Additional Inheritance - Chap 39
Chapter 39.1
Once Wen Xiaohui arrived in the US, he discovered that the English he’d crammed last-minute wasn’t actually useful and he couldn’t understand a word.
Everything went smoothly in terms of his daily life. The training agency had already prepared a place for him to stay, and they arranged for some Chinese people to help him find his bearings and buy some daily necessities.
The novelty of being abroad wore off after just a few days and Wen Xiaohui began to feel homesick and bored. He was surrounded by unfamiliar places and strangers. Not understanding the language, he was too scared to even step outside his front door and before lessons started, he spent every day holed up in his dorm, playing computer games and reading. When the time was right, he would make a call back home to chat to Luo Rui for an hour. Even a chatterbox like Luo Rui got sick of him.
Life became more meaningful once lessons started. Although there weren’t many Chinese people in the class, there were people of all nationalities and skin colours. Wen Xiaohui’s English was poor, but he was extroverted and shameless1 and he even managed to make friends by signing what he was trying to say. Within a week, he started going out drinking and dancing.
This training agency for stylists was one of the top institutions in the US and it was even famous internationally. Wen Xiaohui was able to access some very advanced technology for cosmetic procedures, makeup, and the theory of styling. The programme also covered nutrition, dressmaking, aesthetic medicine, management of luxury goods, etc., in addition to the regular topics. There were even courses on the appreciation of art, the cultural outfits of different nations, and the history of Western art. Wen Xiaohui’s impression was that they first shaped the holistic aesthetics of the stylist before teaching them how to transform someone from head to toe.
From an early age, Wen Xiaohui had always been an underachiever, but he’d an advantage in that he was willing to study hard for the topics that interested him. He sought out his classmates to take copies of their notes when he didn’t understand something during lessons, and he spent the evenings looking up things in the dictionary while comparing notes and reading. After persisting for two months, he didn’t fall behind and instead he made great progress in English. He was gradually able to keep up with the teacher’s tempo.
Being busy in lessons, he naturally had less time to call home and half a year later, he discovered that the person that he contacted the most was Luo Yi.
Luo Yi was interested in his matters regardless how big or small they were, like which courses he was taking, where he went at the weekends, the type of friends he was making, and Luo Yi would even ask if he kept in touch with Li Shuo. They were usually chatting before Luo Yi casually changed the topic to ask, such that by the time Wen Xiaohui realised, he’d already unknowingly told him everything.
Wen Xiaohui was surrounded by quite a few people who tried to make a pass at him and there were also those who wanted to hook up for a one night stand. At first he felt tempted, because just looking at the large muscles of White guys was enough to make him drool, but he backed out each time he got to the crucial stage. Sometimes he even looked down on himself because he was such a fucking coward despite being so horny. Perhaps it was because deep in the marrow of his bones, he still held some traditional views and he thought that it would be awkward to do such things if they didn’t have feelings for each other.
He maintained contact with Li Shuo about two or three times a month. Occasionally, he’d say something ambiguous, but it was nothing more than that. Li Shuo’s workload seemed to be especially heavy, and several times he said he was going to the US, but he wasn’t able to make it. Afterwards, Wen Xiaohui no longer had any expectations towards him.
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It was winter in the blink of an eye.
This year’s Chinese New Year was particularly early2 with only half a month between Christmas holidays, so Li Shuo finished his work and returned to the US.
There was a break from lessons during Christmas. Wen Xiaohui’s Christmas themed hairstyle and makeup won a small college-level prize, which came with an additional $800 of prize money. Along with a female Chinese classmate, they took advantage of the sales and shopped like crazy. He initially wanted to go to Las Vegas to have some fun, but he gave up on the idea after taking stock of the state of his pockets.
Wen Xiaohui spent Christmas Eve with his classmates. When they were preparing dinner, a French classmate shouted, “Adrian, someone’s here for you.”
Wen Xiaohui wondered who could be looking for him. Everyone he knew who hadn’t gone back home was already at dinner.
