The Art of Teasing - Chapter 148

Chapter 148

Cen Xun had just arrived at the Public Security Bureau when Cen Lang intercepted her. "Little Uncle said he hasn't seen us in ages, wants us to come over for lunch." It had to be urgent if Cen Lang came in person—Cen Xun got into Cen Lang's car.

Cen Lang said to Cen Xun, "Don't become another Zhao Si."

The three Cen siblings all went to their youngest maternal uncle's place. His home was civil service housing, very plain and simple. Her uncle had two sons: the elder was in poor health and had been recuperating abroad long-term, with the aunt looking after him there, and Cen Lin often traveled over to help out. The younger son worked in another province and rarely came back. Her uncle was usually too busy with work to spend much time at home; now, with a rare stretch of leisure, he had them over for a meal.

The youngest uncle asked Cen Lin about the investigation into Hongtu International, in which he'd invested. "I've heard about this—it's blown up huge. Not only is Interpol investigating, but I hear there's a connection to foreign organized crime. Somehow, branches and offices of Hongtu International overseas ended up in a firefight with a foreign gang—armored vehicles, rocket launchers, the works. A lot of people died."

Cen Lin nodded. "Yeah, I heard. I had money in with Wang Zidao too. Had I known he was up to that filthy business behind the scenes, I wouldn't have dared touch it with a ten-foot pole. I'm writing the money off—just want to stay safe."

The youngest uncle said, "Earn your money honestly, and associate with decent people. Take that fourth son in Zhao Ji's family—unbelievably reckless. Look at the business with Old Master Lu: the man's been retired for years, a proper man of culture, spotless reputation. His children and grandchildren got themselves in trouble, left the old man without even a place to stay. His old friends from back in the day—they all lived in the same compound—couldn't stand to see it, so they pooled some money and got him into a nursing home. And that girl... what's her name again? Oh, Wen Zhengyu. Some elders asked her to visit him, and with a kind heart, she took him into her own home. And that dog, Zhao Er? He cooked up a pack of lies, deceived a few people from his sister's workplace, and without even investigating or gathering evidence, went and arrested her—then used illegal interrogation tactics. The surveillance footage is right there. Ah... it's simply unspeakable."

"He was also mixed up with Wang Zidao in all those shady dealings. Zhao Yiyi got dragged down, dismissed from public service, and Old Zhao himself was formally reprimanded. The man's two years from retirement, and he has to suffer this."

Cen Lin said, "I ran into Wen Zhengyu's cousin today and asked about it. Said Zhao Si and the others went way too far—that Wen Zhengyu is the sole heir of their family's fourth branch; she's all that's left of that line. That's why they went scorched-earth."

The youngest uncle asked, "I hear the girl's out of the hospital? How are her injuries?"

Cen Lin said, "Just discharged. Yesterday she went to our eldest sister's birthday party, and our sister clocked her on the head. She was back in the hospital last night."

The youngest uncle fixed his gaze on Cen Xun, weighing her. "Impressive, Xun'er. Getting more capable by the day."

Cen Xun was furious. "How was I supposed to know there was all this crap behind it?"

Face dark, the youngest uncle scolded, "Does that give you the right to go smashing things over other people's heads? At your age, you should know better."

He reprimanded Cen Xun a couple more times, then turned back to Cen Lin to ask more about the gang firefight with Hongtu International.

Cen Lin set down his chopsticks, dabbed his mouth with a napkin, and then said, "It's complicated. Just know there's a slight connection to an overseas Chinese merchants' association."

"When I was studying abroad, I had a classmate whose family was in that association. His ancestors went over during the Xuantong era; they started out in silk and porcelain trading, then expanded their investments all over."

"From what he told me, the only one he knew of was a man named Lian—a businessman with some modest assets who left in the nineties."

"That merchant has no connection to the Lian family; it's just a coincidence of surnames. On the Lian family side, Lian Huaixin and his wife got divorced. Since the son was young, he went with the mother, and they've been abroad for many years now. No idea where they are."

"Wen Zhengyu has an aunt on her father's side who went over in the early nineties—a famous overseas Chinese tycoon, doing medical and energy business, quite close with local lawmakers." Cen Lin finished, then glanced at Cen Xun again.

"Oh, right. That merchants' association—the chairman's family name is Zhang."

"The Lian family is run by the old matriarch; everyone calls her Old Madam Zhang. Few people actually know her real name. From what her grandnephew says, three generations back they were major capitalists. The family collapsed in the sixties or seventies. Now they're all placed as managers in Lian Xin's branch companies."

The youngest uncle lifted his eyes to Cen Lin, nodded, and sighed with deep feeling. "All the women in the world, and you have to sink to this despicable garbage—and do it without even opening your eyes." As he said "without opening your eyes," he glanced at Cen Xun.

