Back Then, I Adored You

Jiang Qianqian hadn’t expected things to turn out this way. She was shocked as well.

Lu Bancheng was afraid Gu Yusheng would really hit that little girl. It would hurt Gu Yusheng’s reputation if word got out. This was especially true since they shared many friends and saw each other all the time. Lu Bancheng didn’t think it was necessary to make such a big deal out of it and make enemies out of each other. He went up, pulled Yu Shali back a little, and said, “Okay, it’s just drama between the girls. It’s not that serious. Look, Xiaokou mocked Xiaosha and Xiaosha threw her wine at Xiaokou. Let’s call it even, since Xiaosha didn’t really slap Xiaokou.”

He gave Jiang Qianqian and Yu Shali a look to signal them to leave quickly as he talked.

Jiang Qianqian and Yu Shali immediately understood the signal Lu Bancheng had sent them. They pulled on the clothes of their friends who were still in shock. As they were ready to leave, Gu Yusheng suddenly lifted his foot and kicked the little round wood end table, sending it flying away. “Are we done? Who told you we were done?”

That group of girls were shocked and froze there like they were rooted to the ground.

“How about this? Xiaosha, we’ll call it even if you apologize to Xiaokou,” Lu Bancheng said. He took a look at Gu Yusheng and asked in a mediating tone, “Okay?”

Gu Yusheng’s look didn’t seem to indicate that he would loosen up. Lu Bancheng moved two steps closer to Gu Yusheng and tried to convince him in a low pitch, “How about we just let it go if she can apologize. They’re girls. You don’t plan on hitting them, do you?”

“Girls?” Gu Yusheng seemed to have heard the funniest joke in the world. He snorted and gave Yu Shali a dirty look. “I don’t hit women.”

Gu Yusheng had been standing still. After those words, he suddenly grabbed at Qin Zhi’ai behind him and pulled her next to him. He gripped her wrist and flung it at Yu Shali’s face.

Gu Yusheng was so fast that the people near him didn’t understand what he was doing. They were actually savoring his words, “I don’t hit women.” The crack of a whip was heard on the balcony. Gu Yusheng pulled Qin Zhi’ai back and put her behind him again.

Instantaneously, everyone was frozen, like someone was pressing on their pressure points.

Silence swept over the balcony. The air seemed to freeze there.

The whole scene was a like a painting.

The heat and pain from Qian Zhi’ai’s hand helped her recover from the shock.

Gu Yusheng had grabbed her wrist and flung it at Yu Shali. He had slapped the girl, not her. If the pain from her hand was that bad, then the pain on the girl’s face would be even worse.

Qin Zhi’ai’s eyes moved. She turned to take a look of Yu Shali. One side of her face was swollen. There was blood at the corner of her mouth.

Yu Shali might have had been brain damaged from the slap. She stood there, still, with no any expression or any tears on her face.

“I don’t hit women,” Gu Yusheng repeated what he just said. He clenched his teeth and squeezed words out to ask Lu Bancheng, “She’s a woman. Is that all right?”

After he finished talking, he spat. He looked like he didn’t want to stay there any longer. He dragged Qin Zhi’ai by the hand and plunged downstairs.

As he passed Yu Shali, Qin Zhi’ai glanced at her and noticed her waking up from the shock. Yu Shali seemed to have understood what Gu Yusheng had just said. Her tears dropped on her face like a broken pearl necklace