The Art of Teasing - Chapter 116

Chapter 116

Ye Ling sat at the bedside, her hand gently stroking Wen Zhengyu's silk-smooth long hair. She softened her voice and said, "When soldiers come, send a general; when water comes, raise an earthen dike. Zhengyu, don't fret."

Wen Zhengyu turned her head and swept a glance at Ye Ling, who was sitting there talking without the slightest backache. She said, "One must actually have a general and earth for that."

Ye Ling smiled, pointed at herself, and said, "Look at me."

Wen Zhengyu thought to herself: Without you, half my worries would disappear. A thought stirred in her heart, and she rose, curling her legs up to sit on the bed, her eyes glimmering as she looked at Ye Ling.

Ye Ling smiled so broadly her eyes curved into crescents. "Thought it through?"

Wen Zhengyu said, "Your cold's better now—can I go back on my word and have you move out of my house?"

Ye Ling's smile stiffened on her face. Two seconds passed before her gaze unhurriedly swept over Wen Zhengyu from head to toe. She asked, "Won't you find it a loss?" She crooked her finger and gave Wen Zhengyu's forehead a light flick. "What nonsense are you thinking up now?"

Wen Zhengyu clutched her forehead, somewhat unable to bear Ye Ling's intimate gesture. She kept her face taut and said, "I'm being serious."

Ye Ling enunciated every word: "I'm being serious too."

Wen Zhengyu said, "Even a quick flash marriage can end with a divorce certificate."

Ye Ling let out a forceful "Mm," and said, "That's the logic."

Wen Zhengyu let out a breath of relief, then felt utterly dejected, along with an indescribable discomfort. She asked, "You'll move?" She didn't think Ye Ling was this easy to deal with—yet Ye Ling always seemed so very easy to deal with where she was concerned. Wen Zhengyu thought: Am I taking advantage of how agreeable Ye Ling is?

Ye Ling was both furious and achingly tender. In the end, she vigorously tousled Wen Zhengyu's hair, drew a deep breath, and said, "If I move, my loss is huge—and yours is just as huge. Zhengyu, we've already... had intimacy. I am also, in all earnestness, wanting to spend my entire life with you."

Wen Zhengyu fell silent.

Ye Ling added, "If you want me to move out, you have to give me a reason—let me understand why."

Wen Zhengyu was silent for a moment. She felt this was something she ought to explain clearly to Ye Ling. Then, softly, she said, "I've never once imagined anyone would live together with me, never imagined another person would appear in my life, and certainly never imagined we'd end up living together this quickly. All of a sudden, there's you beside me, there's this enormous fortune—it's not the life I had envisioned."

Ye Ling said, "You can still live the life you want. Whatever you want to do, I won't stop you, and I won't disturb you. As for the industries your maternal grandmother left you—if you're interested, you can manage them yourself. If you're not, you can hire professional managers, or sell them off and invest in something you do enjoy. If you want to take them over and keep them running but are afraid of doing a poor job, Lian Xin, Wen Li, and I can all be your teachers. As long as you're willing, I'm more than happy to guide you step by step." She asked Wen Zhengyu, "Do you know what kind of life I most want to live with you?"

Wen Zhengyu shook her head. "What kind?"

Ye Ling spoke leisurely: "The kind you imagine. You, leisurely painting, playing the zither, and me keeping you company—a life where I can watch you at every moment." She said, "Watching you paint makes a person feel especially happy. Before, when you were painting in the studio and I went to find you, you were so absorbed you didn't notice me. At those times, I worried you'd get tired painting for so long, yet I was afraid of disturbing you—and I also wanted time to pass more slowly, to drag on longer, so I could keep you company a little longer, watch you a little longer."

Wen Zhengyu gazed at Ye Ling silently, somewhat moved, and unsure what to say.

Ye Ling swept a glance over Wen Zhengyu. "Anything else, I can let you have your way. But if you want me to move out of your house—unless I take you with me when I move."

