Together Forever - Chapter 1
Volume 1, Chapter 1: The School's Fatal Beauty (1)
Because of Gu Pingsheng's arrival, the Law School suddenly became the center of attention.
As a university renowned for its science and engineering programs, the Telecommunications and Management Schools had always been dominant. The Architecture and Science Schools, though accustomed to being less prominent, were also forces to be reckoned with. The few isolated liberal arts departments held practically no status.
"The Law School? Does this university even have a Law School? Isn't that something Fudan University has?" Shen Yao fumed, reading a title from the university's BBS forum. "How dare they say that! It's so discriminatory!"
She had been glued to the discussion forum all afternoon, even resorting to instant noodles for lunch.
Thanks to a photo of Gu Pingsheng, the Law School had finally made a name for itself.
It was a hot day, and Tong Yan was lying on her bed.
She gently cracked open longan shells with her teeth, eating them one by one, occasionally lifting the mosquito net to toss the shells onto the floor.
"With only three classes in the entire department, and a total of sixty students, we're practically negligible in a campus of tens of thousands."
"Don't be so self-deprecating," Shen Yao stood up, gazing ambitiously towards the Law School building. "We have our own building, the most comprehensive law library in the city, and over a dozen International Law professors who returned from Yale and Oxford."
"And that's exactly why we're being targeted by the entire school. Sixty students with an entire building to ourselves, and almost forty professors—it's practically one-on-one tutoring. We're usually so low-key, but this week it's been like 'Super Girl,' all thanks to Gu Ping..." She stopped mid-sentence, realizing she had addressed him informally, and quickly corrected herself, "Teacher Gu."
Shen Yao giggled, correcting her: "The point is, we've successfully surpassed the Architecture Department. We now have the most handsome teacher in the entire school."
Tong Yan almost choked on a longan pit.
Gu Pingsheng's face was just a bit pale and thin, with slightly sharp features. His clothing choices were occasionally quite appealing, but the title of "most handsome," bestowed upon a dignified Law School professor, seemed a bit… much.
However, she couldn't deny Gu Pingsheng's captivating effect.
Just look at the three International Commercial Arbitration Law classes this week—the classrooms were packed with auditing students, leaving her and the class monitor without seats, forced to stand by the door in a daze.
A classroom with over sixty seats… our class only has nineteen students… where did all these people come from?
Fortunately, when Gu Pingsheng entered, he quickly noticed the classroom invasion and softly said to the two girls in the front row, "Excuse me..."
Before he could finish, the two girls immediately stood up. "Teacher, it's okay, we'll stand."
Tong Yan was speechless. Were there still people willing to stand through class these days?
Thankfully, he only came to school three times a week.
In the end, to protect the right of the class to attend lectures, the class monitor held a small meeting. No one was to reveal the semester's course schedule, or they would become public enemy number one. They couldn't let Teacher Gu rely on his looks every time, could they?
Tong Yan finished the longans and climbed down the ladder of her bunk bed, only to find Shen Yao back at the computer.
The entire screen flashed with titles containing the words "Law School."
"Leaked Law School Course Schedule (At Great Personal Risk)," "On the Rise of the Law School in the All-Star Era," "Open Letter to School Administration Regarding the Waste of Teaching Resources in the Law School," "Does anyone know someone in the Law School?"…
Shen Yao clicked the mouse, opening a post titled "Strongly Oppose Teacher-Student Relationships, Return Our Pure Campus."
"Didn't a teacher and student from the Architecture Department get married on graduation day last year? Why didn't anyone complain then? God finally showed us some favor, and they stepped on their own toes."
Tong Yan sighed, changing the subject. "Don't you have an elective class this afternoon?"
She jumped off the bed barefoot, apparently forgetting the longan shells scattered on the floor, and winced as she landed on them.
"Piano elective?" Shen Yao glanced at her. "You're guaranteed a perfect score, why bother going?"
Tong Yan was speechless, utterly disgusted by Shen Yao's behavior.
"As a piano special admit, you're taking a piano elective? How much do you want to be beaten up?"
And on the first day of class, she had clung to the teacher's arm, securing a verbal decree to skip all classes, an act that was simply outrageous.
Shen Yao didn't turn her head. "Aren't you taking a sketching elective this semester? As a rigorous law student, you're taking industrial sketching? How twisted is that?"
Ignoring Shen Yao's rambling, Tong Yan changed her clothes and left.
Since it was Friday, most people avoided scheduling classes on this day to go home, so the campus wasn't crowded.
She was walking, her mind empty and feeling drowsy, when suddenly someone called her name.
The moment she turned around, she froze.
Looking towards the sunlight, Gu Pingsheng, who had become a sensation across the entire school, was leaning out of a Land Rover.
Because of the backlight, she couldn't see his expression, but she could feel his gaze on her. For some reason, she remembered that night, him sitting quietly on the floor outside the emergency room, the few passing nurses too intimidated to look at him.
Tong Yan walked to the car, deliberately slowing her speech. "Teacher Gu, what brings you here today?"
Gu Pingsheng looked at her with amusement. "You don't have to speak so slowly. It feels like I'm watching a movie in slow motion. Where are you going?"
His voice was rich and resonant, a pity he couldn't hear her reply.
He spoke with the familiarity of a friend, not a teacher.
Tong Yan smiled shyly. "I'm going to the library to borrow some books."
She thought it would just be a brief exchange, but she unexpectedly ended up in Gu Pingsheng's car. He offered her a ride, even though it was only a three or four-minute drive. She couldn't help but steal glances at him twice. To be honest, she hadn't dared to look him directly in the eye since their reunion.
