The Art of Teasing - Chapter 120

Chapter 120

At night, Wen Zhengyu lay in bed, eyes open, suffering from insomnia.

Wen Shiyi's situation lingered relentlessly in her mind.

She understood that the best resolution was to stop repaying any more of his debts, throw him out of the house, and let him face the consequences of his own actions. Yet when the moment came to act, she could not bring herself to do it.

Wen Zhengyu felt that she was, in truth, rather useless.

Ye Ling's low, unhurried voice sounded beside her. "Can't sleep?"

Wen Zhengyu answered with a soft "Mm." She closed her eyes, leaning closer into Ye Ling's embrace, seeking some sense of stability, yet feeling this was improper, her body remaining taut and rigid.

Ye Ling murmured, "Silly girl," and held Wen Zhengyu even tighter. She chuckled, teasing, "Zhengyu, someone here might appear difficult to get along with, but in essence, her nature is remarkably soft, so warm you wouldn't believe it."

Wen Zhengyu was still agitated and did not want to humor Ye Ling. She tried to turn over but was held too tightly to move. She said, "I want to change position."

Ye Ling squeezed even tighter.

Wen Zhengyu felt her waist was about to be crushed. She immediately understood — Ye Ling was doing this deliberately.

Ye Ling sighed again. "How wonderful it is, having so many people to care about."

Wen Zhengyu ground out a single word through clenched teeth: "Waist."

The arm around Wen Zhengyu's waist loosened slightly, but Ye Ling's other arm wrapped around her entirely, patting her gently as if soothing a child, calming Wen Zhengyu's temper that was about to flare. She asked, "Would you like to hear a few thoughts?"

Wen Zhengyu wanted to say no but knew Ye Ling would not say this without reason. "Go ahead."

Ye Ling exhaled with deep emotion and said, "Last year, when I heard your family had to sell the mansion, I was stunned. Wen Shiyi running off with the money was within expectations — with funds in hand, he'd have capital to make a comeback. You and your grandfather selling the house — Lian Xin and I discussed it for ages, and in the end could only conclude it was probably a scholar's integrity."

Wen Zhengyu said, "If we hadn't sold the house to repay the debts, creditors would have blocked the gate every day, and Wen Shiyi would likely have been wanted for arrest."

Ye Ling refrained from commenting on whether Wen Shiyi would be wanted for arrest. She said, "Selling the house — that must have been something neither you nor your grandfather discussed with anyone, you just went ahead and did it. By the time Wen Shishu and Wen Li found out, it was already a done deal, wasn't it?"

Wen Zhengyu was silent for a few seconds before answering with a quiet "Mm."

Ye Ling said, "Next time you face this kind of standard lending or business-related debt... just repay the interest. Actually, at that critical juncture last year, if you and your grandfather had sold a few antiques to recoup some funds, first repaid some interest to pacify the creditors, then used the remaining money as capital, you would not have been reduced to such a state. In business, it's common for debts to go uncollected for eight or ten years. If you can regularly receive interest payments, that's already quite good." She then added thoughtfully, "If you could revise the payment terms at our studio, cash flow would increase by more than tenfold."

"Usually, businesses settle payments by delaying them one to three months, waiting for the financial approval process to complete, then dragging on another ten days to half a month or even a full month. Getting payment settled within three months is already considered excellent. Even if you don't settle within three months, fixing a specific date each month for settlement is perfectly normal. Why must you go to the office every morning to approve the daily financial reports? I get tired just watching you. If paintings from one month were settled early the next month, with finance handling approvals uniformly, both you and finance would save enormous effort. This is an enterprise, not some unreliable individual who might default at any time."

Ye Ling had finally seized the opportunity to complain about Wen Zhengyu, this peculiarity of the business world. Watching her had worried Ye Ling to death. Those elderly painters — they'd gather at the studio one day, create impromptu paintings, leave the works at the studio, and the very next day Wen Zhengyu would authenticate the paintings and have finance wire payment immediately. Money out, paintings stacked in inventory — this only worked because business conditions were good, payments for sold works always returned on time, and no mishap had ever occurred. That was why the studio could still operate smoothly. But if any disruption arose, if paintings could not be sold promptly, a cash flow crisis would follow, and bankruptcy could happen at any moment.

When Ye Ling had been pursuing Wen Zhengyu earlier, even if Wen Zhengyu had run the studio into bankruptcy, she could only have poured in more money, not daring to utter half a word of criticism. Wen Li had brought it up a few times, but Wen Zhengyu, convinced that buying and selling art was always payment upon delivery and believing reputation mattered more, had not agreed. Sitting on the sidelines, Ye Ling had been beside herself with worry. If setting a fixed monthly settlement date was considered a lack of integrity, then everyone in business deserved to be blacklisted. The reason other studios hadn't lunged forward to tear Wen Zhengyu apart was simply that they could not defeat her. Wen Zhengyu, feeling quite pleased with herself, believed this was because she had more integrity in business than they did. Behind her, Old Man Wen Ru, Master Qi Qianshu, and those elderly painters who sold her their work were all applauding and cheering her on. If Ye Ling were one of those elderly painters, she would applaud too.

