Additional Inheritance - Chap 55
Chapter 55.1
After leaving Cao Hai’s firm, Wen Xiaohui looked up at the reclusive blue skies of the capital and drew a deep breath.
He was someone who really loved money. How could he dress well without money? How could he buy nice things without money? How could he afford to give presents to his mum without money? If he were still the apprentice who earned 1,500 yuan, he wouldn’t have given the money back, but he was able to support himself now, and he wished that he could earn three million yuan by himself before he turned 30. He would have felt disgusted if he kept the money, so he ended up making a decision he wasn’t sure if he’d regret in future. But for now, he experienced a sense of relief – he felt as though he was finally able to get rid of the dark cloud hanging over him called ‘Luo Yi’, even if it was only a brief respite.
At the arrival of spring when the flowers were starting to bloom, Wen Xiaohui welcomed another progression in his career: he’d been invited to attend the shareholders’ meeting to participate in the discussion about the company’s strategy. The company mentioned their wish for him to manage their new studios and training schools in other parts of the country in return for granting him shares. Based on his age and experience, it wouldn’t have been his turn if it wasn’t for Shao Qun’s support and the senior staff leaving when Juxing was split. If he agreed with this strategic decision, he would soon earn a salary of a million yuan, but he felt very hesitant because it meant that he would have to move to a different part of the country. He’d grown up at the foot of the Imperial City from an early age and other than for holidays, he’d never left his home. The most important point was that he couldn’t leave his mum all alone by herself.
The plans hadn’t been finalised yet, so he had sufficient time to consider it; he planned to go home and discuss it with his mum. If his mum and Ian were planning to get married in the next two years, he would feel at ease to go.
After some consideration, he couldn’t stop himself from thinking about Luo Yi. Previously, he would have definitely had to consider what to do after leaving Luo Yi because it seemed as though Luo Yi was inseparable from him, but it turned out to be his own wishful thinking. Luo Yi was only pretending. It was ridiculous how he used to think that he was so important to Luo Yi, so important that Luo Yi couldn’t bear to be without him. The feeling of being desperately needed by someone made him feel content and touched, and he would have been willing to reward Luo Yi’s dependence by digging out his heart and lungs.
Everything during the past three years was a farce1 – as long as Luo Yi occasionally gave him some meaningless applause, he could continue playing the clown without tiring.
He told Luo Rui about what was discussed at the shareholders’ meeting before anyone else. Although Luo Rui was going to miss him, he still encouraged him to go and further his development, and they even joked about Luo Rui opening a brand of ‘Lory’ next door to Juxing.
After he got home, Wen Xiaohui didn’t immediately tell his mum about it and instead, he asked his mum and Ian if they intended to get married. However, they didn’t seem to be in a rush to get married, so Wen Xiaohui decided to bring it up at a later stage.
As a result of a period of poor sleep and reduced appetite, Wen Xiaohui’s plan to gain weight did not succeed. Instead, he lost a kilogram in weight. One day, when he was styling a customer’s hair, he placed the hairdryer too close to the customer’s neck, burning and causing them to cry out. He was admonished by Liu Xing and sent home to rest.
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He fell asleep after he arrived home in the afternoon. When he woke up, he stared at the pitch-black sky outside and he had no idea what time it was. Despite having not eaten all day, he still had no appetite. He was still in a daze and he started to count the number of days since his confrontation with Luo Yi before realising that it had already been a month.
Didn’t they say he would feel better after 20 days? It appeared as though this theory was false.
He lay in bed without moving as he stared at the dim ceiling. He was like an empty, soulless shell. Perhaps when people were too sad, they would ponder whether they would ever be happy again. W-What if he remained like this forever? What if he was unable to fall in love with anyone ever again? What if he couldn’t live a better life? The unpredictable future terrified him because no one could guarantee what would happen.
