The Art of Teasing - Chapter 52
Chapter 52
Wen Zhengyu found it strange too—why was Ye Ling the only one here? The sky seemed quite early, so she checked her phone and saw it was only seven in the morning, with several missed calls from Ye Ling. She gave Ye Ling a suspicious glance, got up, and went back inside. The room held no one but her and Ye Ling; on the coffee table sat a food box, apparently breakfast Ye Ling had brought.
She turned and asked Ye Ling, "How did CEO Ye get in?"
Ye Ling said, "I knocked, you didn't answer. I called, you didn't pick up. So I contacted Wen Li, and Wen Li had the head of housekeeping open the door."
Wen Zhengyu gave a slight nod and said, "I've troubled CEO Ye." She then called Wen Jing, asking Wen Jing to drive her to the hospital.
She went to the walk-in closet to change, and when Wen Jing knocked, she set off for the hospital with Ye Ling accompanying her.
She went to a private hospital she was fairly familiar with, one with excellent medical care. She took an emergency number; after the doctor examined her, they recommended not giving an injection, prescribed her fever reducers and anti-inflammatory drugs, and told her to use physical cooling as a supplement before sending her back.
She and Ye Ling sat side by side on the back seat of the car.
The car was very quiet. In Wen Zhengyu's mind's eye, those chaotic dreams from last night surfaced again. Those dreams were as vivid as if they had really happened.
She thought of that residence of Ye Ling's—the decorated archway before the main gate, the layout and scenery of the courtyard. Apart from the absence of swirling snow and the year-round accumulated ice, everything else was so similar.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind's eye—her painting Nine Tails had no archway before the gate. None of her paintings had ever depicted that archway. The first time she drew the archway was when she was just about to open the art studio, sketching the renovation design. The archway at Ye Ling's house was virtually identical to the one in her renovation design drawing. Yet the archway at Ye Ling's house had been built at least a year or two before she produced her renovation draft.
Even if it were coincidence, this was far too coincidental.
Wen Zhengyu suppressed the surging emotions in her heart and asked, as calmly as possible, "Who designed that archway at the front of your house?"
Ye Ling hadn't expected Wen Zhengyu to suddenly ask this; she paused a beat before saying, "I did." Seeing Wen Zhengyu staring at her in astonishment, she asked, "What? Is something wrong?"
Wen Zhengyu gave a small shake of her head and said nothing more.
Dreams are dreams, reality is reality. In the dreams, the deity who dwelt on the Kunlun summit, the Nine-Tailed Fox, the phoenix—all died. Even the Kunlun Divine Mountain was only myth and legend. Dreams were merely the wellspring for her painting. If she took dreams as reality, she should be seeing a psychologist or a psychiatrist.
Wen Zhengyu turned her head to watch the stream of cars outside the window.
Ye Ling, meanwhile, turned her head to watch Wen Zhengyu. Even while ill, Wen Zhengyu still radiated a faint sense of detachment. Yet compared to usual, there was less formality and more genuine emotion showing through—at least she hadn't been calling her "CEO Ye" at every turn.
Ye Ling thought: aside from Old Master Wen, probably only painting could stir emotional responses in Wen Zhengyu. Wen Zhengyu already tended to brood; last night, running a fever, she'd still gone out onto the balcony—likely something was troubling her. Ye Ling guessed it probably had to do with the painting; otherwise Wen Zhengyu wouldn't have asked her such an odd question out of nowhere. She didn't want Wen Zhengyu to dwell on these matters while sick. Though she didn't know what was going on, she still offered an explanation about her residence: "That archway at my house was designed with reference to the courtyard style of your Nine Tails. I saw your painting at the exhibition and fell in love with it at first sight. I wanted to buy the painting then, but you wouldn't sell. By then I was about to renovate my house, so I designed the archway in the style of Nine Tails, and had the designer model the courtyard after your painting. The four characters 'Kunlun Cottage' on the archway are taken from 'Kunlun Little Sprite'."
Wen Zhengyu, hearing this, slowly turned her head to look at Ye Ling, speechless for a long moment.
Ye Ling asked, "What's the matter?"
