Additional Inheritance - Chap 76
Chapter 76
From Wen Xiaohui’s point of view, Li Shuo and Li Chengxiu’s relationship was developing pretty well, but what he hadn’t expected was that Shao Qun had started to harass Li Chengxiu frequently. He didn’t accept that they’d already broken up. Finally, he called Wen Xiaohui and quizzed him sternly about Li Chengxiu.
When Wen Xiaohui took the call, he was really confused. He could hardly imagine the obviously out-of-control and anxious voice coming from Shao Qun’s mouth. Whenever Shao Qun had spoken to him in the past, he spoke neither too fast nor too slow, indifferently, which was the same vibe he got from Shao Qun. He was terrified, thinking Shao Qun was going to hold him responsible for introducing Li Chengxiu to Li Shuo. It was clear, though, that Shao Qun had known about Li Shuo for a while. The world was such a small place. Wen Xiaohui met these two people when he was in Beijing and they all ended up going to Pengcheng. After various twists and turns, those two people finally made contact, but they were rivals in love who wanted to throttle each other.
After he was warned severely not to poke his nose into other people’s business by Shao Qun, he listened to the busy tone on the line and didn’t recover for a long time.
Could he have guessed wrong and it wasn’t the case that Shao Qun didn’t care about Li Chengxiu? No matter what, Shao Qun wasn’t a dependable person…
Regardless, he felt a bit scared after being warned by Shao Qun. He decided he was going to act dumb in front of him from now on.
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During Chinese New Year, Li Shuo didn’t go back to the US. Li Chengxiu didn’t have any family, and he was living in Pengcheng permanently. Wen Xiaohui was also alone, so the three of them decided to celebrate Chinese New Year together. Compared to the loneliness of last year, Wen Xiaohui was feeling really happy – at least there was someone else to cook with him and talk to.
Li Shuo and Li Chengxiu were busy in the kitchen while Wen Xiaohui was nestled on the sofa watching TV and laughing at the variety show.
Li Shuo was passing by the living room when he said in an exasperated and pampering voice, “Aren’t you going to give me a hand?”
Wen Xiaohui stretched his hand out. “I’ve1 just had my nails done.”
Li Shuo shoved an ice cream at him.
Wen Xiaohui laughed, “How could I be as good a house husband as Chengxiu? You two can cook, I’m in charge of eating.”
After Li Shuo went back to the kitchen, Wen Xiaohui couldn’t help stretching his neck out to take a look. Inside the kitchen, the rear views of Li Shuo and Li Chengxiu bustling away seemed so warm and harmonious. He stared at them absentmindedly until the silhouettes of the tall and the short person transformed into him and Luo Yi. They were preparing dinner whilst chatting and laughing, like many times in the past. Luo Yi taught him how to cook and how to arrange the food on a plate. Wen Xiaohui used to hate working, but everything seemed new and interesting when he was with Luo Yi – he was completely filled with the joy and sweetness of being in love.
Wen Xiaohui shook his head vigorously to chase the imaginary scene from his line of sight. He lay back on the sofa. Without any expression, he took a bite out of his ice cream, and his teeth immediately felt sore from the cold. A bad relationship was like eating ice cream in winter; everyone knew eating unseasonal food was unhealthy, but it was difficult to give up.
Li Chengxiu was worthy of being a head chef. His creations were not only beautiful and fragrant, but they were so delicious they could make a person cry. Wen Xiaohui had never had such a sumptuous Chinese New Year Eve’s meal. The three of them talked and laughed as they welcomed the new year together.
Wen Xiaohui watched the fireworks shooting up into the sky outside, and as an aesthete, made a wish upon them as if they were shooting stars. He wished that everyone he cared about would be safe and sound.
At that moment, the doorbell suddenly rang. Wen Xiaohui felt curious as he walked back to the living room, wondering who would visit at this hour.
Li Shuo opened the door. The three of them didn’t have time to react before he was punched in the stomach.
