The Art of Teasing - Chapter 107
Chapter 107
During the midday rest, Wen Zhengyu found herself unexpectedly sleepless.
Ye Ling's arm stretched across her waist, holding her close. The heat of their two bodies made the space beneath the blankets warm and deeply comfortable, yet the soft warmth and delicate fragrance of Ye Ling's body enveloped her completely. Being held and carefully cherished felt deeply soothing, but it also filled her with a restless, indescribable tension. There was even a tinge of fear—fear that she might grow accustomed to this, and so she dared not let herself fully relax.
Ye Ling hadn't fallen asleep either. It seemed she had not a trace of drowsiness. Her fingers idly looped a strand of Wen Zhengyu's hair, spinning and playing with it.
Worried that Ye Ling would notice her wakefulness and lean in to kiss her or do something else, Wen Zhengyu squeezed her eyes shut, feigning sleep. In her mind, she silently recited the Scripture of Clarity and Stillness, trying to lull herself into slumber. Yet her thoughts were constantly disrupted by the rhythm of Ye Ling's breath and the way her fingers twirled her hair.
Ye Ling's voice, low, soft, and gentle, a murmur as intimate as a whisper, sounded by her ear: "Can't sleep?"
Wen Zhengyu thought in surprise, How did you know? Outwardly, she remained as still as a mountain, giving a soft "Mm" in affirmation. "Stop playing with my hair."
A low laugh escaped Ye Ling. Her voice, saturated with amusement, replied, "Shall I play with something else?"
Intuition told Wen Zhengyu that these words held a double meaning. She turned her head to find Ye Ling gazing at her, all smiles and mirth. That look in her eyes made Wen Zhengyu's heart skip several beats. She instinctively averted her gaze, an inexplicable, intense nervousness washing over her. Forcing herself to appear calm, she asked, "What do you mean by 'play'?"
Ye Ling knew Wen Zhengyu's temperament well and dared not make risqué jokes with her. So she said, "Something like coaxing an insomniac baby to sleep."
Wen Zhengyu's face instantly blazed with heat, and goosebumps erupted all over her skin from the saccharine words. She said through gritted teeth, "A giant baby, you mean."
Ye Ling burst into laughter. "You've even ticked the right box yourself."
Wen Zhengyu felt that if she didn't settle the score with Ye Ling, she'd be failing herself. She couldn't bring herself to hit anyone, so she discreetly reached over, pinched a tiny bit of skin on Ye Ling's arm, and twisted.
Ye Ling cried out in pain. "Ouch!"
Wen Zhengyu hastily withdrew her hand. "I didn't use any force." As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized Ye Ling had been teasing her again and that her own words had just revealed her little trick.
Ye Ling pulled her arm out from under the covers. There, plain to see on her arm, was a small, distinct fingernail mark. She bent her finger and flicked Wen Zhengyu gently on the forehead. "Look at how long your nails are." Then she showed Wen Zhengyu the spot where the crescent-shaped imprint had been left.
Wen Zhengyu hadn't expected that such a light pinch could leave a mark, and she immediately felt terribly apologetic.
Ye Ling leaned in and pressed a kiss to Wen Zhengyu's lips. "Compensation."
Rogue! Wen Zhengyu's anger flared, and she wanted to pinch her again. She raised her hand, but then a thought stopped her: What if Ye Ling demands compensation again in the same way? She didn't dare make another move. She said, "Get off. This is my bed."
Ye Ling let out a heavy "Hmph, hmph," and flopped onto her back, lying beside Wen Zhengyu. She even provocatively winked at her.
Frustrated, Wen Zhengyu shut her eyes, resolving to ignore this person who was disturbing her afternoon nap.
Ye Ling leaned over again, planting another kiss on Wen Zhengyu's lips, and even pressed her body on top of hers.
Wen Zhengyu's eyes flew wide open as she stared at Ye Ling, who was now inches away. Her mind raged, Is there no end to this? Kissing again! Aloud, she said, "You're crushing me. If we're going to sleep, sleep properly. Don't wriggle around like a child."
Ye Ling lifted a finger and gently stroked the tip of Wen Zhengyu's nose. She asked, "Don't you think this position is rather nice?"
Wen Zhengyu looked at Ye Ling, baffled. A thought flickered through her mind, and suspicion bloomed instantly: Getting this close... is there an ulterior motive? She asked, "What are you trying to do?" The moment the words were out, she saw Ye Ling slowly draw closer and press her lips against hers.
Ye Ling's lips brushed against hers, touch by touch, gentle as a dragonfly skimming the water's surface, again and again. Soft, like wisps of cloud. Tender, like a gentle breeze. So careful, as if handling a fragile antique porcelain piece.
