The Art of Teasing - Chapter 184

Chapter 184

Ye Ling had to be married out from her own home, and she also needed maternal family members to send her off in marriage. During this busy period while she was occupied with work, the matter of her wedding was being managed by her sister-in-law, with Dong Yuan assisting. Fortunately, Wen Zhengyu had already arranged most things; they only needed to decorate the house and arrange for the reception of guests. Her family didn't have many relatives, and the only ones who could stay at the house were her brother and sister-in-law's family. Those close business associates were all arranged to stay at hotels, and the guests to be entertained were just those coming on the wedding day.

Ye Ling and Wen Zhengyu hadn't been in the room long before Lian Xi arrived, accompanying Grandmother.

The elderly lady had been thinking about Wen Zhengyu's wedding and wanted to come see for herself. Once she saw that everything at the Wen household was in perfect order, she felt reassured, and after having dinner with Wen Zhengyu and the others, she returned home.

Wen Zhengyu wanted to escort the elderly lady back, but the old lady said, "You're busy with your things, Lian Xi will accompany me back."

Wen Zhengyu hadn't seen Lian Xi for a while and noticed he had changed considerably. He looked very sharp and capable, with a bit more edge to him and less of the young master's air. After seeing off Grandmother and Lian Xi, she told Ye Ling, "Brother Xi looks different somehow."

Ye Ling said, "At the beginning of the year, he switched to a tough position that yields good performance results." Having work to do, being able to strive for a career—of course he would be different.

The two of them went to the hotel to check on the wedding preparations. The banquet hall, lounge areas, and other venues were all set up. Ma Lu was leading his people in installing security equipment and deploying security personnel.

Passing by the entrance, Ye Ling saw balloons and colored silk ribbons that hadn't been used up piled to the side. She casually picked a balloon and handed it to Wen Zhengyu. "For you."

Wen Zhengyu took the balloon and, in turn, picked up a silk flower and handed it to Ye Ling: "A gift in return."

Neither could hold back their laughter. Truly, childish!

Wen Zhengyu's mood was excellent. When she faced Ye Ling, it was as if everything around them became mere background. Ye Ling's smile seemed to reflect directly into one's heart, lifting one's own mood along with it—warm, sweet, beautiful. Although the two of them often made childish gestures completely unbefitting their ages, when it came to Ye Ling, not returning the gesture made one seem too easy to bully, but returning it was also too childish. Fortunately, she wasn't the only one being childish, so Wen Zhengyu calmly continued being childish with Ye Ling. As in that moment, they were like two kindergarten children holding hands.

On the second day, Ye Ling returned after finishing breakfast.

Wen Li and Qi Wei arrived.

Wen Zhengyu had invited both of them to be her bridesmaids.

She invited them to her small courtyard and took out the custom-made bridesmaid dresses she had ordered for them, so they could try them on and see how they fit.

These two were also extremely busy people who had been saying they would come to try on the dresses but kept putting it off, unable to find the time. Fortunately, both were the type who looked good in anything; the measurements were fine, and the dresses looked excellent on them.

Qi Wei, exceedingly vain, cast a leisurely glance at Wen Zhengyu. "With such a beautiful bridesmaid, won't I steal the spotlight from the two brides? What were you thinking, asking someone as good-looking as me to be a bridesmaid?" In all her life, no one had ever asked her to be a bridesmaid. Being too beautiful was sometimes a kind of affliction.

Wen Li tossed a remark at Qi Wei: "She didn't think much about it—she just couldn't find anyone else to be a bridesmaid." Wen Zhengyu seemed like someone who could chat and exchange a few words with anyone, but in truth, she had very few peers she was truly close to.

Qi Wei's smile stiffened for two seconds. She hooked her arm around Wen Zhengyu's and pulled her over. "You dragged me in to make up the numbers?"

Wen Zhengyu naturally didn't dare respond to that. She said, "You and Sister Lili are the closest people among my peers that I know."

"That's more like it." With great magnanimity, Qi Wei forgave Wen Zhengyu and then added, "Don't worry, I'll definitely be beautifully dressed and give you plenty of face." So beautiful as to outshine even Ye Ling.

Wen Zhengyu smiled slightly and said nothing. Qi Wei was prettier than her; outshining her was no challenge, but wanting to outshine Ye Ling—that was somewhat unlikely.

Qi Wei, who had been set on outshining Ye Ling, saw her smile shatter on her face the moment she accompanied Wen Zhengyu to fetch the bride and laid eyes on Ye Ling.

