Any Closer and I'll Lose Control - Chapter 38

The museum’s youth woodcarving experience was a full-day event, running from 9:30 to 11:00 in the morning and 2:00 to 3:30 in the afternoon.

At 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, Meng Tang arrived at the museum and met with the event coordinator. After getting a clear understanding of the schedule, she felt more at ease.

The first 20 minutes would be an introduction to woodcarving culture, something she had prepared for. The following hour would be hands-on practice, ending with a group photo of the finished pieces.

The afternoon session was her demonstration, and at the end, certificates would be awarded to the children who performed well.

Around 9:20, the children began arriving one after another, with parents not allowed inside. Meng Tang looked at their bright, curious eyes and suddenly felt a little nervous.

“Wow, you’re so pretty, big sister!” a little boy in the front row blurted out.

“Thank you.” Meng Tang smiled, her nerves easing as she introduced herself.

The PowerPoint on woodcarving culture was her own creation, filled with plenty of images to keep the children engaged without overwhelming them with text. Though she wasn’t particularly humorous, she spoke earnestly.

The children today were very well-behaved, listening attentively for the full 20 minutes.

The hands-on session was much more fun. Meng Tang handed out aprons and taught them about the carving tools and their uses. The children used safe carving knives and basswood boards, which already had pre-printed patterns. They only needed to trace and carve along the lines.

Patiently guiding each child one by one, time flew by, and soon everyone’s work was at a similar level.

The museum had prepared identical stands for the children to display their finished pieces. Meng Tang took photos of each of them.

By 11:30, the children had all been picked up by their parents.

Since Meng Tang had to return in the afternoon, she planned to grab a quick bite nearby. Just as she slung her bag over her shoulder, the coordinator said, “We’ve arranged a standard meal for you.”

Meng Tang shook her head with a smile. “No need. It’s been a while since I’ve been here, so I’d like to walk around a bit. I’ll be back by 1:30 p.m.”

“Alright.”

As she stepped out of the activity hall, her phone rang.

Wei Chuan?

Meng Tang answered, “Hello?”

“I was just wondering, since all the kids are being taken out to eat by their parents, who’s taking care of your lunch?”

Meng Tang froze. “…Are you at the museum?”

“Yeah,” Wei Chuan replied, a faint laugh in his voice. “Why aren’t you out yet?”

“What are you doing here?” Meng Tang quickened her pace toward the museum entrance.

The children’s activity had taken place on the first floor, near the east entrance, so it wasn’t far from the main doors.

As soon as she stepped outside, she spotted Wei Chuan at the bottom of the steps. After a day of rest, he looked completely refreshed.

Phone in hand, he grinned and waved at her.

The wind and sunlight seemed to favor him, making every expression and gesture effortlessly captivating.

Meng Tang hung up and walked down the steps to meet him. “What are you doing here?”

“My place is nearby,” Wei Chuan said. “I slept at home last night. On my way back to campus, I remembered you were here, so I thought I’d drop by.”

After the competition, they had two days off. His family had watched the livestream yesterday, so of course he had gone home.

“Have you eaten yet?” Meng Tang asked. “I’m about to grab lunch and walk around a bit. Want to join?”

Wei Chuan stepped closer to her. “I came here to mooch a meal off you.”

Meng Tang pointed across the street. “There’s a mall over there. They should have food.”

Wei Chuan nodded. “Sure, I’ll follow your lead.”

Meng Tang had never been to this mall before. Glancing at the floor guide outside the elevator, she turned to Wei Chuan and asked, “Should we go to the food court on the basement level or the restaurants on the top floor?”

It was a Tuesday, and the mall wasn’t crowded. The two of them stood waiting in front of the elevator.

Wei Chuan, being tall, instinctively leaned down slightly when talking to her. “Up to you,” he said.

From an angle, his figure completely blocked Meng Tang from view.

Meng Tang replied, “Let’s go to the basement. I want to look around later.”

Going to a restaurant would probably take too much time.

“Are you planning to buy something?” Wei Chuan asked.

“Yeah,” Meng Tang nodded. “I lost my thermos, so I need to get a new one.”

The elevator arrived on the first floor. Wei Chuan stepped in and said, “Then let’s head to the basement. This mall is pretty big, there should be plenty of food options down there too.”

Meng Tang followed him to the basement level.

The food court was sparsely populated, with only a few people scattered around. After walking a loop, Meng Tang settled on duck blood and vermicelli soup.

