Seeing that she was awake, Duan Yiheng smiled, "Did I wake you?" "What are you doing?" Lin Xi frowned, her voice hoarse, "You'll scare people to death in the middle of the night, you know?" Duan Yiheng's tone softened, even pleading:
"Then you sleep, I'll sit for a while, okay?" Lin Xi sensed something was wrong with his words, turned on the bedside lamp, and sat up. She raised her hands to cup Duan Yiheng's face, looking him over from left to right, and asked, "What's wrong?"
Duan Yiheng pulled her into his arms without saying a word. Seeing that she needed comforting, Lin Xi wrapped her arms around his neck and patted his back. Duan Yiheng groaned, his body trembling inexplicably. Lin Xi was startled and abruptly pushed him away: "What's wrong?"
Duan Yiheng shook his head: "Nothing." "Wait a minute." Lin Xi grabbed his collar. "Why are you sweating?" Duan Yiheng grabbed her wrist, his voice low: "Baby, I'm really fine." "Stop being so cheeky."
Lin Xi broke free of his hand, yanked open his collar, and froze when she saw a cut on his neck. "What happened? You're injured?" Lin Xi pulled open his jacket. "Take it off and let me see."
"I..." Duan Yiheng hadn't expected her to notice and tried to stop her. "Duan Yiheng, take it off quickly." Lin Xi glared at him impatiently. Duan Yiheng said helplessly, "I'll take it off myself, don't do it."
After taking off his suit jacket, Duan Yiheng slowly unbuttoned his shirt in front of her. Lin Xi couldn't wait any longer. She stepped onto the carpet and went behind him. When she saw the crisscrossing bruises, tears welled up in her eyes. "Who did this?" Duan Yiheng turned around and pulled the even more aggrieved Lin Xi onto his lap. "Why are you crying? It wasn't you who was hit." Afraid of hurting him, Lin Xi wiped away her tears and said, "I'll ask Sister Mei to bring some medicine up, I'll put it on you." "Okay." Duan Yiheng kissed her cheek. "Lie down quickly." Lin Xi gently pushed him. "Wait for me a moment." Then she went downstairs. "Sister Mei, where's the first-aid kit?" Sister Mei came up and asked, "What happened?" "Brother is injured, bruises everywhere, like he was hit with a stick," Lin Xi said. "Do you have any medicine to reduce swelling and pain?" "Did Grandpa do it?" Sister Mei was almost frantic. "You go upstairs and watch him, I'll come with the first-aid kit." "Grandpa did it?" Lin Xi was stunned. "That's right. In this family, besides Grandpa, who would dare hit Duan Yiheng?" Sister Mei was frantic. She grabbed her medicine box and went upstairs. Seeing the bruises on Duan Yiheng's back, tears welled up in her eyes. "The old man hit him too hard."
"Sister Mei, don't cry. Lin Xi has already cried once," Duan Yiheng reminded her, trying to sound casual. Sister Mei sniffed, took out the medicated oil, and placed it on the bedside table. "Shall I apply the medicine for you?" she said. "No need," Duan Yiheng replied. "Go downstairs."
Sister Mei glanced at Lin Xi, who nodded to her. "I'll take good care of my brother." "Warm the medicated oil in your palms before applying it," Sister Mei reminded him. "If you still feel uncomfortable, be sure to call a doctor." Lin Xi replied, "I know."
Sister Mei then went downstairs, inwardly grumbling about the old man. Lin Xi poured the medicated oil into her palm, gently warmed it, and then gently rubbed it along his bruises. Duan Yiheng stiffened, clenching his fists. "You went to the North Courtyard to see Grandpa?"
Duan Yiheng couldn't hear what she was saying at all, only that a pair of gentle, soft hands were stroking his back. "I'm asking you a question." Lin Xi gently patted him on an uninjured spot. "Why did Grandpa hit you?" Duan Yiheng glanced back:
"Because of Zheng Jizhong, I argued with him a couple of times." "What does Zheng Jizhong have to do with it?" Lin Xi couldn't help but wonder. "Zheng Jizhong went to Grandpa, and I don't know what methods he used to get Grandpa to protect him."
Duan Yiheng made an excuse, "I went to argue with him and said a couple of things." Lin Xi was shocked: "He hit you just for talking back? Is Grandpa that kind of person? I went to argue with him, how could he be so unreasonable?" Duan Yiheng chuckled:
"You think Grandpa is really good-tempered? He's just gentle with you." Lin Xi finally finished applying the medicine for him and said, "I'm going to wash my hands. You lie down for a while and let the medicine absorb." "Okay."
While washing her hands, Lin Xi thought about Duan Yiheng's words. She felt that a few words shouldn't have led to Grandpa hitting her. Even if he did, it couldn't have been this bad. There wasn't a single patch of good skin left on his back. No, she had to ask Grandpa about it tomorrow.
"Lin Xi, are your hands still not washed?" Duan Yiheng called towards the bathroom. "You're here." Lin Xi came out of the bathroom and, seeing him still naked, casually asked, "Why aren't you dressed yet?" Duan Yiheng suddenly wanted to tease her, so he feigned weakness and said,
"My back hurts a little, I'm weak." Lin Xi didn't think much of it: "Then I'll help you dress." "Okay." Duan Yiheng sat up half-naked on the bed. Lin Xi picked up a shirt and gestured for him to raise his hand, which Duan Yiheng readily agreed to. After getting dressed, he looked down and said,
"Aren't you going to button your clothes?" Lin Xi: "...You can't even button your clothes?" Duan Yiheng stared at her for a while, then suddenly asked, "Lin Xi, do you like me?" Lin Xi was taken aback: "Why are you asking again?" "I just want to know."
Duan Yiheng pulled her closer to sit on the edge of the bed. "Something unexpected might happen tomorrow. I hope you can face it calmly." Lin Xi instantly had a bad feeling: "What is it?" Duan Yiheng said, "You'll know tomorrow."
"Why are you keeping me in suspense?" Lin Xi grabbed his arm. "What is it?" Duan Yiheng still didn't know what his reason for resigning would be, so he couldn't answer Lin Xi. He only said, "Let's talk about it tomorrow. I'm a little tired."
Lin Xi had no choice but to let him leave: "I'll take you back to your room." Duan Yiheng put his arm around her shoulder: "Thank you for your trouble." Lin Xi scoffed: "Why are you being so polite all of a sudden?" After taking him back to his room, Lin Xi gave him a few more instructions before returning to her own room. Because of Duan Yiheng's words, Lin Xi barely slept all night. The next day, he couldn't go to the company because of his injury, so Lin Xi said goodbye and drove to work. But as soon as she entered the company, Qin Yang rushed over anxiously: "Where's President Duan? He's injured? Is it serious?" Lin Xi was stunned: "How did you know?" Qin Yang: "The company announced that President Duan will be resigning as president of Yinfan Technology due to health reasons. Due to a sudden illness, the group will send someone to take over company affairs soon." "What?"
Lin Xi logged into the internal system in disbelief. When she saw the system notification confirming Qin Yang's words, she grabbed her bag and left the company. She couldn't understand what Duan Yiheng was up to.