Back Then, I Adored You

After reflectively scanning the room, Qin Zhi’ai strolled to the desk. There was a nameplate beside the computer that instantly caught her eye. The photo on it was the work photo she had taken when she first joined Hui Shi. Her name was written beside the photo: “Qin Zhi’ai.” Beneath that was her position: “Gu Yusheng’s Wife.”

There was a piece of paper beneath the nameplate. Qin Zhi’ai picked it up and Gu Yusheng’s cursive handwriting assaulted her eyes. “To me, the best occupation you can ever ask for in your life is to be Gu Yusheng’s wife.”

……

Lu Bancheng slept in, and by the time he woke up it was already 9:00 a.m.

As he had arranged to meet some clients in the morning, he hurriedly packed up and drove to work. After his meeting, he had time to relax until noon but, not long afterward, he received a call from his secretary informing him that he had a meeting at 3:00 p.m.

After hanging up, Lu Bancheng started to flip through the documents on the table for the one he needed for the meeting, until he recalled that he had taken the document home with him last Friday. He glanced at the time displayed on the computer; he still had two hours until the meeting, which was enough time for him to make a trip home and back. Lu Bancheng grabbed his jacket and car key and hurriedly rushed out of the building and to his car.

After returning home, he emerged from the elevator and walked to the apartment door, but it was opened before he could key in the passcode. It was the hourly cleaner he had hired. She was tidying the shoe rack when she heard him approach.

“Mr. Lu, you’re back?” The cleaner greeted him with a smile.

“Yes.” Lu Bancheng returned her smile, changed into his slippers, and took quick steps into the study.

After finding the document he needed for the meeting, Lu Bancheng left the study and headed straight back to the entrance. He put on his shoes and was just about to push open the door when he heard the cleaner’s voice coming from the guest bathroom. “Mr. Lu?”

She ran out swiftly with an object in her hand. “Mr. Lu, look what I found in the corner of the bathroom when I was cleaning the toilet.”

Lu Bancheng looked at the sticklike object in her hands as his expression settled.

A pregnancy test strip… What is that doing in my house?

“Mr. Lu, this is a pregnancy test strip. It shows two red lines on the screen, which means Mrs. Lu is pregnant.” The cleaner seemed afraid that Lu Bancheng had not noticed it. She pointed at the screen of the test strip and tilted her head with a smile as she congratulated Lu Bancheng. “Mr. Lu, congratu—”

Before she could finish, Lu Bancheng reached out abruptly and snatched the test strip from her. He lowered his head and stared at the result displayed on the test strip for a long time before lifting it again. Then, as if to seek confirmation, he asked her in a low voice, “She’s pregnant?”

“Yes…” She had only managed to say one word before Lu Bancheng turned around and dashed out the door without even taking the document he had placed on the shoe rack with him. He jabbed forcefully at the elevator button repeatedly until the doors slid open, when he impatiently rushed in.

Inside the elevator, Lu Bancheng whipped out his phone and called Xu Wennuan. The phone rang for a long time, but she didn’t answer. Lu Bancheng composed a text message while rushing to the car: “Nuannuan, where are you now?”