Back Then, I Adored You

Following Gu Yusheng’s order, Xiaowang got a cup of ginger tea from the kitchen for Qin Zhi’ai.

Xiaowang had not seen her in the banquet hall so, assuming she was still in the lounge, he headed straight to the second floor.

He knocked on the lounge door several times, but no one answered so he returned to the first floor.

The crowd had mostly dispersed from the banquet hall, so coming out of the elevator Xiaowang immediately saw Lu Bancheng and Xu Wennuan sitting at the table in the middle of the third row looking at their respective phones.

Xiaowang easily made his way over to them. Xu Wennuan was playing games, while Lu Bancheng was watching a video.

“Hello, Mr. Lu.” Xiaowang greeted Lu Bancheng first and then turned to Xu Wennuan. “Excuse me, Miss Xu. Have you seen Secretary Qin?”

“Xiao’ai? She went to the bathroom.” Xu Wennuan continued playing her game.

“Oh.” Xiaowang bent down slightly, put the ginger tea on the table next to Xu Wennuan, and said, “When Secretary Qin comes back, please tell her that Master Gu asked me to get this for her. Thank you, Miss Xu.”

“Okay,” Xu Wennuan answered. At that moment, she was killed in the game. She pouted and then tossed her phone on the table. She turned to look at Qin Zhi’ai’s seat beside her and frowned. “Hey, Xiao’ai hasn’t come back yet? How long has it been?”

Lu Bancheng took his eyes off his video and glanced at his phone. “About ten minutes.”

“Ten minutes? What’s taking her so long?” Xu Wennuan stood up and said, “I’m going to the bathroom. I’ll see if she’s still there.”

When she got there, Xu Wennuan looked around the entire bathroom but didn’t find Qin Zhi’ai. Assuming Qin Zhi’ai had already left and returned to their table, she didn’t think too much about it. She used the bathroom and then returned to their table in the hall.

When she returned, Lu Bancheng and Xiaowang were still sitting at table as she’d left them. Noting her hands were still wet from washing them, she muttered something and found a tissue in her purse to dry them. As she wiped her hands, she said down asking, “Xiao’ai’s not back yet?”

“You didn’t see her?” Lu Bancheng put down his phone and turned to look at Xu Wennuan, with his eyes expressing concern.

“She wasn’t in the bathroom, so I thought she’d already gotten back.” Xu Wennuan then suddenly realized what Lu Bancheng was thinking. “So, you mean, Xiao’ai hasn’t gotten back yet?”

“Yeah.” Lu Bancheng nodded calmly.

“Where is that girl! She wouldn’t leave without telling us, would she?” Xu Wennuan pulled out her phone and called Qin Zhi’ai.

Xu Wennuan heard a pleasant ringing, which made her frown. She turned toward where the sound was coming from and finally noticed Qin Zhi’ai’s phone on the table. “Her bag and phone are still here, so she couldn’t have just left. But she’s definitely not in the bathroom…”

Lu Bancheng then asked, “Maybe she’s in the second-floor lounge?”

“Secretary Qin? I just got back from the lounge. She isn’t there.” Xiaowang said quickly.

Lu Bancheng became immediately serious. “She isn’t there?”