Duan Yiheng's words were right next to her ear, his breath hot. Lin Xi instinctively let go.
The next second, her head was shielded, and she was slammed hard onto the grass. She rolled several times, too terrified to notice her twisted ankle. The golf cart hurtled down the slope, overturning with a crash, its rolling wheels seeming to accuse Lin Xi.
Lin Xi huddled in Duan Yiheng's neck, still shaken. The world stopped spinning; she lay there, stunned, beneath Duan Yiheng, meeting his deep eyes.
Duan Yiheng picked her up and sat her on the ground, his expression concerned: "Are you hurt anywhere?"
Before Lin Xi could answer, her gaze fell on the scrapes on the back of his hand, and tears streamed down her face: "You're hurt! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I just... I just wanted to..." Lin Xi pouted, unable to look at Duan Yiheng's expression.
"It's nothing," Duan Yiheng gently patted her back. "Just a few scrapes, it doesn't hurt. Are you hurt anywhere else?"
Lin Xi was still shaken from the car accident and shook her head, her shoulders hunched. Duan Yiheng couldn't bear to see her like this and pulled her into his arms.
Lin Xi wiped her tears onto his chest.
"I'm sorry," Lin Xi apologized again. "I was just thinking about my mother, that's why I didn't pay attention to the road."
Duan Yiheng ruffled the back of her head: "So, you're blaming me for bringing this up?"
Lin Xi sniffed and shook her head. Duan Yiheng released her and said, "I'll call the housekeeper and have someone come pick us up."
Lin Xi hummed in agreement, released him, and was about to stand up when suddenly her brow furrowed, and she let out a muffled groan.
Duan Yiheng quickly steadied her, looking at her foot. "Are you hurt?" Lin Xi, tears still glistening, gave an awkward smile. "I think I twisted my ankle."
Duan Yiheng supported her, made a call to the housekeeper, then bent down and scooped her up in his arms.
Lin Xi, unaccustomed to this, was startled and tried to push him away, bracing herself against his shoulders. "You're hurt and still not behaving yourself."
Duan Yiheng lowered his head to remind her, "Hold on tight." Lin Xi bit her lip, timidly raising her hand. Just as she touched his neck, she instinctively raised her hand again. Seeing him still staring at her, she steeled herself and held him tightly.
Lin Xi was petite, and from a distance, she looked somewhat comical, like someone carrying a dish in his arms.
But she didn't realize it, wanting to pull away because they were so close. Duan Yiheng slightly raised his wrist, and she leaned against his neck. A strand of long hair brushed against his shoulder, leaving a fleeting fragrance. His breath was close, his chest warm, his heart pounding.
Lin Xi held her breath, incredibly embarrassed. She racked her brains for a topic, her mouth opening and closing several times, but she couldn't find the words. She was close to Duan Mingxuan, but there was a difference between men and women.
When she was little, Duan Mingxuan would comfort her by telling her stories, and then go back to his room after she fell asleep. Duan Mingxuan had tried to sleep with her a few times, but Chen Baiwei had always refused. Lin Xi liked Duan Mingxuan and would subconsciously want to be close to him.
But precisely because she liked him, she had to restrain herself from physical contact. Otherwise, in Chen Baiwei's eyes, she would probably be a little vixen seducing her son.
She only dared to rush up and give Duan Mingxuan a polite hug after not seeing him for half a year, and then let go.
Lin Xi had no experience in completely falling into a man's arms like this, with her arms around his neck. Yu Tong said that Duan Yiheng had carried her to the car in the same way when she was drunk at the club.
Sober and drunk are two completely different states. "What are you thinking about? Daydreaming again?" A gentle voice roused Lin Xi from her reverie. She looked up blankly, thinking Duan Yiheng was accusing her of being distracted while driving, and said, "I remember when I was fifteen, the first time I went home to pay respects to my parents. Before leaving, I hid in the corner by the east gate of the south courtyard and met you. Do you remember?"
"I remember," Duan Yiheng said. "You looked like a wounded cat then."
Lin Xi smiled slightly. "Then do you remember what you told me?" Duan Yiheng naturally remembered.
The maid said she was missing. Remembering how much his grandfather valued her, he went downstairs to help look for her. He found her in the corner, crying uncontrollably.
He tried to comfort her, but she just kept crying, so he asked her why she was crying. Duan Yiheng hadn't expected her to say she didn't want to go back. To be honest, his first reaction was that this young girl had forgotten her roots. But her next words slapped him in the face.
Fifteen-year-old Lin Xi looked at him with red eyes, pitifully saying, "I'm afraid to go back. I'm afraid they'll blame me."
Duan Yiheng, whose mother had passed away early, understood her thoughts almost immediately. He patiently squatted down and said, "Your parents won't blame you. They'll only be happy that you're doing well, that you've grown taller, and that you're more beautiful."
Lin Xi asked him, her voice trembling with tears, "Really?"
"Of course it's true," Duan Yiheng said. "That's what my mother told me before she passed away. She said she would watch over me from heaven, knowing how tall I've grown and what I've done."
Fifteen was no longer a child. Lin Xi knew he was comforting her, but she stood up and followed him.
Afterwards, she was scolded by Chen Baiwei. Lin Xi chuckled softly and said to Duan Yiheng, "I was so silly back then."
"Yeah, I admit it," Duan Yiheng replied. Lin Xi protested again, "What did you say?"
Duan Yiheng smiled, slightly raising his chin, and changed the subject, "Someone's coming." A white sightseeing vehicle slowly pulled up; it was the butler who had come to pick them up.
Back at the main building, the doctor glanced at them and said they were fine. Lin Xi breathed a sigh of relief.
Liang Yutong laughed, "I'm really impressed. How could you flip that car?"
"I was going uphill, and when I got to the top, I realized it was going downhill."
Lin Xi defended her driving skills, "I didn't dare to brake fully, otherwise it would definitely flip."
"Even if you didn't brake fully, it still flipped," Liang Yutong complained. "Luckily, nothing serious happened. A few years ago at a golf course, a caddie fell off a vehicle and was seriously unconscious."
Lin Xi's heart tightened, and she looked back at Duan Yiheng. How could he dare to jump off the vehicle while holding her? Wasn't he afraid of getting hurt?
If anything had happened to Duan Yiheng, she would have to atone with her death. Meng Huaishan and the others got up one after another, each strode around her like male models, asking a few questions.
"Will horseback riding this afternoon be a problem?" Meng Huaishan asked.
Duan Yiheng said, "They said to be careful not to fall in the same place twice. Just to be safe, let's stay indoors."
Meng Huaishan chuckled, "Then we'll have to play by ourselves." The butler led them into the dining room, leaving only Lin Xi and Duan Yiheng in the living room.
Her eyes pleaded, "Can't I go horseback riding?" Duan Yiheng's eyes flickered slightly. "Want to ride a horse?" Lin Xi nodded, looking pitiful.
Duan Yiheng pondered for a moment, then said, "You can fall off a bike. If you want to ride a horse, I'll take you."
"You'll take me?" Lin Xi asked. "Will we ride one horse?" Duan Yiheng: "Yes, do you want to twist your ankle again? Are you planning to take a day off right after starting work?"
"Okay, you take me," Lin Xi hurriedly agreed, as if afraid Duan Yiheng would change his mind.