The Art of Teasing - Chapter 51

Chapter 51

After Wen Zhengyu finished the sweet soup, Ye Ling placed the soup bowl and spoon back into the food container and said, "I'll head back now. I'll come again tomorrow. Rest well and recover soon. If you need anything, call me—I'll be on call whenever you need me."

Wen Zhengyu pulled out a tissue to wipe the corner of her mouth, stood up, and said, "CEO Ye, take care. I won't see you out then."

Ye Ling chuckled softly and nodded gently. "Alright." She added, "Be sure to rest well, don't overwork yourself."

Perhaps because Ye Ling's tone was too gentle, Wen Zhengyu almost thought she was about to add something like "I'd be heartbroken."

She escorted Ye Ling to the bedroom door and said, "Bye."

Ye Ling bid her a quiet farewell, then called out toward Wen Shishu, "Aunt Wen, I'm off. I'll come again tomorrow."

Wen Shishu heard this and smiled, asking with a laugh, "Xiao Yezi, aren't you busy?"

Ye Ling replied half-jokingly, half-seriously, "No matter how busy, I still have to come."

Wen Shishu put down the magazine in her hands, stood up, and said, "Let me see you out on behalf of my little Yu'er."

Ye Ling quickly said, "No, please don't trouble yourself."

Wen Zhengyu saw her second aunt's posture and immediately sensed that her aunt was about to roll up her sleeves and deal with Ye Ling. She hurriedly called out, "Second Aunt, there's no need to see her off." She knew perfectly well what her second aunt wanted to discuss with Ye Ling. It was something utterly unfounded and would only make things awkward.

Ye Ling said, "Goodbye, Aunt Wen. Zhengyu, rest well." Her face showed no trace of abnormality, but her steps were swift as she left directly.

Wen Zhengyu looked at her second aunt suspiciously.

Ms. Wen Shishu gave Wen Zhengyu a half-smile. She said, "If you still have the energy, sit with me for a while."

Wen Zhengyu was burning with fever and dizzy. She really wanted to say, "I don't have the energy." But seeing her aunt's expression, she didn't know if it was gossipy curiosity or her chronic worrywart tendencies kicking in. She said, "I'll go to the bathroom." After coming out, she grabbed an ice pack, went to the living room, sat on the sofa, and pressed the ice pack to her forehead, looking like she had given up resisting. She said, "Go ahead, interrogate me."

Wen Shishu said, "You're quite self-aware."

Wen Zhengyu replied, "What else? Interrogating a prisoner while she's sick." She turned to look at Wen Shishu and said, "Last night, you stole all my blankets. I went to get a woolen blanket, and you snatched it and hugged it tightly in your arms. I tugged several times but couldn't pull it out."

Wen Shishu made an "Oh" sound and said, "So you're saying this cold is my fault?"

Wen Zhengyu said, "When are you going to change that habit of always stealing the blankets in your sleep?"

Wen Shishu reached out and gently pinched Wen Zhengyu's ear, saying, "Now you're lecturing me." She felt Wen Zhengyu's ear burning hot and said, "Alright, go to bed. We'll settle accounts another day."

Wen Zhengyu knew what her second aunt wanted to ask. She said, "I don't have that kind of interest in Ye Ling."

Wen Shishu made a "tss" sound and asked, "Then you've even given her the use of our family chef?"

Wen Zhengyu said, "She's been good to me, I have to repay her kindness. During the hardest times for the family, she extended a helping hand. The reason the art studio has been able to run smoothly without anyone causing trouble is partly because she has been sitting in to protect it."

Wen Shishu asked Wen Zhengyu, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Wen Zhengyu knew that Wen Shishu was referring to the incident where the Old Master was swindled. She said, "I wasn't planning to hide it from you. I just wanted to see if I could handle it myself first. Having you come all the way back would be a hassle, and you know how much the Old Master cares about face." Mentioning the Old Master's obsession with face—now she knew exactly where her father's pride came from.

Wen Shishu said, "How about you consider moving to my place?"

Wen Zhengyu shook her head. "Occasionally going to your place for a visit or vacation is fine, but if I moved there, neither I nor the Old Master would adapt to the climate."

Wen Shishu saw that Wen Zhengyu was drowsy, so she said, "Fine, go to sleep." She helped Wen Zhengyu to bed and tucked her in.

Once lying down, Wen Zhengyu called out, "Second Aunt," and asked, "Are you very familiar with Ye Ling?"

