Chapter 29.2

On the sixth day of the Chinese New Year, Wen Xiaohui felt that he couldn’t go on like this anymore, and he planned to use the excuse of delivering New Year goods to visit Luo Yi.

Luo Yi seemed normal as if nothing had happened, but his face looked pale and haggard. He appeared very tired.

"What's going on with you? Did you stay up late?"

"I can’t do much during New Year, so I’ve been staying up all night to play games."

Wen Xiaohui couldn’t help but feel somewhat guilty for not coming to see him earlier. "Don’t stay up late in future." Wen Xiaohui put the stuff down, and took out a red envelope1 from his pocket. He smiled as he flashed it in front of Luo Yi. "Here. Have a prosperous new year."

Luo Yi smiled as he asked, "Is the red envelope for me?"

"Of course it's for you, but it’s not that thick. Wait for Xiaohui-ge to make more money, I’ll definitely give you a thick envelope."

Luo Yi accepted the red envelope, and he seemed very happy. "’I’d be happy even if you put a piece of paper inside."

Wen Xiaohui took his coat off. "Let's cook together. I’ll make up for New Year’s Eve dinner."

"Sure."

Wen Xiaohui put the stuff in the kitchen, and started to sort them. "This is the pork stew that my grandma marinated. It’s super tasty. My mum failed to inherit any of her mother’s talent for cooking."

"Yeah, it smells very nice."

Wen Xiaohui gave an overview of the items as he arranged them. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a thick cigarette butt in the gap between the bin and the corner of the wall. He stretched his hand out and picked up the cigarette butt. "Eh? You don’t smoke, Luo Yi?"

Luo Yi said, "I don't smoke." He turned around and caught Wen Xiaohui holding the half-finished cigarette. His expression immediately became more solemn.

"Whose is this? Did they accidentally drop it outside the bin?"

"A classmate came over to my house yesterday."

"Really?" Wen Xiaohui threw the cigarette butt into the bin, and he began to feel suspicious.

Wen Xiaohui used to be pretentious2 during his secondary school days, and he smoked for half a year. However, he didn’t inhale the smoke all the way to his throat and he spat it out as soon as it reached his mouth. He ended up quitting because he was worried about his teeth yellowing, which was why he had some knowledge about smoking. It was a hand-rolled cigarette; the paper that was used for the cigarette seemed especially high-end, and the cut tobacco was unlikely to be cheap either. Furthermore, the odor was particularly strong. The type of people who smoked such cigarettes were typically older, and he’d never seen a student smoking this kind of cigarette. The most important thing was that Luo Yi wouldn’t even take a photo with anyone, he didn’t seem like he had any friends. Would he really let his classmate come to his house?

His intuition told him that Luo Yi was hiding something, but he couldn’t ask because what Luo Yi was hiding was either related to Yaya or the biological father who couldn’t be mentioned.

They cooked dinner together, but in fact, it was mostly Luo Yi who cooked. Wen Xiaohui stood beside him in support, eating food on the sly. Luo Yi accidentally burnt his hand while he was stir-frying. Wen Xiaohui had a feeling that Luo Yi’s state of mind wasn’t great today; he seemed absent-minded.

During dinner, Luo Yi spoke intermittently, and he seemed quite distracted. Wen Xiaohui eventually couldn’t stand it anymore, and he put down his chopsticks. "Luo Yi, you seem a bit off today and it can’t just be because you stayed up late. What happened to you during the past few days?"

Luo Yi also put down his chopsticks, and said solemnly, "That person came to see me."

Wen Xiaohui’s heart tightened. "When was that?"

"...Yesterday." Luo Yi ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm sorry I lied. The cigarette butt wasn’t from my classmate, it was his bodyguard’s."

"Why did he come to see you? Did he come because of Chinese New Year?"

"He wants an item from my inheritance. He said that my mum stole it from him."

"What is it?"

"An official seal3."

Wen Xiaohui frowned and said, "What’s it for?"

"I’m not sure, but it must be really important because it was listed separately in the will."

"You're unable to give it back to him even if you wanted to."

Luo Yi nodded. "Correct. I can’t inherit the estate until I’m 18, but there’s a clause which says that I can use the funds for an emergency if I have any mishaps."

