Additional Inheritance - Chap 41
Chapter 41.1
Wen Xiaohui used the wall for support so that his weak legs wouldn’t collapse under him. He wasn’t sure about other people, but he’d often imagined such confessions in the depths of his mind. It was blunt, bold, and resolute; brimming with such explosive masculinity that he simply couldn’t disregard it, even though the person in front of him was a youth.
A ray of light flashed through his mind and he suddenly recalled the time he went out drinking with Li Shuo before he went abroad. As he’d said previously, if only Li Shuo had been half as determined as Luo Yi…
He shook his head violently from side to side to prevent himself from thinking of further what if scenarios and comparisons. He opened the door. “I’m going to sleep in my housemate’s room, so you can calm down.”
Luo Yi said, “Xiaohui-ge, you still have to face me tomorrow even if you leave now.”
Wen Xiaohui was fuming from embarrassment. “Then, what more do you want?”
“I said that I love you, I want to know how you feel.”
“What do I feel? I want you to take back what you said. Do you think that’s even possible?”
“You know it’s not.”
“Then, I don’t know what I’m supposed to think!” Wen Xiaohui replied as his chest heaved, “My sister left you with me, so I could look after you and make sure you grow up well. It wasn’t so that you could be gay like me. What the fuck is this?”
“You haven’t made me gay, I only like you.”
“You…” Wen Xiaohui pointed at him with a trembling finger, he didn’t have anything more to say and he opened the door and ran out. When he got to his housemate’s room, he locked the door before dashing to the bed and covering himself up with the duvet.
When it was completely silent, he finally realised that his heart was thumping. Ba-dum, ba-dum… Each beat reverberated forcefully as if his heart were about to pop out of his chest.
What should I do? How did it end up like this?
It wasn’t as though he didn’t have an inkling since he’d talked about it with Luo Rui ages ago. Luo Rui was jinxed1 – everything he said seemed to come true, and although he normally seemed a little stupid, he had a particularly sharp sixth sense. Could he possibly have some sort of hidden high IQ? He really wanted to call Luo Rui at this moment, however, his mobile phone was back in his own room and he definitely didn’t have the guts to return.
Wen Xiaohui felt flustered – he didn’t know how he ought to resolve this ‘unexpected incident.’ It nearly scared him to death.
What should I do? What should I do? What should I do?!!
Wen Xiaohui asked himself this question three times, which made his head feel even more pained. He rolled around the bed until he suddenly remembered how Luo Rui had said the most important thing was whether he liked Luo Yi or not.
It was as though the question was a bomb, causing his feelings to surge and spill over the edge.
If he ignored everything else to think solely of Luo Yi – would he fall in love with him?
Like the flashbacks of someone on the verge of death, he recalled the first time he met Luo Yi – the handsome youth who exuded the breath of sunshine. Sitting on the back seat of Luo Yi’s bicycle with the gentle breeze brushing past his face, this image was still engraved in his mind. Furthermore, he could no longer count the number of times he let his imagination run away with him during the past two years they’d spent together, merely because of a glance or a gesture from Luo Yi. He’d already restrained himself2, clearing away any errant thoughts about Luo Yi, but never in a million years did he expect that he would only be able to control himself and not Luo Yi.
Being too attractive can be a burden sometimes…
Wen Xiaohui couldn’t help punching himself a couple of times.
Waiting with his eyes wide open until daybreak, Wen Xiaohui watched the first rays of light from the window. His eyes looked dull and lifeless, he was clearly extremely tired, but he just couldn’t fall asleep. He looked at his watch – 4am. Even Luo Yi wouldn’t be up so early. He got up from the bed, planning to quietly sneak in and grab his mobile phone because he needed to speak to Luo Rui, otherwise he was going to explode.
Wen Xiaohui was like a thief as he crept to the door of his room, he turned the door handle cautiously and opened the door. He ran across the carpet in his bare feet without a sound. Luo Yi was still sleeping on the floor and he looked like he was sleeping deeply.
