Chapter 30.1

Luo Yi phoned him as home time was approaching. "Xiaohui-ge, what time will you be home? What would you like to eat tonight? I’m at the supermarket."

"Oh, I’ve just remembered that I won’t be back for dinner tonight," said Wen Xiaohui, who couldn’t hide the excitement in his voice.

"What's up? Are you going out?"

"I have a date today, hehe." Wen Xiaohui laughed so much that his mouth could barely close.

"...Date?"

"Do you still remember how I told you about the handsome guy I met at the bar called Li Shuo?"

"Yeah, I remember."

"We’re fated to be together. Today Liu Xing asked me to deliver some documents to an accountancy firm and it turns out to be the firm that he owns!" Wen Xiaohui said with infatuation, "He’s even more handsome in a suit. He looked so classy sitting on the executive chair in the CEO’s office."

"Oh, what a coincidence." Luo Yi said expressionlessly, "You should go then. You… Will you be coming back tonight?"

"Hahahaha. Of course I’ll be back. How could our relationship develop so quickly?"

Luo Yi smiled faintly and said, "You seem to be really looking forward to it."

Wen Xiaohui was about to say that he wanted to get rid of his virginity, but then he remembered how he was trying to avoid the topic of men in front of Luo Yi in case he led him astray. Therefore, he coughed a couple of times. "I’m only kidding. Li Shuo doesn’t seem to be interested in me, so I’ll treat it as going out for a meal with friends. I can make friends with a guy, right?"

"Of course. I'll wait up until you get back tonight."

"You don't have to wait for me. Go to bed early."

Luo Yi replied quietly, "But I want to wait for you. I've been wanting to see you all day."

Wen Xiaohui felt aggrieved. "Okay, I'll try to be back soon."

"Yeah, have a nice meal." Luo Yi hung up the phone. There was a blank expression on his face as he stood still in the crowded supermarket for three seconds. All of a sudden, his expression changed and his pupils started to dilate rapidly. His whole body emitted a terrifying aura, and he stretched out his hand to knock over the pyramid of coke cans in front of him that were piled up higher than a person.

Hundreds of ring-pull cans came crashing to the ground with a bang, spilling the drinks everywhere. Everyone was so shocked that they continued to back away, in case it splashed on their trousers. A few people had been hit on their lower backs.

Luo Yi directed a cute smile at the supermarket employee who came running over. "I'm so sorry, I accidentally bumped into it. I’ll compensate you."

—----------------

Wen Xiaohui was in two minds about wearing makeup. He remembered what the young gay guy had said about Li Shuo liking the ‘virtuous man’ type. In the end, he only applied a layer of powder so that his skin would appear a little more translucent. The average person wouldn’t be able to tell that he had makeup on, and he left the house feeling pleased with himself.

Li Shuo chose a Japanese bar1 that had a small facade, the decor was very homely. It appeared dainty and cute amongst the concrete office buildings of the CBD2. The fast-moving time seemed to slow down inside.

Wen Xiaohui went inside and saw Li Shuo chatting to a man in English who appeared as if he was the owner. When he saw him coming, he smiled as he waved to him.

Wen Xiaohui walked over. "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

Li Shuo said with a smile, "You’re not late, I arrived early. My office is just opposite here so I come pretty often."

The owner led them to a table that was out of the way and personally took their order.

Li Shuo passed the menu to Wen Xiaohui. "Have a look to see if there is anything you’d like to eat."

Wen Xiaohui opened the menu to check and his eyes opened wide in alarm. How could such a tiny Japanese bar be so expensive?! He pretended to be calm and ordered a few dishes.

Li Shuo said as he explained, "The chefs of this establishment were all hired from Japan, and all the ingredients are imported by air. Although not many people know about this place, you won’t want to eat another restaurant’s Japanese cuisine once you’ve sampled the food here."

Wen Xiaohui cursed silently: "How pretentious." Yet without a moment’s hesitation, he put on a charming smile. "Oh, I’m so looking forward to it."

After placing the order, Li Shuo poured tea for Wen Xiaohui. "Juxing isn’t that far from here."

"It's not too bad. Your English is amazing, have you ever been abroad?" Wen Xiaohui tried desperately to find a topic for conversation.

"Yeah, I'm of American nationality. I was very young when I emigrated." Li Shuo winked. "I returned to China to start a business."

"Isn’t it nice abroad?"

"If I were in the US, I’d have to join my father’s firm. I feel that it would be a hindrance to my personal development."

