Additional Inheritance - Chap 97
Chapter 97
The sky was often overcast in winter, but on this day, it was clear for a change. Feng Yuehua wanted to take Wen Xiaohui to spend some time outside as it had been nearly three months since he last left the house.
Wen Xiaohui was initially reluctant to go, but Luo Rui came to persuade him, so he didn’t have any choice but to agree.
They bought a disposable barbecue and some food, then they went for a picnic in the park. They laid out the picnic blanket on the grass and spread the food, drinks and the mini speakers on it. Lying on the blanket, they gazed at the sky, bathed in the warmth of the sun, gently caressed by the breeze. Not only did they not feel the chill, it was refreshing and delightful.
Luo Rui yawned. “I didn’t think it’d be this warm. It doesn’t feel like winter at all.”
“It’s midday. It’ll get colder later.” Feng Yuehua flipped over a piece of belly pork on the grill. She appeared to be in a good mood.
Was it because Wen Xiaohui agreed to leave the house? She was worried that he would become ill, trapped in the small apartment.
Luo Rui rolled over and turned to look at Wen Xiaohui. “Baby, do you feel cold?”
Wen Xiaohui had his eyes closed as he nearly dozed off. He shook his head. “I’m not cold. I didn’t dare to step outside in the past three months because I felt repulsed by contact with the outside world. Actually, it’s not hard to come outside, the sky is the same and the air is the same, and besides, it feels very comfortable today.”
Luo Rui pinched his cheek. “How long has it been since you had a facial? Winter is too dry.”
“I forgot…”
“Let’s have a facial tonight. I’ve got a VIP card.”
Wen Xiaohui smiled a little. “Okay.”
Luo Rui hesitated and asked softly, “Did the police come to visit you the day before yesterday?”
Wen Xiaohui’s eyes widened. “Did Li-dage tell you?”
Luo Rui nodded. “He didn’t tell me what you and the police officers talked about. He just said that the police really need your help, but you’re not in a fit state. You should turn them down next time.”
Wen Xiaohui shook his head. “I can’t let them get away with it.”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
Wen Xiaohui turned to stare into Luo Rui’s eyes. He held himself back from speaking.
“What’s up, Baby?”
Wen Xiaohui whispered, “The police told me that they haven’t recovered Luo Yi and Chang Xing’s bodies yet.”
Luo Rui was stunned. “It’s been such a long time and they still haven’t recovered them?”
Wen Xiaohui shook his head.
“Could they be…” Luo Rui put his hand over his mouth. The words were at the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed them back down again. He didn’t dare to say anything in case he triggered Wen Xiaohui.
Wen Xiaohui lowered his head and stayed silent.
Luo Rui sighed. “Baby, try not to think too much, and let the police take care of it.” He didn’t have the heart to tell Wen Xiaohui that the bomb had blown the boat to smithereens, so how could there be any chance of survival?
Wen Xiaohui gently nodded. He felt upset.
After losing someone important, he felt agonising pain in the furthest reaches of his heart at first, leading to a loss of appetite and difficulty sleeping. It was as if a knife was constantly gouging at his heart. He felt desensitised to everything once he had accepted the reality that that person no longer belonged to this world. Wen Xiaohui had no more tears to shed. He didn’t know if it was bad or not, but at least his mum and Luo Rui wouldn’t worry about him as much.
The three of them huddled around the barbecue to eat, once the meat and the mushrooms were cooked. He opened a few cans of beer to toast everyone. Luo Rui tried to find an appropriate speech to accompany his toast, but he realised he couldn’t find anything suitable because there was nothing to celebrate. Wen Xiaohui raised his beer can. “A toast to the fine weather.”
“A toast to the fine weather.”
The three of them clinked their beer cans.
The peak of the midday sun soon drew to a close and they began to feel cold. Luo Rui suggested that they head home since it was time for them to go to the salon for their facials.
Wen Xiaohui decided to go to the toilet while Feng Yuehua was packing things away.