He saw a kind-looking, middle aged man wearing a suit and white gloves as soon as he walked out the door. He was most likely Chinese.
As soon as he spoke, it was indeed well-enunciated Chinese. “Hi, are you Mr Wen?”
“Yes. Who are you please?”
“I’m Lambert’s chauffeur.”
“Erm, who?”
“Ah, Li Shuo.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Our Young Master is currently spending Christmas with his family, so he’s unable to come over personally. He asked me to give you this Christmas present.” The chauffeur took out a gift box from the back seat to hand to Wen Xiaohui. “Merry Christmas.”
Wen Xiaohui looked at the item in his hand. “What’s this?”
“I’m not sure. You can open it up once you’re inside and see what it is. You’re not wearing much, so you should go inside quickly.” The chauffeur gave him a gentle smile.
“That’s great. Sorry to bother you and merry Christmas.”
The chauffeur nodded with a slight smile.
Clutching the gift box, Wen Xiaohui went back to the house and he was swarmed by his classmates. “Wow, is that a Christmas present? What is it?”
“I’m not sure.” Wen Xiaohui rubbed his hands together and he opened the gift box with great anticipation.
It was the latest model of the K-Pro computer.
“Oh, it’s a pink heart-shaped Christmas card!” His Spanish classmate picked up the card quickly and opened it to have a look. He cleared his throat and said with a deadpan tone, “Give me the beautiful and cute, sexy Adrian. Although I’d rather wrap myself up as a present to send to you, so that you’ll see my naked body and hard cock as soon as you open the present.”
Everyone roared with laughter.
“Shit! Do you even know Chinese?” Wen Xiaohui laughed so hard that he nearly couldn’t breathe. He snatched the card to take a look. Li Shuo used his neat and carefree handwriting to say: “Merry Christmas. Let’s find a day to meet up.”
Wen Xiaohui’s heart was filled with a warm and cosy feeling.
He remembered accidentally ranting to Li Shuo about his faulty notebook computer that couldn’t store large files. Once when he was drawing the design blueprints, his computer crashed and his draft was lost completely. He was so furious. That was the reason why Li Shuo gave him a computer.
Wen Xiaohui felt that Li Shuo’s attentive and caring nature ignited a sense of passion during this winter in a foreign land.
His classmates were very jealous. Everyone was talking over each other, gossiping and asking who gave him the present and whether it was his boyfriend.
Driven by vanity, Wen Xiaohui pulled up Li Shuo’s photo to show everyone, resulting in numerous screams. Straight guys who attended the course at this college were few and far between3. Once a group of gay guys started to joke around, they would be rather depraved and some of the jokes were a bit crude. Wen Xiaohui genuinely didn’t understand half of it and he pretended that he didn’t understand the other half. He didn’t dare respond to them in case they kept going.
The turkey that night was disgusting and even the wine was awful, but Wen Xiaohui still managed to drink too much. He was so happy, he was on cloud nine.
After the clock chimed at midnight, it was a brand new year according to the US tradition4. Wen Xiaohui had been plied with so much booze that he couldn’t handle it anymore and he escaped to his bedroom. He called Li Shuo.
“Hi Xiaohui.” Li Shuo’s refined and pleasant voice came from the other end of the line.
“Li-dage, haha.” Wen Xiaohui couldn’t help himself and he started laughing.
“Did you drink too much?”
“Yeah, but it’s fine. I’m in my dorm. I can go to bed if I drink too much.”
“How many classmates do you share with?”
“Five, but they sometimes bring their boyfriends back. It’s good how we have private bedrooms.”
“Then you shouldn’t drink anymore. Your whole house is full of gay guys and drinking too much can result in trouble. It’s very common in America. You should stay sober if you don’t like that sort of thing.”
After hearing his words, Wen Xiaohui immediately sobered up. “Oh, you’re right.” Just a moment ago, he saw two of his classmates who didn’t normally speak to each other, kiss under the influence of alcohol.
“Remember to firmly refuse if someone tries to do anything.”
“Relax, I’m not that drunk.”
“I’m still a bit worried. Would you like me to come over?”
