Back Then, I Adored You

Gu Yusheng walked to the sofa and took a seat after he responded with an “oh.” He picked up the TV remote to turn the TV on and started to watch a random program.

The housekeeper went to the kitchen to make him some hot tea, then brought it out for him and placed it on the coffee table.

As time passed by, the sun started to move to the west. The sun kept moving lower as the sky became red, but Qin Zhi’ai hadn’t come home yet.

Gu Yusheng started to get anxious. He picked up the remote and kept changing channels.

When it was seven o’clock, the housekeeper had dinner ready. She walked over and asked, “Mr. Gu, would you like to have dinner now?”

Gu Yusheng didn’t respond to the housekeeper. Instead, he turned around to look outside the window, where it was already dark. He frowned and tossed the remote on the coffee table. He picked up a cigarette, walked to the bay window, and started to smoke.

The housekeeper didn’t have great social skills, but she was pretty smart. Mr. Gu had asked her to call Qin Zhi’ai every day when she was in France. Qin Zhi’ai had just come home today. Mr. Gu came home really early today. She guessed that Mr. Gu had come home early to see Qin Zhi’ai.

The housekeeper thought about it for a while and walked to the landline, promptly dialing Qin Zhi’ai’s number.

Qin Zhi’ai answered the call only after the phone rang for a while. The housekeeper asked, “Miss, are you coming home for dinner?”

After the housekeeper asked, she saw in the mirror before her that Gu Yusheng’s fingers shook slightly while holding his cigarette. Gu Yusheng turned his head slightly and looked at her.

She had guessed right. Mr. Gu had come home for Qin Zhi’ai. After she answered the housekeeper, Gu Yusheng heard the housekeeper ask again, “Miss, what time are you coming home?”

After hanging up the phone, the housekeeper heard Gu Yusheng ask, “What did she say?”

“Miss and her friend had dinner together,” the housekeeper answered Gu Yusheng just as Qin Zhi’ai had over the phone. After pausing for a second, the housekeeper added, “Miss said she wasn’t sure what time she would be home. She might be home a little late.”

Before the housekeeper finished speaking, Gu Yusheng had turned his head around and lit another cigarette. He looked into the darkness outside of the window.

The housekeeper could tell that Gu Yusheng was not in as good of a mood as he had been when he came home. She hesitated for a while before she asked, “Mr. Gu, do you want dinner now?”

Gu Yusheng looked like he didn’t hear the housekeeper. He didn’t give her any response, just lifted his hand to take a puff. The smoke around his face made it hard to discern his expression.

Gu Yusheng had a bad temper, so the housekeeper dared not ask second time. Gu Yusheng’s house was big, and it suddenly grew quiet.

Without knowing how much time had passed, Gu Yusheng’s cell phone rang. He searched it out from his pocket with the cigarette between his teeth. He saw it was a text from Lu Banheng. “Jiang Yi is throwing a party at the Majestic Clubhouse tonight. He asked me to ask you if you would like to come.”

Gu Yusheng planned on pretending he didn’t see it and putting the phone away, but he remembered the housekeeper saying Qin Zhi’ai wasn’t sure when she would be home. He raised the phone in front of his face and replied to Lu Bancheng with three words. “I will come.”

Gu Yusheng didn’t go out right away. He finished smoking the cigarette in front of the window before he went upstairs, then he changed into casual clothes. He grabbed the car keys and went to the garage.

There were already many people in the party room when Gu Yusheng got there. Tonight, the host, Jiang Yi, had brought a different girl from last time.