Back Then, I Adored You

As the train slowly made its way out of Beijing, Qin Zhi’ai leaned her head against the window. The scene of Gu Yusheng talking to her in the cafe last night flashed through her mind again.

His voice was so charming.

She had almost let her emotions get the better of her. She had been perilously close to telling him everything, but she didn’t.

If she hadn’t stuck to her plan, she could have easily revealed to him that she had been Liang Doukou’s body double.

And if I had told him, I’d ask him why he spent so much time looking for me.

But she dared not to tell him the truth, mainly because she loved him so much. Even though they would never be together, she would always love him. But that was no excuse to ruin a couple’s marriage.

I can’t accept that after finding little troublemaker he would abandon Liang Doukou for me.

If he doesn’t divorce her after finding little troublemaker and let me be his mistress, I would be even more overwhelmed.

I can’t accept either of these options.

Instead of telling him the truth, I might as well try my best to prevent him from finding out the truth.

On Saturday night, Lu Bancheng had called to ask Gu Yusheng out for dinner. Gu Yusheng hadn’t intended to go but, over the phone, he heard Xu Wennuan in the background, so he agreed. Then he changed into casual clothes and drove leisurely to the appointment.

During the dinner, Gu Yusheng said nothing.

When Wu Hao and Lu Bancheng went to the bathroom, Gu Yusheng saw Xu Wennuan reaching for napkins and gave her a hand. Xu Wennuan cheerfully said, “Thank you.” He didn’t answer at first but eventually said, “You’re welcome.”

His response was just late enough that Xu Wennuan looked at him in surprise.

Gu Yusheng picked up his chopsticks, put a piece of beef in his mouth, and chewed it twice. Gu Yusheng swallowed the beef before completely chewing it and then casually asked Xu Wennuan, “You forgot your key last night?”

This must be why Qin Zhi’ai called me last night…

Xu Wennuan said with a smile, “Yes, because Xiao’ai is so thorough, I’m always forgetting things.”

Xu Wennuan knew that now Gu Yusheng was Qin Zhi’ai’s boss. After a pause, she asked, “Was Xiao’ai busy last night when I called her? Did I disturb your work?”

“No.” Gu Yusheng’s face was expressionless, but he looked down to hide his emotions.

“All right.” Xu Wennuan smiled, picked up a glass of orange juice on the table, and drank half of it.

Gu Yusheng said nothing. After being silent for a long time again, he looked up at Xu Wennuan and asked, “Was everything all right after she came home yesterday?”

“Yes! Everything was all right. Today is Xiao’ai’s mother’s birthday. She got up early and caught the train to Hangzhou.” After Xu Wennuan finished, she asked, “What’s wrong? What happened last night?”

Everything was all right… She caught the train to Hangzhou…

Gu Yusheng stared straight ahead at a dish on the table.

Xu Wennuan had been accustomed to Gu Yusheng’s indifferent attitude from the past and, realizing he had stopped talking again, she didn’t say anything else.

Sometime later, Lu Bancheng called his name. Gu Yusheng slowly looked up at him.