The Art of Teasing - Chapter 185

Chapter 185

After the wedding ceremony ended, Wen Zhengyu and Ye Ling rode the wedding car home. The main courtyard was decorated with an especially festive air. The master bedroom was furnished with newly crafted furniture. Large red double happiness characters were pasted on the walls. Festive red flowers hung from the bed canopy. The room was adorned with red silk ribbons, and the soft carpet was covered with a layer of flower petals.

Ye Ling's mouth opened slightly in utter surprise. She asked Wen Zhengyu, "The bridal chamber is in the main courtyard?"

The corner of Wen Zhengyu's lips held a faint smile as she nodded gently.

Ye Ling understood Wen Zhengyu's meaning. The main courtyard — only the master of the household who wields authority may dwell there.

She hadn't expected that today would bring not only the great joy of a wedding but also the happiness of moving into a new home.

The guests who had followed them back began clamoring noisily, demanding to storm the bridal chamber.

Ye Ling's mood was exceptionally good. Without waiting for anyone to urge her, she pulled Wen Zhengyu into the house.

The round table in the room held wedding ceremony items, and there was also wine, dishes, and fruit.

Ye Ling poured two cups of wine. She lifted a cup, handed one to Wen Zhengyu, and kept one for herself.

Wen Zhengyu accepted the wine cup, and Ye Ling immediately linked arms with her, the arm holding the wine cup, and said, "The nuptial cup."

Some of the guests who had followed them back to raise a ruckus in the bridal chamber burst into uproarious laughter, some teased them to drink, and someone even said, "CEO Ye, you're remarkably self-motivated," noting how she needed no prompting before downing the nuptial cup herself.

Ye Ling responded with irrepressible joy, "Getting married and taking a wife — of course one must be self-motivated." As she spoke, her gaze, brimming with feeling, looked at Wen Zhengyu, and she saw Wen Zhengyu looking back at her with the same smile. Wen Zhengyu's face was flushed crimson. Specially dressed in grand attire, she was so beautiful she dazzled the eyes.

The two gazed into each other's eyes. The mellow, fine wine slid down their throats, transforming into a sweetness that spread outward — sweetly blissful, beautifully blissful.

Wen Li, seeing this, helped her paternal cousin by shooing everyone out, inviting them to go outside to drink and make merry.

Ye Ling said cheerfully to Wen Zhengyu, "We absolutely must give Wen Li a big red envelope later." As she spoke, she turned around to close the bedroom door, also shut the windows tightly, and then thoroughly inspected the room. Only after confirming no one had been playing pranks in their bridal chamber did she pull Wen Zhengyu onto the bed. First, she helped Wen Zhengyu remove the head ornaments from her hair, letting down her pinned-up long hair. Then she removed the pile of expensive ornaments from her own head, took off her jewelry, and led Wen Zhengyu towards the bathroom...

A night of entanglement, and the two slept until nearly noon before rising.

After they had lunch, they entrusted the household to Wen Shishu, took their bodyguards, and set out on their honeymoon trip.

The route for the honeymoon trip was arranged by Ye Ling.

They drove themselves, heading west all the way, taking in the mountain and river scenery along the route, seeking out the mural remnants left behind by predecessors.

Ye Ling carried a camera and captured every picturesque landscape of mountains and waters they encountered on film. She also captured Wen Zhengyu in the frame. She even wanted to compete with Wen Zhengyu to see whether Wen Zhengyu's paintings or her photographs looked better.

Wen Zhengyu, worn down by Ye Ling's nagging, told Ye Ling to pick a photograph so she could compete with her.

Ye Ling cheerfully selected a photo of Wen Zhengyu standing on a mountain peak, turning her head to look back at her. White clouds drifted leisurely, mist coiled and swirled, and the early morning sunlight shone upon Wen Zhengyu's figure. Behind her, set against the dark, distant mountains, it was as if she soared above the highest heavens, transcendent and beyond the mundane world.

Wen Zhengyu had Zhuo Yao buy paper, brushes, and pigments. She lifted her brush to paint. Her hand trembled slightly now, making extremely fine, meticulous painting difficult to do well. But if she supplemented it with a freehand-style touch and did not require rendering every single hair to perfection, she could still complete a painting.

