Together Forever - Chapter 64
Volume 3, Chapter 64: Your Mrs. Gu (4)
He never came back.
At the graduation ceremony, Tong Yan returned to school.
She had arrived in Shanghai the day before, completed all the graduation procedures, and stayed at Shen Yao's place that night. The next day, she went to the school.
Out of the twenty-three students in her class, twelve had been admitted to graduate programs either at their own school or elsewhere. Another five or six had received offers from prestigious universities. Shen Yao had gotten her wish and was heading to Yale.
Zhou Qingchen, on the other hand, had decided not to continue his studies and had instead secured a job with the Singaporean government. Jingjing, surprisingly, had become a rising star, busy helping him with the paperwork while preparing to follow him abroad.
Graduation was a crossroads, but there were no signposts.
After July, everyone would start walking down their own paths, leading to vastly different lives.
By the time of her internship, the dormitory had already been mostly emptied.
The beds were bare, the dark green metal frames and wooden boards exposed, just like when they had first moved in. The bookshelves were empty, covered in a layer of dust. Shen Yao had come by for a quick look and left in despair, going around to say her goodbyes.
With nowhere to sit in the dorm, Tong Yan ended up waiting outside the auditorium, killing time until the ceremony began.
Having slept on Shen Yao's single bed the night before, she now felt a dull ache in her back.
She sat down on the steps, curling her legs up and resting her chin on her knees, watching people come and go through the auditorium doors, preparing for the evening's graduation gala. She remembered last year's gala, held outdoors, where she and Shen Yao had squeezed into the crowd near the library to watch. Time had flown by, and now it was their turn.
It had been raining for the past few days, but today the sky had cleared. The morning breeze carried a faint dampness. She wrapped her arms around her legs, repeating his name in her mind.
Even after all this time, she still remembered that day clearly. The weather had been beautiful, the morning sunlight streaming through the window, enveloping him in its glow as he casually picked up a piece of chalk and wrote his name on the board: Gu Pingsheng.
Four or five people walked out of the auditorium, all members of the Sunshine Drama Club.
Among them was Amy, who had already started working at a TV station.
After the usual congratulations on her graduation, Amy stayed behind, sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with Tong Yan: "So, what's next? Big lawyer, judge, or prosecutor?" "I don't know," Tong Yan admitted. "I don't want to do anything related to law. I really don't."
If possible, she really wanted to abandon her major altogether.
Because it was tied to him.
"You're in the humanities. If you don't stick to your major, you won't be worth much out there, will you?"
"Probably not," she thought for a moment. "Apart from memorizing things, I don't really have any skills. Now I think the sciences are better—at least you have a specialty."
"You can sing," Amy said with a smile. "And you sing really well. Why don't you take the Mandarin proficiency test? I can recommend you for an internship at the TV station."
She nodded absentmindedly, resting her chin on her knees again.
Starting tomorrow, she would think about the future. Today was her last day as a student.
The graduation ceremony lasted two hours. By the end, her shirt was soaked with sweat. When it was finally over and all the caps were thrown into the air, Tong Yan's first move was to take off her gown to cool down.
Her sweaty T-shirt clung to her body as she bent down to look for tissues. Suddenly, Shen Yao, standing behind her, nudged her arm.
"Gu Pingsheng."
Before she could react, Shen Yao had already pulled her to the side.
From this angle, she could see all the law school professors, as well as the dean. He was standing right next to the dean, listening to the elderly man speak. He was wearing a simple casual shirt, his fair and well-defined face as calm as ever. From a distance, every subtle movement of his seemed magnified in her eyes.
Whatever Shen Yao was saying, she couldn't hear it anymore.
Soon, the crowd of over three thousand people dispersed, creating a scene more chaotic than a train station. There were hugs, goodbyes, photos, and autographs. Some were crying, some laughing, and others were just being wild.
The most popular teachers always returned for graduation, stirring up many memories.
Apart from Shen Yao and herself, almost everyone went up to take photos with him in their graduation gowns.
The dean of the law school, usually the center of attention, became a mere backdrop, smiling as he stood to the left of each student. Gu Pingsheng, on the other hand, was bombarded with requests for photos. Her classmates thought he had come specifically for her, so they assumed Tong Yan was keeping her distance to avoid suspicion. A few who were close to her even came over after getting their photos, expressing their "guilt" for temporarily monopolizing the "beautiful Gu."
In the end, she was the first to leave.
With nowhere to go, she went into the auditorium to watch the final rehearsal for the gala.
As a former host, no one stopped her from entering.