The park was situated on a mountain, covering a vast area. There were few tourists because of the dense vegetation and it was also winter. Wen Xiaohui felt as though he was the only person on the mountain. He walked for a few minutes before he found the toilet.
When he came out of the toilet, the sun was blocked by dark clouds. The previously transparent beams of light had become gloomy. Wen Xiaohui looked in the direction of the sun for a few seconds before he suddenly felt dizzy. He shook his head. Looking at the three paths in front of him, he couldn’t remember how he got there.
Although he didn’t have an amazing sense of direction, he wouldn’t have forgotten a path that he’d just taken. His brain was almost completely empty. He didn’t know what he was thinking. In any case, he couldn’t find his way back.
He hesitated briefly and decided to investigate the road signs. At least the road signs would show the way to the exit, and if that didn’t work out, he could meet them at the exit.
As soon as he went over, he saw someone on a bicycle going in the opposite direction on the right-hand path. He could vaguely see that the man wore a khaki jacket, blue and white striped uniform trousers, and white trainers. He was tall and slender, with jet-black hair and white earphone cables dangling around his neck.
Wen Xiaohui felt like an arrow had pierced his heart.
From the back, that person looked like…
His brain didn’t have time to react before he took a step forward to catch up to the man.
Luo Yi! Luo Yi!
“Luo Yi –” Wen Xiaohui shouted to the man.
However, the other person didn’t seem to hear anything and continued to pedal at a leisurely pace. Despite not being quick, it was strenuous for Wen Xiaohui to catch up. His physical condition wasn’t great, and it had been a while since he last performed such vigorous exercise. He started to gasp for breath after running 300 metres, and both his heart and lungs felt like they were about to explode. With every step he took, he was ready to puke his organs out, but he didn’t stop. He tried his hardest to catch up to the figure.
His vision became blurry, and a person gradually emerged on the originally empty passenger seat – his younger self. He had short hair with highlights and wore very trendy clothes. He wore a beaming smile, leaning against the back of the man. It looked exceptionally sweet.
He and Luo Yi spent countless days and nights riding on the bicycle. When it was too sunny, he would apply sun cream, and he would use an umbrella when it rained. If the weather was cold, he would hold Luo Yi more tightly. Although he was superficial, he never asked Luo Yi to pick him up in a fancy car, because he enjoyed it. He liked sitting as a passenger on Luo Yi’s bicycle where they could both bask in the heat of the sun or in the refreshing breeze. He liked clinging onto Luo Yi’s back, and sometimes, he felt as though he was floating when his eyes were closed. He used to think that they would spend the rest of their lives like this – they had endless amounts of time, and their youthfulness would never age.
How did they manage to be so happy every day? It was like a sin.
Wen Xiaohui tripped over an object and fell to the ground. His body awkwardly tipped forward, and his mobile phone and wallet fell out onto the ground. He propped himself up, shouting towards the disappearing figure in the distance. “Luo Yi! Luo Yi!”
Don’t go, Luo Yi. I’m begging you not to leave. Turn around and look at me. Don’t leave me here by myself. Don’t leave me to face the world by myself. I’m begging you, turn around and look at me. Don’t go…
He heard the sound of brakes in the distance. Through his teary eyes, Wen Xiaohui saw that the bicycle had stopped, and his breathing also slowed.
The person on the bicycle put one foot down and turned around to give Wen Xiaohui a puzzled look.
He was an attractive young man with delicate looks.
But he wasn’t Luo Yi.
Once again, Wen Xiaohui experienced the pain of the whole world falling to pieces in front of his eyes, and he couldn’t make any noise. Only his tears continued to stream down his face.
His sorry appearance must have scared the young man, who turned and fled. Wen Xiaohui’s vision was blurred, so he could just make out the back view of the man disappearing, until he’d completely faded into the distance. Finally, only he was left on the long and secluded woodland road.
He was the only one left.
He’d fallen on a dry gravel path, but he felt as though he was being submerged by seawater.