Wen Xiaohui felt a little upset. I3 was up all night, so why the heck do you get to sleep so comfortably?
He gently picked up the mobile phone that was on the table and grabbed the jacket hanging on the back of the chair. However, the buffalo horn tip buttons knocked against the chair with a bang, causing him to close his eyes.
“Mn…” Luo Yi coughed slightly. “Xiaohui-ge.” His voice was now extremely hoarse, almost as if the sound didn’t come from a human.
Wen Xiaohui was shocked. This wasn’t the time to think about the potential awkwardness and he immediately ran over to him. “Do you still have a temperature?” He reached out to feel Luo Yi’s forehead and it was scorching to the point of being scary. “Let’s go. I’m going to take you to the hospital.” Yesterday, Luo Yi’s fever didn’t seem that serious, so he didn’t take him to the hospital in order to save money4. Normally when people had minor ailments, they’d take some medicine by themselves and rest, and even those with medical insurance weren’t always willing to go to hospital, not to mention Luo Yi didn’t have any insurance.
Luo Yi grabbed his arm. “I’m not going. I’m fine, I only need to take some medicine.”
“You should’ve been fine today if the medicine worked.”
“I forgot to take it last night.”
Wen Xiaohui remembered what had happened between them last night. Feeling deflated, he said, “It’s more serious now, so the only option is to go to the hospital.”
“I’m not going.” Luo Yi hugged Wen Xiaohui around the neck. He said weakly, “I’m not going, I hate hospitals more than anything else. Just give me some medicine.”
“Who actually likes hospitals? People only go if they have to.”
“I’M NOT GOING!” Luo Yi’s tone of voice became more determined. He hugged Wen Xiaohui so tight that no one would have believed that he was sick as he seemed that strong.
Wen Xiaohui tried several times to stand up, but it was impossible. He wanted to prop Luo Yi upright by force, but he ran out of strength after trying a few times. He asked angrily, “Why are you so stubborn?”
Luo Yi stared at him with his tearful eyes and he said in a hoarse voice, “I don’t want to go to the hospital, I want to stay home.”
Wen Xiaohui looked into his moist and bloodshot eyes, he no longer had the heart to insist. “It’s fine if you don’t want to go now, but you must go to the hospital if your temperature doesn’t fall by this afternoon.”
“We can talk about it then.”
“Let go of me first, so I can pour you some water and fetch you some medicine.”
Luo Yi placed his drooping head on Wen Xiaohui’s shoulder like he was unwilling to get up off him. He continued to hug him for longer until he reluctantly let go.
Wen Xiaohui felt as if there were little paws clawing gently at his heart; he rushed to disguise it by scratching his head and getting up to boil water for the medicine. Making the most of it, he went to the kitchen to wash some rice and cut up some meat and shitake mushrooms to put in the congee.
He brought some warm water and medicine to Luo Yi. “Here, take all the medicine and we’ll also check your temperature.”
Luo Yi did as he was told.
Luo Yi was normally the one who was clear-headed, bursting with energy, and busy with all sorts that seeing Luo Yi’s feeble appearance was a new experience for Wen Xiaohui. His hazy eyes, scarlet cheeks, slightly-moist fringe, and pale lips added a sense of frail beauty5 to Luo Yi’s already outstanding appearance, making Wen Xiaohui unable to take his eyes off him.
After Luo Yi had taken the medicine, he started wheezing non-stop and he seemed to be suffering a lot.
Wen Xiaohui said, “Lie down for a bit. I’ll feed you some congee when it’s ready.”
“I don’t want to lie down, I can’t breathe properly.” Luo Yi was leaning on the bed behind him, looking at Wen Xiaohui with his eyes partially closed. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down gently as the front of his pyjamas hung open, and his chest heaved in time with his breathing.
Wen Xiaohui couldn’t help but gulp. He got up to get his camera. “Is it okay if I take a photo of you?”
“Why?”
“I had a sudden burst of inspiration, I want to try this sort of frail beauty look next time.”
“Okay.”
