Chapter 136: Chapter 136: Spoiling Thea Lynch Too Much
Ian rarely interfered with Thea’s decisions.
Whatever she wanted to do, he would let her do it freely.
No matter the outcome, as long as it was within his tolerance, nothing else mattered.
With his assurance, Thea seemed to find a bit of confidence and quietly accelerated.
To control her speed, Sean in front deliberately drove very slowly. Just as Thea showed a hint of overtaking, he cut her off.
Thea frowned, and after confirming there were no cars in the left lane, she sharply turned the steering wheel.
Ahead, Sean saw through her intent and immediately blocked her.
"..." Thea pressed her lips together, looking displeased.
Quickly, the phone rang.
Thea glanced at it and pressed the speaker. Silas’s confused voice came through: "What are you two doing? Racing on the main road?!"
This road from the cemetery was straight and smooth, with few cars.
But this didn’t mean they could engage in car racing.
What’s going on?
"Nothing." Sean replied, "She wanted to overtake, Julian told me to block her."
Julian, who hadn’t spoken since getting in the car: "..."
Since he had been dragged into it, Julian had to speak up: "Thea, don’t drive too fast."
"No, I’m not." Thea denied.
Silas: "You’re almost stepping the gas pedal into the tank, what do you mean no?"
"..." Thea was about to explain when a hand reached over from the side and directly pressed the hang-up button. Thea’s pupils narrowed as she turned to look at the figure in the passenger seat.
Ian raised his chin, indicating, "Watch the road."
After Thea obediently withdrew her gaze, he said, "Overtake them."
"!"
"But..."
"Overtake."
Thea gripped the steering wheel, her blood inexplicably starting to boil. The rhythmic heartbeat pounded in her ears.
"Okay." She responded, first slowing down. Then taking advantage of other cars passing by, she directly followed. Sean’s car in front made way, and Thea kept closely behind the other car, not giving Sean a chance to cut her off.
Successfully getting ahead of Sean, Thea glanced at the rearview mirror. Sean was trying to catch up.
Thea wasn’t going to give him the chance, flooring the gas pedal within the speed limit.
Sean was driving a sports car, and Thea could hear the roar from behind even with the windows closed. It was easy for Sean to catch up.
Thea was driving Ian’s car; in a serious race, she naturally stood no chance against the sports car.
Thea could only use Sean’s earlier tactic, cutting in.
After two tries, Silas’s call came in again.
This time Thea didn’t answer.
Silas had to call Ian. Ian took one look and pressed answer.
Silas, tearing his heart out: "Third brother! Third brother!"
"Stop yelling."
Silas: "I thought you were asleep! They’re fooling around, and you’re not stopping them?!"
"This isn’t our home mountain track. It’s not supposed to be driven like this!"
"Within the speed limit, it’s fine." Ian casually replied.
"..." Silas was infuriated, pressing the gas pedal to catch up, closely following Sean. "They’re being reckless here; it’s dangerous."
"Hmm." Of course, Ian knew if it was dangerous or not.
There’s a turn ahead into the city, and naturally, they can’t drive like this.
"Let Sean come up at the next intersection."
Ian didn’t say much else, quickly hanging up, afraid Silas would keep talking and bother Thea’s driving.
Thea split her attention to listen to their conversation, "Can we only drive this stretch?"
"Yes. More cars in the city." He paused, fearing she’d be disappointed, then added, "If you want to drive, I’ll take you to the outskirts over the weekend. No cars there, you can drive how you want."
Thea seemed to have heard he had some sort of club.
The ground is vast.
"Alright." She glanced at the GPS information and quietly slowed down.
Silas probably also called Sean. Sean’s car wasn’t following as closely.
Only when they turned at the next junction, did he take the chance to catch up.
Thea put one hand down, driving leisurely behind him. The navigation showed the road was congested.
This was rush hour, stop-and-go all the way.
Thea couldn’t help yawning, her foot on the brake beginning to feel numb.
After a while, she glanced at the passenger seat and met Ian’s gaze.
She hesitated, "Third brother, why don’t you rest for a bit? Given the current situation, it’ll take a while."
Thea still remembered he hadn’t rested well last night.
He had been worried about her driving alone, she knew.
"It’s fine now; I’ll drive slowly." She attempted to reassure him.
After racing with Sean for a while, she didn’t feel uncomfortable. The drive so far felt okay.
"I can really handle it alone. If anything happens, I’ll call you."
"Look at this road, both sections are congested. It’ll take at least another hour to get there."
They’re not in a rush to return to the compound, planning to eat outside before heading back.
If they were returning to the compound, the journey would be even longer.
Ian wasn’t entirely confident in her, but she insisted.
"Okay." He agreed, but didn’t truly fall asleep.
Every time Thea started the car, he’d open his eyes to check the road. Then, before she looked over, he’d close his eyes again.
This stretch of road was even more congested than Thea had imagined.
Since returning to Beijing, this was the worst traffic she’d ever encountered.
By the time she reached Donovan’s place, it was already completely dark.
When getting out of the car, Thea received a call from her aunt.
Her aunt and uncle had visited Aaron at noon and returned early.
Thea signaled for Ian and the others to head to the private room first while she took the call in the hallway.
"Thea, haven’t you returned yet?"
"I’m at Donovan’s place. There was some traffic on the way, just arrived."
"That’s good, that’s good. Are you coming back to the compound tonight?"
"Not tonight. Tomorrow. Uncle Zhou and the others are coming back tomorrow, aren’t they?"
"Oh right, right, I almost forgot if you hadn’t mentioned it." Her aunt had been so busy lately she’d almost forgotten.
"What time is their flight tomorrow?"
"Noon, I suppose. I’m going with the second brother to pick them up, and we’ll eat out. Then we’ll return to the compound in the evening."
——
In the private room, as soon as Ian sat down, he heard Silas’s complaints, "I say, third brother, you’re too indulgent with Thea. What happened to the bottom line?"
Ian accepted the tea Sean handed over, his voice low:
"Always worried about something happening to her, not letting her do anything, isn’t necessarily good for her."
"True." Julian thought about it, also agreeing with him.
Just then, Thea, finished with her call, came in. Julian gave Silas a look, signaling him not to mention it again.
On the way back in the evening, Thea was sent back to the passenger seat, with Ian driving.
