Gently bite the jasmine

"Ming, Mingxuan, why are you back?"

Chen Baiwei's face turned pale, and Lin Xi looked away, avoiding her gaze as well.

Duan Mingxuan stepped into the room, his gaze shifting between the two women before finally settling on Chen Baiwei:

"Mom, is what you just said true?"

"What do you mean, 'really' or 'fake'?" Chen Baiwei tried to change the subject. "You've been out having so many days, aren't you hungry? I'll call the kitchen to serve dinner right away."

"Mom," Duan Mingxuan roared through gritted teeth, "I have no appetite. What do you mean Xiaoxi likes me? What do you mean you tricked her into going to America?"

Duan Mingxuan found it hard to accept. He had thought that Lin Xi had gone back on her word first, but who knew that it was his mother who had interfered.

How could this make him feel so embarrassed?

Facing her son, Chen Baiwei completely lost the aloofness she displayed in front of Lin Xi. She murmured, unable to utter a single word for a long time.

"Xiao Xi, you tell me." Duan Mingxuan looked at Lin Xi, as if he wouldn't give up until he made things clear.

Lin Xi really didn't want to be caught in the middle between the mother and son, so she said, "You tell Aunt Wei, I'm leaving now."

Duan Mingxuan raised his arm to stop them: "No one is leaving until we make things clear today."

Lin Xi frowned and took half a step back.

"Mingxuan, let Xiaoxi go first," Chen Baiwei said. "If you want to know, I'll tell you slowly later... Ah..."

The ceramic piece fell to the ground, startling Chen Baiwei.

The entryway was a mess. Duan Mingxuan, with an angry face, swung a ceramic ornament onto the ground.

Lin Xi held back for a moment and said, "Come with me. Don't lose your temper here. I'll tell you everything you want to know."

"Lin Xi?" Chen Baiwei glared at her warningly.

Lin Xi scoffed lightly: "Aunt Wei, he was bound to find out sooner or later, you just didn't expect it to come so soon. If you don't want me to tell him, you can tell him yourself."

How could Chen Baiwei not understand her son? She stiffened and fell silent.

Lin Xi turned and went to the courtyard that connected the north and south.

Duan Mingxuan followed closely behind.

After descending the steps, Duan Mingxuan lost his patience and asked Lin Xi, "Why did you go to America five years ago?"

Lin Xi turned around and said, "Five years ago, Grandpa brought up our marriage, and Aunt Wei came to see me that very night..."

As her memory resurfaced, the person standing before Lin Xi changed from Duan Mingxuan to Chen Baiwei.

"Xiao Xi, do you like Ming Xuan?" Chen Baiwei asked with a kind smile.

Lin Xi suppressed her fear and shyness, nodded silently, and did not notice the glint in Chen Baiwei's eyes.

“I know you and Mingxuan agreed to go to England together, but I hope you can understand Mingxuan’s situation in the Duan family.”

Lin Xi looked up, waiting for Chen Baiwei to continue.

“Duan Yiheng is five years older than Mingxuan and is already working for the group. The old man also favors his eldest son and grandson. Think about it, when he takes charge of the family in the future, will Mingxuan have a good life?”

“Aunt Wei, Grandpa is still alive,” Lin Xi said. “He also dotes on Mingxuan quite a bit.”

“That’s true,” Chen Baiwei said. “But all the old man gave us was money. To put it bluntly, the old man is getting old. If he passes away, our family will have to depend on others.”

Lin Xi was confused: "Aunt Wei, what are you trying to say?"

“I originally wanted to find Mingxuan a well-bred lady from a similar social class, but you have grown up by my side since you were little, and I truly love you.”

"As long as you bridge the gap between yourself and those socialites and heiresses, I will agree to let you marry Mingxuan in five years."

"You agree?" Lin Xi thought she wouldn't agree.

“With your shares in Yinfan and his father’s protection, Mingxuan won’t lose too badly.”

Lin Xi: "So, what do you want me to do?"

Chen Baiwei: "Go to America, learn what you need to learn, and come back to help Mingxuan."

"But what about Mingxuan..."

“I will tell him,” Chen Baiwei patted her reassuringly. “I’ll tell him to visit you more often in the future, but don’t tell him about me talking to you tonight.”

"What if I don't agree?" Lin Xi asked tentatively.

Chen Baiwei's expression remained unchanged: "Then I have no choice but to arrange a marriage between him and another man."

Lin Xi thought for thirty seconds and then agreed.

“I agreed to go to America with Aunt Wei not because she was willing to make our marriage happen, but because I know you hate being arranged and manipulated, and you must also hate arranged marriages,” Lin Xi said to Duan Mingxuan. “I used my five years in America to exchange for your freedom to choose your own marriage.”

Duan Mingxuan was completely stunned: "Xiao Xi."

Lin Xi: "But it's all in the past now. It was all my own choice. Just pretend it never happened."

"How can I pretend none of this happened?" Duan Mingxuan was filled with remorse. "Why didn't you tell me in the first place?"

Lin Xi: "I promised your mother, and I have to keep my promise."

“But she’s been lying to you all along,” Duan Mingxuan said. “She’s never liked you. She just tricked you into going to America to keep you away from me.”

Lin Xi: "I knew, I found out a year later, but I still held onto hope until I returned to China this year and you got a girlfriend, then I finally gave up completely."

Duan Mingxuan was taken aback: "Completely given up?"

Lin Xi smiled and said, "Mingxuan, I've really let it go. You don't need to worry about it. You have a girlfriend now, so if you like her, just get along well with her."

"I..." Duan Mingxuan didn't know what to say for a moment.

"Okay, I have to go to work tomorrow, I'll be going now."

"Xiao Xi".

Duan Mingxuan instinctively chased after her, but Lin Xi didn't even turn her head.

He clutched his chest, feeling suffocated and terrified.

It turns out that Lin Xi had always liked him.

A complex mix of emotions welled up in Duan Mingxuan's chest—joy, grievance, regret…

All the past events had faded away with the wind for Lin Xi, and she suddenly felt a sense of relief.

Just as he stepped onto the steps, he bumped into Duan Yiheng, who was in a hurry.

Lin Xi had never seen him so anxious before, and asked, "What's wrong?"

Duan Yiheng breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her: "I didn't see you when I came back. Sister Mei said that Chen Baiwei called you away. I was worried."

"So you're coming to find me?" Lin Xi smiled. "I'm fine, aren't I?"

Mei Jie and the maid were both there. Duan Yiheng suppressed the urge to hug her and said, "Come upstairs with me."

Lin Xi gave him a look that said "You go first," and then silently followed him.

Upon entering Duan Yiheng's study, he asked Lin Xi, "Chen Baiwei wouldn't have contacted you for no reason. What did she say to you?"

Lin Xi pursed her lips, hesitating.

"Don't keep anything to yourself, tell me." Duan Yiheng put his arm around her shoulder and coaxed her gently, "I'm afraid Chen Baiwei will bully you again."

“He didn’t bully me,” Lin Xi said. “But Duan Mingxuan knows that I went to America because of Chen Baiwei, and, and…”

Duan Yiheng's brows furrowed: "And he knows that you used to like him?"