Any Closer and I'll Lose Control - Chapter 1
After a morning of pinching, scraping, and shaping clay, Meng Tang’s hands ached so much she questioned her life choices.
She tilted her head back, zoning out for a couple of seconds, only to be startled when the professor suddenly leaned in.
Rubbing the clay off onto her apron, Meng Tang smiled sheepishly. “Professor.”
“Mm,” the professor handed her a slip of paper. “Next week, we’re starting a new module. Go to the Sports Institute and find someone to model for us. Here’s their info.”
“Huh?” Meng Tang’s mouth fell open slightly, caught off guard and a little reluctant. “Me?”
There were seventeen students in Sculpture Class 2, and she was the most introverted of the introverts, barely interacting with her classmates or teachers. She never expected to be assigned this kind of task.
“During the creative process, clay can always be adjusted, but your silence will let mistakes solidify.”
Meng Tang pressed her lips together, realizing the professor thought she was too withdrawn.
She took the slip of paper. It read: “Wei Chuan, Sports Training Class 1,” followed by contact details.
Meng Tang knew who Wei Chuan was.
He was part of the basketball program in the Sports Training major, a key player on the university team, and even competed in the CUBAL.
But in Meng Tang’s mind, he was just a brawny, reckless jock.
At the start of freshman year, she had arrived on campus alone with a ton of luggage. The senior who picked her up had randomly pulled someone over to help carry her bedding.
That someone was Wei Chuan.
While going upstairs, her suitcase was too heavy, so she and the senior struggled to lift it together.
Wei Chuan saw this and grabbed it in one hand.
Meng Tang felt bad letting him carry everything, but Wei Chuan just grinned. “This is nothing.”
The moment he finished speaking, there was a loud crack—the suitcase slammed into the railing at the turn and shattered into pieces.
Her suitcase, which she’d used for years, burst open, its contents spilling everywhere. Wei Chuan instinctively reached out to catch something and ended up snagging her pure white underwear.
The delicate straps dangled from his broad palm, and Meng Tang wished she could vanish into the ground.
Later, Wei Chuan asked the senior to deliver a new suitcase to her, and the two never interacted again.
After lunch, Meng Tang returned to her dorm, took a shower, and washed her clay-stained clothes. Then, hesitantly, she saved Wei Chuan’s number.
Taking a deep breath, she dialed—no answer.
Meng Tang grimaced. Did she really have to go to the training center to find him in person?
She thumped her forehead against the desk, utterly conflicted. But with free creative time in the afternoon, she had no excuse not to.
Hours passed, and Wei Chuan still hadn’t called back.
Around three o’clock, she slowly slung her bag over her shoulder and headed out. The basketball training center wasn’t far from the girls’ dorm in Building 19.
Inside the main entrance, two teams were practicing on the court, with a few people scattered along the sidelines watching from the bench.
Meng Tang hovered near the edge. A guy noticed her and jogged over.
“Hey, we’re in the middle of practice.”
Meng Tang quickly apologized. “Sorry, I’m looking for Wei Chuan. Can I wait here?”
She braced herself for rejection, but the guy just turned and shouted, “Brother Chuan, there’s a girl looking for you!”
The basketball hit the floor, and every guy on the court turned to stare.
Meng Tang’s breath hitched. Fighting the urge to bolt, she met their curious gazes.
Among the crowd, Wei Chuan stood out instantly.
He hadn’t changed much from a year ago—tall, with sharp brows and striking eyes. He wasn’t smiling as he looked over, his gaze heavy, muscles tensed, giving off an intimidating aura.
“Ooooh…” someone drawled, egging him on. “Who’s this? Your new girlfriend?”
“Shut up, quit messing around.”
Wei Chuan caught his breath with a laugh, wiping the sweat from his face as any trace of fierceness melted into the smile at the corners of his eyes.
He had slightly hooded eyes, and when he grinned, his teeth showed, his eyes crinkling into crescents—there was even a hint of sweetness in his expression.
