The Art of Teasing - Chapter 31
Chapter 31
Wen Zhengyu thought she must be too tired. She dreamed she had become the little sprite again, leaping into the bottomless abyss deep within the Kunlun Mountains. The abyss was endless and unfathomable, and she fell for a very long time, as if she had plunged all the way into outer space, or as if she had fallen into another world. There, there was no sky above and no earth below; in every direction, impossibly distant, countless stars glittered in the vast firmament. Only the wind that blew from somewhere unknown, and a phoenix bird that had died in battle, remained by her side.
It felt like an immensely long passage of time, yet also as if the vast changes of the world had occurred in the mere snap of a finger.
The phoenix bird's feathers fell away one by one, drifting into the distance with the wind. Its body became skeletal remains, and from those remains, countless motes of spiritual light flew out, scattering to every corner of the universe...
The phoenix bird's bones, over an endless expanse of time, gradually weathered into flying ash. Carried by the wind, they scattered bit by bit until nothing at all remained.
She did not know why, but her heart was filled with sorrow.
A knocking on the door pulled her thoughts back to another world. She pierced through the darkness and saw light. The knocking at her ear grew clearer, and her Second Aunt, Wen Shishu, said, "Xiao Yu, get up and eat. Xiao Yu, Xiao Yu—Dad, bring me the key..."
Second Aunt!
Wen Zhengyu was instantly awake. She hastily rolled out of bed and went to open the door.
Sun Yuan had taken a long leave and would not return until the sixteenth day of the first lunar month. Zhan Cheng had also taken leave until the ninth day. Wen Shishu had brought her driver and housekeeper and would be staying at their home until after the Lantern Festival before returning to Beijing. Which meant, for this entire period, she and her grandfather were both under Wen Shishu's management.
Wen Zhengyu opened the door and saw her Second Aunt standing in the doorway, looking at her with exasperation.
Wen Shishu said, annoyed, "Has your slumbering soul drifted off beyond the heavens? I've been calling you for ages with no response." As she spoke, she raised her hand and pressed it against Wen Zhengyu's forehead to check her temperature, then felt her own forehead, and asked again, "You don't feel unwell anywhere, do you? Just too tired?"
Wen Zhengyu's heart still lingered with the melancholy of the dream, but she could hardly explain it to Wen Shishu. She pressed her lips into a slight smile and said, "I don't feel unwell." There was a cold draft at the door, and she was only wearing a thin nightgown—it was freezing. She quickly turned and retreated into her quilt, wrapping the blanket tightly around herself, asking Wen Shishu, who had followed her into the room, to close the door behind her.
Wen Shishu came to the bedside, scrutinized Wen Zhengyu's complexion, and said, "It's good to be busy, but you must also take care of your health. You were already thin, and now you're practically skin and bones." She pinched Wen Zhengyu's chin and said, "Look at your chin—is there any flesh left on it?"
Wen Zhengyu said, "The studio just opened; everything is still being figured out. Once it's on the right track, it will be fine." She glanced at the time, saw it was already mealtime, and got out of bed to change clothes.
Wen Shishu asked, "What's going on between you and Ye Ling?"
Wen Zhengyu had her back to Wen Shishu. She removed her nightgown, took clothes from the wardrobe and put them on, saying, "You should be asking what's going on with Ye Ling. Though, it's a question I can't answer for you yet."
Wen Shishu said, "The Ye family's relationships are very complicated. The infighting among the siblings is vicious."
Wen Zhengyu knew her Second Aunt would not bring this up without reason. As she pulled on a sweater and trousers, she waited a moment but heard no follow-up from her Second Aunt. She turned her head back, looking at her Second Aunt with suspicion, and said, "I'm your own niece, and that's all you're giving me."
Wen Shishu said, "Other people's family affairs—why ask so much? Last time you went on a business trip, I saw Ye Ling running around after you, so I made some inquiries." Having said this, she rose and said, "Alright, get dressed and come downstairs to eat soon," and left the bedroom.
Wen Zhengyu thought that her family's habit of dropping only a tiny hint about things, leaving her to figure out the rest on her own, was truly not a good one.
But there really was nothing to figure out about Ye Ling's family matters. As her Second Aunt said, those were other people's family affairs. What usually makes siblings fight is, for the most part, the family estate.
To prevent his children and grandchildren from falling into conflict, Old Master Wen had settled the division of the family estate long ago. Which things belonged to whom was made perfectly clear. Guard your own things well, and do not covet what belongs to others.