“It’s fine, you live in Manhattan and it’s too far away. Oh yeah, thanks for the present. I was only casually ranting last time, I didn’t think you’d remember.”
Li Shuo smiled and replied, “Don’t worry about it. I’m glad I could help you out. Are you really sure that you don’t need me to come over?”
“No, I’m alright. I’m just a bit dizzy.”
Li Shuo briefly became quiet and then he laughed, “You look very captivating when you’re drunk. I’m worried other people will see your appearance.”
Wen Xiaohui felt as though his face was getting hotter as he thought about the expression on Li Shuo’s face and in his eyes. He felt his heart beginning to beat even faster. “You… mentioned that we’d meet up sometime. When?”
“In three days time. I need to spend some time with my parents first, then sort a few things.”
“That’s fine. My holidays last until the end of the year. Will you be spending Chinese New Year in the US?”
“I should be around since public holidays will start soon in China anyway. I feel at ease seeing how you’ve gotten used to life over here.”
“It’s been half a year, of course I’m used to it.” Wen Xiaohui lightly scratched the ball of fluff on the rug using his fingernail, feeling as if there were little paws scratching inside his heart. He really wanted to see Li Shuo at this moment in time, but the timing wasn’t right.
They chatted for a little longer before hanging up. Wen Xiaohui remained in the empty room; the panel of the door reduced the sound of the party outside by half. He still felt somewhat lonely despite the noise barging into his ears.
His phone started to ring again. It was Luo Yi calling when he picked it up to check. There was barely a second of hesitation before he clicked on the accept call icon. “Hi Luo Yi.”
“Xiaohui-ge, you’ve been drinking.”
“Yeah, I’m spending Christmas with my classmates and I drank a little.” It was very quiet on Luo Yi’s end of the line. Wen Xiaohui was able to envisage the scene in his head – Luo Yi sitting on the bed with his long legs bent at the knees and holding the phone. His room would be filled with all kinds of weird and wacky stuff, but it still evoked a strong sense of loneliness despite it being full.
“I don’t know why I miss you so much today, it’s not even Chinese New Year yet.”
“I miss you lots too. Although it’s very rowdy outside, I feel more homesick the rowdier it is. As they say, I need to pay attention to each and every word or I can’t understand sometimes. It’s so tiring.”
Luo Yi smiled and said, “Your English will have improved a lot by the time your year-long course is over.”
“It’s already improved a lot.” Wen Xiaohui laughed, “Luckily, I’m managing to keep up. What about you? Is there any news about your university life?”
“Nothing important. I’ve nearly completed all the credits for my third year. I should be able to get my diploma a year and a half early, which means I’ll have enough time to enrol on a joint honours programme.”
“Oh, how come you never told me about it?”
Luo Yi chuckled, “I’ve mentioned it before, but you must have forgotten.”
“Really? It must be when you talk about something complicated and I tune out. You’re so awesome – skipping a grade in secondary school and gaining university credits early. I think you’ll be able to graduate before you’re 20.”
“Yeah, that’s my plan.”
Wen Xiaohui was a little curious and he said, “You have a plan, but I’ve never heard you talk about it before. What would you like to do in future?”
Luo Yi immediately fell silent.
Wen Xiaohui said, “Don’t tell me you’ve never thought about it?”
“I’ve thought about it, but I haven’t settled on anything. I spend all my spare time on my company. I don’t have to worry about not having a job once I graduate.”
“Don’t you have any aspirations? Seeing how you have such a wide range of interests and hobbies, winning this prize and that, I expected a genius like yourself to take a more unusual career path. I didn’t think you’d start a company.”
Luo Yi laughed, “Yep, I accidentally took the conventional route.”
“It doesn’t count as conventional, but it’s a bit of a waste of your gift.”
“I do actually have a goal in mind. It’s something I’ve been striving towards.”
“Oh, what goal is that?”
“It’s an enormous and arduous goal. Luo Yi ‘s voice suddenly became lower and deeper. “I can’t tell you now. It won’t come true if I say it out loud.”
