Any Closer and I'll Lose Control - Chapter 5

“You really don’t know?” Meng Tang gave Wei Chuan a look that was hard to describe.

“Know what?” Wei Chuan looked utterly confused.

Meng Tang: “…You didn’t know Xie Lingyin and I are roommates?”

“…You and Xie Lingyin are roommates?” Wei Chuan looked as if he’d seen a ghost. “Aren’t you in the sculpture department?”

Meng Tang: “Dorm assignments got shuffled. I ended up in the same room as someone from the oil painting department.”

Wei Chuan: “…”

So… he and Meng Tang had crushes on each other’s roommates?

“Well, that’s…” Wei Chuan suddenly chuckled. “A special kind of fate.”

After a moment of silence, Meng Tang laughed too.

“Am I a complete idiot or what?” Wei Chuan mocked himself with a grin. “How have I never seen you before?”

Meng Tang: “My schedule doesn’t overlap with theirs much, so we’re rarely together.”

That made sense. Wei Chuan was usually exhausted from training himself, and the only reason he’d noticed Xie Lingyin was because the guys on the team liked talking about her.

After all, she was the campus belle.

Last year, he’d caught a glimpse of her by chance, sweet and innocent, just his type.

But he’d never been in a relationship before, and with no time to spare, he kept putting off confessing.

Now that Meng Tang had Wei Chuan’s secret, she felt completely at ease.

The studio had a dedicated sketching area. Meng Tang leaned over the long table, inspiration striking as she picked up a pencil to start drafting.

Wei Chuan was tall, and the word “guardian” instantly came to mind.

Just like that, the theme was set in a flash of inspiration.

She worked through the afternoon without looking up, and by the time she did, it was already dark outside.

Stretching her stiff neck, she pulled out her phone only to find it nearly dead.

She took photos of her design drafts, planning to send them to Wei Chuan, when she noticed he had forwarded Xu Heqing’s WeChat contact to her.

Meng Tang’s heart skipped a beat as she stared at the profile picture, a silhouette of Xu Heqing, locked in silent internal conflict.

Opening the contact card, she hovered between adding him or not.

Her phone battery was down to 1%.

Someone nearby stood up, the chair scraping loudly. Startled, Meng Tang’s finger slipped, hitting “Add to Contacts.”

Her phone shut off. Feeling guilty, she stuck out the tip of her tongue and hurriedly packed up her things.

By the time she got back to the dorm, it was already seven. Shi Lan pounced on her the moment she walked in. “Who even lets their phone die these days? I can’t believe you.”

Meng Tang gave an awkward laugh. “Did you call me?”

“What’s going on with you and Xie Lingyin? Neither of you could be reached. Do you not know the course selection system opens at midnight tonight?”

“Sorry, I forgot.” Meng Tang grimaced.

During the pre-selection phase earlier this year, their dorm had mixed up the dates and missed it. This add/drop period was peak time for withdrawals, and the golden opportunity to snag leftover spots.

Art majors were exempt from public art electives, so they had to choose other courses, like sports or social sciences.

Meng Tang had her eye on Baduanjin (a traditional Chinese exercise). Basketball held zero appeal for her.

As she plugged in her phone, Xie Lingyin pushed the door open, and Shi Lan repeated the same spiel.

Xie Lingyin plopped onto her chair, which was next to Meng Tang’s, and casually asked, “Meng Tang, what are you picking?”

Meng Tang flicked the little roly-poly toy on her desk. “Baduanjin.”

Xie Lingyin laughed. “Fits your personality, slow and steady.”

Remembering Wei Chuan’s crush on Xie Lingyin, Meng Tang asked her the same question.

Xie Lingyin shrugged. “Anything’s fine.”

With time to spare, Meng Tang went to shower first. Even after her phone turned back on, she didn’t dare check it.

She had no idea if Xu Heqing had accepted her request.

After finishing her shower and drying her hair, she no longer had any excuse to procrastinate, especially since she still needed to send the design drafts to Wei Chuan.

Meng Tang leaned over her desk and opened WeChat.

Xu Heqing had rejected her.

