Together Forever - Chapter 7

Volume 1, Chapter 7: Are You Real? (1)

When he arrived, Tong Yan was still by the bus stop, sitting on the railing of a roadside flowerbed, staring blankly at the street.

She was long past the age of blaming others and wallowing in self-pity.

It seemed that Gu Pingsheng's words from that day had truly impacted her.

"In this world, you have the right to choose anything, except your parents. You can't choose them, and you can't abandon them."

His face suddenly appeared in her field of vision, looking down at her.

When she looked up at him, Gu Pingsheng was already handing her a bottle of iced water. "It's hot today." She took it, noticing that his palm was slightly damp, probably from the condensation on the bottle.

He took out a pack of tissues and handed it to her, gesturing for her to wrap it around the bottle before drinking. "I'm driving a friend's car, not quite used to it, so I drove a bit slowly."

He was smiling as he spoke.

Just as he was about to say something else, Tong Yan smiled. "Let's be clear, you can't ask me why I'm borrowing money."

Gu Pingsheng seemed surprised. "Tong Yan, I was trying to avoid that topic, didn't you notice?"

"I noticed," Tong Yan looked at him meaningfully. "I just didn't want you to overthink and try to lighten the mood, so I wanted to make it clear."

She had intended to take the money from Gu Pingsheng and go straight to the bank, but he handed her a card and told her the PIN. "There's 10,000 yuan in here. Take it."

Tong Yan looked at him in surprise. "I only need 6,000."

He smiled. "I figured if you're asking to borrow 6,000, you've probably used up all your living expenses. I don't want you coming back to me in three days asking for train fare back to Shanghai, and then surviving on steamed buns."

He was joking, but he had hit the nail on the head.

Tong Yan reached out and said, "I'll pay you back as soon as I have enough."

But as soon as she finished speaking, he took the card back. "I'm free today. I'll take you to the bank."

Later, Gu Pingsheng not only accompanied her to the bank but also very proactively offered to take her home for a teacher's home visit. Tong Yan had never had a teacher's home visit in her entire life… When Gu Pingsheng said the words "home visit," she froze downstairs for a full minute before accepting the reality of "one's hand is tied after taking something from someone."

Because it was an old building, there wasn't a proper residential complex.

The five-story building stood alone, right next to the road. Stepping out the door led directly to the street and the bus stop. Tong Yan often sat by the window, watching the traffic, admiring her own foresight. Fortunately, she had taken the property deed when housing prices soared, otherwise, her father would have secretly sold it.

Then, she and her grandmother would be homeless.

She sat by the window, peeling garlic cloves one by one.

Her grandmother used to be a music teacher at an elementary school, but because the school was later merged, she never obtained official teacher qualifications before retirement, which was why her pension was so meager.

However, this didn't prevent her from retaining the nature of a people's teacher…

She glanced at Gu Pingsheng, holding his teacup with both hands, as he discussed "nature education" with her grandmother. She couldn't help but feel that Teacher Gu was the one receiving re-education. She turned back, subconsciously tucking her hair behind her ear, but her finger brushed against the corner of her eye… Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably…

"Do you need any help?" He walked over to her.

The next moment, he saw Tong Yan sitting on a small stool, looking up at him with teary eyes. The scene mirrored that night years ago, except back then, she had short hair, and perhaps because she was younger, her eyes were larger and brighter, filled with a deep despair.

A despair not about life or death, but about reality.

"It's the garlic," Tong Yan panicked, seeing his suddenly calm gaze. "I just got some garlic in my eye."

He paused, and her grandmother quickly brought a wet towel from the kitchen and handed it to Tong Yan. Gu Pingsheng took the towel instead. As the elderly woman returned to the kitchen to continue cooking, he squatted down and gently wiped Tong Yan's eyes.

She didn't have time to refuse and closed her eyes as he wiped.

The touch was light, the towel warm, as he carefully cleaned the area around her eyes.

"All done," he said.

Tong Yan opened her eyes, suddenly feeling a bit embarrassed. "Thank you."

During dorm chats, they often said that medical students weren't good dating material. Having seen all parts of the human body, their boundaries between genders were blurred, and they were prone to infidelity… But after five weeks of interacting with Gu Pingsheng, apart from his lack of reservation with physical contact, she didn't find him to be a casual person…

She picked up a handful of garlic cloves, her mind a jumble, wondering why she was thinking about such things.

This was the second time Tong Yan had dinner with Gu Pingsheng. The last time was at his house, and this time it was at hers… Halfway through the meal, she noticed that Gu Pingsheng had eaten a lot of rice and almost chuckled. While her grandmother went to the kitchen for soup, she whispered, "Teacher Gu, northerners tend to cook salty dishes, sorry about that."

He smiled faintly. "It's okay. Could you pour me a glass of ice water?"

"I don't have iced water," she smiled. "We don't use a water dispenser. We boil water and drink it after it cools. Is pre-cooled water okay?"

Just as she poured him a glass of water, her grandmother came out with the soup.

Seeing the glass of cold water, she immediately said seriously, "Haven't I told you since you were little, don't drink water during meals?"

Tong Yan immediately pointed at Gu Pingsheng. "People who come back from abroad have this habit."

She didn't dare to say it was because the food was salty, or her grandmother would take everything back and cook it again…

Gu Pingsheng played along, smiling apologetically, and took a large gulp of water.