The sensation was not unpleasant. It even felt deeply wonderful, making her thoughts feel adrift, as if floating into the clouds. And yet, the tactile sensation at her lips was like the string that tethered a kite, keeping her thoughts circling around Ye Ling.
Ye Ling's breathing grew heavier, slightly uneven. She used her teeth to nibble gently on Wen Zhengyu's lip. The lip tingled with a slight numbness, and when Ye Ling's teeth lightly bit down, it seemed to perfectly dispel that itchy, tingling feeling, making her feel, strangely, that this little nibble was very pleasant.
Ye Ling caught a glimpse of Wen Zhengyu's wide-open eyes, a look that seemed almost reminiscent or savoring, yet entirely devoid of carnal desire. She lifted a hand and gently closed Wen Zhengyu's eyelids.
Wen Zhengyu instinctively thought of those TV drama scenes where people who died with unresolved grievances would have their eyes closed by a hand just like that, so she opened them again.
Ye Ling closed them once more.
Persistently, Wen Zhengyu opened them yet again, silently reciting in her heart: Good luck and great fortune! Good luck and great fortune! Good luck and great fortune!
"You're supposed to close your eyes when you kiss," Ye Ling said.
Wen Zhengyu cast a sidelong glance at Ye Ling. Did she think she was so naive? Ye Ling hadn't closed her eyes, after all.
Seeing that Wen Zhengyu was disinclined, Ye Ling didn't press the issue of keeping eyes shut. She asked, "How does the kissing feel? Is it disagreeable?"
Wen Zhengyu gave the question serious thought, then replied, "Not disagreeable." She added, "It's very comfortable." However, the fact that Ye Ling was lying on top of her was very inappropriate. She said, "Stop crushing me."
Ye Ling bent her head and placed a soft kiss on Wen Zhengyu's earlobe.
Wen Zhengyu immediately jolted, her whole body shrinking back as if an electric current had shot through her.
At her ear, Ye Ling murmured in a low voice, "Don't move."
The voice was so close it sent a wave of tingling, strange sensation spreading from her ear. She couldn't help but reach up and pinch her own earlobe, saying, "It tickles." She was wholly unaccustomed to this kind of thing from Ye Ling and intensely nervous. It seemed like Ye Ling was about to do something.
Make love?
It didn't seem to be that.
It was nothing like the dry-tinder, raging-fire kisses in TV shows and movies where two people acted as if they wanted to devour each other. No clothes had been removed either. Just kissing? Though they could be considered girlfriends now, this kissing frequency was exceedingly high. Kisses on the mouth and forehead were common enough, but she had never seen anyone also kiss an earlobe.
Ye Ling's gaze swept across Wen Zhengyu's face. She rose, got off the bed, and went into the bathroom.
Before long, Wen Zhengyu heard the sound of running shower water coming from the bathroom.
Stupefied, she sat up, clutching the blanket and peering toward the bathroom. A shower in the middle of the day? What does that mean?
Wen Zhengyu called out, "Ye Ling, are you alright?"
Ye Ling's voice drifted from the bathroom: "I'm fine. Just got wet."
Wen Zhengyu responded with an "Oh," thinking Ye Ling's reply was utterly baffling. Of course, you get wet when you shower.
A moment later, she saw Ye Ling emerge wrapped in a bath towel, and she was instantly on full alert. "You're not thinking of doing that... that thing, are you?" she demanded.
Ye Ling turned her head to look at Wen Zhengyu, who was clutching the quilt as if warding off a sex offender. Somewhere between exasperation and helplessness, she drawled in reply, "If I were going to do that, I wouldn't have gone to shower."
Wen Zhengyu thought to herself, But people always shower right before they do that kind of thing.
A thought flickered in Ye Ling's mind. Her gaze swiveled, and she asked, "Zhengyu wants to?"
Wen Zhengyu's head shook so rapidly it was a blur. "No," she said. She just felt Ye Ling's behavior was a little strange. Then the alarm on her phone rang. Wen Zhengyu stared at the alarm, dumbfounded, thinking, Has so much time really passed?
She turned off the alarm, then looked back at Ye Ling, her eyes filled with renewed suspicion. She couldn't shake the feeling that Ye Ling had been about to do something just now.
Between a man and a woman, the physiological structure made that kind of thing—though repulsive—its mechanics understandable to her.
But how did two women do that sort of thing? In any case, it wouldn't be just kissing. Otherwise, Ye Ling wouldn't have gone for that gynecological exam.
