The Art of Teasing - Chapter 43
Chapter 43
Having received Ye Ling's birthday banquet invitation, Wen Zhengyu had to consider how to give Ye Ling a birthday gift.
For most banquets, a red envelope would suffice, but that was only suitable for ordinary social connections. For close relationships, a red envelope was inappropriate; one had to select a gift based on the recipient's preferences.
Ye Ling's preferences were something she really couldn't quite grasp. She preferred the feeling of a exemplary person's friendship is as pure as water, and maintained this kind of relationship with Ye Ling as well. Their personal bond wasn't deep, and she knew very little about Ye Ling's private affairs. Her impression of Ye Ling was restrained, meticulous, possessing a composed demeanor of planning before acting. As for Ye Ling's interests and hobbies, apart from liking her paintings and saying "Zhengyu, I really like it," there seemed to be nothing else.
Wen Zhengyu knew that Ye Ling truly liked her and her paintings—the kind of liking that came from the bottom of her heart.
This wasn't something Ye Ling did or said to show her affection; it was what showed in her eyes when she looked at Wen Zhengyu.
Ye Ling always watched her silently, quiet and without a word, her eyes conveying the utmost tenderness. Many times, when Wen Zhengyu looked into Ye Ling's eyes while Ye Ling was watching her, she would get the illusion that Ye Ling was gazing at the entire world.
Wen Zhengyu often suspected she was being overly sentimental, yet all of Ye Ling's unusual behavior could only be explained by her liking her.
This feeling was neither good nor bad.
She didn't want to get too deeply entangled with Ye Ling, but she wasn't made of stone; she couldn't remain completely indifferent.
Startled to realize her mind had wandered again to the matter of Ye Ling liking her, Wen Zhengyu immediately pulled her thoughts back, her ears heating up.
She hurriedly focused on what gift to give Ye Ling.
She decided to give Ye Ling a bracelet, so Ye Ling could take off the amber bead bracelet. Ye Ling wore professional attire year-round, and neither her clothing nor her temperament, nor the color scheme, matched the bead bracelet.
From her personal preferences, she liked jade more, but the types of wrist accessories that could match professional attire were limited. She bought a relatively simple white gold diamond bracelet—a bit tacky, and slightly expensive.
This kind of small accessory was more suitable to give to a lover or spouse; giving it to a friend or business partner was somewhat inappropriate. But nothing Ye Ling wore was cheap; even a casually plucked button would be worth some money. If the gift was too cheap, she couldn't bring herself to give it, and Ye Ling couldn't wear it. Giving an expensive gift—very few people would give a friend a bracelet worth over a hundred thousand yuan, a birthday gift brimming with ambiguous undertones.
Wen Zhengyu felt that if she gave the bracelet to Ye Ling, even she herself would think she had feelings for Ye Ling.
After buying the bracelet, Wen Zhengyu stared at it, troubled. She couldn't bring herself to give it. Heaven knows, she had no feelings for Ye Ling!
If she didn't give the bracelet, Ye Ling could continue wearing the amber bead bracelet every day, flaunting it in front of her.
Wen Zhengyu gritted her teeth and decided to give the bracelet after all. Let Ye Ling think whatever she wanted.
Ye Ling's birthday banquet was an evening affair.
Wen Zhengyu wasn't sure which friends Ye Ling had invited, or whether there would be any heavy drinkers among them.
After work, she first accompanied the old gentleman for dinner, filling her own stomach a bit to avoid drinking on an empty stomach and harming her stomach lining. Only then did she return to her room to change and attend the banquet.
For this kind of small private gathering, dressing too casually or too formally was inappropriate. Winter required fussing over how to layer clothes, but summer was simpler—a small cocktail dress paired with some jewelry for decoration, light makeup, and she could head out.
She had many social engagements and often had to drink a bit, so it wasn't convenient for her to drive herself. In social interactions, attire and vehicle were one's face. It wasn't quite appropriate for her to keep borrowing Wen Li's car or renting Li Bin's. She calculated her financial situation, felt she could afford it, and bought a Cayenne.
