The Art of Teasing - Chapter 81
Chapter 81
Ye Ling said, "We need to add a few more bodyguards here for Zhengyu."
Wen Zhengyu said, "I currently have seven around me."
Lian Xin pondered for a few seconds, then said, "Then add another carload." He discussed with the two of them: "Let CEO Ye arrange the personnel. She's more familiar with the operational methods of the Ye family's people." Seeing that Wen Zhengyu still wanted to refuse, he said, "Safety first. They're already desperate enough to jump walls now. The elders of the Lian and Wen families are all advanced in age and can't withstand shocks. If something happens to you, our two families will be thrown into chaos first."
Ye Ling also persuaded, "Zhengyu, if something happens to you, none of us can bear the consequences." The old lady had already lost a daughter. If the newly recognized granddaughter suffered any mishap because of being implicated by her, her brother would also get dragged in. The Lian family members were all local, but the Bian and Qi families were in the imperial capital. Those three family patriarchs had a bond forged through life-and-death situations. With matters this serious involving the younger generation, the elders would absolutely not stand idly by. Old Madam Zhang inviting Qi Wei to intervene in the antiques matter had already been a warning to her. If Ye Che hadn't failed this time, even if he went down, she and her brother would have been finished along with him.
Wen Zhengyu didn't refuse any further and nodded in agreement.
After dinner, Dong Yuan brought the bodyguards and vehicles. Once Wen Zhengyu had met them, she let them follow her.
Wen Zhengyu hadn't slept well the night before and had been busy all day. After returning to her grandparents' home and sitting with the two elderly for a while, she went back to her room to rest.
After washing up, she received a call from Wen Li.
Wen Li was on a business trip and had just heard about her incident—that the entire city's police force had been mobilized—and was so frightened she immediately called her.
Wen Zhengyu said, "I'm fine, just a false alarm." She briefly described the situation.
After listening, Wen Li said, "Alright, I've got the picture now. You must be extremely careful. I think these people will keep targeting you. Someone contacted me this afternoon, saying they appreciate the studio's operating conditions and development prospects and want to acquire my shares."
Fortunately, Wen Li wasn't an outsider; otherwise, if the price had been right, she might have sold. Wen Li's equity participation in the studio had always been to help her. Unless Wen Zhengyu wanted to buy the shares, Wen Li wouldn't consider selling to anyone.
Wen Zhengyu thanked Wen Li and asked who these people were.
Wen Li said, "They contacted me by phone, claiming to be an investment company. I'll give you the number. Find someone to investigate it yourself. If there are any problems or you encounter difficulties, contact me immediately." She asked uneasily, "You can find someone to investigate, right?"
Wen Zhengyu said, "Brother Xi can check."
Wen Li responded, "Fine. Oh, right, get more bodyguards to follow you. Are the bodyguards around you enough? Tell you what, I'll send a carload of people over to you from my side."
Wen Zhengyu said, "Sister Lili, I have two carloads of people around me. The old lady provided one car, and Ye Ling sent another."
Wen Li said, "Alright then, as long as you're safe. Well, I'm hanging up. Hey, by the way, something this big happened, and you didn't even call me?"
Wen Zhengyu hurriedly said, "I came over to the old lady's place. She told me about it, and that's when I found out someone wanted to kidnap me. I'm still here with the old lady. The old gentleman's place has Second Aunt looking after things. Seeing you so busy all day, practically without a moment to land, and since Lian Xin and Ye Ling were handling the matter, I didn't contact you."
Wen Li said, "Next time something happens, let me know."
Wen Zhengyu reassured her repeatedly before Wen Li finally let it go and hung up.
Wen Zhengyu shared the news about someone trying to acquire Wen Li's studio shares in the family group chat, and privately sent the phone number to Lian Xi.
Lian Xi replied with an OK hand gesture emoji, then posted in the group: "I'll investigate who these people are."
Wen Zhengyu couldn't contribute much to this matter, and besides, she had plenty of daily tasks requiring her attention. She kept an occasional eye on the progress and developments, then continued with her own work. However, Wen Li's phone call made her more attentive to the studio's affairs, fearing that after failing to kidnap her, someone might come to cause trouble at the studio.
After arriving at work, she specifically sought out the studio's security manager and instructed him to strengthen the studio's security measures.
The security manager, seeing that the big boss had suddenly changed vehicles and added two carloads of bodyguards, knew something must have happened and didn't dare to be the slightest bit negligent.
Wen Zhengyu personally inspected the studio's security, and only felt at ease after confirming there were no issues.
She spent the morning on security matters. Near quitting time, a gentleman over sixty years old arrived at the studio.
This elderly gentleman was accompanied by several bodyguards, arriving with considerable ostentation. The bodyguards were also very brusque. Upon entering, they blocked the studio's security guards, preventing them from approaching the old gentleman, and demanded by name to see Boss Wen.
