Additional Inheritance - Chap 54
Chapter 54
Luo Rui stared at Wen Xiaohui, his eyes filled with concern. “Let’s not think about this at the moment. Do you want to rest for another couple of days?”
Wen Xiaohui shook his head. “I’ve been resting for a few days, I’m going to throw up if I rest any more. I’ve never been so idle since I started working at Juxing.” He turned his head to give Luo Rui a smile: the smile was so stiff, it was as though he was still crying.
Luo Rui knitted his eyebrows. “T-Then, I’ll take you.”
“Why the heck are you taking me? It’s not like I can’t walk.”
“My dad bought me a car, so let me take you to work.”
Wen Xiaohui laughed, “Okay then, bloody rich second gen.”
When they left the room, Feng Yuehua was reading, but she stood up as soon as she saw Wen Xiaohui.
“Mum…” Wen Xiaohui hung his head in shame. “I’ve made you worry.”
Feng Yuehua turned her face away and said in anger, “What did I say? I told you not to get close to him. I don’t know what happened between you, but I have a feeling it can’t be anything good. It’s not too late for you to react now. You’re not allowed to contact him again.”
Wen Xiaohui felt an ache in his chest and even breathing was painful. He said quietly, “Don’t worry, I won’t contact him again.”
Feng Yuehua went up to him. She felt distressed as she stroked his face. “Look at your complexion – it looks so awful, you shouldn’t go to work.”
Wen Xiaohui shook his head. “I can’t take that many days off. It’s fine – I’ll be back tonight.”
Feng Yuehua said to Luo Rui: “Sorry to trouble you, Luo Rui.”
“Don’t worry about it, Auntie.”
They both went downstairs.
——————————————–
Luo Rui’s dad bought him a crimson-red Mini Countryman1 that had an eye-catching exterior.
Wen Xiaohui smiled as he said, “You’ve always liked this car.”
“Yeah, I finally managed to get my driving licence.” Luo Rui shoved him into the car. “Come, come, come. You’re the first person to sit in the passenger seat.”
“Who would dare sit down after those words?”
“It’s fine.”
Wen Xiaohui took a deep breath after he got into the car. He relaxed and rested his body against the car seat. He said softly, “Tell me, Luo Rui. Am I going through a breakup? Actually, it’s not that big a deal. It’s just a breakup, right?”
“Yeah, it’s just a breakup. Who hasn’t been through a few in their lifetime?”
Wen Xiaohui nodded as his chest throbbed with pain. “We’ve broken up and it hurts at the beginning. I’ll forget about it as time goes on. Isn’t that right?”
“Yeah, it’ll be two weeks at most and then you’ll feel better. It has already been a week, so you’ll be okay soon.” Luo Rui cupped Wen Xiaohui’s face and gave him a firm kiss. “You’re fine now. For real.”
“Two weeks might not be enough. Do you remember that boyfriend of mine? I was disgusted by him for a full two weeks.”
“Then it might take a bit longer – 20 days.”
Wen Xiaohui nodded. “That’s quick.”
Luo Rui zigzagged all the way there and one time, he nearly shunted the car in front before he finally gave Wen Xiaohui a lift to the studio.
Because the journey was too treacherous, Wen Xiaohui’s focus of attention was diverted and the breath that was lodged in his chest seemed to have dissipated. After he got out of the car, he said, “Xiao Ma, we’ve been through life and death together after this journey.”
Luo Rui threw him a flirtatious look. “We’ve always been best of friends2.”
Wen Xiaohui waved his hand. “Go home, I’m off now.”
“I’ll come pick you up after work and take you somewhere for a nice meal.”
Wen Xiaohui smiled. “Sure.”
———————————————-
Going to work the week after Chinese New Year was depressing. As soon as he went inside the studio, there were only a few customers and the employees were lounging around lazily.
When Wen Xiaohui entered, he shouted, “Hey, what are you doing? Why are you lying around like salted fish3 at work?”
