Lin Xi went upstairs, and Duan Mingxuan was taken aback when he saw her: "What's with you dressed like that?"
Lin Xi: "What did you call me up for?"
Duan Mingxuan frowned and questioned: "Why are you with him again?"
"You're always talking about him, if Grandpa hears you, he'll be unhappy with you again," Lin Xi reminded him. Duan Mingxuan scoffed, "I call him 'Big Brother,' and he seems to care."
Lin Xi was exhausted. She grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator, took a couple of sips, and quietly looked at Duan Mingxuan. Suddenly, she said, "Zhang Mo is looking for me."
Duan Mingxuan's alarm bells rang: "She's causing you trouble?"
"No," Lin Xi said, "She just wants to see you and asked me to be her intermediary."
Duan Mingxuan frowned slightly: "I've said it before, I can't tolerate her treating you like that." Lin Xi didn't know whether to be happy or sad: "Whether it's breaking up or getting back together, it's better to be clear."
Duan Mingxuan was inexplicably irritated, but he didn't refuse her: "I know, I'll talk to her and make things clear."
Lin Xi resisted asking whether it was a breakup or getting back together, casually fiddling with her phone for a moment, pretending to be busy.
"You still haven't said why you came back with him?" Duan Mingxuan asked.
Lin Xi replied, "After parting ways with Zhang Mo, I ran into his car on the road and we went back together. Is there anything else?" Duan Mingxuan shook his head: "Call me next time, and I'll pick you up."
Lin Xi gave a vague reply.
"Let's not talk about that. The end of next month is the anniversary of your parents' death. I'd like to go back with you and stay a few more days?" Lin Xi had checked the calendar beforehand; her parents' death anniversary was on a Sunday, and she planned to go on Saturday.
But Duan Mingxuan said he would go with her. Could they go on Friday night? He had said a long time ago that he wanted to go to Rong County to see where she was born, but he had always been delayed for various reasons.
She didn't go back every year either. Because she was studying abroad, she hadn't been back for three years, and she had missed this year's Qingming Festival. This time, she absolutely had to go back.
Lin Xi had wanted to bring Duan Mingxuan back before so that her parents could see the person she loved, and it was the same now.
Considering Duan Mingxuan's lingering relationship with Zhang Mo, she didn't rush to agree. She just smiled and said, "Let's see. If something else comes up, I won't be able to stay that many days."
Duan Mingxuan was efficient, but the next evening, he returned to the villa with a swollen face. When Lin Xi saw the finger marks on his face after get off work, she was stunned: "What happened to you?"
Duan Mingxuan smiled awkwardly: "I bumped into something."
Lin Xi's eyes flickered: "Zhang Mo hit you?" Duan Mingxuan slumped into the sofa like a wretch, complaining, "I gave her a breakup fee, but she refused and even slapped me."
Lin Xi sighed: "I'll get you some ice to cool you down." Duan Mingxuan followed her to the kitchen like a tail.
Lin Xi changed into loose-fitting loungewear, her long hair pulled back, revealing only a section of her fair neck.
She found a clean towel, gestured for Duan Mingxuan to come closer, and gently touched the ice pack to his face. Seeing the evenly spaced finger marks on his face, Lin Xi suddenly laughed, "This seems to be the first time you've ever been slapped in the face."
Duan Mingxuan glared at her, annoyed, "Didn't you say that? Explain yourself. I just want to break things off cleanly with her."
Lin Xi paused, her heart fluttering at Duan Mingxuan's words, "break things off cleanly." "Xiao Xi?"
"Hmm?" Lin Xi subconsciously looked up, her eyes bright and clear, carrying a vague sense of confusion.
They were beautiful, innocent almond-shaped eyes. For some inexplicable reason, Duan Mingxuan said, "How about I marry you?" Duan Yiheng, who had come to deliver project documents to Lin Xi, stopped at the corner of the kitchen entrance because of Duan Mingxuan's words.
