Additional Inheritance - Chap 31
Chapter 31
After spending a full day interviewing, Wen Xiaohui and Luo Rui sprawled out their arms on the table, revealing the whites of their eyes out of exhaustion.
“How come there aren’t any hot guys?!” Wen Xiaohui slurped some drinking yogurt as he slammed his hand down on the table.
Luo Rui rolled his eyes at him. “What kind of hot guy do you want? Are you a gigolo?”
Wen Xiaohui scowled miserably and replied, “You’re the boss. Can’t the boss afford to be selective? How come most of the applicants are female? It’s completely different from what I expected.”
“That’s because there aren’t many male pastry chefs.” Luo Rui sorted through the CVs. “I’m going to go through them tonight.”
“Take me out for dinner.” Wen Xiaohui mumbled.
“Okay, what would you like to eat?”
“Something expensive.”
“You can choose.”
“Bloody rich second generations.” Wen Xiaohui harrumphed. “Beg me to find a gigolo.”
“Oh… You bastard!” Luo Rui gave him a punch and said mockingly, “You’re going crazy thinking about men.”
“Yep, I’m so desperate that I can’t stand it anymore.” Wen Xiaohui pulled his collar down on one side and looked at Luo Rui seductively.
In the completely empty store, they both howled with laughter.
They had just packed away everything ready to leave when Wen Xiaohui received a phone call. He took his phone out to check and saw that the caller was Shao Qun. He looked at Luo Rui and made a shushing gesture. “Hello, Young Master Shao.”
Shao Qun’s voice sounded a bit lethargic. “Erm, come over for dinner.”
“I’ve already made arrangements with a friend.”
“Then bring your friend along.” Shao Qun said, “Every time I ask you out, you always refuse first. Are you playing hard to get1?”
“Not at all, I’m just a bit nervous about having dinner with you.”
Shao Qun sneered, “What could I possibly do to you? I’ll text you the address. Come quickly.”
“Okay.”
After he hung up, Luo Rui, who was beside him asked, “Is he that Shao Qun you mentioned before?
“Yeah.” Wen Xiaohui felt particularly helpless. “He’s so fucking domineering; his word is final. What bullshit! It’s only because he managed to reincarnate into a good life.”
Luo Rui nodded in agreement.
Wen Xiaohui narrowed his eyes and all of a sudden, he pinched Luo Rui’s face.
Luo Rui let out a cry, covering the cheek that had been pinched. Feeling wronged, he asked, “What are you doing? Is there something wrong with your hand?”
“You had the cheek to nod – you lot who reincarnate into good lives are the most annoying. Okay, I’ll let you off dinner tonight. We’ll go have dinner at Young Master Shao’s.
Luo Rui rubbed his face. “Is he as good-looking as you make him out to be?”
“He is! You might instantly get a hard-on when you meet him.”
Luo Rui rolled his eyes at him and said conceitedly, “Oh, what if he’s attracted to me? What should I do?”
Wen Xiaohui’s expression immediately became more solemn. “You absolutely must not get involved with him. Shao Qun isn’t a good person.”
Luo Rui was taken aback. “Why are you suddenly so serious? I was only joking.”
“I’m not joking, you can’t afford to mess around with Shao Qun. Otherwise, I won’t bring you along.”
“Please bring me along. I’m curious, I only want to have a look. Don’t tell me that you’re going to ditch me and go by yourself.” Luo Rui appeared pitiful as he stared at him.
“Fine, but speak as little as possible.”
“No problem.”
They got into a taxi and soon arrived at the Cantonese restaurant.
They arrived first on this occasion and they waited in the private room for more than half an hour. Shao Qun was late.
“Young Master Shao.” Wen Xiaohui nodded politely.
“Yes, thanks for waiting2.” Shao Qun’s eyes fell on Luo Rui and he smiled. “Is this your friend?”
“Oh, I’m his childhood friend, Luo Rui.”
