Additional Inheritance - Chap 48
Chapter 48.1
To Wen Xiaohui, this incident was like setting off a bomb. The explosion to his head almost split it open.
Last night, he and Li Shuo slept together under the influence of alcohol?!
The expression on his face was blank because he was so shocked, but he was frantically howling like a wolf inside.
How did this happen?! How could this happen?!
He wouldn’t go as far as shaking and crying because he slept with someone, even if it was his first time. He was fortunate that it wasn’t with someone that he disliked. However, what made it unbearable was the fact that he’d only just confirmed his feelings for Luo Yi and he fucking slept with Li Shuo. For him, it was the same as betraying Luo Yi.
Calling it a betrayal wouldn’t be completely accurate. After all, the relationship between him and Luo Yi was still ambiguous, but psychologically, he felt as though he was being unfaithful to their relationship. He didn’t intend to have a one night stand with Li Shuo and he wouldn’t have wanted to if he was sober.
It was so damn easy for things to go wrong when you’re drinking. He swore to never get drunk again, or else he’d get beaten to death. He thumped himself on the head a few times in annoyance. He felt deeply regretful1.
If Luo Yi found out… would he blame Wen Xiaohui? Wen Xiaohui felt like crying whenever he thought about this.
Li Shuo watched Wen Xiaohui’s unusual movements. He asked as he felt puzzled, “Xiaohui, what’s wrong? Is your head feeling sore?” He grabbed Wen Xiaohui’s hand, intending to examine him in more detail.
Wen Xiaohui reacted as though he’d been electrocuted, shaking off Li Shuo’s hand. He looked stiff and embarrassed. “Yeah, a little bit.”
Li Shuo gave him a tender smile. “Look at you, I told you not to drink too much. Although, you were unexpectedly obedient when you were drunk.”
Wen Xiaohui’s heart skipped a beat. He felt as if every word and smile from Li Shuo was suggestive and it was driving him wild.
“I’m going downstairs to buy you some fever-reducing medicine. You don’t feel too hot, so you should get better after taking some medicine.”
“Okay.” Wen Xiaohui stared at him blankly.
Li Shuo rose to his feet. After some pondering, he leaned over and kissed Wen Xiaohui on the forehead. He smiled as he said, “I was really happy last night.”
Li Shuo was referring to how Wen Xiaohui was willing to treat him as a friend and tell him what was on his mind, but Wen Xiaohui instinctively twisted the words, thinking it was praise following the one night stand. The corners of Wen Xiaohui’s lips became crooked.
After grabbing his jacket, Li Shuo left to buy medicine.
Wen Xiaohui had been sitting in a daze for ages, when he suddenly bellowed, “FUCK! Arghhhhh!”
He fell onto the bed with a thud and stared at the ceiling absentmindedly.
His first time, that he’d been looking forward to, had come and gone in a muddle. Only fragments of flashbacks remained in his mind. The scariest thing was that it wasn’t the guy he’d hoped for.
No, it wasn’t the guy that he’d hoped for.
Wen Xiaohui sniffled, feeling a little upset about his own foolishness. He didn’t believe Li Shou was the sort of person who would take advantage of him while drunk; he wouldn’t stoop so low. Therefore, Wen Xiaohui must have been flirting with him quite a bit last night. But why did Luo Yi appear in his memories? Did he mistake Li Shuo for Luo Yi? Also, when Luo Yi asked for the ‘birthday present’ yesterday, was he referring to Wen Xiaohui?
It didn’t matter. He still felt full of regret.
After shouting for a while, he realised that there was nothing he could change, so he rolled over and got off the bed.
In the instant that his feet touched the floor, he fell to his knees with a thud. His hand covered his bum as he nearly burst into tears.
It’s so sore! Damn it!
Li Shuo really did live up to his reputation of being skilled. As for his size, Wen Xiaohui had touched it through Li Shuo’s underwear before and now he nearly couldn’t walk on his two legs. Li Shuo was really great, helping him clean up both on the inside and out. Other than feeling tender, Wen Xiaohui didn’t feel unwell.
