The Art of Teasing - Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Wen Zhengyu was worried that Wen Li might feel sick or vomit from drinking too much, so she sat beside her and kept watch for a while. Seeing that Wen Li was sleeping very soundly and didn't seem like she would have any problems, she yawned and went upstairs to sleep.

In the morning, after she got up and washed up, she carried her computer backpack and prepared to go to work.

After going downstairs, she saw that Wen Li was actually already awake. Wen Li had changed her clothes, wearing a professional suit, and was lazily leaning on the living room sofa drinking coffee. When she saw Wen Zhengyu come down, she turned her head and greeted her: "Morning."

Wen Zhengyu sat down beside Wen Li and asked, "Feeling unwell?"

Wen Li smiled, gently shook her head, and said, "I'm fine."

Wen Zhengyu nodded and said, "You got drunk last night. A woman called Sister Chen brought you back. She wanted to take you upstairs and stay the night here. I didn't allow it, and had security come and escort her out."

Wen Li took a sip of coffee and said, "That Chen woman is like a sister to one of my clients; her family runs a restaurant. Yesterday, that client treated us to dinner at her family's restaurant. I ran into something unhappy, and they urged me to drink a couple more glasses. She grabbed my bag and insisted on taking me to a hotel. I thought that since you were at home, I asked her to send me back here."

Wen Zhengyu was shocked and opened her mouth, asking, "She wasn't planning to take advantage of you while you were drunk…" The rest of the sentence she swallowed back, too hard to say.

Wen Li made a "mm-hmm" sound and said to Wen Zhengyu, "So when you go out socializing, you must bring a driver."

Wen Zhengyu was speechless for a long while before saying, "I should have had security beat her out yesterday."

Wen Li laughed out loud and said, "Silly." She paused, then added, "But if you ever run into something like this, don't be polite. The family will back you up. That includes with that Ye person too."

Wen Zhengyu said, "Ye Ling really wouldn't do that sort of thing." From Ye Ling's way of handling people and matters, such a low and ugly act was really not something Ye Ling would do. Ye Ling liked to use open schemes, doing things beautifully, leaving no room for gossip, much less leverage.

Wen Li raised an eyebrow, let out a light laugh, and said nothing. She remembered something, and the smile disappeared again. She said lightly, "At the beginning of the year, I mentioned marrying myself off this year; that's gone now."

Wen Zhengyu stared at Wen Li with widened eyes in surprise.

Wen Li drained the coffee in her cup in one gulp and said, "It's no big deal. He likes to drift among the flowers, and I'm rather averse to that." After saying that, she got up and took the empty cup to the kitchen.

Is this a breakup? Wen Zhengyu followed into the kitchen.

After washing the cup, Wen Li turned around and saw Wen Zhengyu standing behind her with a worried look, she smiled and said, "It really isn't a big deal."

Wen Zhengyu didn't know how to comfort her.

Wen Li washed the cup, dried it with a paper towel, and said, "Let's go have breakfast together, and then you can take me to pick up my car later."

Wen Zhengyu had had her driver's license for many years, but she very rarely drove herself. After getting in the car, she first familiarized herself with it, then slowly drove out of the garage and then slowly onto the road. She asked Wen Li, "Are you in a hurry?"

Wen Li said, "No rush, you can take your time."

Wen Zhengyu followed the traffic steadily and calmly.

She and Wen Li found a breakfast shop to eat, then took Wen Li to get her car. By the time she arrived at the studio, it was close to eleven.

At noon, Ye Ling came to Wen Zhengyu's office for lunch as usual. After the meal, Wen Zhengyu kept Ye Ling for tea.

She said to Ye Ling, "CEO Ye, I'm embarrassed to keep taking up your time and disturbing your work. I've asked Sister Lili for some materials and want to look over them myself first. If I have more questions, I'll ask CEO Ye for guidance then, and hope CEO Ye can give me a pointer or two."

Ye Ling's lips held a smile, and her gaze, soft as water, fixed on Wen Zhengyu. She said gently, "Actually, I very much enjoy you taking up my time."