Wen Zhengyu looked at her own bed, then at Ye Ling, who had showered in the middle of the day. The two of us sleeping in one bed... it's very risky, isn't it? At the very least, she and Ye Ling hadn't yet reached the point of... whatever that thing was. After hesitating for a moment, she cautiously negotiated with Ye Ling: "Ye Ling, why don't I add another bed in the room?"
Ye Ling, who had her back to Wen Zhengyu and had just slipped on her underwear, turned her head in utter astonishment. Baffled, she asked, "Add another bed? What for?"
Wen Zhengyu said, "We could each have one bed... it would be more..." The words hadn't finished leaving her mouth when she saw the threatening look in Ye Ling's eyes and expression, which inexplicably made her feel a little guilty. But then she remembered Ye Ling had promised her that without her consent, she wouldn't do anything further. She said, "I didn't agree to you kissing me, yet you kissed me. And you even lay on top of me." As soon as she finished speaking, she saw Ye Ling give her a look of exasperation.
Ye Ling said, "Fine. We can buy a bed, chop it up, and use it for firewood. A wood-fired meal sounds pretty good."
Wen Zhengyu knew full well that Ye Ling wouldn't agree to such a thing willingly, so she let the matter drop. She got up, neatly made the bed, changed her clothes, and prepared to go to the Old Madam's place.
The two of them had separate matters to attend to that afternoon.
Wen Zhengyu's previous car had been scrapped because the repair costs were too high, and she had returned the car Old Madam Zhang had given her. For the time being, she had no vehicle, so Ye Ling had assigned a car for her use.
The Old Madam's health had greatly improved. With the fine afternoon weather, the elderly couple felt like going out for a walk. Seeing Wen Zhengyu arrive, they invited her along. Old Master Lian's leg was in poor condition; ordinarily, he needed a cane to walk, but he couldn't go far. For any extended walking, he had to use a wheelchair.
The neighborhood surrounding the Old Family Mansion was beautiful. Just a short distance from the house lay a lake, and beside it, a public park, usually bustling with visitors.
Along the lakeshore, weeping willows dipped toward the water. On the adjacent pedestrian path, tall parasol trees lined the way.
In the deep autumn season, the leaves on the branches had already thinned out, sparse and scattered. Fallen leaves drifted everywhere, dancing on the ground. Basking in the warm sunlight and facing the crisp autumn breeze, there was a unique, tranquil charm to the moment.
Old Master Lian sat in the wheelchair, with Wen Zhengyu pushing it as she accompanied them on their stroll. The Old Master was in particularly good spirits and said to the Old Madam, "This is the advantage of having a granddaughter."
Puzzled, Wen Zhengyu asked, "What advantage?"
Old Master Lian just beamed.
The Old Madam said, "That pack of wild boys is never home all day. I don't see any of them finding the time to come accompany him on a walk." His beautiful granddaughter pushing his wheelchair—the old man was feeling positively smug in his heart. With a wife by his side, children and grandchildren all nearby, and having a granddaughter to accompany them on walks and bask in the sun—The Old Madam also felt that this was precisely how one's twilight years should be spent.
Wen Zhengyu, however, spoke a few words in her cousins' defense, saying, "They're all busy with work, with social obligations, with looking after their children. They'd love to tear a twenty-four-hour day into forty-eight hours to use."
The Old Madam looked at Wen Zhengyu and, upon reflection, conceded. It was true. Given Wen Zhengyu's temperament, she would dodge any social engagement she could. Her only requirement for work was to earn a simple living; she never entertained grand ambitions of making a great fortune or building a corporate empire, so naturally, she was disinclined to spend too much time on the pursuit of money. Over this long period, the Old Madam had come to see clearly: Wen Zhengyu was, by nature, a homebody. In her free time, she loved nothing more than burrowing into her home—whether it was her own house or this place of theirs.
Wen Zhengyu accompanied the two elders on their walk, chatting idly about this and that. Then, with an air of the utmost casualness, as if by the way, she remarked, "Ye Ling has moved into my place."
She desperately wanted to toss out this single sentence and smoothly steer the conversation past it, but the Old Madam seemed to take it very seriously, asking pointedly, "So it's settled?"
Worrying that the Old Madam might disapprove, Wen Zhengyu replied, "It's settled."
The Old Madam observed Wen Zhengyu's utterly bashful and embarrassed expression and said, "Last time, you said you hadn't yet made up your mind. And now it's settled?"
Wen Zhengyu thought about how she and Ye Ling had already kissed and were living together, so of course, it was settled. Yet the memory of their kissing sent another wave of searing heat across her face, and she was deathly afraid the Old Madam would notice. Keeping her face taut, she said, "It's settled." Her voice was very soft, but the words fell with resolute finality.
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