Wei Chuan ordered the same, along with two drinks.

Since there weren’t many customers, their food arrived quickly.

Wei Chuan warned her, “Be careful, it’s hot.”

Meng Tang nodded and asked, “Are you heading back to campus this afternoon?”

Wei Chuan replied, “The coach gave us two days off. I booked a private room at Hexi Courtyard tonight and invited everyone from your dorm and mine. You’re coming too, right?”

Meng Tang was taken aback. “They agreed?”

“Yeah,” Wei Chuan glanced at her. “I had Xu Heqing ask, he has Xie Lingyin’s contact info. I won the match, so I wanted to thank you all for your support these past few days. Just a small celebration.”

Meng Tang teased him, “Celebrating is one thing, but wanting to see Lingyin is the real reason, isn’t it? I already have Xu Heqing’s WeChat, how come you still haven’t added her?”

Wei Chuan muttered, “I’ve been busy with the competition, okay? And with the regional matches coming up, the competition’s tougher, and the training intensity is higher. The coach doesn’t want us distracted.”

Meng Tang raised an eyebrow. “So, you’ve managed to make your crush public knowledge before even confessing?”

Seriously, he couldn’t keep anything to himself.

Wei Chuan choked on his words. It wasn’t like he wanted everyone to know. And besides… his feelings toward Meng Tang had grown a bit complicated lately.

During the competition, he hadn’t had much time to dwell on it, but when Meng Tang missed the semifinals after promising to come, it had thrown him off so much that the coach even yelled at him.

Thankfully, he hadn’t lost the match, otherwise, the coach would’ve skinned him alive.

But he’d also realized something: compared to Xie Lingyin, he actually looked forward to seeing Meng Tang more.

The thought startled him, and he guiltily lowered his head to focus on his meal.

After eating, they took the escalator back up to the first floor, where a boutique store was conveniently located near the entrance, perfect for shopping before leaving.

The storefront, adorned with a yellow sign, looked modest from the outside, but inside, it was surprisingly spacious.

Opposite the stationery section was a huge claw machine area, running a promotion: 300 game tokens for 69 yuan. Wei Chuan’s eyes lit up with excitement.

Meng Tang tugged at his sleeve. “You’re seriously going to try that?”

Wei Chuan tilted his chin up. “You go buy your thermos first. I’ll check it out, maybe I can win a bunch to give to the kids at the woodcarving workshop this afternoon.”

It was such a good idea that Meng Tang couldn’t refuse.

She looked at him eagerly. “There are 22 kids in the workshop. Do you think you can win that many?”

Wei Chuan wasn’t entirely confident. “Probably?”

Meng Tang hesitated. “Then… I’ll go shopping first?”

“Go ahead.”

Buying a thermos didn’t take long. After paying, Meng Tang went to find Wei Chuan again.

She spotted him with two plush toys already in a basket at his feet. Delighted, she hurried over. “Want me to hold the game tokens for you?”

Wei Chuan found it amusing: “There’s a designated spot here to place them. You can hold onto the basket, it’s lighter, or I can give you half the tokens so you can play too.”

“Forget it, I’ll just follow you.”

She thought Wei Chuan was pretty skilled. With 300 tokens, he should be able to grab 22, right?

But at two tokens per try, it was risky.

As it turned out, she was absolutely right, Wei Chuan only managed to grab 17 with 300 tokens.

Still, that was quite a lot. Just five short, Meng Tang scanned the code again and bought another 300 tokens.

The second round yielded 15 more, bringing the total to 32. Meng Tang was satisfied.

Wei Chuan set aside ten of them, planning to exchange six for a medium-sized plushie. He said to Meng Tang,

“Six can get you a medium one. Pick whichever you like. The remaining four small ones, you and your roommates can each have one.”

Meng Tang was taken aback. “For me? Shouldn’t the big one go to Lingyin?”

Wei Chuan cleared his throat. “The second round was your money, so of course it’s yours. I don’t take advantage of people.”

“I don’t mind. Give it to Lingyin,” Meng Tang said.

“No need.” Wei Chuan cut her off. “It’s yours. Go ahead and pick. I’ll get a big bag from the staff to pack the rest of the plushies.”

Meng Tang sensed something off in Wei Chuan’s expression but didn’t have time to dwell on it before a staff member approached, asking which plushie she wanted to exchange.

Meng Tang chose an adorably chubby panda.