Gently bite the jasmine

Duan Yiheng had endured enough! This unspoken understanding shouldn't have been broken tonight, but it was her tears that finally broke through.

When Sister Mei called him, the embarrassment of being rejected by her was instantly forgotten by him.

Let's treat this as our last chance.

He couldn't let her spend the whole night lost in her own thoughts.

He knows best how long a night is.

Lin Xi's palms were damp with a thin layer of sweat from his blunt words. She rubbed them against her pajamas, her breathing quickening involuntarily, her heart pounding in her chest.

She pinched her hand hard on the web of her hand, warning herself to stay rational: "I don't know."

“Then look up at me,” Duan Yiheng said. “Look into my eyes and tell me that you don’t know I like you, that you have no feelings for me at all. As long as you say it, I will never pester you.”

The word "like" just slipped out of his mouth so easily.

Lin Xi was so nervous that her heart was pounding.

Duan Yiheng added fuel to the fire: "This is the only and last chance I'm giving you to escape from me, as long as you look at me and say it."

With a serious expression and a solemn tone, Lin Xi hurriedly looked up and gazed into his deep eyes.

Tell me, do you know if I like you?

If emotions could be expressed rationally, there wouldn't be so many people troubled by them.

Lin Xi had no way to avoid it, and nodded, choking back tears: "I know."

Duan Yiheng chuckled, his clenched fist relaxed, and after getting the answer, he let out a long sigh: "I thought you had no heart for me."

Looking at his rare, bright smile, Lin Xi felt both guilty and distressed: "So what if I know?"

Duan Yiheng's smile gradually faded, and a hidden unease flashed in his eyes: "What do you mean?"

Lin Xi looked up at him and said, "I admit I guessed that you might like me, but that doesn't mean I'll be with you."

"Speak your concerns," Duan Yiheng's expression turned colder. "Let's see if I'm as firm as a rock, or hesitant and uncertain."

Lin Xi seemed to see through his thoughts and said, "I am the one who is timid and hesitant, because I have nothing."

Duan Yiheng disagreed with her statement: "You have me, you have Sister Mei, and you have Grandpa."

Lin Yue stubbornly denied it: "I didn't, I didn't do anything."

She couldn't look directly into Duan Yiheng's burning gaze, and could only examine herself under his repeated pressure.

“I don’t have a family background that matches yours, so I can’t be of any help to you; my household registration is with the Meng family, so legally we can’t be together; I had feelings for Duan Mingxuan, and I don’t want us to cause trouble and gossip… Don’t you understand all of this?”

Duan Yiheng frowned, wanting to retort, but couldn't find the words.

From Lin Xi's perspective, she has to consider all aspects and cannot act recklessly or without restraint.

“Grandpa has been good to me, and I can’t be ungrateful.” Lin Xi calmed down. “Since I entered the Duan family at the age of six, I have struggled to maintain every close relationship and made every effort to do so.”

"To put it bluntly, it's about being a people-pleaser. This kind of relationship is too exhausting." Lin Xi's eyes welled up with tears, which rolled down her cheeks again. "But I've gotten used to it. No matter how outrageous Chen Baiwei is, I can't truly hate her. I want to break free from this unequal relationship, but I can't stand up straight in front of you Duan family members."

"The only love I have left, I hope it's mutual affection and respect, it's true—"

"Stop talking." Duan Yiheng interrupted her, wiping away her tears with his fingertips. "You can do whatever you want, just don't cry."

Lin Xi shed another string of tears: "You know what I'm thinking, don't you?"

“Yes,” Duan Yiheng said. “I don’t blame you for being sensitive, but I just want to ask you, do you care about me at all?”

Lin Xi finally gave in: "Yes, I do care."

Duan Yiheng paused for a moment, then reached out and pulled Lin Xi into his arms.

After a brief moment of sweetness, Lin Xi couldn't bear to push him away. She tried her best to hold back her tears and rubbed against his shoulder.

After a long while, Duan Yiheng lifted her chin, making her look at him: "You said you've given your all in every intimate relationship, is that right?"

Lin Xi nodded.

“But you’ve never done anything for our relationship, all you’ve given me is rejection.” Duan Yiheng’s voice was filled with obvious grievance. “It doesn’t seem fair to me.”

"What do you want?" Lin Xi asked.

"You are not allowed to accept Zhou Zheng's offer," Duan Yiheng said bluntly. "Even if it's just an act, it's not allowed."

Lin Xi frowned: "You and Tan—"

"My relationship with her is purely professional," Duan Yiheng said. "Understand?"

Lin Xi nodded blankly.

Duan Yiheng gazed at her adorable expression and said, "You don't understand. Even if there's just a slight disturbance at Grandpa's place, you'll still push me out there."

Lin Xi felt very wronged: "I didn't want to either."

But she dared not disobey.

Duan Yiheng: "You're right not to want to. You've never tried to make any effort for our relationship, so why are you pushing me out?"

“I tried my best when I was a child, but you ignored me,” Lin Xi complained.

Duan Yiheng: "I'm talking about now, about relationship issues."

Lin Xi: "In the end, you still ended up in a dead end."

She felt both bitter and sweet inside; bitter because they couldn't be together, and sweet because they both had feelings for each other.

“Then we won’t go out.” Duan Yiheng bent down and pressed his forehead against hers. “Let’s cast aside all the restrictions of our identities and treat this as a game for adults. Come to my side.”

He originally intended to proceed patiently and gradually.

However, Zhou Zheng's appearance put him in a precarious situation.

In any case, the brave ones enjoy the world first.

He wanted to get Lin Xi into his hands as soon as possible, regardless of the pretext.

He will address all her concerns, but he can't wait until she does, only to have Lin Xi turn to someone else.

He's probably going crazy.

Hearing his words, Lin Xi was stunned: "You want me to be your lover?"

"Why don't you just say I'm your lover?" Duan Yiheng coaxed, almost kissing the tip of her nose. "My demands aren't high, just give me whatever you want each month."

Lin Xi: "...Stop joking."

She couldn't afford to wrap it either.

"I promise no one will know," Duan Yiheng said in a low voice. "You can call me to stop anytime you want, and I won't say no. This is a small, square space, just between you and me. Our relationship will only exist in this small space for now."

Lin Xi was moved but restrained, ignoring the word "temporarily" in his words.

Perhaps she just treated it as dating a boyfriend her parents disapproved of, experiencing the taste of love before they went their separate ways?

But is it really possible? Her remaining morality and reason kept pulling her in different directions.

Duan Yiheng didn't give her a chance to figure things out. He despicably stepped forward, grabbed her waist, and pinned her against the wall.

Lin Xi was startled: "What are you going to do?"

She hasn't agreed yet.

Duan Yiheng lowered his head and gave a gentle smile: "If you agree, give me a kiss, and that will be the seal of your agreement."

Lin Xi's heart skipped a beat, and she pursed her lips.

Duan Yiheng tightened his grip on her waist: "Hurry up."

He was a tempting poisoned apple. Lin Xi stood on tiptoe, giving him a light, fleeting kiss: "Like this?"

Duan Yiheng's eyes deepened as he murmured, restraining himself, "Open your mouth."