Gently bite the jasmine

Tan Qi's question once again silenced the restaurant.

In City B, Duan Yiheng would definitely be in the top three on the list of eligible bachelors.

However, over the years, no one in the industry has heard any rumors about him.

The mystery surrounding their relationship only fuels speculation.

Those who had met him in the business world had considered marrying him, but he had always politely and skillfully rejected them.

At first, some people were unconvinced, but Duan Yiheng refused them all, and they tacitly reached a balance.

So Tan Qi's question stems from curiosity, which is perfectly understandable.

Lin Xi stared at him as well, only to see Duan Yiheng slowly sip his champagne, then turn his head to look at her.

Lin Xi always had a good sixth sense, and his eyelids twitched; his intuition told him that something bad was about to happen.

As expected, Duan Yiheng chuckled: "Unfortunately, she asked you the same question. Perhaps you could ask her."

Lin Xi: "..."

Was this a trip brought to her for fun? Or is it a scam?

Tan Qi looked at Lin Xi, a hint of doubt flashing in her eyes.

Before coming, Meng Huaishan had mentioned the Duan family's adopted daughter, saying that she was childhood sweethearts with the second young master of the Duan family and had a close relationship with him, but didn't have much interaction with Duan Yiheng.

Judging from Duan Yiheng's words, the two of them were not as discordant as the rumors suggested.

Mu Zhao almost choked on his drink. He suppressed a laugh and asked Lin Xi on Tan Qi's behalf, "Little sister, what did your older brother say?"

Duan Yiheng glanced at Mu Zhao, his eyes carrying a warning.

Taking advantage of his superior numbers, Mu Zhao pretended to be stupid.

Lin Xi was in a terrible predicament, and her gaze toward Duan Yiheng was slightly accusatory.

But Tan Qi wouldn't let her off the hook either.

"Miss Lin, may I know how Mr. Duan answered you back then?"

Lin Xi: "..."

He said at the time that he had no plans to get married for the time being. If she said that, wouldn't that be a direct rejection?

Could it be that Duan Yiheng was trying to use me as a pretext to refuse?

Duan Yiheng remained calm and composed, as if he were not the one posing the difficult question to Lin Xi.

Lin Xi: "Miss Tan is stunningly beautiful. If we give her more opportunities to spend time together, I'm sure my brother will change his mind."

This remark didn't offend anyone, but Tan Qi understood what Duan Yiheng meant.

But Lin Xi wasn't wrong either; she and Duan Yiheng had met several times, and no one could predict what would happen in the future.

At least by using her sister's words, she didn't directly refuse her, which saved her face.

Duan Yiheng, unaware of Tan Qi's thoughts, merely raised an eyebrow at Lin Xi.

Lin Xi thought he was praising her, and smiled modestly.

Duan Yiheng: "..."

After a few rounds of drinks, Lin Xi got up and said she was going to the restroom, but then turned around and went to find the club's manager.

"Miss Lin," the butler asked respectfully, "what are your instructions?"

Lin Xi asked, "Don't you know it's my eldest brother's birthday today?"

The butler smiled and said, "I know."

"Then why isn't there a cake?" Lin Xi asked again.

The butler replied with a smile, "It was Mr. Duan's instruction. He said he couldn't stand a group of people surrounding him singing 'Happy Birthday' and making him make a wish."

Lin Xi imagined the scene and chuckled, "Then could you prepare a blueberry cake for me? A small one."

Butler: "I'll have the pastry chef prepare it for you right away."

Lin Xi nodded.

Before coming to North District No. 1, she asked Sister Mei about cakes. Sister Mei said that they had everything here and she could just give the order.

Now that the gift has been smashed, we can't just leave without a piece of cake.

When Lin Xi returned to the restaurant, everyone had already gotten up and left.

She went up to him and asked, "Have you finished eating?"

Duan Yiheng replied, "That's about it. Mu Zhao and Meng Huaishan want to play cards."

So, we need to move our base?

When Duan Yiheng arrived, every corner of the club had been meticulously decorated.

The butler led everyone to the room at the end of the east corridor on the first floor.