Wen Xiaohui crouched down in front of Luo Yi. “Don’t move. It doesn’t matter if you’re looking at the camera or not, just try and act casual.”
Luo Yi tipped his head back and a few loose strands of hair from his fringe hung messily over the corner of his eyebrows and with his lips slightly parted, he gave the camera lens a sidelong glance. His appearance resembled a weakened vampire; he was so handsome that he was beyond parallel6.
Wen Xiaohui pressed the shutter of the camera without hesitating.
After the photoshoot, Wen Xiaohui felt his palms sweating. He quietly packed the camera away and headed to the kitchen to check on the congee.
Although Wen Xiaohui originally didn’t know how to cook, he was forced to learn when he arrived. After all, he wouldn’t have been able to afford eating out every day and it was easy to put on weight. He cooked instant noodles and congee with various meats and vegetables most frequently, because they were easy, convenient, and tasty.
Carrying the congee back to the room, he saw that Luo Yi still had his eyes closed, leaning on the bed like he had fallen asleep.
Wen Xiaohui said gently, “You should eat something, so that you’ll get better soon.”
Luo Yi opened his eyes and smiled faintly. “This is the first time I’ve tried your cooking.”
“Who said it’s the first time? I made you cake with my own hands on your birthday.”
“You’re right, that was the first time I tried your cooking.”
“I’ve learned a lot during the past six months in the US.” Wen Xiaohui sat cross-legged in front of Luo Yi and stirred the congee with a spoon. “Here’s some shitake mushroom and pork congee. Try some.” He handed the bowl to Luo Yi.
Luo Yi glanced at him. “Didn’t you say you’d feed me?”
Wen Xiaohui replied in embarrassment, “You should eat it yourself. I might spill it if I feed you.”
“Feed me.” Luo Yi said it softly, but he seemed very determined.
Wen Xiaohui told himself not to argue with a sick person. He scooped up a spoonful of congee and brought it to Luo Yi’s mouth.
Luo Yi opened his mouth slowly, swallowing a mouthful of food, but his eyes weren’t on the spoon at all. Instead, they were looking at Wen Xiaohui’s face.
The Luo Yi of the past would sometimes act ambiguously towards him, but now, he could show his feelings freely without having to hide. Wen Xiaohui could only lower his eyes to stare at the congee.
Wen Xiaohui fed Luo Yi the bowl of congee one mouthful at a time. Neither of them spoke – Luo Yi’s mouth was occupied and Wen Xiaohui didn’t know what to say. The strange quietness prevailed during the time that it took to finish the congee, which was long enough for Wen Xiaohui to die of embarrassment.
“Do you want any more?”
“I’ll eat it if you feed me.” Luo Yi smiled at him faintly.
“You might get sick if you eat too much in one go. Have some more later.” Wen Xiaohui cleared away the bowl. “Lie down for a while.”
Luo Yi grabbed his hand. “Where are you going?”
“To wash the dishes.”
“Don’t bother washing it, I’ll be eating again soon. Have a chat with me.”
Wen Xiaohui took a deep breath. “Luo Yi, you’re ill now. We shouldn’t talk about anything else.”
“It’s just a casual chat like normal.”
“Okay.” Wen Xiaohui sat back down.
Luo Yi didn’t end up mentioning what had happened last night and instead they talked about the kinds of stuff that they used to talk about. For example, what they’d been doing recently, their interests, how Wen Xiaohui was getting in his lessons, which classmate was two-timing their partner, and how much an avocado cost in an American supermarket.
There was never an awkward silence when they talked about these things, and Wen Xiaohui’s pent up emotions finally eased. He had to admit that other than Luo Rui, there wasn’t anyone who knew him better than Luo Yi and also had countless things to talk to him about. Li Shuo couldn’t compare in this respect. He was well-educated, knowledgeable, and he was also willing to compromise and talk about topics that they both understood. However, there weren’t many of those topics at all, and Wen Xiaohui never felt like he could speak his mind. He felt most relaxed when he was with Luo Yi.