However, he was still in so much pain that he wanted to smash his head against a wall.
He picked himself up from the floor with difficulty and got dressed. How could he face Li Shuo given how things turned out? Crestfallen, he grabbed his stuff and he ran off.
——————————————-
After he left the hotel, he realised he was penniless and he quickly phoned Luo Rui. This time Luo Rui’s phone was on and he said he would grab a taxi to pick Wen Xiaohui up.
Wen Xiaohui sent a text message to Li Shuo to say that he had to leave because something came up at home. He felt like he wouldn’t be able to face Li Shuo in future.
While he was waiting for Luo Rui, he hesitated about calling Luo Yi. He opened the contacts list and realised that Luo Yi had called him in the middle of the night. He rushed to call him back, but the other end of the line was engaged.
Wen Xiaohui sighed in relief as he suddenly realised if Luo Yi did pick up the phone, he might not have been able to speak to him properly. After he slept with Li Shuo… He really didn’t dare to imagine how Luo Yi would react if he found out. Should he keep it from Luo Yi? Wouldn’t it be too shameless?
Luo Rui arrived quickly. When Wen Xiaohui got into the car, he hugged Luo Rui and started to sob. “I’m so fucking confused. Sob, sob…”
Luo Rui was stunned. “What’s wrong? Did you have a fight with Luo Yi?”
Wen Xiaohui sniffled and he suddenly said savagely, “Why the fuck did you turn your phone off last night? Nothing would have happened if it weren’t for you having your phone off!”
“Yesterday, I took the shop assistants to sing karaoke and my mobile phone ran out of battery. What actually happened?” Luo Rui was a bit anxious. “Did you really have a fight with Luo Yi? What was it about?”
“No, we didn’t have a fight.”
“Then what’s wrong?”
Wearing a mournful expression, Wen Xiaohui replied, “I was kicked out of Luo Yi’s house yesterday, shortly after I arrived.”
Luo Rui turned pale with fright. “Why? Did you have a disagreement?”
“His dad arrived.”
Luo Rui immediately wilted. His voice began to tremble. “H-His dad? That… That person?”
Wen Xiaohui nodded. “I was terrified – his aura seems particularly scary. I didn’t even dare to look him in the eye. Afterwards, Luo Yi appeared very nervous and he told me to go home first.”
Luo Rui sighed. “There’s nothing you can do, but is his father really that scary? You couldn’t even celebrate Luo Yi’s birthday just because he was there?”
Wen Xiaohui shook his head. “I don’t know. Anyway, Luo Yi looked really nervous.”
“What happened afterwards? How does it have anything to do with me?”
“I was in such a fucking rush to leave, I didn’t bring anything with me except my mobile phone. I didn’t have a single penny. I called you and you’d turned your damn phone off! Your phone was turned off when I needed you the most!” Wen Xiaohui felt furious as recalled this incident.
“Can you be more reasonable? Oh, forget it! What happened after that? Did you loiter on the streets? Then, were you bitten by a dog?”
Wen Xiaohui held his head in his hands. “Li Shuo happened to call me, so I went to have some drinks with him.”
“And then?” Luo Rui’s eyes widened suddenly. “I picked you up at a hotel. Don’t tell me you…”
Wen Xiaohui nodded as he continued to hold his head in his hands.
Luo Rui gasped – his eyes and his mouth formed perfect circles. His expression looked hilarious.
Even the taxi driver’s interest in gossip was piqued, as he peeked at them in his rearview mirror.
Luo Rui’s heartbeat returned to normal; he glanced at the annoyed-looking Wen Xiaohui and gulped. “So, you and Li Shuo did it?”
A whimper came from Wen Xiaohui.
Luo Rui was feeling very conflicted. They’d agreed in the past that no matter which one of them lost their virginity, they’d make a big deal out of it and have a celebration. But now it seemed as though Wen Xiaohui wasn’t happy about it.