The old gentleman, seeing she was always out socializing, worried about her safety, and contacted a female bodyguard for her.
The bodyguard's surname was Wen, called Wen Jing. After retiring from the special forces, she joined a bodyguard company. Wen Jing's job was a twenty-four-hour arrangement, having to accompany Wen Zhengyu every day with no days off and no personal time, so the cost of hiring her was extremely high. In terms of salary, Wen Zhengyu was completely crushed by Wen Jing. Fortunately, Wen Zhengyu still had dividends from the studio, as well as occasional extra income and small investments she could earn from, barely managing to cover the costs. For the shortfall she couldn't make up, she could only seek support from the old gentleman.
The seven hundred thousand she borrowed from Ye Ling still hadn't been repaid. She had paid the interest, but the principal wasn't due until the end of the year. She had invested that money with Wen Li, striving to earn back the several hundred thousand in interest she had paid, so that when the loan came due at year's end, she could repay Ye Ling and redeem her bangle.
Ye Ling had booked a rather elegant private dining restaurant.
The restaurant wasn't large—a three-story small building, an independent little courtyard with grey tiles and blue bricks. Stepping into the courtyard, there was a small bridge in the center, to the left a rockery with flowing water, a leisurely little water wheel creaking as it turned; to the right, a rockery and covered corridor, reflected against elegant green bamboo.
Dong Yuan stood at the courtyard entrance. Seeing Wen Zhengyu arrive, he went to greet her and ushered her upstairs.
What surprised Wen Zhengyu slightly was that Ye Ling had actually booked the small terrace for the banquet.
July was precisely thunderstorm season, and being outdoors made it easy to get drenched by the rain.
Fortunately, the restaurant owners had considered this, erecting a glass roof with curtains for shade and rain protection, decorated with flowers and plants—very secluded and quiet.
However, this kind of place was suited for two people dining quietly. For a banquet, it was a bit too small.
Wen Zhengyu had timed her arrival precisely and hadn't expected that when she arrived, only Ye Ling was there. She swept her gaze across the banquet table on the small terrace and immediately felt something wasn't right.
A small four-person table, upon which sat a vintage-style lantern, two sets of tableware, a menu, and a boxed birthday cake. Judging by the size of the box, Wen Zhengyu estimated the cake was only about ten inches in diameter.
Wen Zhengyu instantly understood. So Ye Ling's birthday banquet had only invited her; this was a birthday banquet for just the two of them. If one had to say there was anyone else, it was only Dong Yuan...
Wen Zhengyu turned around and discovered Dong Yuan had already silently disappeared.
She walked to the dining table.
Ye Ling stood up, pulled out a chair for her, and invited her to sit.
After sitting down, Wen Zhengyu gave Ye Ling a meaningful half-smile and said, "CEO Ye is in quite the mood." She secretly gritted her teeth. This Ye Ling, as excessive as ever. A birthday banquet with only her invited, yet a formal invitation was sent. A simple little banquet, not many people, relatively quiet. Ye Ling really hadn't lied.
Ye Ling laughed softly as she sat down, handed the menu to Wen Zhengyu, and said, "Two people, eating a quiet meal together, is quite nice. More people only make it noisy."
Wen Zhengyu couldn't refute Ye Ling's words; she could only sigh inwardly: The Sima Zhao heart is known to all. She lowered her head to order.
The two of them ate lunch together at least half the time each month. Sun Yuan had to deliver food to them almost every day. They were very familiar with each other's tastes. Ye Ling wasn't particularly picky—she could eat Northeastern cuisine, Sichuan cuisine, Cantonese cuisine, Hunan cuisine—specifically, anything as long as the dishes didn't have sugar or wheat-based foods like buns, steamed bread, and dumplings.
Wen Zhengyu's diet was light, preferring a little sugar in dishes for a faint sweetness. This kind of flavor was something she liked, but it was the type Ye Ling disliked most. Ye Ling wouldn't say she disliked it; only when Wen Zhengyu wasn't at the studio for lunch would she call Sun Yuan and ask her not to add sugar to the dishes. After one or two times, as long as Wen Zhengyu's lunch didn't include dishes with sugar, Sun Yuan automatically switched to dishes without sugar. Over time, Wen Zhengyu figured it out. She mischievously ordered dishes with sugar for several consecutive days. After Ye Ling ate them for a week straight, she brought Lao Gan Ma chili sauce to the table.