His mobile phone started to ring. Wen Xiaohui only reacted after it had been ringing for a while. When he picked it up to check, he saw that it was an unfamiliar phone number. “Hi, who is this?”
The voice that came from the other end of the line disturbed his peace of mind. “Xiaohui-ge, it’s me.”
Wen Xiaohui’s hand that was holding the mobile phone started to shake. Instinctively, he wanted to hang up.
“I’m at the entrance to your block of apartments.”
Wen Xiaohui’s finger paused. He gritted his teeth, “What are you trying to do?”
“Either you come down, or I’ll go up.”
“Piss off!”
“Give me five minutes.” Luo Yi took the initiative and hung up first.
“Fuck you!” Wen Xiaohui sat up on the bed at once, as he swore in his empty room. He sprung to the window, parting the curtains to see a pitch-black shadow downstairs. Glancing at his watch again, it was almost 1am. Wen Xiaohui really wished that he could find a brick to throw and crush him to death.
He definitely wouldn’t be going downstairs. Although they were separated by the distance of 16 storeys, he felt the air becoming dense and even breathing was a struggle when he thought about how he and Luo Yi were in the same neighbourhood.
This was the first time he saw Luo Yi since that night despite it being just a shadow and it was also the first time he heard Luo Yi’s voice, even though it was only a few brief words, but it was enough to leave the defensive shield he’d constructed over the past month on the verge of collapse. He felt as though there was grave danger2 outside and only the reinforced concrete of the city walls could grant him a little protection. It was the reason why he refused to leave.
He retreated back into the curled up duvet as he experienced bouts of anxiety. What the heck did Luo Yi want? Why did Luo Yi come looking for him in the middle of the night?
He tried his hardest to convince himself to calm down – why should he feel flustered because of a bastard like Luo Yi?
Soon afterwards, he heard the sound of the door opening. He jumped right out of the bed and swore as he rushed to the front door.
Why hadn’t he considered that Luo Yi might have a key?
By the time he started to run downstairs, it was already too late. Luo Yi opened the door and appeared in front of him.
When the two of them stared at each other anxiously, it seemed as though time and space had been distorted. They looked at each other. Clearly there was only a few metres in distance, but it seemed as though they were separated by the Milky Way3.
Wen Xiaohui experienced the pain of his heart being squeezed again – even breathing the same air as Luo Yi felt excruciating. His voice trembled as he said, “Why do you have a key? Who the fuck allowed you to come in? My mum’s home, get lost!”
Since the moment Luo Yi went in the door, his eyes hadn’t left Wen Xiaohui as if he was afraid of missing a single glance. He said indifferently, “Ms Feng already went to her boyfriend’s place. Didn’t you want to give the house back to me? Am I not allowed to enter my own property?”
“Cut the bullshit and get-the-fuck-out!” Wen Xiaohui clenched his fists as he regretted not punching Luo Yi a few more times: it wasn’t enough to quell his hatred at all.
Luo Yi whispered, “Have you been well?” Luo Yi’s gaze moved from Wen Xiaohui’s obvious dark circles to his cheekbones that looked more prominent and then finally to the frail waist that was slightly visible under his shirt. “You’ve lost weight, I told you ages ago that you shouldn’t lose any more weight.”
Wen Xiaohui felt sick to his stomach. How shameless of Luo Yi to say these things and pretend to care about him. He snapped, “What are you trying to do?”
“I’m here to see you.” Luo Yi subconsciously lowered his gaze and for the first time, he found it difficult to meet a person’s eyes, even though it was the pitiful appearance of someone who was clearly at a disadvantage.
“Get lost–” Wen Xiaohui was dying to jump on top of Luo Yi and bite him to death.
Luo Yi pursed his lips as he took out some documents, putting them on the little table by the front door. “These are the title deeds for this house. Three million yuan really isn’t enough, so I added an extra zero to the end. You should keep it because you deserve it.”
Wen Xiaohui’s body trembled due to his rage. “What do you mean? Is this a break-up fee5?”
