Any Closer and I'll Lose Control - Chapter 51

The car door closed with a cello-like resonance, catching Meng Tang completely off guard. She found herself staring wide-eyed at Wei Chuan.

A single door shut out the cold wind and the bustling crowd, leaving the car eerily quiet.

Meng Tang’s gaze flickered with surprise. “You?”

“Xiao Chuan, are we leaving?” Uncle Yan peeked at them through the rearview mirror.

“Why did you drag me into the car?” Meng Tang lowered her voice in a fluster, her eyes darting toward Uncle Yan.

Wei Chuan ignored her question entirely. His eyes landed on her bulging backpack, and irritation flared in his chest.

“Do you really trust that Li Hanjin so much? You haven’t seen him in four years, and you still dare to go to a hotel with him?”

“Once you start chatting and drinking, will you even remember your own name?”

Meng Tang thought he was being ridiculous. “…When did I say I was going to a hotel with him? I’m meeting Su Mian. I booked my own room.”

Wei Chuan pressed on, “So what if you booked your own room? Believe me, if it were me, as long as the hotel staff knew we were together, I could find a hundred ways to get into your room.”

“Why would you come to my room?” Meng Tang glared at him. “Open the door. I’m getting out.”

Wei Chuan retorted, “It’s not about me going to your room. I’m saying, if any man you’re with tonight had ill intentions, you’d be in danger. Are you really that naive?”

Meng Tang paused. “You mean Li Hanjin?”

Wei Chuan scoffed.

“That’s not possible. He wouldn’t stoop that low.” Meng Tang found his caution excessive and his assumptions absurd. “I’ve known him for over a decade.”

The Li family lived just two streets away from hers. She had known Li Hanjin since childhood, and he had never once mistreated her.

“Decades wouldn’t matter,” Wei Chuan said stubbornly.

Otherwise, the old man wouldn’t have gone out of his way to call him.

Based on his analysis, the old man was specifically wary of Li Hanjin.

With the old man’s implicit approval, Wei Chuan was determined to intervene.

“Are you my dad or my mom?” Meng Tang didn’t care about the driver anymore. “Why do you care so much?”

Even when arguing, her voice remained soft and gentle, prompting Uncle Yan to glance at them through the rearview mirror several times, wondering if this was how people fought.

Wei Chuan said matter-of-factly, “Your grandpa called me. Of course I have to step in. If you insist on going, I’ll take you there myself.”

Grandpa?

Meng Tang clearly didn’t believe him. “How did he get your number?”

Wei Chuan shrugged. “How should I know? Why don’t you call and ask him?”

Meng Tang immediately dialed her grandfather.

After a few rings, the old man answered with a gruff “Hello?”

“Grandpa, did you tell Wei Chuan where I was going?”

Miscalculation. The old man’s voice rose defensively. “What?”

Meng Tang repeated the question, but her grandfather insisted he couldn’t hear her and lamented about his old age.

Meng Tang: “…”

“What do you mean you can’t hear?” Wei Chuan took the phone from Meng Tang. “Old man, didn’t you just tell me-”

Cough, cough, cough!

A series of violent coughs cut him off abruptly.

Wei Chuan’s mind clicked, the old man had contacted him behind Meng Tang’s back.

He handed the phone back to Meng Tang, only to find that the old man had already hung up.

“…”

He glanced at the phone, then offered Meng Tang an appeasing smile. “It wasn’t your grandpa who called me. I forgot something in the dorm and happened to run into you on the way back.”

Meng Tang frowned. This did sound like something her grandfather would do, but how had he gotten Wei Chuan’s number?

The old man had connections at the school…

Meng Tang suddenly chuckled, Chen Xunli!

No one else but him.

She was utterly speechless, never expecting the old man to be two-faced like this.

But she couldn’t understand his motive. If he was just worried about her safety, why would he involve Wei Chuan?

After all, Xu Heqing and Xie Lingyin had also gone to Yanqing last time.

Unable to make sense of it, Meng Tang decided to stop overthinking. She didn’t have time to indulge Wei Chuan’s antics either. Raising her hand to the car door, she said,

“I don’t have time for this. Tell the driver to open the door.”

Wei Chuan knew she wouldn’t change her mind. “What’s the rush? It’s not like I’m stopping you from going.”

Meng Tang withdrew her hand and turned her face away.

“I’ll take you there,” Wei Chuan said, giving Uncle Yan, who had been watching them intently, a look. “To Wanhe.”

Uncle Yan acknowledged, and the Maybach slowly started moving.

Meng Tang: “…”

She really wanted to say, “Young Master, this is way too flashy.”

Seeing she didn’t object, Wei Chuan smirked smugly.

Meng Tang almost laughed too at his “wielding a chicken feather as a token of authority” act.

Whatever. Though she didn’t know what the old man was thinking, it was clear Wei Chuan wouldn’t let her out of the car.

The trip to Wanhe would take half an hour, she might as well treat it as catching a ride with a classmate.

Wei Chuan, never one to stay quiet, asked, “What’s so special about this Master Su that you’re so eager to see her? Wasn’t your woodcarving taught by your grandfather? I thought he was your idol.”

Meng Tang smiled. “Su Mian is a master of using the knife like a brush. Her style is deeply influenced by the landscape paintings of the Song and Yuan dynasties, excelling in creating the artistic conception of ‘distant mountains without texture, distant waters without waves’ with minimal strokes.”

“Her skill is unparalleled, even my grandfather admires her.”

As she spoke of something she loved, layers of warmth softened Meng Tang’s expression.

Wei Chuan didn’t understand a word, his gaze fixed on her lips as they moved.

Their color was naturally healthy, a soft pink. She must have applied lip balm, a subtle sheen glistened when she parted them.

Meng Tang glanced sideways and noticed Wei Chuan staring at her dazedly. Her heart skipped inexplicably. “W-what are you looking at?”

Wei Chuan suddenly turned his head away, scratching his cheek and rubbing his neck as if searching for something to do.

Meng Tang also averted her face, silently watching the scenery outside.

The car fell into silence. For the remaining ten minutes to the hotel, the air grew thick with awkwardness, laced with an indescribable tension.

Finally stepping out of the car, a hotel bellboy came to greet them, opening the door for Meng Tang.

Wei Chuan said to Uncle Yan, who was about to follow, “Go back. And don’t blab. I’ll return tomorrow night.”

Uncle Yan reached out like the iconic “Er Kang hand.” “Young Master, the old madam is waiting at home.”

“Explain it to Grandma,” Wei Chuan said. “Tell her your young master is just doing a good deed.”

Uncle Yan: “…”

Are you sure you’re not just being a clingy pest?

Once Wei Chuan set his mind to something, few could stop him. Trouble first, consequences later, that was his motto.

He took his ID from his bag, followed Meng Tang to the front desk, and slapped it down. “Check-in.”

The receptionist jumped, but her professional smile quickly returned.

“Currently, we have two room types available. One is a Deluxe King Room with a floor-to-ceiling window offering city night views and a double whirlpool tub. The other is an Executive Suite, which includes complimentary champagne and a chocolate platter. For couples, we highly recommend our specially designed Sweetheart Suite. Which would you prefer?”

“Sweet Suite?” Wei Chuan was taken aback. “Why are you recommending this?”

The receptionist glanced at Meng Tang. “Aren’t the two of you a couple?”

Wei Chuan and Meng Tang exchanged a look, their pupils trembling in sync, before shouting at the receptionist simultaneously: “We’re not a couple.”

“Uh…” The receptionist froze.