My Crush Chose Another Woman—So I Fell for His Brother

Does it hurt?

The kitchen helper spent half an hour bringing over two ounces of thin noodles and three side dishes: braised winter bamboo shoots in soy sauce, braised stuffed mushrooms, and crab roe with shrimp balls—enough for two people.

Lin Xi accepted the offer respectfully, taking the chopsticks Duan Yiheng handed her. She ate in silence, keeping quiet. Having eaten two meals that evening, Lin Xi felt a little full when she returned to her room, pacing barefoot back and forth on the floor.

Suddenly remembering Duan Yiheng's words, she picked up her phone and called Liang Yutong. After four or five rings, she answered, "I thought you'd forgotten about me because you're always at work." Lin Xi chuckled, "No, I was just thinking of asking you out this weekend."

"I'm not free this weekend," Liang Yutong scoffed. "Zheng Jianian's back; I have to spend time with him." Lin Xi was taken aback. She had called specifically to ask about Zheng Jianian, but Liang Yutong had brought it up herself. She said, "You've been engaged to him for almost a year now, haven't you? When are you planning to get married?" Liang Yutong replied, "I'm not sure. He was abroad for the whole of last year, so I don't know what to do next year." Lin Xi said, "Tongtong, I remember his parents seemed quite satisfied with you." Liang Yutong said,

"It's not his parents, it's his uncle. It's quite a coincidence, isn't it? Anian's uncle works at Yinfan." When the Zheng family went bankrupt, the Liang family didn't turn against them, mainly because Liang Yutong insisted on fulfilling her engagement with Zheng Jianian.

Zheng Jianian was deeply moved and, after rebuilding his business, started another company, which is now quite successful. His uncle, Zheng Jizhong, lowered his proud head, joined Yinfan, and gained Duan Zheng's appreciation.

But perhaps because of the bankruptcy, Zheng Jizhong's personality changed a lot. Lin Xi hadn't experienced his hardship and therefore wouldn't judge his unscrupulous methods. “Then I won’t disturb you two,” Lin Xi said. “Enjoy your time together.”

“Wait a minute,” Liang Yutong said, afraid she would hang up. “I heard some gossip from Yu Lang, about you and Duan Yiheng.” Lin Xi: “…You said it’s gossip, can it be reliable?” “Of course it’s reliable, I have video footage.”

Liang Yutong chuckled knowingly. “I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but I felt like the way he looked at you was really strange.” “What video?” Lin Xi asked, puzzled. Liang Yutong:

"I'll send it to you later. I need to ask you now, did you really sleep in the same room as Duan Yiheng?"

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Lin Xi's face flushed. "Why are you emphasizing the word 'sleep'? We only shared one night because of the weather. I didn't even touch his sleeve." Liang Yutong chuckled, "Why does it sound a little regretful?

We shared a bed, and you didn't even touch his sleeve?" Lin Xi choked, remembering Duan Yiheng's dark, damp gaze. They bumped into each other; the warmth of his chest still lingered in her palm, making her feel hot just thinking about it.

Lin Xi fanned herself, deciding not to argue with Liang Yutong anymore. She said, "I have to go to work tomorrow, I can't talk to you anymore." Even after Liang Yutong called several times, Lin Xi didn't reply and decisively hung up.

A message immediately came through on WeChat. Lin Xi glanced down at it; it was a video from Liang Yutong. Lin Xi watched the video once, paused, then watched it a second and a third time… She roughly knew who had filmed the footage from the hotel to the airport.

It must have been that blogger, Xiao Qi, who unintentionally captured her and Duan Yiheng in the video. It was just that she had been bumped into, and Duan Yiheng had helped her up.

A perfectly normal thing. She didn't know how the video was filmed, but there was an indescribable ambiguity when the two looked at each other. Seeing that she was alright, Duan Yiheng glanced coldly at the passerby who had bumped into her.

The person was startled and repeatedly said "I'm sorry." Growing increasingly flustered, Lin Xi turned off the video. But after showering and returning to bed, she couldn't help but open it again. Feeling something was off, Lin Xi closed the video, trying to cover it up, and went to her WeChat Moments.

The first post was Chen Li's latest update; she and Lu Tong had arrived in Hong Kong. She noticed that Mu Zhao had liked it. So they knew each other too. Lin Xi liked the post, then turned off her phone and tried to fall asleep.

—The next day at work, Lin Xi used her spare time to choose a restaurant for Duan Yiheng and Tan Qi's meeting. She even received a call from her grandfather in the afternoon. Upon learning that Duan Yiheng and Tan Qi were meeting on Friday, her grandfather beamed on the phone.

Lin Xi stood blankly in the break room, her mind filled with the look in Duan Yiheng's eyes from the video. A gentle smile, pure and unadulterated. Hot water dripped into the ceramic cup, and Lin Xi, lost in thought, reached out to touch the handle.

Duan Yiheng entered and saw her lost in thought. He frowned and called out loudly, "Lin Xi." Startled, Lin Xi's actions were faster than her thoughts; she reached out and grabbed the handle of the cup. "Ah—" she cried out briefly, instinctively letting go.

The ceramic cup shattered with a crisp sound, breaking into four pieces. Lin Xi crouched down to pick up the broken pieces, but Duan Yiheng grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the sink. "What are you daydreaming about? The water's so hot," Duan Yiheng said sternly, but his movements were gentle.

He turned on the tap, holding her still, and scolded her while rinsing her hands: "What time is it? Still worrying about picking up those shards?" Lin Xi looked at their hands, two shades different in color, intertwined, and whispered in protest:

"The cup broke, of course I should clean it up." Duan Yiheng said calmly, "There's a cleaning service." Lin Xi said "Oh," and added, "I can do it myself." Duan Yiheng didn't let go, rinsing for about five minutes before letting out a sigh of relief when he saw her fingers were alright.

"Does it hurt?" Duan Yiheng asked, pinching her fingertips. Lin Xi withdrew her hand and shook her head: "It doesn't hurt." Duan Yiheng said helplessly, "If you daydream in the break room again, I'll deduct your salary." Lin Xi suddenly looked up: "Deduct my salary? You're too—" "Hmm?"

Duan Yiheng looked at her, "Too what?" Lin Xi wrinkled her nose: "Too considerate of your employees." Duan Yiheng chuckled: "Good to know." Lin Xi: "..." She decided to ignore him for the time being and called the cleaning staff to restore the break room to its original state.

Before leaving get off work, Lin Xi made a reservation at the restaurant and confirmed it with Duan Yiheng. He didn't even look up: "Whatever, you decide." Lin Xi had no choice but to confirm a well-known Western restaurant. Tan Qi naturally received the invitation, but she didn't go to the restaurant; she went directly to Yin Fan.

Lin Xi was stunned when she received the call from the front desk and quickly reported it to Duan Yiheng. Duan Yiheng frowned, clearly displeased with Tan Qi's behavior. But since she was already there, it wouldn't be appropriate not to meet her. Since they were going to meet anyway, and she was at the company, there was no need to go to dinner.

He nodded to Lin Xi, who was standing behind the glass partition. Lin Xi immediately got up and went downstairs to greet Tan Qi. Tan Qi loved red; from her car to her clothes, everything she wore was bright and eye-catching.

Within just over ten minutes, the rumor that she was there to see Duan Yiheng had spread throughout the entire office building. Lin Xi led her into the president's office and returned to her workstation.

She couldn't help but glance to the right, and the glass suddenly blurred, completely blocking Lin Xi's view.