The Art of Teasing - Chapter 62

Chapter 62

Ye Ling was sleeping deeply, her head resting on Wen Zhengyu's shoulder, occasionally shifting position slightly when she felt a bit uncomfortable.

Worried that she might get a stiff neck, Wen Zhengyu offered her own neck pillow to Ye Ling, letting her sleep on it.

Ye Ling, not used to the neck pillow, asked drowsily, "Am I pressing on you?"

Wen Zhengyu said, "No."

Ye Ling gave a light hum, then set aside the pillow, wrapped her arms around one of Wen Zhengyu's arms, and settled her head back onto Wen Zhengyu's shoulder to continue sleeping.

Seeing that Ye Ling did not seem uncomfortable—her body soft and warm, leaning against her without causing any distress—Wen Zhengyu let Ye Ling use her arm as a body pillow and her shoulder as a headrest.

Ye Ling's bodyguard drove the lead car ahead; it took over three hours to reach the hotel by the shore of Yangcheng Lake.

The plan was to stay one night at the hotel and go to the crab farm the next morning.

Seeing the car had come to a smooth stop, Wen Zhengyu called softly, "Ye Ling."

Ye Ling hummed in a daze.

Wen Zhengyu said, "We're here."

Ye Ling hummed again.

Listening to the nasal hum, Wen Zhengyu strongly suspected Ye Ling hadn't actually woken. She called again, "CEO Ye."

Ye Ling didn't respond, but her breathing was no longer as deep as before—she seemed to have woken.

She asked, "Awake?"

Ye Ling's voice, a low murmur like a whisper, sounded beside Wen Zhengyu's ear: "Zhengyu."

Wen Zhengyu wasn't sure—was she talking in her sleep or actually awake?

Ye Ling's voice came again, lighter, softer: "I like you."

Her voice was right next to Wen Zhengyu's ear.

Along with the voice came Ye Ling's warm breath on Wen Zhengyu's ear, warm and ticklish, sending a tingling numbness down her earlobe. Wen Zhengyu immediately tensed, her breath quickening. That fiery sensation spread from her ear to her face, heating her cheeks. She shrugged slightly in discomfort and said, "Don't mess around—it tickles."

Ye Ling's low laughter sounded.

Wen Zhengyu asked, "What are you laughing at?"

Wen Jing had parked the car and, ever tactful, got out and gently closed the driver's side door.

Ye Ling didn't answer; she simply sat up and rubbed her neck, which felt a bit stiff from sleep.

Wen Zhengyu ignored Ye Ling, pushed open the car door, and got out.

Outside the hotel was the lake; one could see the lake and the marina with a glance. She already lived by a lake and had her art studio by a lake—no matter how beautiful, seeing lake views every day had long since grown tiresome, so a change of scenery didn't feel novel.

She had seen Ye Ling looking utterly exhausted and assumed that after checking in and having a meal at the restaurant, Ye Ling would go catch up on sleep. To her surprise, when she looked back, Ye Ling came down looking full of energy, all traces of fatigue gone, a smile on her face, with an air of springtime ease.

Ye Ling came to her side and said, "Once we've checked in, let's go eat. My treat—some lake delicacies. Yangcheng Lake has more than just hairy crabs; there are also clear-water shrimp, whitefish, river eel, and mandarin fish. They're all quite good."

Wen Zhengyu thought to herself that Ye Ling seemed to be treating this as a bit of a vacation.

She wasn't sure whether coming on this trip with Ye Ling was the right thing to do. She knew perfectly well that Ye Ling had feelings for her, yet here she was spending time with her. After all this time, things were getting a bit ambiguous.

Wen Jing and Dong Yuan handled the check-in, delivered their luggage to the rooms, then drove again to go to dinner.

It was a bit far—they drove over half an hour to reach the place.

"Live by the mountain, eat off the mountain; live by the water, eat off the water." On the shores of Yangcheng Lake, the restaurants mostly sold local aquatic products—freshly caught and killed lake delicacies, and the taste was quite good.

She and Ye Ling sat at one table; Wen Jing, Dong Yuan, and the others at another.

During the meal, Ye Ling kept adding food to her bowl, and the fish she'd placed there had been carefully picked free of bones.

The level of meticulous care reminded Wen Zhengyu of her older cousins and their wives. It made her feel that the way she and Ye Ling were acting was actually quite ambiguous. She said, "CEO Ye, I can serve myself."

Ye Ling asked, "Something on your mind?"

Wen Zhengyu said, "No."

Wen Zhengyu rarely let her emotions show, but that was only because she controlled them well. After spending so much time with Wen Zhengyu, Ye Ling could read her emotional state from countless tiny details. During this meal, Wen Zhengyu was even more silent than usual, fewer pleasantries, lost in her own thoughts.

Ye Ling wondered if she had worn Wen Zhengyu's patience thin and was now annoying her. After a moment, she said with a smile, "If I'm bothering you, tell me."

Wen Zhengyu shook her head: "No." She guessed Ye Ling had noticed something. She reined in her wandering thoughts and focused on eating.

Ye Ling didn't serve Wen Zhengyu any more food, just ate quietly. She wanted to be with Wen Zhengyu and enjoyed spending time with her, but she didn't want to make Wen Zhengyu unhappy. If her behavior was causing distress, she'd have to reflect on it.

