Chapter 7 Injury
When the campuses were merged and the arts and sports campus was built, the school changed its layout.
As a result, there is a semi-abandoned basketball court at the end of the outer path connecting Men's Dormitory Building 5 and the training hall.
Few people come to play ball on weekdays.
Meng Tang practiced ball tirelessly under a dim street light.
She propped her phone against the dusty concrete wall.
It is a stretch to call it a wall, because this basketball court is located at a high place and the half-meter-high concrete wall serves as a railing.
After practicing with the video over and over again, Meng Tang still couldn't complete the set of movements skillfully.
She couldn't help but stand under the basket in frustration, feeling that the assistant coach was right, she was indeed stupid when it came to sports.
Gritting his teeth, Meng Tang continued practicing.
Suddenly, a light laugh came from the darkness. Meng Tang was startled and turned around, hugging the ball tightly. "Who?"
Wei Chuan walked out from the darkness at the bottom of the stairs and jokingly asked, "Is the ground hot at this time of night?"
Meng Tang breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it was Wei Chuan: "Why are you here?"
Wei Chuan raised his phone and said, "I called home. I was passing by avoiding people. I heard someone playing basketball and came over to take a look out of curiosity."
Meng Tang raised his hand and wiped the sweat from his neck with the back of his hand. The feeling of anxiety that he could never get over swept over his whole body.
When she was a child, she learned carving from the old man, which was a million times harder, but she never felt this kind of frustration.
Wei Chuan stepped onto the stairs and trampled the growing weeds under his feet.
He looked around and said, "This place is deserted. People only come here occasionally. It's not safe."
"I brought a carving knife." Meng Tang said surprisingly.
Wei Chuan: “…”
Meng Tang felt embarrassed to practice in front of him, and it was getting late, so he planned to leave and come back tomorrow night.
Wei Chuan stopped her and said, "You girls only care about the 'one, two, three' steps when you do a layup. I taught you the other day, and the ones doing the Yangko dance, the crab walk, the Japanese invaders... every one of them was hilarious. But you were even worse, forcing five steps."
Meng Tang wanted to refute, and he stammered for a long time, but he didn't know what to say. His nose began to feel sour again.
When Wei Chuan realized something was wrong, she was already crying.
"Fuck, don't cry, what did I say?" Wei Chuan was completely at a loss. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I won't say it anymore, I won't say it anymore."
Meng Tang threw the basketball away, and the "thump thump" sound of it landing was slow and dull, just like her mood at the moment.
"Are you worried about something?" Wei Chuan felt that these two sentences would not make her cry.
The tears only lasted for a moment. After Meng Tang wiped them away, he turned around and sat on the cement platform beside him, whispering:
"The assistant coach scolded me in class and even implicated Shi Lan. I never thought basketball would be so difficult for me to learn."
"So you come here to practice by yourself?" Wei Chuan sat down beside her.
Meng Tang responded softly: "Yeah."
Wei Chuan took out a bottle of purified water from his bag and gave it to her: "Your throat is split, drink some, and I will teach you after you finish it."
Meng Tang was stunned for a moment and said, "No need."
It's not good for a man and a woman to be alone together, especially since the person he likes is Xie Lingyin.
Although Meng Tang has never been in a relationship, she knows to stay away from all her roommates' suitors, flirts and boyfriends.
Wei Chuan: "Why don't you give me a chance to show off? Tell me about Xie Lingyin's preferences so I can cater to her."
It turned out to be for Xie Lingyin.
Wei Chuan handed the water over again. Meng Tang took it, thanked him, unscrewed the bottle cap and drank one-third of it.
"Actually, you're quite strong," Wei Chuan said, "but you're too concerned about the number of steps."
Meng Tang screwed the cap back on and said, "How can you carve if you don't have the strength? It's all acquired through practice."
The ground was dirty, so Wei Chuan hung the bag on a tree branch and motioned Meng Tang to stand over there.
Meng Tang exhaled, holding the ball and looking at Wei Chuan.
"Relax, you don't have to play in the game, it's just a test." Wei Chuan pretended to hold the ball. "Don't look at anything else for now, just follow me. Try to increase your speed and don't stop at every step."
Meng Tang nodded.
"One, two jumps."
Meng Tang followed along, but the rhythm was still several beats slower.