Wen Shishu said, "Lao Kang has some dealings with Ye Zhan."

When Wen Zhengyu heard it was her uncle-in-law having dealings with Ye Zhan, she didn't ask further. Her uncle-in-law was in politics, a mid-level Beijing official. Her aunt and uncle had gotten a divorce and didn't live together, but with her cousin's family of three as a bond and some business entanglements, her aunt and uncle's relationship was still quite close.

She closed her eyes and soon fell asleep again.

Her head spun, and even in sleep, she felt groggy and disoriented.

Opening her eyes and closing them, inside the dream and outside, felt like two completely different worlds.

This time, in her dream, she was no longer the little sprite, but herself.

It was a blood sea flowing like molten lava.

Crimson blood drifted with white bones. The bones bobbed up and down with the surge of the blood water.

She climbed down the rocks burned red by flames, walking into the blood sea.

The blood water was scalding, making her sweat profusely.

Step by step, as she moved forward, she got farther and farther from shore, until half her body was submerged in the blood.

"Zhengyu." A familiar call rang out from behind her.

She turned and saw Ye Ling standing on the shore, reaching out a hand as if to pull her to safety.

Ye Ling's hand stretched before her, within reach. Her hand was fair and slender, beautiful like a pianist's. Ye Ling didn't like keeping her nails long; her fingertips were rounded like pearls and jade.

"Zhengyu, come up."

She raised her head to meet Ye Ling's eyes, which were filled with urgency and concern. Ye Ling asked her, "Why are you walking into the blood sea?"

Wen Zhengyu didn't know.

Ye Ling spoke again: "Come up, let me pull you."

Wen Zhengyu shook her head. She didn't want to hold anyone's hand, nor did she want to take Ye Ling's hand. She was very tired and weary; right now, she just wanted to lie back down in the blood sea and sleep.

Ye Ling continued to call her: "Zhengyu."

Wen Zhengyu slowly turned around and walked toward the deeper part of the blood sea. The blood water gradually rose past her waist, then her chest.

Suddenly, there was the sound of someone falling into water behind her.

She turned and saw Ye Ling had jumped into the blood sea. The blood sea turned into flames and instantly set Ye Ling ablaze.

Bathed in fire, Ye Ling shouted at her, "Zhengyu, get to shore!"

She watched as Ye Ling's hair and skin were swept away by the tongues of flame, turning to ash and scattering. Yet Ye Ling still stretched out a hand, as if trying to grab her and pull her ashore. She saw that beautiful hand burned bit by bit in the fire, turning to ash, the burning bone dust drifting in all directions.

Soon after, Ye Ling's entire body was reduced to ash, becoming a ball of flame.

The flame cooled down.

Everything around grew cold as well.

It became a dead silence.

Only coldness remained.

She was back in the Bottomless Abyss, guarding the withered bones of a phoenix bird turned to ash.

In the sky, snow began to fall, and she shivered from the cold.

Goose-feather snowflakes drifted down thick and fast, shrouding heaven, earth, mountains and rivers all in the color of snow.

Under the frozen qionghua tree, a young phoenix bird was wailing. The flames on its body had been extinguished by the heavy snow. It looked very pitiful. She walked over and saw that it had wounds on its body—burns caused by heavenly fire. Such a small bird, not yet old enough to undergo a heavenly tribulation. Its injuries must have been caused by some powerful creature drawing down heavenly fire.

She scooped up the young phoenix in her arms, holding it close, and carried it back to her dwelling.

At the peak of Kunlun, where snow lay year-round, she had lived for many, many years. For all those years, she had only herself, accompanied by a fifteen-stringed zither.

Year after year, age after age.

The phoenix bird grew up.

It became the sovereign of all birds.

Atop the eternally snow-covered Kunlun peak, ten thousand birds came to pay homage year-round. Across the vast expanse of heaven and earth, flocks of birds soared in formation, flying from extremely distant places, traversing countless mountains and rivers, coming to bow before the phoenix bird and receive its blessings and divine gifts.

Because of these birds, the lonely Kunlun peak was filled with vibrant life.

In front of her door grew a parasol tree where the phoenix perched.

Beneath the tree, she played the zither.

Wutong flowers drifted down one by one.

Then a nine-tailed fox came and made its home next to hers, becoming her neighbor.

