Additional Inheritance - Chap 12
Chapter 12
As expected, Luca never appeared at work again. Wen Xiaohui was quite unused to it at first and during the first few days everyone still gossiped about this incident. However, the short-lived enthusiasm soon cooled, and the studio reverted back to normal, as if that person had never existed.
Half a month after the incident, when chatting with Xiao Ai, she mentioned how she’d overheard Raven talking to Liu Xing. Luca’s troubles were as a result of the car. He couldn’t buy a car as he wasn’t a local resident; this could be easily uncovered as soon as someone decided to investigate. This kind of gossip was too vague and they could only guess the reality of the situation.
During this time, Director Luo asked Wen Xiaohui out twice, but Wen Xiaohui came up with all sorts of reasons to turn him down, which made him unhappy. Wen Xiaohui waited with anticipation for Raven to trouble him, but Raven didn’t do anything other than pay him little attention. His work was the same as always, besides Sydney no longer coming to find him and ignoring his calls.
In the blink of an eye, it was the month of the National College Entrance Examination1.
Wen Xiaohui asked Luo Yi about his aspirations while they were dining one day,
Luo Yi said as he nodded, “I’ve already made up my mind.”
“Which country are you going to?” Wen Xiaohui asked expectantly, “Can I visit you so we can go play together? I’ve never been abroad.”
Luo Yi didn’t raise his head as he ate. “I’m not going abroad. Oh, where do you want to go? We can go travelling during the summer holidays.”
“Huh?” Wen Xiaohui was confused. “Aren’t you interested in any of the famous universities around the world?”
Luo Yi shook his head.
“Why?”
Luo Yi’s chopsticks paused and he looked up to smile at Wen Xiaohui. “What if I said it’s because I’m unwilling to part with you?”
Wen Xiaohui was stunned and his jaw dropped2. “I think you can’t bear to part with your giant heap of collectibles.”
“I’m telling the truth.” Luo Yi put down his chopsticks and placed his interlocking fingers under his chin. He looked at Wen Xiaohui seriously. “Xiaohui-ge, I’m this old and it’s the first time I’ve experienced the feeling of ‘home’. I have read a lot of books and listened to a lot of stories, and the way that they all depict ‘home’ is very comforting and beautiful. But I didn’t understand it at all, the ones that accompanied me in childhood weren’t my parents – instead they were my books and my nanny. I never knew the value of having a home and family. That’s why I have no interest in foreign universities, the things that they can teach me, I can learn without going to university. I’m staying here.”
Wen Xiaohui felt a bit embarrassed. “What the hell? Why are you suddenly so cringey?”
Luo Yi chuckled, “I’m telling the truth.”
Wen Xiaohui laughed. Having someone who trusted and relied on him gave him the feeling of happiness and warmth, which surged forth from the bottom of his heart. The longer he spent with Luo Yi, the more he liked this boy who was almost perfect. He began to think that the most precious inheritance left to him by Luo Yaya wasn’t the house nor the money, but this non blood-related nephew with whom he had an affinity from their first meeting, the one who gave him the feeling of family.
Luo Yi dabbed his mouth gently with a tissue, and said softly, “Besides, I still have a lot of things to do here.”
Wen Xiaohui asked offhand, “What do you need to do?”
Luo Yi lowered his eyes, his very long eyelashes covered his eyes. He replied with a smile, “Lots and lots of interesting things.”
Wen Xiaohui thought he was referring to his eclectic mix of hobbies, and responded in agreement. “Yeah, maybe you’ll bring back a bunch of trophies while you’re at university. That’s right, what do you want to study?”
“I’m planning to study a joint honours degree in finance and law.”
“Hey, that’s so ordinary. I thought that child geniuses would study obscure subjects, like maths or archaeology, and so forth.”
“Those can be hobbies, but they’re not suitable occupations.”
“Yeah, it’s hard to find a job… But you don’t have to worry about finding employment.”
Luo Yi replied with ease, “You don’t have to worry either. If it’s not working out, you should quit. I’ll support you financially.”
With a face full of infatuation, Wen Xiaohui said, “All my life, I’ve dreamt of being the kept-man of a handsome guy. Then I can live a life of drunken stupor3… What a shame! If only someone else said these words.”