Ever since she had known Ye Ling, Ye Ling had given off the impression of a tough, rugged fellow wearing a beauty's skin. Even if Ye Ling rolled up her sleeves and got into a fight with someone, Qi Wei wouldn't have been the least bit surprised. It had been said that Wen Zhengyu was marrying Ye Ling, but seeing how Wen Zhengyu had asked bridesmaids for herself, and the dress she had made—though it wasn't a wedding gown, it was still a gorgeous formal dress—she looked just like a bride awaiting marriage. Thus, in Qi Wei's imagination, she should have seen Ye Ling wearing a suit-style formal dress. However, what she saw was Ye Ling wearing a large red floor-length formal gown. The train trailing behind her was a full meter long; the brilliant, vivid red was embroidered with phoenix patterns in gold thread, and paired with that set of top-grade precious gemstone jewelry, she was dazzling to the point of near blindness.

Qi Wei saw Ye Ling descending gracefully, bathed in the early morning sunlight. The sun illuminated her, rendering even lighting effects unnecessary.

She couldn't help but repeatedly glance sideways at the dress on Ye Ling. Ye Ling was actually wearing a skirt!

After Wen Zhengyu had entered the door, Ye Ling gave her a grumpy sidelong glare. Yet when Wen Zhengyu extended her hand toward her, she still placed her hand in Wen Zhengyu's, then gave a light pinch to Wen Zhengyu's palm, secretly gritting her teeth: Just wait till tonight, you'll get what's coming to you. Who could have imagined that this tycoon of hers would have several dresses made in one go? She had thought they were just trying on styles to see the effect; only today did she realize this young lady had several made. She had thought the formal dress meant as the main outfit would be the one worn to the evening banquet. The official wedding dress was the one she had on now! She was even worried that someone behind her might step on her train. But if not for the fact that this dress was super expensive—well, she was getting married anyway.

Ye Ling noticed that Wen Zhengyu's hair was styled up, with fine strands of hair cascading at her temples. Compared to her usual look, she retained a touch of elegance but added seven parts sensuality. The smile at the corner of her lips and the soft gleam in her eyes were particularly stirring. She leaned close and said, "You look so beautiful." As she spoke, her gaze swept over the dress Wen Zhengyu was wearing, which was similarly in the same vivid red. Wen Zhengyu's clothes had always tended toward simple elegance and lightness. Perhaps because of her excellent skin and extremely fine features and bearing, she could really hold down such an intense color.

A smile lingered at the corner of Wen Zhengyu's lips. She removed one of the pair of bangles she wore on her wrist and placed it on Ye Ling's hand.

Ye Ling recognized at a glance that this pair of bangles was the one left behind by Wen Zhengyu's paternal grandmother.

Now, the two of them each wore one.

Ye Ling's gaze glimmered as she looked at Wen Zhengyu. Her eyes, her face, were all smiles.

She held Wen Zhengyu's hand tightly and led her towards the car, feeling that in this life, this lifetime, it was all worth it.

Wen Li, as the bridesmaid, saw the two brides off into the car, then teased Qi Wei, who was standing by like part of the scenery, with a smile: "Great Beauty Qi, will you be a bridesmaid again next time?" Looking at Qi Wei, dressed up and stunningly gorgeous, she couldn't stop laughing. Wen Li felt genuine admiration for her own cousin! That vivid shade of red—if Qi Wei wanted to outdo it, she'd probably need a specially focused spotlight.

Getting married and wearing vivid red, there was nothing wrong with that. The key was that very few people dared to wear it this way. The slightest misstep and one could end up looking dowdy or old-fashioned, or be overwhelmed by the color. Fortunately, those two could hold down the vivid red.

Wen Li also praised Qi Wei: "Such a beautiful green leaf, I've never seen the like before." She laughed as she pulled Qi Wei into the car. Qi Wei wasn't much older than Wen Zhengyu. Although she usually seemed like someone hard to provoke, likely because of Wen Zhengyu, Wen Li saw her as somewhat of an awkward little sister. Once in the car, she sighed to Qi Wei: "Oh, to be young."

Qi Wei leaned close to Wen Li, checked the corners of Wen Li's eyes—no wrinkles—and tossed back: "You're not old either."

Wen Li was stung by that. She said, "Little brat, can you just turn that 'old' into 'not much older'?"

