Together Forever - Chapter 3
Volume 1, Chapter 3: The School's Fatal Beauty (3)
Everyone was laughing, but Gu Pingsheng's smile faded. He simply repeated her words flatly, "International, commercial, arbitration... law?" For a moment, he was so serious that Tong Yan was speechless.
Someone in the back raised their hand and said, "Teacher, can I answer for her?"
Shen Yao finally felt guilty and decided to confess.
Gu Pingsheng pursed his lips. It was unclear whether he was thinking or trying not to laugh.
Finally, he just shook his head. "No need."
He returned to the podium, opened his book, and began the lecture as if nothing had happened. Only when the bell rang did he close the book and say, "Tong Yan, come to the department office this afternoon, to my office."
It's over.
The moment Gu Pingsheng left the classroom with his book, everyone looked at Tong Yan, their expressions conveying a single message: You're doomed.
"It's okay," Shen Yao patted her shoulder. "The Fatal Beauty, fatally attractive, which means you must be really pretty."
Tong Yan gritted her teeth, wanting to eat Shen Yao alive.
That afternoon, as she walked to the Law School building, every administrative staff member greeted her with a knowing smile. "International Commercial Arbitration? Learning your lesson about not studying hard, are we?" The professors were all earnest. "Tong Yan, you seem quite intelligent, so why are your grades always just average? With a little more effort, you could qualify for an exchange program."
Tong Yan responded with smiles or respectful nods. It wasn't until she entered Gu Pingsheng's office that she realized he had called her in for more than just that damned International Commercial Arbitration.
He had mentioned having a 'friend' at the university, but she hadn't expected it to be Zhao Yin, a female professor from the Science Department.
Also known as the goddess of her freshman and sophomore nightmares. As a pure humanities student who had abandoned physics in her second year of high school, what kind of fate was it to be forced to study university physics? A fate of endless retakes…
"TK, I'm leaving," Professor Zhao, with her gentle voice, smiled at Tong Yan. "Tong Yan, I just saw your course schedule. You didn't choose physics this semester. Are you planning to take it next semester?"
Professor Zhao was actually quite nice, but Tong Yan simply couldn't understand her lectures.
Tong Yan smiled politely. "I'm planning to study on my own this semester and try again next semester."
Professor Zhao didn't say anything else and left.
This was Tong Yan's first time in Gu Pingsheng's office. She didn't know if it was his personal preference or the whim of some administrative staff member, but the entire office was decorated in white, even the fabric sofa was cream-colored. Only a large potted dracaena, vibrant green, gleamed in the sunlight.
His first words were, "You've failed physics four times?"
Tong Yan suddenly felt like she was in the wrong place. She was supposed to be here for International Commercial Arbitration, not physics, right?
She decided not to answer the question.
But she needed a strong diversion… "Are you two… dating?"
To choose a workplace based on a friend's request suggested a very close relationship.
Gu Pingsheng paused for a moment, then laughed.
In the end, he didn't answer the question. Instead, he used her guilt to dig out the reason for her four failures. Her summary was simple: "Talent can't be forced, Teacher Gu. I've known since high school that I'm not good at physics."
Gu Pingsheng took a sip of water. "Do you need me to tutor you?"
Her heart skipped a beat. She didn't answer.
Instead, she sat on the sofa, and after a while, looked at him and said, "Teacher Gu, can you pretend we don't know each other from before?"
"Why?"
"I'm doing fine now, but with you showing so much concern, I feel like I'm not doing well." These words would have been easier to say with her head down, but she could only look directly at him, taking in his expression. "You could walk around the school cafeteria sometimes. You'll see students who can't afford to eat, waiting for leftovers… they're the ones who really need help. I'm average, I have food and shelter…"
"Tong Yan," Gu Pingsheng interrupted her, "six years ago at the hospital, I'm sorry. That was the only time I've ever hit anyone."
…
Why bring up such a serious topic?
Tong Yan had been trying to convey that her life was calm now… he didn't need to worry about her anymore.
