Together Forever - Chapter 48

Volume 3, Chapter 48: My Mr. Gu (3)

He pulled her away from the crowd, catching her off guard.

In the throngs of people pushing and shoving to get on the bus, they were the only ones moving against the current. “I have to go to work,” Tong Yan said, hearing the disgruntled grumbles of those around them, trying to pull away but unable to. “Can we talk tonight?”

“I drove. I’ll take you to work; we can talk on the way.”

He shielded her from two men trying to board the bus.

“Hey! Are you crazy? Are you getting on, or what?!” one of the men, annoyed, turned to yell at him, then stopped abruptly, intimidated by Lu Bei’s gaze. Tong Yan, fearing a confrontation, quickly tugged Lu Bei’s arm. “They’re all trying to get to work; we’re in the way.” Lu Bei didn’t reply, wiping the rain from his face.

His car was parked nearby. As they walked away from the crowd, he held his jacket over her head like an umbrella. He opened the car door, but she shook her head. “Just tell me here. Is it that urgent?”

Lu Bei had anticipated her refusal.

He had never known how to force her to do anything.

“That day, at the fruit stand, I heard the owner call you ‘Mrs. Gu.’ Did you marry him?”

Tong Yan hummed in agreement.

“He’s your university professor,” Lu Bei stated, not asked. “I think I saw him in Shanghai last Christmas.”

She hummed again.

“Will being with a professor affect your graduation?”

“I’ll graduate after my internship next year.”

“Are you living in this complex? With your grandmother?”

“Yes, he bought the apartment.”

His questions were random and disjointed.

She answered them all patiently and honestly.

Finally, unable to think of anything else to ask, he stood there silently by the open car door, and she simply held the umbrella over both of them. Years ago, when they argued, he would often stand like this in the snow, refusing to go home or apologize, and she would stand there facing him, bundled up in a hat and gloves, stubbornly silent.

This was the boy who had been her closest confidant during her teenage years.

Whether they were together or apart, he had never treated her badly.

She had always been determined to be honest with him, to answer any questions he might have about her life. She just hadn’t expected it to happen like this, on a rainy morning, people rushing past in raincoats, cars stuck in traffic, while they stood there facing each other, silent, out of sync with the world around them.

“I really have to go now,” she said softly, forcing a smile.

“Is he… deaf?” Lu Bei asked suddenly. “Can’t he hear anything at all?”

The question caught her off guard.

She didn’t answer immediately.

“One night, I was here signing the purchase agreement for the apartment, and I saw him at the fruit stand. I was going to say hello, but he couldn't hear me. Then you arrived.”

One night.

The hottest months of the summer had coincided with her summer break. Gu Pingsheng had spent most of his time resting at home, and whenever she was stuck in traffic or working late, he would often wait for her at the fruit stand. So, the “one night” Lu Bei mentioned was just an ordinary scene from the past two months. “He was ill, and it affected his hearing.”

“So you knew he was deaf, and you still chose to be with him?”

“Of course I knew. He told me on the first day of class,” Tong Yan said lightly. “Apart from that, he’s an exceptional person. And he’s very good to me, very, very good.”

Lu Bei didn’t reply. There had been a time when she had described him in the same way. His flaws didn’t matter; she would simply say, “Lu Bei is good, very good to me…”

“Are you really going to live in this complex?” Tong Yan asked. “Do you think that’s a good idea?”

He paused, then said, “Fang Yun Yun bought the apartment. I won’t be living here, don’t worry.”

She was lucky; just as she was about to leave, a taxi pulled up. The passenger in the front seat got out, and she quickly climbed into the back. As the taxi drove away, even the driver seemed to sense something amiss, asking jokingly if she had just had a fight with her boyfriend, abandoning him so heartlessly.

Tong Yan smiled and said he was just an old classmate.

When she arrived at the courthouse, the court clerk she was interning with had just finished two trials. Seeing Tong Yan’s drenched pants, she asked, surprised, “Did you get caught in the rain? Your pants are soaked!” Tong Yan couldn’t very well say she had been standing in the rain, more accurately, being splashed by passing cars and the wind-driven rain, so she just hummed vaguely. “It’s raining pretty hard.”

“Autumn rain can be chilly. I have some sweatpants in my locker; you can change,” the clerk said, patting her shoulder. “Since you’re already late, just call in sick.”

