Back Then, I Adored You

She stared fixedly at her screen without shifting her eyes even after her phone screen had turned black.

Outside the bathroom, her mother had already served the dishes on the table and, wondering why Qin Zhi’ai was taking so long, she walked to the bathroom door and knocked. “Xiao’ai? What’s up with you?”

Returning to her senses, Qin Zhi’ai replied in a voice that was calmer than what she had expected, “Coming!”

Behind the door, she waited until her mother’s footsteps were gone before turning back to look at the mirror hanging on the wall.

Her eyes, as reflected in the mirror, were bright and clear, with no sign that she had just learned about the marriage of Gu Yusheng and Liang Doukou. In her heart, though, she felt waves of overflowing emotions.

Following dinner, Qin Zhi’ai cleared and washed the dishes and tidied up the kitchen, as she’d been doing since she’d been staying with her mother.

She went downstairs to take out the garbage, but as she stood next to the bin she saw a young couple, with the father carrying a barely one-year-old child. Although not an uncommon scene, Qin Zhi’ai stared at them for a moment before throwing the garbage bag into the bin. Lifting her hand lightly and caressing her flat stomach, she turned and walked back to the apartment with calm and confidence.

After returning, Qin Zhi’ai and her mother watched two episodes of a drama with a hilarious plot, making her mother giggle from time to time as she snacked on nuts.

Qin Zhi’ai hugged onto a pillow with her eyes glued to the television screen. She could not bring herself to smile and, even when her mother asked if she needed a cup of water, it took a few calls before Qin Zhi’ai reacted and nodded at her mother.

After going to bed, Qin Zhi’ai tossed and turned, unable to drift off to sleep.

As the midnight bells chimed from a distant church, she opened her eyes and bolted up from bed.

Picking up her phone, she could not help but check for more news about Gu Yusheng’s and Liang Doukou’s marriage. The news continued to be a top headline and had even intensified in various discussion threads, with many congratulations being shared across the internet.

No matter what she read, Gu Yusheng had been the most important person in her life for the past 10 years, and such an abrupt end to their story made Qin Zhi’ai feel empty, as if a physical part of her had been removed.

Gu Yusheng had not intended to visit Qin Zhi’ai in Hangzhou so quickly.

He had felt that, minimally, while he could not resolve the issues with his grandfather at the moment, he should bring a closure to the external world’s interpretations of his relationship with Liang Doukou before he visited Qin Zhi’ai in Hangzhou.

However, on the afternoon of the next day, Xiaowang called the landline of his villa. Mr. Xia had contacted him with news of Zhou Jing’s plans with Brother Li to take action today.

Without further ado, Gu Yusheng got Xiaowang to book the soonest possible flight to Hangzhou for him to make the trip there on the same day.

That night, Qin Zhi’ai hardly slept.

In the morning, with a headache, she had a quick breakfast before returning to her room to catch up on sleep.

It was 3:30 p.m. by the time she woke up. Outside of the window, it was dark and gloomy, as if it were about to rain.

After taking a shower in the bathroom, Qin Zhi’ai was about to call for her mother when she heard the phone ring in her mother’s bedroom.

As the door of her mother’s room was half closed, she could clearly hear her mother answer the call quickly and say, “What? How could that be? I’ll head over right away!”