Gently bite the jasmine

"Crack-"

A surge of anger shot from the soles of Duan Mingxuan's feet to the top of his head, his eyes and brows seeming to explode.

His usual raging anger would at most make people back away, but today's sullen and overwhelming rage made Yu Lang dare not step forward.

Duan Mingxuan picked up his phone and car keys and said to Lang, "You take them home later."

Zhang Mo tried to stop him, but Yu Lang held her back: "Don't go and cause trouble. You won't be able to have a peaceful dinner tonight. I'll take you home first."

Xiaoqi was a little confused: "Did I cause trouble?"

Yu Lang sighed, momentarily at a loss for words to explain.

Zhang Mo suppressed her resentment and instead stepped forward to comfort Xiao Qi: "It's okay, this has nothing to do with you."

Yu Lang glanced at Zhang Mo. After she got injured while helping Duan Mingxuan, his opinion of this woman had completely changed.

Zhang Mo stepped forward and took Xiao Qi's arm, asking Lin Xi and Duan Yiheng about the details of their time in H City as they walked.

Lin Xi was completely unaware that Duan Yiheng had already left when she chased after him out of the restaurant.

She stood there for a long time, feeling that she had messed things up.

A deep sense of powerlessness washed over Lin Xi, and she sat down on an outdoor bench.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a double image; she knew it was Duan Mingxuan.

"I'll call the driver myself. You can go back now. I'll be alone for a while. I'm afraid I won't be able to have dinner with you. We're moving to the new park tomorrow, and I still have to go to work."

Duan Mingxuan walked to her side and said in a low voice, "I'll take you home."

"No need, I—"

"I'll take you back."

Duan Mingxuan stubbornly cut her off.

Lin Xi was already holding back her anger, and upon hearing this, she stood up excitedly, looking at him defiantly: "Then what are you waiting for? Let's go."

Duan Mingxuan followed, his eyes as dark as the night on the mountain.

Once inside the car, the sports car shot out of the night like an arrow.

Lin Xi was exhausted after a long day and was closing her eyes to rest when Duan Mingxuan suddenly stopped.

She opened her eyes, paused for a moment, and turned to look at Duan Mingxuan: "Why did you suddenly stop? This is dangerous."

Duan Mingxuan pulled over to the side of the road with his hazard lights flashing. He asked Lin Xi, "Do you remember what you said to me last night when I video-called you?"

Lin Xi frowned: "What's wrong?"

“I think you’ve changed,” Duan Mingxuan said. “You’ve learned to lie to me.”

Lin Xi: "What do you want to say?"

Duan Mingxuan: "I'm asking you, after I left Rong County, did Duan Yiheng come looking for you?"

It seems that the travel blogger named Xiaoqi did figure something out, otherwise Duan Mingxuan wouldn't have questioned her like that.

There's no point in hiding it anymore, Lin Xi nodded: "You just left, and he came right after."

"So when you went up the mountain to pay respects to your parents, he went with you?" Duan Mingxuan asked, irritably pulling out his cigarette case.

Lin Xi calmly said, "I'm going."

Duan Mingxuan unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car with a cigarette case and a lighter.

The crimson firelight illuminated half of his face. Duan Mingxuan took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled.

Lin Xi also unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car. She stood by the other door, somewhat annoyed: "Duan Mingxuan, can we go back and talk about this?"

"Why should we go back to say it?" Duan Mingxuan suddenly turned around and roared.

Lin Xi: "So you want to say this standing here? I've already said it's dangerous here. Can't you be a little more mature?"

"Yes, I can't compare to Duan Yiheng. He's mature and steady, while I'm just being unreasonable." Duan Mingxuan's eyes were bloodshot. "Is this the first day you've met me? Why didn't you tell me to be more mature before?"

Lin Xi felt a lump in her throat: "I didn't mean to compare you to Duan Yiheng."

