Section 1
Tong Yan increasingly felt uneasy, sensing a wave of coolness followed by warmth coursing through her body, yet her fingers dared not move an inch. After a long while, her entire arm had gone numb before she finally turned her head to look at him. Just as she was about to speak, he interrupted her: "Have you rested enough? Let's go, we will reach the halfway point soon."
She did not expect that, because of her one remark, Gu Ping Sheng would directly drive to Juyongguan in the afternoon
Children's attention was originally focused on the conversation, but now, leaning silently against the wall and feeling the mountain breeze, they increasingly feel embarrassed. Although in the past, all the girls were pulled up by the boys when climbing, today is different; there are no strict time constraints and no competition.
This is Tong Yan's second meal with Gu Pingsheng; the last time was at his home, but this time it is at her own home. Halfway through her meal, she noticed that Gu Pingsheng had eaten a lot of white rice, and she suddenly felt like laughing. Taking advantage of her grandmother going to the kitchen to serve soup, she whispered, "Teacher Gu, the dishes from the north are all salty, I apologize."
He smiled slightly and said, "It's alright, could you please pour me a glass of ice water?"
Gu Ping Sheng nodded and said: "What else?"
The child looked at him in surprise: "I only need six thousand, and that is enough"
As soon as she stepped onto the platform, she immediately withdrew her hand: "Teacher Gu, would you like some water?"
In the next moment, he saw Tong Yan sitting on a small stool, looking up at him with tear-filled eyes. This scene seemed to completely overlap with that night. The only difference was that she had a short bob back then, and perhaps due to her young age, her eyes were larger and brighter, yet filled only with deep despair
"Alright," he said
Just after he finished speaking, he took the card back: "I don't have much to do today either, I'll take you to the bank to deposit it."
It seems that the words of Gu Ping Sheng from years ago truly had an impact on her
In this world, you have the right to choose anything, except for your parents; you cannot choose them, nor can you abandon them
Black and white, with two small braids sticking up.
"It is garlic," Tong Yan suddenly felt flustered as he noticed the calmness in his gaze, "I was just stung in the eyes by the spiciness of the garlic."
The text message quickly replied: Juyongguan? Haven't you climbed enough before? By the way, I saw Lu Bei today, why is there a woman next to him? I haven't heard that you two broke up
Due to the lack of purpose in this home visit, she also did not know what to have him do
I took out my phone and glanced at it; it was the class monitor from middle school: "Why didn't you answer when I called you?"
Just as he was about to say something else, Tong Yan had already started to laugh: "Let me make it clear first, you cannot ask me why I am borrowing money"
She has long since passed the age of blaming the heavens and wallowing in self-pity
Tong Yan immediately pointed out: "Those who have returned from abroad all have this habit"
When Grandma went to the park to feed the stray cats, only the two of them were left at home, and she didn't know what to have Teacher Gu do. There was only a small sofa in the living room; did she have to sit beside him and watch TV? ... Read a book? ... ...
He took out a pack of napkins, handed it to her, and gestured for her to wrap the bottle: "I am driving a friend's car, and it is not very comfortable, so I am driving rather slowly"
She dared not say it was because the dish was too salty, otherwise Grandma would really take everything back and cook it all over again
She originally intended to take the money directly from Gu Pingsheng and then deposit it in the bank, but unexpectedly, Gu Pingsheng handed her a card and directly revealed the password: "There is 10,000 yuan here, you can take it first"
Gu Ping Sheng was merely sitting there, seemingly gazing at the old photographs pressed under the glass surface of the coffee table. Due to his height, he appeared more like he was sitting on a child-sized toy sofa: "I have only lived in Beijing for half a month," he suddenly said, "and I haven't been to many places, such as the Great Wall"
Upon seeing Tong Yan put down a cup of cold water, Ma immediately said with great seriousness: "Didn’t I tell you since you were little that you shouldn’t drink water while eating?"
