Back Then, I Adored You

“And these are the people who will go anywhere that a disaster strikes. They save countless lives with their hands but, besides the military uniforms in which they are remembered, who else were they?”

……

It was already one in the morning when the plane landed in Beijing. It took Gu Yusheng and Qin Zhi’ai another 30 minutes to get home. The housekeeper and the caretaker had not gone to bed yet, as they knew that the two of them were returning home that night.

The moment Gu Yusheng entered the house, he hurriedly changed out of his shoes and rushed up the stairs. When Qin Zhi’ai arrived at the door to the master bedroom, Gu Yusheng was kneeling beside the baby and staring at her without moving. As Qin Zhi’ai approached them, he reached out gently to touch the baby’s hand, causing Gu Yusheng’s chest to swell with emotions he could not describe. He lifted his head, glanced at Qin Zhi’ai, and stood up. Then, he enveloped her in his embrace. “Xiao’ai, it’s been hard on you. I will do everything I can to make it up to you…”

Before Gu Yusheng could finish his moving speech, their little peanut suddenly started crying. She was already one month old, but Gu Yusheng, with no experience being a father, instantly tensed up.

She hasn’t gotten in the habit of drinking milk at night, so she couldn’t be hungry…

Qin Zhi’ai, who had one month of childrearing experience, skillfully picked up her baby and coaxed her for a while, but when she continued crying, she realized what had happened. Qin Zhi’ai had laid her on the mat on the bed and tore open her diaper. Indeed, the baby was complaining.

Qin Zhi’ai retrieved a new diaper and was just about to change it when she suddenly recalled the statement Gu Yusheng had made just a moment ago:

“I will do everything I can to make it up to you.”

Thus, she stuffed the diaper into Gu Yusheng’s hands. “Didn’t you just say that you wanted to make it up to me? Here, change your daughter’s diaper.”

After a pause, Qin Zhi’ai grabbed the wet cloth at the side and tossed it so that it landed beside their little peanut, adding, “Remember to clean your daughter’s butt, too.”

……

Gu Yusheng had left on his mission without saying anything to Old Master Gu and, now that he was back, getting a scolding was inevitable. The fortunate thing was that Gu Yusheng was perfectly fine, and Old Master Gu was brief in his admonishment.

Afterward, Gu Yusheng’s plan of going to Hangzhou to ask for Qin Zhi’ai’s hand in marriage was added to the schedule.

They initially had wanted to take the train to Hangzhou, but Gu Yusheng and Old Master Gu had prepared too many gifts. In the end, they had to take the car, with Xiaowang as their designated driver. They left early in the morning, and by the time they arrived in Hangzhou it was already 5:00 in the evening. It was dinnertime as they pulled up to the Qin’s apartment building.

Unfortunately, Qin Jiayan had something to attend to and was not in Hangzhou, so Mother Qin was home alone. Since she’d known they’d be coming for some time, she had prepared dinner all afternoon, and it was ready to be served.

Mother Qin still remembered Gu Yusheng and Xiaowang, but she skipped reintroducing herself at the sight of them carrying so many bags. She merely asked them to wash their hands and come have dinner.

At the dinner table, before Qin Zhi’ai could introduce the man she was marrying to her mother, Mother Qin had already picked up some food with her chopsticks and placed it in Xiaowang’s bowl. “Help yourself,” she said.

“Thank you, Auntie.” Xiaowang’s smile was extremely respectful and polite.

They initially thought that Mother Qin would do the same thing for Gu Yusheng, but all she did was gesture at Qin Zhi’ai and Gu Yusheng to help themselves before her gaze landed on Xiaowang again.

This young man is rather good-looking…

Mother Qin picked out more food for Xiaowang as she complimented him in her heart. Even though she had seen him before, she didn’t know much about him. Because he was marrying her daughter, after all, Mother Qin could not help but continue asking questions. “Xiaowang, what is your profession?”

Why does Auntie Qin keep talking to me?

Xiaowang was puzzle but answered her honestly. “I’m a special assistant.”

Mother Qin did not know what a special assistant did, but she felt that asking him for his salary would be too forward. As such, she changed the topic. “How many siblings do you have?”

Xiaowang was starting to feel that something was wrong. He turned around and glanced at Gu Yusheng self-consciously. Just as he had expected, Gu Yusheng’s face looked terrible; however, he could not avoid answering Mother Qin. When Xiaowang spoke, his voice sounded weak. “I have a younger sister.”

“Oh…” Mother Qin responded as she scooped some soup into a bowl for Xiaowang. When she saw that Qin Zhi’ai and Gu Yusheng had not even picked up their chopsticks, she asked them to start eating before she turned back to Xiaowang and asked, “And what do your parents do?”

After Qin Zhi’ai heard this, she finally understood what was going on. Her mother had mistakenly identified Xiaowang as the person who was proposing marriage. She gave Mother Qin’s sleeve a hurried, discreet tug and whispered into her ear, “Mom, Gu Yusheng is the person proposing marriage.”

Mother Qin was taken aback. She looked at Xiaowang, then at Gu Yusheng, and whispered into Qin Zhi’ai’s ear in a low voice, “Isn’t he your boss?”

“Yes…” Qin Zhi’ai replied.

“Jiayan told me that he is a big boss whose net worth is more than 10 figures,” said Mother Qin.

“Yes…” Qin Zhi’ai nodded.

Mother Qin stopped responding, imagining that something was wrong about this situation.

How could a person who is worth more than 10 figures possibly fall for my daughter?

Then, she whispered into Qin Zhi’ai’s ear again, “Xiao’ai, are you involved with a cheater?”