Additional Inheritance - Chap 26
Chapter 26
Everything progressed according to Shao Qun’s expectations, or you could say that it went according to Shao Qun and Director Luo’s plans.
After the incident, it took Raven half a month to reappear at Juxing. He appeared pale and exhausted; even the heavy makeup couldn’t mask the intense dark circles under his eyes. He calmly said his goodbyes to everybody, explaining how his friends in Shendu1 wanted him as a partner for a business venture, so he decided to go elsewhere for development and a change of scenery.
Wen Xiaohui looked at him, but he was unable to describe how he was feeling. Although he was thoroughly disappointed in Raven, he never forgot how Raven was the one who put him through his interviews to join Juxing. He still remembered how he used to look up to Raven. Someone had once said that worshipping and understanding someone were two emotions that were as far apart as possible, and there was no benefit to them being closer.
Before leaving, Raven called him to the office. He lit a cigarette, and said indifferently to Wen Xiaohui, “Take a seat.”
Wen Xiaohui sat down apprehensively.
“I’m going to Shanghai next week. I’ve already booked the tickets.”
Wen Xiaohui nodded. “I hope it all goes well.”
“Work hard at Juxing. Juxing’s future looks good.”
Wen Xiaohui didn’t know what to say, so he nodded again.
Raven laughed mockingly at himself. “I’ve been in this industry for ten years; changing from a simple kid like you to what I thought was an experienced ‘senior,’ but I still ended up being played by others. It’s so ridiculous when I think about it.”
Wen Xiaohui lowered his head whilst remaining silent.
“After this incident, I found out Shao Qun and Fat Luo had partnered up ages ago. Fat Luo’s company has the funds and Shao Qun has the resources. They’re eyeing up the shell of Juxing, and they don’t care who the shell contains. That’s what you call a pure businessman – double-crossing and back-stabbing2.”
Wen Xiaohui was so anxious that his fingers fidgeted. “Are Shao Qun and Director Luo behind this?”
Raven nodded. “I’m not sure if Shao Qun participated in this, but he was definitely aware of it. A-Kai doesn’t have the guts to get involved, so Fat Luo must be supporting him. Actually, I never expected Fat Luo to treat me like this. He doesn’t seem like such a ruthless person… Maybe I misjudged his character, or perhaps it was Shao Qun who pushed him to do it. Those heartless princelings… What’s the point in knowing anyway? I can’t afford to offend them.”
Wen Xiaohui wondered to himself how much Shao Qun took the initiative in this matter, but unfortunately neither him nor Raven would have the opportunity to find out. Just as Raven said, it wasn’t worth offending someone like Shao Qun and he could only accept reality.
Raven flicked the ashes of his cigarette. “I know that you have certain opinions of me because of the incident with Director Luo, but I actually see my own reflection3 in you. You’re better qualified than I was back then. You’ve always looked up to my achievements so I thought you would end up walking the same path as me, but you were unwilling in the end.” Raven shrugged. “If I had the same personality as you… I’m not sure how things would have turned out.” He sighed quietly.
Wen Xiaohui said softly, “No matter what, thank you for letting me join Juxing. Thanks for instructing me over the past year and a bit. I’ve learned so much.”
Raven nodded. “Work hard, and remember not to trust others so easily. Some lessons are enough to last a lifetime.”
After leaving the office, Wen Xiaohui sighed, and he felt like it was ‘the end of an era.’ However, he highly anticipated the reformed Juxing where he would have more opportunities to shine.
——————–
Luo Rui began to work on his patisserie. His personality wasn’t as extroverted as Wen Xiaohui, and he didn’t have many friends. He wasn’t a decisive person so he was reliant on others. He consulted Wen Xiaohui on everything, from location, rent, design, interior design, stock-taking, to hiring. Wen Xiaohui felt obliged to help out, but in reality, he didn’t know much about these things either. They were both rushing about blindly, and Luo Rui ended up being conned out of an intermediary fee of more than 2,000 yuan by a fraudulent middle man. It was only after Luo Yi called the police that they managed to get the money back.
As a result, Luo Rui and Luo Yi met for the first time inside the police station. He was so mesmerised by Luo Yi that his eyes glistened with stars.
After exiting the police station, Luo Rui wanted to ask them to dinner.
Luo Yi looked at his watch. “You guys can go, I need to head back to the university to sort something out.”
