The Art of Teasing - Chapter 48

Chapter 48

During breakfast, Old Master Wen said to Wen Zhengyu, "You have a car now, so it's convenient to come and go. How about coming home for lunch?"

Wen Zhengyu looked at Old Master Wen suspiciously. She asked, "Grandfather, have you been coming home for lunch lately?"

Old Master Wen replied, "When I have time."

Meaning if he was busy, he wouldn't come back—basically, that amounted to not coming home for lunch. She continued asking, "Will there be anyone else coming to our house for lunch?"

Old Master Wen raised his eyelids slightly and said impassively, "No."

Wen Zhengyu noticed that Old Master Wen seemed less genial than usual and guessed something was bothering him. She said, "Don't be upset. You're even busier than I am these days, not even coming home at noon yourself, and now suddenly you're telling me to come home for lunch. I've got to figure out the reason."

Old Master Wen merely glanced at Wen Zhengyu silently and said nothing.

Wen Zhengyu immediately understood. The old master was telling her to come home for lunch because he wanted her to keep her distance from Ye Ling. She figured it had something to do with Ye Zhan making a special trip to the studio to see her. She had no intention of developing that kind of relationship with Ye Ling, and to avoid being misunderstood, it was better to create some distance. She answered, "Alright."

Wen Zhengyu felt too embarrassed to directly cut off Ye Ling's meals, so she told Sun Yuan she would be eating lunch at home from now on and to only deliver Ye Ling's portion to her.

She thought that if it were anyone else in this situation, understanding her meaning, they would naturally back off to avoid an awkward situation. But knowing Ye Ling as she did, this wouldn't even register as a setback for her.

Out of politeness, Wen Zhengyu thought she should still let Ye Ling know.

That morning, Ye Ling didn't come to the studio, and Sun Yuan didn't deliver lunch either.

When she went home for lunch, she asked Sun Yuan about it. Sun Yuan told her that Ye Ling had said she had matters to attend to over the next few days and wouldn't be dining at the studio.

Ye Ling was busy with work, frequently on business trips, and it wasn't unusual for her not to come to the studio for ten days to half a month.

The old master's birthday was approaching.

Last year, because of the matter with Mr. Wen Shiyi, the old master hadn't been in the mood to celebrate his birthday. He had only asked Sun Yuan to cook a bowl of longevity noodles, and that was how he spent his birthday.

The old master was someone who enjoyed lively gatherings, and Wen Zhengyu felt that this year, no matter what, she couldn't let his birthday pass so coldly again.

The old master's opinion was that this year they also shouldn't make a big affair of it. They could just book a banquet at a hotel and invite some relatives and close friends.

Wen Zhengyu noticed that when the old master mentioned celebrating his birthday, his mood was a bit off.

The old master's birthday and Mr. Wen Shiyi's birthday were right next to each other. The old master's birthday was on July 31st, and Mr. Wen Shiyi was born on the day of the Army Day. Every year, the old master's birthday banquet was held jointly with Mr. Wen Shiyi's.

She understood that no matter how much of a failure her father was, the old master still thought of him in his heart.

Wen Zhengyu's own mood was also deeply troubled. Her father had been on the run for a year and hadn't even called her once, hadn't asked how she and the old master were doing. She also harbored resentment toward her father in her heart, and therefore hadn't contacted him either.

For the old master's birthday, Wen Zhengyu still hoped Mr. Wen Shiyi could come back for a visit.

Mr. Wen Shiyi's old phone number had been disconnected; she didn't have his current number. She contacted Madam Wen Shishu to ask for Mr. Wen Shiyi's phone number.

When the call connected, a woman's voice came from the other end: "Hello."

Wen Zhengyu: "..." She glanced at her contact list, confirming it was indeed Wen Shiyi's number that she had just saved.

"Hello?"

Wen Zhengyu suppressed the emotions surging in her heart, thinking, Fine, a landline, it's normal for someone else to answer—maybe it's household staff or a secretary? After she told the woman that she was looking for Mr. Wen Shiyi, she heard the woman call out, "Honey," telling Mr. Wen Shiyi to pick up the phone.

Wen Zhengyu's chest tightened with a suffocating feeling, and she nearly hung up right then.

Soon, Mr. Wen Shiyi's voice came through the phone: "Hello?" It then shifted to: "May I ask who's calling?"

Her mobile phone number hadn't changed in ten years.

She called out, "Dad, it's me."

Mr. Wen Shiyi exclaimed with great surprise, "Xiao Yu?" followed by a deliberately lowered voice saying, "My daughter," clearly explaining to the woman beside him, and then he asked her, "Is something wrong?"

Wen Zhengyu's heart suddenly felt terrible. She figured Mr. Wen Shiyi had probably even forgotten his own father's birthday. Judging by his manner, it didn't look like he was missing home and wanting to return. She took a deep breath and said, "Nothing's wrong. Grandfather's birthday is coming up, and I wanted to ask if you're coming back."

Wen Shiyi told her that he was currently negotiating a very important project—if this deal went through, he could use it to turn things around—and he absolutely couldn't get away. Mr. Wen Shiyi then brought up the matter of her opening the art studio, saying it wasn't proper for a woman to show her face in public doing business. The family didn't need her to go out and earn money. Her studio couldn't make much money in a whole year anyway, and she should close it sooner rather than later. He also mentioned he had heard she was close to Ye Ling, that the studio had Ye Ling's investment in it, and she shouldn't get mixed up with Ye Ling.