Luo Yi seemed tired as they were chatting, so he lay down and accidentally fell asleep.
Wen Xiaohui sat beside him, watching his peaceful appearance as he slept. He couldn’t help reaching out to gently brush away the stray hair on Luo Yi’s forehead. His eyes traced the outline of the perfect features on Luo Yi’s face. Luo Yi looked so frail and young at this moment that Wen Xiaohui struggled to reconcile him with the person who had firmly said ‘I love you’ last night. In reality, you couldn’t judge Luo Yi by his appearance, like his domineering confession and all the things he did in the past.
The more Wen Xiaohui looked at Luo Yi, the more he could see hints of Yaya reflected in that face of his. They looked so alike, it was no wonder they were mother and son. When Wen Xiaohui thought of Yaya, he recalled what Sun Ying had told him and he felt a tightness in his heart. There was nothing more he could do for Yaya, but he had to try his hardest to protect Luo Yi.
Footnotes:
乌鸦嘴, literally crow’s beak i.e. someone who says unlucky things and it’s also implied that they normally come true.
枷锁, the original Chinese text refers to Wen Xiaohui placing several ‘locks’ on himself (metaphorically). 枷锁 can also refer to a burden that someone has to carry, like WXH’s responsibilities to his dead sister, Luo Yaya.
WXH uses laozhi, a pompous form of I.
This references the practice in China where minor ailments like cold and flu often require hospitalisation. It’s fairly common for patients to be placed on an IV drip to avoid dehydration when they have a cold or flu. American healthcare bills are very expensive, which is why WXH was hesitant to take Luo Yi in the first place.
Chinese culture has an appreciation for a frail or sick person’s beauty, and it’s not unusual to see sick beauties as a trope in danmei. This link includes the story about one of the four great beauties of China, Xishi, and how her frail beauty coined an idiom.
The phrase 病入膏肓 is used to describe Luo Yi’s beauty in this sentence, which seems odd to me because it’s normally used to describe someone who is so ill that they’re beyond cure.
Chapter 41.2
Luo Yi slept until the afternoon. His fever went down a bit, which increased his appetite and he ate two bowls of congee. He seemed more lively, and only then did Wen Xiaohui feel a sense of relief. He let Luo Yi get some more rest as he grabbed his mobile phone and went to squat in the kitchen to call Luo Rui.
The phone rang for ages before he was put through. Lui Rui’s cry sounded from the other end of the line. “You called me in the middle of the night, you better have something important to say.”
“I do.”
Luo Rui became more alert. “What happened? Are you okay?”
Wen Xiaohui continued and said without hesitating, “The first relates to Luo Yi and the other is about Li Shuo. Which do you want to hear about?”
“Oh, fuck! Don’t tell me you woke me up in the middle of the night to brag about your love triangle with the mature, top-class, handsome CEO and the mellow and cute boy1 genius. How cruel are you?”
“Fuck you, I haven’t even said a word. Are you seriously deluded? I’m in trouble.”
“Oh? Tell me.”
“Which do you want to hear first?”
“Li Shuo.”
“I nearly slept with Li Shuo the night before last.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Luo Rui seemed fully awake from the sound of his voice. “Tell me now. I want details!”
“He took me on holiday. There was skiing, a hot spring, etc., and then we went on to… you know what I mean?”
“I don’t know what you mean. Give me more details!”
“Damn, I’m too shy.”
“Shy, my ass! Haven’t you been looking forward to this for a while? So, what’s it like? Does Li Shuo have a good body? How do his pecs feel? Is he big down there?”
Wen Xiaohui whispered, “Yeah it’s good. It feels nice. It’s big.”
Luo Rui screamed, “How far did you get?”
“I touched every part of his body, but then we got interrupted.”
“Who the hell interrupted you?!” Luo Rui’s tone of voice was full of righteous indignation.
Wen Xiaohui sighed. “Luo Yi came to the US.”
“Oh! Is he at yours now?”
“Yeah, he has a fever and he’s lying down in my room.”
