Together Forever

Chapter 13

While Waiting For You

She read that last line several times, not quite daring to believe it.

Eight weeks had already passed since his departure.

After climbing into her bed, she tossed and turned repeatedly. Although her face was nestled against her pillow, no matter what she did, she could not sleep. So, she decided simply to turn on her beside lamp, and lying in her bed on her stomach, she began to work on her physics practice tests.

Shen Yao was already ready to head to bed, but seeing her suddenly invigorated, she thought that physics had tortured Tong Yan until it had transformed into a compulsive obsession for her. "Don't scare me, Yan Yan. It's only midterms right now and you've already gone mad?"

Tapping her pencil against her cheek, Tong Yan replied, "I'm guessing I won't be able to sleep tonight."

The person below her bed did not understand what she was saying, and only she, looking at her practice tests, had a wide grin across her face.

Her physics midterm was scheduled for Wednesday, during the evening study time.

Because it was only a midterm examination, the monitoring of it was not very strict. With a stack of examination papers in her arms, Zhao Yin had the students, beginning from the front row, take one and pass the rest back. Tong Yan was sitting in the last row, and listening to the moans and sighs rising up from in front of her in the classroom, she took the last examination paper being handed to her.

Perhaps it was truly because she was re-taking it for the fourth time, or maybe as a result of Zhao Yin and Gu Pingsheng's tutoring last semester, the problems looked relatively easy to her. She spread open the test paper on her desk and was about to begin answering the problems when her mobile phone suddenly began ringing.

She had been so focused on the exam questions she had forgotten to turn off her phone.

It was an unfamiliar number, and she had a moment of hesitation. The people in the rows ahead had already turned and were looking around, curious as to who would so boldly dare to blatantly turn on a mobile phone during an examination.

"Before the start of an exam, everyone's mobile phones must be turned off." Zhao Yin stepped over to her from the podium. "That is an examination rule."

Tong Yan did not dare delay any longer and powered-off her phone.

"Teacher Zhao, I'm sorry." She hurriedly explained, "It's shut off now."

Zhao Yin picked up her phone, glanced over it, and, after determining that it had indeed been turned off, stated, "Next time, do not violate the rules of the examination room." Upon saying this, she picked up the phone and brought it up with her to the podium. "I'll keep it here with me for now. When class is over, come get it."

Without saying a word, Tong Yan lowered her head and continued looking over the exam paper.

Problem after problem, Tong Yan worked hard to concentrate on answering each one of them. Still, she could not help thinking of that phone call. Calls from unknown phone numbers such as this one were usually out-of-the-blue telemarketing calls, but for some reason, this particular time, she was getting a bad premonition from it ... Unconsciously, she twirled her pen between her fingers, feeling somewhat disconcerted.

It was fortunate that this exam paper truly was not difficult.

When it was nearly time for all papers to be handed in, she at last set her pencil down.

Zhao Yin's head was down as she flipped through the dozen or so test papers that had already been handed in, and with pen in hand, she was already beginning to mark them there on the spot. As Tong Yan handed her own papers over, she purposely slowed her action and said in a quiet voice, "Teacher Zhao, I'm handing in my test now ... May I have my phone back?"