Back Then, I Adored You

Other than the fact that her life largely revolved around the spa, she was spending increasingly more time in the game, too. Zero seemed to Xu Wennuan to be very busy. Although they were in regular communication through messaging, many times he only gave quick replies to her, but because she also was very busy, she sometimes did the same. They both would more closely read their messages when they found free time.

Because of an improvement in her mood, Xu Wennuan’s quality of sleep had also improved. When she went to work that morning, her colleagues in the clubhouse even complimented her complexion, which lifted her spirits even more. Afterward, when she received her pay that afternoon, she was moved to propose to everyone at work that they have dinner together that night.

…

Xu Wennuan and her colleagues went to a Japanese restaurant after work. Due to her stomach problems, she had to avoid eating cold and raw foods, but with her good fortune as of late, and also simply being hungry, she didn’t control herself. After returning home and falling asleep, her indulgence began to haunt her.

Halfway through her dreams, she was awoken by a deep roiling pain in her stomach. She curled up in the fetal position and began to tremble uncontrollably, clutching her abdomen in excruciating pain. She had frequently experienced pain in her abdomen, but this was the first time that it was so unbearably painful that she had difficulty breathing.

She continued clutching herself while enduring wave after wave of intense pain, but rather than showing signs of subsiding, it was frighteningly increasing. Her entire body shook as she forced herself to get out of bed to grab her first aid kit from the cabinet in the corner. While digging through the kit, she realized she had run out of both her pain and gastrointestinal medication three months ago, and she had forgotten to get more.

Xu Wennuan threw down the kit in frustration. Her legs were now weak from the pain and trembling, but she forced herself to walk over to the side of her bed and pick up her phone. Her first thought was to call her parents, but after calling both of their phones several times with no answer, she realized they had muted their phones because they were asleep. After ending her last call, she opened her call log.

Qin Zhi’ai had gone overseas for a holiday with Little Peanut two days prior. The saying “Distant water will not quench a fire nearby” crossed her mind, and she knew Qin Zhi’ai was not in a position to help her. By now, Xu Wennuan was drenched in sweat, and she couldn’t help but moan as she continued scrolling through phone numbers. Eventually, she stopped at Wu Hao’s number for a moment, realizing that other than her parents and Xiao’ai, he was the only other person she could rely on for help in the middle of the night with complete trust.

After her stomach was seized by yet another series of sharp pains, Xu Wennuan’s fingertips trembled and her phone abruptly fell onto the carpet. She clutched onto her abdomen tightly while leaning over to grope for her phone. While unlocking her screen, she intended to call 120 for an ambulance; however, when she saw the game app, her fingers hesitated for a moment and eventually she opened the game. At first, she didn’t understand why she had done that, but then she realized that messaging Zero gave her a greater sense of security than calling 120.

She quickly got online. It was already 3:30 a.m., and Zero had sent his joke 30 minutes ago. Xu Wennuan’s fingers trembled as she painstakingly began to type out some words. Halfway through, though, the overwhelming pain caused her to whimper, causing her head to fall against the headboard, too devoid of strength to move any more.

She felt herself slipping out of consciousness. Just before blacking out, she managed to randomly tap her phone screen, not knowing if she managed to press the send button.