“Adi-ge, you’re here.” The newly joined trainee got up to greet him respectfully.
Wen Xiaohui paused to look at him. He was an 18 year old boy who looked handsome with round and bright eyes that shone with an unembellished innocence. His expression as he looked at Wen Xiaohui was full of respect and adoration. He wore a replica Tiffany necklace accompanied by a Gucci Zoo collection shirt costing around 100 yuan, and last year’s limited edition Nike trainers. It was obvious from his makeup that he wasn’t very experienced, but he had the advantage of being young and having supple skin.
Did he himself look like that four years ago? Vain, shallow, young, and simple, with an ordinary upbringing. He used to wish that he could reach the pinnacle of success, but he never considered the consequences. At the time, he only needed someone like Raven to guide him, so he could easily embark on a path that was bright on the surface, but filthy in the darker parts.
You could hardly blame Luo Yi for calling him vain, shallow and a show off because he used to be like that back in the day, and he hadn’t changed much since then. The only difference was that he had some foundations, so his personal style wouldn’t make people laugh. He was happy with whatever version of himself and it wasn’t for any particular reason. He just felt content and it wasn’t up to bastards like Luo Yi to judge him.
Recalling the past, Wen Xiaohui actually felt very grateful to those who’d really disgusted and grossed him out, like Luca and Raven. They led him to mature and discover his bottom line.
According to this logic, would he also thank Luo Yi one day for helping him mature and exhausting a lifetime’s worth of trust towards strangers? He was aware he would never be able to trust anyone so easily in future and he would never be able to be himself without reservation. Perhaps he would erect a wall inside his heart in case he got hurt again. This was all because of Luo Yi and he wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or not.
The trainee became anxious. “Xiaohui-ge, w-what’s up?”
Wen Xiaohui patted him on the arm. “You should go home and try some different eyebrow styles. This one’s too thick and it doesn’t suit you.”
“Okay.”
Liu Xing happened to come in at that time. “Adi, are you feeling better?”
“I’m feeling a lot better. I’m sorry to trouble you the past few days.”
“It’s fine, business is slow after Chinese New Year.” Liu Xing placed his hand on Wen Xiaohui’s shoulder. “Your complexion doesn’t look great. You should go home if you don’t have anything important in the afternoon since you have an interview with a magazine tomorrow. You don’t want to have a swollen face.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
After Liu Xing went into his office, Xiao Ai dashed over and whispered, “Adi, you seem more polished.”
Wen Xiaohui winked. “I’ve4 always been stylish. Beauty is my personal style.”
Xiao Ai chuckled, “I meant the way you spoke to the young trainee just now – you seem like a pro5.”
Wen Xiaohui laughed, “The daughter-in-law will one day become the mother-in-law. I’ve developed in the past four years.”
“I originally wanted to ask you out for dinner tonight to meet my new boyfriend, but after seeing your poor complexion, I think you should go home and get some rest.”
Wen Xiaohui felt his face. “Does it really look that bad? It’s just because I haven’t put any makeup on. My skin’s so tender that it’s like a 16 year old’s.”
“You have no sense of shame! Go take a look in the mirror.” Xiao Ai dragged him in front of a mirror. “Look, you seem so soulless. I haven’t seen you like this since you started dating. If I didn’t know you had a cold, I would’ve thought you’d broken up with someone.”
Wen Xiaohui looked at himself in the mirror. In the space of a week, he’d lost 2.5kg and his cheekbones were more prominent. He appeared pale and feeble. For the first time in his life, he decided to put on weight. He was 177 cm tall, but only weighed 57 kg – even he thought that it was a little ridiculous. He wanted to regain the collagen that he’d lost.
Xiao Ai saw him looking at himself in the mirror without moving or saying anything. She perceptively sensed something. She whispered, “Darling, you couldn’t have really…”
Wen Xiaohui smiled at himself in the mirror and even he thought that his smile looked glum. “Yeah, we broke up.”
