The Art of Teasing - Chapter 71

Chapter 71

Wen Zhengyu finished dinner quite happily, then sat with Ye Ling and accompanied Old Master Lian and the Old Madam for a while longer. Only when it was time for the two elderly to retire for the night did they take their leave, each getting into their own car to go home.

In the morning, after Wen Zhengyu had finished her work at the art studio, she went to the Old Madam's place for her lesson. She first submitted the assignment the Old Madam had assigned, and after the Old Madam had reviewed it and closed her laptop, she asked, "Yu'er, is there something going on between you and Ye Ling?"

Wen Zhengyu froze momentarily, then immediately understood what the Old Madam was asking about.

When the Old Madam brought this up, Wen Zhengyu was both surprised and not surprised. Surprised, because she hadn't expected the Old Madam to ask. Not surprised, because Ye Ling had been far too obvious — even her Second Aunt and Wen Li both thought there was something between her and Ye Ling.

The Old Madam gazed at her with a calm expression, those eyes fixed on her full of inquiry and worry.

Wen Zhengyu herself couldn't quite say clearly whether anything had actually happened between her and Ye Ling. She didn't know how to tell the Old Madam, and didn't want the Old Madam to worry, so she simply recounted everything that had happened between her and Ye Ling, exactly as it was.

The Old Madam listened, nodded, and asked, "Then, do you have feelings for her?"

Wen Zhengyu said, "Being with Ye Ling is very comfortable. When I'm with her, I don't have to worry about her disturbing me. I can still do the things I enjoy or want to do."

The Old Madam said, "Some people are one way when they're pursuing you, and another way entirely once they've won you. Take Wen... Wen Shiyi, for example. When he was pursuing your mother back then, he was even more attentive than Ye Ling..." The Old Madam stopped there and didn't continue.

Wen Zhengyu understood the Old Madam's concern. On other points, she dared not say for certain, but at least on this one, she trusted Ye Ling. She said, "I haven't decided yet whether I want to be with Ye Ling. I just feel she's quite wonderful, and I could try accepting it and see how it goes."

The Old Madam asked, surprised, "Try accepting it?" She'd already been brought before her, already brought home for dinner, and she still hadn't decided whether she wanted to be with her?

Wen Zhengyu answered honestly, "In the past, I always thought a quiet, solitary life was quite nice. I didn't like having other people intrude into my life, didn't like being disturbed. But being with Ye Ling, being around her, is just... nice. If I want to daydream, I daydream. When I don't feel like paying attention to her, she... she just sits quietly beside me... resting, and when it's time to go attend to her work, she leaves."

The Old Madam understood. These two were compatible in temperament, and had found a way of being together that suited each of them. She also understood at the same time that this young granddaughter of hers had never once considered finding a partner and getting married. About to turn twenty-eight and still hadn't ever been in a relationship — it was worrisome indeed.

As for Ye Ling, she was truly dissatisfied. Speaking solely of Ye Ling as an individual, seeing where she was today, in terms of ability and capability, she was naturally not lacking. But no matter how formidable a person is, they can't withstand being dragged down by their family. Even a rotting boat still has a few sound nails left. That Old Man Ye had spent decades building his network, and those sons of his were in the prime of their lives. Ye Ling and her brother wanted to topple those uncles — never mind whether they could win, just the internal friction alone would be enough to keep them tied up. Ye Ling was so attentive to Wen Zhengyu, and those uncles of hers were hardly scrupulous people. If they decided to stir up something foul, whether Yu'er would be implicated was another matter entirely.

The Old Madam looked at Wen Zhengyu for a long time, then sighed heavily and said, "You... you really are worrisome." Choosing someone utterly destitute and ordinary would be better than choosing Ye Ling. She sighed again and added, "Fine. Another day, have Ye Ling come over for a meal. I'll have a talk with her."

Wen Zhengyu pressed her hand to her forehead, deeply embarrassed, and said, "Grandmother, I still haven't decided yet, and we haven't progressed to that stage either. You... isn't this..."

The Old Madam said, "While it still hasn't reached that stage, if it's not suitable, better to end it early, so it's done with."

Wen Zhengyu was left speechless by the Old Madam, feeling a bit stifled in her heart, yet she couldn't quite say why she felt stifled. She answered glumly: "Oh."

Seeing Wen Zhengyu like this made the Old Madam worry even more.

Wen Zhengyu didn't want the Old Madam, at her advanced age, to still be fretting over her. She hesitated and said, "Then, how about... I... with... Ye Ling... just... let it go?" Suppressing the faint emotion in her heart, she said hesitantly, "If something really does develop between us, and our lives become deeply intertwined, it would be hard to avoid some friction or arguments, the kind of vexing matters."

The Old Madam instantly grew angry. She couldn't conceal her fury and demanded, "Can't you just be decisive about something?"

Wen Zhengyu: "..." She froze for a second, then said, "Then I'll call her right now..." Halfway through her words, the Old Madam raised her hand and swung it toward her.