Shao Qun chuckled, “Your friend sure is the same type as you.” He sat down at the head of the table. “Take a seat.”
They both sat down, and Shao Qun handed the menu to them. “Just order what you’d like to eat.”
Luo Rui stared at Shao Qun and his face began to blush. He didn’t dare to accept the menu.
Shao Qun propped his chin up with his hand, and he looked at Luo Rui with a smile.
Wen Xiaohui became aware of the unusual aura between those two people, and he hurriedly leaned forward to separate them. He started to flick through the menu.
Shao Qun gulped. “Adi, how’s the studio?”
“Liu Xing is around pretty much every day. Except for all the people leaving, it’s the same as normal.”
“Are you in the middle of recruitment?”
“Yes.”
Shao Qun said indifferently, “I was on a call with Liu Xing and I asked for you to be the assistant manager for Juxing’s beauty department.”
Wen Xiaohui smacked his hand down on the table firmly. His eyes widened to the point of looking perfectly round.
Shao Qun frowned. He laughed in response, “Are you scared stiff?”
Assistant manager! Although Liu Xing was the manager in charge of Juxing’s beauty department, it was impossible for him to manage it since they were short of staff. This would be the same as putting Wen Xiaohui in charge of the beauty department. He stuttered, “T-This doesn’t seem appropriate…” He’d only recently qualified as an assistant stylist. No matter how you looked at it, there was no way he was qualified to take on such an important role.
“Don’t get too excited; Liu Xing is currently recruiting senior makeup artists. You won’t have the final say once he’s hired them, but until then, you can take advantage of Juxing’s reputation to expand your network.” Shao Qun gave him a sidelong glance. “Are you satisfied?”
Wen Xiaohui was so excited that his cheeks were flushed. “Thank you, Young Master Shao.”
Shao Qun curved his lips into a smile. “This is your reward. As long as you obey me, you’ll get what you desire.”
Wen Xiaohui felt that Shao Qun’s smile wasn’t too genuine so he could only force himself to laugh. Now that Raven had left and Juxing had been taken over, Shao Qun shouldn’t need him to do anything else.
Shao Qun took out a red envelope from his briefcase and he handed it over. “Here’s the Chinese New Year red envelope that I didn’t manage to give you yet.”
Judging from the thickness of the envelope, Wen Xiaohui could tell that it wasn’t a small sum of money. He recalled Luo Yi’s warning that he must not accept money from Shao Qun and he waved his hands frantically. “Young Master Shao, this red envelope is too generous. I don’t dare to accept it without merit3.”
“How can you downplay your role? You made a great contribution.” Shao Qun said, “Take it.”
Wen Xiaohui’s voice was very quiet, but he seemed firm. “Thank you for your kindness, Young Master Shao, but I really can’t accept it.”
Shao Qun narrowed his eyes and it was evident that he seemed unhappy.
Luo Rui became nervous as a result.
Wen Xiaohui peeked at Shao Qun. He made up his mind and asked bluntly, “Young Master Shao, what else do you want me to do for you?”
Shao Qun laughed, “You’re not stupid.”
Wen Xiaohui had a bad feeling about this.
“Do you remember what we talked about on the phone last time?”
“What was it about?”
“It was about how Luo Zhigao’s interested in you.”
“Erm…is that so?” Wen Xiaohui pretended to be stupid.
“Yes.” Shao Qun looked him up and down. “I want to own all of Juxing’s shares and Luo Zhigao is interested in selling his shares. However, I can’t tell what the lowest offer might be. If you could help me find out…”
Wen Xiaohui shook his head repeatedly. “I don’t know Mr. Luo very well. We’re not familiar at all, he won’t tell me.”
“Are you stupid? Ask him out for dinner and drinks. Then ply him with a few glasses of wine and tease it out of him4.”
Wen Xiaohui couldn’t resist cursing Shao Qun’s ancestors in his head. Shao Qun and Raven were both assholes. What did they think he was?! He shook his head and said, “Young Master Shao, I really am unfamiliar with Director Luo and I won’t be able to tease it out of him. You should find someone else.”
