Together Forever - Chapter 36
Volume 2, Chapter 36: Missing You (3)
The face was a blur, but she could clearly recognize herself.
She couldn't tell which class it depicted, whether it was the day she confirmed his identity or the day he called on her to explain the concept of "international commercial arbitration." As he had said, he must have drawn it on the plane, based on fragmented memories.
The remaining nine emails contained no text.
Only sketches.
She studied them intently, trying to guess the day, the moment each depicted. It was like a game; he recalled as he drew, and she recalled as she guessed.
Shen Yao, who had snuck up beside her, suddenly exclaimed, “It’s so great that he studied medicine! He can actually draw! Why couldn't I have found someone who studied medicine too?”
Tong Yan chuckled. “You could ask him to take a drawing elective, like I did last semester.”
“Hey, what are you grinning about? It’s just a few sketches,” Shen Yao said, both annoyed and amused, peering at the drawings. “Is this the supermarket?”
“Yes.” Tong Yan tilted her head, remembering how he had bought so many things, swayed by the supermarket lady’s sales pitch.
Gu Pingsheng hadn’t told her the exact dates of his checkups and surgery. Not being a medical student, her understanding of these things was limited, and her lack of knowledge fueled her anxiety.
But she didn’t want to worry him, so she didn't ask.
However, some rumors, once started, were hard to stop.
The teacher who took over Maritime Law was dull and stern. The class complained constantly, and during breaks, those who weren’t close to Tong Yan would often remark how much better it would be if Teacher Gu were still teaching. She knew those comments were directed at her, so she simply ignored them, burying herself in her textbooks.
Thankfully, she only had one core course this semester; the rest were makeup classes and electives, so she had limited interaction with her classmates. But after a few weeks, even those she was close to started echoing the rumors.
She had initially dreaded this, imagining countless scenarios when they first started dating. But now that it was happening, she realized it wasn't such a big deal. Compared to her parents’ neglect, the pressures of life, and his illness, these whispers seemed trivial.
As long as it didn’t affect her graduation.
Once, Shen Yao, exasperated by the gossip, slammed her book on the desk, earning a reprimand from the teacher.
“If Teacher Gu hadn’t left, it wouldn’t have come to this,” Shen Yao grumbled after class, stuffing her books into her bag. “Tong Yan, seriously, why did he suddenly quit teaching?”
“Something came up at home. He’s just taking a semester off.” Tong Yan gave a vague answer, forcing a smile.
“A semester? We only have one semester left, Tong Yan Wu Ji!” Shen Yao sighed dramatically. “Since he’s yours, I won’t comment on his handsome face, but he was an amazing teacher.”
Tong Yan raised an eyebrow playfully, ending the conversation with a smug look.
Eight weeks passed quickly, and midterm exams were approaching. Physics for Tong Yan, Advanced Mathematics for Shen Yao; both were subjects that could make humanities students cry. Knowing they were doomed, they plunged into a world of endless problem sets.
In search of an empty classroom to study, they checked floor after floor, finally finding one on the fourth floor of the central building.
Zhou Qing Chen and Wen Jing Jing were studying at the back of the room.
Shen Yao wanted to avoid them, but Tong Yan insisted on saying hello.
Apart from Maritime Law, they had no classes with Jing Jing this semester and hadn’t spoken to her in a while.
As they entered, Jing Jing was quietly asking Zhou Qing Chen if he wanted a drink. He handed her some coins. “Go get us two cans of cola from the vending machine downstairs.”
Jing Jing stood up, surprised to see Tong Yan. “Yan Yan?”
“We couldn’t find a place to study. Mind if we join you?” Tong Yan asked softly.
“Not at all.”
After Jing Jing left, Tong Yan sat down in the row in front of Zhou Qing Chen and turned around. “Jing Jing is such a nice person.”
“Shen Heng is a good guy too,” Zhou Qing Chen said meaningfully. “You know, he studied your entire Physics textbook, meticulously prepared lesson plans, all because he wanted to tutor you, but he didn’t even dare ask you.”
Tong Yan was stunned.
“Of course, Teacher Gu is also a very good person,” Zhou Qing Chen added softly.
She quickly understood.
Shen Yao, taking out her textbook, grumbled, “See? And you said Wen Jing Jing was nice. Look what she’s caused.”
