Chapter 16.1 (1/2)
My Mister Gu (1)
When the very long summer vacation came to an end, she began the true lifestyle of an intern student.
It was not as she had imagined. It was not very busy, but she would always have opportunities to see various defendants and plaintiffs as well as their legal representatives.
Gu Pingsheng’s new students were all very delightful.
The first time she went to his school to wait for him to finish his lectures, they ended up causing her face to flush a brilliant shade of red and her ears to turn crimson. That afternoon, after the bell signaling the end of cla.s.s rung out, a crowd of students soon stepped out with him enclosed in the middle, like the mult.i.tudes of stars surrounding the lone moon.
Leaning against a railing, she stood not far away and watched him until he noticed her, and then she immediately made an impish face at him.
“Teacher Gu, is that our esteemed s.h.i.+mu [teacher-mother]?” a female student inquired of him.
After he directly affirmed this, teasing heckles began to rise up from all those students who were two or three years younger than her. In their voices which he could not hear and from angles which he could not see, there were endless cries of “Esteemed s.h.i.+mu, h.e.l.lo,” or “Esteemed s.h.i.+mu is really pretty,” or other similar things … She was reminded of how, in the past, at her school, her own cla.s.smates had also did the same, always using voices that he could not hear to tease her below the podium.
In terms of time, it was now more than a year removed, and in terms of location, they were more than 1400 kilometres away.
But he was still Teacher Gu, that same Teacher Gu who wore b.u.t.ton-up s.h.i.+rts and enthralled everyone.
“I remember someone once cautioned me that university teachers and doctors are the professions that most easily give in to temptation. You say, in the next thirty-odd years of your future, you will always be looking at seventeen, eighteen year old students. So, when you go home to see me and I’m looking more and more like a worn housewife, will you even be just a tiny bit swayed?” She was sitting on the couch, her legs resting on top of his thighs. “Plus, men don’t age easily …”
When Gu Pingsheng finished watching this long babble of hers, he raised his brows in a smile, then lowered his head to resume flipping through his book.
He was not even paying attention to her idle worries.
She had initially only said those words in jest, but seeing him now being so uncooperative to indulge her, she continued in great displeasure to rub her foot against his leg. Only after he at last raised his head and looked toward her did she set down the National Judicial Examination practice exam paper and sidle herself from her side over to his. “What if a girl student falls for you like I did?”
His expression seemed to grow serious, and he contemplated for a while before suddenly sighing, “That is indeed very highly possible.”
“Very highly possible?” Tong Yan silently fixed her eyes on him.
“This university has a relatively large law school. From the looks of it now, I will be coming in contact with the students of nine different cla.s.ses. If we estimate the probability based on Mrs. Gu’s success rate, then indeed, the situation is very dangerous.”
“Yes, yes! You only taught one cla.s.s and you were already able to nab a girl …”
“But for every cla.s.s, before I begin teaching them, I will let them know that I’m already ‘not available.’”
Not available.
That was a good way of saying it. She smiled in satisfaction. “Mr. Gu, what would you like to eat tomorrow? Please, go ahead to make your requests. No need to be shy.”
He nodded. “Let me have a good think about it, and I’ll let you know at noontime tomorrow.”
Alas, man proposes but G.o.d disposes. When Tong Yan came home from the courthouse and finished preparing dinner, it was already nearing 7:30 p.m., but he was still not home. Grandmother’s schedule tended to be quite early. Usually, dinner for her would be between 5:00 and 6:00 p.m. and by 9:00 p.m., she would promptly retire for the night. Tong Yan texted Gu Pingsheng three times but received no response, so she could only say to Grandmother that perhaps he had some matters at the school that he needed to attend to.
However, she was not certain the reason but a persistent sense of unease plagued her heart.
At some time past eight o’clock, she could not remain there in inaction any longer, and arbitrarily making up an excuse to Grandmother, she left the home. She took her phone and began to repeatedly dial his number. After the taxicab had driven for ten minutes, the call was suddenly picked up on the other end. “h.e.l.lo? Is this … um, is this s.h.i.+mu?” It was a male voice that sounded very young.
“Mm, yes, it’s me.” Tong Yan provided this response first, then took a deep breath. “Has something happened to Teacher Gu?
Upon throwing out this question, though, she did not wait for the person on the other end to answer and quickly followed up to ask, “Did he fall? Is he at the school or the hospital?”
“The hospital.” Afraid that she would become anxious with worry, the boy quickly added, “A bunch of us guys, all students, brought him here. Teacher Gu regained consciousness just earlier …” Her ears were filled with a droning hum. The voice inside the phone at times would seem far away, while at other times, it felt so close she wanted to move away from it.
After getting an understanding of approximately where he was, she quickly told the driver to turn around and head straight toward that particular hospital.
When Tong Yan stepped inside to where he was, there truly were three or four young men surrounding his bed, anxiously watching him. A doctor, who could not be considered very young, was there, holding a film sheet, and the expression on his face was rather odd. “Do you have some sort of past medical history? This picture …”
All her attention was focused on him, and she did not care at all what sort of picture the doctor was looking at on that film sheet.
If there were any issues, they were undoubtedly repercussions left behind by that sickness.
“Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.” When Gu Pingsheng finished stating this, he saw her approaching the bedside, and the corner of lips turned up into a smile.
“SARS …” The doctor automatically simplified it down to the acronym and then abruptly turned his eyes to the film sheet in his hand.
One of the male students unconsciously took a step back, but soon realizing what he had just done, he bowed his head.
That student was standing in a position at the end of the bed, and Tong Yan had seen his action very clearly.
“That’s right, then. Angina — chest pain, discomfort, or tightness — due to lack of oxygen to the heart. This last week, there has been relatively more rainy weather, and the air has been stuffy and hot as well. It should have been like this for you these last several years, right? During hot, humid weather, you need to be especially mindful. In the summer, there is more rain and the humidity is a lot higher, so you must minimize your activity …” Once the doctor learned of his medical history, he quickly understood the cause of condition.