Additional Inheritance - Chap 19

Chapter 19

Trigger warning: Sexual harassment

Raven’s face was glowing as he greeted Wen Xiaohui affectionately. “Darling, come here quickly.”

Wen Xiaohui was unable to stop the profanities running through his head.

The entire room stared at Wen Xiaohui; there were people that he knew and some that he didn’t, making him unable to back out1. He put on a brave face and walked over. “Hello, Director Luo. Happy birthday, Raven.” He handed over the gift bag, and experienced a sharp pang of pain2.

Raven accepted the eye cream that cost Wen Xiaohui a month’s salary, and tossed it aside without even giving it a second glance. He said with a smile, “Thanks darling, take a seat.” He casually pointed at the seat beside Director Luo as he spoke.

Wen Xiaohui had no choice but to sit down.

Director Luo poured a glass of beer for Wen Xiaohui. “Long time no see, Adi. You seem busier at work than me, it’s not easy to ask you out.”

Wen Xiaohui accepted the glass, and with a fake smile plastered on his face, he replied, “You’re busy making millions whilst I’m busy doing the menial work at the bottom of the organisation. I’d like to give you a toast.” Once he finished speaking, he downed the glass without hesitation.

His alcohol tolerance wasn’t considered good nor bad. He drank it in such a rush to give himself some liquid courage, and because he really didn’t have the energy to deal with Director Luo.

Director Luo clapped. “Amazing! I’ll drink mine too.” After he finished speaking, he followed suit and drank up his glass.

Sitting on the side, Raven said, “Don’t drink so quickly. Come and choose a song.”

Director Luo said with a smile, “What song do you like to sing, Adi? Shall we sing together?”

Raven hurriedly replied, “Adi sings really well. Director Luo, you should tell us what you want to listen to.”

“Sure.”

Wen Xiaohui wanted to keep his distance from him, so he picked up the microphone and went off to sing. He chose a classic song, Adam Kling’s ‘The Feel Good Song.’ Anyone who owned a Nokia mobile phone before would be familiar with it. It had a lively beat, which was very suitable for birthdays.

Wen Xiaohui had a very special singing voice, with a natural sort of charm. It was originally an American country song, and when he was singing, it appeared as if he were a young man serenading his beloved with the lyrics and a guitar. The people in the private room were jeering and applauding. Director Luo narrowed his eyes, he stared at Wen Xiaohui and whispered to Raven from time to time. They both laughed while looking at Wen Xiaohui, which didn’t go unnoticed by him.

After finishing the song, Wen Xiaohui proceeded to sing a relaxing song and he reflected on how he should get through the night. He had to pretend to be friendly3 towards Director Luo, the damned fatty, which he found extremely annoying. Raven was unlikely to let him leave, but he decided that he would stick around for another hour before he would leave regardless of Raven’s feelings. If Raven made things difficult for him because of this, then he couldn’t blame him for being ruthless – he still had the backing of Young Master Shao who was counting on him to supply insider information.

He finished singing both songs, but as he was about to start the third song, he was chased back to his seat for the crime of being a mic hog. Since the other seats were occupied, he could only sit back down next to Director Luo, as reluctant as if he was being tortured.

Director Luo looked at him and was full of smiles. “You sing really well, Adi. Has anyone ever told you that your voice is particularly sexy?”

Wen Xiaohui chuckled, “Thank you, Director Luo.”

“I really want to duet with you, but I don’t want to make a fool of myself when compared with your singing.” Director Luo raised his glass. “Come on, another toast to you.”

Wen Xiaohui accepted it and saw that it had been changed to tequila. Western liquor affected him the most and in comparison he could drink Chinese liquor4 without getting drunk that easily.

Director Luo gently clinked his glass against Wen Xiaohui’s glass, and placed his hand on Wen Xiaohui’s knee while he was drinking.

Fuck you, Wen Xiaohui silently cursed. He managed to move his knee away without alerting Director Luo, and he started to eat some fruit to divert attention.

