The Art of Teasing - Chapter 182

Chapter 182

Wen Zhengyu's thoughts veered away from their banter after just two seconds, drifting toward Minmin.

She was barely standing on her own two feet, still often in need of care from others; she didn't feel capable of looking after a child. As for Ye Ling—busy with work, three to five days without coming home was normal, and business trips lasting ten days or half a month were simply routine. She had never before considered adopting a child, nor had she imagined Ye Ling would bring one home.

Having brought the child home, Ye Ling would have to take responsibility for her, which was also taking responsibility for herself. Watching Ye Ling so frantically busy, she couldn't help but think of herself and Wen Shiyi. Her earliest conflict with Wen Shiyi had not been because he struck her, but because he was so rarely home, and even when home scarcely paid her any attention. Indifference, to a child, is also a form of harm. Initially, she had gone looking for trouble with Wen Shiyi purely to get his attention. Later, as time went on, habit set in, and so did resentment. She had the love of her grandfather and grandmother, but the absence of parental affection is something no amount of grandparental love can fill. A child can grow up however they are left to grow, but what they grow into is intricately tied to their family environment.

She asked Ye Ling what plans and arrangements she had for Minmin.

Ye Ling wrapped an arm around Wen Zhengyu and said unhurriedly: "First, we'll treat Minmin's face and leg. I've already sent Dong Yuan to contact hospitals, but we have to wait until her official ID and passport are processed before she can go. School is actually easy; we can pick any school nearby. Wen Jing's injury is healed, and she'll be back next month. I want to assign Wen Jing to Minmin for school pickups and dropoffs. Let Minmin live at home, and have Zhuo Yao teach her some self-defense skills—something to strengthen her body normally, and protect herself if trouble arises."

"Martial arts in the morning, classes during the day. After school, Monday through Friday, arrange another two hours of arts courses in the evening to cultivate her temperament. As for what she wants to learn, that depends on her interests."

Ye Ling paused here, cast a leisurely sidelong glance at Wen Zhengyu, and said: "On weekends or whenever you're free, let her tag along as your little sidekick."

Wen Zhengyu made a sound of assent and raised no objection. In her view, when it came to a child's education, besides technical skills that required professional instruction, everything else depended entirely on the words and deeds of those around them. A child has a pair of eyes to observe the world. What they see, they will ponder and explore on their own. What they grow into depends entirely on what the growing environment requires of them or is suitable for them to become.

Ye Min had come into this home. Wen Zhengyu hoped she could find a very good growing environment within this family.

After the two of them woke up and learned that Minmin and Rongrong had already returned to the small courtyard, they went together to Ye Min's courtyard.

The two children were doing homework in the study.

The study was very bare. Anything of Wen Shiyi's that was valuable had long since been sold, and anything worthless had long since been thrown out. All that remained on the bookshelves were some books they had left behind when they sold the house. After Ye Ling bought the place, she hadn't touched them either; they remained here as before.

Wen Zhengyu knew perfectly well that Rongrong had summer homework, but did Minmin still need to do hers? She asked Minmin, and Minmin told her that since the teacher had assigned it, she would do it. As for whether the teacher would check it, she hadn't thought that far yet.

Ye Ling asked Ye Min: "How much longer until you finish your homework?"

Ye Min told Ye Ling that writing homework for half an hour each day was fine; otherwise, if she finished early and school hadn't started yet, she'd have no homework left and no textbooks to memorize.

Wen Zhengyu discovered for the first time that reading and doing homework could be paced out like rationing. Back in her day during summer break, she'd be desperate to finish an entire semester's worth of homework in one week and have no other interest classes, so she could hole up at home every day painting or follow Wen Li out to play. Minmin's approach, she could well understand. For children in the welfare institute, interest classes, tutoring classes, and winter or summer vacation travel were certainly rare, if they existed at all. As a welfare organization, it was very hard to come up with that much funding and manpower to run such things.

Ye Ling said: "Then we'll wait until you're done." She and Wen Zhengyu sat to the side and waited.

The two children had already been writing homework for a while before they arrived; it wasn't long before they were finished.

Once they had tidied away all their textbooks, Ye Ling called Ye Min over to talk with her.

Ye Ling told Ye Min that she intended to formally take Ye Min as a disciple. Henceforth, Ye Min would call Ye Ling Shifu, and address Wen Zhengyu as Shi Niang.

Ye Min did not quite understand all this. She only knew she was being adopted by Ye Ling, and she would follow Ye Ling's arrangements.

