Any Closer and I'll Lose Control - Chapter 57

Meng Tang’s mind went blank for five seconds. Her first thought was that it must have been sent to the wrong person.

But the next moment, as if the sender had read her mind, another message came through: [I didn’t send it to the wrong person. You’re Meng Tang from the Sculpture Department of Z University’s College of Fine Arts, right?]

Meng Tang’s pupils dilated abruptly. The three short lines of text on the screen twisted into distorted, mottled blocks of color. Staring at them for too long, she suddenly couldn’t recognize a single word.

Biting the inside of her cheek unconsciously, Meng Tang tapped the sender’s profile and called them.

The other party hung up instantly, like a rat scurrying back into the sewers.

Furious, Meng Tang typed: [If you have the guts to spread rumors, why don’t you have the guts to pick up the phone?]

The message sank like a stone, there was no further response.

Unable to calm her emotions, Meng Tang mechanically unlocked and relocked her phone.

Suddenly, Shi Lan let out a sharp exclamation from the opposite bunk, startling Xie Lingyin, who asked in the dark, “What are you looking at? You sound like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Shi Lan yanked open her bed curtain and asked Meng Tang, “What car did you take when you went out on Friday?”

Meng Tang’s instincts told her this was related to what had just happened. She pulled open her own curtain and said, “I hitched a ride with Wei Chuan, a Maybach. Why?”

Shi Lan cursed under her breath. “Someone’s spreading rumors about you, saying you… damn it, it’s just really disgusting. It’s already spread to a bunch of school group chats.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Yang Ke also sat up. “I saw it too. A friend of mine even asked me if it was true. She sent me screenshots, there are already posts asking for ‘resources,’ and even fake chat logs.”

Xie Lingyin turned on her phone’s flashlight and softly called Meng Tang’s name.

Shi Lan and Yang Ke climbed down from their beds immediately.

Meng Tang pressed her lips together, holding back tears, her voice trembling as she said, “I got harassing messages.”

“Screenshot them”, Xie Lingyin said, gripping the bed railing. “Preserve the evidence. Don’t rush to explain yourself right now, no one will believe you. Don’t be afraid. We all believe you, and we’ll help you deal with this.”

Yang Ke, the most sensitive of them, was the first to tear up. “There are so many cases of girls being slandered online, always these kinds of disgusting rumors. Some manage to push through, but their lives are still affected. Those who don’t… end up with severe depression, or even worse.”

Her voice grew quieter as she spoke.

Xie Lingyin and Shi Lan’s expressions darkened. The cost of spreading rumors was indeed low, picking up a package, eating a strawberry, dyeing your hair… anything could become fodder for malicious gossip.

“Don’t panic. Stay calm,” Xie Lingyin said. “A lot of students don’t know the truth and will just follow the gossip. Screenshot every ID you see spreading the rumors, we’ll get them notarized and report them to the police. The authorities will track down the culprits.”

Meng Tang’s phone buzzed again. Instinctively, she moved to check it, but Xie Lingyin stopped her. “Give it to me. Don’t look.”

The filth in those messages could wreck her mood, and Xie Lingyin was afraid Meng Tang would spiral.

Meng Tang handed over her phone and gave Xie Lingyin the passcode.

After a single glance, Xie Lingyin felt like her lungs were about to explode. How could someone take a single photo and use it to slander and humiliate a girl? It was the lowest of the low.

She took screenshots of everything and said to Shi Lan, “The photo you saw, ask around in the group chats to find out who posted it first. Send me all the screenshots you can get. Yang Ke, you too.”

“Got it.”

Meng Tang’s terrible mood eased slightly thanks to her roommates’ trust and support.

She sat quietly, thinking.

Shi Lan had asked about the car, someone must have seen her getting into Wei Chuan’s vehicle.

On Friday after school, the crowds had been thick. It was more likely to have been a student.

If it’s a student, either they don’t know her and are just psychologically twisted, or they do know her and are deliberately seeking revenge.