They finished their meal each preoccupied with their own thoughts, then returned to the hotel and went to their separate rooms.

That night, Wen Zhengyu had trouble sleeping.

She didn't dislike Ye Ling—truly didn't. On the contrary, being with Ye Ling was comfortable and easy. Ye Ling had devotedly pursued her for over a year, giving her heart and soul—she knew that. In human relationships, it's about reciprocity: give and take. Ye Ling treated her well; she could either accept that kindness and return it, or stop accepting it. If they were just ordinary friends, such back-and-forth wouldn't matter; close friends could be that way. But Ye Ling's kindness came from liking her.

Wen Zhengyu couldn't quite balance the ledger of emotions.

She tossed and turned until late in the night before finally falling asleep.

The next morning, Wen Zhengyu was woken by Ye Ling's phone call.

In the past, after calling, Ye Ling would certainly have come to her room to wait for her. This time, she didn't.

After hastily washing up and changing, Wen Zhengyu called Ye Ling and learned that Ye Ling was in her own room. She said, "I'm ready. Shall we go eat or head straight there?"

Ye Ling said, "Eat breakfast first. Don't go on an empty stomach."

Wen Zhengyu hummed in agreement. She guessed that her mood had been evident to Ye Ling—was Ye Ling sulking? Or had she decided there was no hope and given up? It would be good if Ye Ling could take a hint and back off, saving her the worry.

When she opened the door and stepped out, she saw Ye Ling very unusually dressed down—jeans, a T-shirt, and a sports cap to shade the sun, looking full of vitality, a refreshing sight.

Ye Ling asked, "What are you spacing out for?"

Wen Zhengyu said, "I've never seen you dressed like this."

Ye Ling said, "When we're going to fish for crabs, we should dress casually—whatever's convenient."

Wen Zhengyu swept her gaze over Ye Ling. Not detecting any particular emotion—just the usual—she once again felt she was overthinking.

She had expected that at the crab farm, she'd see a huge harvest, crate after crate of crabs waiting to be sorted. When they arrived, the farm owner came out to greet them, exchanged pleasantries with Ye Ling, paid his respects to Wen Zhengyu, then led them toward the fishing boat.

Wen Jing, Dong Yuan, and the others all stayed ashore. The farm owner took her and Ye Ling on the boat and headed to the crab-raising area.

A small fishing boat, fitted with a diesel engine, went "tuk-tuk-tuk" as it moved. Sitting in the boat, she could reach out and touch the lake water. She put her hand in, and clear water flowed through her fingers.

It was her first time on a fishing boat, rather novel.

The farm owner chatted loudly with Ye Ling, appearing quite familiar.

The boat moved a short distance and soon reached the crab farm built out in the lake. Workers were rowing small boats carrying nets, busy alongside the crab enclosure nets. The nets above the water were covered with countless crabs. All her life, she had only ever seen crabs either tied up or in aquariums; this was the first time seeing them raised in the lake, alive and kicking. When their boat drew near, the crabs got startled and jumped into the water, vanishing in an instant.

The water here was clear, and the crabs were all clean—far fresher and livelier than those in aquariums.

The worker who had been busy just moments before lifted a long crab-catching cage from the enclosure net. The cage was full of crabs. He hoisted it onto his boat and dumped them into a large plastic crate.

The farm owner said, "These are the crabs you ordered. Once we get them ashore, we'll pick out the females."

They had arranged beforehand that she wanted all female crabs.

Seeing Wen Zhengyu not taking her eyes off the worker pulling up crabs, Ye Ling couldn't help but smile and ask, "Want to try hoisting a cage yourself?"

Wen Zhengyu said, "No thanks." Just satisfying her curiosity was enough. She knew her own strength well; seeing how long the crab cage was, she could tell it was heavy. She'd be afraid of not being able to lift it and ending up in the water.

The farm owner drove the little boat in a circle, then turned back.

Wen Zhengyu realized this was arranged especially for her to see something novel. She glanced back at Ye Ling sitting behind her and knew that Ye Ling had spoken to the owner beforehand. Feeling a bit embarrassed, she turned and said to Ye Ling in a low voice, "Just pulling up the crabs would've been fine. To specially trouble the owner to bring me out for this little tour feels like too much." More importantly, it was Ye Ling's thoughtfulness that made her even more embarrassed.

Noticing Wen Zhengyu's cheeks flushing slightly pink, Ye Ling said with a smile, "I saw how fascinated you were just now. You've never seen this before, have you?"

Wen Zhengyu honestly admitted, "My first time seeing it."

Ye Ling said, "You came all this way; it's good to take a look."

Both she and Ye Ling had bought a lot of crabs.

For her order, they first picked out the female crabs from the crates. The workers swiftly tied them up with string, loaded two large crates onto a small truck. The remainder were packed into gift boxes and then placed on the truck. Once the crabs were in boxes, they were loaded onto the small truck, stuffing the cargo compartment full. That truckload of crabs would follow her car back and be delivered directly to various families.

Ye Ling's crabs were still in the lake. She gave the owner her address and asked him to ship them by air to Beijing.

Wen Zhengyu stared at Ye Ling, speechless for a long moment.

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