Any Closer and I'll Lose Control - Chapter 41

The harsh white light in the private room cast overlapping shadows of the group onto the floor, the atmosphere frozen in dead silence.

After a long pause, Liang Heng’s lips trembled. “Brother Chuan, I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry.”

Wei Chuan kept his head lowered, his gaze fixed on the bookmark, his expression unreadable.

He didn’t respond to Liang Heng, and the temperature in the room seemed to drop bit by bit.

Xie Lingyin subtly shot Xu Heqing a glance, but Xu Heqing shook his head slightly.

Wei Chuan was usually easygoing, getting along with just about anyone.

But when something important to him was ruined, what good would comfort do?

With so many people around, Wei Chuan wouldn’t do anything drastic to Liang Heng, but he certainly couldn’t put on a pleasant face either, leaving everyone present in an awkward position.

Meng Tang also felt the awkwardness. If Wei Chuan lost his temper with Liang Heng, it would strain their dormitory camaraderie.

Holding her breath slightly, she gently pushed past Li Zhuo, who was blocking her way, and said softly, “Let me take a look.”

Wei Chuan snapped out of his daze and mechanically handed the wooden bookmark to Meng Tang.

After examining it, Meng Tang smiled at him. “It’s fine. It can be fixed.”

“Really?” Liang Heng brightened instantly.

Meng Tang nodded. “Yes, I can fix it.”

Wei Chuan eyed her skeptically. “You’re sure?”

“Absolutely.” Meng Tang chuckled. “If I can repair that finished wood carving of mine, this little piece is nothing.”

Pointing at the crack, she continued, “See? The crack is very fine, and it didn’t split against the grain. We just need to file some fine powder from the same type of wood and mix it with a special adhesive to patch it up. It’ll be as good as new.”

Liang Heng, hearing her speak with such confidence, finally exhaled in relief. “If you can fix it, you’ll be my savior. Brother Chuan was about to swallow me whole earlier.”

Xu Heqing patted Liang Heng’s shoulder. “Congratulations on earning a revival card.”

Liang Heng grinned sheepishly.

But Wei Chuan still didn’t look happy. He raised a crucial question:

“But this wood was prepared by the museum. You said it yourself, it has to be from the same piece to fix it. Where are we going to find that?”

Liang Heng’s heart clenched again. Oh god, don’t mess with me now.

Meng Tang hadn’t expected Wei Chuan to be so sharp.

She had only meant to calm him down and take it back to repair herself. But if she didn’t explain clearly now, Wei Chuan wouldn’t be able to relax.

She pinched the wooden piece lightly and said, “This is just scrap wood to begin with. Finding its original material is probably impossible. But don’t worry, different materials have different repair methods.”

Wei Chuan looked at her and asked quietly, “Will it really be the same?”

Meng Tang smiled and waved the bookmark. “You don’t trust me?”

“I do,” Wei Chuan said hastily.

After all, it was Meng Tang who had carved this in the first place. Who else could fix it but her?

Meng Tang said, “No point standing around. Let’s go. I’ll give it back to you in a few days.”

Wei Chuan nodded, and Liang Heng apologized to him again, this time with genuine sincerity.

Wei Chuan knew he couldn’t really blame Liang Heng, it was his own fault for not keeping it safe.

He bumped his fist lightly against Liang Heng’s shoulder. “It’s fine. I overreacted too.”

The minor crisis was deftly resolved by Meng Tang.

Back in the dorm, with Shi Lan and Yang Ke absorbed in their games with headphones on, Xie Lingyin poked Meng Tang.

Meng Tang turned from her computer screen. “What’s up?”

“That bookmark, you carved it, didn’t you?” Xie Lingyin asked.

Meng Tang gave a soft “Mm” in response: “These are teaching materials provided by the museum, all for children. The wood is relatively soft but has an even texture, making it suitable for kids to work with.”

“Who asked about that?” Xie Lingyin chuckled. “I meant the bookmark Wei Chuan has, did you give it to him?”

“…I couldn’t just give to one and not the other,” Meng Tang explained the situation at the time.

Xie Lingyin grinned like a doting aunt: “So he snatched your bookmark?”

Meng Tang nodded: “He’s too tall; I couldn’t get it back.”

