The Art of Teasing - Chapter 79

Chapter 79

The art studio was only a few minutes' drive from home. After finishing up at the studio, Wen Zhengyu headed home to see Wen Shishu and Old Master Wen.

When she arrived, Old Master Wen had already gone out with his bodyguards to meet someone for tea. Madam Wen Shishu had risen late and was just finishing her makeup, now in the middle of changing clothes. Wen Zhengyu pushed the door open and called out, "Second Aunt."

Wen Shishu shot Wen Zhengyu a pointed glare, then continued adjusting her clothes in front of the full-length mirror.

Wen Zhengyu asked cautiously, "I haven't offended you, have I?"

Wen Shishu said to Wen Zhengyu, "You wasted half a day of my breath. You tell me if that counts as offending me."

Wen Zhengyu put on an apologetic smile and stepped forward to massage her shoulders.

Wen Shishu poked Wen Zhengyu's forehead and said, "Stubborn."

Wen Zhengyu leaned close to Wen Shishu's ear and quietly asked about Zheng Dongsheng's children.

Wen Shishu glanced at Wen Zhengyu and thought it over. Now that Wen Zhengyu was running a business, it was time she learned about certain matters. She said, "If you're free this afternoon, come have lunch with me. I'll introduce you to some people."

Wen Zhengyu asked, "The one who called you his sister yesterday?"

Wen Shishu nodded and said, "Not just him." She then gave Wen Zhengyu a general rundown of who they would be meeting today.

Wen Zhengyu carefully committed it all to memory. After a moment's consideration, she decided to tell her second aunt about Wen Shiyi. The old master was too old—she couldn't risk upsetting him by telling him—but she absolutely had to tell her eldest aunt and second aunt. She lowered her voice and said, "Second Aunt, I need to tell you something."

Wen Shishu could tell from Wen Zhengyu's expression that it wasn't good news. She said, "Go on. What is it now?"

Wen Zhengyu said, "When Mr. Wen Shiyi fled, he had a large sum of money in his hands. The entire Lian family has treated me very well, and since my youngest uncle and Brother Xin handled his matter personally, it shouldn't have come to the point where I didn't even have a place to live."

Wen Shishu's brow twitched. Regarding Wen Shiyi's situation, the Lian family sparing his life at all was only out of consideration for the child. His bankruptcy was entirely within reason. She had never thought otherwise, but now, hearing Wen Zhengyu speak and seeing how much the Lian family doted on her, she suddenly understood. She immediately called Wen Shiyi, and the call connected quickly.

Wen Shishu got straight to the point: "Third Brother. Where's the money?"

Wen Shiyi's voice came through: "Second Sister, what money?"

Wen Shishu said, "Fine. I'll discuss this with Eldest Sister."

Wen Shiyi hurriedly said, "No, Second Sister, who's been filling your head with nonsense?"

Wen Shishu said, "Talk. Which underground bank did you use? How was the money lost? How much was lost?"

Silence on Wen Shiyi's end.

Wen Shishu said, "Fine, don't tell me then."

Wen Shiyi gave the name of the underground bank and said, "There was a crackdown. The money was all seized and confiscated. The loss was three... over three hundred million..."

Wen Shishu was so furious her hands trembled. She shouted in uncontrollable rage, "Dad and Yu'er sold everything the family owned to pay off your debts—nearly reduced to sleeping in the streets—and you made off with over three hundred million!"

Wen Shiyi defended himself: "My original plan was to get the two of them out of the country once I was settled. Besides, Xiao Yu still has her maternal family. Let her go claim her mother's dowry. Given how much the Lian family dotes on her, she wouldn't be mistreated."

Wen Shishu glanced at Wen Zhengyu, took the phone, and went into Old Master Wen's adjoining room, closing the door behind her.

Even through the wall, Wen Zhengyu could hear Wen Shishu's scolding.

The fact that her second aunt was still scolding Wen Shiyi showed she still cared about this younger brother. Wen Zhengyu's only requirement of Wen Shiyi now was that he stay away.