Then Teacher Gu can take advantage of this holiday to go out and have some fun. She really wants to take a book and cover all the photos under the glass plate. There are three Great Walls in Beijing, one is Badaling, and you must avoid going there during the National Day holiday, as it is as crowded as a temple fair. Another one is at Mutianyu, where the scenery is even better than Badaling, and there are not too many people during holidays.
The mountain breeze blows over the sweating skin, which is quite pleasant
That kind of despair regarding reality, which is unrelated to life and death partings
As she looked up at him, Gu Ping Sheng had already handed her a bottle of ice water: "It is quite hot today." She took it and noticed that his palm was slightly wet, likely from the bottle.
As she spoke these words, sweat was dripping down her chin, falling onto the dark gray stone bricks
After she finished speaking such a long sentence, she immediately began to pant again
However, this does not hinder her from retaining the essence of a people's teacher
He always speaks with a smile
Today the sun is particularly strong, lacking the feeling of golden autumn, clearly more intense than the sun of midsummer
From time to time, people passing by would stop to rest. Just two or three steps away, there was a couple, and the girl's voice floated over, saying, "Look at how strong that guy is. Why are you so useless? I can climb faster than you...". Throughout the rest of the journey, Tong Yan climbed somewhat absentmindedly; what was clearly a long distance suddenly felt as if it had shortened.
Childish words have no opportunity for debate, they can only strive to keep up
My grandmother used to be a music teacher at an elementary school, but because the school was later merged, she never actually obtained a proper teaching qualification by the time she retired, which is why her pension is so low
While I have not noticed any improvement in physical fitness, the pairing probability in our class is undoubtedly the highest in the entire grade
Gu Ping Sheng seemed quite surprised: "Tong Yan classmate, I have been trying to avoid this topic, haven't you noticed?"
Because he was taller than her, it was as if he was half-dragging her upwards, his hand naturally gripping tightly. Halfway through, he alternated and switched to the other hand
"I noticed," Tong Yan said meaningfully as he looked at him, "I was just afraid that the teacher would overthink things to mediate the atmosphere, so I stated it directly."
... ...
Just as I poured a glass of water, my grandmother came out with the soup
Tong Yan glanced at the photo he was looking at, which was a childhood picture of himself standing on the Great Wall with his hands on his hips.
She glanced at Gu Pingsheng, who was holding a teacup with both hands, and at her grandmother, who was discussing "natural education" with him, and couldn't help but feel that Teacher Gu was there for re-education. ... She turned her head back, instinctively pushing her hair behind her ear, but her fingers accidentally brushed against the corner of her eye ... ... Tears streamed down uncontrollably ... ...
She sat by the window, peeling garlic cloves one by one
She was panting, her ears filled with the sound of her own heavy heartbeat: "Yes, I, I said it earlier, this place is too steep. I, I can climb by myself, it's fine."
She did not have time to refuse, and closed her eyes amidst his actions
There is no ice," she laughed, "My family does not use a water dispenser; we only drink boiled water, which we let cool before drinking. Is it alright if I have some that has already cooled?
Later, Gu Pingsheng not only accompanied her to the bank but also took the initiative to escort her home, conducting a home visit as a teacher. Throughout her life, Tong Yan had never experienced a teacher's home visit. When Gu Pingsheng mentioned the term "home visit," she stood frozen downstairs for a full minute before gritting her teeth and accepting the reality of "a short mouth eats short food, and a short hand takes short money"
Gu Pingsheng signaled for her to take a rest. Tong Yan immediately leaned against the stone wall on her right side, gazing at the beacon tower halfway up the mountain, feeling increasingly sorrowful, not knowing when she would be able to climb up.
Because it is an old house, there is no so-called community.
Suddenly, his face appeared in my line of sight, looking down at himself
The child could only reach out and say, "As soon as I save enough, I will return it to you immediately"
It was too sudden. The heart trembled quietly twice, completely unable to keep up with the rhythm of reality
"Do you need my help?" He walked over to her.