Little brat? Qi Wei very much wanted to throw back at Wen Li: "Call me Big Sister." Wen Li was Wen Zhengyu's paternal cousin and was even slightly older than Ye Ling. She wasn't familiar enough with Wen Li to have the nerve to tell her to call her big sister, so she swallowed her words and sighed: "A big red long formal gown—what was Ye Ling thinking? How could she bear to wear it! Yu'er prepared it for her, right?" Ugh, trying to compete with Ye Ling in beauty and she actually lost because of the dress color.

Wen Li said, "Xiao Yu prepared it. Never mind a formal dress, even if it were a suit of armor, she'd wear it." With a face as thick-skinned as Ye Ling's, there was nothing she wouldn't dare do. For the sake of getting married, what was wearing a dress? No big deal!

When they arrived at the hotel's ceremonial hall, the two brides stepped onto the red carpet hand in hand.

Ye Ling, pulling Wen Zhengyu along, was utterly without reserve, grinning so widely she couldn't close her mouth. Anyone who didn't know better would think she'd just picked up eight million yuan.

The two of them put wedding rings on each other. Ye Ling looked at hers again and again, wishing she could flaunt it even more. She spread her fingers for Wen Zhengyu to see the ring on her hand, saying cheerfully, "Alright, you're locked down now."

Wen Zhengyu laughed softly and gave a gentle "Mm," her gaze fixed unblinkingly on Ye Ling.

The host, holding the microphone beside them, delivered a long string of congratulatory words before finally saying, "We now invite our brides to give their speeches." He was just hesitating over whom to hand the microphone to first when Ye Ling had already turned and taken it. The smile on Ye Ling's face was warmer than the July weather outside. That delighted, joyful look made those who didn't know better think she was the one marrying Wen Zhengyu. The first words Ye Ling spoke into the microphone were: "It was particularly difficult. Today, I'm finally marrying myself off."

She said, "The first moment I laid eyes on Zhengyu, I was already fond of her. It was March then, and she was standing under the eaves. The rainwater falling from the eaves mingled into strings of pearls, and she stood beside a potted plant under the eaves, lifting her eyes to look at me. That was the first time I truly, genuinely understood what people meant by 'Jiangnan,' what 'poetic and picturesque' truly looked like. Holding an umbrella, we walked through the misty rain. I followed beside her, and that's when I thought, how wonderful it would be if we could walk like this for a lifetime. Although I thought that in my heart at the time, I mostly felt it was a luxury, so I could only rack my brains to create opportunities, shamelessly seek out more time with her, invite myself to her meals, and thought that if only I could marry her, even if it meant selling everything I owned, I would do it willingly."

As she said this, her smile grew wider and wider. "And yet, what I never expected was that Zhengyu actually wanted to marry me. I never imagined that one day, I could marry the person I love so deeply, and have my own happiness."

"In the past, I never dared to imagine that one day there would be a woman, a woman I love deeply, who would be willing to marry me, and hold such a grand wedding for me. In the past, I also didn't dare to imagine Zhengyu would marry me. Back then, I just felt that if she let me stay by her side and didn't drive me away, I would already be more than content."

She turned her head to look at Wen Zhengyu and extended her hand towards her.

Wen Zhengyu reached out and took Ye Ling's extended hand, their hands pulling together. Although today was their big day and no amount of public display of affection would be considered excessive, holding hands like this under everyone's gaze still made Wen Zhengyu's heart race uncontrollably, her face burning hot and flushed bright red. Especially Ye Ling's gaze—it seemed ready to drown a person in it.

Ye Ling put down the microphone and looked into Wen Zhengyu's eyes with a smile. She said to Wen Zhengyu, "I hope you are Kunlun, and I am the Phoenix Bird. We had a previous life and past lifetimes; this life and this lifetime are our reunion. This way, we can also promise each other lifetimes yet to come, life after life after life."

"Zhengyu, where you are, there I am. Even if the heavenly tribulation descends, we will bear it together."

Wen Zhengyu understood what Ye Ling was saying. Before the Phoenix Bird battled the heavens, the Kunlun Goddess had undergone lightning tribulation. The Phoenix Bird had told Kunlun: she would wait three years. Three years later, Kunlun had not returned, and the Phoenix Bird perished battling the heavens. If there were heavenly tribulations again, they would bear them together—live and die together.

