Together Forever - Chapter 4

Volume 1, Chapter 4: Those Little Stories (1)

"Teacher Gu, actually..." Tong Yan was finding it hard to bear the stares of the three girls in the distance.

Gu Pingsheng didn't react, as if he hadn't heard… no, he actually couldn't hear.

At the same time, Zhao Yin nudged his arm. He looked up at her, and she said with a smile, "How can you be so biased towards your students?" Gu Pingsheng didn't seem to think it was inappropriate. "I've always been biased. When I was in graduate school and teaching undergraduates, I was the same way."

Tong Yan looked away, watching the stream of students leaving the teaching building after class.

Classes ending at this time were definitely either Mao Zedong Thought or Marxist Philosophy. Sure enough, two passing boys were holding copies of "Introduction to *Thought"… She stared intently at them, successfully distracting herself.

Until she caught sight of someone walking towards the flagpole, and she immediately broke out in a sweat.

She had forgotten about the class representative.

The result, naturally, was that Zhao Yin was surprised to see her student, and Class Representative Shen was speechless at the sight of the departmental goddess. Tong Yan looked at Gu Pingsheng, who was re-rolling her sketch and handing it back to her, and was pleased to note that, in terms of composure, the Law School was clearly superior…

Tong Yan took the assignment and immediately passed it to Shen Heng. "Here's your assignment."

Zhao Yin finally understood why her student was there and said with a smile, "Shen Heng, you're taking a sketching elective this semester? I thought you were going to London for a two-year exchange next semester. You shouldn't need to take electives, right?"

Professor Zhao had hit the nail on the head.

Class Representative Shen was clearly more embarrassed than Tong Yan. Tong Yan carefully glanced at Gu Pingsheng.

Fortunately, Zhao Yin was speaking to Shen Heng, so he didn't seem to notice.

"Teacher Gu, I have a few questions I'd like to ask you," she decided to take the initiative.

Gu Pingsheng agreed and nodded to Zhao Yin. "I'll be going now. Contact me by email if anything comes up."

She had only wanted to prevent him from hearing what the boy had to say, but as soon as they left, she couldn't think of anything to ask. Gu Pingsheng wasn't in a hurry, simply walking with her along the tree-lined path by the lake.

There were three teaching buildings by the lake: Shangyuan, Zhongyuan, and Xiayuan.

Shangyuan mostly housed lecture halls, large and empty. Although the classrooms were open, the unspoken rule on campus was that Shangyuan was for couples, and no one would study there at night… So, despite the building appearing dark, there was plenty of hidden activity within.

And Gu Pingsheng, of all places, walked into the Shangyuan hall.

She wanted to stop him, but the reason was too embarrassing to explain.

Just as she was racking her brain for an excuse, Gu Pingsheng had already reached the vending machine and pulled out some coins. After a few clangs, two cans of iced cola rolled out.

He turned and handed her one, then asked with a smile, "What did you want to ask?"

"Um… the case analysis, the one from today's quiz," Tong Yan forced a smile.

"I've already looked at it. You did very well," Gu Pingsheng replied succinctly.

Tong Yan caught a glimpse of vague figures in the classroom to her right and felt utterly dejected.

"Teacher Gu, shall we talk somewhere else?"

Gu Pingsheng looked at her with amusement. "What's wrong? Is there a problem here?"

Of course there was a problem.

Especially since Gu Pingsheng was only wearing black athletic shorts, a t-shirt, and flip-flops today, looking just like a student. And a rather memorable student, the kind that would make people look back for a second glance… Tong Yan also observed herself. Why did she have to wear a white dress today, and a super short one at that?

They looked like they were up to no good…

She was silent for three seconds, then inspiration struck, and she found an excuse. "Haven't you heard the Shangyuan ghost stories? They've been around for a long time." Seeing Gu Pingsheng's apparent interest, she continued, "Teacher Gu, you've been here for three weeks. Have you noticed that none of the lights are on in Shangyuan? Actually, someone… died here."

She had been passing by here one night when Shen Yao, on purpose, had waited until she went to the restroom to slowly tell her this story in the pitch dark. Tong Yan had been terrified, and when she came out and couldn't find Shen Yao, she almost cried.

The pale light from the vending machine likely allowed Gu Pingsheng to see her speak, but it also made her feel a chill down her spine.

Thankfully, the lakeside nearby was still quite lively.

