Back Then, I Adored You

Lu Bancheng had called Xu Wennuan so many times that he had stopped keeping track by the time the sky darkened. When he’d texted or called her, the only responses he had gotten were either no response or an automated voice saying, “Sorry, the number you have dialed is not available.”

Lu Bancheng could not figure out what was wrong with himself; he was extremely flustered. He put his phone aside and sat in the car, thinking.

The cleaner comes over to clean the apartment every day, so Xu Wennuan must have used the pregnancy test kit yesterday. That means she’s only known that she’s pregnant one day longer than I have.

She hates me so much, and she must feel at a loss after suddenly finding out that she’s pregnant with my child… So the best thing I can do now is wait for her at home.

Lu Bancheng stepped on the accelerator, gripped the steering wheel, and headed home. When he passed by a nutrition store, he realized that Xu Wennuan needed to pay more attention to what she ate now that she was pregnant. He parked the car at the curb and went in to buy a selection of nutritious foods. He placed them in the trunk and started home again. On the way, he decided to make another stop at Xinhua Bookstore, where he bought all the pregnancy and childcare books he came across.

When he finally got home, Xu Wennuan was still not back. Lu Bancheng sorted through the food he’d purchased and put it in the cabinet. Then he looked up dietary precautions for pregnant women on his phone before preparing dinner.

When he had been studying overseas, he had learned how to cook because he hadn’t grown accustomed to Western food. After all those years of training, his culinary skills were considered well above average at the very least. In no time, he had prepared three dishes and a soup. He arranged them on the table and put a cover over them to keep them warm.

Lu Bancheng pulled off his apron and went to the living room, where he watched a children’s channel on TV while waiting for Xu Wennuan. After a few moments, he suddenly flung aside the remote control and went to the master bedroom, where he opened the nightstand drawer and took out a brocade box.

Inside the box was the ring he had bought after they had obtained their marriage certificate, after which he had forced her to have sex with him. Even though she didn’t need him to take care of her, he still treated her as his wife deep down in his heart. He intended to give her the ring when she returned home that night and tell her again what he felt for her.

Oh, right, and she cannot continue to work now that she’s pregnant. I must look for a caretaker to be by her side around the clock…

Lu Bancheng picked up his phone to call his secretary, asked her to look for a good caretaker, and ended the call, He gripped the test strip in his hand, staring at those two red lines, as happiness surfaced in his eyes.

She’s pregnant with my child…

All this while, he had been wondering how he could change their relationship for the better. He had not expected God to give him this gift as the answer.

She’ll slowly change her attitude toward me for the sake of the child… I don’t expect her to like me more… No, no, I don’t. I just want her to stop hating me so much and for her to be willing to live with me. As long as she’s willing to, I’ll give her everything.

Lu Bancheng could not help laughing as he thought about this. Then, he heard sounds coming from outside the door. He dashed out of the master bedroom and toward the entrance, arriving just in time to see the door being opened by Xu Wennuan. Dressed all in black, she walked in slowly.