As the three siblings were leaving after the meal, he added, "Her little uncle—he's in intelligence."

Lian Xin and Ye Ling had gone and beaten Zhao Si the night before; the next morning, Lian Huaixin went in person to bail them out of the station. Something you could figure out with your kneecaps, and it still got stirred up this badly—that's on no one else.

Most importantly, you beat someone up, spent all that time doing it, and the other side openly, unapologetically laid out their reason, told you to your face why you were being beaten, and you still couldn't get a single clear lead on them—everything you pulled was rumor and hearsay. Just accept it.

---

After the Cen siblings had gotten back into the car, Cen Lin stared out the window in silence.

Cen Xun's face was dark; no telling what she was thinking.

Cen Lang said, "When you cause trouble, you have to resolve it. If you don't want to lose face, don't do things that make you lose face." She looked at Cen Xun. "You know what you need to do."

Cen Xun glanced at Cen Lang, shoved open the car door, and jumped out.

Cen Lang screamed, "Cen Xun—" and reached out to grab her, but missed. She watched helplessly as Cen Xun jumped out and was struck by a car in the next lane. The car screeched to a halt, a string of jarring brake sounds erupting behind it, followed by the sound of cars colliding and skidding.

Cen Lang and Cen Lin scrambled out of the car and saw Cen Xun lying on her side on the ground, one leg bent at an unnatural angle. Cen Lang immediately called an ambulance.

Cen Lin, furious and frantic, shouted, "Are you insane?!" He looked at Cen Xun's leg where the bone had snapped and yelled, "It's just an apology—that's going to kill you?" He asked, "Are you okay? Say something, are you okay..."

A man past thirty, and his eyes were red-rimmed.

Bodyguards rushed over and gave Cen Xun some emergency first aid.

The ambulance arrived, and Cen Lang and Cen Lin went with her to the hospital.

---

That afternoon, Wen Shishu was out getting a facial with a few close girlfriends when someone asked her, "Is your niece alright now?"

Wen Shishu said, "The doctor says she still needs time to recover."

"Oh, she's had such terrible luck. Has she crossed something? You should take her to a temple to pray when you get the chance. I mean, who goes to a party and ends up hitting their head on the toilet and passing out..."

She hadn't finished when Wen Shishu ripped off her face mask and sat bolt upright. "What did you say? Hit her head on the toilet and passed out?"

"What, you didn't know?"

Wen Shishu's eyes went wide. "When did this happen?"

"Last night. It was Cen Lang's birthday—she went too. Later she was carried downstairs by a bodyguard, unconscious. A lot of people saw. Some say she hit her head on the toilet and passed out; others say she passed out in the piano room after fighting with Cen Xun."

Wen Shishu immediately fumbled for her phone in her bag to call Wen Zhengyu. The call connected quickly enough, but it was Ye Ling who answered.

Wen Shishu asked, "Did something happen to Xiao Yu again?"

Ye Ling gave an "Mm." "Cen Xun hit her on the forehead with a teacup lid. She's still in the hospital."

Wen Shishu urgently asked which hospital and room, quickly wiped her face clean, and said to the others, "I have to go."

Her companions quickly said, "You still didn't know? Go, go."

Wen Shishu rushed to the hospital. At the door, she saw several men seated on the long bench outside—dressed like ordinary people, but their bearing made it clear they were highly capable; they had to be Wen Zhengyu's bodyguards.

The hospital room door was slightly ajar. Wen Jing was inside, sitting by the door.

When she saw Wen Shishu, Wen Jing immediately stood, opened the door, and let her in.

From the bedroom inside came Ye Ling's voice: "Think of it as fresh juice squeezed by my own hand—just a little more."

Wen Zhengyu heard familiar footsteps approaching from the sitting area, turned her head, and saw Wen Shishu. Weakly, she called out, "Second Aunt." She didn't dare speak too loudly, afraid it would make her head pound again.

Wen Zhengyu was half-sitting against the head of the bed, while Ye Ling sat sideways on the edge, holding a glass to feed her.

Ye Ling followed with, "Second Aunt," set down the glass, wiped Wen Zhengyu's mouth, and made space for Wen Shishu.

Wen Shishu said, "Something this big, and you didn't call me." She reflexively moved to tap Wen Zhengyu's forehead, then remembered her head was injured and quickly lowered her hand. Seeing Wen Zhengyu's dazed look, she couldn't be bothered to say more to her and turned to ask Ye Ling about the injury.

Ye Ling told it straight.

Wen Shishu then asked about Wen Zhengyu being hit by Cen Xun. "And how did it get out there that she hit her head on the toilet?"