“Treat it as a fostering allowance, thanks for looking after me for three years.”
Wen Xiaohui’s eyes looked bloodshot as he stared angrily. His chest felt as sore as if he’d been stabbed with a knife. “Fostering allowance? Looking after you? Did you think I was dissatisfied with the amount?” This was Luo Yi’s summary of their three year relationship.
Luo Yi observed Wen Xiaohui’s state which was on the verge of collapse and he felt confused. It disturbed his flow of thinking. He said, “Xiaohui-ge, you don’t have to turn down the money and make things difficult for yourself. If you hate me, you shouldn’t let me off that easily. You should keep it. I want to see you lead a good life.”
Wen Xiaohui fumed through gritted teeth: “I can lead a good life if you don’t show up to disgust me.”
“You’re still so childish, thinking with your heart instead of your head.”
“I told you to piss off!” Wen Xiaohui grabbed a crystal ornament and threw it at Luo Yi.
Luo Yi tilted his head to one side to dodge it and he whispered, “I miss you a little. You haven’t been eating well, right?”
Wen Xiaohui grabbed a chair and ran over. With one hand, Luo Yi grabbed one of the legs of the chair and lowered it back to the floor. Wen Xiaohui let go of the chair, brandishing a punch towards Luo Yi’s face.
The palm of Luo Yi’s hand enclosed over Wen Xiaohui’s fist as his bright and shining eyes stared at Wen Xiaohui without blinking. The heaving of his chest became more pronounced.
Wen Xiaohui was unable to punch and he couldn’t withdraw his fist either. Instead, because he was too close to Luo Yi, his pores felt like they’d been zapped and an electric current coursed through his scalp, making him feel temporarily dizzy.
Luo Yi gently pushed his hand down. He looked into Wen Xiaohui’s eyes and said softly, “I’m sorry.”
Wen Xiaohui was shocked.
Was Luo Yi apologising because he swindled him? He felt it was both loathsome and ridiculous. His vision became blurry.
Luo Yi held back his urge to scoop Wen Xiaohui up into his embrace and he released his hand. “Please take it, you’ll need it someday.”
Wen Xiaohui laughed in spite of his anger: “A break-up fee of 30 million yuan – I must be the most expensive ass in the whole of the capital.”
Luo Yi whispered, “In the beginning, I never wanted to… with you.”
“Do what with me? Have sex with me? You confessed to me in the US because you saw that I was close to getting with Li Shuo and you were worried that you wouldn’t be able to control me anymore.” Thinking back, Luo Yi had a motive for a lot of the things that he did; Wen Xiaohui only just realised this, but it was too late.
Luo Yi didn’t say anything – as if it were an admission by silence.
“You originally wanted to ditch me after you received the inheritance, but then you realised Yaya left something behind which wasn’t part of the estate. You came back to find me because you realised it might be in my hands. I was so puzzled why you were so cold towards me after you got your inheritance and I thought that I was overthinking it.” Wen Xiaohui found that his mind was clearer than ever – so clear that he was finally able to see through all of Luo Yi’s actions. “Afterwards, you monitored my calls and heard me talking to Luo Rui about… about how I liked you. You must have felt so pleased with yourself. In any case, you thought it would be a waste of an opportunity if you didn’t sleep with me.” Those memories that he used to think were so sweet, now felt bitter.
He couldn’t fathom how someone like Luo Yi could exist? Someone who could don the most perfect appearance and ruthlessly use and trample on others whom he somehow had the misfortune to meet.
Luo Yi mumbled, “It would be great if you didn’t know anything.”
Wen Xiaohui pushed him roughly. “I’ll accept them, now get lost! You don’t have any excuse to appear in front of me again.”
Luo Yi’s heart quivered as his hand grasped the doorknob, but he still didn’t move.