Li Chengxiu yelled in fear whilst Wen Xiaohui turned pale. It happened so suddenly that Wen Xiaohui was flabbergasted.
Three people rushed into the house from outside. They were all tall and well-built. It was clear they weren’t ordinary people from a glance. They had initially caught Li Shuo by surprise and ran over to beat him up.
Wen Xiaohui shouted, “Chengxiu! Call the police!” He picked up a chair and ran over.
Someone grabbed the chair leg, flinging the chair towards the floor. Both Wen Xiaohui and the chair were thrown to the ground.
Half of his body felt numb when he fell over. In the pandemonium, he saw Li Shuo had managed to get back on his feet after some struggling, and kicked one of them to the ground. However, he was outnumbered and soon restrained.
At that moment, another person came into the house. Wen Xiaohui stared at him – Shao Qun!
Li Chengxiu’s face became as pale as a sheet when he saw Shao Qun. He shouted, “Li-dage,” as he tried unsuccessfully to save Li Shuo.
Shao Qun grabbed him by the arm. He reprimanded, “You only have your fucking Li-dage in your eyes. Did you even look at me?” He dragged Li Chengxiu outside. He ordered, “Get in the car.”
Wen Xiaohui jumped up from the floor. His eyes were red. “Shao Qun, don’t be stupid and let him go. Have you gone mad?”
Shao Qun glared at him. “How dare you meddle in other people’s business again!”
Wen Xiaohui gulped. He mustered all his courage to say: “Don’t you know you’re breaking the law? Quickly let him go!”
Shao Qun took a few steps towards him and said in a commanding tone, “You haven’t sorted out your own stuff and you’re trying to meddle in other people’s business? Your little nephew is looking all over for you. Do you want to reunite with him?”
Just one sentence was enough to make the blood drain from Wen Xiaohui’s face. He subconsciously took a step back and his breathing became more laboured. His throat felt as though it was blocked; he couldn’t make a sound.
Shao Qun took Li Chengxiu away.
In just a few minutes, the joyful Chinese New Year mood was torn to shreds. The house was a complete mess.
It took a while for Wen Xiaohui to come back to his senses, and he quickly helped Li Shuo to get back on his feet. He felt very distressed seeing Li Shuo’s sorry figure. “Li-dage, I’ll take you to hospital.” He really regretted being so nosy – if he hadn’t helped Li Shuo and Li Chengxiu get together, then perhaps today…
Li Shuo coughed several times, and with Wen Xiaohui’s help, he managed to sit down on the sofa. He closed his eyes and exhaled deeply. “It’s fine, they’re professionals. They wouldn’t have gone easy on me if they wanted to put me in hospital. They don’t want to cause trouble.”
Wen Xiaohui sobbed, “Sorry, it’s my fault for being so nosy.”
Li Shuo rubbed Wen Xiaohui’s head. “It doesn’t have anything to do with you. I’m grateful that you helped me and Chengxiu meet again. You also saved him, otherwise he’d be suffering more and feel even more helpless.”
Wen Xiaohui dried his eyes. “How about we call the police?”
Li Shuo frowned, shaking his head. “It won’t work on Shao Qun, but I know someone who can deal with him.”
Wen Xiaohui stared at him coldly. “Who?”
“His elder sister.” Li Shuo wiped away the blood from the corner of his mouth. His expression was angry and cold like Wen Xiaohui had never seen before.
Wen Xiaohui sniffed. “I heard that his older sister was in charge of his family. Are you planning to…”
“I’m going on a trip to Beijing. It’s too dangerous for Chengxiu to be with that beast.” Li Shuo clenched his teeth as he stood up. “I’ll book the earliest flight.”
“Li-dage, you should rest first. You won’t be able to do anything until tomorrow at the earliest.” Wen Xiaohui pushed him back down onto the sofa and went to pour him a glass of water. Wen Xiaohui used a warm cloth to clean Li Shuo’s face.
Li Shuo’s face looked grim – he clearly looked annoyed.
