Any Closer and I'll Lose Control - Chapter 11

Meng Tang sprang to her feet as Xu Heqing stepped around the screen, revealing Xie Lingyin and the others behind him.

Oh no! Did they hear everything?

“Holy crap!” Shi Lan pushed forward, grabbing Meng Tang’s shoulders and shaking her. “Meng Tang, you have a crush on someone?”

Xie Lingyin snorted. “Wei Chuan knows, but we don’t, huh?”

“And you’re planning to confess?” Yang Ke chimed in. “So, the rumors are true?”

“What rumors?” Meng Tang and Wei Chuan asked in unison.

Xie Lingyin glanced at Wei Chuan. “You were the one who took Meng Tang to the hospital when she got hurt?”

“Yeah,” Wei Chuan admitted. “I was heading home for dinner and saw her. Couldn’t just leave her there.”

Xie Lingyin said, “When we arrived, we overheard people outside the girls’ dorm talking about you and Meng Tang, speculating whether you two were together.”

“What?” Wei Chuan found it absurd. “Why would they even think that?”

Xie Lingyin raised an eyebrow. “Shouldn’t that be your question to answer?”

Wei Chuan was baffled. “I didn’t do anything!”

“Maybe it’s because I rode in your car?” Meng Tang guessed. “And before that, when you took me to the hospital, a lot of people saw that too.”

Wei Chuan sighed. “Just gossip. Don’t take it seriously. I’m starving, let’s sit and talk?”

Xu Heqing gave Wei Chuan a meaningful look before taking a seat beside him.

Meng Tang added, “Check if you want to order more dishes.”

Without glancing at the menu, Xu Heqing said, “Do you have shrimp? If not, add a shrimp dish, any kind is fine.”

Meng Tang quickly signaled the waiter to add it.

Wei Chuan turned to him. “I thought you didn’t eat shrimp?”

That’s why he hadn’t ordered any.

Xu Heqing paused. “…You like it, don’t you?”

Wei Chuan eyed him suspiciously. “You’re not about to make me call you ‘daddy,’ are you?”

Xu Heqing: “…Are you eating it or not?”

“Fine.”

Meng Tang noticed Xie Lingyin clearing her throat and poured her a glass of water, sliding it over.

A brief silence settled over the table until Wei Chuan grinned at the others.

“You all know me and Xu Heqing, right? Why so quiet?”

Shi Lan laughed. “Of course we know you. Just didn’t expect to share a table with the two campus heartthrobs.”

“Two heartthrobs?” Wei Chuan chuckled. “Me included? Didn’t someone roast me on the confession wall? Said they were disillusioned.”

Meng Tang looked at him curiously, Wei Chuan read the confession wall?

“They said I shouldn’t smile because it’s ‘flirting,’ and if I flirt, it means I want them to confess. When they got rejected, they posted about me.”

Shi Lan and Yang Ke were already struggling to hold back laughter, gripping their thighs to keep from bursting out.

Meng Tang was intrigued. “And then?”

Wei Chuan sighed dramatically. “Now my teammates tease me about it constantly. It’s become an inside joke.”

Xu Heqing smirked. “Serves you right for letting your fans call you that nickname.”

Wei Chuan pointed at him. “If you say it out loud, we’re done as friends today.”

Xu Heqing shrugged. “They already know your nickname, don’t they?”

Wei Chuan turned to Meng Tang. “You know it too?”

Meng Tang nodded, barely suppressing a laugh.

Wei Chuan facepalmed. His reputation was ruined.

His muscles were rock-hard, what part of him was “sweet”?

The meal lasted two hours, and by the end, the group had warmed up to each other.

Seizing the moment, Wei Chuan suggested, “How about we all exchange WeChat?”

“Sounds good!” Shi Lan agreed immediately.

Wei Chuan added them one by one. When it was Xie Lingyin’s turn, her phone suddenly rang.

Xie Lingyin gave him an apologetic smile and excused herself to take the call.

Coincidentally, Xu Heqing also stood up and said, “I need to use the restroom.”

By the time they left the restaurant, Meng Tang still hadn’t managed to add Xu Heqing on WeChat.

Wei Chuan sent her a “I failed” meme, adorably expressive and Meng Tang couldn’t help but laugh.

She had never imagined getting this close to Xu Heqing before. Thanks to Wei Chuan, she was already satisfied.

Back at the dorm, her roommates immediately pressed her into a chair for interrogation, mainly about who she liked.