Xiao Ai’s eyes widened. She started to feel nervous as if she’d done something wrong. “Darling…”
“No.” Wen Xiaohui used his finger to push her little head away. “Don’t hug me. Don’t kiss me. Don’t comfort me. I’m sick of it after the past few days. Just act normal.”
Xiao Ai appeared sad.
There wasn’t a single person in the studio who wasn’t aware that Wen Xiaohui had a gentle and considerate boyfriend and that they had a great relationship. Although no one had seen him, Wen Xiaohui’s face had been glowing in the few months since they started dating. Xiao Ai had felt very happy for him, but she never expected that three or four months later…
Wen Xiaohui took his jacket off and went to give lessons to the trainees. He had to find something to occupy himself, so that he wouldn’t pay attention to the things that made him feel upset and things that he clearly shouldn’t ask or think about. In spite of everything, he still wanted answers, for example, whether Luo Yi had ever loved him.
————————————–
He finished work early that afternoon. As previously agreed, Luo Rui came to pick him up and he brought along all the presents that he bought in Australia.
During the journey, they chatted about Luo Rui’s experiences in Australia.
Suddenly, Wen Xiaohui thought of something: “Luo Rui, take the next turn. I’d like to go home.”
“Huh? You mean your old apartment? Isn’t it still being renovated?”
“I’d like to check something.” Wen Xiaohui suddenly recalled what Luo Yi had said – he already found what he needed and that object had been in his house which President Chang and Luo Yi ransacked.
Luo Rui drove back to the small neighbourhood.
Wen Xiaohui went up to his apartment and found that there were still some builders working there. He went inside to take a look – he was stunned.
Nearly all the non-load bearing walls in his apartment had been demolished. The layout of the whole apartment had changed completely. From a glance, he could tell that the floor tiles were top quality and a few coats of odourless paint had been applied to the walls. The majority of the renovation work was complete.
Mr Zhang came out. “Oh, Mr Wen, you’re back.”
Wen Xiaohui looked all around him. “Why did you tear the walls down?”
“Your boyfriend told us to tear the walls down. We had a discussion and he said that the original layout wasn’t great and some changes were needed here and there to make the living space bigger. Don’t worry, we used only the best materials.”
Wen Xiaohui went inside. Taking his time, he took a tour of each of the rooms. He thought that his apartment felt very unfamiliar – he couldn’t even find a trace of its former self. Why did Luo Yi tear down the walls in his apartment? Was the object hidden inside the walls? If it were hidden inside the walls, then it might have been hidden by Wen Xiaohui’s dad. He remembered that the apartment had indeed been renovated once when he was young. It was around the time he was in secondary school, but he couldn’t recall the details. He’d already forgotten. What did President Chang and Luo Yi want?
Based on his calculations, the renovation must have happened after Luo Yi set the car on fire. Unless it was somehow connected to Wen Xiaohui?
Wen Xiaohui’s brain was in a complete mess. He didn’t have a clue.
Luo Rui followed behind Wen Xiaohui. “The changes are great. It seems a lot more spacious.”
Wen Xiaohui nodded and he said in a deep voice. “It shouldn’t be like this. The walls have been torn down.”
As if he were offering a treasure, Mr Zhang said, “I guarantee you’ll be satisfied once we’re finished with the renovations. We almost didn’t stop working during Chinese New Year. Everything will be complete next month, then you’ll be able to furnish it and move back in.”
With a load on his mind, Wen Xiaohui recalled how President Chang had sent a thief to his apartment and how Luo Yi unscrupulously set fire to it just to find that item. What could it be? Could it be what Sun Ying had said – the handle that Yaya had on President Chang? What would happen after Luo Yi got hold of it?
The item was no longer located in his apartment, so it seemed as though this matter had nothing to do with him. However, he still felt as though there was a bigger conspiracy lying in wait. Could he really disassociate himself from all of this?
———————————-
After leaving his apartment, they both remained silent in the car for a while.
Suddenly, Luo Rui said, “Baby, I invited someone else to have dinner with us today.”