Feeling resentful that Wen Xiaohui had failed his expectations, Shao Qun sighed, “How can you be that stupid? If only you were half as smart as Raven and had such an opportunity, who knows how high you could have climbed.”
Wen Xiaohui lowered his head. “I’m not Raven.”
Luo Rui secretly held Wen Xiaohui’s hand under the table, and looking at Shao Qun’s expression, he could tell that he was very dissatisfied.
Shao Qun pointed to the table. “Forget it, I won’t force you since you’re unwilling. Learn to be smarter in future, or else sooner or later, someone will gnaw your bones until there’s nothing left.”
Wen Xiaohui said stubbornly, “Thanks to Young Master Shao for his teachings.”
“Oh, you have a temper.” Shao Qun gently pinched Wen Xiaohui’s chin, forcing him to tilt his face up. He said dubiously, “The more I see you, the more I think you’re fun. How skilled are you in bed?”
Wen Xiaohui said coldly, “I’m really crap.”
“How crap?”
“I make noises, but I just lie there.”
“Forget it then. I don’t have time to train you.” Shao Qun withdrew his hand.
All the swear words in Wen Xiaohui’s head would have been enough to drown Shao Qun 800 times. Although he couldn’t help Shao Qun in seducing Director Luo, he still really wanted to know if Juxing could be freed from Director Luo’s grasp. After all, this determined how smooth his future would be and therefore, he asked, “Young Master Shao, Director Luo spent so much effort to own Juxing to the extent of ruining the reputation of his ex-lover. Will he really sell it to you so easily?”
Shao Qun curved his lips into a smile. “At this point, I won’t keep it from you but that wasn’t Luo Zhigao’s original intention. It’s because I obtained some interesting stuff about him and then the incident with Raven happened afterwards.”
Wen Xiaohui felt a sudden chill. When Shao Qun told him about it, he didn’t appear to be ashamed of such shady dealings and instead he seemed proud of himself. Shao Qun didn’t even try to skirt around the topic because he was confident that Wen Xiaohui couldn’t do anything about it. He didn’t dare to do anything about it. His voice trembled as he said, “What stuff…?”
“Of course I can’t tell you. In any case, it’s something he doesn’t want others to see.”
Wen Xiaohui felt that he had cottoned onto something, but he couldn’t quite recall what it was exactly at that moment in time. “Since you have something to blackmail him, can’t you just get him to sell them to you at the lowest price?”
Shao Qun shook his head. “The incident with Raven was done in secret and he doesn’t know that I was behind it. He has no evidence even if he were able to figure it out. In any case, Raven was unlucky and a lot of people profited from it. But it’s too obvious who is behind this incident so I can’t use it to blackmail him anymore.”
Wen Xiaohui became even more scared of Shao Qun and he really didn’t want to know about this kind of stuff. Why the heck did Shao Qun have to tell him? Was it because he thought that he’d done something amazing and he had nowhere to flaunt it? Therefore, he told the most harmless person – Wen Xiaohui. It was really too frightening.
Shao Qun swirled his glass. “Adi, this is the last step in my plan and since you’re already involved, why don’t you accompany me to the end? The fruits of labour will be sweeter than you can imagine.”
Wen Xiaohui was afraid to raise his head and he didn’t dare to look Shao Qun in the eyes. “Young Master Shao, please spare me.”
Shao Qun sneered, “Maybe you’re the intelligent one, but it’s a pity that success is normally reserved for those who are daring.”
Wen Xiaohui thought to himself, who wants to play those dirty games with you? It made him feel sorry for Raven and Director Luo who were both beaten up by Shao Qun. And Luo Yi had…
Luo Yi!
