Lin Xi arrived at Duan Yiheng's bedroom door, stopped, and knocked. After a moment of silence, Lin Xi raised her hand again, about to knock, when the door was pulled open from the inside.
"Tonight—" Lin Xi choked on her words, staring at the full, taut chest muscles before her, frozen in the doorway. Looking at Duan Yiheng, she saw he had already taken off his overcoat and suit, unbuttoned his shirt, revealing a large expanse of skin.
From chest to abdomen, the lines were firm and smooth, the abdominal muscles clearly defined. With each breath, his beautiful, sexy muscles rose and fell, captivating the eye.
Duan Yiheng slowly and deliberately buttoned the bottom three buttons. Lin Xi snapped back to reality, hastily averting her gaze, her face flushing red from her neck to the tips of her ears. "Why aren't you dressed?" Lin Xi asked, trying to make conversation. Duan Yiheng raised his eyes slightly. "I was just about to take a shower."
Lin Xi didn't dare look at his still-open collar, and said with her head down, "Thank you for tonight." Duan Yiheng didn't speak. Lin Xi, receiving no response, looked up at him, her almond-shaped eyes filled with confusion, as if asking, "What's wrong?" "You applied medicine to Duan Mingxuan?"
Lin Xi hummed in agreement. Duan Mingxuan had fought for her; she couldn't just ignore it. Duan Yiheng chuckled, seemingly self-deprecatingly, "I didn't take the beatings for you, so my thanks come later." "It's not like that."
Lin Xi subconsciously explained, "I don't approve of his methods, but since he did it, I can't say anything more." "So..." Duan Yiheng stepped forward, getting closer, "You like me like this?" "Who likes you like this?"
Lin Xi's cheeks burned even hotter, and she finally stammered, "You... how can you talk like that?" "How?" Duan Yiheng raised an eyebrow. "I'm not talking to you anymore," Lin Xi said evasively. "I'm going back to my room first."
Duan Yiheng grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the room. Lin Xi's heartbeat was masked by the soft sound of the door closing. "What are you doing?" Lin Xi leaned against the door. Duan Yiheng crossed his arms, scrutinizing her: "Do you think you did anything wrong tonight?" Lin Xi was taken aback: "Me?
"If you were just an ordinary girl, without me or the Duan family behind you, the outcome tonight would never have been like this." Duan Yiheng's face darkened. He raised his hand, placing his palm against the door panel beside Lin Xi's ear, and said:
"You would have been devoured without a trace, and the worst outcome would be both jail time and financial losses." Lin Xi frowned: "Are you exaggerating?" Duan Yiheng scoffed:
"Everyone you met tonight, bowing and scraping, was shrewd. It's just that you encountered the Duan family. If it were any ordinary family, the result would have been full of malice."
"If they joined forces, they might even be able to give the Yin Fan Group a run for its money." Lin Xi bit her lip, looking up to meet his gaze: "But I know I have you behind me."
Duan Yiheng's slightly furrowed brows strangely relaxed, all because of her casual remark. "So, when something happened, I was the first person you thought of?" Lin Xi recalled, surprised herself. Before, she would definitely have called Duan Mingxuan.
Duan Yiheng, annoyed by her distraction, asked again, "What if I don't go?" "So what?" Lin Xi couldn't stand the close proximity and turned her head, revealing the skin of her neck.
Duan Yiheng's eyes darkened, his palm clenched into a fist, his gaze fixed on her long, fair neck like a hungry wolf, yet his body rationally distanced itself from Lin Xi. "Hold out your right hand." Lin Xi clenched her small fist and asked, "What for?" "Hold it out."
Was he going to give her something? Lin Xi hesitated before extending her hand. Duan Yiheng held her fingertips, examining them repeatedly. Qin Yang had just shown the injured person's face; the wound wasn't deep, but it ran across her brow bone, nose, and cheek—a gruesome sight even for the timid.
For Lin Xi, it was a struggle. The rim of the wine glass was sharp; he was afraid she would hurt herself. She was supposed to watch it on the train, but Duan Mingxuan was there too. Lin Xi had even applied medicine to his wounds first, so he harbored a lot of resentment.
But Lin Xi had come specifically to see him, and that resentment vanished. "It's alright," Duan Yiheng released her hand. "Go back to sleep." It was late at night, and Lin Xi was exhausted. She went back, took a shower, and fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.
She had three more days before heading to the neighboring city, and Lin Xi devoted all her free time to Liang Yutong. She couldn't sever the feelings she had for him over the years, but marrying Zheng Jianian was out of the question.
Liang Yutong deliberately attacked Zheng Jianian's feelings, each word more hurtful than the last, causing Zheng Jianian to become resentful. Zheng Jizhong, on the other hand, personally came to apologize and even urged Liang Yutong to get married.
On the day of her business trip, Lin Xi, following Duan Yiheng's instructions, booked a business class carriage. As soon as she boarded the train, she received a call from Liang Yutong. Lin Xi stood up and glanced behind her. In the spacious seat, Duan Yiheng lay with his eyes closed, seemingly asleep.
He had worked overtime last night and only slept for two hours. Liang Yutong asked Lin Xi on the other end of the line, "Have you really decided to give up on Duan Mingxuan?" Lin Xi tried to keep her voice low and said, "I decided when I went to Rong County last time." "Is it because he left you alone in Rong County?"
"Not really," Lin Xi said. "I'd had this thought before. Neither he nor Aunt Wei like me, so why should I keep chasing after him?" "But how can you just let go of so many years of feelings?" Lin Xi:
"I'll transform them. There's still the affection from childhood. Transforming it all into pure familial love is difficult at first, but it gets better after that period."
"I thought you transferred your feelings to Duan Yiheng. That night he held you the whole time, like a boyfriend helping you solve your problems." "What boyfriend?" Lin Xi choked. "Me and Duan Yiheng? How could that be?" Duan Yiheng silently opened his eyes.
"Don't let my relationship with Duan Mingxuan make you so pessimistic about love. You've never even been in a relationship, never even kissed anyone, it's such a shame." Lin Xi's face flushed crimson. "Stop talking." "That embarrassed tone…you haven't kissed anyone, have you?"
"N-no, I haven't kissed anyone." Lin Xi stammered, startled. "I…I've never been in a relationship, how could I have kissed anyone?" Liang Yutong replied listlessly. "That's more like it. I think Duan Yiheng is pretty reliable, you could give him a try." Lin Xi was both amused and exasperated.
"You still have the mind to worry about my love life?" Liang Yutong was almost numb with heartache. After talking to Lin Xi for a long time, her mood improved a bit. Knowing that Lin Xi was away on a business trip, she hung up the phone twenty minutes later.
Lin Xi sighed, afraid of waking Duan Yiheng, and got up to look behind her. That one glance almost made her lose her mind. She saw Duan Yiheng sleeping, smiling at her. "When did you wake up?" Duan Yiheng didn't beat around the bush and said, "I woke up when you told Liang Yutong that you'd never been in a relationship or kissed anyone." "..." In Duan Yiheng's vision, Lin Xi slowly slid off the seat until she disappeared from sight.