Wen Xiaohui smiled mockingly. “You were right, I’ve just figured it out. I’ve received a reward of 30 million yuan for playing house with you for three years and sleeping with you for three months. I wouldn’t be able to make that much money in my entire life – there’s no other job that could pay better than this. Even celebrities don’t cost as much as me, so how could I be dissatisfied?”
Luo Yi’s eyes blazed with anger as he glared at Wen Xiaohui silently for a few seconds, fists clenched behind his back. He turned around to leave.
“Luo Yi.” Wen Xiaohui’s voice trembled as he said, “You could say that my actions are pointless or that I’m a masochist, but I only have one question left for you.” He was like someone on their deathbed, drawing their final breath. “In these three years, have you ever loved me? Even just briefly?” He despised himself for asking such a demeaning question that made it seem like he cared, but he had to ask it. He didn’t want to be ensnared by the nightmare that sprung from the question and he didn’t want any sleepless nights. He preferred the pain to be over quickly.
Luo Yi didn’t turn around. After a long pause, he replied, “I don’t know what love is.”
Wen Xiaohui’s eyes widened and his pupils dilated. All the strength left his body.
Luo Yi opened the door and left.
Wen Xiaohui held onto the chair for support and sat down. He remained silent for a long time. Then he started to laugh quietly, exhausting the tiny shred of dignity that remained after his soul had ripped apart.
“I don’t know what love is.”
This was an excellent answer. During the past three years, at least these words were genuine.
The dimly-lit house was quiet for a while before the sound of repressed crying could be heard.
Footnotes:
闹剧 is like a pantomime and is used as a metaphor to mean a farce/something ridiculous.
洪水猛兽, literally severe floods and ferocious beasts (idiom) used to describe a dangerous situation. This phrase originates from the Confucian scholar Mencius (372 – 289 BC).
The folktale of the cowherd and the weaver girl has the couple separated by the Milky Way and they’re only permitted to meet once a year during Qixi.
Break-up fees for relationships do actually exist as described by this BBC article.
188 Trivia:
The richest gongs in the 188 universe are Zhao Jinxin (Winner Takes All) and Luo Yi.
Chapter 55.2
“Thirty million yuan!” Luo Rui’s eyes nearly popped out.
Wen Xiaohui grinned as he said, “It’s amazing, isn’t it? I feel like I’ve suddenly made loads of money. Isn’t it so cool? What type of car do you think I should buy? Do you think a Lamborghini is too flashy? What about a Ferrari? No, I need to buy two cars – a sports car and an SUV – so that they can be used for the right occasion.”
Luo Rui looked at Wen Xiaohui’s swollen eyelids and the pronounced dark circles around his eyes, and he forced himself to laugh along with him. “Sounds good. Just buy whatever you want.”
“Precisely, I should buy whatever I want.” Wen Xiaohui said with a smile, “Do you think I’ve earned it? Who would have a larger break-up fee than me? Everything’s suddenly become clear, why am I feeling depressed when I can use the money to keep ten male models and have a different one every day? Would I still miss merely one Luo Yi?”
“You have to give me a couple.”
“No problem.” Wen Xiaohui started to laugh out loud.
Luo Rui had a smile on his face as he stroked Wen Xiaohui’s hair.
“Wait for me to gain another two years of experience, so I can build up a network of contacts and open my own studio with this sum of money. Oh wait, my contract with Juxing hasn’t expired yet; I’ll make some preparations first. It’s not like I’m1 short on money anyway.”
“Okay, you have to open your studio next to my bakery.”
“Definitely.” Wen Xiaohui laughed until his cheeks felt stiff.
At that moment, Wen Xiaohui’s mobile phone rang and he took it out to see that it was Shao Qun calling him. They saw each other last time at the shareholders’ meeting, but they didn’t speak much because there were too many people. He had expected Shao Qun to seek him out privately because a few of the shareholders had differing opinions on the strategic plan and Liu Xing and Wen Xiaohui’s views had a definite effect on them.