A ray of white light suddenly flashed through Wen Xiaohui’s mind and the finer details that he’d previously overlooked suddenly appeared right in front of him. What did Shao Qun mean by Director Luo’s ‘interesting stuff’ and ‘the stuff that he didn’t want others to see’? With Shao Qun’s contemptuous smile and the timeline that everything happened, it seemed like all the evidence was pointing to…
Wen Xiaohui viciously pinched himself. What the heck was he thinking?!
He was suspicious about what Shao Qun had to blackmail Director Luo – could it be the nude photos that Luo Yi had taken? How could it be possible? Luo Yi and Shao Qun weren’t even related in any way5!
However, there was a very tiny voice inside that was asking if that really was the case. Did they really have nothing to do with each other? They not only had dinner together, Luo Yi also knew all the insider information about Juxing’s acquisition. He even investigated Shao Qun.
But why did Luo Yi do all this? How did he benefit from this?! Wen Xiaohui retorted in his mind.
The very tiny voice spoke again: “Could it be for you?”
Wen Xiaohui felt like his head was about to explode.
He tried desperately to deny it in his head, but once the seeds of doubt were planted, they would germinate in the breeze…
“Adi. Adi! Xiaohui!”
Wen Xiaohui suddenly came back to his senses, and he looked at Luo Rui. “What… What’s up?”
“Would you like to swap out the plate of bones?”
It was only then that Wen Xiaohui realised that the waiter had been standing behind him. “Oh, swap it out.”
Shao Qun glanced at Wen Xiaohui who looked ill at ease. “What’s wrong? Why are you so nervous? Are you cold?”
Wen Xiaohui shook his head. “I’m fine…” Should he ask? Even if he were to ask, Shao Qun might not tell him, but there was still a chance of finding out the answer. But what would he do if he had the answer? Did he really want to find out?
Shao Qun waved his hand in front of Wen Xiaohui. “Hey, what’s wrong with you?”
Wen Xiaohui clenched his fists. Before he could regret it, he blurted out, “Is it a nude photo?”
Shao Qun’s pupils started to dilate quickly; he tilted his head to look at Wen Xiaohui. Without any expression on his face, he asked, “What nude photos?”
Wen Xiaohui’s heart tightened. Shao Qun was completely unguarded and in that split second, his expression made Wen Xiaohui think that he had guessed right. But the calm expression and response afterwards made him feel unsure. Was his guess right?
Shao Qun continued his line of questioning. “What are you talking about, Wen Xiaohui? What nude photos?”
“Er… It’s…” Wen Xiaohui felt all of a sudden that he was unable to back down. He was extremely frustrated at his own impulsiveness and stupidity. He couldn’t begin to imagine the consequences of his words.
Shao Qun said sternly, “Speak.”
Wen Xiaohui was so scared that he began to shake uncontrollably. “I-I was only guessing that it’s…”
Shao Qun narrowed his eyes. “What do you know? What nude photos? Whose nude photos are they? Explain yourself.”
Under the dangerous glare of Shao Qun, Wen Xiaohui felt that his silver tongue6 had deserted him like a runaway soldier who was throwing off his battle armour7. He really wanted to escape at this moment in time and he even thought about how great it would be if Luo Yi was there because Luo Yi was sure to save him. He would be able to get him out of this sticky situation. Unfortunately, no one could save him now. Luo Rui was most likely the same as him, scared to death, and he could only save himself. Willing himself to be strong and calm, he said, “It was because you said that Director Luo had some photos that he didn’t want anyone to see, so I’m only guessing. Could it be that my guess is right? Haha.”
Shao Qun looked at him coldly, his hand under his chin. “You actually dare to guess?”
Wen Xiaohui’s palms were entirely covered in sweat, and he wished that he could vanish from in front of Shao Qun in the next second.
Luo Rui suddenly said, “Ah.”
“What’s happened?”
Luo Rui gave Wen Xiaohui a meaningful look. “I burnt my tongue. Xiaohui, could you please get me a glass of cold water?”
“Okay, wait a minute.” Wen Xiaohui got up hurriedly and he quickly left the private room.
