Back Then, I Adored You

Qin Zhi’ai looked at Gu Yusheng shyly as her face grew redder. Then he lowered his head and kissed her eyebrow before abruptly changing the topic. “The weather today is not bad, and since I’m done with work let’s go for a walk.”

……

Gu Yusheng did not let Xiaowang follow them, and he personally drove the car with Qin Zhi’ai as they left work. At 3:00 p.m., the roads were smooth, and he didn’t turn on the GPS. Instead, he drove at ease along familiar roads until they arrived at A High School.

After parking, Gu Yusheng and Qin Zhi’ai walked toward the school entrance hand in hand. When they entered the campus, they heard Classical Chinese being read aloud in a classroom not too far away.

There had been some changes made to the school over the years, but the grove, artificial lake, and the long flights of stairs were all still there. Even the uniforms had not undergone much transformation; they were still similar to what Gu Yusheng and Qin Zhi’ai had worn when they attended the school.

As they walked around the school, they came across a particular long flight of stairs, and they both were suddenly hit with nostalgia, as if they had gone back in time. Qin Zhi’ai grabbed Gu Yusheng’s elbow and pointed at the stairs as she said, “Yusheng, do you know that this was where I first saw you. I had just reported as a new student, and you had helped me carry my suitcase up those stairs.”

And you had carried my heart away, as well…

Gu Yusheng stared at the stairs for a long time.

Such a thing happened? So, before I’d even heard the name “Qin Zhi’ai” in my youth, she had already seen me?

There were numerous incidents during her youth that Qin Zhi’ai wouldn’t normally be able to recall, but now that they were walking around their old high school campus she could remember many trivial things. Everywhere she went, she could mention something related to Gu Yusheng.

“The first time I learned your name was in the cafeteria. You were standing right there talking on the phone, and you had finished your drink and casually threw it aside and it fell right into the trash can. You made many girls scream at how cool you were. I learned your name through their screams. Yusheng, did you know how many girls were secretly in love with you back then?

“I loved coming to the field most during the evening because you would be playing basketball here with Wu Hao and the rest…”

Gu Yusheng leaned against a pole and stared at the direction Qin Zhi’ai was pointing. He recalled this incident back then, when she and a few other girls had stood there whispering about God knows what. A boy had approached her and handed her a bottle. When she had accepted it, the boy had blushed and ran away. Then, the group of girls had sat on the staircase to rest, and she had placed the open bottle beside her. He had been so jealous that he used his basketball as a football and kicked it at the bottle, causing the contents to spill everywhere when it fell over.

“Yusheng, what are you laughing at?” asked Qin Zhi’ai, who was standing beside him and tilting her head. Gu Yusheng shook his head and retracted his gaze.

How could I possibly have let her see me do something so childish in my youth just because I was jealous?

Gu Yusheng took Qin Zhi’ai’s hand, and they began walking away from the school. He had initially wanted to lead her back to the car when they reached the entrance, but he remembered something.