When she got out of the car, he got out too. In such a crowded place, Tong Yan felt uneasy walking with him but couldn't say anything. She tentatively asked, "Are you also borrowing books, Teacher?"
He locked the car and countered, "Didn't you know about the lecture today?"
Tong Yan racked her brain, recalling that someone had invited a renowned figure in International Trade Law. The class monitor seemed to have mentioned it on Wednesday. Now, looking at Gu Pingsheng's attire—a black suit and tie, calm eyes, and serene smile, apart from the way he hooked his car keys on his index finger—he looked much more formal than usual…
"Don't tell me you're the speaker?" she blurted out.
"It's a friend of mine," Gu Pingsheng smiled. "I'm here to check out the venue. Have you eaten?"
"No."
"It's past six now," he pondered for a moment, then suggested, "The lecture starts at seven, which is a bit tight. I'll get some sandwiches and drinks, and we can eat by..." He looked back at Siyuan Lake in front of the library. "We can eat by the lake."
…Actually, she had never intended to go to the lecture.
Her eyes darted around instinctively. "I really wanted to go, but I have a computer class tonight..."
"Can you look at me when you speak?"
Her face flushed, and she immediately turned to meet his gaze.
He smiled faintly. "I didn't quite catch what you said just now."
Under his gaze, she couldn't bring herself to lie, so she said, "I'm going to borrow books on the fifth floor, so you might have to wait for me a bit."
As she took her first bite of the sandwich, she glanced at Gu Pingsheng, who was flipping through some materials.
Perhaps it was because their first encounter was so unusual, or perhaps it was because Gu Pingsheng didn't seem like a teacher at all… She spent a while mentally preparing herself, and when she saw him put away his things and look at her, she immediately composed her expression, her gaze respectful.
"How is your mother's health?" He unwrapped his sandwich and took a bite.
…
"She's very well," she thought for a moment and asked a similar question. "Your mother..."
"She passed away."
She murmured an apology.
It wasn't until she finished the entire sandwich and started sipping her coffee that she finally voiced the question that had been on her mind. "Teacher Gu, I remember you used to be a doctor?"
And a cardiac surgeon at Peking Union Medical College Hospital.
As she spoke, two girls walked past, casting curious and envious glances at them.
Tong Yan felt a little embarrassed. When Gu Pingsheng had made his suggestion, she had wanted to say that Siyuan Lake was known as the "love lake" on campus, especially on a summer evening with a gentle breeze. All the benches were occupied by cuddling couples…
Although she had deliberately placed the newly borrowed books between them, it was hard to ignore how conspicuous Gu Pingsheng was.
"Not exactly a doctor. I was just interning at my mother's hospital," he said. "Later, because I lost my hearing, it became inconvenient to perform surgery, so I switched to law."
"And you got your doctorate so quickly?" It seemed too fantastical.
"I did my undergraduate studies in the US. Both law school and medical school require a bachelor's degree to apply," he smiled, finishing his sandwich and taking out a pack of wet wipes, offering them to her first. "I studied medicine for two years but some things happened before I graduated. A cousin introduced me to her mentor, and I went to the UK to study law. In a way, I didn't waste much time."
She nodded in understanding, taking a wipe. "But why did you come back to China? Wouldn't it have been better to stay at your alma mater?"
Gu Pingsheng also took a wipe, cleaned his hands, picked up his coffee cup, and took a sip. "I graduated and came back to China for vacation last year. I met the dean of your Law School during a dinner, and he invited me to teach for a semester. I have friends here, and she also advised me to come, so I wanted to see if I could be a teacher." He paused, then added, "I only signed on for one semester."
"Just one semester?"
He nodded. "I might leave before I even get used to being called 'Teacher.'"
Tong Yan hummed in response and turned back to her coffee.
She had never experienced such prolonged conversation under constant observation, and she still felt a little awkward even after entering the library.
Lectures were usually not scheduled on Fridays because most students went home, so it would be quite empty.
But the moment Tong Yan stepped into the large lecture hall, she was stunned. The 500-seat hall was completely full, even the aisles were packed… This was probably unprecedented, except for career fairs for graduating seniors.
Fortunately, Shen Yao had saved her a seat.
Gu Pingsheng acted as the emcee throughout the evening.
His American friend, who was also quite charismatic, spoke fluent Chinese. While discussing trade law, he detoured into his experiences navigating through gunfire in the Middle East and even personally rescuing a girl, eliciting gasps from the audience.
Gu Pingsheng occasionally added a few words, not many, but they seemed even more captivating than the speaker's own experiences.
As the interaction became more lively, the American started joking about Gu Pingsheng. "Back at King's College, your Teacher Gu was definitely a 'fatal beauty.'"
The 500-seat lecture hall instantly fell silent…
This American's Chinese wasn't just good; it was masterful.
She saw Gu Pingsheng shake his head without speaking, just smiling.
As the American was about to continue, Gu Pingsheng switched the microphone to his other hand, smoothly interrupting. "It's question time now. Do you have any questions?"
With that one sentence, the atmosphere livened up again.
A Korean exchange student next to her didn't understand the term "fatal beauty" and was curious. "What did the American just say?" Shen Yao grinned and explained, "Do you understand the expressions 'so beautiful the moon hides its face' and 'so beautiful the fish sink and the birds forget to fly'?"
The Korean student, proud of having passed the Chinese proficiency test, replied seriously, "It means a woman is so beautiful that the fish and birds are stunned, forgetting to swim and fly."
Tong Yan wanted to laugh.
The meaning was correct, but it sounded so strange.
"It's more or less that meaning. He was saying that Teacher Gu is so beautiful that even beauties are ashamed and want to die."
…
Unsurprisingly, that night, the university's BBS was flooded with titles containing the term "fatal beauty."
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