Wen Zhengyu replied in her heart, "I don't." With a shallow smile on her face and a sincere tone, she replied, "CEO Ye's intentions I understand, and I accept them in my heart. Thank you."

Ye Ling asked with a smile, "I wonder which aspect of my intentions Zhengyu understands?"

Wen Zhengyu: "…" Her eyes shifted, and she too pretended to be confused, saying, "Naturally, it's as a partner…" Halfway through, she saw Ye Ling looking at her with a smile, her expression clearly saying "Go on, try to twist it, pretend more," and the rest of her words could no longer be spoken. She had to swallow them back, and buried her head in tea.

After finishing the tea in her cup, she looked up and saw Ye Ling still staring at her, her gaze gentle as water yet carrying a hint of depth. Because Ye Ling was sitting close, she could even see her own reflection in Ye Ling's eyes. She couldn't help but wonder if Ye Ling truly liked her very much.

After a brief trance, a trace of displeasure rose in Wen Zhengyu's heart. She didn't like Ye Ling like this, nor did she like Ye Ling. She hadn't cared before, hadn't thought much, and had ignored Ye Ling's various actions. Now that she knew, and saw that Ye Ling didn't seem like someone who would easily give up, she felt that some matters couldn't be resolved by dragging on or ignoring them. If she couldn't respond, it was better to clarify things earlier.

She thought for a moment, then looked up at Ye Ling and called, "CEO Ye," and said, "I want to talk with you."

Ye Ling gently murmured "Mm," and said, "Alright." She smiled softly and asked, "Am I making you annoyed?"

Wen Zhengyu was choked by Ye Ling's words, and was somewhat speechless. She paused, then nodded and honestly admitted, "A little." She said, "I can't respond, I can't bear it."

Ye Ling's gaze moved to the painting "Phoenix Falls from the Ninth Heaven" hanging on the wall of Wen Zhengyu's office. She turned to Wen Zhengyu and called, "Zhengyu," then settled her gaze on the painting again, saying, "Your heart is in the paintings, on the Kunlun Divine Mountain." She looked at the painting and said, "Here, this is where your world is."

Wen Zhengyu hadn't expected Ye Ling to say such words. She was taken aback and looked at Ye Ling in shock.

Ye Ling said, "The Kunlun Divine Mountain, also known as Yushan, the Kunlun Void, the Ancestor of All Mountains, the Origin of Dragon Veins. The name Yushan Group comes from Kunlun."

Wen Zhengyu fell silent. She didn't know what Ye Ling wanted to say, nor what she understood from the painting.

Ye Ling gazed at "Phoenix Falls from the Ninth Heaven" and said, "Your paintings, the most moving part is not the vast and boundless Kunlun realm, not the vivid and intense colors, not the majestic and grand momentum, but the trace of peace after the wind and clouds pass. The Nine-Tailed Fox, waiting until the end of life, until it had spent its whole life, until it could no longer wait, gave its all and then closed its eyes in peace. Mountains of corpses and seas of blood, piles of white bones, the ancient battlefield, a battle of life and death—for the sake of the beloved and cherished ones behind them, even if their souls were broken in a foreign land, they had no resentment or regret. Yet, the skeleton that has turned to bone, the hollow eye sockets gazing ahead, the body holding the halberd standing tall without falling, also conveys longing and reluctance for the distant. Dying in a foreign land, the soul returns home. In the painting of corpses and blood, the little sprite plays a xun, and souls emerge from the bones. The notes of the xun turn into a yin-yang fish pattern, opening a door homeward for the wandering souls. The yin-yang fish pattern is hidden in the sea of blood, using sound as the brush, blood as the ink. The homeward gate is hidden within the mountain of corpses, built from white bones, with human bones as the door." She turned to Wen Zhengyu and said, "If I'm not mistaken, after 'Phoenix Falls from the Ninth Heaven' there is another painting. The death of the Phoenix Bird is not the end of this series. After the Phoenix Bird died, the little sprite must have done something more." She gently asked, "Can you tell me?"

Wen Zhengyu really wanted to say, "There is none." But Ye Ling had guessed correctly. She said, "The little sprite followed the Phoenix Bird and jumped into the Bottomless Abyss."

