The Art of Teasing - Chapter 35

Chapter 35

They finished their meal and returned to the art studio.

The two went upstairs. When they reached the office door, Ye Ling asked, "My office?"

Wen Zhengyu nodded lightly and answered, "Alright."

She went back to her own office to collect the documents Wen Li had given her and her laptop, then carried them into Ye Ling's office and set them on the coffee table.

Ye Ling brewed a cup of tea for Wen Zhengyu.

Wen Zhengyu thanked her and said, "I'll look through the documents first and mark anything I don't understand. I'll ask you later." She paused, then asked, "I'm not disturbing you, am I? If so, I can take these home to review and come consult you when you're free."

Ye Ling smiled gently and said, "No disturbance at all. You go ahead and read. Call me when you're finished." With that, she returned to her desk, sat down, and opened her own laptop.

Seeing that Ye Ling also seemed busy with work, Wen Zhengyu focused her attention on the documents. She first read through them carefully twice, marking any points she didn't understand, then went online to research. She figured that if she could find answers through online resources, she wouldn't need to trouble Ye Ling further.

With Wen Zhengyu in the office, Ye Ling found it difficult to concentrate on her work. She kept stealing glances at Wen Zhengyu.

For Ye Ling, just having Wen Zhengyu there—doing nothing at all, simply looking at her—was a pleasure. What was most captivating about Wen Zhengyu was that elegant poise and tranquility, along with the exquisite refinement that permeated her from head to toe, like a piece of carved and polished mutton-fat jade, smooth and translucent.

Looking at Wen Zhengyu, Ye Ling always had the sense that Old Master Wen's life's work was not invested in that residence worth hundreds of millions, nor in the antique treasures that filled the house, nor in the paintings he had created throughout his lifetime—but in Wen Zhengyu.

Wen Zhengyu had read through the documents twice. When she finished, her slender, fair hands—like bone china—settled on the laptop keyboard. For a while she typed, for a while she moved the mouse, so busy she didn't even lift her head, occasionally glancing toward the documents laid out beside her. Was she looking things up online?

Ye Ling rose and walked over, leaning down to look at Wen Zhengyu's computer screen. She was astonished to see that this young woman was actually online researching corporate loan procedures. She gaped slightly, unable to recover for a long moment. She guessed that aside from that time Wen Zhengyu had used a bracelet as collateral to borrow seven hundred thousand from her, she had never asked anyone for a loan, nor had she ever dealt with lending.

Wen Zhengyu's voice pulled Ye Ling's thoughts back. "CEO Ye, I'll look up some information first. If there's still something I don't understand, I'll ask you. It's getting quite late. Should I come find you tomorrow? Will you be in your office tomorrow?"

Ye Ling sat down beside Wen Zhengyu and said, "Lending policies change frequently—sometimes due to government regulation, sometimes bank regulation. And then there's the fact that different time periods, different clients—the lending standards and interest rates all vary."

Wen Zhengyu could tell that Ye Ling was actually telling her, quite tactfully, that the information she was finding online lacked timeliness and specificity and didn't reflect real-world practice.

She shifted a little to the other side of the sofa, making room for Ye Ling.

Ye Ling explained the loan process to Wen Zhengyu in thorough detail—the procedures, the points to watch for, and the key aspects a business principal needed to control during the lending process.

Listening to Ye Ling's explanation, Wen Zhengyu felt inexplicably moved. Ye Ling was being extraordinarily detailed, especially regarding the specifics she needed to control—where problems were likely to arise, which operational steps were vulnerable to exploitation and traps. Everything was laid out with complete clarity. Given the depth of her relationship with Ye Ling or the way Ye Ling typically conducted herself, it shouldn't have been like this.

Yet Ye Ling had told her.

She understood why Ye Ling would tell her. It was probably something like, "As long as you're fine, saying a bit too much doesn't matter."

By the time Ye Ling finished explaining the loan matters, it was nearly eleven.

The old gentleman had been uneasy and sent Zhan Cheng to pick her up. Zhan Cheng had been waiting for her in the reception room for nearly two hours.

She packed up the documents and computer and took her leave from Ye Ling. As she reached the door, she heard Ye Ling call out: "Zhengyu."

She turned back to look at Ye Ling.

Ye Ling asked her, "Have you thought about what direction you want the studio to develop in? The traditional art studio operating model, or a corporate model?"

Wen Zhengyu was caught off guard by the question. For a moment, she didn't know how to answer.

Ye Ling said, "It's nothing. I was just asking casually."

Wen Zhengyu knew Ye Ling wouldn't ask something like that casually. Although Ye Ling still appeared as composed and self-contained as usual, everything about her words and actions tonight showed she was a bit off. Wen Zhengyu guessed it had something to do with her. She said, "Goodnight, CEO Ye," and left with the computer and documents in her arms.

She returned to her office to briefly tidy up. When she reached the studio entrance, she first saw that Zhan Cheng had already parked the car at the door waiting for her, and then noticed the silhouette cast from the upstairs window. From the outline, she recognized it immediately as Ye Ling. Ye Ling was standing at the window at that moment, watching her.

Wen Zhengyu didn't look back. She got into the back seat, closed the car door, and left directly.

Old Master Wen hadn't slept yet; he was waiting for her. She had come back late from working overtime, and the old gentleman, worried she'd be hungry, had specially prepared a late-night snack for her.

Wen Zhengyu finished her snack and returned to her room to rest.

Lying in bed, she again suffered from some insomnia.

Ye Ling's unusual behavior tonight kept lingering in her mind, disturbing her and making it difficult to sleep.

Wen Zhengyu wondered: Could it be that her feelings run deep? That she's very fond of me?