Ye Ling glanced at Wen Zhengyu. "Someone said so themselves." Her tone shifted. "But that's actually for the best. We had no prior friction with the Cen family. Now the Lian family and I have fought several vicious rounds with them—both sides have casualties. They can't do anything to us, and we can't finish them off with one blow either. Better to leave each other a little room."

Wen Shishu said, "The Hongtu International matter? I did hear Eldest Sister mention it in passing. Her opinion is that if things get too unsettled here, send Yu'er to her. As for Third Brother... forget it, I won't bring him up."

Ye Ling lifted her eyes to Wen Shishu and said nothing.

Wen Zhengyu, head spinning as she was, still pricked up her ears and strained to listen.

Wen Shishu had watched Wen Zhengyu grow up—there was no way she didn't know her. She shot Wen Zhengyu a resigned look. Then she noticed Ye Ling staring at her with a particularly mischievous glint, and knew Ye Ling was definitely aware of certain things. She said, "Before Third Brother came back, Eldest Sister called me and said she couldn't manage him anymore. She forbade Father and me from intervening further. Live or die, he chose his own path. Whatever misdeeds Father and I committed back then, we reap the bitter fruit now."

Wen Zhengyu asked, "What happened back then?"

Wen Shishu said, "About your mother. Eldest Sister's position was that the family shouldn't interfere and let him learn a solid lesson. You both know the outcome. After Eldest Sister found out, she tore into us, said if we plant seeds of disaster today, we'd better be ready to swallow the bitter fruit later."

Even dizzy, Wen Zhengyu understood what her eldest aunt meant, and she murmured softly, "Enabling."

Ye Ling swept a look at Wen Zhengyu—so easily led, a few words from Wen Shishu and she'd been steered completely off track. She said, "Before Wen Shiyi came back to the country, he already clashed with Eldest Aunt over the Hongtu International matter. She couldn't stop him. Isn't that right?"

Wen Shishu glanced at Ye Ling.

Ye Ling said, "This matter is now in my hands." The only reason he was still safe and sound inside was that the real fight had yet to be decided outside—nobody had time to deal with that small-time troublemaker. But once the outcome was settled, no matter who won or lost, he wouldn't get off lightly. He and Wang Zidao dragged Zhao Si and Wen Zhengyu into the water; Wen Zhengyu pulled the Lian family in; Zhao Si dragged the Cen family down. The mess he'd made was beyond anyone's ability to contain. The only person who could protect Wen Shiyi was Wen Zhengyu—but it was because of Wen Shiyi that Wen Zhengyu was lying here right now. Ye Ling understood what Wen Shishu meant. Currently, Wen Shishu was the one calling shots for the Wen family, but Wen Shishu took orders from Wen Shili. The two sisters had slightly different views on how to handle Wen Shiyi. As events unfolded, it became clear that Eldest Aunt had been right; Wen Shishu had no choice but to follow her elder sister's lead.

The battlefield was overseas. Wen Shishu's opinion didn't carry much weight.

What Ye Ling had only suspected before, she could now confirm: she knew where the mercenaries relentlessly hunting Wang Zidao and Hongtu International overseas had come from. She said to Wen Zhengyu, "I hear your eldest aunt is coming back for the New Year. We'll all meet her together then."

Wen Zhengyu corrected, "She's your eldest aunt too."

Ye Ling smiled, stroked Wen Zhengyu's delicate little cheek, and praised, "So obedient."

Wen Shishu coughed lightly. "You two, watch it. Don't make me feel like a third wheel here."

She sat a little longer, figured it was almost mealtime, and guessed Old Madam Zhang's side would be sending food over soon. She said, "Alright, I've got a dinner engagement tonight. I'm off." Right now, she wanted nothing less than to run into anyone from the Lian family—too much shame.

Wen Shishu left, and Ye Ling resumed her feeding campaign.

A phone call came in. Ye Ling, wearing her earpiece, fed Wen Zhengyu without missing a beat.

Wen Zhengyu truly had no appetite. The moment she ate anything, she'd throw up as soon as she moved, and throwing up was unbearably miserable.

Ye Ling coaxed, "Even a little food is good for your stomach."

Wen Zhengyu said, "The doctor says I'm not malnourished."

Ye Ling said, "They didn't say you were overnourished either. Look at you—your waist's gotten thinner; I won't say a word about that. But even your chest has shrunk. How is someone supposed to live like this?"

Wen Zhengyu's face instantly flushed crimson; she wanted nothing more than to cover Ye Ling's mouth or shut the door tight. She lay back, head spinning, resting against the pillow, resolved not to open her mouth.

Ye Ling whispered, "Actually, we could try mouth-to-mouth feeding."

Wen Zhengyu glanced at Ye Ling, and suddenly imagined Ye Ling feeding her mouth-to-mouth, her vomiting back into Ye Ling's mouth—the image was too vivid, and she immediately grabbed the basin and threw up again.