For a moment, Lin Xi wondered if she had misheard. When she was eighteen, her grandfather, seeing her good relationship with Duan Mingxuan, first proposed marriage, in a lighthearted, joking tone, testing Duan Mingxuan.
Duan Mingxuan had also jokingly said "okay."
Chen Baiwei looked grim, saying the children were too young. That very night, she came to her, asking her to go to America. When Lin Xi was twenty-two, her grandfather fell ill and underwent major surgery, bringing up her engagement to Duan Mingxuan again. Chen Baiwei said her studies were her priority.
Lin Xi also rejected her grandfather's offer of security through marriage, believing it was a mutual commitment. The third time it was mentioned was at the dinner table on the night she returned to China, and Chen Baiwei still objected. Even if she had agreed, Lin Xi couldn't have at that time.
Because Duan Mingxuan already had a girlfriend. But now, Duan Mingxuan and his girlfriend had broken up. Lin Xi had liked him for years; she couldn't be indifferent to his suggestion, "How about I marry you?" She had once believed her destiny lay in the Duan family, in Duan Mingxuan.
At a young age, without the protection of her parents, it was Duan Mingxuan who accompanied her through the darkest nights of her life as a dependent. He never let anyone bully her; his kindness towards her seemed ingrained in his very being.
In her teens, Lin Xi was irresistibly drawn to him, like a ray of sunshine. She and Duan Mingxuan were childhood sweethearts, their bond deep; liking him was natural. He was her childhood and her youth.
Upon learning he had a girlfriend, Lin Xi swallowed her heartache and pretended to be unaffected, but in reality, she was choked with bitterness. She was grateful that Duan Yiheng had let her into Silver Sail, pulling a sliver of clarity from her tangled web of pain. Duan Mingxuan's breath, so close to hers, suddenly made her momentarily flustered.
Duan Yiheng's eyes darkened, and he coughed, timely breaking the ambiguous atmosphere. Lin Xi jumped, pushing Duan Mingxuan away and tilting her head. Seeing it was Duan Yiheng, she involuntarily straightened up, looking as if awaiting instructions.
Duan Mingxuan also breathed a sigh of relief; those words had indeed slipped out, and even he had been startled. Lin Xi was not someone to be treated lightly.
Duan Mingxuan looked away at Duan Yiheng: "What are you doing here?"
Lin Xi pulled Duan Mingxuan back: "Speak more politely." Duan Yiheng lightly patted the document down his suit trouser leg. Lin Xi knew immediately it was for her. She glanced at Duan Mingxuan and said, "Are you going out again tonight? Did you make plans with someone?"
Duan Mingxuan shook his head: "No."
Lin Xi: "Then are you going to play games with Yu Lang?"
"No." Duan Mingxuan looked at her, puzzled. "Why do you look like you're trying to get rid of me?"
"No." Lin Xi smiled. "I'm a little tired. I'm going upstairs first."
Duan Mingxuan followed her, completely ignoring Duan Yiheng. Lin Xi glanced back at Duan Yiheng, giving him a "wait a minute" look.
After being bothered by Duan Mingxuan for about ten minutes, Lin Xi hurriedly went downstairs, but the living room was empty.
Thinking Duan Yiheng had left, Lin Xi turned and ran outside, only to spot a tall figure in the courtyard below. Lin Xi ran over, somewhat surprised and delighted: "You're still here?"
Suddenly, the sound of Duan Mingxuan making a phone call came from the second-floor balcony; the conversation sounded like Zhang Mo's persistent nagging.
"Hurry up and come inside," Lin Xi pushed Duan Yiheng against the wall. "Don't let him see."
Duan Yiheng obediently leaned against the wall, his face expressionless, and said jokingly, "Do you know what kind of behavior you're behaving on such a dark and windy night, alone with him?" Lin Xi was taken aback: "What kind?"
Duan Yiheng chuckled softly, leaned close to her ear, and said in a low voice, "Like having an affair."