“I can’t,” Tong Yan wiped her pants with a tissue. “I can’t wear sweatpants to the office; it’s unprofessional. And I can’t call in sick; I need a good internship evaluation so I can earn a decent living.”

Most interns at the courthouse had connections, so the clerk assumed she was joking. She handed Tong Yan a hairdryer, telling her to dry her pants in the restroom and placing the notes Tong Yan was supposed to be organizing on her desk.

Since starting his new job, Gu Pingsheng had been working long hours.

Sometimes, when she finished work early, she would take the bus to his office and wait for him. Her colleagues at the courthouse, learning about this, teased her about being a model wife. Younger couples usually had the boyfriend pick up the girlfriend, while older, married couples usually rushed off to pick up their children from school.

She, however, was an anomaly.

As November approached, the interns started discussing the upcoming bar exam results.

Although she didn't say anything, she was incredibly anxious. With her academic record, she had no chance of getting a job at a prestigious law firm, which meant passing the bar exam was essential.

The weekend the results were released, Gu Pingsheng was invited to a conference at a resort outside the city.

Before he left, she repeatedly confirmed his return time, the conference schedule, his presentation slot, and his breaks. That Saturday morning, she woke up early, researching milk pudding recipes while calculating the time, wondering what he was doing, worrying about his health.

She experimented with the recipe several times that morning, sharing the successful and not-so-successful attempts with her grandmother.

After dinner, estimating his arrival in an hour, she started making another batch of pudding. She poured the cream into the ramekins and placed them in the oven.

Almost home?

She sent the message, and a while later, his reply arrived.

It was the resort’s address, even the room number, as impersonal as a spam message. She reread it, puzzled. Thankfully, another message quickly followed: That was the resort address. Mrs. Gu has thirty minutes to get ready, pack an overnight bag, and join Mr. Gu for a getaway. TK

His tone was lighthearted.

She asked: What about Grandma?

Pingfan needs a quiet place to study for her exams, so she’ll be staying with Grandma for a couple of days. Mrs. Gu, you have twenty-nine minutes. TK

It seemed he had planned everything in advance.

Since her return from Shanghai, they hadn’t left the apartment together, let alone spent a night away. They were practically the poster couple for staying home… His sudden invitation caught her off guard, but thankfully, it was just for one night. She quickly packed a bag, told her grandmother that someone would be taking care of her, and hurried out the door.

She even remembered to take the milk pudding.

The resort was quite far, the journey taking almost an hour.

Since the resort consisted of individual villas, the staff, seeing the address on her phone, arranged for a shuttle to take her there. The shuttle was mostly occupied by vacationing couples. A young couple boarded with her, bickering playfully. The boyfriend was flipping through brochures, looking for fishing spots, while the girlfriend kept asking to see the yoga schedule. They almost had a fight over the brochures, the boyfriend then mimicking animal sounds to appease his girlfriend. After several minutes of this performance, she finally relented, giggling.

The air was filled with a lighthearted, affectionate energy.

As the shuttle stopped in front of Gu Pingsheng’s villa, she stepped out, looking at the brightly lit building, and took a deep breath.

The staff had explained that each villa had four separate suites.

And every forty villas had a dedicated customer service team, available 24/7.

His room was on the ground floor. She walked along the winding path, checking the room number against the one on her phone. After confirming it was correct, she sent him a message: Beautiful night for an elopement.

There was no response.

She leaned closer, her ear against the door, listening.

There were no sounds of movement, no running water, but the light seeping from under the door indicated someone was inside. As she stood there, her excitement gradually faded, replaced by a growing unease.

Her mind went blank for a moment, then she quickly opened her bag, pulling out the brochures and frantically searching for the customer service number.

It was too dark; she turned on her phone’s flashlight, using the screen to illuminate the pages.

Not on the first page, not on the second, third, or fourth… Not in the brochures, not in the resort guide.

Page after page of activity descriptions, the sheer volume overwhelming and disorienting. The more she tried to focus, the more panicked she became. Her heart pounded, a heavy weight in her chest, her legs trembling. She leaned against the door, trying to calm down, then, her fingers shaking, flipped back to the first page of the guide…

She bit her lip, repeating to herself, Calm down, Tong Yan, calm down.

Suddenly, everything went dark.

A hand covered her eyes.

“It’s me. I was coming out to meet you, but I took the wrong path,” Gu Pingsheng’s voice, close to her ear, was slightly breathless. He wrapped his arms around her from behind. “I’m fine, everything’s fine. Don’t scare yourself.”

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