Back Then, I Adored You

……

When Qin Zhi’ai was in the 20th week of her pregnancy, she was preparing for her graduation from the university. The outcome of her discussion with Gu Yusheng that night had been that she would go for her next pregnancy checkup the day after she graduated, and two days after that they would go to the mall for a suitable gift to present to her mother when he asked for her hand in marriage in Hangzhou. On the fourth day, they planned to take the high-speed train to Hangzhou to see her mother with the dowry. Afterward, they would start to prepare for the wedding. They had enough time to make sufficient preparations. After their child was born, their sensational wedding would take place.

Graduation went smoothly, as did the pregnancy checkup; however, on the third day, things did not work out as they had planned.

As he had a meeting in the morning, Gu Yusheng had to make a trip back to the office. Qin Zhi’ai stayed at home with the company of the butler and the caretaker. She tidied the entire nursery as she waited for Gu Yusheng to finish attending to his matters and return home in the afternoon to pick her up to go shopping.

The meeting at the company went smoothly and ended by 10:30 a.m. At 11:00 a. m., Gu Yusheng made decisions on some projects and prepared to return home in advance to accompany Qin Zhi’ai for lunch. As he reached the parking lot, however, his cell phone rang before he started the car.

It was the leader of his former army platoon. He was in Beijing and needed to meet with Gu Yusheng for some urgent matters on short notice. Having been out of the army for almost five years, the first thought that Gu Yusheng had upon receiving a call from his leader was that they would be catching up.

Before he had left the house that morning, he had told Qin Zhi’ai that he would definitely be able to make it home before 2:00 p.m. Thus, he had plenty of time and drove straight to the location where his leader had told him to go. When he reached the location and got out of his car, his cell phone was confiscated and he underwent a body search. Upon confirming that there was no problem, they then allowed him inside.

……

After having her lunch, Qin Zhi’ai was slightly sleepy and took a short nap on the bed. When she woke up, she glanced at the time and saw that it was just past two.

She hurriedly got off the bed and exited the bedroom. Calling out for the butler twice, the person who eventually responded to her was the caretaker. “Little Madam, is something wrong?”

“Yusheng still hasn’t returned?” Qin Zhi’ai asked, standing upstairs at the railing and looking down at the caretaker, who looked up and shook her head at Qin Zhi’ai. “Mr. Gu has yet to return.”

Qin Zhi’ai knew that Gu Yusheng’s company was busy. Recalling that the mall would be open until 10:00 p.m., she realized they didn’t need to hurry. She lightly nodded her head once and returned to her bedroom after asking the caretaker to get her a glass of water.

Listening to soothing music, Qin Zhi’ai began to flip through some books about prenatal education. When the sunlight coming in through the window was less intense, she turned her head and looked at the clock on the wall. It was already close to 4:00 p.m.

In the past, there were instances when he had been held up by unforeseen circumstances; however, he had always given her a heads-up, so she was surprised he hadn’t contacted her.

Since she’d been pregnant, Qin Zhi’ai had not been frequently checking her cell phone, thus she searched through the bedroom for quite some time before she finally found it on a small round table on the balcony. She then called Gu Yusheng, but his service notified her that it had been turned off.

Then she tried Gu Yusheng’s office number. Xiaowang answered the call and informed her that Gu Yusheng had left the office before 11:00 a.m.

Gu Yusheng would be a father in five more months and, two years after that, he would be only 30 years old. Qin Zhi’ai knew that he was healthy and safe; however, in her heart, she could not help but worry. As time passed, the sun set outside and the sky gradually turned dark. Gu Yusheng still had not appeared, and his cell phone was still turned off.

After dinner, Qin Zhi’ai could not contain herself any longer, and she called Lu Bancheng. He told her that he had not heard from Gu Yusheng for the entire day.