As Ye Ling grumbled about Wen Zhengyu, her hand continued its soothing motion, as gentle as if calming a child. With the lights off, she could not see Wen Zhengyu's expression, but from how Wen Zhengyu remained obediently nestled in her arms without moving and her breathing stayed steady, she could tell Wen Zhengyu was absorbing her words, not bristling. She continued, "Regarding Wen Shiyi's situation — someone from the Lian family had a similar case once before."

Wen Zhengyu's heart stirred. She instinctively thought of Lian Xi's gambling incident. Unsure if this was the one Ye Ling meant, she stayed silent.

Ye Ling said, "This was several years ago. Lian Xi had just graduated and started working. Someone wanted to ensnare Lian Xi, to use him to obtain favors from the Lian family, so they found people to take him gambling. Old Madam Zhang had nimble informants. When she learned of it, she immediately sent people to drag Lian Xi back. His backside was beaten until it split open — he still has scars to this day. The gambling den was shut down, the owner arrested and sentenced. Lian Xi hadn't been gambling deeply; he could still turn back. Even so..."

Wen Zhengyu made an inquisitive "Hm?" sound and asked, "What then?" She wanted to hear Ye Ling's perspective.

Ye Ling laughed lightly. "He's your cousin, and you're asking me." Her tone shifted. "Lian Xi is indeed not very bright — loose-lipped, easy to coax. But after that incident, everyone understood that ensnaring Lian Xi was useless. No one has tried using him since. Lian Xi himself learned a hard lesson and became much more cautious." She dipped her head and pressed a soft kiss to Wen Zhengyu's forehead in her arms. "The Lian family has two worrywarts — one is you, the other is Lian Xi." This one was even more worrying than Lian Xi. At least Lian Xi could be dragged back and beaten until he behaved. The one in her arms — forget beating her; even scolding was impossible.

Wen Zhengyu sensed it clearly — it was one of those left-hand-slap, right-hand-sweet-date moments with Ye Ling. Yet Ye Ling was, with absolute sincerity, breaking everything down and patiently teaching her, looking out for her welfare. The way Ye Ling held her so tenderly, so carefully protecting her, made Wen Zhengyu feel a warmth spreading through her. To be cherished and guarded like this was truly wonderful, though it also felt deeply unfamiliar, awkward, and embarrassing. She curled herself smaller, burrowed deeper into Ye Ling's embrace, found a comfortable position, and closed her eyes. Her tangled thoughts settled, and a sense of peace washed over her.

Before long, Wen Zhengyu was sound asleep.

In Ye Ling's view, Wen Zhengyu was sincere, soft-hearted, and the worst thing that had ever happened to her was having a father like Wen Shiyi. She was severely lacking in life experience — practically rushing to sell herself off.

Wen Shiyi played the pity card and set a trap, and she walked straight into it. Ye Ling was at a loss for words.

When Wen Shiyi dared to borrow this debt, he had already calculated against Lian Huaijin's dowry and this very mansion. Otherwise, how would Wen Zhengyu have the means to repay his debts? Even if she could harden her heart against him once he returned home, she could never bring herself to let Old Master Wen watch helplessly as his son met disaster.

With Ma Jun stationed at the Wen household, matters there were relayed to Old Madam Zhang almost in real time. Even Wen Zhengyu's words when she summoned Wen Shiyi to the courtyard where her mother had died — Ma Jun had secretly recorded them and sent the file to Old Madam Zhang.

Old Madam Zhang did not intervene. Since she had already given the property to Wen Zhengyu, she wished to see her granddaughter stand on her own feet. Yet watching her maternal granddaughter behave like this still made her so angry her liver ached, and she lay sleepless half the night. Still, with Ye Ling now at Wen Zhengyu's side, she was curious to see how Ye Ling would handle things.

Early the next morning, as Wen Zhengyu and Ye Ling were heading to the old master's courtyard for breakfast, they heard a commotion from the direction of the guest courtyard. She listened for a moment — the people staying there were demanding to see Wen Shiyi. Wen Shiyi refused to come out, so they tried to force their way into the courtyard, only to be blocked by the bodyguards. A ruckus was underway.

The moment she and Ye Ling stepped into the old master's courtyard, they saw Wen Shiyi sitting with his head bowed on a chair, shrunken like a quail.

Wen Shishu sat nearby, sipping water, lost in some unfathomable thought, her expression inscrutable.

Old Master Wen was glaring at Wen Shiyi, eyes practically shooting flames. The floor was covered in shattered porcelain shards and splashed tea.

Ye Ling entered, offering greetings. "Morning, Grandfather. Morning, Second Aunt." She summoned the household staff to clean up the mess.

Ye Ling cast a sidelong glance at Wen Shiyi. Daring to invite creditors to live in the family home — this is also a person of considerable talent. He wants the creditors to make life so unbearable that the family is forced to pay up.

Wen Zhengyu called Zhan Cheng.

Moments later, Zhan Cheng hurried over from the guest courtyard. "Eldest Miss."

