The airport was relatively close to the manor, but Lin Xi had been traveling for several days and was so tired that she fell asleep snoring softly.
Duan Yiheng had promised to wake her when they arrived, but he couldn't bear to do so now. After sitting in the car for a while, he gently picked Lin Xi up. "Let's talk about it in the room."
Lin Xi vaguely felt herself being lifted into the air, but she wasn't flustered at all. Instead, she wrapped her arms around Duan Yiheng's neck and murmured, "So sleepy." "If you're sleepy, then sleep," Duan Yiheng said, carrying her into the elevator. "You can take a shower later."
"No," Lin Xi struggled to open her eyes. "Put me down when we get to the room." She was afraid that if she got dirty, Duan Yiheng would propose. Once in the room, Duan Yiheng put her down and said,
"I'll have someone run you a bath so you can relax. I'll also have your luggage packed, okay?" Lin Xi nodded. "Okay." After she rested briefly, Duan Yiheng went to another bathroom. It was getting late.
The maid came in to say the bathroom was ready. Lin Xi responded and pushed open the bathroom door. Rose petals were scattered in the bathtub. Lin Xi suddenly turned around, her heart skipping a beat. Was he really planning to propose? She stepped back to the doorway, looking left and right. Was Duan Yiheng not just going to take a bath?
Lin Xi leaned against the doorframe, clutching her chest. After a few seconds of thought, she quickly closed the door and undressed. She soaked in the bath for fifteen minutes, feeling slightly relieved. She stayed in the bathroom for almost an hour, until her body was practically soaked in body lotion before finally emerging.
Reaching the foot of the bed, Lin Xi paused. Looking at Duan Yiheng at the head of the bed, she instinctively asked, "What are you doing here?" Duan Yiheng was taken aback. "You're going to sleep in a separate room from me?" "...No."
Lin Xi belatedly realized her misunderstanding, her face flushing slightly. She quickly denied it, "I thought you were still taking a shower." Duan Yiheng chuckled. "Why don't you check the time?" Lin Xi slowly walked over, her sleepiness dispelled by the shower. "You sleep over there."
She pointed to the inside. "Make room for me." Duan Yiheng didn't move, saying, "You sleep over there." Lin Xi said "Oh," and was about to turn and get on from the other side when Duan Yiheng grabbed her wrist. "Just come this way."
Lin Xi didn't think much of it, following his hand and lifting her leg to get on. Duan Yiheng suddenly stood up, grabbing her waist with both hands and making her sit on his lap. Lin Xi's face flushed, and she patted his shoulder, saying, "You rascal! No, you said it's getting late."
Duan Yiheng buried his face in her neck and kissed her, his voice deep, "Smells so good." Lin Xi felt both ticklish and embarrassed; she had thought he was going to propose, but it turned out she had been deluding herself. She huffed, pushed him away, and said, "I want to sleep." "Hmm? You don't sound very happy."
Duan Yiheng released her, cupping her face in his palm. "Who upset you?" Lin Xi rolled her eyes at him, "Who uses rose petals in their bath? So tacky." Duan Yiheng was slightly taken aback by her nitpicking tone. He patted her back gently:
"Tomorrow I'll ask the housekeeper who prepared your bathwater." Lin Xi glanced sideways: "What are you going to do?" Duan Yiheng feigned seriousness: "Fire you." Lin Xi: "...It's not that serious, don't be like that." Duan Yiheng suppressed a laugh: "Miss Lin is kind-hearted."
Lin Xi scoffed, rolled over, and quickly covered herself with the blanket. Duan Yiheng turned to kiss her, but she blocked his way with her hand: "I want to sleep." Duan Yiheng grabbed her wrist, forcefully turned her chin, and kissed her lips.
"You're going too far, what's with the little tantrum? Tell me." Even if Lin Xi were to speak, she couldn't, so she simply turned and hugged Duan Yiheng, as if admitting her mistake. Duan Yiheng couldn't do anything with her, gently rubbing her face, his eyes tender and loving. "Are you tired?"
People tend to be more irritable when they're tired, and he assumed Lin Xi was just tired. Lin Xi nestled in his arms and murmured an "Mmm." Duan Yiheng patted her back slowly and gently: "Sleep. Tomorrow, whether it's playing ball or horseback riding, I'll accompany you."
Lin Xi suddenly looked up from his embrace: "Didn't the butler say the ginkgo leaves are yellow?" Duan Yiheng replied: "They are yellow. We'll go see them tomorrow." Seeing that his expression showed no sign of abnormality, Lin Xi finally closed her eyes.
The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment, Lin Xi told herself: Just treat this as a trip. Two days off, the manor seemed secluded from the world; relaxing a bit was good. Stopping her overthinking, Lin Xi quickly fell asleep.
She slept soundly through the night, and surprisingly woke up quite early the next day, Duan Yiheng also being awakened by her turning over. The two tacitly got up, washed, and went to the rooftop balcony. A short while later, a servant brought breakfast.
It was already early November, and the morning temperature was noticeably lower. Duan Yiheng glanced at Lin Xi, then turned and went back to his room to get a blanket to drape over her. Everything was awakened by the morning light, and Lin Xi sighed comfortably, taking a sip of her coffee. It was so comfortable!
Lin Xi squinted and said, "It's really comfortable here. Staying here all day, I'd forget all about directions." Duan Yiheng hummed in agreement: "It'll get boring after a while." Lin Xi finished her coffee and ate most of her breakfast before asking Duan Yiheng:
"What are we going to do later?" This place was too big; it would be fun if they met up with friends, but just the two of them would get bored quickly. "What do you want to do?"
Duan Yiheng put down his coffee. "I came here to keep you company. I'll do whatever you say." Lin Xi said, "Then let's go see the horse you gave me. It was sick before, isn't it better now?"
Duan Yiheng thought of Lin Xi's breakup with him and snorted, "It's better." Lin Xi pressed the issue: "Then how about you take me for a few rides?" Duan Yiheng asked again, "Do you want me to take pictures of you?" Lin Xi was taken aback: "Why take pictures of that?"
"Don't you girls like to post on social media?" Duan Yiheng explained to her. "I was just asking." Lin Xi laughed: "I post too, but not very often. Since you said so, let's take pictures." Duan Yiheng said:
"Didn't you praise the butler's photography skills? Let him come with us." Lin Xi nodded casually, and Duan Yiheng, who had just wiped his hands, eagerly pulled him up. The horse farm was in the north. Lin Xi and Duan Yiheng had just sat on the golf cart when they suddenly saw a drone fly overhead.
Lin Xi was taken aback: "What's the drone for?" Duan Yiheng replied without changing his expression, "For patrolling." Lin Xi naturally didn't think much of it; drones were very useful, especially in a manor like this, playing a role in security monitoring.
The place was large, but there weren't many servants, so the drone came in very handy. Taking advantage of Lin Xi's inattention, Duan Yiheng coldly sent a message. Mu Shuo immediately replied: "Sorry, Brother Heng, I messed up, I didn't control it properly."
Duan Yiheng didn't have time to argue with him, telling him to stop playing around. If he messed up his plans, he'd be in big trouble. Mu Shuo was incredibly cowardly, clinging to Liang Yutong for comfort. Liang Yutong pushed him away: "Serves you right."
While Lin Xi was still riding his horse, he didn't know that a group of people were hiding in the manor.