Ye Ling carefully explained to Ye Min the similarities and differences between adoptive parents and a formal master-disciple bond, as well as her training plans for Ye Min.

If Ye Min feared hardship, she could give up those studies. Ye Ling laid out the differences between the two paths with absolute clarity. She said to Ye Min: "You don't need to give me an answer. How you grow, what you grow into, how much bitter effort you put in—that is for you to decide."

Ye Min said nothing, only nodded vigorously.

From Ye Min's expression, Ye Ling could tell this was a child with her own mind and a determined heart. She told Ye Min about arranging surgery for her, and about how any surgery once on the operating table carries the risk of danger. Again, she let Ye Min choose for herself: whether to brave the danger and endure the pain most people cannot bear to undergo treatment for her face and leg, or to forgo those risks and suffering and continue as she was.

Ye Min was not surprised that Ye Ling would arrange for her to study and learn, but the notion that Ye Ling would arrange surgery to treat her face and leg left her utterly stunned, almost afraid to believe it. People often came to the welfare institute to adopt children, but the ones adopted were always others. After meeting her, they all shook their heads in secret. She had overheard them privately discussing the birthmark on her face and the disability in her leg, saying treatment would be very expensive and very likely unsuccessful, and that it would greatly affect her even when she grew up—that a face like hers would make finding a job hard, that she would probably develop an inferiority complex and a dark, twisted mindset. They all wanted to adopt healthy, good-looking boys. She understood she belonged to the category no one wanted to adopt, and understood her future would be far more difficult than others'. She had already been abandoned; she didn't want to abandon herself too. She could only rely on her own efforts to change her circumstances. She had never imagined that Sister Ye Ling and the others would actually adopt her, and even treat the birthmark on her face and the disability in her leg.

Ye Min stared wide-eyed at Ye Ling, tears swirling in her eyes, terrified she had misheard, afraid to believe Ye Ling would treat her. Because she knew it would cost a great, great deal of money—far more than the cost of raising her.

Ye Ling continued: "There's no guarantee of a cure, but it's worth a try."

Ye Min asked: "Will it cost a lot of money?"

Ye Ling raised a finger to brush away the tears clinging to little Ye Min's eyelashes and said: "The treatment costs and finding a doctor are my considerations. What you need to consider is whether you are willing to accept the risks and the pain to undergo treatment." Because Ye Min was young and still didn't understand many things, she explained the surgical risks and the difference between having surgery and not having it in meticulous detail, and let Ye Min choose for herself.

Ye Min wiped her damp eyes with the back of her hand and said: "Sister Ye Ling... Shi... Shifu, I want to be treated... I'll work hard to earn money when I grow up..." As she spoke, the tears flowed faster and faster, impossible to wipe away completely.

Little Rongrong held her hand, wanting to comfort her, yet unsure what to say. It was only now she realized that Minmin, who had always protected her and always seemed so strong and formidable, also had moments when she cried. Seeing Minmin cry, she felt terrible too.

Ye Ling had wanted to ask Ye Min if she wasn't afraid of surgical failure, of hardship—all those questions—but they all retreated under Ye Min's tears. In the end, she was just a ten-year-old child. Even precociously mature and sensible, still just a child.

No matter how bitter her own childhood had been, she had at least known the love of her parents, growing up carefree until the age of twelve. After that, however hard and difficult life became, she still had her brother to look after her. Her step-grandmother gave her only two thousand yuan a month, deliberately ignoring even her tuition fees. When she went to ask for tuition money, the step-grandmother left her waiting in the cold; her grandfather ignored it too. Her brother took her hand and led her away, telling her: "From now on, I'll support you. Don't ever go back to look at that old hag's face again." At that time, her brother was still in school. The inheritance their parents had left behind had all been taken by their grandfather; the siblings hadn't received a single cent. Her brother had no money either. The pittance the step-grandmother gave him barely covered his own living expenses. He worked part-time while studying, scrimping and saving to cover all her expenses, until he married a good wife and gained the protection of his in-laws' family. Only then did the siblings' circumstances gradually improve.

Ye Ling crouched down, wiped away Ye Min's tears, and said: "No more crying. From now on, you're someone with a family. You have a Shifu and Shi Niang who love you, and you have Rongrong."

Ye Min let out a forceful sound of assent and called out: "Shifu." Then she gave Ye Ling a great big smile. She smiled, her face still wet with tears, looking both pitiful and endearing.

Ye Ling wiped away the tears hanging on her cheeks and told her that Dong Yuan had already been tasked with contacting hospitals, but they would need to wait until her passport was processed before taking her abroad for treatment.