Wen Zhengyu ordered dishes according to Ye Ling's taste and also ordered a bottle of red wine.
It was Ye Ling's birthday, and she had specifically sent her an invitation to come. No matter what, a small celebration was in order.
Wen Zhengyu rather envied other people's birthdays. Other people's birthdays—the day of birth, the day the family welcomed new life, brimming with joy everywhere. Her birthday was the anniversary of her mother's death. As a motherless child, even with grandparents who loved and cherished her, she still missed her mother when she was little. Birthdays were actually not very happy occasions. At first, they were unhappy because everyone else had a mother to spend their birthday with, and she didn't. After learning about what happened to her mother, birthdays became painful. Later, her grandparents started celebrating her birthday a day later, telling her that her life was a continuation of her mother's life, and that if she was well, her mother would be happy too. What continued was the genes; life, everyone only got once. Her mother married her father, became pregnant with her, and paid with her life. So she rather envied those who could lightly and happily enjoy their birthdays.
Wen Zhengyu took out the birthday gift she had prepared for Ye Ling from her bag, placed it in front of Ye Ling, and said, "Happy birthday."
Ye Ling smiled softly and said, "Thank you." Looking at the small, beautifully wrapped gift box before her, she asked with a touch of curiosity, "What is it?"
Wen Zhengyu, slightly embarrassed, said, "Open it when you get back." She very much did not want Ye Ling to misunderstand in her presence that she had feelings for her.
Ye Ling smiled and slowly unwrapped the packaging, taking out the gift. When she saw it was a bracelet, the smile in her eyes deepened. She didn't take off the eye-catching amber bead bracelet from her wrist, but instead put the bracelet on her other wrist.
Amber bead bracelet on the left hand, white gold diamond bracelet on the right—this style, to borrow an internet catchphrase, was an eyesore.
Wen Zhengyu sincerely and earnestly suggested, "CEO Ye, you could take off the amber bead bracelet."
Ye Ling said, "A gift from my beloved; I can't bear to take it off."
Wen Zhengyu: "..."
Ye Ling preened, bringing both hands in front of Wen Zhengyu, lining up the amber bead bracelet and the bracelet on her wrists side by side, and asked Wen Zhengyu, "How is it? Does it look good?"
Wen Zhengyu, unable to endure it any longer, softly spit out a single word: "Ugly."
Ye Ling made an "mm" sound and said, "Then the person who picked the gift must have questionable taste."
Wen Zhengyu: "..."
The smile in Ye Ling's eyes was impossible to hide. Laughing, she said, "But I like it."
Wen Zhengyu felt this meal was impossible to eat. She very much wanted to say: "Ye Ling, why don't we quickly cut the cake? We can leave as soon as we're done eating."
Ye Ling carefully took off the amber bead bracelet, meticulously put it away, and then put the bracelet from her right hand onto her left. She shook the bracelet strung on her left wrist and asked Wen Zhengyu, "How about I wear this bracelet from now on?"
Wen Zhengyu thought to herself: Not good. She silently looked at Ye Ling, her expression saying: What do you think?
Ye Ling said, "Not good, huh?" She said with a straight face, "I also think wearing the amber bead bracelet is more suitable."
Wen Zhengyu softly said, "The bracelet is just fine."
Ye Ling let out a soft laugh and raised her head. Her rippling gaze turned to Wen Zhengyu as she gently said, "Zhengyu, thank you."
Perhaps because Ye Ling's gaze was too gentle and alluring, like the shimmering waters of a March spring, or perhaps because her voice was beautiful, Wen Zhengyu's heart actually trembled in response. The feeling was much like having a zither in her heart, someone gently plucking a string, producing a resonant, vibrating note.
Wen Zhengyu couldn't help but feel a bit nervous and a bit awkward, not daring to look at Ye Ling, who was gazing at her with a smile.
Comments
Post a Comment