As soon as the doors to the private room closed, he let out a long sigh. He felt that his legs were like jelly and his body seemed to have lost an awful amount of water. He smacked himself a couple of times, and he wished that he was dead.
Wen Xiaohui, you idiot! You colossal idiot!
There were too many possibilities; if the compromising material were actually nude photos then the issue was whether Shao Qun knew that they were from Luo Yi. If he didn’t know, then his question just now had exposed Luo Yi. If the compromising material weren’t the nude photos, Shao Qun’s intelligence and deductive skills meant that Wen Xiaohui had just revealed that he had Director Luo’s nude photos. Regardless, he’d become a sitting duck and he could only let Shao Qun take advantage of him.
He slammed his head against the wall a couple of times, wishing that he could end it all.
After taking five minutes to cool down, he returned to the private room with Luo Rui’s glass of cold water.
Luo Rui was sitting opposite Shao Qun with his shoulders pulled back rigidly and a stiff back. His head was slightly lowered, and it was clear that he was very nervous.
Shao Qun stared at Luo Rui with a face full of interest.
Wen Xiaohui recognised that he was between a rock and a hard place, and he sat back down. “Here’s your water.”
Lui Rui took the glass of water and drank it in one go. When he raised his head, Wen Xiaohui saw that his ears were red.
Wen Xiaohui summoned all his courage to look at Shao Qun, but contrary to his expectations, Shao Qun didn’t pester him about the nude photos. Instead he had changed the topic. “Your friend opened a patisserie, right? Where’s the store? I’ll come and show my support when you’re open.”
“The bakery’s still being fitted. When it’s open, we’ll definitely send Young Master Shao a large cake.”
“Great.” Shao Qun took out his mobile phone and said casually, “Give me your number. I’m looking forward to this cake.”
Wen Xiaohui immediately replied before Luo Rui could say a word, “He’s only just come back from abroad so he needs to change his phone number. I’ll let you know once he has a new one.”
Shao Qun’s hand paused, he broke into laughter and said, “Wen Xiaohui, are you on your guard against me? You little punk, what’s wrong with your brain? You always end up doing such inexplicable things. Surely he can’t be your boyfriend?”
Wen Xiaohui replied with embarrassment, “No.”
“Then what do you mean by this? Do you think I’m going to get with somebody as soon as I meet them? Do I look like I have that much free time?”
“…Of course not.”
Shao Qun rolled his eyes at him. “I just think he’s a little bit like… An old friend of mine.”
“Eh?”
Shao Qun’s gaze looked somewhat vacant, but it disappeared in a flash. “He was a former classmate.”
Wen Xiaohui didn’t have time to reminisce with him. He only knew that he had to protect Luo Rui because all these years, he’d been protecting Luo Rui like a mother hen and there was no way that he would let that wolf, Shao Qun, get his paws on this chick.
Shao Qun’s mood soured and he stopped asking.
After finishing the dinner where everyone had their own motivations, Wen Xiaohui dragged Luo Rui out and they scurried away. However, before they could leave, Shao Qun’s scrutinising gaze informed him that the matter of the nude photos hadn’t been forgotten.
Luo Rui took a deep breath as soon as he came out of the restaurant. He cried, “Baby, that guy is so scary!”
Wen Xiaohui hugged him and placed a kiss on his forehead. “Don’t be afraid, everything’s fine.”
Luo Rui still looked terrified. “I should have listened to you and stayed away. He gives me a feeling… Like he’s a beast in human skin. When he looks at you, it’s like he’s staring into your flesh.”
“I told you before, that’s the reason why I didn’t want to meet up with him.” Wen Xiaohui sighed, “Actually, he doesn’t even need to pretend in front of us. I saw him at a social event before and he seemed like a gentleman. In any case, we should have as little contact as possible with him. Who knows when he might pounce and bite someone?”
Luo Rui calmed himself down. “That’s right, you must stay away from him… Oh yeah, on the topic of Director Luo, what actually happened? Wasn’t it Luo Yi who took the nude photos? Did Luo Yi give the photos to Shao Qun?”