He put his arm around Wen Xiaohui’s shoulder. “Cheer up, Baby. It’s easy to lose control after drinking, but it’s not your fault.”
“Why isn’t it my fault? I was stupid.” Wen Xiaohui sobbed, “If… Luo Yi didn’t exist, I wouldn’t have minded, but I feel like I’ve betrayed Luo Yi whenever I think about him. It makes me feel awful.”
Luo Rui stroked Wen Xiaohui’s head. “I know, I know. But you and Luo Yi aren’t a couple at the moment, you haven’t betrayed anyone. You don’t have to blame yourself for this.”
Wen Xiaohui knew what Luo Rui had said was right and he could console himself with this fact, but still felt upset and pained.
——————————————-
Luo Rui took him to his house and brewed him a pot of calming flower-infused tea. He comforted him gently.
Recovering slightly from his hangover, Wen Xiaohui’s body still ached and he fell asleep unintentionally.
Wen Xiaohui was woken up by his mobile phone, after sleeping in until the afternoon. He stretched out his hand to reach it, but Luo Rui was a step ahead of him and grabbed it. Feeling awkward, he said, “It’s Luo Yi. Do you want to take it?”
Shivering and completely awakened, Wen Xiaohui winked at Luo Rui and replied hesitantly, “Why don’t you answer on my behalf and say that I’m asleep?”
Luo Rui reluctantly said, “Okay.” He answered the call, lowering his voice on purpose to say: “Hi, Luo Yi. Xiaohui’s asleep at my house.”
Wen Xiaohui stared at them on the call as he felt incredibly nervous.
Luo Rui mouthed to Wen Xiaohui: “He wants to come and pick you up.”
Wen Xiaohui shook his head2.
Luo Rui could only put on a brave face and he replied, “I think he’s really tired. You shouldn’t disturb him. Why don’t you come tomorrow?”
After hanging up the phone, Luo Rui breathed a sigh of relief. “He asked you to give him a call back when you wake up.”
Wen Xiaohui grabbed onto the duvet and nodded dejectedly.
“I’ve told you there’s no use avoiding him like this. To be honest, how big a deal is it? You can pretend it didn’t happen and not tell Luo Yi.”
Wen Xiaohui rubbed his dishevelled hair. “Xiao Ma, you know I’m the kind of person who can’t hold their tongue. Sooner or later, I’m going to reveal the truth.”
“Then you should tell him! He’ll be understanding if he really loves you. You’re not a woman, so what’s the big deal?”
Wen Xiaohui sighed deeply, then nodded.
Luo Rui stroked Wen Xiaohui’s face. “Don’t be so down. You’re lucky it was Li Shuo and not someone with a messy private life.”
“I might not be able to face Li Shuo again. It’ll be too awkward.”
“Yeah, don’t force yourself.”
Wen Xiaohui hugged Luo Rui around the waist, resting his head on Luo Rui’s shoulder. He whispered, “It’s so irritating.”
“Don’t be annoyed, you still have me.”
Staying at Luo Rui’s house until night-time, Wen Xiaohui realised that hiding wasn’t a long-term solution, so he took the initiative to call Luo Yi.
Luo Yi sounded very gentle. “You’ve finally woken up. Are you still feeling unwell?”
“Yeah, I have a headache. It’s been a while since I’ve drank this much.”
Luo Yi smiled and said, “I’ll come and pick you up.”
“I’d like to sleep over at Luo Rui’s tonight, I can’t be bothered to move. Don’t worry about it.”
“Okay. I’ll come pick you up from Juxing when you finish work tomorrow.”
“Erm, okay.” Wen Xiaohui remembered something important. “Luo Yi, yesterday, that person…”
Luo Yi interrupted, “It’s not appropriate to discuss on the phone. We can talk more when we meet up, okay?”
“Okay.”
Luo Yi chuckled, “I really like the mountain bike you gave me. It’s a shame that it doesn’t have a rear passenger seat, otherwise I could have taken you for a spin.”