“Then, what happened between you?”
Wen Xiaohui began to sigh in quick succession again. “We…”
“Shut up2! Let me have a guess.”
“Your English is crap…”
“Did he confess to you?!”
Wen Xiaohui’s eyes widened. If Luo Rui were standing in front of him right now, he’d skin him just to vent his anger. “Why is your mouth so fucking impressive?”
Luo Rui took a deep breath. “Oh heavens, Baby, you’re screwed.”
Wen Xiaohui dejectedly raked his fingers through his hair. “I think so too.”
“Like I told you before, Luo Yi’s in love with you and he’s really jealous of Li Shuo3.”
“I didn’t sleep at all last night – my brain feels like it’s going to explode. I don’t know what I should do?”
“Why are you worrying about this? There’s only one question – who do you like?”
“I…”
Wen Xiaohui had spent an entire day thinking about this question. He liked Li Shuo because it was a no-brainer for someone to fancy their ideal man, and there was no particular reason why he wanted to have sex with Li Shuo – it was purely for his own pleasure. Speaking of how deep his feelings were for Li Shuo, he didn’t actually have any strong feelings for him since they’d only met a few times and there wasn’t enough time to build a strong foundation. He also liked Luo Yi, but in the same way that someone cares about family. He couldn’t deny the few times that he was tempted by Luo Yi, but he never planned to act on these feelings. He’d never thought of Luo Yi as a potential partner. However, everything had changed since the moment of Luo Yi’s confession last night, because regardless of how he planned to get along with Luo Yi in future, he was unable to control how Luo Yi thought or felt. As for Luo Yi, he could easily emerge victorious. He was currently sick, with his fighting spirit diminished, but once he recovered, Wen Xiaohui might have to face someone he wouldn’t be able to resist from all angles.
Luo Rui said, “Actually, I know what you’re thinking and I completely understand.”
“You really understand?”
“Yeah, we spent so many years together, how could I not understand you?”
“Then, what do you think I should do?”
“Frankly, Li Shuo seems more suitable for you. You’ll definitely fall in love with him if you spend more time together. Luo Yi makes you feel so hesitant, you need to tell him clearly, since you don’t want to be with him. Afterwards, you should try and keep your distance.”
Wen Xiaohui mumbled, “Keep my distance?” Luo Yi would go crazy if he tried to keep his distance. For him, Luo Yi had already done things that he shouldn’t have done, and he couldn’t begin to imagine how heartbroken Luo Yi would feel if he really did stay away from him. What would he get up to?
“You can’t, can you?” sighed Luo Rui.
Wen Xiaohui rubbed his head, and said in a sombre voice, “It’s bloody annoying, I want to go home.”
“If you can’t do that, I don’t know what else you can do.”
“What use are you to me?”
“You’re so unreasonable.”
Wen Xiaohui continued whispering for a long time, pestering Luo Rui until he yawned repeatedly. Eventually, he let Luo Rui off and ended the call.
Wen Xiaohui didn’t feel any better after he finished chatting to Luo Rui and on the contrary, he felt even more troubled. He was planning to ask Luo Yi when he was going back to China, because he wanted some distance between them. Perhaps everything would be back to normal after a brief cooling off period.
He continued to squat for a little longer, then he received a call from Li Shuo.
Wen Xiaohui cleared his throat in an attempt to make himself sound as normal as possible. “Hi, Li-dage.”
“Xiaohui, how’s Luo Yi? Is his cold better now?”
“He still has a bit of a fever, but it’s come down a lot already.”
“Do you need me to ask my GP to come and take a look at him?”
“It’s fine. His energy levels aren’t bad, so he should be fine tomorrow.” Wen Xiaohui’s emotions calmed down a bit after hearing Li Shuo’s serene voice.
“That’s good. It’s unfortunate that he caught a cold as soon as he arrived. I had planned to take you both for some sightseeing.”
“Thanks, Li-dage. I’m so sorry I only went on holiday with you for two days before I had to come back. You didn’t get to have much fun.”