She silently encouraged herself: "I don't know which year it was, but a boy saw that Xiayuan and Zhongyuan were too crowded, so he brought a candle to Shangyuan and worked on math problems alone in a classroom. Because the lights here are never turned on except during final exams, his candle was very noticeable… emitting a faint, dim glow… At first, two security guards came and asked him why he was here. The boy said it was quiet here, and the guards, seeing that he was actually doing math problems, didn't bother him. Later, a girl came, wearing a white dress…" She paused for a moment, feeling even more creeped out. "She softly asked, 'Classmate, can you help me with a math problem?'"

Gu Pingsheng smiled faintly. "And then?"

Uh, why was the storyteller so scared, but the listener so calm?

Tong Yan looked at him pathetically. "There's no 'and then.' The next day, someone came to class and found the boy dead in his seat, the candle still burning. And on his desk was a piece of scrap paper with calculations for a math problem. The problem was from a final exam ten years ago. That year, a girl jumped into the lake and killed herself because she failed calculus. On the scrap paper was the solution to… that very problem."

She finished at top speed, unable to hold it in any longer, and asked, "I was terrified when I heard this story. Why don't you have any reaction?"

Gu Pingsheng took a sip of cola. "The Medical School is the birthplace of ghost stories. The classrooms, laundry rooms, bathrooms, restrooms, cafeteria, even every dorm room, every bed, has a ghost story attached to it. But did someone really jump into the lake because they failed calculus? It seems you have the stronger mentality."

…

Was he making fun of her failing physics four times?

She finally remembered her original intention for telling the story. "But I'm scared. Can we talk somewhere else?"

Gu Pingsheng didn't object and walked with her along the corridor. She had just breathed a sigh of relief when he suddenly stopped and whispered, "Do you see shadows?"

Tong Yan's hair stood on end, but she quickly realized it must be a couple.

She whispered, "Let's go. Maybe… maybe someone's arguing in there."

The problem was that it was dark, and he was standing in front of her, so he didn't see her suggestion.

Just as Tong Yan thought things were about to go wrong, Gu Pingsheng walked into the classroom. She instinctively followed… and naturally witnessed a passionate kiss, a completely absorbed, oblivious-to-the-world embrace in the faint moonlight. Tong Yan's face burned, and she tugged on Gu Pingsheng's arm.

He turned to look at her. Tong Yan just stared intently into his eyes. You can't hear me, but you can see my eyes, right… Teacher Gu, let's retreat? He seemed to chuckle, took her wrist, and as they were about to leave the classroom, a piercing scream erupted from behind them, clearly startled by their presence.

He didn't react, so she apologetically turned back to explain, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, I'm human, very much alive."

Before she could finish, he pulled her out of the classroom…

That evening, she returned to the dorm, embarrassed and flustered, to find the three girls looking at her with strange expressions.

"What?" She hadn't done anything wrong, so why was she so nervous?

Shen Yao grinned. "What were you and Gu Meiren doing in Shangyuan?"

Going to Shangyuan at night, in a normal person's mind, obviously meant "a date."

She laughed awkwardly. "No way, what would I be doing in Shangyuan…"

Shen Yao moved aside, revealing the computer screen with an open forum post.

"I was on a date with my boyfriend in Shangyuan tonight, and a girl in a white dress barged in! I was so scared, I almost screamed my lungs out. The most ridiculous thing was, the girl actually said, 'Don't be afraid, I'm human, not a ghost'… Hello, girl, do you even know the Shangyuan ghost stories? Please, if you don't, go review the school's history. Next time you see shadows in a classroom, don't come in, okay? And if you do come in, don't wear a white dress, okay??

One last thing, her boyfriend is really handsome. I didn't see his face clearly, but his figure was just… mesmerizing~ And he was super calm. No matter how much I screamed, he just pulled his girlfriend out of there and didn't even look back…"

Shen Yao circled the word "pulled" with a pen and smiled meaningfully.

Tong Yan was speechless. She sat down, maintaining an innocent expression no matter how much they laughed. Finally, she pulled out the physics textbook from the bottom shelf and began her dreaded pre-class revision.

Frustrated, she still couldn't think of a reasonable excuse after leaving Shangyuan. She could only tell him, "Actually, I've been thinking about it, and I really do need help with physics..."

No matter what, she couldn't let these girls know about this.

Even though she was truly innocent.

Gu Pingsheng was pleased that she had proactively accepted physics tutoring and even gave her his mobile phone number. He simply told her that he only used his phone for text messages and emails, that she couldn't call him, and that she should meet him for tutoring twice a week, the time and place up to her.

He said this during a break between classes, a pale pink envelope with handwritten calligraphy addressed to him resting on his lesson plan. Clearly an anonymous love letter.

Tong Yan nodded seriously, glancing at the envelope.

She had written letters like that before, one every day, without fail, for three years.

Unfortunately, the recipient was now married.

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