His vision went dark and his arms and legs felt heavier. He felt as if something was pressing down on his throat – he couldn’t move nor make any sound. He could imagine himself dying in this place, and he stopped resisting and lay on his back to stare at the blue skies above him. His eyes soon lost focus.
The sound of footsteps approached. Each step struck the pebbles, steadily and forcefully. Was someone coming to save him? It was too embarrassing – he’d only run a few hundred metres. How unfit was he?
A shadowy figure appeared in his line of sight, but he couldn’t make out the details. He could only tell that the person was very tall.
Afterwards, he felt himself being carried in the person’s arms, and he could make out the smell of disinfectant. During the month he spent in hospital, he felt as though he was steeped in a vat of disinfectant every day, because he stank of it. After being picked up, he felt that the person’s arms were strong and he had a warm chest, but everything around him spun.
Before he lost consciousness, he wondered if Luo Yi had returned, even if it was just in his dreams.
He wished that he would never wake up…
———————————————-
When Wen Xiaohui opened his eyes, he felt disappointed to find himself in hospital again. He didn’t know how many times he’d lost consciousness and woken up. As soon as he opened his eyes, he was faced with the stifling expanse of whiteness. Although he wasn’t a big and bulky guy, he used to be very fit. Nowadays he was more like Lin Daiyu, the ailing female protagonist of A Dream of Red Mansions – weak and feeble. It was utterly disgusting.
As expected, Feng Yuehua remained by his bedside. Seeing that he’d woken up, her expression was both grateful and pained.
Wen Xiaohui looked at his mum – a woman who had once been very beautiful, but now had a sallow complexion and bloodshot eyes. She looked like she’d aged more than three years in the space of merely three months. He was responsible for her change. His mum should have had a happy life.
“Mum, I’m sorry,” sobbed Wen Xiaohui. He’d been living in his own bubble since Luo Yi left and hadn’t stepped outside or let anyone else in. He protected himself using all possible means, but he had forgotten to protect the person most important to him.
With tears in her eyes, Feng Yuehua stroked his hair as she shook her own head.
“Why am I in hospital?”
“You had a fall at the park and fainted. Someone brought you to the first aid station at the park.”
Wen Xiaohui looked blank. “Huh?”
Feng Yuehua had a look of lingering fear. “We waited for you for a long time, but you didn’t come back. When we went to find you, we realised you’d gone missing. It wasn’t easy to find you at the first aid station. Your mobile battery fell out, so there was no way to contact you…”
“Who brought me to the first aid station?” Wen Xiaohui’s heart thudded. Before he lost consciousness, he remembered someone picking him up.
Feng Yuehua shook her head. “I don’t know. He’d already left by the time we got there, and he didn’t leave any contact details. We should really thank him.” She said remorsefully, “We shouldn’t have forced you to go outside, but we just wanted to help take your mind off things. When we couldn’t find you anywhere, we thought that you…” Feng Yuehua started to sob.
Wen Xiaohui clutched his mum’s hand and whispered, “Don’t worry, Mum. I won’t do anything stupid.” He knew what it felt like to lose a loved one, he couldn’t let his mum go through the same thing.
Feng Yuehua flung herself over him and whimpered.
Wen Xiaohui stroked her back and noticed that she’d become more frail. Distress and guilt filled his heart.
He urged his mum to go rest. His mum realised that he seemed fine after waking up, so she agreed to go home to sleep.
He’d slept too much and couldn’t fall back asleep. His brain repeatedly replayed what had happened at the park. Who could have brought him to the first aid station? Was it just a kind passerby?
Wanting to call the park to ask, he felt around for his mobile phone, but found that it had broken after being dropped and wouldn’t turn on. He sighed. Maybe he was thinking too much about it. He was already an idiot for running after the young man on the bicycle. For how much longer would he endure the weight of his impractical and extravagant hopes?
He still had his mum, so he couldn’t spend the rest of his life like this. It was time for him to stand back up again.
