it all.
Shao Qile forced a few bites, watching Hong Xinran affectionately serve food to Shao Qibin. He casually ate a few more mouthfuls of rice, and before his face turned pale, he forced a smile and said, "I'm done eating. I'm going to take a bath first. I'll trouble Sister Ranran to help me clean up."
"Lele, you've only eaten so little, eat some more," Hong Xinran said with concern.
"No, what I want to do most right now is take a hot shower and then get a good night's sleep."
Seeing that Hong Xinran still wanted to persuade her, Shao Qibin interjected, "Since Lele is tired, let her be. You have a filming to do early tomorrow morning, so eat more. There's still food in the fridge; if Lele gets hungry, she'll get something to eat herself."