When her grandmother went to the park to feed the stray cats, they were the only two left at home, and Tong Yan didn't know what to do with Teacher Gu. There was only one small sofa in the living room. Was she supposed to sit shoulder-to-shoulder with him, watching TV? Reading?…

Since this home visit had no specific purpose, she didn't know what to do with him.

Gu Pingsheng just sat there, seemingly looking at the old photos pressed under the glass tabletop. Because of his height, he looked like he was sitting on a child-sized toy sofa. "I've only lived in Beijing for half a month," he suddenly said. "There are many places I haven't visited, like the Great Wall."

Tong Yan glanced at the photo he was looking at. It was a childhood photo of herself, hands on her hips, standing on the Great Wall.

Black and white, with two pigtails sticking up.

"Then you can take this opportunity during the holiday to visit some places," she wanted to grab a book and cover the photos under the glass. "There are three sections of the Great Wall near Beijing. One is Badaling, but you definitely shouldn't go there during National Day. It's as crowded as a temple fair. There's another one at Mutianyu, with better scenery than Badaling, and it's not too crowded during holidays."

Gu Pingsheng nodded. "And?"

"And?" Tong Yan warned cautiously. "Don't go to Juyongguan. It's so steep you have to use both your hands and feet. It's exhausting. The first two are for 'walking' the Great Wall, only Juyongguan is for 'climbing.'"

She hadn't expected that, because of her words, Gu Pingsheng would drive directly to Juyongguan that afternoon.

And she, following her grandmother's enthusiastic instructions, was sent out to accompany Teacher Gu in climbing the Great Wall.

Just as she was climbing, her back aching, two elderly couples, each with backpacks, passed by her, looking relaxed and composed. They effortlessly climbed the steep steps without using their hands for support… The oldest woman turned back and said to Gu Pingsheng with a smile, "Young man, why don't you help your girlfriend? She looks like she's struggling."

…

Tong Yan felt like the voice was coming from far away. Before she could process it, Gu Pingsheng took her hand.

It was so sudden. Her heart fluttered, unable to keep up with reality.

She instinctively looked up. His eyes were slightly narrowed against the sunlight, but he was still smiling. "If I had known it was this steep, we would have gone to Mutianyu, like you suggested."

She panted, the sound of her own heartbeat pounding in her ears. "Yes, I, I told you, this place is incredibly steep. I, I can climb by myself, it's fine."

The sun was especially strong today, feeling hotter than midsummer, not at all like autumn.

As she spoke, sweat dripped down her chin, landing on the dark gray bricks.

He stopped. "When was the last time you were here?"

Tong Yan took two breaths. She had been holding her breath, wanting to climb all the way up in one go. Now, suddenly stopping, she lost all her momentum and felt completely drained. "A long time ago, back in my first year of high school. Actually, I'm terrified of this place." She leaned against the stone wall beside her. "My homeroom teacher in high school was a sports fanatic, and his son worked at the tourism bureau, so we didn't have to pay for tickets. He would charter a bus and take us to climb Juyongguan every few weeks, saying it was good exercise and a way to build camaraderie."

She hadn't noticed any improvement in camaraderie, but the pairing-off rate in her class was definitely the highest in the entire grade.

After saying so much, she started panting again.

Gu Pingsheng suggested they rest for a while. Tong Yan immediately leaned against the stone wall, looking towards the beacon tower halfway up the mountain, feeling even more disheartened. She didn't know when they would reach the top.

He also leaned against the wall, resting with her, and, surprisingly, he didn't let go of her hand.

Tong Yan had been focused on their conversation, but now, leaning against the wall in silence, the mountain breeze blowing, she felt increasingly self-conscious. Although in the past, all the girls had been pulled up by the boys, today was different. There was no time limit, no competition…

The mountain breeze felt pleasant on her sweaty skin.

Their palms were both sweaty, their bodies cool, but their hands grew warmer and warmer.

Tong Yan felt more and more uncomfortable, a mix of hot and cold, but she didn't dare to move her fingers. After a long time, her entire arm went numb, and she turned to look at him… Just as she was about to speak, he beat her to it. "Rested enough? Let's go, it's easier once we reach the halfway point."

Then, very naturally, he pulled her hand and continued climbing.

Tong Yan didn't have a chance to protest and could only struggle to keep up.

Because he was taller than her, he was practically pulling her along, his grip naturally firm. Halfway up, he switched hands.

They passed other people resting along the way, a couple every few steps. A girl's voice drifted over, saying, Look at how strong that guy is, you're such a weakling, even I'm climbing faster than you… For the rest of the climb, Tong Yan's mind wandered. The long distance seemed to shorten suddenly.

As soon as she stepped onto the platform, she immediately withdrew her hand. "Teacher Gu, do you want some water?"

She took two small bottles of water from her backpack. Just as she handed him one, she heard a text message notification.

She took out her phone and saw it was from her junior high class monitor: Why aren't you answering my calls?

Tong Yan sighed and replied: I'm in Beijing, at Juyongguan. Calling is long-distance plus roaming, just text me.

A quick reply came back: Juyongguan?? Haven't you climbed enough? By the way, I saw Lu Bei today. Why was there a girl with him? I didn't hear about you two breaking up?

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