Together Forever - Chapter 21
Volume 1, Chapter 21: The Person I Like (3)
They found an all-night screening at Shanghai Film Art Center on Fahua Temple Road. The Christmas all-nighter had already started, three movies back-to-back. As they walked through the dark corridor, Tong Yan heard the end credits music of the first film.
After they sat down, she breathed a sigh of relief and, using the light from the screen, mouthed to Gu Pingsheng, "Luckily, the first movie is terrible. We didn't miss anything."
Midnight screenings on holidays like Christmas and Valentine's Day were usually Hong Kong romance films.
New and old, all lined up. Gu Pingsheng had bought the tickets, and she didn't even know what they were about to watch.
"What movie was it?" he whispered.
His voice was very soft. Looking into his eyes, she suddenly realized that after losing his hearing, he must have practiced controlling the volume of his voice. That process must have required someone's help… and must have been awkward.
"'I Really Want to Be With You'," she said.
Gu Pingsheng looked at her, a smile playing on his lips. "Really?"
"Of course," Tong Yan wrinkled her nose slightly. "It's truly terrible. It only has a 6 out of 10 rating online…"
She suddenly stopped, biting her lip.
Teacher Gu, why are you being so inappropriate?
"I mean…" she enunciated each word, "I Really Want to Be With You.'"
He nodded. "I know."
The lights suddenly came on, then went off again, the brief flicker marking the start of the next movie's opening credits.
In that short interval, he had already turned back to watch the opening sequence.
Halfway through the movie, a few more people in the front rows left. Only two or three couples remained, openly cuddling and kissing, as if that was the expected behavior at this time and place… And they were sitting in the last row, unable to avoid seeing it.
Tong Yan stared fixedly at the subtitles, remembering the last time, in the Upper Campus building, when she and Gu Pingsheng had walked in on a passionate scene.
She discreetly glanced at Gu Pingsheng, who was watching the movie intently.
Fighting off sleep, she finally gave in, resting her head on the hood of her down jacket, intending to take a short nap. But as soon as she closed her eyes, she fell fast asleep…
She slept soundly and peacefully.
Until someone gently patted her face, and she vaguely heard the movie's sound again. Still drowsy, she instinctively nuzzled the soft hood of her jacket. After a moment, she finally opened her eyes. The surroundings were still dim.
The movie was still playing.
"Do you want to go back and sleep?" his voice seemed to drift from a distance.
"What time is it?" she mumbled, wanting to close her eyes again.
"Almost 5:00 AM," he glanced at his watch. "Judging by the plot, it's almost over."
"You've been watching the whole time?" A Hong Kong romance film, and he watched it so intently?
"I didn't have anything else to do."
She smiled guiltily, then noticed the couple in the third row, ahem, still entangled.
Because she was still half-asleep, her gaze lingered, and he followed her line of sight.
Then, they both quickly looked away.
"It gets light late in winter," he turned back and continued, "It'll be over around 5:00 AM."
She mumbled in agreement, momentarily at a loss for words.
He naturally couldn't hear the slightly coquettish tone of her "mm-hmm" and turned back to the movie.
She poked his hand with her index finger.
He turned to her. "What's wrong?"
"Were you really not angry last night?" she finally asked.
"I was a little annoyed at first," he admitted unexpectedly, "but I'm good at regulating my emotions. I read for a while, and it was fine."
Read for a while…
"Are all medical professionals so good at psychology?"
She shifted her position, curling up and leaning against the back of the chair, looking at him curiously.
He was silent for a moment, then said, "No, it's because of my mother. When I was two or three years old, she would often say to me, 'Mommy is in a bad mood. Let Mommy sit by herself for a while.'"
She looked at him, waiting.
He continued, "Later, when I grew up, she told me that emotions are fluid. Happiness and sadness alternate, like day and night. It's a natural law. Since everyone experiences this, we need to learn to regulate our emotions. When you're angry, learn to calm down. Staying calm is the best way to regulate your emotions."
The movie's dialogue continued as he spoke, telling her things she had never heard before.
The light from the screen flickered across his face… Tong Yan initially envied him, having such a rational mother, but then she felt a pang of sympathy for him.
Learning to regulate his own emotions from such a young age, what kind of childhood was that?
She glanced at the third row again, the couple still engrossed in each other. She suddenly became aware of her own posture, and his, as he leaned closer to speak to her, how suggestive it looked.
The movie transitioned to a night scene, and the theater darkened.
"Do you want to go back?"
Was it because it was too dark to see, or for some other reason, that he moved closer?
Glancing at the screen, Andy Lau was delivering a long, emotional monologue. She turned to him. "Let's finish watching…" She didn't really know what the movie was about, but he had been watching for so long, he should at least see the ending, right?
"Alright, let's finish it." As he spoke, his face suddenly drew closer, and he kissed her.
She could still hear Andy Lau's voice in the background, saying, "Whether you believe it or not, I believe…"
Gu Pingsheng, or Teacher Gu? Who would know at this moment?