Raven and Director Luo looked at each other and continued to ply Wen Xiaohui with alcohol. Wen Xiaohui immediately realised that they were trying to get him drunk, and he started to refuse and evade, but by that stage he had already been forced to drink a good few glasses of beer, red wine and other Western liquors.

Since he was unable to refuse, he grabbed a duck chin and gnawed it on the spot. He looked so serious and focussed when eating that other people didn’t want to bother him.

Director Luo asked with concern, “Haven’t you eaten yet? Let’s order some more snacks.”

“It’s fine, this is enough.”

Director Luo retrieved a tissue. “Eat a bit more slowly, no one is going to fight you for it. Look how dirty your fingers are.” He reached out to wipe Wen Xiaohui’s hand.

Wen Xiaohui stood up abruptly. “I’m going to wash my hands.” As a result of getting up too suddenly, he almost fell over. He felt a slightly floating sensation as he walked to the toilet of the private room without looking back.

As soon as the bathroom door closed, he gave the wall a kick!

Fucking Raven, what a whore! He even tried to pimp him out. If it wasn’t for the fact that Raven was his boss, he would have beaten the shit5 out of this idiot. His remaining sliver of respect for Raven was completely exhausted. He once believed that he could be the same as Raven, and rely on his own skills to carve out a successful career at a young age. However, after getting to know Raven better, he found out that he was unwilling to pay the price that Raven was willing to pay. This originally had nothing to do with him, but Raven tried to sell him off for personal gains and he couldn’t stand it.

His hand was propped on the counter of the sink and he stared at his blurry, drunken eyes and flushed cheeks in the mirror. He really couldn’t drink any more. He pulled out his mobile phone and he dialled Luo Yi’s number with his trembling hands. “Hey, Luo Yi6.”

“Did you drink too much?”

“Yeah, just a little bit…. Can you come and pick me up? I’m worried that my boss won’t let me leave so easily.”

“Okay, wait for me.”

Wen Xiaohui told him the number of the private room, and hung up. He used water from the tap to wet his face a few times, but he felt his face continuing to burn. A buzzing sound echoed in his head.

Someone knocked on the toilet door with a banging sound. “Adi, are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Wen Xiaohui tried to shake the water off his dripping wet fringe, then he opened the door.

The lighting in the karaoke bar glittered and gleamed, which made him feel dizzy and his steps began to waver. Director Luo took a big stride, he appeared in front of him and supported his body. He asked with concern, “Are you dizzy after drinking such a tiny amount? That won’t do. The night has only just started and everyone is on a high.”

Wen Xiaohui tried to extract himself from Director Luo’s grip, but it was impossible. He was dragged to the sofa by Director Luo, and he shook his head. “I can’t drink any more. I really can’t!” The effects of tequila were too astounding. He didn’t feel drunk at the time, but he now felt that the whole room was spinning7.

Raven laughed, “Stop being a spoilsport. It’s fine if you’re drunk, we won’t throw you out on the streets. What are you scared of?”

Wen Xiaohui sensed a hand on his waist that was feeling him up, but he was unable to get away. He didn’t even have the strength to make a fuss.

Raven thrust a glass of alcohol against his lips. “Come on, I’m in a good mood today.”

Wen Xiaohui was forced to drink almost a full glass. His stomach was protesting as if he were going to vomit any minute.

The flashing lights in the karaoke bar and the loud music, the stifling smoke and the stench of alcohol all made Wen Xiaohui feel that his brain had turned to mush and his reactions became sluggish. Director Luo’s face kept appearing in front of him, and the perverted smile made him want to vomit. He didn’t pay much attention to what Director Luo was saying. Instead, his only thought was when will Luo Yi come and bring him home? Then the two of them would be able to stay in Luo Yi’s bedroom, with him doing exercises before bed and Luo Yi reading, finally sleeping once the lights go out, but occasionally they might chat until the early hours of the night… That was everything that he wanted.

“Adi, are you actually drunk? Let me take you back home.”

