The Art of Teasing - Chapter 112
Chapter 112
The young woman let out a heavy "Hmph." "You say confront, confront. Where's my face in that?"
Wen Zhengyu replied flatly, "Turn left and you'll find the main entrance. Take care. No need to see yourself out."
The young woman's gaze flickered, then she smiled. "Don't believe me, huh? Or do you really think you're somebody?"
Wen Zhengyu instructed the reception staff to escort the young woman to the upstairs meeting lounge and brew her some tea. She also assigned two security guards to watch her, wary she might cause trouble. She herself continued leading the team in replacing the paintings in the exhibition hall.
Seeing Wen Zhengyu busy again, the young woman didn't head upstairs. Instead, she pulled up a chair and sat beside the action, watching Wen Zhengyu work.
The studio's reception staff invited the young woman upstairs, but she politely declined.
Naturally, Wen Zhengyu was also observing the young woman's behavior. She realized that despite this person flipping moods faster than flipping a book, her words and actions still revealed something of her family background. She showed proper etiquette in dealing with people, indicating she wasn't some nouveau riche clueless type. She had a subtle air of disdain about her, lacking the usual aura common to children of most merchant families.
The security manager approached Wen Zhengyu and quietly informed her that, after checking the surveillance footage, he'd seen the young woman had arrived in two vehicles. She rode in a sedan, followed by a seven-seater business van. He'd just sent a guard to check; there were six bodyguards in the van.
Wen Zhengyu nodded slightly to show she understood.
Ye Ling's company was quite far from here. For her to rush over from the office would take over an hour, no matter what.
After Wen Zhengyu finished swapping the paintings in the exhibition hall and storing the removed ones, she asked the young woman to join her in the VIP lounge upstairs.
The young woman had been knocked hard to the ground by the security guard earlier, badly scraping her knees and elbows, so her legs were a bit unsteady going up the stairs.
Wen Zhengyu saw she could still walk, clearly nothing serious. Three red scratches still marked the young woman's face, so Wen Zhengyu paid her no further mind.
Ye Ling called to say she was almost at the studio.
Wen Zhengyu said simply, "I'll wait for you in the second-floor VIP lounge." Then hung up.
The young woman watched Wen Zhengyu sit down at the tea station and begin brewing tea, then chose a seat far away from her. She lifted her pant legs and sleeves to inspect her arms and knees. Her knee was a mass of purple bruising, the skin actually broken open, and her arm was seeping faint traces of blood.
Probably hurting from the wounds, she blew gently on them, casting sidelong glances at Wen Zhengyu from time to time.
Wen Zhengyu actually understood the look in her eyes: Don't think you're the only one with injuries on your face. I have them on my body too!
The young woman continued to roll up her pant legs and sleeves, leaving the wounds on all four limbs blatantly exposed for all to see.
A few minutes later, Ye Ling appeared at the doorway of the VIP lounge.
The young woman saw Ye Ling and stood up excitedly, moving towards her. "Ye Ling," she called out. As she stood, she stumbled, gasping sharply from the pain. "Hurts," she cried.
Ye Ling froze for a second, then her gaze fell onto the young woman's knees. "How did you..." She saw the young woman was unsteady on her feet and was even raising a hand, wanting support. Feeling both irritated and amused, Ye Ling stepped forward to support her. "Can't you settle down for a moment? What are you doing here?" As soon as she said it, she sensed something was wrong. She turned her head and saw Wen Zhengyu sitting silently beside the nearby tea station, sipping tea slowly while watching them. Three exceptionally distinct red scratches marked Wen Zhengyu's face.
The young woman took the opportunity to drape an arm around Ye Ling's neck. "Came to see the romantic rival," she said.
Ye Ling's expression immediately darkened. She asked the young woman coldly, "Did you lay a hand on her?"
The young woman didn't answer. She slowly released Ye Ling, sat down pitifully on a nearby chair, and continued examining the injury on her knee.