“Who?”
“Li Shuo.”
Wen Xiaohui turned his head to glare at him. His tone of voice was stern: “Who asked you to decide without consulting me?” After Luo Yi’s birthday, he and Li Shuo hadn’t seen each other and they didn’t really stay in touch. Initially, it was because he’d made a mistake about what had happened that night and afterwards, it was because he and Luo Yi were in the heat of passion that he’d already cast Li Shuo out of his mind.
With a guilty conscience, Luo Rui replied, “It’s just dinner.”
Wen Xiaohui was slightly angry as he asked, “Do you think it’s a suitable time for me to meet him? Is there any point?”
Luo Rui pulled up on the side of the road. He had his head lowered like a child who’d done something wrong and didn’t dare to speak.
Wen Xiaohui’s anger subsided as he looked at the pitiful Luo Rui. Luo Rui’s personality happened to be the opposite of his – he was a complete softie. This was the reason why they’d never had an argument. Occasionally, he would get angry and Luo Rui would stay silent or take the blame for the mistake, no matter whose fault it was.
Wen Xiaohui sighed as he felt a sense of inadequacy wash over his body. “Do you think I can just find someone else to forget about Luo Yi?”
Luo Rui replied quietly, “Why can’t you?”
“Luo Yi’s… Luo Yi’s not…”
What was Luo Yi and what wasn’t he?
Luo Yi was the first person that he truly loved, and it wasn’t just a romantic sort of love – it was also familial love that he believed with conviction. Luo Yi wasn’t the sort of ex-boyfriend who you could get over by finding a better replacement.
He was trying to console himself into thinking that it was just a normal breakup, but he knew it wasn’t.
Luo Yi had hollowed out his heart.
Luo Rui took a sneaky glance at Wen Xiaohui. “You can scold me if you’re angry since I’m going to invite him anyway. It’s not as if we can stand him up.”
“Seeking out Li Shuo as soon as we’ve broken up, how the fuck does that look? Aren’t you worried that Li Shuo will be angry?”
“I didn’t think too much about it…”
Wen Xiaohui let out a sigh. “Let’s go. It’s just… a meal.”
————————————–
When they arrived at the restaurant, Li Shuo was already there waiting for them. As soon as he saw them, he revealed his graceful and gentleman-like smile, just like always.
“Long time no see,” said Li Shuo with a smile.
Wen Xiaohui also smiled as he said, “Yeah, it’s been a few months. What have you been doing recently?”
As if nothing had happened, the three of them exchanged pleasantries like old friends who were catching up.
However, Wen Xiaohui thought that Li Shuo must have felt that something was off. Li Shuo was so clever, he wouldn’t have missed how Wen Xiaohui wasn’t in the best form.
As expected, when Luo Rui went to the loo, Li Shuo whispered, “Did you not get enough rest the past few days? Your complexion doesn’t look that good.”
“I caught a cold a few days ago.”
“I don’t think it’s as straightforward as a cold.” Li Shuo asked, “Did you have a fight with your boyfriend?”
Wen Xiaohui dipped his head. “Li-dage, Luo Rui was the one who invited you on his own accord. Although he was doing it for my own good, it’s still a stupid thing to do and I don’t have any other intentions. Please don’t be mad.”
Li Shuo chuckled, “Do you think I’m that petty? I have to eat dinner in the evenings anyway and it doesn’t matter who it’s with. Don’t worry too much about it and I won’t worry too much either.”
Seeing Li Shuo’s familiar smile that felt mature and proper, Wen Xiaohui was able to relax his anxious heart. He returned a smile of gratitude. “That’s great.”
Li Shuo flicked through the menu as he said, “It’s normal to have arguments when you’re in a relationship. You can take some time to calm down and decide whether you want to continue to be together.”
Wen Xiaohui shook his head. “We’ve broken up. We’ve broken up for good.”
Li Shuo glanced at him with a hint of a smile. “I wanted to say that’s a shame, but personally I don’t think it’s a shame. I’m not a hypocrite.”
