Together Forever - Chapter 9
Volume 1, Chapter 9: Are You Real? (3)
The dorm was empty when she returned.
She had just opened her suitcase when Shen Yao burst through the door. She had cut her long hair short, looking spirited as she stood before Tong Yan. "I just got back from a road trip. Met a bunch of people on a car forum, went to the grasslands to look at the stars. Tong Yan," she grinned, "lying on the roof of an SUV, looking at the stars, it was amazing."
Tong Yan listened to Shen Yao recount her trip to Qinghai with a group of "rich kids" while unpacking.
Shanghai's weather was humid. She had only been gone for seven days, but the clothes in her closet felt damp. In the end, she threw everything into a laundry basket and headed to the laundry room.
The air was thick with the scent of laundry detergent, six washing machines spinning rapidly.
"Tong Yan!" Amy, gripping the metal railing outside the window, called excitedly. "One good news, two bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"
Tong Yan, after another sleepless night spent standing on a train, was exhausted. Her only impulse was to dump the entire basket of dirty laundry on Amy's head. After two years of knowing her, whenever Amy appeared, whether with "good news" or "bad news," it always meant trouble for Tong Yan.
As expected, without waiting for her answer, Amy started chattering. "The good news is, this year's welcome party will have an open vote for the hosts. The most popular male host nominee is from your department…" She deliberately drew out the suspense, and the other girls in the laundry room perked up, hearing the exciting three words, "Fatal Beauty Gu."
Tong Yan was shocked. "He's a teacher. How can he host the welcome party?"
"Why not?" Amy beamed. "Don't forget, our new principal is famous for being unconventional. Didn't he even chat anonymously with students on the forum? A Law School teacher can certainly be 'sacrificed'…"
Amy emphasized the word "sacrificed" with dramatic flair.
Poor Teacher Gu…
"What's the bad news?" She saw a washing machine stop and quickly opened the lid, transferring someone else's clothes to an empty basket and starting to load her own.
"Because of Fatal Beauty Gu's… special circumstances, the Student Union Arts Center decided to choose an experienced host, someone who can work well with him."
"Uh-huh." Tong Yan started pouring laundry detergent.
One scoop, two scoops, enough?
"And that's you."
Three scoops, four scoops…
She absentmindedly added a fifth scoop before snapping back to reality.
"I left the Student Union after my sophomore year…"
"Yes, that's why the president asked me to do some 'persuasion.' You've hosted the welcome party, the youth talent show, the Christmas party, you're the most experienced. And," Amy looked at her pleadingly, "you know, hosts have to deal with all sorts of unexpected disasters on stage. Could you bear to see Fatal Beauty Gu struggling with a newbie host?"
The washing machine started filling with water, the gushing sound disrupting her thoughts.
Although it was just a university welcome party, not a professional event, being a host was still a lot of work.
…
For instance, her first time on stage, she had misspoken, the microphone had malfunctioned, the audience had laughed at her… The worst was when a performer had knocked over the backdrop.
She couldn't imagine what would happen if Teacher Gu, who couldn't hear, encountered such situations.
"So, for the sake of your hosting career, the final bad news is that you can't participate in the drama rehearsals anymore." Amy sighed dramatically. "Yan Yan, I'm so sorry, you won't be able to personally participate in the play you wrote…"
Tong Yan shook her head silently, then nodded after a moment.
Her mind was preoccupied with the welcome party; she had no energy to think about the play.
Should she host or not? Should she help Teacher Gu…
"I'm done," Amy said, satisfied that Tong Yan hadn't refused. "The first meeting is tonight at 5:00 in the auditorium. Apparently, your Fatal Beauty Gu just arrived in Shanghai. What a coincidence."
When she arrived at the auditorium that evening, a crowd had already gathered outside. Members of various school clubs, all with performances scheduled for the welcome party, were chatting in the lobby and outside.
The organizers were having a meeting inside, and the performers were waiting for rehearsal.
Many third-year Student Union members, seeing Tong Yan, smiled knowingly. "Tong Wuji, I told you, our Student Union president, Zhou Qingchen, wouldn't let you go. So, you're back."
The evening breeze carried their snickers.
She made a face and entered the auditorium.
The auditorium had two levels, with a seating capacity of 3,500.
Since it was an internal meeting for the program team, still in the rehearsal stage, the house lights were dim. There were only about twenty students in the audience, but surprisingly, quite a few teachers were present. As soon as she entered through the back door, she saw Gu Pingsheng standing among a group of teachers, still in his simple white shirt and warm brown casual pants. From a distance, she couldn't see his expression clearly.
He drew her attention involuntarily.
Tong Yan suddenly felt a strange sense of disconnection.
For seven days, she had traveled between Beijing and Shanghai, and so had Teacher Gu. They had interacted briefly in Beijing, and now back here, he was still the teacher on the podium, and she was still the student struggling with physics.
"Tong Yan." The auditorium was vast, and her name echoed through the space. Tong Yan hurried down the rows of seats until she reached the stage. "Teacher Du."
Teacher Du, the faculty advisor for the Student Union, was nicknamed "Du Half-Beat," because he always reacted half a beat too slow.
