Any Closer and I'll Lose Control - Chapter 60

After returning to the dorm at noon, Meng Tang specifically called Su Mian to express her gratitude.

Su Mian encouraged her with a few words over the phone and even invited Meng Tang to write the preface for her debut work.

Meng Tang was both flattered and overwhelmed, hesitating to respond. It wasn’t until Su Mian sincerely extended the invitation a second time that she agreed, feeling as though she were floating on cloud nine.

After hanging up, she sat in a daze for a moment before breaking into a silly grin.

“Did you see the school’s official account responding to your situation?” Xie Lingyin turned to look at her. “You’re smiling so happily?”

Meng Tang was taken aback. “That fast?”

Shi Lan pulled out her phone and cleared her throat with exaggerated seriousness. “Let me read it to you.”

“Regarding the cyberbullying incident involving a student from the Sculpture Department of the School of Fine Arts, the matter is currently being verified in accordance with regulations and laws. Further updates will be released through the school’s official channels.”

“During the investigation, any student found spreading false information or malicious rumors will face serious disciplinary action in accordance with regulations and laws.”

Meng Tang couldn’t help but laugh at Shi Lan’s theatrics. “I really didn’t expect things to move this quickly.”

“Well, we have Wei Chuan to thank for that,” Xie Lingyin said with a wink. “That friendship was definitely worth it.”

Meng Tang nodded. “He deserves thanks, and so do all of you.”

Yang Ke waved it off. “We don’t need anything special, just treat us to milk tea.”

Xie Lingyin and Shi Lan chimed in agreement.

Warmth surged in Meng Tang’s chest. “I’ll order it now, and we can pick it up on our way to class.”

Though the situation was improving, many malicious individuals still flooded Meng Tang’s inbox with vile messages, making it hard for her to focus in class.

Unable to resist, she skimmed a few of the messages, each one more distressing than the last. Eventually, she took leave from class and went to change her phone number.

Changing numbers was a hassle, she had to update nearly every account linked to her phone.

By the time she finished, it was almost six, and the sky had darkened.

As she walked back to campus, she browsed through Su Mian’s comment section and discovered that public opinion had completely reversed,

“I’m speechless. The sheer number of big names here, is this really just an ordinary student?”

“If she can get invitations at this level, she must be something special herself.”

“Let me drop some knowledge for you all. Su Mian: one of the few contemporary female masters of woodcarving intangible cultural heritage, a UNESCO Crafts Ambassador. Fu Hansong: National Master of Arts and Crafts, Vice President of the Woodcarving Association… Li Hanjin: founder of Haitang Workshop, a revolutionary genius…”

“The student who was slandered isn’t ordinary either. Her name is Meng Tang. She started carving at five, mastered facial detailing by fifteen, and the piece Mischievous Child Teasing a Goose displayed in the woodcarving exhibition hall of the Nanshan Provincial Museum is her work.”

Meng Tang was stunned to find that someone had posted a photo of her woodcarving in the comments.

“Is this the one? I always thought it was adorable, so different from other woodcarvings, full of childlike charm, but the technique was mind-blowing. I assumed it was carved by some whimsical old master.”

“Holy crap, the artist’s name listed below really is Meng Tang. Guess the comment above was telling the truth.”

“Meng Tang’s grandfather is Meng Yuchun, a grandmaster of the traditional school, known in the craft as ‘The First Blade of Boxwood.’ Rumor has it their ancestors were palace woodcraft artisans from the Qing dynasty’s Imperial Workshops.”

“There’s even talk of lost secret techniques due to wartime chaos…”

“…”

The claims were getting more and more fantastical. Meng Tang couldn’t help but laugh.

She exited the comment section, only to be startled by the 99+ notifications waiting in her inbox.

Upon clicking in, she was surprised to find that many people had followed her and sent numerous private messages.

Initially, she didn’t dare look, but unable to resist her curiosity, she tapped on the profile picture of one girl.