Wen Zhengyu, somewhat chagrined and disgruntled, replied, "Nothing." That dream last night had made her link Ye Ling with the Phoenix Bird. Thinking back now, it was very likely because whenever she painted the Phoenix Bird, Ye Ling always compared herself to it. Ye Ling's answer left her both annoyed and embarrassed, and her heart felt hollow.
Her heart remained twisted all the way back to the hotel. Just as the car reached the hotel lobby entrance, she saw her grandfather's car parked ahead. Her grandfather and Second Aunt were getting out; Madam Wen Shishu was turning back to look toward her car.
Wen Zhengyu felt deeply guilty about dozing off on the balcony last night and sleeping too long. She desperately wanted to pretend she wasn't in the car, but her car had already pulled up, and she couldn't not get out. So she braced herself and approached Wen Shishu, calling softly, "Second Aunt, Grandfather." She kept one meter away from Madam Wen Shishu and over two meters from Old Master Wen.
Wen Shishu swept a glance at Ye Ling emerging from Wen Zhengyu's car, then gave Wen Zhengyu a look and asked, "So early in the morning, where did you two go? Has your cold cleared up?" As she spoke, she stepped forward and reached out to touch Wen Zhengyu's forehead.
Wen Zhengyu stepped back, dodging, and said, "It's nothing." The words left her mouth, and hearing her own hoarse, distorted voice, even she didn't believe what she said.
Wen Shishu gave a cold laugh: "What are you dodging? If you're better, why are you still wearing a mask? Come here!"
Wen Zhengyu shook her head. Facing her Second Aunt who looked ready to discipline her, she instinctively wanted to find somewhere to hide.
Madam Wen Shishu took two quick steps forward, grabbed Wen Zhengyu firmly, and placed her hand on Wen Zhengyu's forehead—it was burning hot to the touch.
Wen Zhengyu hurriedly defended herself: "We just went to the hospital." The moment she spoke, her throat hurt, and she had an urge to cough, but she didn't want to cough in front of her Second Aunt, so she held it in.
Ye Ling stepped forward and greeted Old Master Wen and Wen Shishu.
Wen Shishu asked, "Xiao Yezi, so early?" Her gaze traveled between Ye Ling and Wen Zhengyu. Ye Ling had ridden in Wen Zhengyu's car; clearly the two had gone out together. The way they came and went as a pair—if she said they weren't a couple, she wouldn't believe it herself.
Ye Ling smiled and replied, "Not too early." She then said, "I'll take Zhengyu up to rest first." Her easy, natural familiarity showed she hardly considered herself an outsider.
Wen Zhengyu, seeing her Second Aunt's expression, knew she was jumping to conclusions again, but there was no way to explain. She said, "Grandfather, Second Aunt, I'm going back to my room." She and Ye Ling went upstairs together to the hotel suite.
The breakfast Ye Ling had brought had long gone cold, so she called the hotel's dining department and ordered breakfast again.
Wen Zhengyu lacked appetite and had no desire to eat. But Ye Ling hadn't had breakfast, so she forced herself to accompany her with a little plain congee and some pastries.
After breakfast, Ye Ling kept an eye on the clock as the doctor ordered, waited until the right time for Wen Zhengyu to take her medicine, and only then took her leave. Before going, she made a point of saying, "Rest well. If you have worries, you can vent to me—but don't go out to the balcony to catch the wind again. Be careful not to worsen your illness."
Wen Zhengyu, whose heart was already tormented by illness and dreams, felt even more suffocated. She said coolly, "I dreamed of you last night."
Ye Ling immediately broke into a brilliant smile, asking with delighted surprise, "I never thought Zhengyu would actually dream of me. What did you dream?"
Wen Zhengyu said, "I dreamed you fell into a volcano and burned to ash."
Ye Ling's smile froze on her face for a second, then grew even wider as she said, "It must have been to save you."
Wen Zhengyu: "..."
Ye Ling asked, "Was it really?"
Wen Zhengyu pressed her forehead, silently cursing her own loose tongue. She reminded her, "CEO Ye, you have things to do."
Ye Ling said, "Mm, then I'll come back this afternoon." She was beaming as if she'd picked up money, full of delight as she headed for the door. When she reached the doorway, she turned back and added, "Zhengyu, see, I even fell into a volcano to save you and burned to ash. From now on, just call me by name—don't always call me CEO Ye, CEO Ye. It sounds so distant."