“Why does it have to be someone else? Are you worried I can’t support you financially?”
Wen Xiaohui rubbed his own hair. “You’re not a man yet, stop talking like a grown-up.”
Luo Yi grabbed Wen Xiaohui’s hand and gazed into his eyes with the fervour that could make a person blush. “Being a man isn’t correlated with age.”
Wen Xiaohui pulled his hand back and scooped a mouthful of rice with his head lowered. He acted as though he was unaffected and said teasingly, “Why don’t you wait until you’re 18 before you discuss this topic with me?”
Luo Yi continued to stare at him. “Last time we discussed what type of man that you prefer, but you only talked about their looks. What about their inner qualities? What kind of temperament do you prefer?”
Wen Xiaohui had a suspicion, so he didn’t know what to do. He said, “Why are you asking?”
“Just curious.”
“What are you curious about?”
Luo Yi laughed, “What if I accidentally became the type of man that you like?”
Wen Xiaohui softly coughed once, then he laughed a couple of times, the sound of his voice was subconsciously raised. “Stop teasing me.” He set down his chopsticks. “I’m finished eating.”
“You haven’t eaten much.”
“I’m trying to be healthy, I’m on a diet.” Without looking back, Wen Xiaohui went upstairs with his phone in his hand.
Luo Yi continued to stare at his back until he disappeared at the foot of the stairs.
Wen Xiaohui inhaled a few deep breaths after he returned to the room. He wasn’t stupid, in fact, he was pretty bright when it came to these sorts of matters. Since he has been good-looking from childhood, he’d received a fair number of love letters from girls and had experienced all sorts of people vying for his attention. Luo Yi’s keen and hopeful gaze and his meticulous care had set off the warning bells in his heart.
What if Luo Yi actually liked him?
Wen Xiaohui was stunned by this possibility. Luo Yi was the only descendant left by his sister and it would be fine if he were born gay, but he wouldn’t be able to cope if he was the one who turned him gay. He was genuinely scared and he hoped that this was all his speculation, otherwise things would become more troublesome.
Wen Xiaohui immediately decided to reduce the frequency of his visits and he even thought about going to Yaya’s room to sleep. However, he was a little afraid of sleeping in the room of a deceased person. He was fairly courageous, but also superstitious, so he gave up on the idea after thinking about it. In his heart, Luo Yi could no longer be regarded as just a relative.
It was Luo Yi’s school holidays when the National College Entrance Examination approached, and he’d already been accepted into XX University without having to take any exams. It was the most critical time for other students, but he’d started his summer holidays early. Both of them had planned to go on holiday together, but Wen Xiaohui was unable to get the time off, which made him feel depressed.
Wen Xiaohui sighed as he flipped through the calendar.
Xiao Ai came over. “What are you up to?”
“Xiao Ai, do you think Raven would let me take a week off?”
Xiao Ai nodded. “Of course.”
“Really?”
“Marriage leave, bereavement leave, sick leave, maternity leave, feel free to pick one.”
Wen Xiaohui rolled his eyes. “Go away, I hate you.”
Xiao Ai giggled, “You’re wanting to take leave during your apprenticeship at Juxing? You must be dreaming. Why did you want to take time off?”
“I want to go travelling.”
Xiao Ai patted his shoulder. “Stop thinking about it, keep working hard.”
The doors to the studio opened, Xiao Ai turned around to see and she whispered boastfully, “Wow! He’s so handsome. Take a look quickly, Adi. He’s definitely your type.”
Wen Xiaohui turned around; it was actually the princeling that he met at the charity event, Shao Qun.
Xiao Ai shoved Wen Xiaohui away. “Don’t steal my customer.”
Wen Xiaohui let out an ‘urgh’ sound. “Who wants to steal your customer? Don’t worry at all, it won’t be up to you to serve him.”
“Why?”
As he was speaking, Raven walked out of the office and said with an incredulous look on his face, “Young Master Shao?! Ah, you honour us with your presence. Why didn’t you call in advance of your visit? I’m worried we won’t be able to provide the best customer service4.”
Shao Qun looked around the studio. “I was passing by in my car. It just so happens that my hair is getting long so I came to have it trimmed.”
