Any Closer and I'll Lose Control - Chapter 68

Entering the elevator, Meng Tang traced the small object in her palm with her fingertip. It felt warm and smooth to the touch, shaped like a fish.

A fish?

Meng Tang paused, a guess forming in her mind.

Lowering her gaze, she saw the little fish-shaped chopstick rest lying in her palm.

Even Xu Heqing, sitting beside her, might not have noticed her actions, but Wei Chuan…

Meng Tang didn’t realize the elevator had arrived until Yang Ke called out, snapping her back to reality.

She clenched the little fish in her hand, unsure why Wei Chuan had given it to her.

Back in her dorm, she set down her bag, took off her coat, and placed the fish chopstick rest under the desk lamp.

After a long silence, Meng Tang picked up her phone to message Wei Chuan but suddenly stopped.

At the time, Xu Heqing had been sitting next to her, making her feel uneasy, so she had absentmindedly stared at the little fish. The more she looked at it, the cuter it seemed, and she couldn’t resist touching it.

Wei Chuan must have noticed by chance and asked the hotel for one to give her.

Yes, that must be it.

Meng Tang was the last to wash up.

She usually slept well, but tonight she tossed and turned, unable to drift off.

She pulled the culprit from under her pillow, sensing something off in the darkness.

But she couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was. The harder she tried to figure it out, the more agitated she became, until she finally forced herself to sleep.

The next day, she attended classes with dark circles under her eyes. The snow had stopped after a few hours, leaving the roads dry.

Distracted through four classes, she ran into Li Hanjin on her way to lunch.

She wasn’t surprised he had sought her out. After all, they had lived together for years, and she knew him well enough.

“Why are you here?” Meng Tang asked, her tone far from welcoming.

With too many people around, Li Hanjin glanced around before saying, “Are you sure you want to talk here?”

Meng Tang led him halfway around the campus to a secluded spot, her expression indifferent. “What is it?”

Li Hanjin said, “The studio relocated, and there were some unfinished matters from before. I wasn’t around when you had that incident-”

“It’s already been handled,” Meng Tang cut him off. “I’ll be upfront with you, Grandpa doesn’t want me getting too close to you.”

Li Hanjin gave a bitter smile. “The old man really… Why guard against me like this?”

The latter part of his sentence was mumbled.

Meng Tang didn’t catch it and had no interest in asking. “I have things to do. I’m leaving.”

“Wait.” Li Hanjin stopped her. “It’s not that I’m clinging to you, junior sister, but your university has hired me as an intangible cultural heritage mentor.”

Meng Tang froze. “That title… What does the school want you to do?”

Li Hanjin explained, “I won’t be involved in daily teaching, but I’ll advise on woodcarving-related graduation projects, academic seminars, and craft exhibition judging.”

Meng Tang nodded and bid him farewell.

Li Hanjin narrowed his eyes. Did she really not care at all?

After lunch, she returned to the dorm, where Xie Lingyin and the others were discussing New Year’s holiday plans.

Her phone buzzed, a message from Wei Chuan.

He asked if she was going home for New Year’s.

It didn’t seem like his business, so she didn’t reply.

Wei Chuan found it odd and sent a few more follow-ups, but Meng Tang remained silent.

Leaving the training center, he headed to the cafeteria, sat down at a random table, and scrolled through their chat history, wondering if he had somehow upset her.

Three days without seeing her, and now she wouldn’t even reply.

Just then, a group of girls took the table behind him and immediately launched into conversation.

“Our school hired a non-heritage cultural inheritor as a mentor, and he’s ridiculously handsome, did you guys know?”

“I know, Li Hanjin. He gave a lecture before.”

“His aura is just unreal. So many girls like him, blocking his way to ask for his WeChat, but they all got turned down.”

“But he goes to find Meng Tang from the Sculpture Department every day. Some say they’re together.”

“Seriously? Aren’t they six or seven years apart?”

“Six or seven years, not sixty or seventy. If it were me, I’d be willing too.”

Wei Chuan paused his chopsticks. Li Hanjin went to the art academy as a non-heritage mentor?

Damn, he’s here for Meng Tang, isn’t he?