Wen Xiaohui knew that last time when Shao Qun found Li Shuo’s firm, he was beaten up by Li Shuo and the security guards. Shao Qun didn’t just come to take Li Chengxiu away today, he also came for revenge. Luckily, Li Shuo’s injuries didn’t seem that serious, otherwise Wen Xiaohui wouldn’t know what to do. He’d known for a while that Shao Qun was a bastard, but he didn’t know he was that much of a bastard. He always thought that deep down, Shao Qun had an element of kindness because he’d tried to help him. Maybe Li Chengxiu’s matter really challenged his bottom line2. Perhaps… Perhaps Shao Qun really did care for Li Chengxiu, but Wen Xiaohui wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.
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The next morning, Li Shuo went back to Beijing on an early flight. Wen Xiaohui tidied up Li Chengxiu’s house and went back home with a heart filled with fear and unease.
The Chinese New Year celebration this year was utterly rubbish.
When he got home, he dug out his suitcase and started to pack. His flight to the US was on the seventh day of Chinese New Year. Considering how he could be gone for a while, he packed three large suitcases.
He hired a manager to take care of the studio for him. It would be fine as long as it didn’t make a loss, since he wasn’t relying on it for a living. He decided to get a dog or cat while he was in the US because his mum had a new family and wouldn’t be focusing all her energy on him like before, and he also needed something to care for.
As soon as he thought about having to go somewhere new to start his life again, he felt very apprehensive, but he’d already gotten used to his life without a sense of belonging in his two years in Pengcheng. He was just swapping it for another place where he didn’t have a sense of belonging, and besides, his mum was also there.
The second day after Li Shu returned to Beijing, he sent Wen Xiaohui a message saying that he’d found Shao Qun’s elder sister and would soon be able to rescue Chengxiu.
Wen Xiaohui let out a sigh of relief when he saw the message. Perhaps Li Chengxiu would be able to get out of his predicament with Shao Qun’s family intervening. He trusted Li Shuo to look after Li Chengxiu, he felt as though they needed each other.
On the fourth day of Chinese New Year, Wen Xiaohui had dinner with the manager he’d hired, as he explained lots of stuff to him. He was planning to say farewell again before he left. Maybe he would be back soon or maybe he would be gone for a few years. He didn’t have a firm plan, but he could feel the threat of Luo Yi’s search and he wanted to flee. That was the reason why he was in such a rush.
After dinner, he drove his sexy little sports car home like normal. He felt a little regretful when he thought about how he wouldn’t be able to drive his beloved car for much longer. He used to think that money, fame, mansions, and luxury cars would bring him a sense of indescribable joy, but even when he had everything, there was a long period of time when he was unable to smile. After all, he didn’t earn half of these things by himself. Each time he pressed on the accelerator, he was forced to think of Luo Yi, as if he were trapped in a nightmare.
His car reached the neighbourhood. He had just turned the car into a parking space when he suddenly noticed that there was a man standing to the side of the corridor. Few people were around the neighbourhood during Chinese New Year. It was dim; he couldn’t see the man properly, but it gave him a fright. He felt as though the figure looked familiar.
When the car was parked, he opened the door and was about to step out when suddenly his heart started to tremble. That figure looked as though… His hand, which was holding the car door, started to shake. He closed the door suddenly. N-No, it couldn’t be. It was impossible… Calm down… Wen Xiaohui… Calm down.
However, his head felt like it had already exploded.
No, it couldn’t be him. Could it be him? Nooooo…
In his heart, Wen Xiaohui bellowed. He trembled. He was too scared to get out of the car, no matter what happened.
The man stepped out of the shadows and opened the car door gently. He bent over and his voice was as gentle as a cool breeze. “You should get out of the car.”
Footnotes:
人家 is used for I, which is a flirty/coquettish way of speaking.
逆鳞 or a dragon’s reverse scale is from a legend in Han Feizi, where a dragon goes berserk if you touch it. It’s used to denote someone’s bottom line, taboo, or trigger.