She played the zither, the phoenix bird raised its head and sang, drawing countless birds, and the nine-tailed fox listened to the melody, matching its steps. Occasionally, when the mood struck, it would rise and dance. Dressed in a white fox-fur cloak, its nine long tails trailing behind, it floated amid the sky full of snowflakes—a sight of incomparable beauty.

Many, many more years passed, and the parasol tree where the phoenix perched became an old tree.

Her heavenly tribulation arrived.

If she survived the tribulation, she would live another life.

If she failed, she would perish, body and Dao extinguished, re-entering the cycle of reincarnation.

The nine-tailed fox said to her, "I will wait for your return."

The phoenix bird said, "I will wait for you for three years. If you do not return after three years, I will surely lead ten thousand birds to battle the heavens, to the death, without cessation."

---

Wen Zhengyu woke with a start from her dream. She opened her eyes to pitch darkness.

That dream still hovered in her mind, lingering and refusing to fade.

Unable to sleep, Wen Zhengyu got out of bed, went to the living room, and leaned against the sofa.

The nine-tailed fox—it turns out it was waiting for that deity on the Kunlun peak.

The phoenix bird's battle against the heavens was also for her.

In the dream, she was that deity.

Wen Zhengyu felt she had immersed herself too deeply in her painting, becoming possessed. Every time she dreamed, she had trouble distinguishing dreams from reality. Perhaps because the dreams were so clear and vivid, she always connected them to reality. Yet, dreams were illusory and ephemeral—once awake, there was nothing left. Even if she painted out the dreamscapes, creatures, and stories, they were merely paint on paper.

Wen Zhengyu suddenly felt a bit sorrowful. She didn't know whether it was for the dreams she could not hold onto, or for the old friends and companions who passed away in the dream. She thought, probably it was because she was ill and had a bad dream, and her mood was low.

She got up, took the medicine prescribed by Dr. Shen, opened a bottle of mineral water and took the medicine, then noticed the insulated food container on the dining table. She opened it and saw it was meat porridge, but she had no appetite, so she closed it again.

She pushed open the French windows and gazed at the city night sky, where rain was falling.

The wind carried a damp rainy chill, blowing cool and refreshing against her skin, and it sobered her up a great deal. Stimulated by the cold wind, she sneezed several times in a row. She hurried back inside to find a blanket and draped it over herself.

The house was very quiet, with not a sound.

She didn't feel much like sleeping, so she returned to the balcony and lay down on the rattan chair, telling herself not to think about the dream anymore, to relax her thoughts, to relax.

Before long, drowsiness washed over her. Lazy and unwilling to move, she thought she'd just take a nap and then get up and go inside later.

She had another dream. This time, she dreamed she was walking through the Uninterrupted Hell. One moment it was an icy snow domain, the next a mountain of blades and a sea of fire.

In the icy snow domain, the cold wind howled, freezing her entire body.

On the mountain of blades and in the sea of fire, she was burned until her whole body was scalding, the blades cutting her feet until blood dripped.

Alternating between ice and heat, she walked between the snowy mountains and the fiery sea. Time seemed endlessly long as she passed through summer heat and winter cold, but no matter how she walked, she couldn't reach the end.

"Zhengyu…"

Ye Ling was calling her again.

Wen Zhengyu suddenly felt that Ye Ling was truly a haunting presence.

"Zhengyu."

The voice sounded right by her ear. Then, a cool hand pressed against her forehead. She opened her eyes. Probably because she had slept too long and dreamed all night, her vision was blurry. It took a while before she could see clearly—it really was Ye Ling.

She felt puzzled. How had Ye Ling come here? How had she gotten in?

Then she noticed it was already daylight.

Only then did Wen Zhengyu realize she had overslept a bit. Her head felt too heavy to lift, and she immediately understood her illness had worsened.

Ye Ling went back inside, found Wen Zhengyu's phone, brought it to her, pressed Wen Zhengyu's thumb to unlock it, and asked, "How did you end up sleeping out here?"

Wen Zhengyu said, "I woke in the middle of the night and came out for some air. I didn't expect that just dozing off would make me oversleep." As she spoke, she felt her voice was so hoarse it didn't even sound like her own, terribly unpleasant. The stabbing pain in her throat made her cough a few times.

Ye Ling patted her back to help her breathe, then called Dong Yuan and told him to come up. After hanging up, she said to Wen Zhengyu, "I'll take you to the hospital."

Wen Zhengyu didn't refuse. She said, "Sorry to trouble you, CEO Ye."

Ye Ling asked, "How is it that you're all by yourself here? No one to take care of you?"

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