“She didn’t do it on purpose,” Zhou Qing Chen said apologetically. “I had initially wanted to talk to Teacher Gu about applying to Penn Law, and she mentioned that you and Teacher Gu were close. Later, when I was comforting Shen Heng, I casually mentioned it, and he must have taken it seriously. But Tong Yan, even though undergraduates can get married now, the university still frowns upon teacher-student relationships… It's a good thing Teacher Gu knows how to avoid suspicion.”
She didn't reply.
Some rumors were unintentional. Once the semester was over and they started their internships, things would die down naturally.
Jing Jing returned with four cans of cola and placed them on their desks. No one spoke. She nervously offered one to Zhou Qing Chen, then sat down and returned to her books.
“Do you know about SARS?” Tong Yan asked Zhou Qing Chen softly, shielding her face with her textbook.
“Yes,” Zhou Qing Chen perked up, the topic falling within his area of expertise. “One of my professors’ mentors at the Chinese Academy of Sciences was the one who proposed using corticosteroids to treat SARS, so he always talks about it in class.”
“Tell me about it,” Tong Yan said, her heart pounding.
“What do you want to know?” he lowered his voice. “The technical details would be too complicated for you. Simply put, it was pneumonia, high fever, severe dehydration, and it was transmitted through respiratory droplets. Aren't you from Beijing? It was hit hard back then; you must remember.”
“I remember, and I don’t,” she covered her face with her book. “I remember watching some news reports calling the long-term effects of SARS ‘a living cancer.’”
“Pretty much. Back then, ordinary patients didn’t understand. Some infected doctors refused the treatment and died. Others were in a coma and were given the treatment without their consent. They were pumped with high doses of steroids every day. They survived, but the side effects were devastating.” Zhou Qing Chen thought for a moment. “Pulmonary fibrosis, stroke, avascular necrosis… those were common. Their immune systems were completely destroyed, leading to mobility issues, heart failure, all sorts of problems… Basically, they were alive but incurable, not quite dead, but not really living. And it’s only been seven or eight years; who knows what other long-term effects might emerge.”
She knew all of this.
But hearing it described so vividly sent shivers down her spine.
Shen Yao, her skin crawling, put down her pen. “No immune system? Isn’t that like AIDS?”
The comparison was alarming, and Tong Yan was momentarily speechless.
“AIDS is… manageable. But SARS was a true disaster for the medical community,” Zhou Qing Chen said, sighing. “Respiratory transmission! So many doctors and nurses fell ill. The public criticized the healthcare system, forgetting that no one backed down from the front lines that year. As soon as one batch collapsed, another took their place. True angels in white, every single one of them.”
His voice had risen in volume, and many students studying at the front turned around to look. Tong Yan quickly apologized, promising to keep their voices down.
Zhou Qing Chen fell silent, popping open his can of cola and taking a long gulp, as if to suppress his emotions.
Back in the dorm that evening, Tong Yan felt restless.
He had probably been hospitalized since last week, making their regular MSN chats impossible. They had tacitly switched to email.
She opened her inbox. No new messages.
After staring at the empty inbox for a while, she started a new email.
TK,
You seem to have been slacking off lately.
My midterms are coming up, and I’m worried about my grades. How are you doing? When will you be discharged?
I ran into Zhou Qing Chen today, the one who forced us to host that event. Remember him? He’s a medical student, and we were talking about SARS. Honestly, I was a bit scared by what he said. Actually, I never told you this, but I knew about your hearing loss being caused by SARS before you told me. Who told me? That’s a secret for now.
So, since I’ve shared my secret, shouldn't you be honest about your illness in 2003?
Were you scared? Was it painful?
Grandma told me I had pneumonia when I was two or three and was hospitalized in the Sino-Japanese Friendship Hospital’s ICU, but I was too young to remember. It seems we’re truly fated. Oh dear, why am I still being so lovestruck while talking about such a serious illness? This is terrible…
So, I think you need to come back soon.
Yan Yan
She closed her email, went to the hot water dispenser to refill her thermoses, and took a quick shower. After partially drying her hair and getting ready for bed, she couldn’t resist checking her email again. To her surprise, there was a reply.
Eagerly, she opened the email. It was short, just three lines.
Yan Yan,
That disaster had too many victims.
I wasn’t fully conscious most of the time, so it wasn’t particularly painful.
Also,
Please behave, Mrs. Gu. Mr. Gu will be home soon.
TK
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