Before she could even reach him, he called out, “Looking for me?”
Meng Tang replied softly, “I’m from Sculpture Class 2. Professor Xu asked me to find you. Next week—”
“Speak up, can’t hear a mumble,” Wei Chuan cut in, basketball tucked under his arm, his tall frame blocking her path.
The warm breath that hit her face made Meng Tang take a step back. She lifted her head slightly and raised her voice, “Professor Xu from the Sculpture Department asked me to come find you.”
Wei Chuan found himself staring into a pair of translucent, light-colored eyes.
The girl in front of him had an elegant, almost ethereal beauty, and her voice was so soft it barely seemed to land.
There was an innocence in her gaze, as if untouched by the world.
Unconsciously, he softened his tone. “Didn’t I already turn him down?”
“Huh?” Meng Tang blinked. “But wasn’t it already agreed?”
Wei Chuan arched a brow, then let out a strange chuckle. “I joked with that old man to send his prettiest student to talk to me. Didn’t think he’d actually do it.”
Meng Tang: “…”
“I’m busy. Find someone else.” Wei Chuan tilted his chin up slightly, his expression a mix of arrogance and indifference. “Turn left out the door—plenty of guys in the Sports Education department.”
With that, he turned and tossed the basketball back to his teammates. “Keep training.”
Panicking, Meng Tang instinctively grabbed his arm. “Wait—”
“…Ooooh, hand-holding!”
The guys nearby, slinging arms over each other’s shoulders, erupted into teasing, their voices deliberately loud and obnoxious.
Wei Chuan glanced down at the fingers gripping his arm. “Sticking to me now?”
Meng Tang flushed and let go. “But no one else will do. The professor specifically asked for you.”
Wei Chuan crossed his arms and leaned down slightly, meeting her eyes with a smirk. “Listen, prettiest girl in the Sculpture Department, I really don’t have time.”
The CUBAL regional qualifiers were coming up, and aside from classes, every spare moment was spent training.
Just as Meng Tang was about to argue, a sharp, drawn-out whistle cut her off.
“Slacking off again, you brat?”
The roar nearly shook the training gym’s ceiling. Defeated, Meng Tang trudged back to her dorm.
Her roommates, having finished their classes, had also returned.
“Why the long face?”
The speaker was Xie Lingyin. She, Shi Lan, and Yang Ke were all from the Oil Painting Department.
Meng Tang had moved into their dorm during her freshman year due to a housing reshuffle.
Though they got along fine, their schedules didn’t overlap much, so they weren’t as close as other roommates.
“It’s nothing.” Meng Tang wasn’t one to trouble others.
“Tomorrow night’s the Sports Ed vs. Athletic Training basketball match,” Shi Lan said, turning from her phone. “Going?”
“Yes! Wei Chuan’s playing!” Yang Ke was the first to agree. “And maybe his roommate Xu Heqing too.”
Meng Tang’s ears perked up subtly.
Shi Lan rolled her eyes. “So which one are you actually going to see?”
Yang Ke grinned. “We’re adults. Can’t we have both?”
“Dream on,” Shi Lan scoffed before turning to Xie Lingyin and Meng Tang. “What about you two?”
“Yes.”
They answered in unison.
Hearing Meng Tang’s voice, the other three froze.
Meng Tang: “…What?”
“You never wanted to go before,” Xie Lingyin said. “Changed your mind?”
Meng Tang just smiled, though inwardly, she was troubled.
The professor asked her to bring the model by Monday, so she had to get Wei Chuan’s approval no matter what by tomorrow night.
It was like forcing a duck onto a perch—Meng Tang didn’t even have the right to refuse.
Besides… Xu Heqing might be there too.
The match was scheduled for 7 PM at the outdoor basketball court. By the time Meng Tang and her roommate arrived, the place was already packed to the brim.
Wei Chuan walked onto the court wearing his white No. 27 jersey, and amid the roaring cheers, Meng Tang caught sight of Xu Heqing.
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