Wen Zhengyu hadn't expected the Old Madam to suddenly get angry and strike someone. She was so frightened that her face instantly went pale. She looked at her grandmother, full of shock, completely at a loss.

The Old Madam's hand stopped in midair and withdrew. She scolded angrily, "Out! Out with you!"

Wen Zhengyu was worried the Old Madam was too worked up. She called out, "Grandmother..."

The Old Madam saw that Wen Zhengyu had been badly frightened and said, "I haven't even laid a hand on you yet."

Wen Zhengyu weakly retorted, "I was only ever hit once, by Wen Shiyi." Seeing that she was about to be hit, of course she was scared.

The Old Madam's voice immediately rose several notches: "He hit you?"

Wen Zhengyu was startled again and said, "That was something from when I was little." She saw that the Old Madam was angered and hurriedly stepped forward to rub the Old Madam's back to soothe her, saying, "If you want to be angry, scold me. Don't let it upset you." As she spoke, she saw the Old Madam look up at her again, that gaze very sharp. She didn't quite dare look the Old Madam in the eye, so she averted her gaze and focused intently on rubbing her back to calm her down.

The Old Madam sighed heavily and said, "In a few days, have Ye Ling come over for dinner. As for the rest, you figure it out yourself."

Wen Zhengyu was thoroughly confused by the Old Madam. She asked, "Are you opposing this or not opposing it?"

The Old Madam was so exasperated by Wen Zhengyu that she wanted to hit her again. She said, "You don't even have your own mind made up, so you tell me — should I oppose it, or should I not oppose it?"

Wen Zhengyu said, "Uh, I still haven't decided whether I want to be with her. Saying all this now seems a bit premature."

The Old Madam waved her hand, telling Wen Zhengyu to leave. She really didn't want to talk to this child anymore right now.

Wen Zhengyu saw that the Old Madam's mood still wasn't settled and continued rubbing her back, deciding it was best to stop talking and not anger her further. Whatever the Old Madam said, that's what it would be. She herself felt quite aggrieved too. The Old Madam herself hadn't even decided whether to oppose it, yet here she was putting her on the spot — when she herself was still wrestling with whether she should have something more with Ye Ling.

After a while, the Old Madam couldn't help herself and said to her, "If you like her, then be with her. If you don't, just refuse. How simple a matter is that? But you, dragging your feet like this — if it were someone with a bad temper, they'd have hit you long ago. Back in the day, when I took a fancy to your grandfather, I just asked him if he was willing to marry me. He hemmed and hawed, so I gave him a few punches, and he turned right around and came to propose."

Wen Zhengyu: "..."

The Old Madam, seeing Wen Zhengyu like this, no longer expected her to go invite Ye Ling over. She picked up the landline phone beside her, called Lian Xin, and told him to arrange a dinner with Ye Ling on her behalf. Right now, looking at Wen Zhengyu irritated her, and she didn't want to deal with her. She assigned Wen Zhengyu a task — sending her to do a warehouse inventory — and thus dismissed her.

Wen Zhengyu was worried the Old Madam was still upset, so before leaving, she went to ask Old Master Lian to help soothe the Old Madam.

Old Master Lian first asked Wen Zhengyu a few questions. Once he knew what matter had angered the Old Madam, he came to counsel her: "Children and grandchildren have their own fortunes. You're being far too anxious. Taking a few more years to observe slowly would be good too."

The Old Madam pointed at Old Master Lian and began scolding: "You still have the nerve to come lecture me! This is all inherited from you! Slow and sluggish — even retreating to save your life, you'd be half a beat slower than everyone else and end up at the very back. This child is about to turn twenty-eight, and we're at this age. How many more years can we watch over her? With this slow, unhurried manner of hers, it's truly enough to worry a person to death. To establish a career, she can't even make sense of a ledger. To start a family — aiyo, if I don't start arranging things for her, I can see her dragging it out another three to five years. I'm eighty-six years old. Do you expect me to still be going strong at ninety?"

Old Master Lian said, "Looking at your robust and vigorous state, I'd say you certainly can."

The Old Madam huffed angrily, "That's from being angered by her." Then her tone shifted as she asked, "When she left, did she seem alright? She wasn't frightened, was she?"

Old Master Lian's eyes immediately went wide. He asked, "That explosive temper of yours — you didn't raise your hand again, did you?"

The Old Madam's expression immediately turned sheepish. "How could I? I just... waved my arm like this, and her face went white. Ai, what a spineless reaction. Ai!"

Old Master Lian said, "See there — she's not some tough young lad who can take a beating."

The Old Madam sighed again and said, "This child has been raised too delicately."

---

After Wen Zhengyu got into the car and left the Lian family residence, she thought for a moment, then sent Ye Ling a text message: "My grandmother told Lian Xin to invite you to dinner. Don't accept."

Very quickly, Ye Ling replied with a message: "Don't worry."