Wen Xiaohui felt sorry about inconveniencing him and replied, “Sorry to trouble you. You’ve had to cycle a long way to get here.”
Luo Yi smiled and said, “Why are you so formal? In my opinion, keeping your troubles from me is the bigger inconvenience.”
Wen Xiaohui chuckled, “Take care on your bicycle.”
Luo Yi waved. “Luo Rui-ge, I’ll help you when I’m done. In future, you need to think carefully before paying anyone.”
Luo Rui kept nodding.
After Luo Yi rode off, Luo Rui’s face was full of infatuation, and he said, “This is the first time I’ve found an underage boy attractive.”
Wen Xiaohui pinched his cheeks, and rolled his eyes. “Stop drooling over my nephew.”
“What?! It’s not illegal to think about it.”
Wen Xiaohui glared at him. “You’re so clever when it comes to men, but you spend money without a second thought? He only persuaded you with a few words and you were willing to hand over the money. Were all your skill points spent on reincarnation? Would you drop dead if you spent some of the points on your IQ?” He was about to be angered to death by Luo Rui’s stupidity. If Wen Xiaohui hadn’t insisted on getting the money back, that idiot Luo Rui would have attributed it as bad luck.
Luo Rui’s demeanour softened and he said aggrievedly, “Don’t be angry, Xiaohui.”
“Who’s Xiaohui?4”
Luo Rui hugged his arm. “Don’t be angry, I’ll discuss it with you in future.”
Wen Xiaohui looked at him silently. “What should I do? I really want to give you a slap, but I can’t because of your good looks.”
Luo Rui burst out laughing, and took out his phone. “Come here. I’d like to apologise.”
“What?”
Luo Rui messed with his phone for a short while, then slid the screen in front of Wen Xiaohui’s nose. “See! Isn’t he handsome?!”
Wen Xiaohui leant his neck back. It was a photo, and it showed a young man in his 20s with pleasant facial features and a bright smile. His body wasn’t bad either. “Oh, he doesn’t look too bad.”
“He’s the one I want you to meet!” Pleased with himself, Luo Rui said, “He’s a friend of a friend. My friend initially wanted to introduce him to me, but he’s not the sort that I like. I think he’s your type.”
Wen Xiaohui squinted at him. “Tell the truth.”
Luo Rui said guiltily, “He’s not my type.”
“Look at my eyes, you little bastard. Tell. The. Truth.”
Luo Rui gulped down his saliva. “Okay. He likes to play, and go to bars. I hear he often has one night stands5, which I’m not too keen on.”
Wen Xiaohui’s eyes widened. “Shit, you thought I’d keen? I’m scared of catching something.”
“But you said that you were desperate to lose your virginity. I thought he was really handsome, and I bet he has great technique.” Luo Rui fluttered his eyelashes. As if he were offering a great treasure, he said, “I’ve heard that he’s especially well-endowed.”
Wen Xiaohui gulped. “How big?”
“I’m not sure, it’s just really big.”
Wen Xiaohui stared at the photo, and considered it for a while. “I’ll leave it. I’m still scared of catching something.”
“Just meet him once.”
“Why the heck should I meet him? What if I can’t resist and end up sleeping with him? I’m not meeting him.”
“You should meet him. It’s fine to just meet him once. You can have a chat and drink some wine together.”
Wen Xiaohui narrowed his eyes. “Tell me, have you already shown him my photo?”
Luo Rui’s face drooped, and whispered coyly like a young lady6, “Yes.”
Wen Xiaohui took a deep breath. All of a sudden when Luo Rui least expected, Wen Xiaohui tugged firmly on his trousers. Luo Rui’s Doraemon’s underpants immediately flashed everyone on the crowded street.
“Ah!” cried Luo Rui in fear.
Wen Xiaohui turned around and ran off.
“Wen Xiaohui, you bastard!”
—————–
By the weekend, Wen Xiaohui could no longer stand Luo Rui’s dawdling and begging, so he agreed to meet up with the handsome guy called Haozi.
It had been close to half a year since Wen Xiaohui last visited a bar. Firstly, he was far too busy at work and he earned too little. Secondly, he found that staying at home with Luo Yi was much more fun than drinking all night with his rascal7 friends. Therefore, he felt a little unaccustomed to the loud music as soon as he stepped through the doors of the bar.
After a series of twists and turns, he made his way to the booth. Luo Rui was so happy to see him that he waved to him.
