Lin Xi didn't need to think; she just knew what she had done that night.
She had only gone back once recently. But she didn't know why Duan Yiheng was asking this, and looked up, saying, "Why are you asking this?" Duan Yiheng said, "You went back the day after I got drunk, right?
Because the day before, you said you would resolve things between you and Duan Mingxuan." "That's right," Lin Xi nodded, "I begged Grandpa not to force me to be with Duan Mingxuan." "Are you sure?"
Duan Yiheng's anxious heart strangely calmed down a little because of her words. "I'm sure." Lin Xi turned her face to the dim light, "But it wasn't for you." Duan Yiheng scoffed, "Is it necessary to explain the second half of that sentence?
Even if it was wishful thinking, I don't need you to remind me; it's all my own fault." He had willingly accepted it all. He was the one who couldn't resist breaking the ice, finding a terrible excuse to force her to be with him.
He blamed himself for all the schemes orchestrated by the old man, for being so immersed in tenderness that he forgot the danger. Lin Xi's tears, vulnerability, and avoidance... he saw it all. He couldn't bear to press her any further, so he could only take a step back and wait for an opportunity. What surprised him most was that the old man hadn't let Lin Xi leave Yinfan Technology. Whatever the reason, he maintained his last shred of rationality. Lin Xi didn't know how to respond to his self-deprecating humor, clutching his coat tightly, and said, "Are you done asking? Can we leave now?" Duan Yiheng said,
"I received a call from Mu Zhao tonight. He and his father went to Lanxi Club and saw Duan Zheng..." Lin Xi looked at him strangely, "And then?" "Duan Zheng said that your wedding date with Duan Mingxuan is set." "Impossible."
Lin Xi frowned, "I've already made things clear to Duan Mingxuan, and Grandpa also said I'm free to choose my own marriage. How could there be such a rumor?" Duan Yiheng's face turned cold; Duan Zheng was just being delusional.
"Let's go back first," Duan Yiheng walked around the car and opened the passenger door for her. Lin Xi stopped in front of the open car door and asked Duan Yiheng, "The Director Xu I told you about before, you..." "She's not one of Grandpa's people."
Duan Yiheng said, "But she's not one of mine either. If we're talking about 'surveillance,' someone else is more likely." Lin Xi frowned slightly and said softly, "Chen Liangyi." Duan Yiheng hummed in agreement:
"She got into the sales department as a pre-sales manager, but because of Zheng Jizhong's incident, no one in the entire department dared to approach her. Fighting alone in a department, the consequences are predictable." "Not necessarily," Lin Xi said, "Chen Liangyi is a very strong-willed person. Although..." "Although her actions are unethical, she possesses a crazy 'every man for himself' mentality. Would she care about those she looks down on?" Duan Yiheng:
"That depends on Xu Yu and you. Consider it practice for you." Lin Xi's eyes widened in surprise: "Me?" "No confidence?" Duan Yiheng asked, "Don't you want to repay her for all the bad things she did to you?" Lin Xi nodded: "Yes."
"Then you..." Duan Yiheng moved closer to her, looking her in the eye, "You have to be a little 'bad,' especially in the workplace. If you're not bad, you'll just be at the mercy of others." Although Lin Xi didn't know how to be bad, she felt that Duan Yiheng was right.
Duan Yiheng tilted his head slightly, gesturing for her to get in the car. Duan Yiheng returned the way he came, taking Lin Xi back to Tiandu Yuxi. When they were almost there, Lin Xi asked, "How are you getting back?" Duan Yiheng said, "The driver is picking me up." Lin Xi:
"..." She suspected that the driver hadn't even left the company. Lin Xi was about to take off her coat and give it to him when Duan Yiheng said, "Wear this for now. I remember I have a suit with you; go get it when you have time." "I already sent the suit to be washed."
Lin Xi's face suddenly flushed. "Have the driver come and get it." "Why are you blushing?" Duan Yiheng didn't understand her sudden shyness. Lin Xi subconsciously retorted, "It's because you threw your clothes around."
Duan Yiheng suddenly had a flash of inspiration. He chuckled, "You sent it to be washed?" Lin Xi was speechless. When she was cleaning up Duan Yiheng's dirty clothes, she hadn't expected a pair of men's underwear to fall out of his shirt.
She wrapped the clothes in a ball, embarrassed and angry, and threw them back into the basket until the housekeeper took them away to be washed. Lin Xi cleared her throat, took off her coat, and tossed it to him. Duan Yiheng smiled, took the coat, and turned to get into the car that had been waiting for him.
Lin Xi went upstairs and immediately called Duan Mingxuan as soon as she entered the foyer. Duan Mingxuan had been quite remarkable lately, diligently learning and asking questions under Duan Zheng's wing, and even his temper had mellowed considerably. Duan Zheng and Chen Baiwei praised him to everyone they met.
Lin Xi didn't live with them, so naturally she didn't know. In fact, subconsciously, she still felt that Duan Mingxuan was spending his nights clubbing with his cronies. When the call connected, Duan Mingxuan's voice was tired yet excited.
"Why did Uncle Duan tell others that you and I are getting married?" Lin Xi cut to the chase. "Did you know?" Duan Mingxuan was startled: "I didn't know! I've been busy with all this lately. Who told you?" Lin Xi:
"Who told you doesn't matter. That's the message Uncle Duan was conveying. Duan Mingxuan, you really didn't know?" "Xiao Xi, I swear, if I knew, may I die a horrible death." Duan Mingxuan made a swearing gesture on the other end of the phone. "Don't talk nonsense."
Lin Xi frowned. "I'm hanging up." She couldn't get anything out of Duan Mingxuan; it seemed she'd have to go back. Lin Xi took her laptop back to her bedroom, quickly showered, and then curled up in bed revising her report. Unbeknownst to her, someone had already gone to find Duan Zheng for her.
Chen Baiwei was quite surprised to see Duan Yiheng enter the East Building, but ever since her lesson, she avoided him like the plague. "You're looking for your father?" Duan Yiheng asked coldly, "Where is he?" Chen Baiwei: "He just received a phone call and went upstairs."
Duan Yiheng went straight upstairs and encountered Duan Mingxuan at the second-floor stairwell. "Why are you here?" Duan Yiheng ignored him. Duan Mingxuan glanced back, thinking of Lin Xi's earlier phone call, and turned to follow him.
Duan Yiheng's manners were never seen in front of Duan Zheng; he directly pushed open the door to his study. Duan Zheng frowned: "Have you lost your manners?" "Spreading rumors without regard for others' wishes, even a dog wouldn't eat your conscience," Duan Yiheng retorted sarcastically.
"You—" Duan Zheng stood up angrily, "I don't understand what you're saying." "Don't understand?" Duan Yiheng chuckled. "It's alright. I'm just here to tell you that if you insist on going your own way, I won't show you any fatherly or sonly consideration." "Fatherly or sonly consideration?"
Duan Zheng sneered. "Have you ever considered me your father? Ever since your mother passed away, you've treated me like an enemy." "Don't mention my mother," Duan Yiheng said coldly. "Neither father nor son. The word 'father' comes first. Whatever you do, I will repay."
Duan Zheng glared, then slumped back into his chair.