Ye Ling looked at Wen Zhengyu. Wen Zhengyu's expression and eyes were very calm, as if not a ripple had stirred. Upon first contact with Wen Zhengyu, one would find her gentle and smooth as jade, but after spending time with her, one would discover that Wen Zhengyu is actually a very aloof and detached person, not fond of being disturbed by external things. If there was nothing to do, Wen Zhengyu could quietly stay by herself all day—painting, drinking tea, looking at the scenery, or wandering in her mind. Yet, after all, Wen Zhengyu is human, not a stone. She would have emotions, would get impatient.

Wen Zhengyu met Ye Ling's eyes. Probably because Ye Ling's gaze was too focused, it made her quite uncomfortable. She averted her eyes, wanting to ask, "Can you not like me? It's very annoying." But the words couldn't come out. Ye Ling liked her, she knew. She had no interest in Ye Ling, and Ye Ling knew that too. It was like a negotiation that couldn't reach an agreement. In a stalemate, it came down to who could persist more.

Wen Zhengyu said no more and continued brewing tea, drinking tea.

Ye Ling returned to the sofa beside Wen Zhengyu and sat down. She spoke slowly, "Being with you is very comfortable. Although it brings you a lot of trouble and makes you unhappy, sitting next to you, the quiet aura around you makes one unconsciously also become quiet—no shock, no disturbance, no movement, no chaos. It's very peaceful and comfortable." She paused and said, "Zhengyu, my liking you isn't about wanting you to respond with something, nor wanting you to do something for me. Actually, this is fine, truly fine."

Wen Zhengyu's heart was slightly touched, but also a little bewildered. She looked at Ye Ling with confusion, somewhat not understanding what kind of feeling this was.

Ye Ling glanced at her wristwatch and said, "I have to go back to a meeting." She asked, "Treat you to dinner tonight?"

Wen Zhengyu quickly shook her head, saying, "I have to go back and have dinner with Grandfather." She paused, explaining, "I've been staying at Wen Li's lately. If I don't go back for dinner again, the old gentleman will be unhappy."

Ye Ling nodded, indicating she understood, and said, "That's nice." She stood up, saying, "Then we'll arrange another time when you're free." After saying that, she walked out.

Wen Zhengyu sat there dazedly for quite a while, somewhat melancholic, secretly sighed, and sent a text to Wen Li: "Sister Lili, today I talked to Ye Ling, wanting to make her realize the difficulty and retreat, but it doesn't seem to have had much effect."

Wen Li quickly replied with a text: "Naive."

Wen Zhengyu sent back a "?".

Wen Li suggested: "Find a boyfriend."

Wen Zhengyu sent a "…" and then another text: "That's even scarier."

Wen Li asked her: "Why? How is finding a boyfriend scary?"

Wen Zhengyu said: "Finding a boyfriend, getting married, having children." She stopped typing there, paused, and continued: "Can't accept it."

Wen Li asked: "Can't accept getting married and having children?"

Wen Zhengyu replied: "Mm."

Wen Li asked again: "Not considering men? What about women? Consider it?"

Wen Zhengyu didn't hesitate and replied: "Not considering." After replying, she found that Wen Li's reaction seemed a bit off. She asked: "Is there a problem?"

Wen Li replied: "Xiao Yu, what kind of life do you like? Or rather, what kind of life do you want? What are your thoughts on the future?"

Wen Zhengyu said: "Being with Grandfather, able to paint in my spare time. If in the future I'm left alone, then live in a temple on the mountain, painting the myriad gods and Buddhas. The mountain is quiet."

Wen Li "hehe"-ed, asking: "Want to become a nun? Your beautiful hair won't be kept then."

Wen Zhengyu: "…"

Wen Li said: "Alright, I still have things to do. You first learn how to make money."

Wen Zhengyu: "…"

Ye Ling received a text from Wen Li: "My family's Xiao Yu has no interest in men or women. She's interested in leaving home to become a nun."

Ye Ling: "…" She stared at the text for a while, and replied to Wen Li with two words: "Thanks."

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