Wen Zhengyu really wanted to reply, "We're not that close." But she couldn't say that without feeling it was against her conscience. She walked to the door, pushed Ye Ling—who was holding onto the doorframe, reluctant to leave—out, then shut the door and locked it.
Ye Ling, unceremoniously shoved out by Wen Zhengyu, felt her mood lift even higher.
After seeing Ye Ling off, Wen Zhengyu called Wen Shishu to tell her she'd just finished breakfast and needed to catch up on sleep, that she wouldn't get up for lunch, then collapsed onto the bed and buried herself in deep sleep.
She slept until dusk before waking.
Maybe it was from taking the fever reducers—she had slept drenched in sweat, and when she woke, her hair was damp. But her body wasn't as burning hot anymore; the fever had subsided considerably.
She went to take a shower, then wrapped in a bath towel, stood before the vanity to dry her hair. Just as she was about to pick up the hair dryer, she suddenly heard sounds from the sitting room.
Wen Zhengyu thought it was her Second Aunt coming up to check on her, or waiting for her to wake up and eat. She opened the door and called, "Second Aunt, let me finish drying my hair first—" She stopped mid-sentence, seeing the person sitting on the sofa was actually Ye Ling. She hadn't expected Ye Ling to be here again.
On the coffee table in front of Ye Ling were tea cakes, her favorite.
Wen Zhengyu froze for a moment before remembering—Ye Ling had a room key card, and had said she'd come in the afternoon.
Ye Ling, hearing the sound in the room, knew Wen Zhengyu was awake, and even heard the sound of the shower running. But she hadn't expected Wen Zhengyu to suddenly open the door wrapped in a bath towel. She stared at Wen Zhengyu in shock, her gaze involuntarily sweeping over Wen Zhengyu's chest, shoulders, and collarbone. Only then did she realize her behavior was far too abrupt and improper, and she quickly averted her eyes.
Yet her heartbeat had quickened at the alluring, seductive sight just now, and even her face burned. If it were anyone else, she could be completely composed, but facing Wen Zhengyu, composure was truly beyond her.
Wen Zhengyu gave the suddenly blushing Ye Ling a puzzled glance, then went back to continue drying her hair.
A knock sounded at the door.
Ye Ling rose to answer it.
Wen Shishu entered and asked, "Where's Xiao Yu? Still asleep?" As she spoke, she noticed Ye Ling's face was a little red, and her expression seemed slightly uneasy.
Ye Ling said, "She's awake, drying her hair."
Wen Shishu replied with an "Oh," giving Ye Ling a suspicious look, then followed the sound of the hair dryer to the bathroom, where she saw her niece wrapped in a bath towel drying her hair. She looked at Wen Zhengyu, then at Ye Ling. From the scene in front of her, she strongly suspected the two of them had been up to something, but Wen Zhengyu was sick and didn't seem in any state for that.
Ye Ling noticed the way Wen Shishu's gaze was scanning back and forth, and knew Wen Shishu had gotten the wrong idea, but it was hard to explain. So she simply said nothing, turned to pour herself a glass of water, and pretended to drink to dispel the awkwardness.
This behavior, in Wen Shishu's eyes, became proof of a guilty conscience. Wen Shishu thought, "So something really did happen?" She said to Wen Zhengyu, "You should also pay more attention to your health."
Without turning her head, Wen Zhengyu responded with an "Mm," and said, "The fever has gone down a lot."
Wen Shishu thought, "Who's talking about that?" She said to Wen Zhengyu, "You're still running a fever." She cast a meaningful glance at Ye Ling.
Ye Ling: "..." She was speechless. She had merely looked a couple of extra times—where had Wen Shishu's mind gone?
Wen Zhengyu turned to let her Second Aunt feel her forehead, saying, "Touch it—the fever really has gone down a lot."
She's not getting the hint! Wen Shishu gave Wen Zhengyu an exasperated look and said, "Alright, once you've dried your hair, come eat. Xiao Yezi, you join us." She paused, then added, "You two could also stand to be a little more mindful of appearances." With a heart full of frustration, she left.
Wen Zhengyu was thoroughly confused. Why couldn't she understand her Second Aunt's words today?
Comments
Post a Comment