Her phone chimed with a new message. She picked it up and saw Lian Xi speaking in the group chat: "This Ye Che is really something."

Lian Xin asked: "News on Ye Che?"

Lian Xi said: "Just heard from the lake district police station. Around eight this morning, they got a call. An older guy went fishing at the lake and heard someone shouting for help. Found a man with both legs broken, hands tied in front of him, who'd crawled out of an isolated patch of weeds using his elbows."

Lian Xin said: "And then? You type slow. Use voice."

Lian Xi sent a voice message: "Alright, I'll use voice then."

He sent another long voice message: "The guy first said he'd been kidnapped, then said he'd been robbed. Said his family was very wealthy and begged the fishing guy to save him, promised him lots of money, told him not to call the police. The fishing guy spotted right away that the watch on his wrist was worth over a million—didn't look like a robbery. The guy didn't want trouble but couldn't just leave him to die, so he called the police immediately."

"When the police officers from the station arrived and saw his broken legs, they called for an ambulance to take him to the hospital. He refused, insisting on waiting for his family to pick him up, wanting to call them. The officers lent him a phone. He took the phone and told his family every one of the officers' badge numbers, saying if anything happened to him, they should start the investigation with these officers on duty."

Wen Zhengyu: "..." What did this have to do with the police officers?

Lian Xi saw the string of ellipses Wen Zhengyu sent and greeted her: "Yu'er's here too."

Lian Xin said: "Keep going."

Lian Xi said: "The officers, seeing this situation, were furious but had no choice but to take him back to the station first. Once at the station, during the statement, he first said he was kidnapped, that the kidnappers broke his legs and dumped him by the lake, and claimed Ye Ling, the boss of Yushan Group, was behind it."

Wen Zhengyu typed: "And then?"

Lian Xin said: "Yu'er, don't interrupt. Let Lian Xi finish."

Lian Xi said: "Then, he said he was robbed. The police asked what was taken. His valuables weren't missing—only his phone was gone. Someone had found his phone and turned it in to the station last night. When the police wanted to return his phone, they first needed to verify his identity to confirm it was his. That's when they discovered his call history with Zheng Dongsheng. Right now, the entire city's police force is looking for Zheng Dongsheng. Seeing this, naturally, they took it seriously. Through his phone, they not only found his call records with Zheng Dongsheng's number but also discovered recent frequent contact with an unfamiliar number."

"The police asked him what his relationship with Zheng Dongsheng was. He wouldn't say a word, insisting Ye Ling had sent people to kidnap him."

Lian Xin asked: "What's the situation now?"

Lian Xi said: "Last night, Ye Ling got a call from her second uncle. She knew Ye Che was missing and was worried too. She immediately helped him file a police report. The operator has the registration and recording. Ye Ling also made her own recording. After Ye Ling learned Ye Che was at the police station, she immediately sent a copy of the recording to the station and stated she had an alibi. Last night, she was having dinner at our house, and there's surveillance at our gate. That can be investigated and verified as well."

"Because of Ye Che's connection to Zheng Dongsheng, the officers reported it up to their superiors. The task force has already sent people to take over. Whether Ye Che is in the clear now depends on what the task force finds."

"He's been shivering constantly. Not sure if he's panicked or just in pain. His speech is incoherent too. Most likely, he was involved in what happened to Yu'er."

Lian Xin said: "We'll see what the investigation turns up."

Wen Zhengyu suddenly recalled what Ye Ling had said earlier—if they didn't play by the rules, they'd be handing over ready-made leverage for others to seize.

No more scolding of Wen Shiyi came from the next room. Madam Wen Shishu was still in her grandfather's room and hadn't come out. Wen Zhengyu guessed her second aunt was on the phone with her eldest aunt.

After a while, Wen Shishu returned to Wen Zhengyu's room and said to her, "I spoke with Eldest Sister and Third Brother. I told him to stay away. If he comes back, I'll break his legs myself. I'm going to have to tell the Lian family matriarch about this." First he ruined the Lian family's daughter, now he comes to ruin his granddaughter. If she were a Lian, she'd have killed Wen Shiyi herself.