A dark-colored carpet covered the entire room, auction paintings hung on the walls, and the corner was formed by a square floor-to-ceiling window, framing a view of greenery outside.

The card table was set up in the middle, with fruit platters, chips, glasses of wine, cigars... everything was in place.

Meng Huaishan and Mu Zhao wanted to play Texas Hold'em. Except for Liang Yutong and Lin Xi, who didn't understand the game, everyone else sat down at the table.

Liang Yutong was in high spirits and sat behind Mu Shuo to watch.

Duan Yiheng took off his suit jacket and rolled up his sleeves, prompting Mu Zhao to tease him, "Are you serious now?"

Duan Yiheng crossed his long legs, tilted his body slightly towards Lin Xi, and laughed, "Who's serious with you?"

Mu Zhao: "Okay, let's drink tonight, whoever loses drinks."

Zhou Li joked, "I remember you lose nine out of ten times when you gamble, especially when you play cards with Yi Heng."

Mu Zhao, however, was very confident. He glanced at Lin Xi out of the corner of his eye and said, "It's okay. I have a cheat code tonight. He will definitely lose."

Meng Huaishan became interested: "What kind of cheat code?"

"It won't work if I say it out loud." Mu Zhao kept her in suspense, turning her head to meet Lin Xi's gaze. "Come on, little sister, deal the cards to the brothers."

Duan Yiheng raised his eyes: "Who are you ordering around?"

Tan Qi was to Duan Yiheng's left, and as he watched him protect Lin Xi, she glanced at him discreetly.

Mu Zhao got up and led Lin Xi to the button, pressing her down into a chair: "Please, Miss, deal us a card."

Lin Xi hurriedly turned her gaze away: "I don't know how to play cards."

This isn't a card game like Dou Dizhu (a popular Chinese card game), she really doesn't know how.

She had gone out with Duan Mingxuan before, but Chen Baiwei called her away before they even started, saying that she was leading Duan Mingxuan astray.

Living under someone else's roof, one has no way to defend oneself.

Since then, Chen Baiwei has tried to avoid all entertainment activities that she considered frivolous and wasteful.

Duan Yiheng undoubtedly held the power of speech in the room, and Lin Xi cast a pleading look at him.

Duan Yiheng's subordinates were playing with the chips. Seeing Mu Zhao's teasing look, they said, "Go ahead and deal. It's fine. It's just for fun. Don't take it too seriously."

Liang Yutong chimed in, "It's okay, just hand it out. They can't blame you for losing, can they?"

Meng Huaishan laughed and said, "Fa, your cousin here can hold his liquor pretty well."

Lin Xi was startled. Meng Huaishan was the only son of Duan Yiheng's uncle, and had nothing to do with her.

Today, in front of Duan Yiheng, he actually gave her face and let her address him as Duan Yiheng.

"It's better to accept than to be polite," Lin Xi said, glancing around the room. "So, I'm really going to be rich?"

No one objected, and Lin Xi picked up the brand new cards.

Mu Zhao taught her how to deal cards, telling her it was okay if she didn't know how to play; all she needed to do was deal, shuffle, and manage the pot.

This really doesn't require much technical skill.

Lin Xi shuffled the cards, which were scattered and two had fallen off.

Duan Yiheng chuckled softly and shook his head.

Mu Zhao smiled enigmatically; his brother was doomed to lose tonight.

Lin Xi can laugh like this just by shuffling cards, how could he possibly have time to calculate the cards?

Meng Huaishan was also amused: "I've never seen a 'celestial maiden scattering flowers' style of shuffling cards before."

Lin Xi blushed with embarrassment and explained in a low voice, "This deck of cards is new, it's too slippery."

One sentence made everyone burst out laughing.

One of Lin Xi's personality traits is that once he's done something, he'll do it well, even if it makes him look foolish.

The blinds are set before the cards are dealt.

Lin Xi dealt the cards to the players one by one, almost slipping in the process, but managed to steady himself in time.

The others took their cards and pressed them down quietly.

Lin Xi raised her eyes and met Duan Yiheng's gaze.