His appetite gone, Wei Chuan set down his chopsticks and quickly typed on his phone: [Are you free? I need to talk to you.]

After waiting impatiently for ten minutes, Wei Chuan simply called her.

This time, Meng Tang picked up and asked what was wrong.

“Can I come see you?” Wei Chuan said. “I have something to tell you.”

“Sorry, I’m a bit busy.”

“Meng Tang.”

Li Hanjin’s voice came through the phone.

Wei Chuan hung up, grabbed his tray, and left.

He didn’t know where Meng Tang was right now, but searching along the main paths of the art academy would definitely lead him to her.

Sure enough, he found them at the entrance of the art museum.

Meng Tang and Li Hanjin were deep in conversation, seemingly oblivious to anyone else around them.

Wei Chuan pretended to pass by, walking over before calling out Meng Tang’s name from a distance.

Meng Tang thought she’d imagined it. Turning around and seeing him, she looked surprised. “What are you doing here?”

Wei Chuan: “Just passing by.”

Meng Tang: “…”

The training center and the art museum were on opposite ends of campus. How was this “passing by”?

Afraid he’d clash with Li Hanjin again, Meng Tang pulled him aside, three meters away.

Wei Chuan’s chest tightened, and he couldn’t hold back. “I texted you before, and you didn’t reply to a single one. Were you with him this whole time?”

The accusatory tone made Meng Tang frown. “Did you need something?”

Wei Chuan pressed on, ignoring her question. “Now everyone’s saying you and Li Hanjin are together. Did you know that?”

Meng Tang hadn’t expected the rumors to be this absurd.

But Wei Chuan didn’t seem to have any right to interrogate her either.

She looked at him calmly. “That doesn’t seem to have anything to do with you.”

“I…” Wei Chuan choked. “Fine, it doesn’t. But does it have nothing to do with Xu Heqing either?”

Meng Tang: “…Why do you always have so many opinions about me and Xu Heqing?”

They stood in silence for two minutes before Wei Chuan muttered, aggrieved, “I’ve realized you’re really…”

“Really what?”

Meng Tang’s mind was preoccupied with the artifact restoration techniques Li Hanjin had just discussed with her. She really wasn’t in the mood to deal with Wei Chuan.

Wei Chuan mustered his courage and mumbled, “Fickle.”

Meng Tang sighed. “If you really have nothing important to say, you should go. I’m genuinely busy.”

“Busy with Li Hanjin again, right?”

Meng Tang’s patience snapped. “Who I’m with has nothing to do with you.”

Wei Chuan couldn’t believe his ears.

He stared at her, hurt.

“I gave you that fish-shaped chopstick rest, and this is how you treat me?”

“When you asked me about Xu Heqing, when you wanted to know what he liked, why didn’t you say it had nothing to do with me then?”

“Didn’t I also tell you what Xie Lingyin liked?” Meng Tang shot back. “I even went with you to buy gifts for her and carved you a confession present. What more do you want?”

Wei Chuan: “If you’re helping, see it through to the end.”

Meng Tang: “…What do you mean? If your confession fails, it’s suddenly my fault?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“…”

Li Hanjin clearly had ulterior motives toward Meng Tang, so Wei Chuan decided to take his unreasonable behavior to the extreme:

“I don’t care. You promised me before that you’d confess with me. Otherwise, I’ll tell Xu Heqing that you like him.”

“Are you insane?” Meng Tang couldn’t hold back the curse.

Her mood ruined, she shot Wei Chuan a glare, ignored even Li Hanjin, and walked away without another word.

At the entrance of the art museum, only the two men remained.

Wei Chuan sneered. “The lecture, the relocation, the hiring… it was all part of your plan, wasn’t it?”

Li Hanjin raised an eyebrow.

Wei Chuan let out a bitter laugh. “You know damn well the old man can’t stand you, yet you still shamelessly cling to Meng Tang. What the hell do you want?”

Instead of answering, Li Hanjin countered, “Do you know why I left four years ago?”

“Not interested,” Wei Chuan said with disgust.

“You’re afraid to hear it,” Li Hanjin provoked.

Still young and easily baited, Wei Chuan turned back with a scoff. “What’s there to be afraid of?”