Lin Xi handed the fork to Duan Yiheng: "You bought it anyway."
Duan Yiheng was indifferent to desserts, but sharing it with Lin Xi, he thought it tasted pretty good. "Duan Mingxuan is acting very strangely," Duan Yiheng said. "He hasn't called you even once, which isn't like him."
Lin Xi frowned slightly upon hearing this: "It is indeed a bit strange. I don't know what he's up to." "It's all for you," Duan Yiheng glanced at Lin Xi casually. "He's unwilling to accept it." Lin Xi sighed: "I don't know what the point of clinging on like this is."
Duan Yiheng: "Because he still doesn't believe you've given up on him. In his eyes, your relationship is indestructible." Lin Xi lowered her eyes and chuckled: "Nothing in this world is indestructible.
Even more so, relationships, like morning dew, disappear as soon as the sun shines on them." "The meeting with Zhao Hongbo went surprisingly smoothly," Duan Yiheng said. "He's a major shareholder of Yinfan; meeting him is worth ten people.
Because of his deep affection for his first wife, he despises Duan Zheng's actions. Currently, it seems unlikely he'll side with Duan Zheng." Lin Xi, being quite astute, said, "Then can I make my first clarification?" Duan Yiheng nodded:
"Every year in early March, the company holds a charity gala. I'll have Qin Yang arrange media for you then. Do you know how to behave?" "Yes," Lin Xi nodded.
Many groups hold charity galas, firstly to maintain their public image, and secondly to stabilize partnerships. Partners, clients, and shareholders all attend, using the gala as a platform for exchange and interaction.
With that, the Mont Blanc chestnut cake was finished by the two of them. Lin Xi glanced at her watch and said, "It's almost ten o'clock, time to get off work?" Duan Yiheng picked up his phone and made a call, learning that Duan Mingxuan was no longer at the park entrance. He nodded to Lin Xi:
"Go home, you go first, I have something to do." Lin Xi stood up, casually adding, "Don't stay out too late." Then, feeling uneasy, and fearing Duan Yiheng might say something surprising, she turned and strode away.
Back in the secretary's office, she grabbed her bag and encountered a patrolling security guard. "Mr. Duan is working overtime, this floor doesn't need patrolling," Lin Xi reminded him. The guard quickly acknowledged and went to patrol other floors.
The rain had stopped, the air was crisp and damp. After spending the day in the building, Lin Xi subconsciously took a deep breath. She tossed her bag onto the passenger seat and slowly drove away.
Just outside the park, a bright light flashed, and Lin Xi instinctively slowed down. The next second, a red Ferrari suddenly blocked her way. Lin Xi slammed on the brakes, not expecting Duan Mingxuan to be waiting for her. Duan Mingxuan got out of the car and knocked on Lin Xi's window.
Lin Xi rolled down the window slightly, her expression somewhat indifferent. Duan Mingxuan felt a dull ache in his heart, unsure whether to mock himself or Lin Xi: "If I don't leave, are you planning to stay at the company all night?" Lin Xi:
"...Since you know I'm avoiding you, why did you come up to me?" "If I told you that the news about the wedding wasn't my intention—" "It wasn't your intention, but you didn't stop me." Lin Xi interrupted him, "Essentially, there's no difference."
"I never believed you could be so heartless to me." Duan Mingxuan's voice was heavy, "Duan Yiheng is six years older than you, and he's very calculating. Xiao Xi, isn't our current situation all because of him?" Lin Xi laughed: "Because of what?"
Because of him "Good enough? Because he respects me?" Duan Mingxuan's face tightened instantly. "You mean, I wasn't good enough to you?" "Discussing this now is pointless." Lin Xi looked into his eyes. "It's just that I stopped liking you a long time ago."
"I know I realized it too late, but how could you not give me even the slightest chance?"
Duan Mingxuan's eyes reddened. "I regret it, I apologized, it's all my fault. I knelt before Grandpa, even promised to give you my entire inheritance, why did you treat me like this?"
"Why couldn't she treat you like that?"
Duan Mingxuan and Lin Xi both froze. In the rearview mirror, she saw a cold, familiar face. Duan Yiheng walked to the car and said to Lin Xi, "You go first." Lin Xi rolled up the window, turned left, and drove around Duan Mingxuan's car. "Stop bothering her."
Duan Yiheng warned Duan Mingxuan. "She doesn't owe you anything. Do you think bringing up the past will make her come back?" Duan Mingxuan's anger flared even more. He took a step forward, blocking Duan Yiheng's path: "What right do you have to warn me?
Isn't Xiaoxi just afraid of the pain of giving you up?" "Her feelings for you are nothing special."
If Duan Yiheng had heard Duan Mingxuan say this the night Lin Xi broke up with him, he might have really lost his temper and fought with Duan Mingxuan at the company entrance. But now he understood Lin Xi's difficulties; besides heartache, there was also self-blame. Duan Yiheng scoffed:
"I don't need anyone to tell me how she treated me. You just need to remember, she doesn't like you." Duan Mingxuan clenched his fists tightly, his teeth grinding.
"I don't believe you like her without a reason. You had no interaction with her before, how could you like her for no reason?"
"You have to thank your mother for that," Duan Yiheng said, cutting to the bone. "You still think your mother handled everything regarding Lin Xi's studies abroad, how ridiculous." "You?"
Duan Mingxuan recoiled in shock. "Impossible. Grandpa handed it over to my dad, and he was busy, so my mom took it on.
My mom handled everything regarding my studies abroad, and she handled it very well. I…I…" Remembering Chen Baiwei's dislike of Lin Xi, Duan Mingxuan suddenly found himself speechless.
If Duan Yiheng had been secretly protecting Lin Xi since she was eighteen, then…did Lin Xi know? Was it because of these things that she liked Duan Yiheng? While he visited Lin Xi every month, was Duan Yiheng also silently protecting her?
Lin Xi returned home, threw her bag in the entryway, took out her phone, and texted Duan Yiheng as she walked towards the bathroom. Duan Yiheng replied almost instantly: We didn't have a conflict. He left a few minutes after I went upstairs. Lin Xi: You went upstairs again?
I thought you had finished get off work. Duan Yiheng: The security guard said your car was stopped, so I went down to check. Lin Xi: Then I'll go to sleep first. You should get some rest too.
Duan Yiheng replied with "Goodnight." Lin Xi paused, holding her phone, and returned the favor with "Goodnight." The next day, Lin Xi went to the company on an empty stomach. When she got upstairs and wanted to make herself a cup of coffee, her phone suddenly rang.
Seeing it was Duan Yiheng, she immediately answered: "Mr. Duan, good morning." "Good morning," Duan Yiheng's voice carried the languidness of someone just woken up. "Come to the lounge and help me choose an outfit. I have to go out for business after the meeting; the other company is very particular about business etiquette."
Lin Xi was taken aback. He hadn't gone home last night?