Wen Xiaohui’s sluggish brain sensed a hint of danger. “It’s fine, my… My relative is coming to pick me up.” As he spoke, he sensed someone helping him to stand up, and they walked towards the door.

Director Luo’s voice sounded in his ears, “I’ve told my chauffeur to come. It’s okay, I’ll take you home now.”

“No!” Wen Xiaohui exerted all his strength to shake off Director Luo’s arm. “Luo Yi’s coming to pick me up!”

“Who is Luo Yi? He can’t be your boyfriend, right?”

“Yes, he’s my boyfriend. I’m waiting for him to pick me up…” teased Wen Xiaohui.

“But Raven said that you don’t have a boyfriend.” Director Luo grabbed onto Wen Xiaohui’s slender waist and stroked it fondly, and he dragged him out of the karaoke bar. “That’s fine. Why don’t you tell your boyfriend that I will take you home instead? ”

“No, I don’t need you to take me…”

Although Director Luo wasn’t tall, he was strong and fat. He dragged Wen Xiaohui to the carpark. Wen Xiaohui used his remaining fragment of consciousness to restrain himself from beating Director Luo. In reality, he was worried that he didn’t even have the ability to stand upright. His body felt weak and he was likely to be the one to suffer losses if he started a fight.

At this moment, Wen Xiaohui’s mobile phone rang. His intuition told him that Luo Yi must have arrived. He wanted to reach for his phone, but his hand was grabbed by Director Luo. Director Luo pressed his body against the bonnet of the car, and moved his hand to rest on Wen Xiaohui’s ass. He groped him and added, “Adi, I’ve liked you from the first time that we met. I feel very distressed when I think about how hard you work.”

Wen Xiaohui shoved his face away, and he couldn’t help releasing a torrent of obscenities. “Fuck! Fuck you! Do you not want to live anymore? I8 need to answer my phone!”

“Juxing will be undergoing restructure soon. Surely you don’t want to continue working as a trainee? If you agree to be with me, I can give you much better support than Raven.” Director Luo moved closer and tried to kiss him.

Wen Xiaohui grabbed a handful of his hair. “Fuck! If you come any closer, I’ll cut your dick off and feed it to the dogs!”

“Let him go.” From behind him, a clear and calm voice could be heard.

Director Luo turned around and saw a tall figure standing in the shadows. He was unable to see his face clearly, but he could tell it was a young man from the voice. Because Director Luo had been drinking, he was particularly lecherous and he became angry at the person who disturbed him. “Piss off!”

Wen Xiaohui exclaimed, “Luo Yi!”

Director Luo laughed, “So he’s your boyfriend? How old is he? Do you play house together? Adi, you really need to learn how to be a mature and sensible grown-up from Raven.”

Luo Yi walked out of the shadows. His face appeared as cold as frost and his eyes were so calm that they resembled a bottomless ocean.

Director Luo stared blankly. It was rare to see such a good looking youth, but it was his savage eyes9 that made him tremble in fear.

Luo Yi’s voice was as gentle as a caress from a spring breeze. “I told you to let him go.”

Footnotes:

骑虎难下, unable to stop something halfway (idiom). The literal translation means that it’s difficult to dismount from a tiger once you’re on top of it.

Still upset that he had to spend over a month’s salary on a small jar of eye cream for his dickhead boss.

虚与委蛇, to feign civility (idiom).

白酒/baijiu, Chinese colourless liquor typically coming in between 35% and 60% alcohol by volume (ABV).

满地找牙, to beat the crap out of someone (idiom). Literally means to look for one’s teeth all over the floor.

Just to point out, it is completely normal for people to use full names for close friends and family members. It’s not the same as in English where it might denote that someone is distant because they’re not on first name terms.

天旋地转, literally the sky spins and the earth goes around, but means one’s head is spinning in this context (idiom).

老子/laozi, an arrogant version of I is used in this sentence.

如狼似虎, literally means like wolves and tigers but it means that someone is ruthless.