Meng Tang playfully dodged the questions and escaped to the bathroom.

There were limits to their teasing, and since she wasn’t willing to talk, Xie Lingyin and the others couldn’t actually force her.

Just as she finished washing up and climbed into bed, her phone buzzed. She opened it to see a message from Wei Chuan:

[My aunt said the same place as last time. You can go straight to her.]

Meng Tang quickly replied with a “Thank you.”

[Your hand might still need some recovery time, so take a break from practice for half a month. You can still attend basketball class, Wang Jue won’t give you trouble anymore. That guy only bullies the weak.]

[Got it, thanks.]

For the next two weeks, Meng Tang didn’t see Wei Chuan again.

But Wei Chuan was busy too. Even though it was just the finals of the grassroots league, Z Province had many traditionally strong teams, so high-intensity training was inevitable.

They had to work on stamina, touch, teamwork, and technique.

During those two weeks, Meng Tang attended classes as usual but avoided anything that required using her hands. The teachers were lenient with her.

Her classmates competed to take care of her, hoping for a few verbal pointers in return.

Meng Tang had never been one to put on airs or hold back knowledge. Ironically, her injury helped her bond with her classmates.

“Meng Tang, want to grab dinner together?”

After the last class of the afternoon, a classmate invited her.

Meng Tang shook her head. “You guys go ahead. I need to stop by the woodcarving studio.”

“But your hand’s injured. The teacher won’t let you use the tools.”

“I’m not using them,” Meng Tang explained with a smile. “It’s a piece from last year. The teacher wants me to enter it in a competition, so I need to fill in the evolution sketches from concept to finished work.”

“Alright, go ahead then.”

Too lazy to go to the cafeteria, Meng Tang headed straight to the woodcarving studio.

The Fine Arts building was shaped like a “return” character, with the woodcarving studio located on the south side.

Just as she reached the entrance, she ran into Tan Xi, who was on her way out.

Tan Xi had always been passive-aggressive toward her, so Meng Tang didn’t bother greeting her first.

As they were about to pass each other, Tan Xi suddenly called out, “You’re entering the woodcarving competition too?”

Meng Tang stopped but didn’t respond, waiting for her to continue.

Tan Xi scoffed. “Using last year’s work to bluff your way in?”

Seeing the undisguised jealousy on Tan Xi’s face, Meng Tang was reminded of Wang Jue, who had given her a hard time before.

She had done nothing to provoke them, yet their resentment simmered beneath the surface, projecting their own inadequacies onto her, the seemingly easy target.

Always wasting her time like this, over and over.

Meng Tang suddenly chuckled. “Bluffing? When I was five years old and carving wood strips, I didn’t even know how to write those two words.”

“You just started a few years earlier than me,” Tan Xi sneered. “What’s there to be proud of?”

“I’m not proud,” Meng Tang said calmly. “I just think if you’re entering the competition, you’ll need to work harder. After all, aside from starting earlier, I also happen to have a bit more talent than you.”

“You-”

“Excuse me.” Meng Tang gave a slight nod, her tone gentle and no different from usual.

Tan Xi stormed off, seething with frustration.

Meng Tang had just sat down when her phone buzzed. To her surprise, it was Wei Chuan, whom she hadn’t seen in a long time.

He was asking her to practice basketball, saying he was free that evening.

Meng Tang glanced at her work desk, feeling torn.

The competition would begin in October, with awards announced the following May. She already had a polished, completed piece, all she needed was to supplement it with the required graphics, text materials, and design drafts for the competition. Time was more than ample.

Meanwhile, Wei Chuan was squeezing out time to coach her for the exam. If she didn’t go, she’d be ungrateful.

Lowering her head, she typed into her phone:
[Alright, I’ll wait for you at the basketball court at the end of the path, then.]

Wei Chuan: [Have you eaten yet at this hour?]

Meng Tang: [Not too hungry. Just come straight over.]

Wei Chuan picked up his tray and left immediately. His teammates stretched out their hands in exaggerated dismay. “Brother Chuan, where are you rushing off to?”

“Got something to do. You guys head back first,” he said with a wave.

The remaining group huddled together, whispering:

“Think Brother Chuan’s dating someone?”

“No way, right? Didn’t he say he hasn’t confessed yet?”

“Should we follow him and check?”

“But if he catches us…”

“What’s there to fear? It’s already dark out.”

“Heh, let’s go.”