After a few seconds of stillness, he tilted his head slightly, deepening the kiss. The unexpectedness of it, the setting, made her head spin. She reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck. His lips tasted slightly sweet and slightly bitter, like black tea. They had bought the drinks at the entrance of the cinema. Health-conscious people never changed their habits…
She thought randomly, her mind a jumble, responding to his kiss in the flickering light. He wrapped an arm around her waist, lifting her slightly, pulling her closer.
…
The background music softened, and Shu Qi began delivering a long monologue.
"When I was young, I heard on the radio that happiness is like a glass ball. When it falls and shatters… no matter how hard you try, you can never pick up all the pieces. But as long as you try, you can always pick up some…"
Tong Yan couldn't help but smile. So clichéd, but so touching.
Gu Pingsheng, noticing her smile, pulled away slightly. "What's wrong?"
She didn't want to repeat such a cheesy line to him…
Just as he was about to kiss her again, the lights came on.
The movie was over.
Tong Yan quickly sat up straight. Her new clothes had fallen on the floor. She picked them up and stuffed them into the paper bag.
As the lights brightened, she realized they were the only couple left. The couple in the third row, finally separating after their all-night entanglement, gave them a knowing look. Tong Yan stared back blankly, a single thought in her mind: Reputation ruined…
Stepping out of the cinema at 5:00 AM, it was freezing.
The streets were still dark and deserted. As they got into a taxi, the driver, probably having worked all night, said with a tired smile, "So romantic! Watched movies all night?" Tong Yan mumbled in agreement, suddenly realizing this was good.
He couldn't hear, so he wouldn't… feel embarrassed.
She had called Miao Miao earlier and skipped her shift at the store.
On this rare Sunday off, she slept until dusk in the guest room of Gu Pingsheng's home. He drove her back to the university that evening. She asked the taxi driver to stop near her dorm, not letting him get out, and walked back herself.
When she entered the dorm, Shen Yao, thinking she had just returned from work, hesitated, then said, "I was wrong." Tong Yan smiled and nudged her with her foot. "Come on, you don't have to say that to me." Shen Yao breathed a sigh of relief. "I knew it."
She immediately picked up her phone and started texting excitedly.
Tong Yan didn't need to ask to know who it was.
Tong Yan started packing up her textbooks for the semester.
Shen Yao, seeing this, suddenly wailed, "My calculus!"
She threw down her phone, pulled out a stack of practice problems, and started cramming.
Under the lamplight, Shen Yao's profile, as she worked on the problems, made Tong Yan want to laugh. After organizing her books, she instinctively reached for her phone to check the time and realized it was still off.
"Where did you go after dinner yesterday?" she suddenly asked Shen Yao.
"Where did I go?" Shen Yao didn't look up. "I took them to my brother's bar. But, around midnight, that guy left. I had breakfast with Cheng Yu this morning and then took him to the train station."
Shen Yao deliberately downplayed Lu Bei's departure, but Tong Yan knew where he had gone after midnight.
She turned on her phone, and a message from Lu Bei immediately arrived.
It was from 6:00 AM: I brought you your favorite snacks, tang er duo and wandouhuang from Xinjiekou. I left them with the dorm attendant. I'll come see you again next time.
Typical Lu Bei, his tone and temperament.
Or rather, his exceptionally good temper with her.
Just like when they first met. Back then, Tong Yan was still a quirky girl, and he was a year younger. That day, it was her class's turn to clean the school, and she was in charge of maintaining order in the seventh-grade hallway, wearing a red armband and patrolling the corridor.
She remembered that morning, he was late, running up the stairs with his backpack slung over his shoulder.
She stopped him, pointing to the stairwell. "You're late for morning self-study. The school rule is to stand outside as punishment." He was almost twenty centimeters taller than her and looked down at her with a grin. "Little sis, have mercy! If the teacher sees me again, I'll have to repeat the grade!"
She didn't even look up. "Stand outside, or your class loses five points. Your choice."
Before she could finish, the back door of his classroom opened, and a few repeat students in the back row burst into laughter.
…
Tong Yan sat silently and deleted the message.
The next message was from Gu Pingsheng:
Sleep well. Good night. TK
Then came five long weeks of final exams. Wang Xiaoru finally returned, preparing to face the grueling exam season. The following week was for general courses, and only Shen Yao had exams.
So, on Monday morning, Shen Yao, cramming for calculus, got up at 6:00 AM to work on practice problems.
When Tong Yan woke up, there was only a single dim light in the room.
It was already light outside, but Shen Yao, afraid of waking them, hadn't opened the curtains.
Tong Yan turned on her desk lamp, intending to read in the warmth of her bed. Suddenly, a message from Gu Pingsheng arrived:
Are you awake? TK
She couldn't help but smile and replied:
Yes, I'm awake.
Try opening the curtains. TK
Her dorm was on the first floor, and her bed was by the window. She had told him.
And when she slept, her head was facing the window…
She reached out and opened the curtains, looking outside.
In the morning light, he and the dean of the Law School were walking past her dorm building, the elderly dean walking slowly, his steps unsteady. Gu Pingsheng's gaze, however, was over the dean's head, looking towards her window.
Seeming to see the curtains open, he quickly touched his forehead with his right hand, index and middle fingers together.
A playful, almost military-style salute. A silent greeting.
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