"Actually, it didn't hurt at all. It was just a little embarrassing."
She couldn't forget that day.
Outside the ICU, there were very few people, and the light was pale and cold.
Her backpack was heavy, filled with papers and books. Her mind was still replaying the math problems the teacher had written on the blackboard. She saw a group of people surrounding a middle-aged man, and a young man leaning against the white wall, sitting on the floor with one arm resting on his knee, holding a thin sheet of paper.
The middle-aged man walked over and asked her, "You're Yan Yan, right?"
Although his tone was deliberately gentle, his long-standing air of authority cloaked him in an aloofness.
Who she was wasn't important; what mattered was that she was the only relative who could sign the consent form for her mother's surgery.
The cost of the surgery wasn't important; her signature was.
She couldn't recall her exact feelings then, but she refused to sign. "Aren't you a government official? Aren't you used to signing things? If you want to take responsibility, go ahead, as long as your real wife doesn't mind." Even when the doctor asked if she wanted to visit her mother, she just said she had to go back to class. The only thing she clearly remembered were the strange looks from the doctors and nurses.
Then, someone grabbed her hand, forcing her to sign. It was him, a stranger.
Struggling, she bit his hand, biting until her teeth ached, but he wouldn't let go.
Finally, he slapped her, hard. The sound echoed through the corridor. "In this world, you have the right to choose anything, except your parents. You can't choose them, and you can't abandon them."
She had cried terribly then. Now that she thought about it, it hadn't hurt at all.
It was probably his words that had caused her to break down. In this world, you could choose anything, except your parents. Yes, there was no choice.
Later, several doctors rushed over and pulled him away, telling him, "Your mother's heart has stopped." He froze, then abruptly let go of her…
She remembered his name tag: Cardiac Surgery, Gu Pingsheng.
She thought vaguely.
"Tong Yan?"
She snapped back to reality and looked up at him. His features were clear, he hadn't changed at all.
She felt that if this conversation continued, she wouldn't be able to attend his classes properly this semester. So, she quickly excused herself and left his office.
But as she was leaving, she still felt that today's events were too much. She turned back to him and said, "Our class likes to joke around. We don't mean any harm."
We're not intentionally making fun of your… disability…
Gu Pingsheng was raising a glass of water to his lips. He smiled and said, "I know."
Back in the dorm, the three girls were eating sunflower seeds and watching TV. As soon as Wang Xiaoru saw Tong Yan, she asked with a grin, "What did Teacher Gu do to you?"
Tong Yan grabbed a handful of seeds. "He didn't do anything to me."
"Look at you, all meek and mild," Shen Yao laughed. "We were just talking about it while we were eating. How come Gu Meiren calls your name so smoothly, always 'Tong Yan, Tong Yan'? Don't tell me you two have something going on?"
Tong Yan glanced at her and continued eating seeds without saying a word.
She knew that the past she had tried so hard to forget would inevitably be dredged up by Gu Pingsheng.
Even if he hadn't mentioned it, she would have remembered eventually.
After her tenth sunflower seed, she finally sighed. "It's been two weeks of classes, who can tell me how many weeks are left until winter break?"
"Nineteen weeks of classes, seventeen left," Shen Yao said cheerfully. "Are you calculating how long until you have to retake university physics again?"
Seventeen weeks, 119 days.
From then on, she treated International Commercial Arbitration as her most important class. She passed the pop quizzes in all three classes without a hitch. She arrived early every time, sat in the back of the classroom, and rushed out as soon as the bell rang. It was a perfect plan, and she even considered creating a countdown timer like she had for the college entrance exams…
Ah, Shanghai summers. She splashed water on her face in the restroom next to the classroom.
It was terrifying. Just one class and she was drenched in sweat.
She roughly dried her face with a paper towel. As she walked out, she saw Shen Yao and the others standing by the door, grinning. "Tong Wuji, this guy is looking for you. Do you know him?"
