Together Forever - Chapter 8
Volume 1, Chapter 8: Are You Real? (2)
The beacon tower offered a rare flat area.
Many tourists were resting against the wall in small groups, posing for photos. Gu Pingsheng unscrewed the cap of his water bottle and took a sip. “Want me to take a picture of you?” He pulled a slim digital camera from his pocket.
She quickly typed three words: We broke up.
Then, putting away her phone, she dutifully reached for the camera. “I’ll take one of you. It’s your first time here.”
As they were politely refusing each other, two middle-aged foreign women approached, offering in English to take a photo of them together. It was the first time Tong Yan had encountered someone offering to take a photo without being asked. Slightly surprised, she glanced at Gu Pingsheng, who simply smiled, handed the camera to one of the women, and thanked them.
When he got the camera back, she glanced at the photo, tempted to delete it.
Shen Yao, back when she was obsessed with celebrities, had said, “Never take a photo with a celebrity. It’s like a real-life Beauty and the Beast, guaranteed to make you feel depressed for half a month.” Now, looking at the photo of herself with Gu Pingsheng, she had a similar feeling, especially with her clichéd peace sign.
Gu Pingsheng took the camera, looked at the photo carefully with his back to the sun, and seemed satisfied. “It turned out well.”
It’s only because you turned out well…
On the drive back, Gu Pingsheng turned on the radio, showed her how to adjust the frequency and volume, and told her to find a station she liked to pass the time.
Lu Bei had already taught her all this, but seeing Gu Pingsheng’s seriousness, she pretended to listen attentively.
When he finished, she nodded. “Understood. Teacher, you focus on driving. I’ll entertain myself.”
After they got on the highway, she tuned to a music station and listened to the new song charts.
Just as she was drifting off, she heard Gu Pingsheng call her. “Tong Yan, could you check my phone and see who’s calling? It’s in my right pocket.”
She reached into his pocket and quickly found his phone.
1 unread message.
To see who it was, she would have to read the message. That was what he meant, right?
Hesitantly, Tong Yan swiped to unlock the screen and opened the message.
TK, I remember tomorrow is your mother’s death anniversary. I’ve cleared your schedule. Rest well.
Pingfan.
His mother’s death anniversary?
Tong Yan was completely stunned. Tomorrow was her birthday.
Of course, Teacher Gu wouldn’t know that. If she remembered correctly, October 4th was the day they first met at Peking Union Medical College Hospital. So, his mother had indeed passed away on that day.
“Who is it?” he turned to look at her.
Tong Yan held the phone up to him.
“Thank you.” He glanced at it and turned back to the road.
He didn’t react at all, his expression and eyes as calm as ever.
Even after they arrived, he insisted on walking her upstairs.
The hallway lights were motion-activated, and the bulbs on the third and fourth floors were burnt out. As they passed the second floor, Gu Pingsheng deliberately slowed down. “I’ll buy some light bulbs tomorrow. We can replace the broken ones during the day. It’s easy for your grandmother to fall at night.”
She wanted to say it wasn’t necessary, but surrounded by darkness, it felt pointless to speak.
They reached the fourth-floor landing and finally, under the light from the fifth floor, they could see each other’s faces.
She stopped. “Teacher Gu, you can stop here. It’s late, you should go back and rest.” Remembering what he had said about the light bulbs, she added, “I’ll buy some light bulbs tomorrow and ask the neighbors to help change them. You don’t have to come back.”
His eyes reflected the light from the fifth floor. He smiled. “It’s okay, I’m free tomorrow anyway.”
Suddenly, a faint sound came from upstairs. Tong Yan instinctively looked up, and Gu Pingsheng followed her gaze to the fifth floor.
A figure was leaning against the wall, silently watching them.
His features hadn’t changed, even the spot where he was waiting was the same.
He used to do this. He liked to stand there and surprise her.
Back then, their love wasn’t difficult. Aside from having to avoid the watchful eyes of the teachers, almost all their memories were sweet. They were the most talked-about high school sweethearts.
He was the star student of the high school division, she the most troublesome student in junior high.
The most common sight was the school bulletin board, with news of her competition awards on the left, and notices of his disciplinary actions for fighting on the right… At first, he would wait for her at the school gate. Later, after his grades slipped and he didn’t get into the high school, he would bike a long way after school just to see her here.
“Tong Tong,” he finally spoke, calling her name.
Everyone called her Yan Yan, but he wanted to be different.
Tong Yan, as if startled awake, looked at Gu Pingsheng helplessly. “Teacher Gu, goodbye.”
Gu Pingsheng smiled. “See you tomorrow.”
He turned and went downstairs.
As his footsteps faded, Tong Yan gathered her courage and walked upstairs, looking at the approaching figure… She didn’t know what to say. The silence was unsettling.
Finally, she asked lightly, “Aren’t you cold wearing short sleeves in autumn?”
For a moment, he seemed to have a lot to say, but her casual greeting softened his expression. “Not cold. Happy birthday.” He held out a silver box.
She didn’t take it. “How did you know I was back?”
“My family received too many gifts for the holiday, so I drove over to give your grandmother a few boxes,” he said, still holding out the box. “How are you planning to spend your twentieth birthday?”