"Then what do you mean?" Duan Mingxuan felt a tightness in his chest. "Anyone can understand what you're saying, right?"

Lin Xi took two deep breaths, trying to calm herself down, and said to Duan Mingxuan:

"I really didn't mean to compare you to anyone. I was just angry, and my tone wasn't good. Get in the car first, we'll talk about it when we get back."

This was already a way out, but Duan Mingxuan's anger hadn't subsided at all.

"I'll ask you one last question." Duan Mingxuan stubbed out his cigarette, turned around and looked at Lin Xi. "Why did Xiao Qi say that you and Duan Yiheng are boyfriend and girlfriend?"

Lin Xi knew he couldn't leave without explaining.

She glanced back at the dark mountain road and said, "There was a rainstorm in H City, and our flight was canceled. We had to go to a nearby hotel. The hotel was full, so he switched rooms with a couple for ten times the price."

Duan Mingxuan's gaze turned cold: "So, the two of you stayed in the same room all night? When I video-called you, he was clearly lying next to you, but you said you were alone?"

Lin Xi: "Yes, that's why it was misunderstood."

"If you're sharing a room, who else would people misunderstand if not you?" Duan Mingxuan said sarcastically. "He paid ten times the price for a room, so why can't he pay a hundred times the price for another room?"

"Is that the only hotel available? Is it Duan Yiheng who has ulterior motives, or are you, Lin Xi, simply enjoying it?"

Words spoken without thinking are like sharp knives, cutting Lin Xi painfully.

But she didn't want to explain anymore.

What is she trying to explain?

Since I have to go to work the next day, I can only choose a hotel near the airport?

Or was it a follow-up event to the viral sensation in H City, which attracted many well-off bloggers?

Or perhaps it's because the heavy rain makes it difficult to travel, and finding someone willing to switch rooms is already considered lucky?

He was the one who abandoned her first, Duan Mingxuan, so what right does he have to question her?

It's not like Duan Mingxuan is the only one with a mouth.

Lin Xi scoffed lightly and said to Duan Mingxuan, "You're right, I'm enjoying it. I'm happy to be alone in a room with Duan Yiheng, a man and a woman. Are you satisfied now? Can I leave now?"

Duan Mingxuan's temples bulged with veins, his eyes burning with intense flames, and his gaze seemed to want to devour her.

He opened the car door without saying a word, his jaw clenched tightly.

Lin Xi watched as he climbed into the car, the sports car engine emitting a low, angry roar, venting Duan Mingxuan's emotions.

The mountain wind howled, and the supercar disappeared from sight in an instant.

Duan Mingxuan left Lin Xi alone in the vast night.

Lin Xi was taken aback and subconsciously took two steps forward: "Duan Mingxuan!"

Duan Mingxuan was nowhere to be seen; the area was deserted, not even a ghost in sight.

Did he just leave her alone in the mountains like that?

Lin Xi, her nerves taut, frantically took out her phone and turned on the flashlight.

"Duan Mingxuan." She sobbed, her lips trembling, like a wounded bird in the mountains, only able to utter a faint cry.

The phone rang; it was Duan Mingxuan calling.

She swiped the answer button as if grasping at a straw: "Hello, you didn't leave, did you?"

Duan Mingxuan did not leave; he stopped again a few hundred meters ahead.

He softened his tone: "Xiao Xi, if you tell me you were wrong now, and you promise not to lie to me again, and that you won't have any personal dealings with Duan Yiheng except for normal work handovers, and that you'll move back from the West Building, I'll come back to pick you up."

There was silence on the phone for a long time. Duan Mingxuan held the phone tightly, his palms sweating.

He was just giving her a small punishment, and Lin Xi would definitely choose him.

Yes, I will definitely choose him.

"I will never lie to you again..."

Duan Mingxuan's heart pounded, and joy was evident in his eyes.

“But I…” Lin Xi choked up, “I don’t need you to come pick me up anymore.”