Wen Xiaohui widened his eyes. "What? What do you mean by mishaps or emergencies?

Luo Yi said slowly as he looked at Wen Xiaohui, "For example, if I get ill, have a car accident, or..."

Wen Xiaohui forcefully slammed his hand down on the table, and said sternly, "What you’re trying to say is that he’ll make sure you have an accident in order to get his hands on the official seal." His voice was trembling as he spoke.

Luo Yi lowered his head and stayed silent momentarily. "I asked him the same thing, he said that he wouldn’t and that he’ll wait until I’m 18… But I don’t really believe him."

Wen Xiaohui said anxiously. "You... What’s that person up to?"

Luo Yi shook his head. "I’m not sure either, but he’s very influential with contacts both above board and in the underworld4."

A chill permeated Wen Xiaohui’s body, which made him feel cool. He sensed that something was off as early as when he read Yaya’s suicide note. The gun from Luo Yi’s birthday was further proof that Luo Yi’s father was an extremely dangerous person, and you couldn’t count on this kind of character to have any familial affection. What would Wen Xiaohui do if he actually harmed Luo Yi?

Luo Yi grabbed Wen Xiaohui's hand. "I’m still related to him by blood even if I’m estranged from him. I don’t think that he will harm me, but he might find alternative methods because he seemed very desperate to get the official seal."

"What will he do?"

"I don't know." Luo Yi furrowed his straight eyebrows. "Xiaohui-ge, I'm a little scared, to be honest."

Wen Xiaohui grabbed his hand. "Don't be scared. Why don’t we call the police?"

Luo Yi shook his head. "It's no use. Let’s wait and see what his next step is. If he’s only after money, we’ll just give it to him in the worst case scenario."

Wen Xiaohui nodded. "That’s right. If he wants money, then give it to him. You can give him my share. The most important thing is that you’re safe."

Luo Yi smiled. "Xiaohui-ge, you’re too good to me."

"That’s how it should be." Wen Xiaohui clapped his hands together. "You should be more careful. In my opinion, he’s your… Erm, after all you’re related to him so he shouldn’t do anything too extreme. If you have any problems, you need to discuss them with me. I don’t hide anything from you, so you can’t hide anything from me either."

"Sure."

Wen Xiaohui dipped his head and swallowed a few mouthfuls of food. He suddenly said, "Did he have anything to do with my jie’s death?"

Luo Yi was silent for a period of time, and then he gently said, "Mn."

Wen Xiaohui clenched his fists.

—------------

By the time he started back at work after the end of the Chinese New Year period, Juxing had lost a third of its staff. It was evident that they’d left with Xiao Yan and the studio appeared a bit desolate. Liu Xing started to oversee the work daily - managing, coaching, and recruiting. Everyday he was so busy that he sported dark circles around his eyes. The staff didn’t stay idle either because with fewer staff at the studio, one person had to do the work of two.

On this day, Wen Xiaohui had just finished his lunch. None of the customers had requested him, so he sat on the sofa for a rest. Liu Xing happened to be coming out of his office, and he said as soon as he saw him, "Adi, do you have any spare time?"

"Eh, yes..."

"I’ve an errand for you. Go to this firm’s office and deliver the documents." Liu Xing handed him a stack of documents. "I'll send the address to your mobile phone."

"Okay." Wen Xiaohui gloomily accepted the documents and left.

He opened, then looked at Liu Xing's text message: Zhengxin Accountancy. He grabbed a taxi without the slightest hesitation since he could claim it back on expenses.

When he arrived at the firm, he reported his name and was escorted to the office by reception. The lady on reception said, "Please wait for a moment, our boss will be finishing his meeting shortly. Alternatively, you may wish to leave the documents on the desk."

"My boss asked me to personally deliver it to the person in charge. He said that they’re important documents."

"That’s fine, please wait."

Wen Xiaohui sat on the large, genuine leather sofa and he looked around the office thinking about how impressive it looked, wondering when he would have an office like this. Of course, it wouldn’t be as traditional, but it would be just as large and spacious. It was going to be fashionable with a breath of youthfulness.