Wen Xiaohui started laughing: “Others take people for a spin in their sports cars, but you ride a bicycle. Do you have the self-awareness of a rich person?”
“It’s not a problem if you want to ride in a sports car. I’ll get a driving licence as soon as possible.”
“I was only joking. You look really handsome when you’re on your bicycle.”
Luo Yi said softly, “I really want to kiss you now. I want to hold you in my arms.”
Wen Xiaohui’s face heated up. He realised that Luo Yi wasn’t as shy as he thought, you could even say that he was very daring. He paused. He was unsure how to respond. The more Luo Yi acted gently and suggestively, the more guilty and remorseful Wen Xiaohui felt.
Luo Yi ordered him to rest well and hung up.
Wen Xiaohui felt like the call had exhausted all his stored up physical energy. He flopped onto the bed with his chest filled with remorse and upset.
Footnotes:
悔得肠子都青了, literally means that someone was so regretful that their intestines turned green. The intestines are deep inside a person’s body. Therefore, this phrase refers to someone who is deeply regretful.
The term used in the raws is 摇头摆尾, which means to nod your head and wag your tail (i.e. like a puppy that’s pleased with oneself), but this seems to have been used incorrectly in this context. Therefore, I’ve used the meaning of the first part of the phrase in the translation, which means to shake one’s head.
Chapter 48.2
The next day, Wen Xiaohui went to work with a sore body. In an industry without fixed days off and where there was no concept of time-off at weekends, he’d already had two consecutive days off and it wouldn’t look good if he didn’t go back to work.
Wen Xiaohui’s mood was still down while he was at the studio and he hid in the office for most of the day. His complexion looked so unsightly that Luo Xing thought he was ill and told him to go home and rest. He couldn’t stay for much longer, so he gave Luo Yi a call, telling him not to come and pick him up. He took a taxi over by himself.
He couldn’t put off the inevitable any longer.
When he got to Luo Yi’s house, he immediately noticed the mountain bicycle he gave Luo Yi. It was placed beside Luo Yi’s other bicycle and it was locked up.
Thinking back to more than two and a half years ago when he first visited Luo Yi’s house, Luo Yi had thrown his bike in the courtyard and explained how the neighbourhood was safe, so he wasn’t worried about it being stolen. Back to the present day, both bicycles were left lying around, but surprisingly, there was a lock on the bicycle that he gave Luo Yi.
Wen Xiaohui suddenly felt wistful1 and he almost wanted to cry.
Luo Yi opened the door. “Xiaohui-ge, why are you standing outside? It’s really cold. Come in quickly.”
Wen Xiaohui stared at Luo Yi before he ran over and instantly threw himself into his arms.
Luo Yi was stunned as he reached out to hug Wen Xiaohui as his lips curled into a smile.
They both went inside the house. Luo Yi had already prepared a table full of dishes in addition to the salmon that hadn’t been touched and the cake from yesterday.
“I put it in the fridge, so it’s still fresh.” Luo Yi leaned over and kissed Wen Xiaohui. “Come celebrate my belated birthday with me.”
Wen Xiaohui smiled and replied, “Okay!”
They each had a load on their minds while they were eating dinner, which meant that neither of them had much of an appetite.
Luo Yi ate a few mouthfuls and he said, “I’m sorry. Yesterday…” He wanted to explain that he had a pressing matter to attend to, so he had to leave early. He should have stayed with him.
However, Wen Xiaohui immediately refuted, “Don’t worry about it. No one could have guessed he was going to come.”
Luo Yi’s expression changed slightly and he replied in a muffled voice, “Yeah.”
“What happened afterwards?”
Luo Yi shook his head. “He only came to see him.”
Wen Xiaohui didn’t think it was that simple, but Luo Yi had always been reluctant to speak about that person. He wouldn’t be able to find out even if he asked. “That’s good then. He seems really scary.”
“Xiaohui-ge, Mr Cao is helping you with the legal procedures for the inheritance. Once the legal procedures are complete, you should move to a different house with your mum. You can move into the apartment that my mum left you. It’s a lot more secluded.”