Li Shuo smiled as he said, “It’s fine. Oh yeah, I’m going back to China tomorrow.”
“Oh, so soon?”
“Yeah, there’s still work that the firm needs to finish before Chinese New Year, so it’s likely that we won’t see each other in the next six months.”
Wen Xiaohui felt somewhat disappointed. He had always felt that he and Li Shuo lacked a certain something, and after missing out on this opportunity, he wasn’t sure how long it would take to build up to that sort of mood again, or if their relationship would just fizzle out. It was enough to make him respond with regret, “Oh, see you in half a year.”
After hanging up, Wen Xiaohui discovered that he had pins and needles in his legs from squatting. He leaned on the wall to stand up, as he smacked the back of his head against the wall in frustration. His thoughts were a mess.
Luo Yi had woken up again when Wen Xiaohui got back to the room and he was on his mobile phone.
“You’re awake. Do you want to eat some more?”
“No, thanks. I’m very full.” Luo Yi didn’t put his mobile phone down and he continued to type. “Did you go to make a call?”
“Yeah, I had a chat with Luo Rui.”
Luo Yi raised his head to look at him. “Did you ask Luo Rui for advice on how to reject me?”
Wen Xiaohui’s heart thudded; he didn’t know how to reply.
Luo Yi put his phone down and he smiled as he looked at Wen Xiaohui. “Xiaohui-ge, I was a bit impulsive when I said those words last night. I must have been confused because of the fever. I didn’t intend to scare you and I wanted to hide my feelings, but I didn’t hold back because I was jealous. But you shouldn’t have to shoulder the burden – it’s not like I found out I was in love with you yesterday, nothing has changed. We can be the same as before, and I hope that you won’t keep me at distance because of this incident. If that’s the case, I’d rather hide my feelings so that you feel more comfortable.”
Wen Xiaohui looked at Luo Yi who looked heartbroken and wronged, and he couldn’t help feeling distressed. Even though he didn’t do anything wrong, he felt ill at ease and full of guilt, because he’d made Luo Yi sad. There was no way that they could go back to the way they were and they were both clearly aware of this. Perhaps his training course was a good opportunity for them to get used to being apart.
Wen Xiaohui felt sad when he thought about this. Liking someone should bring joy, but it could easily lead to unbearable consequences.
Luo Yi scrutinised Wen Xiaohui’s facial expression and he said quietly, “Do you agree? Xiaohui-ge, can we go back to the way we were?”
Wen Xiaohui’s lips quivered, looking at Luo Yi’s face and he could only respond with a single word. “Yeah.”
Luo Yi smiled faintly.
Wen Xiaohui asked, “Oh yeah, did you book a return ticket? It’s cheaper to book in advance.”
“Not yet, I wanted to stay until term starts…” Luo Yi observed Wen Xiaohui’s reaction. “But, I decided to go back earlier.”
Wen Xiaohui began to feel upset again, he didn’t want it to sound like he was making Luo Yi leave and he could only say: “You can leave whenever you like.”
Luo Yi smiled. “I can’t stay for too much longer, I still have a lot of things to sort out when I get back.”
Wen Xiaohui let out a sigh of relief.
Luo Yi glanced at Wen Xiaohui with an incomprehensible emotion in his eyes.
————————-
Luo Yi’s cold was better after two days, and they avoided mentioning what had happened that night. Wen Xiaohui took Luo Yi to explore the neighbourhood and try out the food. They got along well just like always and this was no exception.
A few days later, Luo Yi went back to China and Wen Xiaohui took him to the airport. When he saw Luo Yi’s figure disappearing at border security, he thought he would feel relieved temporarily, but in reality, he found himself missing Luo Yi once again…
Footnotes:
The Chinese loan word for shota (Japanese term) is used.
Shut up was written in English in the raws, hence Wen Xiaohui’s dig about Luo Rui’s English being crap.
Expressed as drinking Li Shuo’s vinegar, i.e. jealous. The origin of this phrase is available here.
