Chapter 34.1

Luo Rui brought them some cake, and afterwards all three of them went out for hot pot1.

One of Wen Xiaohui’s cheeks ached while he was eating, but he pressed on and continued to eat. Luo Rui was touched by Wen Xiaohui’s positivity and disregard for his injuries. He already had many of the qualities of a good wife, and his surging maternal instincts were triggered. He cut up all the meat and vegetables into small pieces for Wen Xiaohui, stopping short of feeding him.

Once Wen Xiaohui was half full, the speed at which he was eating slowed down and he started to chat. "Xiao Ma, did Liu-ge invite you out yet?"

"Yeah." Luo Rui’s soft lips were now scarlet from the chilli peppers, and he pouted. "Some people think that he’s quite good."

"But...?"

Luo Rui put his chopsticks down and he whispered, "It looks like he’s starting to go bald."

Wen Xiaohui almost spewed out his food. "Are you serious?"

"It’s true, I saw it." Luo Rui said gloomily, "I can’t compromise on this."

Wen Xiaohui stifled a laugh.

"Stop laughing."

Luo Yi also chuckled, "It’s not a big deal if you like him."

"Yeah but he's not even 30. His hairline’s already receding when he’s young. What will he do when he’s older?"

Luo Yi asked, "How did you two meet? Are you fine about everything else?"

"Everything else about him is fine. Li Shuo introduced him to me."

"...Li Shuo?" Luo Yi looked towards Wen Xiaohui. "The American accountant? Did you meet him again?"

"Oh yeah, he said he was going to introduce us to his friends, so we had dinner together last time."

"Oh." Luo Yi’s ‘oh's’ always seemed to have some hidden meaning.

Luo Rui said with excitement, "Let’s not talk about me, you and Li Shuo are making good progress. It looks very promising."

Luo Yi’s hand that was picking up some food paused for a second before he recalled it. He picked up a teacup as a cover to hide his facial expression.

Wen Xiaohui smiled as he said, "Oh, it’s way too soon to tell. It’s best to keep your options open."

Luo Rui stuck out three fingers. "Give it three days. If he asks you out within three days that means he’s interested in you."

"What kind of crappy relationship guides are you reading again?"

"But some of the content makes a lot of sense."

Wen Xiaohui rolled his eyes. "Could you be any more like a woman?!"

"Ha! Pot calling kettle black2!"

Luo Yi put his teacup down, and said calmly, "How are you and Li Shuo getting on?"

Wen Xiaohui replied as he tried to gloss over the details, "We haven’t made any progress - I just feel like we have more to talk about than when we first met. I’ll just see how it goes."

"How well do you know him?"

Wen Xiaohui pondered. "I think he’s a great guy and he’s also very capable."

"You can’t judge people by their appearances; the cleverer someone is, the better they are at acting. Once they know what you want, they’ll pretend to be that kind of person." Luo Yi gave Wen Xiaohui a profound look. "Therefore, you have to be careful when you meet people."

Wen Xiaohui was shocked. "Oh, I know. Of course I know this."

"Take me out for dinner with Li Shuo when you’re free," said Luo Yi.

Wen Xiaohui suddenly felt his heart racing, and a voice instinctively told him not to permit Luo Yi and Li Shuo to meet. He didn’t know why, or maybe it was because he didn’t dare to think about the reasons, so he declined without hesitating. "No, we’ve only seen each other a couple of times and we’re just friends. If we really do get together in future, it wouldn’t be too late to meet him then."

The tips of Luo Yi’s chopsticks gently stirred the dipping sauce in the bowl. "Li Shuo isn’t the same."

"How’s he different?"

"I feel like you like him a lot."

Forcing a smile, Wen Xiaohui said, "I’m not in love with him, at least not yet. I just have a good impression of him. Also, even if I like him, he might not like me. Love can’t be one-sided, so there’s no need to be anxious."

"He’ll like you."

"Huh?"

The tips of Luo Yi’s chopsticks pierced through a piece of red chilli and the chilli was ruthlessly crushed. Luo Yi used so much force that even his finger bones looked white. He lowered his head and said quietly, "He will like you."

"...Why?"

Luo Rui stared at Luo Yi in a daze, taking in the stiff outline of his jaw. He still felt a bit flustered, even though he couldn’t see Luo Yi’s facial expression.

Luo Yi raised his head. His smile was warm and dazzling, resembling fragments of sunlight. "You’re a great person. He’ll like you once he gets to know you."

Wen Xiaohui felt his cheeks flush. He should have felt happy and he did feel happy, but he also felt a bit confused at the same time. He wasn’t sure if he was happy because Luo Yi had said that Li Shuo will like him or because of his compliment.

Luo Rui was stunned as he watched them with his mouth slightly open and his eyebrows knitted.

—------------------------

Luo Yi and Wen Xiaohui began to head home after dinner. As Wen Xiaohui sat on the back of the bicycle, he said emotionally, "We’ve known each other for a year."

"Yeah."

"Time flies." He never thought that one day an unfamiliar, young man would parachute into his life, becoming both a crucial part of his family and his friend. He could still picture the first time he met Luo Yi - how he sat at the back of Luo Yi’s bicycle, feeling the light breeze brushing past his cheeks and the faint rays from the sun.

"It's gone by really quickly." Luo Yi added, "I'll be 18 in a year and a half."

"Are you looking forward to being an adult? I didn’t want to grow any older after I turned 16. Wouldn't it be great if you could stay forever young? What a pity! It feels like yesterday that I was 16, but four years have just flown by."

"It’s better for men to be more mature."

Wen Xiaohui chuckled, "That’s true. Also, you can legally inherit the assets in the will once you turn 18. Are you looking forward to it?"

"Mn."

Using his fingertip, Wen Xiaohui poked Luo Yi in the spine. "Are you really looking forward to it? I don't think you like money that much. You’re so intelligent that you’ll never be short of money, but look at you - you’re always using your bicycle to get around and you’re not picky about what you eat nor what you wear. It’s incredible how people like you treat money like dirt."

"Money is just an essential tool, so you can’t apply the terms like or dislike to it. Instead, you should consider the purpose, the usage and the amount consumed."

“Tsk… You’re all deep again."

Luo Yi smiled faintly.

"I love money and it'd be amazing to have tons of money! There are so many things that I love, I really want to take them all home with me." Wen Xiaohui said expectantly, "Once you’re 18, I’ll be able to inherit the money that my jie left me. How do you think I should spend it?"

"You can buy anything you like. Isn’t that what you want?"

"I’d like to buy a flashy sports car and then go nuts buying everything on the makeup counters. I’d go to the Beijing Lufthansa Shopping Centre with my eyes closed and choose anything I like." This beautiful vision appeared in front of Wen Xiaohui’s eyes, leaving him with a dreamy look on his face.

Luo Yi laughed, "That’s good."

Wen Xiaohui continued to dream for a bit longer, before he said earnestly, "I’m only joking, I wouldn’t dare to spend such a large sum of money. Our foster agreement expires automatically when you turn 18, and I’ll beg my mum for forgiveness. I’ll give her both the money and the house because I feel so guilty for lying to her for such a long time."

"I can go with you if you’d like."

"We can talk about it another time. My mum might not want to meet you, but I’ll work hard to make her accept you. We’ll be able to celebrate Chinese New Year together sooner or later."

Luo Yi paused for a while. "You still remember?"

"Remember what?"

"That we have to celebrate Chinese New Year together."

"Of course I remember. How could I forget?" Wen Xiaohui said with a smile, "I’ll never forget my promise to you."

"We’ll definitely be able to celebrate Chinese New Year together."