Any Closer and I'll Lose Control - Chapter 29

Wei Chuan was curled up in a red spinning chair, scrolling through the photos Meng Tang had sent him.

She had sent six in total, three full-body shots from different angles, and three close-ups of the carved facial features.

He rubbed his chin, feeling puzzled. Meng Tang didn’t have any photos of him, yet just by outlining the facial structure, how had she made it look so much like him?

If that was the case, then while positioning the carvings and refining the details with her blade, hadn’t she been thinking of him the whole time?

The spinning chair came to an abrupt stop. Wei Chuan scratched his earlobe, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed by his own thoughts.

So lost in his musings, he didn’t even notice someone sneaking into his room.

It wasn’t until a sharp “Hey!” startled him that he turned his head, glaring at the prankster.

“Wei Siyuan, are you out of your mind?”

His third sister, Wei Siyuan, a name unknown in the entertainment industry, smacked the back of his head.

“Call me Cheng Yun. A master chose this name for me. The reason I’m not famous is because you keep calling me by my old name.”

Wei Chuan scoffed. “Isn’t your lack of fame due to your cringe-worthy, eyebrow-wiggling acting that makes people want to gouge their eyes out?”

“You didn’t deny my beauty, and you even watched my drama!” Wei Siyuan, with her bizarre logic, grabbed his head and ruffled his hair aggressively. “I’m so touched. Mom and Dad don’t even know what I’ve acted in. So, what do you think? Wasn’t my role as the heroine’s best friend super loyal?”

Wei Chuan: “…”

He truly regretted searching for it. The plot was so awkward it made him want to dig his toes into the ground.

He had initially planned to rally his friends to support her, but in the end, he abandoned the idea to spare them the suffering.

“Why didn’t you knock before barging into my room?” Wei Chuan spun halfway around, freeing himself from Wei Siyuan’s clutches.

“I did knock. You just didn’t hear me.” She leaned in shamelessly. “What are you looking at? Show me.”

Wei Chuan instinctively shielded his phone, but Wei Siyuan was quicker, snatching it from his hands.

“Give it back.” He reached for it, flustered.

“Nope.” She dodged while glancing at the screen. “Isn’t this you? Just an outline, though. Who carved this?”

“Wei Siyuan.”

Their youngest brother was about to lose his temper. Wei Siyuan handed the phone back. “So stingy.”

Wei Chuan snorted. “You’re the generous one? You hid the chips I won and ate them all yourself when we were kids.”

Their mother had forbidden junk food, so Wei Chuan and Wei Siyuan had often schemed behind her back.

“Getting protective now, huh?” Wei Siyuan changed the subject. “Look at that grin on your face. Are you dating someone?”

“Who’s dating?” Wei Chuan bristled. “This was carved by a friend.”

“A friend? Male or female?”

“Female.”

“Ohhh~”

“What’s with the ‘oh’? I feel like-”

A sudden phone ringtone cut him off. He decided it wasn’t worth arguing with Wei Siyuan.

The call was from Xu Heqing, asking him to pick up Meng Tang from the hospital.

Wei Chuan shot up from the spinning chair.

“Where are you going?” Wei Siyuan chased after him, but by the time she reached the staircase, he was already gone.

Rushing to the affiliated hospital, Wei Chuan spotted Meng Tang outside the emergency building.

She saw him too, but before she could speak, he grabbed her arm, scanning her up and down. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” She pulled her arm free. “Xu Heqing got hurt. Why are you here?”

Wei Chuan frowned. “He’s the one who called me. Why are you here alone?”

Meng Tang said, “Zhang Yifan was taken away by the police. The dean and Tan Xi followed them. Lingyin went to pick up Xu Heqing’s parents, and the dean called to ask me to go to the police station as well. Zhang Yifan’s family wants to settle this privately.”

Wei Chuan let out a sigh of relief. “I’ll go with you.”

There was a car readily available, so Meng Tang didn’t refuse.

On the way to the police station, Meng Tang explained the whole incident to Wei Chuan.

“That’s how it happened. Xu Heqing was cut by Zhang Yifan.”