When the Sunshine Drama Club's performance came on, she stood backstage behind the heavy curtains, watching the seven or eight students on stage, using exaggerated theatrical gestures to portray the scene of graduation. The audience seats were mostly empty, with only the crew and performers watching.
A few people came around from behind the curtains and politely called out, "Professor Gu."
Tong Yan suddenly felt nervous...
Someone behind her said, "Good job."
It wasn't his voice.
Her hands went weak, but she was relieved it wasn't him.
The person behind her seemed to be a new student affairs teacher who didn't recognize Tong Yan. He was quietly discussing the gala arrangements with a few students. She continued watching the rehearsal of the play by people she knew when her phone buzzed.
Looking down, she saw a text from Gu Pingsheng: I originally wanted to talk to you, but now I realize it's not easy for me to do so. Congratulations on your graduation, Tong Yan. - Gu Pingsheng
"Who turned on their phone backstage? Don't you know the rules during rehearsal?"
Since it was a play rehearsal, the sound system was on, and the noise was enough to disturb everyone.
Everyone backstage turned to look at her. Tong Yan stared at her phone, realizing she had made a mistake. She lifted the curtain and apologized, "Sorry, Professor Du, it's me."
"Tong Yan," Professor Du, who had worked with her for years, smiled when he saw her. "Our former host for the school gala. This must be your graduation year, right? Did you get into a graduate program?"
She shook her head and exchanged a few pleasantries with the teacher she had worked with for so long.
That night, she left Shanghai without attending her own graduation gala.
She took the sleeper train, and when she couldn't sleep, she sat on the foldable chair in the aisle, constantly receiving texts from Shen Yao about how many people were jumping into the lake to commemorate graduation and how many were taking photos with the statue of Venus. Staying up all night to bid farewell to their student days was both crazy and heartbreaking.
The rhythmic sound of the train on the tracks was mechanical and steady.
She watched and eventually fell asleep on the small table. By 5 or 6 a.m., when the sky began to lighten, Tong Yan woke up. People were already moving around in the aisle. She rummaged through her bag for her toiletries when Pingfan called. Her voice was as gentle as ever, not saying much, just offering to pick her up at the station.
Tong Yan guessed it was about Gu Pingsheng and didn't refuse.
Pingfan's car was parked across the street from the train station.
She had prepared herself mentally, but seeing his sister still made her feel awkward.
Pingfan noticed her discomfort and quickly said, "Don't feel too burdened. I've always said that no matter what choice you make, I understand." She then handed over a stack of printed documents from the back seat. "TK wrote this himself and asked me to give it to you."
Tong Yan took it. It was a house purchase agreement.
The seller was Gu Pingsheng, and the buyer was naturally her.
"I was confused when I got this. Why didn't he choose to gift it to you instead of selling it?" Pingfan said lightly, joking about him. "He said gifting is more complicated and requires his presence to process, while selling is much simpler. You just need to sign, and I'll handle the rest of the paperwork."
Pingfan handed her a pen.
Tong Yan didn't take it.
"Yanyan, he's doing this out of respect for you. In our hearts, we already see you as his wife. Even though you two had to part ways, this is something he feels he must do. And believe me, if you don't accept it, he'll find another way to give you this house," Pingfan placed the pen on the documents and smiled. "You know how stubborn he is. It's really annoying."
"Let me think about it," she said.
"I'll also set up a joint account and transfer all the money you left with him into an account under both our names. For large withdrawals, I'll authorize them directly. So, really, I'm just a nominal safeguard."
Pingfan continued, covering every detail.
The cold air conditioning in the car blew on her, chilling her. Every arrangement he made was meticulous, flawless.
By the time Pingfan finished, her eyes were visibly red. She opened her arms and hugged Tong Yan tightly. "Alright, I still have a lot to do. This troublesome brother of mine has never made things easy for me."
Tong Yan hugged her back. "I'm sorry."
"Don't say that," Pingfan told her. "Even though the ending isn't happy, we were once a family."
A family.
She had once longed so much for a complete family.
If only he had been healthy, how wonderful that would have been.
She would have clung to him shamelessly, regardless of her family's situation. After all, Gu Pingsheng was so capable and could provide for them. But his health was so fragile. Perhaps he only had twenty years left, and his relentless work ethic might shorten that by five, ten, or even more years.
She didn't dare to think about the consequences.
It would be best if he could leave, go anywhere, without needing much savings or carrying so much burden.
Without love, he would at least take care of himself for the sake of his family, who loved him so much.
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