Ye Min asked: "Going abroad for treatment must cost a lot of money, right?"

Ye Ling replied with a swagger: "Your Shifu here has mastered the skill of making money. The one thing I'm not short on is money." She told Ye Min, and Rongrong as well: "Master your skills, become a capable person, and no matter where you go, you'll be able to earn money." She took the two children by the hand and vigorously ladled out two bowls of motivational pep talk, then led the two children and Wen Zhengyu off to go shopping at the mall.

It wasn't on a whim. Ye Min simply didn't even have a change of clothes.

Although she had sent Dong Yuan to handle the adoption procedures long ago, she had only taken Ye Min away that very morning. Unsure whether the paperwork would go through, she hadn't told Wen Zhengyu in advance to prepare. The proof of income she'd provided to the welfare institute showed assets worth several billion, and she'd casually donated a million yuan to the institute on the spot. The institute likely also figured she wasn't short of a few changes of clothes for Rongrong; when she took Rongrong away, she'd only packed Rongrong's books, leaving everything else for the other children. If she ordered custom-made clothes, it would take ten days to half a month at minimum. Might as well take the two kids to the mall and buy everything they needed in one go.

With these two little ones, Ye Ling got an early lesson in the joys of raising children.

Zhuo Yao drove. She sat in the front passenger seat. Wen Zhengyu, with the two children, sat in the back.

Lu Rongrong wasn't formally adopted by the two of them, but in practice, Wen Zhengyu had taken on Old Master Lu along with his granddaughter. Old Master Lu, at his advanced age, was, judging by his physical condition according to Ye Ling, never going to repay the money he'd borrowed in this lifetime. As for little Lu Rongrong, who had just turned eleven and was still far from adulthood—Old Master Lu had taught Wen Zhengyu Go, and after so many years as neighbors, there was a certain bond of affection. Ye Ling simply raised her as one of her own children. The things they ought to teach, they would teach. Once they reached adulthood, if no disastrous misfortune had befallen her and Wen Zhengyu and the family assets were still intact, they'd provide them with some startup capital to build their own careers and lives.

Ye Ling's mindset was already prepared for raising children, but seeing the three of them lined up in the back seat, all she saw was a grown-up child looking after children, with not a trace of a Shi Niang guiding her disciple. She thought to herself: Marrying a late-blooming wife is also a worry. No wonder Minmin kept calling Wen Zhengyu "Sister Zhengyu," while addressing her had switched over immediately. She mused inwardly: Do I have a master's authority or do I just seem old or something? Fearing she might scare the children, she didn't dare ask.

The three in the back seat seemed to have an endless stream of things to talk about. Wen Zhengyu looked like someone hard to approach; Ye Ling didn't understand why Wen Zhengyu had such a good affinity with children. In just this short span of time, they'd already talked about Wen Zhengyu giving the little courtyard where Ye Min would live a new name and replacing the plaque.

Rongrong said Wen Zhengyu's calligraphy was beautiful and told Ye Min to have Wen Zhengyu write the characters. Wen Zhengyu even agreed.

Ye Ling grumbled inwardly: Better than mine, huh? Against Wen Zhengyu in hard-pen calligraphy, she'd dare compete. But brush calligraphy—forget it. She chickened out. Wen Zhengyu had over twenty years of foundational skill, and having Old Master Wen, that great collector, guiding her, she'd been copying the treasured works of ancient master calligraphers since childhood. Not only had she absorbed the strengths of a hundred schools, but her script was forged through steady, step-by-step practice. Even her brother's father-in-law said Wen Zhengyu's calligraphy lacked only the maturity of age.

While shopping, the birthmark on Ye Min's face drew a great deal of attention. Many people stared at her.

Children are the most sensitive. Even though Ye Min had endured endless ridicule at the orphanage, under the gaze of passing pedestrians she still lowered her head in self-consciousness, wanting to hide the birthmark on her face.

Ye Ling cast a sidelong glance at Ye Min and said: "You're my disciple. Why are you lowering your head? As my disciple, Ye Ling's disciple, even if you had a skull for a head walking out the door, you'd still hold your head high and chest out with such confidence that others would start doubting their own lives."

Lu Rongrong and Ye Min both raised their heads to look at Ye Ling.