Ye Ling called out, "Dong Yuan," and went straight to sit beside Wen Zhengyu, carefully inspecting the injury on her face. Wen Zhengyu's skin was so fair and delicate. Those three scratch marks from fingernails were so red they looked about to bleed.
Dong Yuan entered the room, walked over to the young woman, and said, "Miss Yao, let me take you to get those wounds treated first."
The young woman replied, "It's nothing. No need." She pulled down her sleeves and pant legs, then turned to see Ye Ling leaning close to Wen Zhengyu with that careful, cherishing look. Instantly, anger, frustration, and heartache flared up. Her eyes reddened, tears welling up and swirling in their rims.
She struggled mightily to hold the tears back, but failed. A few drops still rolled down. Her voice thick with tears, she said, "They told me you'd found a girlfriend outside... I didn't believe it..." The words that followed choked back, tears streaming down like a string of beads.
Wen Zhengyu's gaze swept from Ye Ling to this young woman, then she refilled her teacup and continued sipping slowly. If this young woman was acting, her performance was award-worthy. Given her family background, the willingness to put on such a performance also spoke of genuine feeling.
Dong Yuan exchanged a glance with Wen Jing. The two of them stepped out of the VIP lounge together, closing the door behind them, and stood guard outside.
Ye Ling stood up and handed a tissue to Yao Yao. "So you decided to come scratch Zhengyu's face?" she asked.
Yao Yao took the tissue and roughly wiped the tears from her face. "I couldn't stand it," she said, "but I didn't mean to scratch her face."
Ye Ling said grimly, "You've really outdone yourself. Reaching out casually to scratch someone's face. Aren't you afraid of having your claws chopped off?" Her voice was cold as she glanced at Yao Yao, then her eyes went back to the injury on Wen Zhengyu's face, making her seriously consider scratching Yao Yao back.
Yao Yao whispered, "With you here, I'm not afraid."
Ye Ling gave a cold laugh. "Want to bet I'll be the first to chop off your claws?"
"No bet," Yao Yao said, then turned and headed straight for the door.
Ye Ling called out, "Yao Yao."
Yao Yao turned back, her reddened eyes fixed on Ye Ling, her expression one of indescribable sadness.
Ye Ling's face was all solemnity as she warned her, "Don't let there be a next time."
Yao Yao stared fixedly at Ye Ling, her gaze unwavering for a long moment before she finally revealed a smile. As she smiled, more tears fell. Then she turned away, wiping her eyes, and left.
Wen Zhengyu held her teacup. The tea inside was long empty, yet she still hadn't remembered to lower it from her lips. She only came back to herself after Yao Yao had left the VIP lounge. Slowly, she refilled her cup and continued drinking at that unhurried pace, pondering the relationship between these two.
She could see that their bond was extremely close. Yao Yao genuinely liked Ye Ling, and Ye Ling's treatment of Yao Yao was laced with care and affection in every way. Yao Yao had scratched her face, yet Ye Ling still had to worry about Yao Yao getting her "claws chopped off." Those words carried a warning, but also a reminder prompted by Yao Yao's improper actions.
Ye Ling sat down beside Wen Zhengyu and looked again at her injured face. The more she looked, the angrier she became, and also very worried that Wen Zhengyu might misunderstand. She explained, "I have never had any other thoughts towards Yao Yao."
Wen Zhengyu gave a soft "Mm." "She likes you. You care about her." This was the conclusion she'd drawn from her observations just now, and also what Yao Yao had wanted her to know by coming here to make a scene.
Ye Ling knew Wen Zhengyu was perceptive, that she didn't need an explanation to see this clearly. Still, she added, "She has no parents, so I wanted to look out for her a bit more. But that doesn't mean she can come here and scratch you." Wen Zhengyu had barely even been scolded growing up, and now suddenly to have several scratch marks left on her face—just looking at them made Ye Ling's heart ache. From Wen Zhengyu's reaction, she could tell Zhengyu was still processing what exactly had happened, that it hadn't fully sunk in yet. Wen Zhengyu had been with her bodyguard and inside her tightly secured studio when she was scratched; Yao Yao had clearly caught everyone off guard. Knowing that personality of hers, once she'd extended her claws, she wouldn't just let it go easily.