Wen Zhengyu acknowledged this and tried to soothe her second aunt: "Don't be upset."

Wen Shishu sighed. There wasn't much more to say. Father and daughter had always had a terrible relationship. To spite Wen Shiyi, Wen Zhengyu had even deliberately scored dead last on her high school and college entrance exams. She still remembered the way Wen Zhengyu had clung to her arm as a child: "Second Aunt, Second Aunt, be my mom." She had seen then that this child had no affection whatsoever for Wen Shiyi. Wen Zhengyu was only six or seven at the time.

Wen Zhengyu said, "If you break his legs, I'll take care of him."

Wen Shishu shot Wen Zhengyu a sidelong glance and said, "Don't think I don't see right through your little calculations." She added, "I don't think he has the nerve to come back anyway."

Wen Zhengyu nodded and said nothing more.

Wen Shishu draped her shawl over her shoulders and led Wen Zhengyu out the door.

Walking alongside Wen Shishu, Wen Zhengyu habitually looped her arm around hers. Wen Shishu had no intention of making her break this childhood habit. Wen Zhengyu was close to her. Every time she saw her as a child, she'd cling to her arm and refuse to let go. Wen Shishu would find it strange if there ever came a time when Wen Zhengyu didn't act spoiled around her.

Once Wen Shishu and Wen Zhengyu were in the car, she asked Wen Zhengyu in detail about the recent state of her work and life. Everything was fine, which set her mind at ease.

It was already past two in the afternoon by the time Wen Zhengyu had accompanied Wen Shishu through lunch and the social obligations.

She had arranged to meet Qi Wei at three to look at antiques and rushed to join her.

When they met, Qi Wei got into her car.

Qi Wei said, "This morning, Ye Ling came by my place specifically to deliver a generous gift to thank me for saving you."

Wen Zhengyu looked at Qi Wei, utterly confused, and asked, "She thanked you for saving me?"

Qi Wei said, "If anything had happened to you, Grandma would have torn her and Lian Xin apart with her bare hands. Saving you turned out to be quite profitable. I received four thank-you gifts. From your second aunt, from Grandma, from Lian Xin, and from Ye Ling." She said to Wen Zhengyu, "Wouldn't have guessed—you're worth quite a bit. And here you are, worth so much, going out without even a single bodyguard. You've got some nerve."

Wen Zhengyu realized here was another one with a sharp tongue. She pointed toward the trailing SUV and held up six fingers.

Qi Wei laughed, nodded, and said, "Mm, better late than never."

Wen Zhengyu's phone chimed with a message alert. She picked it up. Lian Xi was reporting again in the group: "Zheng Dongsheng just turned himself in."

Qi Wei leaned over and happened to see it. She sighed and said, "What an idiot."

Wen Zhengyu glanced at Qi Wei and asked, "Turning himself in was stupid?"

Qi Wei said, "What he did was stupid. Getting involved with Ye Che was even stupider." After she spoke, she gave Wen Zhengyu a long, meaningful look.

Wen Zhengyu felt Qi Wei's look implied she was stupid too and shot back, "As if everyone's like you with nine tails."

Qi Wei grabbed Wen Zhengyu's ear and scolded playfully, "You little ingrate. You could at least say thank you."

Wen Zhengyu teased her back, "Thank you."

Qi Wei extended her hand toward Wen Zhengyu: "A thank-you gift."

Wen Zhengyu pulled out a pen and drew a nine-tailed fox on the palm of Qi Wei's hand, then signed it with the grand name of the Kunlun Little Sprite. "My paintings aren't cheap either."

Qi Wei took out her phone, snapped a photo of her palm, sent it to Ye Ling, and raised an eyebrow at Wen Zhengyu: "I'm going to show this off."

Wen Zhengyu immediately felt that this was someone who had come just to stir up trouble.

Get instant access to all chapters now.

Previous Table of Contents Next