For the former, we can only rely on the police to find them. As for the latter, she’s only had conflicts with two people so far.

One is Wang Jue, the assistant instructor for basketball class, and the other is Zhang Yifan, who destroyed her wood carving.

Although Zhang Yifan has dropped out, his family’s supermarket is right across from the school. Both he and Wang Jue are possible suspects.

Whether they’ve done something wrong or not, they’ll find out when they confront them tomorrow.

It was already very late. Xie Lingyin, Shi Lan, and Yang Ke created a small group chat.

Shi Lan: [We all have classes tomorrow, but Meng Tang will be alone. What should we do?]

Xie Lingyin: [We’ll report it to the school and the teachers. The dean treats Meng Tang like a junior sister, he won’t stand by and watch her get bullied.]

Yang Ke: [If the school gets involved, they should be able to figure it out quickly.]

Xie Lingyin: [You two go to sleep first. I’ll talk to Meng Tang.]

A rustling sound came from the bedside. Xie Lingyin handed her phone to Meng Tang and said, “I turned it off for you. Don’t read the nonsense those idiots are saying.”

“Thanks.” Meng Tang took the phone. “It’s late, you should sleep too.”

“I’ll sleep after you do.” Xie Lingyin lowered her voice. “Don’t answer any calls from unknown numbers these next few days. If we handle this proactively, it’ll pass.”

“Okay.”

The bed curtain fell silent. Xie Lingyin checked the time and sent a message to Xu Heqing: [Are you asleep?]

Xu Heqing replied instantly: [Not yet.]

Xie Lingyin: [Then can you check if Wei Chuan is asleep? I need to talk to him. If he’s asleep, wake him up.]

Xu Heqing chuckled at his girlfriend’s request and asked: [You want me to wake him up? Do you not care about my face anymore?]

Wei Chuan was the type to throw punches if his sleep was disturbed.

Xie Lingyin wasn’t in the mood for jokes and replied impatiently: [Meng Tang is in trouble.]

Xu Heqing immediately tossed his headphones aside, walked over to Wei Chuan’s bunk, and shook him.

No response. He climbed the ladder and pulled open Wei Chuan’s bed curtain.

“Wake up, Meng Tang’s in trouble… Wei Chuan, stop sleeping, Meng Tang’s in trouble…”

After calling several times, Wei Chuan slowly stirred, his brows furrowed deeply. When he recognized Xu Heqing’s face, his expression darkened. “What the hell?!”

“Meng Tang’s in trouble.”

Wei Chuan jolted upright. “What happened?”

Xu Heqing: “I don’t know. Xie Lingyin is looking for you.”

Wei Chuan reached under his pillow for his phone just as Xie Lingyin’s message came through. She had sent him two screenshots, one of the messages Meng Tang had received and another of the post slandering her, enough for Wei Chuan to understand what had happened.

His expression instantly turned icy and grim.

He immediately got up and started dressing, saying to Xu Heqing, “I’m heading out.”

Xu Heqing was stunned. “Are you crazy? We have classes and training tomorrow. Besides, you can’t even leave right now.”

Wei Chuan couldn’t be bothered to explain. “I won’t get caught. If we don’t solve this, it’ll ruin Meng Tang.”

Cases of cyberbullying leading to tragedy happened every year. He refused to let Meng Tang get dragged into that kind of vicious cycle.

Xu Heqing knew he couldn’t stop him and could only say, “Then be careful.”

Wei Chuan didn’t have time to reply to Xie Lingyin and asked Xu Heqing, “Tell her I’ll handle this. She just needs to keep an eye on Meng Tang and make sure she doesn’t see any of that garbage. I’m leaving.”

The dorm supervisor wouldn’t let anyone out in the middle of the night. If he tried to request permission, he’d have to go through his advisor and coach.

Wei Chuan didn’t have time to waste with them. After reaching the second floor, he moved toward the end of the corridor.

He raised his hands to grip the wall, leaped up effortlessly, and then used the winding branches of a camphor tree to descend to the ground before vanishing into the vast darkness of the night.