As expected, Shao Qun asked him out to dinner when he answered the phone. He continued to chat with Luo Rui for a while and left when it was time to go.
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After an absence of a week, Shao Qun was looking rather tanned.
“Oh, Young Master Shao, where have you been on holiday?” Wen Xiaohui automatically started to flatter Shao Qun as soon as he saw him. It was out of habit and it wasn’t just because Shao Qun was his big boss, it was also because he’d always been scared of Shao Qun.
“I went to the coast, but it wasn’t a holiday. I went to do some inspections.” Shao Qun shot him a glance. “Are you able to wiggle that fucking waist all day? It’s so skinny! I’m afraid you’re going to snap it.”
Wen Xiaohui thought Shao Qun liked it that way. He quickly straightened his waist and acted more normal. “What were you inspecting?”
“There are a lot of development opportunities in the coastal regions2. If I stay in the capital, my opportunities are restricted by my family. It’s so bloody annoying, so I’m planning to head over there to further my development.”
“Are you planning to transfer the ownership of your shares in Juxing?”
Shao Qun raised his eyebrows. “Why are you suddenly so smart today? You’re very sharp.”
“I observed your behaviour at the shareholders’ meeting, so I had an inkling.” Basically, it was because his impression of Shao Qun was someone who was ungrateful and ruthless, so legging it after he’d made enough money seemed the kind of thing he would do.
“Not bad. Talking with you doesn’t feel as tiring anymore.” Shao Qun said nonchalantly, “Would you like to follow me?”
Wen Xiaohui replied warily, “What do you mean by follow?”
Shao Qun narrowed his eyes. “If I wanted to sleep with you, your fucking ass would have bloomed already. Would I wait until now? I prefer those who look and dress more innocently. You’re so slutty, you don’t even try to hide it. It’s such a turnoff. You aren’t disappointed, are you?”
Wen Xiaohui rubbed his nose. “I was just joking.”
“I went to the south primarily to specialise in real estate. My investment in Juxing was just a trial. Afterwards, I realised there wasn’t much profit to be made, so what’s the point? I can see that you’re sensible – you could be in charge of public relations for me, but your career is developing well and there’s no reason for you to change industries. I was only speaking my mind without thinking it through.”
“Thanks for thinking so highly of me, Young Master Shao. In future, if I can’t continue on anymore, I’ll seek you out to beg for a mouthful of rice.”
Shao Qun pinched Wen Xiaohui’s chin. He said as he smiled, “I like how you quickly adapt to the circumstances.”
Wen Xiaohui smiled as he tried to curry favour with Shao Qun.
“Oh yeah, how’s your young nephew?”
Wen Xiaohui’s heart clenched. He forced himself to appear calm. “He’s great. I’ve been too busy recently to stay in touch with him.”
Shao Qun cast him a sidelong glance. “It’s good you haven’t been in contact with him.”
Wen Xiaohui pretended to be apathetic as he asked, “Why?”
“I’m not telling you.” Shao Qun lowered his head and looked at his mobile phone.
Wen Xiaohui wished that he could slap him.
Without raising his head, Shao Qun said, “I’ve heard a few things, but it’s not appropriate to tell you. For the sake of being my employee, I can only advise you to keep your distance from him. After all, you’re not blood relations, so don’t get involved.”
“What are you saying? I don’t understand.”
“Are you pretending to be stupid to get more information from me? You’re still too inexperienced.” Shao Qun said, “I didn’t come looking for you today because of your family matters, I wanted to talk to you about matters relating to Juxing.”
Wen Xiaohui realised that Shao Qun wasn’t going to say anything else, so he decided to drop it. In spite of his turbulent heart that made him feel especially anxious, he had to act as though he didn’t care. “I’ll listen to you.”
“At the next shareholders’ meeting, you have to declare your position according to my instructions. Then I’ll teach you how to seamlessly persuade Liu Xing. Once the capital has been distributed, I’ll sell the shares at a price that I’m satisfied with.”