“I know this Zhang Yifan too. He’s got quite a temper,” Wei Chuan said. “How did your classmate end up dating him?”

Meng Tang replied, “Some guys are really good at pretending. Maybe Tan Xi broke up with him after realizing his true nature.”

Today, he even acted impulsively and hurt someone. Someone so emotionally unstable, from what she gathered from Chen Xunli’s tone, they were already considering expelling him.

When they arrived at the police station, Chen Xunli came up to them and said, “The Zhang family wants to reconcile with you. Since the incident didn’t cause serious harm, the police also suggest that Zhang Yifan compensate and apologize.”

Meng Tang said, “He didn’t hurt me, so I won’t pursue it. But he hurt someone else. Even if I don’t press charges, what about Xu Heqing’s family?”

“The Xu family has sent a lawyer,” Chen Xunli sighed. “Let’s go into the mediation room first.”

Zhang Yifan was a local; his parents owned a supermarket.

When they saw Meng Tang, they rushed over anxiously, pleading for leniency. They talked about how hard it was to get into a good university, how they were willing to compensate and apologize, anything as long as he wasn’t expelled.

The hearts of parents are pitiable, but in this matter, Meng Tang no longer had a say.

She glanced at the Xu family’s lawyer: polished, elite, cold, and stern.

The mediation dragged on until 10 p.m., and Zhang Yifan’s expulsion was set in stone.

After leaving the police station, Meng Tang called Xie Lingyin.

Upon learning that Xu Heqing had returned to the dorm, she relaxed slightly from her tense state.

Wei Chuan started the car and turned to ask, “Want me to take you to eat?”

Meng Tang had long passed the point of hunger, but she was touched that Wei Chuan noticed.

She smiled at him. “It’s late. Let’s just go back to school.”

Her tired smile carried a hint of warmth.

Wei Chuan rummaged through the storage compartment and handed her some biscuits and water. “Here, have something to tide you over.”

“Thanks,” Meng Tang took them.

“Why do you always say thanks?” Wei Chuan chuckled lightly as the car pulled out of the parking spot. “Aren’t we friends?”

Meng Tang replied, “Friends should still say thanks.”

She quietly ate the biscuits, occasionally glancing at Wei Chuan before hesitantly asking, “What does Xu Heqing usually like? He got hurt because of me this time. I want to give him something as thanks.”

Wei Chuan paused for a moment before muttering, “He doesn’t really lack anything.”

Meng Tang turned slightly toward him. “Whether he lacks it or not is his business. Just tell me.”

“…He likes electronic gadgets.”

A memory flashed in her mind, Zhang Yifan’s knife seemed to have scratched Xu Heqing’s fitness tracker.

She asked Wei Chuan, “What brand of fitness tracker was Xu Heqing wearing?”

Wei Chuan replied, “He has a lot of them. What color was it? Describe the appearance too.”

Meng Tang described it, and after thinking for a moment, Wei Chuan told her the brand and model.

“That’s the one, then.” Meng Tang opened a shopping app on her phone. “His tracker was scratched by the knife, so it probably has marks now.”

If she ordered it now, it would arrive the next day.

She turned her face away and said softly, “Could you give it to him for me tomorrow?”

Wei Chuan hesitated. “…Me? Why don’t you give it to him yourself?”

Meng Tang said, “It’s not like I don’t have his contact info.”

Truthfully, she was also afraid Xu Heqing might not accept it.

Wei Chuan turned the steering wheel and replied, “I’ll have him add you when we get back.”

His tone sounded muffled in the dimly lit car.

“No need, I’ll ask Lingyin for it. She probably has it.”

“Oh.”

Back at school, Meng Tang and Wei Chuan parted ways at the entrance of the male dorm.

After returning to her own dorm, she told Xie Lingyin about it. When Xie Lingyin heard she wanted to thank Xu Heqing, she forwarded his WeChat contact to her.

This time, Xu Heqing accepted the friend request quickly.

Meng Tang pursed her lips and sent a smiling emoji over.

Wei Chuan walked past Xu Heqing’s back when he returned to the dorm and just happened to see Xu Heqing accepting Meng Tang’s friend request.