Raven’s smiled like a blooming flower. “Please take a seat. It’s lucky that I’m at the studio today, otherwise I’d be worried about others touching your hair and I…”
“Him.” Shao Qun pointed casually at Wen Xiaohui.
Wen Xiaohui was stunned and began to wonder rather shamelessly whether this Young Master Shao had taken a fancy to him.
Raven’s smile froze. “Eh, but he’s a trainee. I’m worried he won’t do a good job.”
“It’s alright, I only need it trimmed.” Shao Qun sat on the chair, unbothered by the people around him and glanced at his watch. “Hurry up, I have some business to attend to.”
Raven glanced over and signalled to Wen Xiaohui. “Go. Make sure you’re attentive.” His tone had a tinge of deliberately-disguised envy.
Wen Xiaohui wondered to himself how did he fucking manage to offend Raven again? Recently when he saw Raven, he wanted to hug the sides of the walls to get past him and today, he was implicated for no apparent reason5.
Wen Xiaohui coughed softly and walked over. “Young Master Shao, shall I give your hair a wash first?”
Shao Qun said, “Don’t wash it, just trim.”
“Oh… Okay.”
Wen Xiaohui took out his equipment and looked at Shao Qun’s handsome face that was reflected in the mirror. Although Wen Xiaohui wasn’t able to tell someone’s fortune by their facial features, his ability to discern someone’s intentions from their body language was a skill that he had honed during his more than a year’s work experience in the service industry. He could easily tell that Shao Qun had a bad temper and that he didn’t care about anyone. Wen Xiaohui was worried he would make a foolish mistake so that Raven could use it as an excuse to fire him.
Shao Qun looked at him in the mirror. “Are you nervous?”
Wen Xiaohui chuckled, “A little. I’m worried that I can’t compensate you for your hair if I don’t do a good job.”
Shao Qun smiled teasingly. “So what if you don’t? Do you think I’m going to eat you?”
Wen Xiaohui forced out a couple of laughs. “What kind of hairstyle would you like?”
“It’s prickly on my neck, figure it out yourself,” said Shao Qun and then he lowered his head to play with his mobile phone.
Wen Xiaohui decided to err on the side of caution and trimmed his hair according to his original hairstyle. At first, he evened out all of the ends of Shao Qun’s hair and the back of his head. Due to Shao Qun’s silence, he momentarily forgot whose hair he was cutting and his hands auto-piloted and pressed down on Shao Qun’s temples to make him tilt his head up. “Tilt your head up for me to see.”
Shao Qun’s face immediately showed a hint of impatience.
Wen Xiaohui retracted his hands and his fingers became awkwardly suspended in the air.
Shao Qun frowned. “Are you crazy? Why the hell are you scared of me?”
Wen Xiaohui thought to himself: “Isn’t it because you’re intimidating?”
Shao Qun put away his phone and looked at him in the mirror. “Do you know why I asked for you?”
Wen Xiaohui shook his head.
The corners of Shao Qun’s lips curled up into a slight smile. “Take a guess.”
Wen Xiaohui winked. “Do you want to hook up with me?”
Shao Qun narrowed his eyes. “You have a lot of confidence.”
Wen Xiaohui put up a front and chuckled, “I was joking.”
Shao Qun crossed one leg over the other and said without reservation, “When you’re not wearing makeup, you’re indeed the type I normally bed. However, I hate men who cover themselves in makeup. It spoils my appetite.”
Wen Xiaohui inwardly cursed him: “Fucking spoil your appetite!” He felt upset and the tone of his voice became erratic. “Young Master Shao, why did you come looking for me then?”
“I came to ask you for a favour.”
Wen Xiaohui didn’t understand; they were practically strangers, what more could he want besides hooking up for a one-night stand?
Footnotes:
高考 or Gaokao is are standardised exams for entry into undergraduate programmes at higher education institutions.
Basically he was like this emoji :-o.
醉生梦死 or Drunk Life a Dream; anyone read Tian Ya Ke/Faraway Wanderers by Priest? This idiom is used as the name of Zhou Zi Shu’s sleeping powder.
The raws actually use 招待不周, i.e. poor reception of guests.
The actual phrase used is internet slang, which means to be shot while lying down (躺着也中枪).