“Please continue.”
Shao Qun spoke to him for a long time until he suddenly asked, “Why do you seem so absentminded?”
Wen Xiaohui was dumbfounded. “I’m not, I’ve been listening to you.”
“Are you still thinking about your nephew?”
“I’m not.”
Shao Qun gave him a look of disdain. “I’ve known you for two years and the way your face shows what you’re thinking hasn’t really changed at all.”
Wen Xiaohui laughed out of embarrassment. “Then could you please satisfy my curiosity?”
“I can tell you have a loose tongue from your appearance. When it comes to matters that have nothing to do with me and might cause trouble, the most I can do is to warn you to stay far away from him.”
Wen Xiaohui replied with a wry smile, “Isn’t he my nephew? How can I stay away from him?”
“That’s your own private business. If you really want to know more, then keep your eye on Changhong Corporation’s stocks. I guess you probably won’t understand.”
“Stocks? What about stocks?” At least he knew President Chang’s identity.
Shao Qun glared at him with an obvious look of impatience.
“Let’s talk about Juxing’s business matters.”
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After dinner with Shao Qun, Wen Xiaohui started to search for Changhong Corporation as soon as he left the restaurant, but all he could find was just normal information like the stock code and information about the company, etc. He also looked at the stock performance tracker, but he couldn’t make any sense out of it. He pondered for a while before sending a text message to Li Shuo. Li Shuo also traded shares speculatively, so he could probably figure out something that he wasn’t able to.
A short while later, Li Shuo replied with the message: “I haven’t been paying attention to this company’s stock. I’ll check with my friends tomorrow. Why are you suddenly interested in stocks?”
Wen Xiaohui explained that his mum wanted to buy some stocks and he managed to get it past Li Shuo.
After he sent the text message, Wen Xiaohui stood in shock on the bustling street.
What the heck was he doing?
Hadn’t he already decided to say his goodbyes to Luo Yi and everything related to him? Why on earth was he trying to find information on President Chang’s listed company and its stock? What was the point? Why was his focus of attention completely captured as soon as he heard anything relating to Luo Yi?
He grabbed his mobile phone and trembled in anger as a result of his own behaviour. He wished that he could recall the text message. In his head, he cursed Shao Qun – it was the fault of this princeling for whetting his appetite.
He let out a sigh, his heart feeling uncomfortable once again.
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The renovations at his apartment finished a few days later. He and his mum went across to inspect the apartment. Although they weren’t used to the sudden change in the layout, they were happy that the apartment looked brand new and the layout seemed more reasonable.
Feng Yuehua said happily, “I nearly couldn’t recognise it. Did this used to be the tiny, rundown apartment? Let’s furnish it and move back in as quickly as possible.”
“Okay. I’ve already ordered the furniture and appliances, so we’ll be able to move back in soon.” Wen Xiaohui looked all around him, but he could only pretend to be happy. If his mum ever found out that it was Luo Yi who set the apartment on fire and tore down the walls just to find an object, would she still like the decor? Perhaps she couldn’t be more disgusted.
He didn’t dare to tell his mum about the money from Luo Yi, but he had to buy a new house – one that had nothing whatsoever to do with Luo Yi.
Footnotes:
Wen Xiaohui uses the term laozi, a pompous form of I to describe himself.
Shao Qun doesn’t specify the exact location, but the Chinese government designated certain coastal regions as special economic zones to encourage commerce – the most famous being Shanghai’s Pudong and Shenzhen (near Hong Kong).
附加遗产
Additional Inheritance (Ch 56- 60)
Author: Shui Qian Cheng (水千丞)
Translated by: Sweet Cinnamon
This translation is provided for free, in line with the author’s principles for fan translations. Please don’t repost on aggregators or Wattpad. Taking copies for personal use is fine, but please don’t share epubs/pdfs.