Ye Ling: "..." She rubbed Wen Zhengyu's back and said, aggrieved, "Am I really that disgusting? You reject me this much."

Wen Zhengyu felt Ye Ling wasn't here to keep her company in the hospital but to bully an invalid. Having thought so, after she finished throwing up, she said so.

Ye Ling said, "Only just now figuring that out? Serves you right for going alone to see someone dangerous without your bodyguards. There've been plenty of cases where exes stabbed the current partner with a knife, and fights break out constantly. And then there's Qi Wei—didn't I tell you to trust only half of what she says? Usually, believing twenty percent is more than enough, and you..." As she grumbled, she wiped the water stains from the corner of Wen Zhengyu's mouth, and another call came in.

CEO Ye's business kept her busy. Incoming calls had already rescued Wen Zhengyu from misery countless times.

Ye Ling answered and heard a report: Cen Xun had been in a car accident. The car had been moving when the door suddenly opened; Cen Xun jumped out and was hit by a vehicle beside them.

The caller reported, "At this point, it's unclear whether Cen Xun jumped on her own or was pushed."

Ye Ling asked, "Who else was in the car?"

"Cen Lang was beside her, Cen Lin in the passenger seat."

"All three siblings in the car? Where were they headed?"

"To their youngest uncle's place. Went before lunch, came out after."

"How bad are the injuries?"

"From a distance, we saw a fracture in her right leg. As for other injuries—Cen Lin and Cen Lang both have people guarding her; we can't get exact details yet. It'll take a little more time."

Ye Ling said, "Understood," and hung up.

Wen Zhengyu asked, "Who was injured?"

Ye Ling said, "Cen Xun. Car accident."

Wen Zhengyu replied with an "Oh," unsure what the proper reaction was supposed to be upon hearing that your partner's ex-girlfriend had been in an accident, so she went on peacefully dealing with her own dizziness.

She'd never been seasick before, but right now she felt not just seasick but airsick too, along with a freight train roaring through her skull—rumble, rumble, rumble.

She closed her eyes and soon fell asleep again.

Ye Ling lowered Wen Zhengyu's bed so she could lie flat.

After all these years, Cen Xun was long a thing of the past for her. Hearing Cen Xun was in a car accident, her first reaction was the same as hearing about someone she merely knew but had no real connection with—neutral. Only afterward did she consider the impact and pros and cons of Cen Xun's accident at this juncture.

Lian Xin brought dinner over for Wen Zhengyu.

Wen Zhengyu was still asleep. After checking on her, Lian Xin tiptoed out with Ye Ling to the outer room.

Seeing Lian Xin deliberately lightening his steps, Ye Ling said, "She sleeps deeply now. Not afraid of noise. No need to act like a thief." She'd always teased Wen Zhengyu about creeping around the house like a burglar.

Lian Xin then resumed walking normally.

Ye Ling smiled. "You make quite the devoted brother, don't you?"

Lian Xin sighed with a touch of regret. The image of how his youngest aunt had died had left too deep a shadow on him, and with Wen Shiyi's connection, his feelings about Wen Zhengyu had been complicated before he'd met her. Only now did he realize having a little sister was actually pretty nice. Had he known she'd be like this, he would have sneaked her home when she was little. Kids went missing every year; if the Wen family couldn't watch their own child, losing her was their own fault. He'd always wanted a sister to guard his clothes on the riverbank when he went swimming, or to throw herself at their parents' legs holding a stick and yell, "Big brother, run!" Should a beating be imminent, a sister would hide the weapon at the first chance. Having a little sister to protect—the sense of accomplishment was simply unbeatable. And when he messed something up and the matriarch handed down punishment, Wen Zhengyu had even stood up for him.

Lian Xin sat down on the sofa in the outer room, lowered his voice, and filled Ye Ling in on Cen Lin's visit that morning. Then he asked Ye Ling her thoughts on Cen Xun's accident.

Ye Ling said, "Now it all depends on whether we can get our hands on the account books and on how Zhengyu's recovery goes." Getting the account books would put the initiative in their hands. The speed of Wen Zhengyu's recovery directly determined their attitude toward handling this matter, as well as the Lian family's plans for her.

Wen Zhengyu getting caught up in this at such a critical moment—even though she herself had no other desires, only wanting to paint in peace—had in reality an enormous impact on the Lian family and on her. She seemed like someone without much ambition, but her harmless nature and her vast social circle were well worth investing in for a family. If the family didn't value her, they'd just toss her some pocket money and some insignificant property, supporting her casually; when trouble came, they'd cut their losses, just like Cen Xun. If Wen Zhengyu didn't have the family's regard, the Lian family wouldn't have poured so much manpower and resources into standing up for her. She'd have taken that beating for nothing, and the other side wouldn't even have needed to apologize.

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