Wen Xiaohui laughed, "Isn’t this the standard script for rich second generations3?"

Li Shuo smiled and said, "It’s not like that. The accountancy market in the US is well developed and the biggest firms partner with the large corporations. The prospects for new entrants are limited, and it’s a hundredth fold harder to start a business. China is an emerging market, so new and promising companies emerge every year. I feel as if I would have better development opportunities here. Conversely, regardless of my achievements, everything would be built upon the foundations laid by my father, which wouldn’t be in line with my aspirations."

Wen Xiaohui thought to himself that Li Shuo certainly had money to burn, but he could only continue pretending and both his voice and expression conveyed his adoration. "You’re so amazing."

Their meal arrived quickly; Wen Xiaohui tasted the ebi prawn4, which was really tasty. They chatted as they dined, and since Wen Xiaohui didn’t understand Li Shuo’s line of work, Li Shuo cooperated by chatting to him about fashion and entertainment industry gossip.

Wen Xiaohui looked at Li Shuo with his large, liquid eyes5 the whole time, hoping to catch his attention. However, Li Shuo seemed too principled from his expression to his gestures, and he continued to maintain a distance between them that was typical of friends. This made Wen Xiaohui feel very disappointed, and he began to doubt his attractiveness. Although he had never seduced a man before, he was also a man and he understood the needs of a man. How could Li Shuo face his charms without any reaction? He couldn’t be fucking frigid!

After dinner, Li Shuo glanced at his watch. "Where do you live? I'll take you home."

Wen Xiaohui propped up his chin, looking gloomily at him without saying a word.

Li Shuo gave him a sideways glance. "What's wrong?"

After putting on an act all night, Wen Xiaohui felt a bit tired, and he had the feeling that this would be both the first and last meal with Li Shuo. Therefore, he couldn’t be bothered to continue acting and he asked bluntly, "What's your type?"

Li Shuo was slightly surprised. Afterwards, he smiled and said, "It varies - it depends on how I feel."

"Forget it. What feelings? The looks are most important. What kind of appearance do you prefer?"

Li Shuo pondered, "The gentle-looking type."

"I can set you up with one?" He wanted to introduce Luo Rui to Li Shuo to keep the benefits within his family6.

Li Shuo chuckled, "Thanks, but I’m not planning to be in a relationship at this moment in time."

"You’re only using this excuse to get rid of me, I’m not a child." Wen Xiaohui pouted in dissatisfaction. He took out his mobile phone and started to flick through Luo Rui’s photos. "I know you’re not interested in me. I’ll show you my friend." Wen Xiaohui pointed his phone screen towards Li Shuo. "You see, he’s my childhood friend. He’s 20 and he’s a pastry chef. His most prominent trait is his gentleness, and he’s great at cooking and can make beautiful cakes. He’s innocent and amicable, and his appearance is also very beautiful."

Li Shuo gently moved his wrist down, and he said softly, "Adi, you’ve misunderstood - I’m not dissatisfied with you or your friend. I really don’t have time to start a serious relationship. I spend most of my energy working, I can’t divert my attention to date someone. To rush into a relationship in these circumstances would be very irresponsible. To be blunt, I’m only after an experienced sexual partner, but I don’t think that you or your friend are the type."

Wen Xiaohui was left speechless. This was the first time that he’d met someone like Li Shuo - he was very clear about what he wanted and what he didn’t want. Each stage of life was planned with precision and he wouldn’t let his feelings or rash decisions derail his plans. He felt a little repelled by such a clear-headed person because to put it nicely, such people could be considered mature, but to put it more bluntly, heartless.

Of course, Li Shuo could also be lying, and he might not have taken a fancy to him nor Luo Rui. He might have been worried that he wouldn’t be able to get rid of him, so he made up an excuse to reject him. Although he didn’t have much experience of being in a relationship, he had seen all sorts during his time in the industry. There were people like Li Shuo who wanted to sleep around without taking responsibility, so they would never get together with someone that they couldn’t get rid of easily.

In any case, at least he was honest.

Wen Xiaohui looked down in disappointment.

Li Shuo rubbed Wen Xiaohui’s hair. "You’re really interesting and attractive. I can introduce some of my fairly decent friends to you guys if you don’t mind."

Wen Xiaohui winked. "Seriously?"

"Seriously."

Acting coquettishly, Wen Xiaohui said, "Then I'd like a tall and handsome guy."

Li Shuo laughed, "No problem."