The message was full of encouragement and praise: “Sis, you’re amazing! I’ll definitely visit the museum in Z Province to see your work.”

Meng Tang was moved by this stranger’s words and politely replied, “Thank you.”

After that, she went through the private messages one by one. Though there were still some doubts, Meng Tang no longer cared.

Unexpectedly, she had gained followers, jumping from 13 to 8,000. The comments were also filled with sarcastic remarks, but Meng Tang simply ignored them.

She then clicked into Wei Chuan’s profile. His comment section was noticeably livelier,

“Master Chuan, it’s me, your humble servant!”

“What’s the harm in having one more rich person in this world? I’ll fight you wealthy folks to the death.”

“Just happened to drop a friend off at the exchange event, hehe (dog head). Really just a friend?”

“Starting as friends is the beginning of love.”

“Where are the rumor-mongers? Come out so I can laugh at your swollen faces.”

“I smell romance in the air. By the way, all your teammates have broken up, why aren’t you dating yet?”

“Master Chuan’s standards must be high. I’ve never seen him get close to any girl.”

“You’re not his classmate, how would you know?”

“I go to the same school, and I can confirm, lots of people ship them.”

“I’ll pretend I didn’t see this ‘clarification.’ I order you to go live tonight with your ‘friend’ and clear things up properly.”

“Posted 12 photos, hahaha… I’m dying. He really didn’t miss a single angle.”

“I seriously suspect there’s something going on between him and this ‘friend.’”

The more Meng Tang read, the more alarmed she became. Just as Xie Lingyin had said, everyone was speculating about her relationship with Wei Chuan.

Before she knew it, she had arrived at the training facility. Putting away her phone, she decided to go in and ask Wei Chuan a few things.

Strangely, the side door was locked today, forcing her to circle around to the main entrance.

The cold outside was biting, and she instinctively quickened her pace. The moment she stepped inside, a roar nearly pierced her eardrums,

“Wei Chuan, you’ve really outdone yourself! Sneaking out of the dorm at night is one thing, but climbing the wall? And getting caught on top of that?”

“Have you ever considered what would happen if you broke your leg while scaling that wall? What about the competition?”

“Playing the hero to save a beauty, huh? Should we give you an award for that?”

Wei Chuan looked up, utterly unfazed. “What kind of award?”

His teammates, arms slung over each other’s shoulders, burst into shameless laughter. Tian Yu chimed in, “Bro Chuan, let the coach contact the school and nominate you for ‘Top Ten Most Inspiring Campus Figures.’”

Wei Chuan turned and snapped, “Get lost.”

“I think you’re the one who’s about to get lost,” the coach said, his tone dripping with exasperation. “I’ll have to clean up your mess at the academic office later.”

Wei Chuan fawned, “Coach, you’ve worked so hard.”

“Hard my ass! You’ll be the death of me. Go eat, then get back to training immediately.”

Before Wei Chuan could respond, the guys behind him suddenly started waggling their eyebrows at the coach.

The coach was on the verge of a breakdown. “What the hell is wrong with you lot now?”

Shao Yiming rolled his eyes as far right as they could go, signaling toward the entrance.

Suspicious, the coach turned around, and locked eyes with Meng Tang’s large, sparkling ones.

“Good lord, you scared me!” The coach clutched his chest. “Who are you, miss?”

“Coach, I know!” Tian Yu raised his hand eagerly. “She’s the beauty Bro Chuan saved!”

Wei Chuan turned and gave Tian Yu a punch, then said to the coach, “Coach, I’m heading out to eat first. Thanks for your hard work.”

With that, he turned and ran straight to Meng Tang, afraid she might also get caught in the coach’s scolding. He grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the training hall’s entrance.

Behind them, their teammates hollered like a bunch of rowdy monkeys, teasing them.

Wei Chuan pretended not to hear, grinning at Meng Tang instead. “What brings you here?”