Wen Zhengyu's heart surged with emotion, but she didn't know what to say. She could only nod gently and respond with an "Mm." She clasped Ye Ling's hand tightly, thought for a moment, then took the microphone from Ye Ling's hand and said, "Once, I had an idea: to become a Daoist nun and paint temple murals quietly up in the mountains, painting the myriad deities and buddhas filling the heavens. Once, I had an accident and spent a long time in a daze, hovering on the edge of life and death. But there was one person I couldn't bear to leave behind—couldn't bear to abandon her while I hid away in the quiet mountains; couldn't bear to leave her and walk into that endless darkness. Every time I opened my eyes, every time I looked back, she would appear before me, appear by my side. No matter how difficult things were for me, as long as I reached out my hand, she would take it, pull me along, protect me." Her gaze swept over the crowd, then she turned her head to look at Ye Ling, her eyes fixed on Ye Ling, and with a light laugh, she said softly, "Having you in this life is enough."

Ye Ling's smile was exceptionally radiant. She said, "See, you can say romantic words and confess after all!" She leaned her face in and said, "Give me a kiss."

The people below the stage immediately egged them on, shouting for them to kiss.

Wen Zhengyu's face instantly turned bright red. She gritted her teeth and was just about to lean in and kiss when Ye Ling straightened her face, closed her eyes, and presented her lips, waiting for Wen Zhengyu to kiss her on the mouth. Wen Zhengyu: "…" She glanced at the crowd below the stage, then back at Ye Ling, and forcibly dragged Ye Ling off the stage.

Ye Ling followed behind, calling out, "Just one kiss, just one kiss. Today I'm getting married."

Wen Zhengyu looked back and said, "Today I'm getting married too!"

The host shouted, "Two brides, come back quickly! The program lineup isn't finished yet! Come back, there are still activities later…" He then picked up the bouquet and said, "The bouquet, the bouquet, the bouquet—the most important bouquet toss segment is still coming up! All the single guests present are waiting for it…"

It belatedly dawned on Wen Zhengyu that after spending so long with Ye Ling, she herself had become quite fierce and bold. She pulled Ye Ling back towards the stage.

Ye Ling's shoulders shook with laughter. She grabbed Wen Zhengyu's hand and said, "If you don't kiss me, I won't go back."

Wen Zhengyu shot her a look, gave a light peck on Ye Ling's lips, and then Ye Ling looped her arm around hers, and the two returned to the stage together.

Ye Ling laughed heartily and said to everyone, "That was a bit mushy just now, but my family's bride is thin-skinned. Normally, getting a few sweet words out of her is harder than anything. Today, this rare opportunity finally came up, and my wish has been fulfilled." She then looked at the host with sparkling eyes and asked, "Host, what other activities are there?"

The host shuddered deeply, even his shoulders shaking a few times. He thought to himself: This bride is terrifying, like a wolf or a tiger. He glanced again at the other, slender and delicate bride and suddenly felt that the roles of bride and groom between these two might have been reversed.

Wen Shishu watched Ye Ling, who was acting like a madwoman on stage, rubbing her forehead. She had once hoped the two of them would keep a low profile—this was almost ready to soar to the heavens.

Her sister-in-law whispered to Ye Zhan, "Ye Ling is truly happy."

Ye Zhan nodded. It was rare for him to see Ye Ling this joyful. She was developing well here; after so many hard years, she no longer had to endure bullying, no longer had to bear others' contemptuous gazes, no longer had to hide and conceal. Now she could openly and honestly tell people who she liked and who she was with, could confess publicly without being pointed at and criticized. All those who received their invitations and could attend were people who knew about their relationship. More people came than Ye Zhan had expected, and their attitudes were far more tolerant. This scene, compared to the whispering gossip about Ye Ling's sexual orientation at the time when Old Man Ye passed away, was truly night and day.

Some elderly men and women watched the two of them making a ruckus, shaking their heads while laughing cheerfully, not quite understanding these young people, yet feeling that youth was wonderful.

Qi Wei was sitting with Wen Li. She sighed, "I feel like I've been force-fed a huge mouthful of dog food."

Wen Li swept her eyes over her and said, "When they toss the bouquet later, be a little more proactive."

Qi Wei glared at Wen Li. "Do I look like someone desperate to get married?"

Wen Li said, "Not exactly. You just have the bitterness written all over your face." She added, "The bitterness of a single dog."

Qi Wei said, "Like you're not a single dog yourself."

Wen Li said, "I have people pursuing me."

Qi Wei said, "So do I."

At this point, both realized how childish their conversation had become. People nearby were already looking over at them, and someone even teased them: "You two should just get together as a pair."

Wen Li decisively pulled her chair far away from Qi Wei.

Qi Wei's eyes widened as she stared at Wen Li. She suddenly realized she was actually being despised by Wen Li!

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