Ye Ling gave Wen Zhengyu a preemptive heads-up: "She probably wanted to try and drive a wedge between us."
Wen Zhengyu gave another soft "Mm," then repeated, "You care about her."
Ye Ling: "..." Was this... jealousy? A flicker of delight rose in Ye Ling, but then she saw the three glaring scratch marks on Wen Zhengyu's face, and her heart clenched again. That little bit of delight scattered clean away. "I'll need to 'care' a bit more," she said.
Wen Zhengyu turned her head, looking at Ye Ling in confusion, sensing something behind Ye Ling's words.
Ye Ling added, "To prevent her from scratching you again. If she raises a hand again, I'll scratch her back for you."
Wen Zhengyu glanced at Ye Ling's fingernails, polished exceptionally smooth and round. "You don't keep nails," she said. She offered a sincere suggestion, "You could grow them long."
Ye Ling looked at her own beautiful hands. "That won't do. Nails must be trimmed perfectly clean. My hands have more important purposes."
Wen Zhengyu understood what Ye Ling meant by that. All she felt was that her face, already burning hot from the scratches, grew even hotter. She shot Ye Ling a look. "You're still in the mood to think about that." A sudden flash of inspiration struck her. "Tonight, you sleep on the Arhat bed."
Ye Ling: "..." She called out, "Zhengyu."
Wen Zhengyu added, "Sleep there until these scratch marks on my face completely disappear."
Ye Ling whispered a negotiation, "Kneeling at the foot of the bed, will that do?"
Wen Zhengyu's eyes widened, staring at Ye Ling in astonishment. She never imagined Ye Ling could say such a thing. Once again, she felt she had underestimated Ye Ling.
Ye Ling asked pitifully, "Will it do?"
Wen Zhengyu shook her head. If she made Ye Ling kneel at the foot of the bed, what would that make her? A tigress? The image of a ferocious tigress making her partner kneel flashed into her mind, and she hurriedly shook her head again.
Ye Ling made a brash decision, gritting her teeth as she declared, "Then add two bricks on top of that."
Wen Zhengyu paused, then continued shaking her head. She desperately wanted to say: Have some shame, will you?
But those words were truly too hard to voice.
Wen Zhengyu felt that if Yao Yao had raked those claws across Ye Ling's face, they absolutely would not have left a mark. She said, slowly and deliberately, "She has many photos from your trips together." Her voice was soft and gentle, using a calm, even tone to state a fact.
Ye Ling instantly felt her scalp go numb. The air was thick with the strong scent of vinegar.
Wen Zhengyu continued, "You've also slept in the same bed." She added thoughtfully, "You meet every month, at least two or three times, sometimes more." Ye Ling was very busy. Even though they were this close now, and Ye Ling spent time at the studio, their previous meetings and overlap hadn't been frequent. Yao Yao wasn't a local; for her to see Ye Ling was much harder than it was for Wen Zhengyu. She had to specifically arrange time to meet up.
Ye Ling fell silent. What a massive pit Yao Yao had dug for her here with Wen Zhengyu! This kind of thing couldn't even be explained; any attempt would just make it worse. Right now, all she wanted was to scratch five claw marks onto each of Yao Yao's cheeks!
Wen Zhengyu glanced at Ye Ling, who was emanating a cold, severe aura from head to toe. "Tonight, you sleep on the Arhat bed," she said, then stood up to leave.
Ye Ling stood up, fuming. "I'm going to find Yao Yao," she said.
Wen Zhengyu turned back, looking at Ye Ling with confusion. Still going to find her?
Ye Ling ground her teeth and yelled, "To scratch her!"
Wen Zhengyu gave a soft "Oh," then returned to her office with perfect composure. She pulled out a small mirror to examine the scratch marks on her face, then sent Ye Ling a text message: "Scratch her a few extra times." She even took a photo of the scratches on her own face and sent it over: "Must not be below this standard." Then she added one more line: "I want to inspect the results."
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