“Secluded?” Wen Xiaohui thought it was a bit strange – why did he need to live in a secluded place?
“What I meant is that security is much better, so you won’t come across any more thieves.” He subconsciously placed emphasis on the word thieves.
“Oh, where’s the house? I don’t even know where it is.”
Luo Yi mentioned the location. “It’s not remote at all, even though it’s outside the 4th Ring Road in Beijing. The apartment is pretty nice. It’s an over 200 square metres duplex apartment, not far from where you work. There aren’t many residents and it’s not as complicated as the neighbourhood where you currently live. In short, you should move there as soon as possible.”
Wen Xiaohui felt it was quite unusual that Luo Yi was so keen for him to move. He concluded that it must have been because Luo Yi was worried for his safety. He said, “I’d like to, but I haven’t mentioned it to my mum yet. I feel less daring the longer it drags on.”
“You could tell her that you’re capable of repaying a loan, so she should sell her current house and you’ll buy a nicer place with a mortgage.”
Wen Xiaohui nodded. “That might work. We’ve wanted to move house for a long time. I’ll tell her after a while, so hopefully it should be resolved within six months.”
“Six months? That’s way too long,” said Luo Yi as he frowned.
Wen Xiaohui was shocked. “It can’t happen too quickly.”
Luo Yi lowered his head and whispered, “That’s true, we can’t rush into it.”
“Yeah, I’ll discuss it with my mum when I get back. She has a boyfriend now. There may be other things to consider if she gets married.”
Luo Yi nodded.
“Oh yeah, what did that person get you this year?” Wen Xiaohui recalled last year’s present, which still made his scalp feel numb.
Luo Yi sneered, “He gave me a huge present.”
“Oh? What was it?”
Luo Yi tapped Wen Xiaohui on the forehead with his chopsticks. “Focus on dinner.”
After dinner, Luo Yi went to wash the dishes while Wen Xiaohui sat on the sofa. He stared at the TV absentmindedly, as he thought about what had happened the night before.
He’d already decided before he came over. He was going to be honest with Luo Yi, but he found it too embarrassing to mention when he was actually faced with Luo Yi. He couldn’t imagine2 what Luo Yi would look like after telling him he slept with Li Shuo. Would he be angry? Would he be heartbroken? Or would he be disappointed? Regardless of which one it would be, they were all things he didn’t want to face.
Luo Yi brought over some fruit. “Xiaohui-ge, what are you thinking about?”
Wen Xiaohui gulped as he made up his mind. “Li Shuo happened to call me after I left your house on the day of your birthday. I went drinking with him.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“You know about this?”
“Li Shuo answered the phone when I called you.”
Wen Xiaohui’s eyes widened. He was so nervous that his smoke was about to emerge from his throat. “I-I had no money on me and Luo Rui had his mobile phone turned off as well, so that’s why I went to find Li Shuo.”
Luo Yi smiled. “Are you giving me an explanation? I like it.”
Wen Xiaohui clutched his trousers. “Afterwards, I got drunk.”
“You shouldn’t drink so much in future, especially if you’re with other men.” Luo Yi sat down beside Wen Xiaohui, rubbing his head. “You should stay vigilant.”
Wen Xiaohui nodded; his head almost reached his chest. He tried a few times, but he still couldn’t say it aloud.
Luo Yi tilted Wen Xiaohui’s face up by the chin and kissed him on the lips. At first, the kiss was gentle and shallow, but Luo Yi kissed him more deeply until, at last, it turned into an intense and passionate kiss.
Wen Xiaohui embraced Luo Yi’s neck. In this moment of distraction, he felt a sense of déjà vu from these images.
Luo Yi tilted his body, pressing Wen Xiaohui down on the sofa and carefully savouring every inch of his mouth. His hand reached inside Wen Xiaohui’s clothes and caressed him attentively.
Wen Xiaohui saw stars, feeling as though his brain was swelling up. How come Luo Yi seemed so experienced? This punk couldn’t have been secretly practising with others behind his back?