Wen Xiaohui smiled. “I don’t think it’s a shame either – I saw his true colours. Short-term pain is better than prolonging the agony.”
“It’s good how you think that way.” Li Shuo handed the menu to Wen Xiaohui. “Here you go.”
Wen Xiaohui waved his hand: “You should order, I’m easy.”
Li Shuo stared at him. “It might not be the best time to say this, but you seem a lot more mature. My impression of you has been changing ever since I first met you. You’re really fascinating.”
Wen Xiaohui smiled stiffly, “People learn from their mistakes6.”
Li Shuo closed the menu. His long arm reached across the table and kneaded Wen Xiaohui’s hair. “Xiaohui, from the beginning, I’ve always liked you. I’m still here if you’re ready for a new relationship.”
Wen Xiaohui joked, “How could I dare to treat you as a fallback guy. What a waste!”
“There’s no such thing as a fallback guy, since everyone is free to do what they want. I enjoy the feeling of being with you and that’s enough for me.” Li Shuo winked at him.
Wen Xiaohui smiled faintly. “Thank you.”
Towards Li Shuo, he could only convey his thanks. Li Shuo hadn’t changed at all – he was still so perfect that you couldn’t find fault with him, but Wen Xiaohui knew he didn’t have the energy to be in a relationship in the short term. If only he foresaw that real love could completely deplete someone’s mental and physical strength built up over a few years, he would have definitely been a lot more careful.
They enjoyed a very harmonious meal, as they chatted about some matters of no significance. Wen Xiaohui discovered that it felt nice to spend time with others, because he wasn’t thinking about Luo Yi when he was chatting, answering questions, or looking for a topic for discussion.
Luo Rui took him home after dinner. When they passed by a mobile phone shop, he bought a new mobile phone and changed his number as well.
Luo Rui was puzzled as he looked at Wen Xiaohui. “If you don’t want to keep in contact with him, you can just block his number.”
Wen Xiaohui was too scared to tell Luo Rui that Luo Yi was monitoring his mobile phone. He flashed his new mobile phone around: “This young master has money to burn.”
When he arrived home, he was about to inform his colleagues and friends of his new mobile number.
As he was writing a text message, a message suddenly popped up. With a pounding heart, Wen Xiaohui opened it to have a look and he subconsciously bent over.
This was the first time Luo Yi contacted him since that night.
“Are you alright?” Luo Yi had sent across a succinct three words.
Wen Xiaohui immediately blocked Luo Yi’s phone number.
Haha! What ridiculous words! In the whole wide world, the only person who had no right to ask that question was Luo Yi.
After sending out his new mobile number, he took out the sim card out of his old phone and threw it into a glass of water.
———————————-
After Chinese New Year, the studio welcomed the first round of increased activity. Customers thronged to change their hairstyles to usher in the new year. Wen Xiaohui also decided to change his hairstyle – he grew his hair out until it was around chin-length and changed his fringe to a centre parting, which added to his charm. From a glance, he looked like a lady.
Because his network of contacts widened and he came into contact with more and more people, he learned to be like Raven in adapting his way of speaking to the audience7. Sometimes when he thought about the past, he realised how stupid and foolish he was and it was thanks to Luo Yi that he was able to achieve this little bit of success.
The weather was starting to get warmer. The renovation of his old apartment was complete and when he brought his mum to inspect the house, she wasn’t too pleased with the change in layout. However, the apartment had been completely refurbished, so she still gladly accepted it. They didn’t hesitate to move back home.
———————————————-
Wen Xiaohui sorted the documents relating to the apartment and the bank deposits, and then he went directly to the office of Cao Hai’s law firm.
When Cao Hai saw him, it was like he’d seen a ghost – he couldn’t disguise his nervousness.
Wen Xiaohui recalled the first time he met Cao Hai, he was deeply impressed by his elite mannerisms, but three years later, he felt that Cao Hai was just barely passable.