Standing in front of the girls was a bespectacled boy, of average height and average looks.
Seeing their gossipy expressions, Tong Yan immediately understood. "He's the class representative for my sketching class." She walked over. "What's up? Is something the matter?"
If she remembered correctly, he was from the Science Department, a place with a severely skewed gender ratio, where every day was filled with formulas and experiments. He probably hadn't experienced being surrounded by a group of girls before and looked flustered as he finally spoke. "We had to hand in our assignment last week, and you were the only one who didn't come to class. I'm here to… collect your assignment."
…She had completely forgotten.
This was the definition of being preoccupied with one thing and neglecting another.
Tong Yan was immediately embarrassed. "I forgot to do it. I'll bring it to you tonight. Your name is…" She was annoyed that she didn't even know the class representative's name. The boy looked even more embarrassed than she did. "Shen Heng."
Tong Yan glanced at Shen Yao. Same family name, huh?
"You don't have to bring it to my dorm. How about this, I'll be by Shangyuan tonight at 8:00, by Siyuan Lake…" Shen Heng hesitated, finally settling on a noticeable landmark. "Actually, let's meet under the national flag. I'll be there."
Tong Yan was speechless. Before she could agree, he just left.
She didn't have time to call him back, and she didn't have his phone number… This was bad. Did she really have to go to the most conspicuous spot on campus, under the brightly lit national flag, to hand in her sketching assignment?
Shen Yao patted her shoulder gloatingly. "Seriously, Wuji, all the famous beauties are attracted to you, but you only attract the worst kind. This guy is incredible. He doesn't offer to come to our dorm, but instead suggests meeting under the national flag. And what a lame excuse! Are there really such dedicated class representatives these days? Such extraordinarily bad luck with men."
Shen Yao's words wiped the smile off Tong Yan's face.
But she had to hand in the assignment. It was worth half a semester's grade.
The other three girls in the dorm were incredibly excited, insisting on secretly observing how she would hand in her sketching assignment by the great Siyuan Lake. She couldn't stop them and could only brace herself, standing on the tree-lined path by the lake, looking towards the flagpole, waiting for Shen Heng to arrive before going over.
She occasionally glanced at the three girls pretending to read on a bench, feeling utterly helpless.
She looked down at the lush weeds in the flowerbed, then saw two pairs of feet walk past her. Judging by the shoes, it was a man and a woman. But why did they suddenly stop? This wasn't a suitable place for whispering sweet nothings. Please don't kiss, can't you see there's a living person here… Just as these chaotic thoughts ran through her head, the high heels drew closer. "Tong Yan?"
She had heard that voice for four semesters. It was the goddess of her nightmares.
As she looked up, the three by the lake also widened their eyes in disbelief.
Standing two steps behind the goddess of her nightmares was Gu Pingsheng. The Gu Pingsheng who supposedly never lived on campus and only came to teach three times a week. The dim streetlights illuminated his features, his eyes dark and intense… He truly was fatally beautiful, even captivating the goddess of nightmares.
"How's your physics revision going?" Zhao Yin asked, her professional concern kicking in.
"I'm getting there…" she lied.
As soon as physics was mentioned, Zhao Yin's smile softened, and she began gently explaining the reasons for Tong Yan's failing grade last semester. For some reason, Tong Yan felt extremely uncomfortable.
Just as she was about to make an excuse to leave, Gu Pingsheng walked over. "Sketching?"
The sketching paper was easy to recognize.
She nodded. Gu Pingsheng smiled and looked down at her. "Let me see."
Tong Yan handed it to him. It was just a simple still life sketch. He untied the string, unfolded the paper, and looked at it for a few moments. "The perspective seems a bit off. Do you have a pen?" Tong Yan was stunned. "Yes."
She rummaged through her bag, took out her pencil case, and handed him a pencil and eraser. He took them, erased a few lines, flicked away the eraser shavings with his knuckle, and began… correcting her assignment.
So that is to say her mom is a third person?
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