In the painting, ranges of emerald mountains layered upon each other. Behind her in the distance was an ethereal sea of clouds. Amidst the cloud sea, immortal palaces and pavilions shimmered with flowing light in myriad forms. A female immortal clad in rainbow-hued, rosy-cloud garments kept company with floating clouds and soaring birds. Atop the mountain peak, the Kunlun Goddess turned her head and smiled. The Phoenix Bird, transformed into human form, held in her hand a precious orb that captured images, her smile looking particularly silly. The Phoenix Bird had taken human form, yet had not fully completed the transformation — behind her still trailed long, multicolored plumage tail feathers. That tail was raised high, nearly sweeping up to the heavens.

The scenery was the scenery Ye Ling had photographed, yet it was not that scenery.

The mountains, rivers, and flowing clouds she rendered with her brush carried an added sense of freedom, drifting casually with the wind — leisurely and unhurried, yet also revealing a radiance and spirited brilliance.

A photograph captures the scenery seen in the photographer's eyes, recording a story. What a painter sets down with the brush is thought and soul. Even given the same scenery, the same story, painted by different people, the visual splendor, the artistic conception, and the ideas expressed will all differ.

Wen Zhengyu's painting had always been slow. Even though this painting was not rendered as meticulously as her previous ones, she still painted for a full two days before finishing.

Ye Ling had quietly stayed by her side, keeping her company as Wen Zhengyu painted. When tired, she would go off to rest on her own, absolutely refraining from disturbing Wen Zhengyu's painting. When she saw Wen Zhengyu set down her brush, she hurriedly rose from the sofa to greet her. She pulled up the photograph, repeatedly comparing the photograph and the painting. After a moment's thought, hesitation in her eyes, she looked at Wen Zhengyu and asked, "Do I need to photoshop something extra onto here?" This shameless Wen Zhengyu had actually added her own creative elements, replacing Wen Zhengyu with her. Ye Ling inwardly both scorned Wen Zhengyu and felt utterly delighted.

Wen Zhengyu said, "If you have the source material..." She picked up her brush again, added a bird to the painting, and said, "You photoshop." Then, in an empty space nearby, she added a large mountain rock, painting clouds and mist connecting the seam between the rock and the mountain body.

Ye Ling brought her face right up to Wen Zhengyu's and asked, "Do you see it?"

Wen Zhengyu asked, stunned, "See what?" She paused to think, then planted a kiss on Ye Ling's face.

Ye Ling touched her face and said, "Not telling you to kiss me, telling you to look. It's swollen, slapped swollen by my own wife's hand. We're still on our honeymoon, and just a few days into the trip, you slap my face like this. This is domestic violence, you know?"

Wen Zhengyu: "..." She thought for a moment and consoled Ye Ling, "Your photograph turned out extremely well. I didn't paint it well." She even pointed out for Ye Ling the places where her hand had been unsteady, where the brushwork showed mistakes and flaws, and asked, "Found some equilibrium now?"

Ye Ling wrapped her arm around Wen Zhengyu's waist and said, "No. My heart aches for you."

Wen Zhengyu said, "This is already very good."

Ye Ling was utterly impressed by Wen Zhengyu.

She had witnessed Wen Zhengyu's stubborn streak and dared not tease Wen Zhengyu further, lest this young miss's temper flare up and she hole up in the hotel painting again, leaving their honeymoon itinerary unfinished. She took Wen Zhengyu, stopping and starting along the way, traveling across more than half of China, arriving at the Kunlun Mountains.

They only reached the foot of the mountain. Wen Zhengyu would go no further.

Wen Zhengyu was unwilling to go and confirm whether the world she painted was something she had imagined or something that had once truly existed. If she went to the Kunlun Mountains and what she saw differed from what she imagined, it would puncture the dreamscape, turning everything into illusory fantasy, and she would never again be able to paint the Kunlun Divine Mountain. If the Kunlun Divine Mountain truly existed, then everything that had happened there was far too tragic. A voice in her mind's eye also told her that the Kunlun Divine Mountain had already collapsed. What lay here was merely shattered remnants of the mountain body that had fallen after the Kunlun Divine Mountain caved in. The Kunlun Mountains before her eyes were far less towering than before, far less brimming with vitality, and had not given birth to so many wondrous races.

