Back Then, I Adored You

That day, she had quickly covered that letter, and he only got a rough idea of its content.

That day, he had wondered if she had a pen pal like he did.

They both wrote letters. In addition, the letter paper they used was similar.

Could Qin Zhi’ai be A?

He asked to see the forms Qin Zhi’ai had filled out when she joined the company. He compared her handwriting on the forms with that on her letters. No words stood out as looking the same, so it was hard to tell if it was the same handwriting or not. He finally found the word “love,” on both a letter and a form, and both words had a similar flourish on the “L.”

At that moment, his suspicions were so strong that he immediately wrote back and asked to see her in person.

Gu Yusheng was not 100 percent sure that she was A, so he didn’t leave his real phone number and name. He only told her the place and time to meet.

He chose the Jiayuan Tea Restaurant because he was attending a party there that night with some old friends.

Of course, he had no intention of actually meeting A at the restaurant, as he was expected to join the party, but really because he had no interest in meeting another girl.

If A was not Qin Zhi’ai, he was not interested.

He arrived at the restaurant early and came downstairs at 8:00 p.m. to see Qin Zhi’ai waiting.

He didn’t want her to wait too long, but he was afraid she might leave soon, so he got his friends to agree to continue their party at a local club.

When he saw the number Qin Zhi’ai’s table, he was pretty sure she was the A he had been exchanging letters with for many years.

When he asked the waitress to double-check it, she confirmed it, the final verification that Qin Zhi’ai was in fact A.

Gu Yusheng stared out of the window as his brows deeply creased.

Qin Zhi’ai and Xu Wennuan were good friends, and Xu Wennuan was Wu Hao’s girlfriend. He and Wu Hao had been classmates, and they’d always hung out together. It would make sense that he had known Qin Zhi’ai in high school.

But why I start writing letters to Qin Zhi’ai after I joined the army. And why were we anonymous to one another?

Back in high school, what happened between us?

How is it I have no memory of this?

The car had stopped in front of a luxury, neon-lit club, but Gu Yusheng sat still in the car without any intention to get out.

Lu Bancheng had forgiven him and was nice enough to remind him. “Bro Sheng, we are here.”

Gu Yusheng was lost in thought and did not give Lu Bancheng any response.

Lu Bancheng frowned, reached his hand out, and patted Gu Yusheng’s shoulder. “Bro Sheng?”

Gu Yusheng recovered his composure and looked out the window. “Are we there yet?”

Gu Yusheng was quiet for a second and, before Lu Bancheng could answer him, he reached his hand out and said, “Give me your car key. I have something to handle. You guys have fun.”

….

After getting the key from Lu Bancheng, Gu Yusheng quietly sat in the car for a while before he got out. He walked around the car, got in the driver’s seat, started the engine, and drive to the hotel.

Three months ago, he had seen her at Xi University. He got close to her, only wanting to see if she was little troublemaker.

In the end, he hadn’t figured out whether or not she was little troublemaker, but he did find out other things about her.