Her spine instantly slumped as a crushing wave of disappointment washed over her. Meng Tang felt like a complete fool.

All the conversation starters she had rehearsed in her mind burst like fragile bubbles at the slightest touch.

Pursing her lips, she feigned indifference and sent the design drafts to Wei Chuan.

Since it was an elective night, Wei Chuan had returned to the dorm early. When he saw Meng Tang’s drafts, he couldn’t help but marvel at her speed.

Meng Tang received a sticker that said, “You’re so fast.”

But the next second, Wei Chuan recalled it.

It was a sticker the guys used to tease each other, slightly crude, and he had sent it without thinking.

Meng Tang didn’t dwell on it, simply replying with a question mark.

Wei Chuan: [I didn’t expect you to work so quickly.]

The orthographic views and annotations clearly conveyed the theme of Meng Tang’s design. The proportions were precise and harmonious, the lines smooth and elegant.

The side-view transformations, the top-view structural layout, every detail was meticulously labeled without a single ambiguity.

Even though Wei Chuan didn’t fully understand it, he was deeply impressed by what she had accomplished in just one afternoon.

Wei Chuan felt like he had hit the jackpot.

He bombarded Meng Tang with stickers like “I bow to your greatness,” “You’re a legend,” and “Absolutely amazing.”

Meng Tang smiled. The satisfaction of having her skills acknowledged strangely soothed the sting of Xu Heqing’s rejection.

Exhaling slowly, she replied: [If you’re satisfied, I’ll start roughing out the prototype.]

[More than satisfied, a hundred times satisfied! How much do I owe you?]

[No rush. We can settle up after it’s done.]

Since she said so, Wei Chuan didn’t press further. It wasn’t like he was going to skip out on paying her.

Hours flew by in a blink. At 11:55 p.m., Yang Ke reminded everyone.

Meng Tang logged into the system with her student ID and waited quietly.

Yang Ke’s eyes burned with determination: “I must get into the yoga class!”

Shi Lan shrugged. “Depends on your clicking speed.”

Meng Tang chuckled, hoping they’d get their wish.

At midnight, the dorm was filled only with the rapid clicks of mice.

“Damn it, stupid lag!” Yang Ke howled in frustration.

Meng Tang kept refreshing the page too, the tense atmosphere in the dorm making her slightly anxious.

Yang Ke suddenly slammed her mouse down and laughed. “Got it! I got in!”

The moment she spoke, Meng Tang’s page finally refreshed. She hastily selected “Eight Section Brocade” and, after successfully confirming, stared at the screen with sparkling eyes.

Thirty seconds later, the page flickered. Meng Tang fell silent as she read the words “Course Selection Successful,” her expression dimming.

Basketball Beginners Class, Thursday afternoon, Periods 7-8, East Campus Basketball Court No. 1.

Meng Tang thumped her forehead against the desk and stomped her feet in frustration.

The system lag had derailed her choice by more than just a little.

Xie Lingyin, startled by her reaction, walked over and nearly burst out laughing.

Leaning on Meng Tang’s shoulder, she whispered, “I heard there’s a credit task for this, sports majors will be teaching assistants.”

“Shit, yoga’s full! Did you all get in?” Shi Lan’s ancient laptop was still loading.

Yang Ke said, “Yoga’s gone. Hurry up and pick basketball.”

It was Shi Lan’s second choice. She quickly selected it and submitted, ending up with the same result as Meng Tang.

Xie Lingyin had managed to get into yoga.

When Shi Lan heard about the sports majors being teaching assistants, she was over the moon.

“Meng Tang, we’re in the same class!” Shi Lan cheered. “At least we’ll have each other.”

Meng Tang thought: This was the only consolation.

Classes were starting this Thursday, and Meng Tang prayed the teacher wouldn’t be too harsh, she was hopeless at sports.

On Thursday afternoon, after two classes, Shi Lan excitedly rushed to the sculpture department to fetch her for the session.

When she saw the teaching assistant, Meng Tang was stunned, how could it be Wei Chuan?

During the preparation period for the grassroots competition, no matter what, he shouldn’t have been assigned such a teaching task, right?