He couldn’t help but lean against the sofa’s backrest, he felt like his whole body was sinking into it. It was so comfortable, and he’d worked hard all day. He ended up standing from morning until the afternoon, and when he was finally able to sit down for a bit, he was instructed to go out. It was so annoying. He continued to lean and his body gradually relaxed. Eventually, he couldn’t resist closing his eyes and he accidentally fell asleep.

He wasn’t sure how long he had slept, but he felt a little cool. He stretched, and then wrapped his coat around himself. He had completely forgotten where he was, and he plopped himself sideways on the sofa, intending to go back to sleep.

A laugh rang out in the room.

Wen Xiaohui immediately opened his eyes and he quickly sat upright. He didn’t know when the person sitting in the stylish executive chair had appeared. He was dressed immaculately and looked dazzlingly handsome. He looked at Wen Xiaohui with interest.

It was him!

Wen Xiaohui was so shocked that his jaw dropped. Wasn’t this the guy that he unsuccessfully tried to chat up at the bar - Li Shuo?!

Li Shuo said in a gentle voice, "Did you sleep well? Are you a bit cold?"

Wen Xiaohui felt his cheeks burning, and he stood up. "Erm, I’m so sorry. I was too tired and accidentally fell asleep…"

"It’s not your fault, my meeting overran so I should be the one apologising." Li Shuo smiled and said, "Take a seat." He went over, sat down on the sofa next to his, and poured Wen Xiaohui a cup of tea. As he was pouring tea, his wrist became exposed which revealed his extremely expensive watch and diamond cufflinks. His impeccable taste was visible everywhere.

Wen Xiaohui glanced at him in his well-pressed suit; he had a smile on his face and his seated legs appeared long. The entire room was brimming with Li Shuo’s sophisticated and gentlemanly pheromones. He felt like he could no longer breathe and he began to feel dizzy.

Li Shuo placed the tea in front of him. "Have a hot drink so you don’t catch a cold."

"Erm... Okay." Wen Xiaohui picked up the tea and his hand started to shake, spilling some onto his trousers.

Li Shuo started to laugh, and he took out a tissue to hand to him.

With a blushing face, Wen Xiaohui accepted the tissue and he hurriedly wiped it up.

"Why are you so nervous? Because we met at the bar?"

So he still remembered it. Wen Xiaohui replied with embarrassment, "It’s a little unexpected." He handed over the document wallet to Li Shuo. "This is what my boss asked me to deliver. So your firm looks after the accounting for Liu Xing."

"Oh, not quite. We look after your boss’ personal finances." Li Shuo accepted the documents. "Our firm also provides financial advisory services for individuals."

Wen Xiaohui nodded. The hand that was gripping the tea cup felt strained. He couldn’t bear to delete Li Shuo’s mobile number, but he never intended to call him. It just sat in contacts on his mobile phone, and he thought that he would never see him again. He didn’t expect that he would see him again less than a month later. Wasn’t this a sign that they were fated to be together? Wen Xiaohui started to fantasise.

"I remember. Aren’t you called... Adi?"

Wen Xiaohui nodded hurriedly, "That’s right."

"Thank you for personally delivering the documents."

Wen Xiaohui felt dispirited again. Damn, he was shown the door that quickly. Such a decadent office, such a handsome, amazing and young CEO - he really wanted something sordid to happen between them! However, he only dared to fantasise about it. It was only after meeting Li Shuo that he realised he was more shy than he imagined. He could only say, "Don’t mention it. I’ll head back now since you’re busy."

"Ah, let me see you out." Li Shuo made a polite gesture to usher him out, and opened the door for him. He continued to escort him all the way to the entrance of the lifts. He even pressed the button to call the lift for him.

Wen Xiaohui clenched his teeth, summoning all his courage to look at Li Shuo. "Erm, could I take you out for a meal?" Since the Heavens orchestrated a second meeting, wasn’t it the same as letting their fate go to waste if he didn’t do anything? He felt like he couldn’t resist such an attractive man.

Li Shuo raised his eyebrows slightly, which was followed by a hint of a smile. He lowered his head, and seemed to consider it for two seconds before he lifted his head up and smiled. He responded, "Sure. How about the Japanese restaurant opposite my office at 6:30pm?"

Wen Xiaohui's eyes lit up. "Of course!"