Back Then, I Adored You

She knew that Wu Hao was very busy, and she didn’t want to add to his list of problems. Even when she had told herself that she should be more understanding, she often had ended up even more unhappy.

When they had both been poor, they had worried about their finances as a couple but, now that Wu Hao had become wealthier, only she worried about money.

Although he always showered her with expensive gifts and cosmetics whenever he had come back from a business trip, and he’d always have his secretary deposit a generous amount of money into her bank account every month, and just five days ago he’d given her a new car, she still felt that she was living precariously. Last month, when he had planned to expand the business, she had said to him, “Wu Hao, perhaps we should stop working so hard to earn all this money.”

He had stared at her as if he was looking at a fool. It would never occur to him that someone could have too much money.

At 9:00 a.m. on the third day of Chinese New Year, Wu Hao visited the Xu family and filled up their living room with bags of gifts.

The renovation work for Xu Wennuan and Wu Hao’s newlywed house had been complete two days previously. Xu Wennuan’s parents hadn’t seen the house yet, and Father Xu brought it up after lunch. Without further ado, Wu Hao drove them all over for a tour.

The house was a villa with a huge courtyard. Upon entering, Xu Wennuan’s parents began looking around, while the couple headed to their master bedroom on the second floor.

Without removing the packaging around their mattress, Wu Hao laid on the bed with his arms around Xu Wennuan. A lingering kiss drew out the burning lust within them, and Wu Hao whispered into Xu Wennuan’s ear in a low, breathy voice, “Nuannuan, I’ve restrained myself for 10 years and this is finally going to end after 20 days.”

Knowing what his words implied, Xu Wennuan’s cheeks flushed scarlet, and she pushed him away from her.

With her parents still in the house, it was naturally out of the question to continue with their physical intimacy, so he got up and walked to the bathroom.

The second he entered the bathroom, his phone, which had been left on the bed, beeped.

As the phone was next to her, Xu Wennuan tilted her head and looked over at the screen. It was a message from Master Lee.

“Don’t worry. I won’t get pregnant. I’ve just taken the morning-after pill.”

Master Lee? Isn’t Master Lee a man? Wasn’t he the one Wu Hao entertained yesterday? Pregnant? Morning-after pill? What’s going on?

Her mind blanked out in a state of confusion, and then a new message popped up on the locked screen. “The morning-after pill is damaging to the body. I don’t care, but you’ll have to make it up to me by spending the night over at my house.”

At that moment, Xu Wennuan heard Wu Hao flush the toilet and then head back into the bedroom.

Afraid he would know she’d been reading his messages, she quickly turned her back toward his phone and began to play with her own.

Wu Hao sat on the bed and began to chat idly with her but, having read those messages, Xu Wennuan found it hard to concentrate on their conversation.

Noticing her unusual behavior, Wu Hao asked with concern, “What’s wrong? Nuannuan, are you feeling okay?”

“Probably because I’m having my period soon, my stomach hurts a little,” Xu Wennuan replied, shaking her head.

Rising from the bed, Wu Hao retrieved a new blanket from the cabinet and draped it over her. “Get some rest then,” he said tenderly.