Perhaps it was because she had never liked anyone herself, so she didn't quite understand what kind of emotion it was—this inability to let go despite knowing it was unattainable. The Nine-Tailed Fox had waited until death for the other to return; she could understand that as "having seen the vast ocean, no other waters compare." But the intersection between her and Ye Ling was limited to business dealings, and at most, Ye Ling liked her paintings. If someone said Ye Ling had goodwill toward her or liked her a little, she'd believe it. But to say the feelings ran deep—she found it hard to comprehend.

Something must have happened to cause Ye Ling's unusual behavior.

Wen Zhengyu guessed it was likely related to that question about the studio's development direction, because both instances had seemed rather abrupt. But the studio's operating model—could it really affect Ye Ling all that much? Wen Zhengyu couldn't figure it out.

In the morning, Wen Zhengyu received a call from Wen Li asking her to lunch.

This cousin of hers was so busy every day her feet barely touched the ground. If it weren't something important, she wouldn't ask her to lunch.

She left work an hour early at noon and went to meet Wen Li.

Wen Zhengyu waited alone in the private room for about ten minutes before Wen Li rushed in urgently, as if riding wheels of fire.

Wen Li had her bag looped over her wrist and her phone pressed to her ear, still in the middle of discussing something. She pulled out a chair, sat down, hung up the phone, and then looked at Wen Zhengyu.

Wen Zhengyu asked, "Sister Lili, what's the matter?"

Wen Li swept her gaze over Wen Zhengyu. She waited until the server who brought the dishes had finished serving and left before propping her chin on her hand and looking at Wen Zhengyu. "I just wanted to ask about what's going on between you and Ye Ling."

During the New Year holiday, her Second Aunt had asked the same thing. Wen Zhengyu was a bit speechless. Ye Ling being interested in her warranted this much attention from so many people? She looked at Wen Li, slightly puzzled. She thought for a moment, then said slowly, "Ye Ling... toward me... seems to have... some intentions of that sort. But my interactions with her aren't many. It's mainly some dealings through the studio."

Wen Li sighed softly, pressing her hand to her forehead as she looked at Wen Zhengyu with weary dismay.

Wen Zhengyu, feeling somewhat uneasy under Wen Li's gaze, asked, "Is there something wrong?"

Wen Li looked at Wen Zhengyu and said, "The boss of Yushan Group moved her office next door to yours and personally checked your studio's quarterly financial statements. The way we handled your financial manager's accounts yesterday—that wasn't right. I'm rarely at the studio, and you don't understand finances very well. I was worried he might be up to no good, so I deliberately found some fault to tighten the reins. Being your cousin—a natural blood relationship—is what made me act that way. And Ye Ling? Hm?"

Wen Zhengyu silently watched Wen Li, not knowing what to say.

Wen Li continued, "Those quarterly reports of your studio—even if Ye Ling wanted to review the accounts, she wouldn't even need to send someone from finance. She could just log into the studio's financial system and audit them. Under normal circumstances, if it really reached the point where she sent finance personnel over, it would definitely mean the studio's accounts had major problems."

Wen Zhengyu looked at Wen Li. She vaguely began to understand what Wen Li meant. She asked, "Sister Lili also thinks Ye Ling is acting strangely?"

Wen Li pressed a hand to her forehead in utter exasperation. She took a sip of tea, then asked, "You, toward Ye Ling... do you like her?"

Wen Zhengyu shook her head without hesitation and said, "I don't." Her contact with Ye Ling wasn't extensive—she truly couldn't say she liked her. At most, she didn't dislike her. She preferred the feeling of "the exemplary person's friendship is insipid as water" and didn't much care for overly deep involvement. After she spoke, she noticed that Wen Li's expression had turned rather strange.

Wen Li let out a heavy sigh and said, "Xiao Yu, you're on your own now. If Ye Ling wants to do something about you, I truly have no way to rescue you."

Wen Zhengyu: "..."

Wen Li sighed. "Alright, let's eat." She picked up her chopsticks, then after a moment's thought, added, "If you see things turning sour, or notice any bad signs, tell me. I'll find a way to sell off your shares, and you can go to Aunt Shishu's place."

Wen Zhengyu: "..." What on earth? What was all this about? She asked, "What do you mean, things turning sour?"

Wen Li felt like she was already regretting coming out for this meal. She couldn't be bothered to deal with Wen Zhengyu and buried her head in her food.

Wen Zhengyu thought for a moment, then said, "Sister Lili, yesterday Ye Ling asked me a rather random question."

Wen Li couldn't help but tense up a little. "What did she ask you?"

Wen Zhengyu said, "Something about the studio. She asked whether I'd thought about what direction I wanted the studio to develop in—the traditional art studio operating model or a corporate model."

Wen Li asked, "Under what circumstances did she ask?"

Wen Zhengyu said, "Last night. I couldn't quite understand those reports you gave me..." She recounted how she had gone to Ye Ling the previous night to learn about loans. She added, "As I was leaving, Ye Ling just asked me that question out of nowhere."

Wen Li asked, "Those reports I gave you—what parts didn't you understand?"

Wen Zhengyu listed all the points she hadn't grasped.

Wen Li asked further, "And Ye Ling explained the entire loan process, the operational details, the risk management—all of it—to you in extreme detail?"

Wen Zhengyu nodded, and then she noticed Wen Li's expression read: I don't even know what to say anymore.

After a long moment, Wen Li said, "That question from Ye Ling wasn't random. She was considering what kind of tutoring course to give you—whether to arrange the beginner's curriculum or the advanced curriculum."

Wen Zhengyu: "..."

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