Lin Xi had resolved one worry, but another remained. After dinner, she asked Duan Yiheng for the photos. Before she even reached the study, Duan Yiheng turned and blocked her path, asking, "What do you need my photos for? Didn't you already give them to me?" Lin Xi lied, "My broken phone didn't have a backup. I took some photos last year, just to keep as a memento." Duan Yiheng said "Oh," deliberately drawing out the last syllable, "I'll send them to you now." Before Lin Xi could agree, he added quietly, "To keep as a memento." Lin Xi snorted and pushed open the study door. Before the video conference, Duan Yiheng had called Mu Zhao. Lin Xi overheard the conversation and learned that Mu Shuo was also going. After he hung up, she muttered, "Is this Mu Shuo a brother-obsessed guy?"
Duan Yiheng smiled meaningfully, "Didn't you notice?" Lin Xi blinked in confusion, "Noticed what?" "He's always had feelings for Liang Yutong," Duan Yiheng said. "I didn't tell you directly before because Liang Yutong has a fiancé."
Lin Xi's mouth dropped open in surprise, "Mu Shuo likes Yutong? Really? These two don't seem like a good match at all. Isn't Mu Shuo the same kind of person as Duan Mingxuan and Yu Lang?" "Huh?" Duan Yiheng glanced at her. "Have you seen Mu Shuo hanging out with them recently?"
Lin Xi: "I really don't know." Duan Yiheng: "Perhaps you can think about it from a different angle. Why is Mu Shuo hanging out with Duan Mingxuan, and when did it start?" Lin Xi thought for a moment, then suddenly understood and said:
"Is it because Yu Tong and I are good friends, and Duan Mingxuan and I are close, so Mu Shuo hangs out with him?" Duan Yiheng nodded: "You're teachable." Lin Xi pondered this for a long time.
After the video conference ended, Duan Yiheng glanced at Lin Xi, who was curled up on the sofa reading a book, and sent a few messages to Meng Huaishan. Just as he was about to look up, Meng Huaishan asked if he could bring two friends. Who else could it be but Zhou Li? Duan Yiheng naturally agreed.
After turning off his phone, Duan Yiheng looked up at Lin Xi and said, "It's not very interesting with just the few of us. I invited Meng Huaishan and his friends." "Sure." Lin Xi didn't even turn her head. Duan Yiheng harbored ulterior motives, but he couldn't tell Lin Xi himself, so he had Meng Huaishan act as his intermediary. Several days passed quickly, and Lin Xi had already arranged to meet Liang Yutong a few days prior.
The two hadn't seen each other in a while and wanted to take this opportunity to catch up on each other's lives and relationships. However, to Lin Xi's surprise, Zhou Zheng also came along on New Year's Eve.
In the lobby of the private club, Lin Xi and Duan Yiheng exchanged a knowing glance, both seeing confusion in each other's eyes. But Duan Yiheng quickly understood.
Meng Huaishan and Zhou Li were childhood friends, and Zhou Li and Zhou Zheng were brothers. Zhou Zheng must have inadvertently found out that Meng Huaishan was at the club for New Year's Eve. Meng Huaishan had even specifically asked him if he could bring friends, and he had personally agreed. Duan Yiheng was utterly dumbfounded.
As the host, Duan Yiheng couldn't be impolite. Led by the staff, the group entered a suite in the VIP area.
When young people eat and socialize together, seating arrangements don't really matter. Meng Huaishan grabbed Duan Yiheng, who was about to sit next to Lin Xi, and whispered in his ear, "I mean, how can a big CEO like you be so clueless?
If it weren't for Zhou Li, I wouldn't even know Professor Zhou and Lin Xi had gone on a blind date." Duan Yiheng turned to stare at Meng Huaishan, really wanting to say, "You don't even know I kissed Lin Xi?" But what good was his inner outburst?
Duan Yiheng could only watch helplessly as the impeccably dressed Professor Zhou politely nodded to him and sat down next to Lin Xi. Meanwhile, Liang Yutong naturally occupied Lin Xi's other side. Duan Yiheng could only sit silently next to Meng Huaishan.
Zhou Zheng, a man from a wealthy family but very low-key, had been single for three years and had finally met someone he liked, so he decided to give it a try. Therefore, at the dinner table, he was quite attentive to Lin Xi. Liang Yutong nudged Lin Xi under the table, gossiping softly, "Professor Zhou is great, very attentive to service."
Lin Xi gave her a "stop it" look: "There's no way we're together." "Why? I think he's good, and he's not bad-looking either," Liang Yutong said. Lin Xi shook her head: "It's hard to explain in a few words." Liang Yutong: "We'll talk about it later."
Lin Xi absentmindedly replied, her gaze unconsciously glancing in Duan Yiheng's direction. Duan Yiheng suddenly smiled at her, a typical forced smile, and Lin Xi subtly avoided his murderous gaze.
Zhou Li noticed the unspoken tension between the two and asked with a smile, "Brother Duan, is there something you're unhappy about with my second brother?" Duan Yiheng, caught off guard, remained calm: "Third Young Master, you jest." Zhou Li then turned to Lin Xi and smiled:
"And what does Miss Lin think of my second brother?" Zhou Zheng turned his face, looking at Zhou Li disapprovingly: "In front of so many people, I'm afraid Miss Lin will praise me to the skies." This eased Lin Xi's embarrassment, but Zhou Li pressed her advantage:
"My mother gave birth to three sons, and my eldest brother gave birth to two more sons. She dreams of having a daughter, no matter who marries into the Zhou family..." "She must be living a happy and comfortable life." Liang Yutong secretly gave Lin Xi a thumbs-up and mouthed "good marriage."
"Aunt Fang has always been open-minded and cheerful, and she's also a friend of my aunt. If she were still here—" Meng Huaishan stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence.
Aunt Fang refers to Zhou Li and Zhou Zheng's mother, and the aunt he mentioned… Lin Xi was startled. Looking at Duan Yiheng again, she found his face had darkened. Wasn't Meng Huaishan's aunt Duan Yiheng's mother?
Zhou Li nudged Meng Huaishan, who went to check on Duan Yiheng, regretting his hasty words. "Yiheng—" "I'm going to have a smoke." Duan Yiheng suddenly stood up. "You guys eat slowly." Lin Xi instinctively got up to follow, but Meng Huaishan stopped her:
"You sit down, I'll go check on him." "I'll go instead." Lin Xi was genuinely worried. "It's alright." "It's all my fault for speaking too quickly," Meng Huaishan said. "It's my fault for being so quick-tongued. It's my turn to go. You sit down." Lin Xi pursed her lips and had no choice but to sit down, her eyes involuntarily glancing towards the door.
Liang Yutong noticed her anxiety, pressed her hand, and asked, "What's wrong?" Lin Xi shook her head: "Nothing." Meng Huaishan found Duan Yiheng in the smoking room. Duan Yiheng looked up from the smoke and said, "Don't bring up other things. I have something to tell you."
Meng Huaishan sat down opposite him. Feeling guilty, she readily agreed to anything, saying, "Tell me, I'll do whatever it takes." Duan Yiheng smiled slightly: "I hope you can intervene and dissolve the adoption relationship between the Meng family and Lin Xi." "What did you say?"
Meng Huaishan wondered if she had misheard, and didn't understand why Duan Yiheng would do such a thing.