Wen Xiaohui went over, and Haozi immediately stood up. Haozi smiled as he looked at Wen Xiaohui; he reached his hand out and said, “Hi, how are you?”
Haozi looked more attractive in person than in the photo, and his pectoral muscles under his shirt bulged so much that they looked like they were going to burst out. Wen Xiaohui felt attracted to him, but he really wasn’t fond of partners that had messy relationships, and it wasn’t from a moral standpoint. After all, it was the other person’s business, but he merely thought that it wasn’t too hygienic.
However, Wen Xiaohui couldn’t bear to refuse this enthusiastic and handsome guy. He hurriedly extended his hand. “Hi.”
There were seven or eight people in the booth, of whom two were mutual friends of him and Luo Rui. The group greeted each other, drank a few glasses of wine, and started to chat.
Haozi was really lively, and he was charming and funny. But he was also a bit frivolous. After a few drinks, he ended up occasionally touching Wen Xiaohui by taking advantage of him when he was picking up a glass or rolling a dice8. At first Wen Xiaohui endured it, but then he began to feel disgusted. He wasn’t pretending to be pure and innocent, he was just annoyed by this sort of flirting.
Luo Rui was most familiar with Wen Xiaohui’s facial expressions, and he could tell that he was at the end of his tether. He secretly poked him in the lower back to tell him that he needed to grin and bear it.
Wen Xiaohui used the excuse of going to the toilet, and Luo Rui followed him shortly afterwards.
“Baby, don’t make it awkward for my friend. Let’s stay for a little while longer and then we’ll leave together, okay?”
“I never said I wanted to leave. I really needed to go to the toilet.” Wen Xiaohui replied indifferently, “It’s fine. I’ll forgive him on account of his handsomeness.”
Luo Rui let out a sigh of relief.
In order to get to the bathroom, one must go through the dance floor and past the serving bar. The DJ on stage had just started playing an especially electrifying song, and the whole dance floor moved frantically to the beat. They nearly couldn’t move, and had to squeeze their way through the crowd.
When Wen Xiaohui tilted his head up, he caught a glimpse of someone at the bar. To be specific, it was the rear view of a person. That person was wearing a lightly-coloured polo shirt, and he had broad shoulders. Because both of his hands rested on the bar, it made the outline of his shoulder blades look particularly enchanting. He had a long and slender neck, and a thick head of hair. His most attractive feature was his ability to appear calm in this chaotic environment, as he sat by himself at the bar. Wen Xiaohui had rarely seen such a seductive back, which made people desperate to see him from the front.
“Xiaohui?”
Wen Xiaohui came back to his senses, and he’d been pushed further and further away by the crowd. With great difficulty, they managed to make their way out of the dance floor, and stopped in a more spacious area in front of the toilets. Wen Xiaohui pointed to the man at the bar. “Xiao Ma, look at the man at the bar – the one with his back to us.”
Luo Rui said, “He has a great body. What’s up?”
“We should have a bet. I bet that he’s handsome.”
“But I also think that he’ll be handsome.”
“Oh shit, do you even understand what a bet means? It’s the same as gambling.”
Luo Rui pouted. “Okay, then I bet that he’s not handsome. What are we betting?”
“If I win, then I’ll go chat him up. If you win, you’ll chat him up.”
“Oh… fuck!” Luo Rui reacted by ruthlessly pinching his arm. “You’re becoming more mischievous. Go chat him up if you want, do you want me to make a racket9?”
Wen Xiaohui took a deep breath. “No thanks. I have to see what he looks like. I’m so curious.”
“I’m going for a wee.”
With a brain full of fantasies, Wen Xiaohui walked towards the bar.
Footnotes:
Shendu is a place in Guangdong Province, in the south of China.
两面三刀, literally means two-faced, three knives; but it refers to someone who is two-faced and stabs another in the back (idiom).
The raws refer to Raven recognising his shadow in WXH.
The original sentence doesn’t make much sense as a direct translation into English. It basically has WXH saying that Luo Rui is WXH. He’s generally in a huff and is saying who are you calling, no such person here.
The original term used is 419 (for one night), which is slang for one-night stand.
The actual term used is 小媳妇儿, little daughter-in-law or a young married woman.
狐朋狗友, literally fox and hound friends which means a pack of rogues (idiom).
They’re playing various drinking games involving dice. One example of a dice drinking game is liar’s dice.
Per the raws, beating a gong and playing the drums.