“Yaaawn.” Wen Xiaohui started to giggle. “Okay, keep it a secret. I won’t ask anymore. Besides, I think you’ll be successful in anything you do. I look forward to celebrating your success together.”
“If there is such a day, your contribution won’t be overlooked.”
Wen Xiaohui was secretly brimming with delight because he must have had a very positive effect on Luo Yi’s development. When he thought about this point, he felt as though his entire body had grown to epic proportions.
That day, he wasn’t sure how long they ended up chatting for. He was so tired that he ended up falling asleep.
When he woke up the next day, he saw several people lying disorderly on his bed. He was so scared that he got up to check his clothes, but fortunately his virginity was still intact.
Footnotes:
The specific term used means thick-faced, referring to someone who is shameless and doesn’t get embarrassed easily. Thin-faced is used for someone who is the opposite.
Chinese New Year is based on the lunar calendar (like Easter), so the date varies year-on-year. It will be on 22 January in 2023 and the past couple of years, it has been in February.
凤毛麟角, literally means as rare as a feather of a phoenix or the horn of a unicorn (idiom). This phrase was originally separated into the respective phoenix (Southern Song dynasty) and unicorn (Tang dynasty) parts before being combined into one idiom.
I fact checked with a few Americans and no one seemed to think Americans view Christmas Day like New Year’s Day.
Chapter 39.2
A few days later, Li Shuo phoned to invite him to go skiing at The Valley and to soak in the hot springs. Wen Xiaohui was so excited that he dug out the swimming trunks that he bought in the sales.
The chauffeur was the same guy who gave him the present last time, and he drove Li Shuo over to collect him. Once Wen Xiaohui got in the car, Li Shuo gave him a giant hug. “I haven’t seen you in ages.”
Wen Xiaohui smiled, his cheeks flushing. “Long time no see.”
Li Shuo gently stroked Wen Xiaohui’s head. “You look like you’ve lost weight.”
“Really? That’s amazing!”
“You were already thin enough. You should pay attention to your health.”
“Relax, I often go to the community centre gym with my classmates. I might look a little skinnier, but my weight is unchanged. I’ve gained muscles.”
Li Shuo chuckled, “That’s good then.”
“Where are you taking me? I don’t know how to ski.”
“It’s fine. It’s very easy to pick up. My family owns a hot spring villa at The Valley and there’s a huge ski resort nearby. We spend our holidays there every winter.”
“Huh? Your entire family?”
“Don’t worry, it’s just the two of us.”
Wen Xiaohui gulped.
Li Shuo must have realised that his words were very ambiguous and he couldn’t stop himself from laughing. Afterwards, he gave Wen Xiaohui a look of embarrassment – that glance which held a tinge of embarrassment made Wen Xiaohui’s heart feel restless, and he felt like he could no longer resist.
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They arrived at the resort after a long drive.
The villa owned by Li Shuo’s family was built on a small hillside. Although it wasn’t very large, it looked special and exquisite. This resort had around 30 similar villas and each one had its own hot spring. It was really as beautiful as paradise, combined with the scenery of the dense snow.
The rooms had been prepared in advance. Li Shuo escorted Wen Xiaohui to the guest bedroom. “You should get some rest after being in the car for so long. I’ll go make us some food.”
“Okay.” Wen Xiaohui closed the door. He proceeded to tidy away everything in his suitcase and laid on the bed. He took a deep breath and the next second, he curled his body up, rolling around excitedly. He started to scream in his head.
Skiing! Hot spring! Villa! Holiday! Two single men alone in each other’s company1! Wen Xiaohui’s defining moment was fast approaching – with great ambience, amazing location, and the perfect guy; even if this was only a one night stand, Li Shuo’s sincerity was sufficient. What reason could Wen Xiaohui have for not engaging in shameful acts with Li Shuo? As soon as he thought about this, Wen Xiaohui’s cheeks reddened and his heart began to beat rapidly. He felt nervous, but he was also full of anticipation.