Ye Ling looked down at the two of them and said: "The strong lead the trends. You have to tell yourselves: you are the strong ones! Even if you're so unique that a pair of horns sprouts from your head, once you're strong enough, your distinctiveness will become something others chase after as exemplary. Your flaws will become merits others praise. Is it really just a palm-sized birthmark?" She spread open her left hand and showed Lu Rongrong and Ye Min the scar running across her palm, saying: "This scar severed the tendons in my hand. The tendons were reattached later, but it affected my ability to play piano, cutting off my path to becoming a pianist. And what of it? I became a successful entrepreneur. Having a scar on your hand is ugly, but this is a hand that can earn money and get things done. No one will despise this hand of mine for being ugly. When you go shopping, what store clerks care about most is whether you'll buy something, whether they can earn money from you. As for beauty or ugliness—that's only relevant when you two are looking for a partner. With the level of cosmetic surgery nowadays, whatever kind of face you want, it's all yours for the choosing." As she spoke, she noticed Wen Zhengyu's gaze repeatedly drifting toward her face. She added: "All natural. No cosmetic surgery."

Wen Zhengyu of course knew Ye Ling's was natural. She said slowly: "I just thought your skin was already thick enough. I didn't expect you'd want to teach the children to be as thick-skinned as you." Confident enough to make others doubt their lives. She genuinely worried Ye Ling might raise children with warped values.

Ye Ling beamed and hooked her arm through Wen Zhengyu's, saying: "If my skin weren't thick enough, I'd still be a single dog right now."

Wen Zhengyu very honestly told Ye Ling: "When I first met you, I only thought you were shameless. My sole thought was to have nothing whatsoever to do with you."

Ye Ling's smile stiffened slightly. She paused for two seconds before asking: "Then why did you end up with me?"

Wen Zhengyu said: "In a dazed moment of soft-heartedness, I just... inexplicably ended up with you."

Ye Ling paused for two seconds, then instructed the two children, whose ears were perked up quietly eavesdropping on adult gossip: "Hear that? In the future, never be casually soft-hearted. Watch out you don't fall into a pit and inexplicably end up with someone." She then cast a disgruntled glance at Wen Zhengyu. So infuriating!

Lu Rongrong and Ye Min exchanged a glance, secretly laughing, not daring to speak.

Lu Rongrong even cupped her hand over her mouth and silently mouthed to Ye Min: "Jealous."

Ye Min nodded furtively, fully in agreement. She smiled so broadly her eyes curved into crescents, thinking how wonderful her Shifu and Shi Niang were. She loved this atmosphere, and at the same time, she could see that Shifu and Shi Niang truly didn't mind the birthmark on her face or the disability in her leg.

Wen Zhengyu was walking behind the two children and didn't notice the silent glances passing between them. She only saw the look on Ye Ling's face and understood at once. She added unhurriedly: "Probably, in the end, it was still because I liked you that I fell into the pit."

Ye Ling thought to herself: That's more like it. She couldn't help feeling delighted, tried to keep a straight face but failed, and said with feigned magnanimity: "Alright, I forgive you."

Wen Zhengyu silently gifted Ye Ling two words: "Childish." She suddenly felt an urge to make the two children keep their distance from Ye Ling, worried Ye Ling would be a bad influence.

It was Ye Min's first time in a mall, but with Lu Rongrong leading her along, Ye Ling and Wen Zhengyu were reduced to mere tagalongs.

Wen Zhengyu had still been thinking she would help Ye Min pick out some clothes, but it turned out the children had their own aesthetic sense and didn't need her.

What electronic devices kids used these days, what kind of clothes they wore, which brands were trendy—little Lu Rongrong rattled it all off chapter and verse. She even told little Ye Min: "We can't earn money yet, and we're spending Sister Zhengyu's money, so we have to be thrifty. Pick different styles from the same brand; the money we save could buy another pair. But then using the savings on shoes wouldn't be as good a deal..." She cupped her hand by Ye Min's ear and whispered something.

Ye Min listened and nodded fervently.

Ye Ling whispered to Wen Zhengyu: "Definitely planning to use the saved money as startup capital, buying stuff to resell at school as a little second-hand dealer."

Wen Zhengyu: "..."

Ye Ling glanced at Wen Zhengyu and said: "Little Rongrong, the things you sold—the teacher didn't confiscate them, did they?"

Without turning her head, Lu Rongrong said: "How could that happen? I hid them really..." She suddenly realized she'd let something slip, clapped a hand over her mouth, whirled around, and stared wide-eyed at Ye Ling.

Ye Ling threw her a knowing look that said little girl, you think I don't know about you?, then raised an eyebrow at Wen Zhengyu: Well? Was I right or was I right?

Wen Zhengyu looked helplessly at Ye Ling, then at the two children. Watching Ye Ling like this, she could already foresee the two children's future.

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