Back Then, I Adored You

“I truly do like you and want to be with you, Wu Hao…”

Wu Hao smirked. He took a step back and leaned against the car. His head was lowered, and he did not look at Jiang Qianqian when he casually replied, “Abort the baby.”

Jiang Qianqian was in disbelief. Her eyes widened as she stared at Wu Hao, and she parted her lips stiffly. “Wu… Wu Hao, what are you saying?”

Ever since Xu Wennuan had personally witnessed her interaction with Wu Hao at her doorstep, Wu Hao had ceased all contact with her. He had neither responded to her text messages nor answered her calls, and when she had arrived at his company to look for him, she had been denied entrance at the reception desk. He had even changed his address.

She was already two months pregnant when she had found out about her pregnancy; however, she had deliberately kept it a secret from him and waited until the fetus was four months old and an abortion was impossible before she went looking for him. She hadn’t expected, though, that the first thing he would say to her was to abort her baby.

Jiang Qianqian’s eyes became misty. She stared at Wu Hao for a while before she finally said, “The baby is already four months old. Undergoing such an operation at that stage is very dangerous. Moreover, Wu Hao, how can you disregard me like that?”

When Wu Hao heard her rebuttal, he laughed, before raising his hand to tilt Jiang Qianqian’s chin and lifting her face so he could look directly into her eyes. Then, he made sure to enunciate every word as he said, “I can even disregard and hurt a girl whom I’ve been together with for 10 years. What do you think you mean to me?”

The blood drained from Jiang Qianqian’s face. Wu Hao lowered his head slightly and, in a spookily gentle voice, he said, “This child is in your belly, and whether you choose to give birth to it or not is your problem. In any case, I will not acknowledge it, so I advise you to undergo an abortion for the sake of your future.”

After that, Wu Hao released Jiang Qianqian’s chin. He took another two steps back and pulled open the car door.

As he bent over to enter the car, he turned around to look at Jiang Qianqian as if he had suddenly remembered something. “I had always assumed that you knew why I was with you; I did not expect you to be so silly. Because that’s the case, let me tell you honestly now that there is no way I would ever marry you. To be blunt, I’ve never considered being with you for more than a night.”

He paused momentarily before continuing. “Even if Wennuan hadn’t run into us back then, our relationship would never have gone anywhere. After all, I’m getting married, aren’t I?”

……

Two days after Old Master Gu’s 80th birthday, Gu Yusheng had to attend to urgent matters at his company’s Shanghai branch, taking him away for a week. At midnight after he left, Qin Zhi’ai received a call that awakened her from her dreams. The call was from the Gu Mansion.

It’s so late! Could something have happened?

Qin Zhi’ai’s heart started pounding, and any lingering sleepiness instantly vanished. She swiftly answered the phone with a “hello,” when Nanny Zhang’s anxious voice said, “Miss Qin? Is Young Master at home?”

“He went on a business trip…” Qin Zhi’ai’s sense of bad premonition was growing increasingly stronger. She quickly added, “Did something happen?”

“It’s Old Master. He’s been feeling down ever since his birthday. He didn’t eat his dinner tonight, and he was still fine when I checked on him a couple of times around 10:00 p.m., but I just went in again and found him unconscious…”