Wen Xiaohui left his room after having a shower. Li Shuo had prepared some sandwiches and some fried chicken wings, and he invited him over for dinner. “Try and eat something for lunch to pad out your stomach. I’ll get the car in a bit and drive you around for some sightseeing and to check out the scenery. The hot spring hasn’t been cleaned up yet, but it’ll be ready just in time for us to have a soak after skiing tomorrow.”
“Okay.” Wen Xiaohui sat at the table and looked at the snowscape outside the window with infatuation.
Before, he could only dream about what Li Shuo had brought him to see and experience. Who wouldn’t be moved by a guy like Li Shuo? But for some reason, he suddenly recalled the words that Li Shuo said to him in the bar just before he left the country, ruining the moment.
Surely he would mean something to Li Shuo if he slept with him?
He thought that he shouldn’t worry about such things. Hooking up for fun was the way to a happy life, but there was still a niggling feeling at the bottom of his heart, which prevented him from enjoying life to the max. Could it be that he was unknowingly brainwashed by Luo Rui, with his traditional values and virtue?
After lunch, Li Shuo drove him around for a tour of the surrounding area. Wen Xiaohui hadn’t gone further afield to have fun since he arrived in the US, because he didn’t have time and also, he didn’t dare to spend recklessly. The snow in New York City was never deep enough and it looked dirty as soon as it’d been gritted. The snow at The Valley was 100% natural and the magnificent snowscape was a feast for his eyes. He was so excited that he took loads of photos, and he even rolled around on the snow as much as he liked.
Li Shuo stared at Wen Xiaohui’s beaming smile, which made him feel relaxed.
When night fell, they returned to the area near the villa and had dinner at a French restaurant. They bought some stuff before heading back to the villa.
After Li Shuo finished tidying everything away, he said, “Xiaohui, you should get some rest. We’re going skiing tomorrow morning. There are fewer people around when it’s early, so it’s better for beginners.”
“Oh, that’s good.” At first, Wen Xiaohui was a bit anxious, but he felt relieved as soon as he heard this. After saying goodnight, he headed back into his bedroom.
He slept fairly well that night, but he had a strange dream. He dreamt that he was skiing, but the person beside him was actually Luo Yi.
—–——————
They left for the ski resort at the crack of dawn the next day.
Wen Xiaohui felt like he couldn’t walk when he put on his ski boots. He’d only just put them on and he walked a couple of steps, before taking a tumble and falling to the ground.
Li Shuo smiled as he pulled him back up. “Don’t worry, I’ll teach you.” Li Shuo took him to the training area, patiently teaching him all about positioning, how to brake, maintaining centre of gravity, and how to set off.
Wen Xiaohui felt like he’d finally mastered it after nearly an hour. He moved from the training area to the beginners’ piste and he attempted to ski.
There were indeed fewer people in the morning, and he was free to ski around the place without worrying about bumping into others. Li Shuo had been watching over him from behind, which helped him to quickly get the hang of keeping his balance and he was able to ski independently.
Wen Xiaohui had excellent gross motor skills and his confidence grew as he got to grips with skiing. He realised for the first time that skiing was such fun. He continued to move to steeper and steeper slopes to challenge himself.
Wen Xiaohui took off some of his clothes and ski boots during lunch, and he felt aches in all of his limbs. His entire body was sore, but he hadn’t had enough and continued skiing after a short rest. Even Li Shuo was impressed by his stamina.
Wen Xiaohui was so exhausted by the end of the day that he nearly rolled his eyes. The muscles all over his body were refusing to cooperate.
Li Shuo smiled and said, “The hot spring will be perfect at relieving tiredness tonight.”
“The itinerary has been planned so well.” Wen Xiaohui wailed, “Oh shit, my arms, my legs… They’re so painful.”
“I told you to stop, but you didn’t listen.”
“But it’s so much fun!”
“We can spend a few more days here if you’d like and let you play to your heart’s content.”
“Sure.”