Wen Zhengyu said, "Take your people and throw the three of them out. Wen Shiyi's debts have nothing to do with our family. Every debt has its debtor — let them find the right person." She turned to Wen Shiyi. "Mr. Wen, you stirred up this trouble and brought it to my door. I must ask you to leave as well."

Wen Shishu glanced at Wen Zhengyu in surprise, then shot a look of sudden understanding at Ye Ling.

Zhan Cheng looked toward Old Master Wen.

Old Master Wen waved his hand dismissively. "Do as the Eldest Miss says. She runs this household now." With that, he turned to leave without even touching breakfast.

Wen Shiyi suddenly lunged at the dining table, seized a table knife, and slashed it toward his own neck.

Zhan Cheng lunged in a single stride, seizing Wen Shiyi's knife. But there had been some distance between them, and even as he grabbed the knife, the blade had already grazed Wen Shiyi's neck, leaving a long gash. Blood immediately began seeping into his collar.

Wen Shishu shot to her feet, face paling dramatically. "Third Brother, what are you doing!" Her voice cracked.

Old Master Wen turned back and saw the blood on Wen Shiyi's neck. Terrified out of his wits, he screamed, "San'er!"

Ye Ling was momentarily stunned, then fixed her gaze on Wen Shiyi's wound. It had not split open; only the skin had been cut. She said coolly, "It's nothing. He avoided the throat and the major arteries."

Wen Shishu froze on the spot. Then she understood the meaning of Ye Ling's words — it was a performance.

Old Master Wen had just rushed to Wen Shiyi's side when he heard Ye Ling's words. Instinctively, his eyes went to Wen Shiyi's wound. In an instant, all his grief and fear turned to fury. He swung his hand and slapped Wen Shiyi across the face, roaring with uncontrollable rage, "Get out!" His body swayed. He pointed at Wen Shiyi and bellowed, "How did I raise such a wretched retribution of a son!"

Wen Shiyi was dazed by the slap for a moment, then recovered and shouted at Ye Ling, "You just want revenge for Lian Huaijin, don't you! Come on, take your shot! Come at me!" He yanked open his collar and roared, "Come on! Come on! Come on! Give me a quick end!"

Ye Ling replied with perfect calm, "Father-in-law, if I plotted against you, the ones who would lose are my wife and myself."

Wen Ru slammed his hand onto the table with force and bellowed, "Everyone out! Out!"

Ye Ling took Wen Zhengyu's hand and turned to leave.

Wen Shishu ordered Zhan Cheng to drag Wen Shiyi out. "Toss him outside the main gate."

She stepped forward and patted Wen Ru's back to smooth his breathing. "What's there to be angry about? At least this household finally has someone who can shoulder things. Don't resent Ye Ling for wading in — without her, you and your granddaughter would have... ah, forget it, forget it... You, old man, must stop meddling in this affair. Let them resolve it themselves. You said it yourself: Zhengyu is head of the household now. Just enjoy your peaceful retirement. Come stay at my place for a while. In a few days it will be your grandson's birthday. Let him spend time with you. Stop adding to Zhengyu's troubles here. This child is filial, and you dote on your son. With you present, she's caught in a difficult position."

"Father and daughter already have no real bond. Because of you, they maintain a surface harmony, but in private it's long since fallen apart. Better that you take this chance to step aside, make space for them, and let them settle it once and for all. It will also stop Third Brother from forever eyeing Lian Huaijin's dowry."

"Let me be blunt. If something happened to Yu'er, Third Brother would be the direct beneficiary. Third Brother coasted through life, never suffering a fall this devastating. How could he possibly accept it? His desperation to rise again has driven him half-mad." Wen Shishu sighed again. "When Lian Huaijin died, he used Yu'er as a life-preserving bargaining chip and survived that crisis. So many peaceful years have passed. Having tasted the sweetness of it once, he's probably still harboring that intention. He and Yu'er are biological father and daughter, but these days, who's to say he isn't thinking of using her as his life-preserving talisman once more? You love your children and grandchildren, but the world is full of people who sell their own flesh and blood."

Wen Ru's expression contorted. "Third Brother is that kind of person?"

Wen Shishu said, "If I had nodded my head last night, Yu'er would have had to shoulder another fifty million in debt for him. On her income, she would have to work herself to exhaustion without eating or drinking for ten years. And that's with me being her own paternal aunt, not making things difficult for her over that debt."

"All these years, have there been few people wanting to pursue Yu'er? Only Ye Ling has ever gotten close to her. And how did Ye Ling get close to her? You should count yourself lucky that she genuinely likes Yu'er and wants to be good to her. If it had been someone with ulterior motives, with your granddaughter's stubborn temperament... just think about the consequences yourself."

Old Master Wen trembled for a long while without speaking. After a long pause, he finally said, "Book the plane ticket." He rose unsteadily, swaying as he walked.

Wen Shishu supported him. "Take it slowly, don't fall." She still added, "With you out of the way, let Ye Ling handle this. Your precious son won't lose any limbs. If I were the one doing it, I'd have to beat him crippled and lock him up. In this matter, we owe Ye Ling a debt of gratitude. Even though she has this relationship with Yu'er, we must not take advantage of her."

Old Master Wen nodded, exhaled heavily once more, and said nothing else.

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