“Mr Cao, I’d like to instruct you to return the house and money to Luo Yi.” Wen Xiaohui placed the documents in front of Cao Hai.
Cao Hai remained silent for a while. “Is this necessary?”
“Yes.” Wen Xiaohui smiled. “I wouldn’t return it if I were short of money, but my income is pretty okay at the moment. Although it’d be better to keep them, it wouldn’t make me a millionaire nor would it affect anything. The most important point is that I feel disgusted holding onto them.”
Cao Hai sighed, “I’m unable to help with this because I don’t think Luo Yi will approve.”
“It’s not my problem whether he approves or not. How did he treat my share of the inheritance back then? Did he ask for my approval? Keeping them reminds me of his move of ‘exchanging a civet cat for the crown prince8’. It puts me off my food.”
Cao Hai shook his head. “Why don’t you treat these things as compensation? You don’t have to be opposed to money.”
“Using 1% to compensate for the 99% loss? Isn’t that an insult? I don’t have anything against money, I’m just opposed to him. This amount of money isn’t even enough to put me in a good mood. I wish to sever all ties with him.”
“Mr Wen, please put forward any demands you have. I believe Luo Yi will satisfy them.”
Wen Xiaohui felt a wave of irritation and depression rushing straight to his forehead. Through clenched teeth, he asked, “Demands? I’d like to demand that he never appeared in front of me three years ago. Can he satisfy my demand?”
“Mr Wen…”
“I’d like to demand that he takes back his lies, so that he never slept with me or said that he loved me. Can he satisfy my demands?” Wen Xiaohui suddenly leapt up from his chair.
Cao Hai sighed – he was at a loss as to what to say.
Wen Xiaohui pushed all the documents in front of Cao Hai. “Return these to Luo Yi. We won’t ever contact each other from now until the day I die.” He kicked the chair out of the way, turning around to go outside.
“Mr Wen.” Cao Hai’s voice came from behind him. “Thanks for sparing me, even though I was his accomplice in all of this. I feel very apologetic, so I’d like to be truthful as compensation.”
Wen Xiaohui’s footsteps paused.
“You’re right. Stay as far away from Luo Yi as possible or you’ll be dragged into a vortex and die in the most horrific way. I hope that you’ll be able to sever all ties with Luo Yi once you leave through this door.”
Wen Xiaohui replied with indifference, “I have nothing to do with him anymore.” He slammed the door as he left.
With a deep shake of his head, Cao Hai stared at the tightly shut door.
Footnotes:
The raws state that Luo Rui’s dad bought him a ‘Ryman’ and after some searching on Baidu, this seems to be the nickname for a Mini Countryman (derived from the last few letters of the Countryman).
生死之交, literally friends who have been through life and death is a Chinese idiom to mean sworn friends/best of friends/friends who are willing to die for each other. It has a dual meaning because Wen Xiaohui feels like he cheated death after travelling in Luo Rui’s car.
As part of the dry-salting process, you lay the salted fish out to dry in the sun. The term salted fish originally meant a corpse in Cantonese (Chinese dialect), but it’s more often used to describe someone who is being lazy/unmotivated and has no intention of doing anything (Cantonese and Mandarin).
人家 is used as I but with flirty connotations.
The original word used is laoshi which is a term of respect used for someone at the top of their profession. It also means teacher, but not in this context.
吃一堑长一智 as per Baidu’s translation, fall into a pit, gain in your wit (Chinese idiom). The term originated from a stonemason who was striking a piece of stonework on a grindstone that resulted in a defective piece of work. The idiom means that a person learns a lesson after suffering a setback, which increases their wisdom.
见人说人话，见鬼说鬼话, literally means speaking a human-language when meeting a human and speaking ghost-language when meeting a ghost (Chinese idiom). This term originates from a late Qing dynasty novel by Li Boyuan.
A very famous Chinese folk story where an evil consort replaces the crown prince with a skinned civet cat. Check out the link for a summarised version of the story.