Her Eldest Aunt, her Second Aunt, and her father—each, upon reaching adulthood, received a share of the family estate and a settlement allowance from the Old Master. From then on, whether they lived in glory and wealth or fell destitute on the streets was entirely up to them. If one prospered and chose to lend a hand to their siblings, it was a matter of affection. If they didn't, others couldn't blame them. Likewise, if one fell on hard times and a sibling lent a hand, it was affection. If they didn't, and you wanted to blame someone, you could only blame yourself for not walking your own path well.
Wen Zhengyu thought this was quite good. If one of the Old Master's three children proved disappointing, it wouldn't necessarily drag down the other two. It is easy to ruin a family fortune but difficult to build one. For a family to prosper often requires the concerted effort of all its members, but for a family to decline, it doesn't take much—a single spendthrift is often enough. The earlier the division, the better. Put your eggs in different baskets, let them stir about on their own, and perhaps a few promising chicks might even hatch out. It spares you the risk of the entire basket of eggs being smashed in a single careless moment.
However, every family has its own circumstances. Some families are easy to divide; others are not.
For someone like the Old Master, the only thing he could divide was money. Money is the most difficult thing to sort out, and yet also the easiest. If the Old Master had a hundred dollars, each of his three children would get thirty, and he would keep ten for his own retirement. He would make it clear that none of the three children had any claim to his retirement fund, and that upon his passing, he could leave it to whomever he wished. No one was to contest it; if they did, he would donate it all. Once it was clearly divided, the affection among the siblings actually improved. Her father had squandered his fortune to this extent, yet her Eldest Aunt still took him in, and her Second Aunt still constantly worried about her.
But some families are like corporations. The family members are shareholders. Once they split off and the shareholders withdraw, the enterprise collapses and declines. In such cases, resources must be concentrated, and from the many shareholders, a chairman or CEO must emerge through competition, sometimes even leading to shareholders merging with and acquiring each other's shares. Then there are large families with many children and grandchildren living together under one roof. The abilities and character of these descendants are inevitably uneven. Some have endearing personalities, others less so. When elders, driven by personal preference or favoritism toward sons, fail to treat everyone equally, it can easily cause familial disharmony and ceaseless internal strife.
Every family has its own difficult scripture to chant; every family has its own situation.
Wen Zhengyu had not the slightest interest in Ye Ling's family circumstances. She guessed that Ye Ling's interest in her had been too obvious, and her Second Aunt, having noticed, was worried that she might inadvertently get entangled in Ye Ling's family affairs and was giving her a warning. Even though her father was unreliable, having a Second Aunt who cared about her like this still warmed Wen Zhengyu's heart considerably.
Her Second Aunt rarely came back to stay, and she herself only had these few days of leave. She would spend the rest of her vacation accompanying her Second Aunt and Old Master Wen. Neither her Second Aunt nor the Old Master were the type to stay cooped up at home. Besides, if Wen Shishu and Old Master Wen were idle under the same roof, they were guaranteed to start arguing within half an hour. As a famous tourist city, there were plenty of places to visit, so Wen Zhengyu coaxed them both into going out and about, sparing them from another quarrel.
Usually, a child in her Second Aunt's position—with an elder sister above and a younger brother below—was the most likely to be overlooked. But in their family, no one dared overlook the former Second Miss Wen, now Madam Wen Shishu. Ignore her, and she would immediately transform into a battle-ready nation. It was said that in the past, Old Master Wen had still harbored some degree of favoritism toward sons over daughters, but her Second Aunt had relentlessly tormented him until he no longer dared show the slightest unfairness. After all these years of fighting between father and daughter, Old Master Wen had developed a habit: upon encountering Wen Shishu, he became like a fighting cock, his entire demeanor snapping instantly into a spirited, combative state of readiness; his very vitality seemed to change. After Wen Shishu left, Old Master Wen would invariably be somewhat wilted for a day or two.
Of the Old Master's three children, the one who argued with him the most was her Second Aunt, and the one with the closest bond, was also her Second Aunt.