Wen Zhengyu couldn't say a single word. She silently hung up the phone.

Her father running away, her family selling off their assets—none of it had hurt more than Mr. Wen Shiyi's words just now.

Wen Zhengyu felt a dampness at the corners of her eyes. She gently wiped away the moisture, tossed the phone aside, and went to wash up and rest.

She thought, she shouldn't have made that call. But just like Old Master Wen, deep down in her heart, there was still a trace of longing, she still hoped he could come back. She knew he felt that after his business collapsed, returning home would mean losing face, that it wouldn't be glorious. He wanted to earn money and return in splendor. But for her and her grandfather, what they wanted wasn't his glory or lack thereof; they simply wanted him to come back and take a look.

Mr. Wen Shiyi, in a foreign land, still had the mood and the means to find a confidante. She thought, he must be doing fairly well.

Wen Zhengyu simply pretended she had never made that discordant phone call. Some attachments and wishful thoughts, once they should be let go, were let go.

However, what she hadn't expected was that while she wanted to pretend the call had never happened, Mr. Wen Shiyi had taken it to heart.

The next day, a Mr. Li, claiming to be an old friend of Mr. Wen Shiyi, came to the studio to find her. He said he had been entrusted by Mr. Wen Shiyi to help her transfer her shares in the art studio, and that out of regard for his friendship with Mr. Wen Shiyi, he would certainly help her get a good price.

Mr. Li had even brought a lawyer and the authorization contracts with him.

Wen Zhengyu was utterly astonished by Mr. Wen Shiyi's capability. She had the receptionist serve tea to Mr. Li and the lawyer and invited them to sit in her office, asking them to wait a moment as she needed to call Mr. Wen Shiyi.

To avoid the call being answered by Mr. Wen Shiyi's confidante, Wen Zhengyu this time dialed his new mobile number.

The call connected quickly. Mr. Wen Shiyi asked again, "Hello, may I ask who's calling?"

Mr. Wen Shiyi had made progress this time—he knew to check which country the incoming number was from.

She called out, "Dad, it's me."

Mr. Wen Shiyi said, "Oh, Xiao Yu. Right, has Old Li arrived at your place? I've already spoken with him. That matter of your studio, leave it for him to handle."

Wen Zhengyu said, "Sister Lili has shares in the studio. Grandfather put a great deal of effort into setting it up in the first place. If you ask me to sell the studio, I won't be able to explain it to Grandfather and Sister Lili." Without waiting for Mr. Wen Shiyi to speak, she continued, "If you're short on funds, Grandfather and I will figure something out and try our best to scrape together money for you. But asking me to sell the studio—I can't do that." After finishing, she hung up the phone, walked over to Mr. Li, and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Mr. Li. The art studio is not Mr. Wen Shiyi's property, and he has no standing to dispose of it. Nor do I have any intention of transferring or selling the studio." While she was speaking, Wen Shiyi's call came through again.

Wen Zhengyu hung up and politely saw Mr. Li and his party to the door.

After she had escorted them outside, Wen Shiyi's call came again.

Wen Zhengyu waved goodbye to Mr. Li and the lawyer, closed her office door, locked it, and only then answered Wen Shiyi's international call, saying, "Dad, I've already seen Uncle Li and the others off."

Mr. Wen Shiyi seemed somewhat angry, demanding to know what she had meant by those words just now.

Wen Zhengyu tried her best to use a calm tone as she said, "Dad, I hope we can respect each other, not make things awkward for each other. You want me to stay at home, but I no longer have a father I can rely on. Everything in the house that could be sold has been sold, even Grandmother's dowry couldn't be kept. Grandfather is almost eighty and still going out early and coming back late to earn his retirement fund. I need to support myself and provide for Grandfather in his old age, not let him still have to worry about me at his advanced age." These words—she didn't want to say them, and she shouldn't have to. But after the stunt Mr. Wen Shiyi had pulled today, she had no choice but to say them.

Mr. Wen Shiyi was silent for a long moment before saying, "Even so, you can't get mixed up with Ye Ling."

Wen Zhengyu said, "In business, business is business. Ye Ling is your commercial competitor, not mine."

Mr. Wen Shiyi seemed quite angry. He took a deep breath to keep his voice calm and said, "Then how come I've heard she has that kind of interest in you?"

Wen Zhengyu said, "In matters of feelings and private life, I hope we can also respect each other. Can we do that?"

Wen Shiyi said, "I am your father."

Wen Zhengyu said, "If a father can be unreasonable, then I think it's necessary for me to bring Grandfather in to discuss this with you. If you object to this matter, Grandfather and I will be waiting at home for you. We can explore it together, see whose opinion is better to follow on this issue. Alright?"

Wen Shiyi snapped angrily, "Don't use your grandfather to pressure me!"

Wen Zhengyu fell silent.

Wen Shiyi shouted, "In any case, you and Ye Ling must break up."

Wen Zhengyu said helplessly, "Then, first of all, before any of that, I would have to actually be in a relationship with Ye Ling. But I have no intention of developing that kind of relationship with her. I'm sorry, Mr. Wen, I have things to do. Goodbye." After finishing, she hung up the phone and tossed it onto her desk. She thought she wasn't angry or upset, yet her hands and feet were going weak, and her fingers trembled lightly, uncontrollably.

She thought, she shouldn't have made that call to Mr. Wen Shiyi yesterday.

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