Wen Xiaohui frowned deeply. “I’m not sure, I can’t tell from Shao Qun’s reaction if the nude photos are the compromising material. It doesn’t matter if they are or not, I’ve already exposed myself. What the fuck should I do? How could I be so stupid?” He hit himself a couple of times again.
Luo Rui held onto his hand. “Let it go, there’s no point in blaming yourself. You can’t take back what you said.”
Wen Xiaohui looked miserable. “What should I do?”
“You should speak to Luo Yi about it. Luo Yi is so intelligent…”
“How could I tell him about this? What if it was actually Luo Yi who sent Shao Qun the photos? Then…”
The severity of the matter began to dawn on Luo Rui, but unfortunately he was the same as Wen Xiaohui and the processing power of his brain wasn’t sufficient. He hadn’t a clue about what he should do.
The two feminine-looking men squatted on a street corner, both of them looking as miserable as abandoned puppies.
Finally, Luo Rui said cowardly, “How about you keep it a secret from Luo Yi?”
Wen Xiaohui asked in a melancholic tone, “Why?”
“Even if Luo Yi did it, he must have done it for you. You might hurt his feelings if you ask him.”
“What’s inside that head of yours? Even if Luo Yi did this for me, it’s still too… Too terrifying.”
Luo Rui whispered, “It really is terrifying.”
Not only that, if these photos are used to blackmail Director Luo without Shao Qun showing his face, Director Luo will think that I did it. Wouldn’t he try to take revenge on us in future?”
“He might not dare.”
Wen Xiaohui clutched his head and rubbed it hard. “Oh shit, my brain is about to explode. Xiao Ma, you know that I’m not good at keeping secrets. I have to go and ask Luo Yi to explain this. Even if Shao Qun didn’t know that it was Luo Yi who sent them to him, he should be able to work it out by now. I’ll let Luo Yi know so that he can think of a solution. If Luo Yi didn’t do anything, I’ve already told Shao Qun that I have Director Luo’s nude photos. I should catch up with Luo Yi to discuss our next steps. In summary, I need to tell Luo Yi.”
Luo Rui whispered, “Xiaohui, I think you’ll regret it.”
“I already regret it. I regret it so much that I wish I could crack my head open8 to air it out.”
Luo Rui stroked his head. “Xiaohui, I see you suffer so much and the situation seems so complicated. Why don’t you quit your job? You can help me run the bakery. I’ll look after you, okay?”
Wen Xiaohui felt a gush of warmth inside and he hugged Luo Rui around his shoulders. “If there comes a day when I can’t go on anymore, I’ll ask you to look after me.”
“How about now? Wouldn’t it be great to live a simple life and just eat and drink all day? Wouldn’t it be amazing to be happy every day?”
Wen Xiaohui sighed, “How could it be so simple?”
Luo Rui gave him a distressed look.
Wen Xiaohui pressed his head against Luo Rui’s head. “Baby, you’re so amazing.”
If there comes a day when you can’t go on anymore, I’ll look after you. These must be the most heartwarming words in the world.
Footnotes:
欲情故纵, to loosen the reins to grip them better (idiom). It means to deliberately let go of someone so that they lower their inhibitions before capturing them.
久等, expression used to acknowledge that someone has been waiting a while for you.
无功不受禄, those who are undeserving don’t receive a reward (idiom). It’s used here for Wen Xiaohui to decline a gift from Shao Qun because he thinks that his work for Shao Qun doesn’t warrant such a large reward.
旁敲侧击, to take an indirect approach when making inquiries (idiom).
本八竿子打不着, used to describe that the relations of two people are distant and completely unconnected (idiom).
伶牙俐齿, used to describe someone who has the gift of the gab, clever and eloquent (idiom).
丢盔弃甲, to run away from battle and discard your armour which refers to the embarrassment of fleeing from a situation (idiom).
开瓢, refers to a serious head injury/wound.