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The hot spring was ready by the time they arrived back at the villa. Wen Xiaohui went back to his bedroom for a shower, then he put on his new swimming trunks as he faced the mirror. As a result of his recent exercising, his body became more toned, his abs were finally visible and his buttocks appeared more curved. Just his pair of long legs were enough to make people fantasise about him.
Wen Xiaohui swung his arms around. He’d made up his mind – he intended to go all out if something were to happen that night.
He put on his bathrobe and walked towards the garden at the back of the house.
Part of the hot spring was al fresco, and a blast of icy wind breezed past when he opened the door, making Wen Xiaohui cry out from the cold. He ran to the edge of the hot spring, took off his bathrobe and went into the water.
He no longer felt cold when the warm water surrounded his body.
After waiting for ages, Li Shuo still didn’t appear. He pricked his ears up to listen carefully and it seemed as though Li Shuo was on a call. After some time, Li Shuo came over with some juice. “Sorry, something came up at work.”
“It’s fine.” Wen Xiaohui rested his arms on the edge of the hot spring, as he waited nervously for Li Shuo to strip off his clothes.
Li Shuo put down the tray and removed his bathrobe.
His body was as sexy as Wen Xiaohui imagined – Wen Xiaohui had secretly traced it in his head many times when Li Shuo was clothed. He’d taken off his clothes and his broad shoulders, pectoral and abdominal muscles, rounded buttocks, and long legs were of the standard that you’d see walking out of a magazine. Li Shuo’s build was on the slimmer side, so it was a surprise that his body was so impressive once his clothes were off. Wen Xiaohui couldn’t stop himself from gulping. He felt a little unable to resist.
Li Shuo also wasted no time in getting into the water. “It’s so cold.”
“Why did you build it outdoors originally?”
Li Shuo smiled and replied, “When you’re outside, you can enjoy the view of the snow while being in the hot spring. For this bit of sentimentality, I’d rather brave the cold.”
“It’s worth it.” Wen Xiaohui scooped up a handful of snow, putting it into the water. It melted into nothing in a flash.
Li Shuo picked up a glass of juice and passed it to Wen Xiaohui. “Here you go.”
Wen Xiaohui’s head was leaning on the side of the hot spring as he sucked the sweet and tangy hawthorn juice like usual. His body was surrounded by the warm water and he felt completely infatuated.
Li Shuo said, “I might have to go back to China early, so I won’t be here for Chinese New Year. The firm is very busy – it doesn’t even stop before the end of the year.”
“Oh, what a shame that you can’t spend it with your parents.”
“It’s fine, they can come back to China this year, so we’ll be able to celebrate it together.”
“That’s good.” Wen Xiaohui put the juice down and he stretched his arms out. “Look, Li-dage.” He had wet his hair using water and formed two horns on his head by smoothing his hair a few times before it stood up on its own. He giggled, “Look, look! I cut my hair recently and now they’re shaped like cat ears. I’d be able to make bunny ears if it were longer.”
Li Shuo laughed, “That’s very imaginative.”
“Maybe you should give it a go?”
“Sure, next top stylist.”
Wen Xiaohui moved closer, wetting Li Shuo’s fringe with water. Then, he rubbed the hair together and scraped it all to the middle to form a point on his head. He picked up his phone that was at the side and took a photo of Li Shuo before bursting into fits of laughter.
Li Shuo looked at the phone and he couldn’t stop himself from laughing either.
Wen Xiaohui put his phone down. “Come here and let me change your look. I suddenly had a flash of inspiration – for my assignment next term, I’m going to find a model to shoot photos with a frozen in a hot spring theme.” He reached out to mess around with Li Shuo’s hair.
Li Shuo smiled as he looked at him for a while, then he suddenly stretched his arm out to hug him around the waist.
Wen Xiaohui froze.
Li Shuo took advantage and pressed his lips against Wen Xiaohui’s.
Footnotes:
孤男寡男, word play on the more well-known Chinese phrase 孤男寡女 which refers an unmarried man and woman spending time together (typically away from others). There’s an implication that something may happen between them.
Translator note:
Weekly updates will slow down in the run up to Christmas, but will pick back up shortly afterwards.