Wen Zhengyu froze for a second, then immediately realized that she did seem to be a little worried, and also faintly a little flustered. Those two words — "Don't worry" — inexplicably settled her heart in an instant. She thought about it and felt that indeed, there was nothing to worry about. It was something where nothing had been settled yet. The Old Madam couldn't possibly do anything to Ye Ling, and Ye Ling wasn't the sort to be easily dismissed either. As for whether she herself should date or not — well, she hadn't even figured that out herself yet. Wen Zhengyu then felt that perhaps her grandmother was being a bit too impatient. However, she also understood that the Old Madam was just concerned about her. Letting the Old Madam meet Ye Ling would also be fine; it would save her from letting her imagination run wild.

With her heart settled, Wen Zhengyu went with peace of mind to take inventory at the warehouse.

The warehouse the Old Madam had sent her to was the distribution center for the entire catering chain company. Everything needed by the various branches under the company was distributed from here. The art studio conducted inventory checks every month and every quarter, and at year-end, there was always a year-end inventory as well. She was experienced in this. When she arrived, she directly contacted the person in charge and said she wanted to conduct an inventory. The person in charge led her to the warehouse. Standing at the warehouse entrance, she was somewhat dumbfounded.

The paintings in the art studio, all told, were only so many — some stored in the safe boxes in the storage room, some in the exhibition hall on the first floor. She could just take the list, check them off one by one, and it was done. She could handle it by herself, at most bringing one person to assist.

But here, the entire warehouse — the distribution center combined with the cargo warehouse — stretched out as far as the eye could see. Nearby, several cargo trucks were still being loaded, and staff members were checking supplies against their distribution lists. Never mind the goods in the distribution center, just the supplies in the warehouse itself — crates and crates, sacks and sacks of food, seasonings, and all manner of daily necessities and supplies stacked neatly on pallets on both sides of the warehouse, filling the entire vast warehouse space. The goods were divided into zones, with signs hanging above: Rice Zone, Flour Zone, Seasonings Zone, Supplies Zone, Maintenance Parts Zone. Beside these was a Fruits and Vegetables Zone that had already finished dispatching goods. The Seasonings Zone and Supplies Zone were further subdivided into several smaller zones. With so many goods, during transport, forklift operators would drive back and forth, moving goods to the trucks, where workers would then carry them, crate by crate, sack by sack, onto the vehicles.

So many items, and she was alone — sampling it would have to be, then.

The person in charge asked her, "Miss Wen, do you need me to assign a few people to assist you?"

Wen Zhengyu waved her hand. "No need." She'd just verify some data, and do some random sample checks; that would suffice.

She took her laptop from Wen Jing, opened it, and, holding the computer, walked into the warehouse.

The warehouse manager followed beside her, visibly nervous.

Wen Zhengyu gave him a suspicious look. "Do you have some sort of problem?" Was he afraid of being spot-checked?

The warehouse manager hurriedly said, "No, no."

Wen Zhengyu asked, "What are you so nervous about?"

The warehouse manager said, "I was just checking if Miss Wen needed any help from me."

Wen Zhengyu nodded. "Thank you. I don't need anything for now. Go attend to your work."

The warehouse manager's back bowed slightly. He nodded and said, "Then I'll go take care of things."

Wen Zhengyu felt this man was acting strangely. She thought to herself: There's no shady business going on, is there? After all, she had come unannounced this time; it was possible she had indeed caught them off guard. She turned her head and instructed Wen Jing, who was following behind her: "Go check if something is going on with them."

Wen Jing nodded and discreetly slipped away from Wen Zhengyu's side.

Wen Zhengyu, concerned there might be irregularities, decided to check more thoroughly. She even used a curved metal rod to pierce into the rice sacks and extract samples for inspection, checking for things like expired or spoiled goods, or substitution. She checked meticulously and was consequently rather slow. At the same time, she noticed the warehouse manager bustling about as if receiving an emergency leadership inspection visit, tidying up sanitation and cleaning, organizing this and that, keeping the entire warehouse staff spinning in circles.

Judging from what she had spot-checked so far, there were no problems. What kind of reaction was this from the warehouse manager? He seemed wound up like a spring. She conducted spot checks at different locations and on different batches of goods across various zones, and found no issues. The goods were also well preserved, with no damage due to improper storage. Inventory was managed according to the first-in, first-out principle. Based on the conditions observed on the warehouse floor, there was nothing out of the ordinary.

Wen Jing returned and reported to Wen Zhengyu: "It's nothing. It's just that you suddenly came down to inspect the warehouse yourself, and it scared them."

Wen Zhengyu found this even more puzzling. She asked, "If there's nothing going on, what are they afraid of?" Seeing Wen Jing hesitate, as if wanting to speak but holding back, she said, "If there's something to say, say it."

Wen Jing said, "I overheard people from the catering company privately discussing that the Old Madam is grooming you as her successor."

Wen Zhengyu: "..."

It took Wen Zhengyu a good long while to come back to her senses. A painting student, going into the catering business — the industry crossover was far too great. She really had to credit their imaginations. She was just here to learn a bit of bookkeeping. She looked at Wen Jing's reaction, which also seemed to lean somewhat towards the same notion, and asked, "Do you believe it?"

Wen Jing said, "It does look that way."

Wen Zhengyu: "..."

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