When he arrived, Tong Yan was still by the bus stop, sitting on the railing of the flower bed by the roadside, staring blankly at the road.
Then, quite naturally, I took her hand and began to climb up
He also leaned against the stone wall, keeping her company as she rested, and surprisingly, he never let go of her hand.
He was also taken aback for a moment, but his grandmother quickly took a damp towel from the kitchen and handed it to Tong Yan, who was ultimately interrupted by Gu Ping Sheng taking it over. While the elderly continued to cook in the kitchen, he had already squatted down to wipe her two eyes clean.
Gu Ping Sheng was very cooperative, apologizing with a smile, and took a large sip of water from his cup
In the past, during conversations in the dormitory, it was often said that male students in medical school should not be pursued, as they are accustomed to seeing various parts of the human body, leading to a blurred line between genders and a tendency towards infidelity. However, after five weeks of interaction with Gu Pingsheng, she felt that while he had no reservations about physical contact between men and women, he did not come across as a very casual person.
Furthermore, a child wisely advises, "You must never go to Juyongguan. It is so steep that you need to use both your hands and feet, which can be exhausting. The first two places are for 'walking' the Great Wall, while only Juyongguan is for 'climbing' the Great Wall"
She took out two small bottles of water from her backpack, and just as she handed them to him, she heard the sound of a text message.
The independent five-story building is right next to the road, and stepping out the door leads directly to the street and the bus stop. Tong Yan, sitting by the window each time, admires his foresight as he watches the cars come and go outside. Fortunately, when housing prices soared, he took the property certificate for this place in advance; otherwise, it would have been sold off secretly by his father sooner or later
Innocently, I replied: I am in Beijing, at Juyongguan. Making a phone call incurs long-distance and roaming charges, so please send a text message if there is anything to discuss
When she climbed to the point where her waist could not straighten, two elderly couples, carrying backpacks, calmly passed by her. Although the steps were quite steep, they surprisingly did not use their hands for support... The oldest lady, with the whitest hair, turned around and smiled at Gu Ping Sheng, saying: "Young man, why don't you give your girlfriend a hand? I can see she is struggling with her stamina."
He is joking, yet he has truly spoken the truth.
He smiled and said, "Since you mentioned borrowing 6,000, it seems you must have put all your living expenses on the line. I certainly do not want you to come back to me in three days asking to borrow money for a train ticket, only to end up in Shanghai surviving on steamed buns."
Tong Yan took a couple of breaths, having just been holding her breath, wanting to keep climbing up. With such a sudden stop, the breath she had been holding dissipated, and she immediately lost half her strength: "It has been a long time, the last time was in my first year of high school, I actually dread coming here the most," she leaned against the stone wall beside her, "The homeroom teacher in my first year was a fitness fanatic, and his son worked for the tourism bureau, so we didn't have to pay for tickets. Every few weeks, he would hire a bus to take us to climb the Juyong Pass, saying it was both a way to exercise and to foster camaraderie among classmates."
She held a large handful of garlic, in a messy state, not knowing why she was thinking about these things
She instinctively looked up, her eyes slightly squinting against the sunlight, yet still carrying a hint of a smile: "Had I known it was this steep, I would have gone to that Mutianyu you mentioned."
He stopped and asked, "When was the last time you came?"
Tong Yan opened his eyes and suddenly felt a bit embarrassed: "Thank you"
The child only felt that the sound floated from beyond the heavens, and before grasping its essence, was held by Gu Pingsheng's hand
Both individuals have sweaty palms, their bodies are cool, yet their palms are becoming increasingly warm
And she, following her grandmother's enthusiastic instructions, was sent out of the house to accompany Teacher Gu to climb the Great Wall
A very light touch, a warm towel, carefully wiping around the eyes until clean
At that time, neither my grandmother nor I had a home.