Wei Chuan turned around and said, "If you're going for a right-handed layup, step with your right foot first. If you're going for a left-handed layup, step with your left foot first. Pay attention to the position of your hand and the ball during the process."
He squatted down next to Meng Tang and said, "Take a bigger step with your left foot first."
Meng Tang did as he was told.
"Watch your hands and the ball, and step with your right foot."
"Jump, yes, that's it, very good, just this move."
Meng Tang seemed to have found the rhythm, and Wei Chuan was always guiding him from the side, and he finally grasped the key points.
"That's good. Try doing it quickly for five minutes. It's okay if you can't do it quickly. I'll teach you next time."
Meng Tang stopped panting and asked, "Next time?"
"It's too late today. Let's start tomorrow night." Wei Chuan said, "I'll call you when I'm free. It'll be enough for you to handle next Thursday. I promise to teach you."
"But you still have to train." Meng Tang was not someone who knew what was good for him. "I'm afraid I'll waste your time."
"I do need to train, but Z University did well last year. This year, we only need to play in the quarterfinals of the grassroots competition, so I have time. However, in addition to helping me pursue Xie Lingyin, the wood carving artist has to give me a discount."
Meng Tang smiled: "Okay."
Her eyebrows were curved, and her bright almond eyes were filled with the most genuine smile. Two dimples appeared on her face, neutralizing the coldness of her overall facial features.
Her oval face is smooth and small, slightly fleshy and looks a bit cute when she smiles.
A person's low-key and introverted nature will make others ignore her appearance, and Meng Tang is such a person.
Because Wei Chuan discovered that Meng Tang looked very beautiful when she smiled.
"Let's go."
"Um."
Meng Tang wiped his sweat, picked up his phone, and left the overgrown basketball court with Wei Chuan.
Wei Chuan pointed at the exposed buildings outside the wall and said, "This is the northernmost part. There are only a few shops. It's dark inside and out. It's better not to come here alone in the future. It's really unsafe."
Meng Tang replied, "Okay."
After Wei Chuan returned to the dormitory building, he turned a corner and went to the junior dormitory.
Meng Tang returned to the dormitory a little late, but since art students have different creative hours, as long as he registered and said so, he would not be counted as coming back late.
There were no classes all day on Friday, so Meng Tang went straight to the wood carving studio.
In order to show it to Wei Chuan, the design was extremely detailed, and only saw——
The young man sat on the basketball in an unrestrained manner, with one leg hanging naturally and the other leg bent, supporting the basketball with his fingertips, in a relaxed posture.
Meng Tang picked up a flat-bladed chisel, pressed the blade with his index and middle fingers, lowered his wrist, and advanced along the pattern with skill and precision.
The rough workpiece must be cut decisively, and sawdust will fall down during the tool change.
The unique fragrance of wood attracted every nerve of Meng Tang.
Her eyes were passionate and focused, and her movements were steady and skillful.
Compared with his previous works of flowers, birds, fish, insects, birds and beasts, figures and landscapes... Meng Tang is even more adept at carving with the knife.
The carving knife drew across the young man's outline, and Wei Chuan's three-dimensional face appeared in Meng Tang's mind.
When he was distracted, the carving knife made a diagonal scratch and fiercely chiseled into the tiger's mouth.
Meng Tang screamed in pain, and a classmate found her and immediately brought her a medicine box to treat her wound.
The wound was very deep, and during the disinfection, Meng Tang's eyes turned black in pain.
"Go to the hospital immediately."
Meng Tang was in so much pain that he didn't know which way was which and let his classmates carry him out.
The closest hospital to their school was the Affiliated Hospital of Z University. They went straight to the north gate from the back door to stop a car.
It was a coincidence that Wei Chuan's car was parked outside the north gate. He had just unlocked the car when a noisy sound came from behind.
"Hurry up and take a taxi."
"Yes, yes."
"Please make way for the person in front."
"Move aside quickly, human lives are at stake."
Wei Chuan was startled by the words "human life is at stake" and turned around, and was frightened by the blood on Meng Tang's hand.
He suddenly called out to the people: "Get in my car."
One of the students was still hesitating when Wei Chuan opened the door and shouted, "Hurry up!"
Meng Tang's face was pale and his forehead was covered with sweat as he was sent to Wei Chuan's passenger seat.
"Okay, I'll take it over, you guys go back."
After Wei Chuan threw down a few words, he strode into the driver's seat and drove away.
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