She had finally escaped his clutches, only to be pulled back in after just five weeks of school.
Tong Yan looked at Gu Pingsheng. Before she could greet him, she heard Teacher Du say, "This is our star female host. Very experienced, and a top student from the Law School…"
Tong Yan's smile stiffened. Ninth in a class of nineteen, was that considered a top student?
He simply smiled and said, "I know. She's my student."
She quickly chimed in, "Teacher Gu, long time no see. Did you have a good holiday?"
Gu Pingsheng nodded, his expression unreadable. "Very good, thank you."
Hearing this, Teacher Du suddenly exclaimed, "Oh, right! Teacher Gu is from the Law School. You're teaching Tong Yan this semester?"
Gu Pingsheng nodded. "Yes, what a coincidence. She's in my class this semester."
The students and teachers behind them all looked relieved.
Gu Pingsheng's situation made them feel like they were imposing on him. If the two hosts already knew each other, it was a godsend.
After listening to Teacher Du's explanation, Tong Yan finally understood why Gu Pingsheng had agreed. This year was the university's 110th anniversary, and they were holding a gala, a concert, and a grand alumni reunion.
Given the special occasion, the Student Union decided to combine the welcome party and the anniversary gala.
Such a grand event, no wonder they could convince a teacher to participate.
"Tong Yan," Teacher Du personally opened a bottle of water and handed it to her. "Normally, we would hire professional hosts for such an event, but the principal wants it to be more relatable. So, the concert and the alumni reunion will have professional hosts, but the gala will be student-led, which is more meaningful."
Tong Yan realized she was trapped.
This kind of high-profile event was a huge opportunity for most people, a chance to gain an advantage for graduate school admissions. But for her, it meant sacrificing all her free time, endless rehearsals, memorizing scripts, and dealing with all the unexpected pressure of a live event…
She had never been interested in direct admission to graduate programs.
Her goal for university was to graduate, get a job, and become financially independent to support her family.
But since she was here, there was nothing she could do.
So, she and Gu Pingsheng, as the designated hosts, stayed behind to review the performances from various clubs and student groups. They sat in the last row, watching the stage.
Aside from the judges in the first row and the performers on stage, the 3,500-seat auditorium was empty.
Tong Yan took a sip of water and discreetly glanced at Gu Pingsheng.
Then, unexpectedly, their eyes met.
"Have you ever hosted an event before, Teacher Gu?" she asked, searching for a topic.
"I did at Penn, not a school anniversary, but a medical school party," Gu Pingsheng said, looking at her. "But that was a long time ago, when I was a graduate student in medical school. But it wasn't this…"
"This complicated?" Tong Yan understood what he meant. "Yes, it's very troublesome. The school galas are getting bigger and bigger. I feel like it's almost like the Spring Festival Gala."
As she finished speaking, she seemed to remember something and quickly flipped through the program.
Oh no.
She turned to him with a grimace. "It is like the Spring Festival Gala. We have to read congratulatory messages from alumni around the world…" She could already imagine the scene: her reading the messages while her dorm mates roared with laughter in the audience.
Gu Pingsheng also found it amusing. "If you don't want to read them, you can leave them to me."
She smiled gratefully and continued studying the program.
After a while, Tong Yan suddenly remembered something and nudged his arm.
Seeing Gu Pingsheng turn and look at her quietly, she hesitated… But she couldn't help but ask, "Teacher Gu, you studied medicine at Penn. Why did you do your internship in Beijing?"
"My mother was a surgeon at Peking Union Medical College Hospital at that time," he said, looking back at the stage instead of at her. "I went there for my internship, mainly to accompany her."
On stage, the university's renowned folk music star was singing "My Motherland."
Even from a distance, she could tell from her movements how passionately she was singing…
He didn't look at her again, politely ending the topic.
Tong Yan lowered her head and continued flipping through the program, but she couldn't absorb a single word.
"Tong Yan," Zhou Qingchen, appearing out of nowhere, suddenly called her. "Did I hear correctly? Teacher Gu studied medicine at Penn?"
Tong Yan hummed in agreement. "Why?"
Wasn't the Student Union president a medical student? She seemed to recall that.
But her impression of the University of Pennsylvania was limited to Shen Yao's daily chatter about its business school.
"The third-best medical school in the US…" Zhou Qingchen's face flushed, looking like he was about to meet his idol. "You wouldn't understand, Tong Wuji. Do you know how hard it is to get into Penn Med? I have to take this roundabout route, studying this useless law to get a green card, just to get into medical school… Quick, let me talk to my future senior, my future alumnus!"
She froze for a second, then immediately sat up straight, deliberately separating them. "I'm warning you, Zhou Qingchen, don't harass my teacher."
She was now certain that Gu Pingsheng didn't want to talk about his medical past.
So, she absolutely couldn't let Zhou Qingchen ask any questions that would trigger his memories. Thus, after a minute of Tong Yan's protective instincts kicking in, Zhou Qingchen was finally driven away.
Gu Pingsheng turned back just in time to see the dejected student leaving. "Did he need something from us?"
Tong Yan smiled innocently. "No, he just came to ask if we wanted to order boxed lunches."
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