Relatively speaking, she was closer to her Second Aunt. Her Eldest Aunt had gone abroad early, and she hadn't spent much time with her. It had been seven or eight years since the last time she saw her Eldest Aunt. Her impression of her Eldest Aunt was of someone calm, reserved, and possessing an exceptionally powerful presence. Before her Eldest Aunt, her Second Aunt was as meek as a mouse before a cat. If her Second Aunt were arguing with Old Master Wen, a single glance from her Eldest Aunt would silence her instantly. Her Eldest Aunt had had someone she loved in her youth, but they could not be together. Under her grandfather's arrangement, her Eldest Aunt married and had a son, but divorced before the child turned one. She fought hard for custody, took the child, and immigrated abroad, not returning for over a decade. Later, her Eldest Aunt returned sporadically, the longest stay being when her grandmother was critically ill. She could sense how much her Eldest Aunt cared for her grandparents, but there also seemed to be some unresolved knot in her heart. But matters belonging to the elder generation were not things she felt comfortable prying into.
The days turned, and soon it was the eighth day of the first lunar month. The studio opened for business.
Wen Li was busy, and Ye Ling had not yet returned. Following customary business practice, Wen Zhengyu paid respects to the God of Wealth, set off firecrackers, and handed out red envelopes to the employees. And so, a new year began.
After the studio opened, Wen Shishu made a special visit to tour it, and incidentally bought some paintings, saying she would take them back to decorate her home and use as gifts.
She went to work. Wen Shishu also had old friends to visit. Old Master Wen continued his daily rounds of the bird, flower, and antique markets. Everyone was busy with their own affairs.
As the New Year celebrations ended, business at the studio grew quiet. Those who needed to buy paintings for gifts or social obligations had mostly finished their purchases before the New Year. Those who needed to sell paintings had also sold them before the holiday period.
It was a rare idle season of the year, and Wen Zhengyu was content with the leisure. Apart from handling daily administrative matters at work, she spent her time in the painting room working on Phoenix Falls from the Ninth Heaven. Ever since the studio opened the previous year, she had been constantly occupied with studio affairs, leaving her almost no free time. This painting had been sitting untouched in the studio for three or four months.
She looked at the phoenix bird in the painting and suddenly remembered the little note Ye Ling had left her, saying that a fenghuang's feathers cannot be burned by fire.
A fenghuang bathes in fire and is reborn from nirvana, an immortal bird.
The phoenix bird, plunging into the bottomless abyss of Kunlun, had finally turned to flying ash, dispersing into nothingness. It had even abandoned the hope and opportunity for nirvana and rebirth. What kind of unwavering resolve and absolute finality was that?
She also thought of the little sprite following the phoenix bird in leaping into the bottomless abyss.
She did not know why the little sprite had jumped.
Concerning that mythological world, concerning those dreams, she could not distinguish the chronological order in which the little sprite had encountered those demons, spirits, ghosts, and monsters. She did not know if, after meeting the phoenix bird, the little sprite had met any other spirits. She did not know how long the little sprite had stayed in the bottomless abyss, nor did she know if the little sprite had ever left it afterward.
After the Lantern Festival, Wen Shishu returned to the capital, and when she left, she conveniently took Old Master Wen with her.
With the Old Master not at home, there was no one waiting for her to come back for dinner. Alone, she had no inclination for a post-dinner stroll. She simply asked Sun Yuan to deliver her dinner to the studio. After eating, she would remain in the studio to continue painting. Occasionally, if she painted late into the night, she would simply stay overnight in the studio office.
Most of her time each day was devoted to painting Phoenix Falls from the Ninth Heaven.
By the end of the first lunar month, she finished Phoenix Falls from the Ninth Heaven.
It was deep into the night when she completed it. Having painted the picture for so long, when it was finally done, finished and complete, she felt somewhat empty inside. An inescapable emotion lingered in her heart. She couldn't tell if it was for the painting or for the phoenix bird. She stared at the finished work for a long time before finally letting out a heavy sigh. She went to clean her paintbrushes, preparing to call it a night.
Suddenly, she sensed something strange behind her. Turning around, she was shocked to see Ye Ling sitting in a chair near the doorway, silent and without a sound, like a ghost. She had no idea how long she had been there.
Wen Zhengyu's heart skipped several beats in fright. She stared blankly at Ye Ling, almost believing she had seen a live ghost.
Ye Ling's lips curved slightly as she asked, "Would Zhengyu consider this a case of forgetting to eat and sleep?"
Wen Zhengyu suddenly thought that for her next painting, she could set aside the Bottomless Abyss for now and paint this portrait of Ye Ling—the Ghost Portrait—first!
Comments
Post a Comment