Chapter 436: Asking Me to Go In the Middle of the Night
While he was driving along, Wei Zhiqian said, “It’s a three-bedroom apartment. When I was studying at Beijing University, I lived there alone. I had one room as my bedroom, one as my study, and the other was decorated as a guestroom.”
“I had thought that perhaps when you came to study at Beijing University, and if you found it uncomfortable to live in the dorms or maybe had trouble getting along with your roommates, you could move out and stay here with me.” Wei Zhiqian explained, “But eventually, I graduated, and you never did move out.”
“The room is still vacant, and the cleaner still comes by as scheduled, just so it can be ready whenever it’s needed.” As Wei Zhiqian continued to explain, he drove into a housing area.
Beijing University was located in a prime district.
It was unlike the usual campuses, which were typically located in remote areas. Thus, the occupancy rate of the surrounding housing districts was typically low, and so was the rental.
On the contrary, Beijing University had a strategic location and a great reputation to boot.
The neighboring houses, whether new or old, had a high market value.
The place Wei Zhiqian had bought was not in a relatively new district. He had gotten the place about five to six years ago. Nonetheless, its surrounding still looked rather new and posh.
“If you ever find yourself struggling to live in the dorms, you can always come here,” Wei Zhiqian said.
“You can log your thumbprint into the keypad later so that you won’t have to worry about forgetting the pin,” Wei Zhiqian continued.
“Okay.” Tan Mo sighed with relief. With him around, there was always an easy solution to any problems.
Nothing was ever too difficult for him to solve.
Whenever he was around, there was never a crisis for her.
Wei Zhiqian parked the car and got out with Tan Mo.
The two of them took the elevator up to the floor of Wei Zhiqian’s apartment.
Tan Mo sighed with relief. It seemed like Wei Zhiqian was not planning on carrying her around again.
Though it was unlikely they would run into anyone at this hour, Tan Mo thought it was much better that she was finally walking on her own.
As they approached the apartment door, Wei Zhiqian unlocked it with his thumbprint. He said, “Hold on.”
He pressed a few b.u.t.tons and asked Tan Mo to place her most frequently used finger on the scanner.
After Tan Mo’s fingerprint had been logged into the system, they entered the apartment.
Wei Zhiqian opened the shoe cabinet and took out two pairs of home slippers—one large and one small.
The smaller pair was clearly sized to fit Tan Mo’s feet.
“Are those slippers meant for me?” Tan Mo asked as she took off her white McQueens and slid her feet into the slippers.
“Of course.” Wei Zhiqian changed into his slippers too. “Since I kept this apartment spared for you, I prepared some stuff for you too. I couldn’t let you come here without having anything to use.”
After Tan Mo had finished changing into her new slippers, Wei Zhiqian gave her a little tour of the apartment.
“It’s a small place, so you can see everything at a glance,” Wei Zhiqian said casually. He showed her what was in each room and told her where everything was placed.
“I have new toothbrushes here. I’ll get you one later.” Wei Zhiqian showed Tan Mo to her room.
“This room is yours,” Wei Zhiqian said. “I decorated it according to your room back home. If you’ll be coming here often, you can change everything in here as you please.”
Wei Zhiqian had not exactly copied the furnis.h.i.+ngs of her bedroom back home.
It was just that he had known Tan Mo since she was six, so he was familiar with what Tan Mo fancied.
Naturally, that included knowing her taste in home decor.
It was Tan Mo’s first time here, yet somehow she did not feel estranged.
The furnis.h.i.+ngs and decoration in the bedroom were different from her bedroom at home, but at a glance, she knew this room was meant for her.
“I love how everything looks!” Tan Mo turned around and asked, “Did you do all the decorating?”
“I chose the furniture and had someone send them over.” Wei Zhiqian nodded. “The room layout was designed by me too.”
“I haven’t bought you any clothes because you’re still growing, aren’t you? You’d probably outgrow anything that I got for you, and I was worried it wouldn’t be what you liked.” Wei Zhiqian explained, “But I did get you some pajamas. I got them in bigger sizes so that you’d feel more comfortable in them.”
“It’s no big deal. I can always change when I get back. Besides, my coming here today was unplanned. If I come by next time, I’ll be sure to pack a change of clothes.” Tan Mo was unbothered by it.
Wei Zhiqian thought for a minute and asked, “What if you end up coming here like today again? Are you free tomorrow night? Let’s go buy you some clothes, so you can keep them here. That way, you won’t have to take too much stuff with you the next time. It’ll be much less of a ha.s.sle.”
“Sounds good.” Tan Mo nodded in agreement.
“Then, I’ll leave you to it so you can settle in,” Wei Zhiqian said and walked out of the room.
Tan Mo thought Wei Zhiqian was about to leave, so she followed him thinking she would see him out the door.
However, as she followed him out of the room, she saw him turn and walk toward the other room instead.
When he reached the door to his bedroom, Wei Zhiqian stopped. He turned around and asked with a look of confusion on his face, “Do you need anything else?”
Tan Mo was taken by surprise. “Aren’t you going back?”
“I am. I’m going back to my room,” Wei Zhiqian replied with a blank expression.
When Tan Mo finally understood what he meant, she quickly answered back, “Well, I’m just seeing you off to your room.”
Wei Zhiqian said nothing.
He just stared back at her in silence.
Tan Mo suddenly felt guilty.
Ever so slowly, Wei Zhiqian took a step toward Tan Mo.
Tan Mo suddenly panicked and instinctively took a step back.
As she stepped back, Wei Zhiqian continued to move forward.
It was a good thing that her room and Wei Zhiqian’s rooms were located on the opposite ends of the hall.
The two rooms were separated by a s.p.a.cious living area.
Tan Mo could take as many steps as she liked and would still be able to back away from him.
Wei Zhiqian suddenly realized that too.
After taking two steps forward, Wei Zhiqian stopped.
He placed both his hands in his pockets and stood casually.
“Were you going to send me out the door?” Wei Zhiqian saw right through Tan Mo’s intentions.
“Why would I do that?” Tan Mo denied quickly.
It was obvious that Wei Zhiqian did not believe her for a second. He chuckled and said, “It’s the middle of the night. Do you want me to go all the way back?”
He was right, it was almost midnight.
“Of course not,” Tan Mo answered hurriedly. “I wouldn’t want you out there in the middle of the night. You’re certainly not going anywhere at this hour. You have to stay.”
“Okay, then.” Wei Zhiqian nodded. Her concern for him was hardly sincere, but that would have to do for now. “I’m going to take a shower.”
Tan Mo walked back to her room. She grabbed the new pajamas that Wei Zhiqian had picked out for her and went to shower too.
After going into the bathroom, she suddenly remembered that Wei Zhiqian had not given her a toothbrush.
Tan Mo quickly put her clothes back on, walked out, and made her way to Wei Zhiqian’s bedroom door.
She knocked several times on the door. “Uncle?”
Wei Zhiqian did not respond.
“I guess he’s probably already in the shower,” Tan Mo muttered to herself and went back to her room.
She decided she would ask Wei Zhiqian again after she had taken her shower.
After Tan Mo was done showering, she searched but could not find a hair towel anywhere. Instead, she took the hand towel and wrapped it around her hair.