Wen Zhengyu was choked speechless. "You're being shameless."

Ye Ling ground her teeth in huffy anger. "It's only because you've got that delicate, frail look—otherwise, hmph."

Wen Zhengyu didn't ask otherwise what. She sprawled lazily back onto the bed, mulling over Ye Ling's words—that she could sell the businesses she had no interest in and switch to ones she did. Then she thought about Ye Ling saying she wouldn't disturb her, and then thought about these past few nights when Ye Ling hadn't come to bed and she hadn't been able to sleep properly at all. She decided not to critique it, simply filing it under: Ye Ling is saying sweet things to coax me into staying. Though they really were quite sweet to hear.

Ye Ling had originally been quite irritated, but seeing Wen Zhengyu completely relaxed, sprawled lazily on the bed in that drifting, absent-minded little state—the fire in her heart dissipated like smoke and clouds. She took off her shoes, climbed onto the bed, and lay down side by side with Wen Zhengyu. Once she lay down, she felt awkward. She looked back at herself, then at Wen Zhengyu, who was sprawled out with extraordinary comfort and naturalness. She found it both amusing and a little speechless. A grown person like her—and here she was, having a day where she was sprawled lazily on a bed in broad daylight. Ye Ling secretly and delightedly laid the blame on Wen Zhengyu: she'd been led astray by her.

She pressed a gentle kiss beside Wen Zhengyu's ear and, equally lazy, lay sprawled down. She said, "I can cook, do laundry, earn money, and beat up thugs. Once you've passed my village, you'll have a hard time finding my shop."

Wen Zhengyu didn't even lift her head. "Laundry and cooking—there's housekeeping for that. Beating up thugs—there are bodyguards."

Ye Ling gritted her teeth. "I can warm the bed."

Wen Zhengyu looked at Ye Ling in astonishment: This utterly shameless creature.

Wen Zhengyu exposed her on the spot: "Your hands and feet are always cold—every time you press yourself against me and make me warm you."

Ye Ling couldn't suppress the upward curve of her lips. "Then I said it wrong—it's you warming the bed for me."

This was even more off the mark. Wen Zhengyu was unwilling to argue any further with this utterly brazen Ye Ling.

Ye Ling drew close again and softly called, "Zhengyu—I like you."

Wen Zhengyu thought: Feeding me a soul-bewitching potion. Ye Ling's murmured, low voice was truly lovely—resonating by her ear, lingering and trembling, even more soul-snatching than summoning a spirit.

A knock sounded at the door. The old lady was calling Ye Ling to the study.

Wen Zhengyu's head shot up in an instant as she stared warily toward the door.

Ye Ling answered and, seeing Wen Zhengyu's expression, couldn't help but laugh as she stroked Wen Zhengyu's head. She said, "I'll go and be right back. No need to worry about me."

Wen Zhengyu thought: Who's worried about you—I'm worried about me. She was worried the old lady would marry her off without her consent. She tightened her face and emphasized to Ye Ling, "We just agreed—you're marrying me."

Ye Ling laughed so hard her shoulders trembled. Just moments ago Wen Zhengyu had been telling her to move out, and now she was stressing who married whom. She forcefully suppressed her smile, very much wanting to ask how the dowry and betrothal gifts were to be calculated, but she was also afraid Wen Zhengyu—whom she'd only just managed to coax into the ditch—would come back to her senses. She said, "Mm, it's noted—I'm marrying you." She glanced again at Wen Zhengyu's fingernails, put on her shoes, straightened her clothes, and went to the study to find the old lady.

Wen Zhengyu, uneasy, also got off the bed to follow.

The moment she entered the study she was shooed out by the old lady. The old lady kept only Ye Ling in the study—she wanted to speak with Ye Ling alone.

Wen Zhengyu called out, "Grandma."

The old lady said, "Even calling me ancestor won't help." She shooed Wen Zhengyu out and locked the door.

Wen Zhengyu had no choice but to return to her room, anxiously awaiting the end of Ye Ling and her grandmother's talk.

