Chapter 354: This Is the Hawk-Taming Tactic

Seeing Chen Qingdi squatting in front of her, she pleaded, “Please, you have to let me out. Let me out.”

Her expression was frantic as she spoke. Chen Qingdi said nothing, but reached out, scooped her up in a princess carry, and placed her back on the bed. He was about to leave when she suddenly hooked her arms around his neck.

“Don’t go!”

Chen Qingdi didn’t argue. He just carried her to the adjacent washroom, got some water to wash her face and comb her hair, then styled it in a rather cheerful way.

Sure enough, her mood improved considerably, but she still remained listless, unwilling to move.

As if they had a tacit understanding, Chen Qingdi carried her back to the bed again.

“I know you don’t want to see me. I’ll just go.”

Gu Shuang’Er’s arms were still hooked around his neck. “You bullied Shuang’Er!”

“I did no such thing!”

Chen Qingdi flatly denied it.

“Just like you, I haven’t seen her in a long time either!”

“You can’t hide it from me! I know everything you did to Shuang’Er!”

“You know everything?” Chen Qingdi was also very curious.

How could he have known about the telepathic connection between twins, a bond so deep it was almost mystical?

Even with a room separating them, she simultaneously felt everything her other half thought and experienced. These sensations made her feel flustered, anxious, and even a little expectant, but mostly, she felt anger and disgust.

The other day, while she was sleeping in her bed, she had been flooded with these emotions for no apparent reason. Her intuition told her it was because of the man standing before her now.

She felt even more strongly that he must have done something unacceptable to Shuang’Er in the other room.

Chen Qingdi had no intention of denying it. “I professed my love to her, but she rejected me!”

“You…”

Gu Shuang’Er was speechless with anger.

“You scumbag! How could you do something so outrageous?”

Chen Qingdi was genuinely perplexed. “Mutual affection between a man and a woman is perfectly normal. Why can’t I profess my love? It’s not like I used any despicable means.”

Gu Shuang’Er shrieked, “Anyone else could pursue Shuang’Er, but not you!”

“Why?”

Gu Shuang’Er blurted out, “Because our master…”

At this, she suddenly realized she was about to reveal a secret and clammed up.

Chen Qingdi, however, didn’t press the issue and stood up.

“Since you’re unwilling to talk, I’ll take my leave.”

“You bastard!”

Chen Qingdi couldn’t help but wonder why ‘taking his leave’ had become synonymous with ‘being a bastard’.

“You haven’t fallen for me, have you?”

Unexpectedly, Gu Shuang’Er suddenly smiled. “What if I have? Stay and keep me company. It’ll be our little secret. I won’t tell Shuang’Er.”

The sisters called each other “Shuang’Er.” Here, she was naturally referring to her younger sister, Li Shuang’Er.

Chen Qingdi was stunned. For some reason, she had just repeated his own line back to him, and her tone was a perfect, uncanny imitation of how he had spoken to Li Shuang’Er.

“How did you know?”

A hint of smugness appeared on Gu Shuang’Er’s face.

“Did you really think you and Shuang’Er could have any little secrets?”

Chen Qingdi laughed as well. “Is that so? Well, that’s even better. The romance that didn’t work out with Shuang’Er can continue with you. Since you’ve accepted me, that makes you my girlfriend.”

Gu Shuang’Er rolled her eyes at him, a look brimming with flirtatious charm.

But just like her earlier confession of love, Chen Qingdi would have to be an idiot to believe it was real.

‘I’m not made of money, nor am I a walking Viagra. Why would everyone just fall for me?’

‘Even though I know this is all an act, I’m happy to play along.’

‘After all, she’s still a beautiful girl, isn’t she?’

“Let’s live together!” Chen Qingdi said with great “affection.”

“Absolutely not!”

Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Gu Shuang’Er leaped out of Chen Qingdi’s arms. Suddenly, she brought both elbows down viciously toward his temples.

Chen Qingdi formed his fingers into a point and swiftly struck at her elbows. His strike was incredibly precise, hitting the nerve clusters in both her arms.

Gu Shuang’Er instantly felt a tingling numbness spread through her entire body and fell back into Chen Qingdi’s arms.

“I’m warning you, don’t try anything funny! Or you’ll be in trouble.”

‘My wife has been poisoned for ten days, and I’m still completely helpless.’

‘What more trouble could I possibly be in?’

Seeing that she was still trying to prattle on and brainwash him, he lost his patience and viciously kissed her on the lips.

MMMPH… MMMPH…

The moment she opened her mouth, her mind suddenly went blank.

Almost suffocating from Chen Qingdi’s kiss, she found a sudden burst of strength from somewhere and shoved him away forcefully.

She was also panting heavily.

“If you do that again, I’ll get really angry.”

“Then tell me what I want to know.”

Gu Shuang’Er snorted. “In your dreams!”

Chen Qingdi said maliciously, “Piss me off, and I’ll…”

As if she knew what he was thinking, Shuang’Er cut him off.

“Piss *me* off, and I’d rather die than reveal the antidote. When that happens, your wife can be a sleeping beauty for the rest of her life!”

Chen Qingdi said, “And what does that matter? Aren’t you awake? You’re younger and prettier than her. Besides, it’s a buy-one-get-one-free deal. I’m making a huge profit!”

“What did you do to Shuang’Er?”

Chen Qingdi smiled. “What did I do to Shuang’Er? You know yourself.”

“I’m talking about my sister, Li Shuang’Er! Not myself!”

Chen Qingdi continued, “So, do you want me to stay or not?”

For the past seven or eight days, she hadn’t known day from night. The room was either lit 24/7 or pitch-black, and she had no idea how much time had passed.

She couldn’t bear this prolonged loneliness any longer, so she compromised.

“As long as you don’t leave, I’ll agree to be your girlfriend. I just hope you won’t go and harm Shuang’Er.”

Chen Qingdi sighed. “How about this: you tell me the antidote, or give me the backup supply you have, and I’ll set you both free. As for whether you want to continue things with me, we can talk about that after Mingyue is saved.”

Gu Shuang’Er and her sister had actually done a lot of prior investigation on Chen Qingdi. The man was capable, but he wasn’t the abstinent type, nor could he be called devoted. He had many ambiguous relationships with women on the side.

But as for whether he had done anything truly heinous, that was far from the case.

“I can give you a little spoiler about the antidote. We don’t have it on us. To truly obtain it, you must get our master’s approval. Even if we were poisoned ourselves, we would be helpless without our master present. Are you satisfied now?”

Chen Qingdi knew this would be the answer. “Then can you tell me where your master is? As long as I find him, this will have nothing to do with you two anymore, and I’ll set you free. From then on, we can go our separate ways and forget any of this ever happened. How about it?”

Gu Shuang’Er just closed her eyes again, ignoring whatever he might do, and went to sleep on her own.