She didn’t answer him, even after he left.
When she entered the apartment, her grandmother was already asleep. The living room lamp was still on, left for her.
The small space was indeed filled with seven or eight cardboard boxes.
She identified the pictures on each box in the dim light: fruit, drinks, and vegetables. The building didn’t have an elevator, so he must have carried them all up himself. She took out a pair of scissors and opened each box, sorting and storing the contents. She could almost picture him carrying the boxes up the stairs, one by one.
He used to be so lazy, and now he was so diligent.
After putting everything away, there were four boxes of drinks left.
She cut open the tape on one box, took out a can of Sprite, sat on the floor, and popped the top.
Warm Sprite wasn’t as refreshing.
The sugary liquid made her throat feel strangely sour and uncomfortable. For some reason, even though he had smiled when he said goodbye, his voice sounded just like it had that night when he was crying uncontrollably.
She couldn’t forget that night, him sitting by the roadside, crying like a child, repeating over and over, “Tong Tong, don’t go to Shanghai.” Everyone at the bus stop turned to stare. Adults and children alike looked at him with bewilderment. Probably no one had ever seen a boy cry like that.
And she, crouching in front of him, hadn’t shed a single tear.
Tong Yan drank half the can of Sprite, realizing her face was wet.
She picked up her phone and checked the time. At some point, she had received a text message.
It was from Teacher Gu: Shall I take you two out for lunch tomorrow? TK
She wanted to refuse, but considering the significance of tomorrow for him, she hesitated for a moment before replying: Okay.
The next day, when Gu Pingsheng arrived, her grandmother was surprised and asked how he knew it was Tong Yan’s birthday. Gu Pingsheng also looked surprised and glanced at Tong Yan.
“I don’t usually celebrate my birthday,” Tong Yan could only offer this explanation.
The dinner was quite lavish. When the Peking duck arrived, Gu Pingsheng naturally wiped his hands clean, expertly wrapped a piece, and handed it to her. “Happy birthday, birthday girl.”
She took it and bit into it. The sweet bean sauce mixed with the aroma of the roast duck warmed her heart. He quickly wrapped another piece, adding the condiments, carefully asking her grandmother if she wanted scallions, garlic paste, or shredded radish.
His eyes and tone were like a doctor’s, a very gentle doctor.
“Is it good?” he turned and asked her. “Pingfan said the roast duck here is better than Quanjude. It’s my first time here too.”
“It’s delicious.” She quickly took a pancake, piled it with four or five slices of duck, rolled it up, and handed it to him. “Thank you, Teacher Gu.” Perhaps because it was a holiday, the nearby tables were filled with families enjoying dinner together, and the entire restaurant was filled with a warm and harmonious atmosphere.
It had been a long time since she had felt this way. Although she always took her grandmother out for dinner when she came back, it always felt a bit lonely with just the two of them.
When the waiter asked if they wanted to take the duck bones home, Gu Pingsheng, seemingly remembering her grandmother’s habit of feeding stray cats, asked for them to be packed so she could take them home for the cats.
As he dropped them off that evening, her grandmother enthusiastically invited him to stay. “Yan Yan’s classmate brought a lot of fruit. I’ll wash some for you.”
Elderly people enjoyed company, especially former teachers.
As she washed the fruit in the kitchen, her grandmother chatted incessantly. The gist of it was that Yan Yan’s classmate was very kind, always bringing boxes of things during holidays. “At first, I felt bad accepting them, but he always said Yan Yan had tutored him and helped him a lot. And he said his family always received too many gifts, and it would be a waste not to eat them all…”
Gu Pingsheng suddenly asked Tong Yan, “The person waiting for you yesterday, was that your classmate?”
Tong Yan glanced at her grandmother in the kitchen and was silent for a moment before replying softly, “He’s my ex-boyfriend.” She felt her tone was too somber and quickly added jokingly, “I used to be quite a headache for the teachers. My puppy love was known throughout the school.”
He looked at her thoughtfully. “Did I say something wrong?”
It turned out sadness couldn’t be hidden.
Tong Yan smiled. “Yes, you brought back sad memories. What am I going to do?”
She had only responded casually, wanting to quickly move past the topic, but Gu Pingsheng looked apologetic and took a sip of water. “I’ll play you a piano piece as a birthday gift.”
His gaze fell on the piano by the window.
It was the largest piece of furniture in Tong Yan’s home, a gift from one of her grandmother’s former students who had returned from abroad. With her grandmother’s elementary school music teacher skills, she mostly played songs like “Yellow River Cantata” and “The Internationale,” which were already considered quite difficult. The piano wasn’t used much…
Tong Yan looked at him in disbelief.
Then she watched as he put down his glass and walked towards the old piano by the window.
Eight out of ten people these days played the piano. Shen Yao, her friend, was the top piano student admitted to the university orchestra. So, Tong Yan had long become desensitized to the instrument.
But she was still surprised to hear Gu Pingsheng offer to play.
He couldn’t hear, yet he played beautifully.
It was a pity she couldn’t play herself and didn’t understand much about music. But just watching him play made her eyes well up. His world was completely silent, and no matter how beautiful the melody he played, he couldn’t hear it himself…
Comments
Post a Comment