Ye Ling stayed by Wen Zhengyu's side, gazing at her.

Wen Zhengyu's expression was calm, but the way she crossed her arms and the look in her eyes betrayed her emotions. That look in her eyes was exactly like the little sprites in Wen Zhengyu's brushwork. She was no longer as gentle and serene as in days past. It was as if, at this moment, she stood alone and solitary between heaven and earth.

Ye Ling stepped forward and embraced Wen Zhengyu from behind.

Wen Zhengyu leaned into Ye Ling's embrace. She gazed at the distant high mountains for a very long time before finally turning around and returning to the car.

The car started moving. She turned her head back again, looking towards the Kunlun Mountains.

She said to Ye Ling, "I hope the world I paint is something from my imagination." What has passed can never return. If everything was merely imagined by her, then those tragedies never truly occurred.

Ye Ling said, "Don't say that. I'm still hoping for a next life. One lifetime is too short; living isn't enough. If there were no ghosts or gods in this world, then there'd be no hope for future lives."

Wen Zhengyu was speechless. She asked Ye Ling, "You actually believe in this?"

Ye Ling hugged Wen Zhengyu's arm and said, "With you here, I want to believe. With you here, ten thousand years wouldn't feel too long."

Wen Zhengyu clasped Ye Ling's hand tightly and said softly, "Thank you."

Ye Ling didn't understand. She asked, "Thank me for what?"

Wen Zhengyu said, "For not treating me like a painting-obsessed madwoman, and for bringing me to the Kunlun Mountains." She paused, then said, "Immersed too deeply in the role — sometimes, I myself can't distinguish between reality and illusion."

Ye Ling smiled gently, then immediately composed her expression and said earnestly, "You are able to settle your heart and fully integrate your emotions and feelings into your work. That's why your paintings possess life force, possess the tension of life, and contain so much sorrow, joy, parting, and reunion."

Her tone shifted, and she continued, "You must remember — you are Kunlun, I am the Phoenix Bird. We have already bound ourselves for a past life, this life, and also a next life, and the life after next after next, and N number of lifetimes after that." She dared not believe she could be together with the person she loved, dared not believe she would still possess happiness. Having grasped it tightly, she only wanted to hold on tighter still. She would also be afraid — afraid of losing, afraid of being left behind like a trapped beast. The Phoenix Bird battled the heavens because she had reached an absolute dead end — no choice but to fight. Even fighting until the very last drop of blood was shed, the grief, despair, and hopelessness could not be fully released. Now, what she wanted was this: she would earn money to support the family and hold up against the wind and rain, to preserve that Wen Zhengyu who held an umbrella and led her walking through the Jiangnan misty rain. The two of them, well and happy, plain and simple, living together until old age.

Wen Zhengyu clasped Ye Ling's hand tightly and gave a soft "Mm." After a brief pause, she responded again, "Alright."

The corner of Ye Ling's mouth couldn't help but smile. She continued, as if brainwashing her, saying, "Remember, you absolutely must remember — the next life, the next life we also must be together, and also the life after next after next..." Mid-sentence, she noticed Wen Zhengyu was staring fixedly at her mouth. She asked warily, "What are you staring at me for?"

Wen Zhengyu's face flushed. She quickly turned her face away and looked out the window.

Suddenly enlightened, Ye Ling laughed uncontrollably and asked, "Were you just thinking about using a kiss to shut my mouth?"

Wen Zhengyu's gaze flitted around, not daring to look at Ye Ling.

Ye Ling laughed even more wantonly, her shoulders shaking. She said, "Come on then, come shut my mouth!" She even closed her eyes and leaned close to Wen Zhengyu. After waiting a good while and seeing Wen Zhengyu not kiss her, she said, "Then the next life, the life after next, the life after next after next..."

Wen Zhengyu leaned over and placed her lips upon that chattering mouth, successfully silencing Ye Ling's voice, but unable to stop the smile spreading from the corners of Ye Ling's lips.

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