The old lady was a brisk, impatient sort, and her conversation went straight to the point, without so many twists and turns. Once Ye Ling was seated, she asked directly: "You and Yu'er—what are your plans?"

Ye Ling said, "Zhengyu says she'll marry me."

The old lady was caught off guard, briefly startled—then immediately thought it impossible. How could such words come out of that long-winded little worrywart?

Ye Ling, seeing the old lady didn't believe her, said, "Just before I left the room, she specifically emphasized it."

The old lady didn't believe Wen Zhengyu would take the initiative to say that. She didn't get tangled up on the issue, and said, "That's not what I want to hear."

Ye Ling said, "I understand your worry. You're afraid she and I won't last long, afraid she can't take good care of herself."

She paused, then said, "My parents passed away early, so from a very young age, I understood that life brings misfortune and fortune overnight—no one can guarantee they'll live in peace to old age. Right now, I want to take care of her for a lifetime. But the future—no one can say what sort of unforeseeable change might occur. And one can't live only for the present moment."

The old lady nodded, acknowledging Ye Ling's words. She asked, "Then what is your plan?"

Ye Ling said, "In my family, there's only one elder brother left. He long ago married and established his career, and now he's living with some stability. I've been here on my own doing business, always eating alone with enough to feed the whole family but no one to share it with. If you'll forgive a discourteous remark—I've always wanted a home. To come home hungry and have a bowl of hot rice to eat; to come home tired at night and have a small nightlight left on for me inside. I like Zhengyu, and I also like this sense of domestic life around her. Zhengyu really can't stand having her original rhythm and pace of life disrupted, and she's very resistant to changing her original way of living. She's unwilling to change—and I, I want to blend into her life."

"Zhengyu is good, truly good. She's the kind of person who can live well whether she has a lot of money or a little."

"She plans things out first, then proceeds step by step. Once her steps are thrown into disarray or a sudden change occurs, she needs to reassess—it's like that in both her life and work. When she runs into difficulty, she'll first try to figure it out herself. If she can't resolve it on her own, she won't push herself beyond her limits—she'll seek help from those around her. Just like last year when she opened the art studio. Back then, she didn't really understand business, nor finances, so she gave up shares and asked Wen Li to come help."

---

The old lady listened as Ye Ling rambled on and on—everything she said was about Wen Zhengyu's virtues. She'd clearly grasped Wen Zhengyu through and through. The two of them, well—that was just how it was. She asked Ye Ling, "When does the little worrywart plan to marry you?"

Ye Ling smiled. "I'll have to wait until she's finished reordering the schedule that got thrown into disarray."

The old lady thought: The schedule that got thrown into disarray must be that previous plan to renounce the world and become a nun. Seeing Ye Ling's utterly composed manner, the old lady sighed inwardly. This was truly a case of the eunuch fretting while the emperor remained perfectly at ease. Seeing how things were between them, the old lady no longer wanted to interfere—she'd let them sort it out by themselves.

Ye Ling and Wen Zhengyu stayed at the Lian household through dinner before returning home together.

Ye Ling had originally intended to put those three chests of jewelry back in the safe, but the old lady told her to take them with her.

Three chests—two containing jewelry, the other containing gemstones and jade.

Of her two storage rooms, one had been converted by Ye Ling into a lounge. The other remained completely bare, without even a stool. She temporarily placed the three chests in the bedroom.

Ye Ling watched Wen Zhengyu casually set these three chests of jewels and jewelry on the cabinet beside the vanity table, and couldn't help but look at Wen Zhengyu again and again. She asked, "You're just going to leave them like that?"

Wen Zhengyu asked, "Is something wrong with it?"

Ye Ling said, "Nothing wrong—it just makes me want to commit a robbery."

Wen Zhengyu thought about it—yes, leaving them out like this wasn't ideal. So she placed the chests into the wardrobe, and conveniently hung a lock on it.

Ye Ling: "..."

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