Xie Lingyin burst out laughing: “Meng Tang, you really are a block of wood.”

This wasn’t the first time Meng Tang had heard her roommate call her that. She laughed it off: “What’s wrong with being a block of wood? Simplicity is the essence.”

“Simplicity is the essence”, what a line. Xie Lingyin felt a pang of emotion and was about to say more when her phone suddenly buzzed.

She glanced down and made a surprised sound: “Why is Wei Chuan adding me?”

Meng Tang’s fingers paused over the keyboard. “Maybe he has something to discuss with you.”

“What could he possibly want with me?” Xie Lingyin muttered to herself.

Meng Tang thought tonight’s group chat had worked out perfectly, Wei Chuan had managed to add Xie Lingyin after all.

The intermittent buzz of messages suggested the two were hitting it off.

Less than three minutes later, Xie Lingyin turned to Meng Tang with an exasperated look: “He straight up asked me if I like reading.”

Meng Tang: “…And then?”

Xie Lingyin: “I said no, and then he asked if I liked The Little Prince. I said no to that too.”

Meng Tang froze awkwardly for a second. Wei Chuan, why so direct?

She cleared her throat: “Maybe he saw the keychain on your bag and wanted to buy one for someone.”

Xie Lingyin’s backpack was hanging on a nearby hook. She flicked it lightly and said, “But this was from you. So, I do like it very much.”

Meng Tang was pleasantly surprised. After a moment’s thought, she asked, “Lingyin, when I gave you that keychain last year, were you feeling down?”

Many things had already passed, and Xie Lingyin didn’t shy away from the topic. She admitted, “Actually, it was my birthday that day.”

Meng Tang remembered it had been just before New Year’s. She was shocked: “Isn’t your birthday in January?”

Xie Lingyin smiled bitterly: “My family always celebrated the solar calendar because my brother was born on New Year’s Day, and I was born on December 31st. But they never really celebrated my birthday properly, it was always lumped in with New Year’s. I fought with them about it once, and they said I was ungrateful and immature. After that, I switched to celebrating my lunar birthday instead, the first day of the twelfth month.”

“Celebrating with you all at school is nice.”

“That keychain you gave me, I knew it was a bit expensive, but I still took it. It became my birthday gift.”

Meng Tang said, “I could tell you were upset back then. If a keychain could make you happy, I thought it was worth it.”

Later, when it was Meng Tang’s birthday, Xie Lingyin had reciprocated with plenty of gifts.

And now, by sheer coincidence, Wei Chuan had taken notice.

Life was full of absurd twists. Meng Tang shook her head, logged into WeChat on her computer, and typed a message to Wei Chuan: [Do you still want that ornament?]

At first, she had reluctantly agreed to carve the ornament for Wei Chuan. But after learning he had feelings for Xie Lingyin, she had put extra effort into the rose design.

The finished product, layered petals thin as wings, veins delicate as gossamer, was something Wei Chuan hadn’t even seen yet.

But Meng Tang wasn’t shy about praising her own work.

Xie Lingyin didn’t particularly love roses or the Little Prince, nor was she fond of keychains. What she cherished was the gift received in that particular moment, no matter what it was, she would treasure it carefully.

Wei Chuan sending another gift held no meaning because it wouldn’t hit the mark.

Yet he didn’t seem anxious. He simply said it was fine and instead asked when the bookmark would be repaired.

Meng Tang said three days. Wei Chuan grew impatient: [Three days for just one crack?]

Meng Tang: [To restore it perfectly, it’ll take three days.]

Wei Chuan: [Then make it perfect. I want it exactly like it was before.]

Meng Tang almost laughed. She could make it even more beautiful than the original, after all, working at the museum had been rushed, and it had been a rough job.

She asked Wei Chuan: [Want me to add drilled embellishments?]

Wei Chuan: [Really? With tassels?]

Meng Tang: [Aren’t tassels tacky? If you want them, I’ll give them to you in a couple of days, you can decide then.]

Wei Chuan: [I want them.]

Meng Tang: [The display piece still needs a base. I’m busy with coursework, so I’ll give you the finished product next week.]

Wei Chuan absentmindedly replied with an [Okay], but his heart was already brimming with anticipation for the new bookmark.