No, he didn’t come here to do this!
Wen Xiaohui pushed Luo Yi on the chest and said while panting for breath: “No. Not now.”
Luo Yi’s chest heaved up and down, as he was clearly holding back. From his point of view, Wen Xiaohui was spraying his pheromones wildly, making it difficult for him to restrain himself. However, he remembered that Wen Xiaohui’s body must be uncomfortable, so he could only prop himself up. “You’re right. Now’s not the right time.” He kissed Wen Xiaohui a few times, seemingly unwilling to part, before he finally got up.
Wen Xiaohui pursed his lips. “I… have something to tell you. I hope you’ll be able to calm down after hearing it.”
“What is it?”
“It’s… related to Li Shuo.”
Luo Yi looked glum once he heard the name. “What happened to him? Xiaohui-ge, you shouldn’t have anything to do with him since you’ve already turned him down. How could it be good to be so ambiguous?”
Luo Yi seldom spoke harshly to Wen Xiaohui and this sentence was already very blunt. Wen Xiaohui felt upset after hearing those words because he felt that he was very stupid. Like what Luo Yi had said, he shouldn’t have had anything to do with Li Shuo and this sort of thing wouldn’t have happened.
He whispered, “You’re right, but I… Li Shuo’s really nice to me. That night…”
Luo Yi became jealous as he recalled that night and even his tone of voice changed. “He’s really nice to you, but what does this have to do with anything? Do you relish how well he treats you?!”
Wen Xiaohui was stunned. He would have normally been furious, but now he just felt upset. He sighed, “Maybe. That’s why I did something stupid by accident.”
“What is it?”
Wen Xiaohui summoned his courage and looked into Luo Yi’s eyes. “That night I got drunk, Li Shuo and I…”
This time, it was Luo Yi’s turn to be stunned – he stared at Wen Xiaohui without blinking.
Wen Xiaohui looked a bit like he was going to cry. “I-I’m so stupid. That night, I drank to the point of blacking out and I don’t know how… in any case, I think I should tell you because I don’t want to hide this sort of thing from you. It’s good for two people to be honest with each other.”
Luo Yi’s eyes glimmered. He suddenly pressed Wen Xiaohui down on the sofa once again, kissing his lips firmly.
Wen Xiaohui was surprised. He wanted to struggle, but Luo Yi was already restraining his body. He could only accept the wild and urgent kiss, as Luo Yi’s tongue entered without resistance and domineeringly entangled with his tongue, demanding his essence.
“Luo Yi… Argh…” Wen Xiaohui was genuinely scared by Luo Yi’s sudden madness. Had Luo Yi been angered to the point of stupidity?”
Luo Yi kissed Wen Xiaohui until his brain lacked oxygen. He finally let go of Wen Xiaohui when he was nearly unable to breathe. Luo Yi said softly, “Idiot.”
Wen Xiaohui’s eyes were brimming with tears. “I know that I’m very stupid.”
“Idiot.” Luo Yi looked at Wen Xiaohui’s aggrieved and wary expression, feeling as though he’d been struck somewhere in his heart where there should have been thousand-year-old glacial ice. However, large chunks were starting to thaw. “Can’t you remember yet?”
“Huh?”
Luo Yi’s kiss landed on the tip of Wen Xiaohui’s nose, followed by his lips, chin and Adam’s apple. At last, it lingered on his chest as Luo Yi’s hand stroked his waist. “Are you still unable to remember even with this?”
Wen Xiaohui’s brain felt a bit confused. “Huh?”
Luo Yi pressed his body against Wen Xiaohui and gently thrust the lower part of his body.
Wen Xiaohui could only make out something stiff bump against his leg. A white light flashed through his brain and he felt dumbfounded.
Footnotes:
This is conveyed by the Chinese metaphor which states that a person’s nose feels sour, meaning that someone feels emotional/melancholic.
I’ve used imagination (想象) instead phenomenon (现象) because I think there’s a typo in the original text.