The bodyguards Ye Ling had assigned to Wen Zhengyu recognized the visitor at a glance and immediately reported to Wen Zhengyu that it was Second Brother Ye, Ye Che's father. They also asked Wen Zhengyu whether she needed them to call Ye Ling.
Wen Zhengyu nodded, saying, "Make the call."
Her studio still needed to keep its doors open for business. It wouldn't look right for Second Brother Ye to block the studio lobby with his bodyguards.
Wen Zhengyu didn't go downstairs. She asked Wen Jing to invite the man to the second-floor VIP room.
Second Brother Ye said to Wen Jing, "No need, we'll talk right here." He walked directly to the first-floor reception area and sat down on the sofa.
His bodyguards lined up in a row, standing outside the reception area.
The first-floor studio lobby was bustling every day with both casual visitors and those who had come because of its reputation. His show of force immediately drew curiosity from many people. Even the studio staff were speculating whether some important figure had arrived.
Upon hearing Wen Jing's report, Wen Zhengyu picked up the phone and called the police: family members of a suspect in her kidnapping case had brought people to her studio to cause trouble.
After calling the police, she also personally called Lian Xi.
Lian Xi's workplace happened to have jurisdiction over this district. He personally led a team to respond to the call.
Seeing the police arrive, Second Brother Ye became furious, saying, "I came to buy a painting, and this is your attitude? Is this how you do business?"
Only when Wen Zhengyu saw Lian Xi arrive in uniform with the police officers did she come downstairs.
She happened to overhear Second Brother Ye's words. "Mr. Ye the Second," she said, "if your son hadn't orchestrated an attempted kidnapping intending to harm me, I ought to have treated you with the courtesy due an honored guest. With your son still in detention and you coming here with so many people, my safety is under threat, so naturally, I had to call the police. After you."
Second Brother Ye raised his hand, signaling the police to stop advancing. He said to Wen Zhengyu, "Boss Wen, we have had no past grievances with you. What benefit is there for you in helping Ye Ling like this? A businessman gains an extra road for every friend he makes and an extra wall to block his way with every enemy he creates. There must be a misunderstanding regarding this matter involving Che'er. We can sit down and talk. Currently, you've suffered no losses here, and everything is open to discussion. Businesspeople take harmony as the highest value in all matters. Am I right or not?"
Wen Zhengyu said, "Business, of course, takes harmony as the highest value. But this matter has touched upon criminal law. It's not something that can be settled just by my say-so..."
Second Brother Ye interrupted Wen Zhengyu: "Law is not divorced from human sentiment." He added, "Whatever benefits Ye Ling has given you, I'm willing to double them, even tenfold. That's no problem. It's better to mend quarrels than to deepen enmity. Boss Wen, you'd better weigh this carefully."
Wen Zhengyu gave a light laugh. "Mr. Ye the Second, the benefit Ye Ling has given me is that she has never tried to harm me. Yet I've heard that your son was the mastermind behind my kidnapping, intent on putting me to death."
Second Brother Ye said, "She's the one who caused your father to go bankrupt and flee."
Wen Zhengyu said, "That's my family matter. I have no need to explain it to you." She gestured toward the studio exit in a 'seeing-off' manner, saying, "Please leave. Otherwise, I'll have to ask the police to help escort your venerable person out."
Second Brother Ye wasn't giving up. "So, Boss Wen is determined on mutual destruction."
The corner of Wen Zhengyu's mouth held a faint smile as she spoke slowly, her tone as gentle as ever: "If someone treats me with a measure of respect, I will repay them with ten measures of respect. But if someone tries to bully me, even if they beat me to death, even cut off my head, I will not bow it. Pardon my frankness, but if you want mutual destruction, that is your business. As for my safety, I have my family to protect me. There's no need for you to concern yourself, nor can you threaten me. Even if you held a knife to my neck, my words would remain the same." After finishing, she called for Wen Jing and then called out to Lian Xi, who was standing nearby: "Officer Lian, please help me see this guest out."
Lian Xi said to Second Brother Ye, very politely, "Mr. Ye, please come to our station for some tea and a chat."
Hearing the surname "Lian," Second Brother Ye's eyebrows twitched. He turned his head to look at Lian Xi and asked, "Surname Lian? From the Lian family?"
Lian Xi ignored him, telling his colleagues beside him, "Take Mr. Ye to the station for tea."
Second Brother Ye's bodyguards moved forward to block the police officers but were jointly pinned to the ground by Wen Zhengyu's people. The police stepped forward, handcuffed them, and bundled them into the police vehicles, taking them away.
After seeing the police off, Wen Zhengyu told the bodyguards and security staff to return to their duties. She also asked the staff to bring out the small custom-made giveaways the studio produced. She apologized to the customers who had been watching the commotion: "I'm very sorry for disturbing everyone. You've all had quite a fright. These are small trinkets custom-made by our studio. Though they aren't precious gifts, they are a token of my apology. I hope you won't disdain them." After speaking, she had the staff distribute the giveaways. She also added, "Some friends may have recorded videos just now. The reputation of the studio is hard-won. To prevent anyone from distorting the facts and maliciously spreading rumors, I earnestly ask those who recorded videos to help out by not letting these appear online to be exploited by those with ulterior motives." After she finished, she inclined slightly toward the customers, then walked over to a few familiar faces in the studio, inviting Mr. Qi Qianshu and several of his old friends upstairs.
Once she had seated the few elderly painters in the guest room, she brewed tea for them.
The venerable Mr. Qi Qianshu asked her, "You weren't frightened, were you?"
Wen Zhengyu smiled. "CEO Ye is wealthy and powerful; she lent me her bodyguards. My courage is bolstered."
Mr. Qi Qianshu asked, puzzled, "What exactly is going on? How did it escalate to this commotion at the studio?"
Wen Zhengyu said, "Master, you know I often tinkered with antiques alongside my grandfather. CEO Ye sought my help to purchase antiques several times. Moreover, her residence is near the studio, and she set up her office here and usually looks after me quite a bit. This led those with grudges against her to think I'm behind the scenes helping Ye Ling deal with them, so they've come to make trouble for me." She added a supplementary sentence: "They came from the capital, not locals."
Mr. Qi Qianshu said, "If it's a misunderstanding, they're coming to your door to resolve it, and you're still pressing your advantage without granting forgiveness?"
Wen Zhengyu said, "They hired drug addicts to kidnap me. I can't just let that go. Frankly, I'm still a little scared, but scared as I am, being afraid is no reason to compromise." As she spoke, she continued pouring them tea.
Mr. Qi Qianshu saw her hands trembling slightly. Having painted since childhood, her hands had always been steady. To tremble like this, she was clearly truly frightened. He took the tea set, saying, "Let me do it."
As they drank tea, they asked again what exactly this matter was that had caused such a significant conflict.
Wen Zhengyu gave a rough account of what those relatives of Ye Ling's family had done.
The several elderly gentlemen present, hearing it was a conflict sparked by the Ye family's internal property disputes, which had escalated to the point of kidnapping an outsider, also felt that these people had indeed gone too far.
Mr. Qi Qianshu's eyes widened in anger as he asked, "This isn't the first time?"
Wen Zhengyu nodded. "They're probably used to doing this now. I'm not very clear about Ye Ling's family matters, nor the inside situation. I only found out two days ago when my Second Aunt came back and I heard her mention it. Ye Ling has helped me so much. If she's in trouble and I just stand by and watch, that wouldn't be right. It's quite pitiful, really. She came all the way here to hide, and still can't escape those relatives of hers."
An old friend of Mr. Qi's asked quietly, "In that case, should you dissolve your partnership with Ye Ling?"
Wen Zhengyu shook her head vigorously. "Won't dissolve it. Otherwise, it would make me look spineless."
The several elderly gentlemen nodded in agreement one after another.
Mr. Qi Qianshu was a person fiercely protective of his own. These people bullying his youngest, last-chosen disciple right in front of him—how infuriating. After clarifying the situation, he flipped open his phone and called an old friend, saying someone was bullying his apprentice.
Mr. Qi Qianshu grew angrier the more he spoke on the phone.
Wen Zhengyu hurriedly rubbed his back to soothe him, saying, "Sir, please speak slowly if there's an issue, don't get upset. What happened to the agreed-upon cultivating mind and character?"
The several elderly gentlemen, seeing Lao Qi was genuinely enraged, quickly tried to calm him.
After discussing among themselves, they took turns calling the Discipline Inspection Commission to lodge complaints, reporting Second Brother Ye.
Wen Zhengyu listened as they made phone calls, serving them tea and water. When she saw Ye Ling hurrying back, she rose and went out to greet her.
Ye Ling asked, "Are you alright?"
Wen Zhengyu said, "I'm fine." She glanced back toward the VIP room. "When Second Brother Ye arrived, my master happened to bring some old friends over. It upset my master; he's with a few elderly gentlemen now, jointly calling the Discipline Inspection Commission to report and file complaints against him."
Ye Ling looked deeply toward the several elderly gentlemen, then turned her head back to Wen Zhengyu and said, "Zhengyu, thank you."
Wen Zhengyu gestured toward the VIP room with her chin and smiled at Ye Ling. "You're treating everyone to lunch."
Ye Ling laughed and readily agreed, saying, "Done." She followed Wen Zhengyu inside. After the elderly gentlemen finished their calls, she very gratefully invited them to lunch.
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