Back Then, I Adored You

“Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow…”

So soon?

Xu Wennuan could not help but tighten her grip around her glass of water and only managed to calm her heart down after a long time. She tilted her head to one side and, as if Lu Bancheng’s departure had nothing to do with herself, she asked as casually as if she simply wanted to find a topic to talk about, “Will you still return here after you’ve settled down in America?”

With Lu Bancheng’s parents already permanently based overseas, his plan was to also take the family business overseas and, at the point, other than Xu Wennuan herself, he had no reason to ever return home again, and he had already decided that he wouldn’t.

Lu Bancheng looked down and thought through silently before he gave an honest reply, “If nothing important comes up, I have no reason to return again.”

Just as I thought… Tonight will be the last time we will ever meet in this lifetime.

Xu Wennuan felt her throat choke up even more, and her fingers began to tremble as they held onto her glass. Afraid that she would lose herself, she randomly found an excuse and said, “I’m going to the restroom. Go on back to your party.”

Before Lu Bancheng could respond, she hurriedly stood up and dashed to the restroom.

……

Xu Wennuan hid in the toilet cubicle and stood frozen with her eyes closed. For a long time, she was unable to calm herself down. In her current state, she could not return to the party, so she fished out her phone and texted Qin Zhi’ai that she was going to head home because she wasn’t feeling well. She then pulled open the door to the cubicle, exited the restroom, and left the Majestic Clubhouse.

……

Lu Bancheng returned to the party and, five minutes later, noticed that Xu Wennuan hadn’t returned from the restroom and assumed her stomach was aching again, so when Qin Zhi’ai popped over to look for Gu Yusheng, he casually asked, “I was talking to Nuannuan just a moment ago. She seemed unwell and is in the restroom.”

Qin Zhi’ai did not think too much about it and merely answered him honestly, “Nuannuan texted me and said she was going home because she didn’t feel good.”

She felt unwell…

When Lu Bancheng heard this, his brows moved slightly but he did not speak. When Qin Zhi’ai left with Gu Yusheng, he placed his wine glass down, stood up, and left the room.

……

As it was difficult to grab a taxi at the entrance of the Majestic Clubhouse, Xu Wennuan started walking farther up the street to have a better chance of hailing one faster. After she’d walked for some 500 feet, her phone began to ring in her pocket. She stopped and took it out. When she saw that it was a call from Lu Bancheng, her mouth slightly gaped and she answered the call.

“Where are you?”

Xu Wennuan was taken aback by Lu Bancheng’s question, causing her to tell him her current location without hesitation.

“Wait there for me. I’ll be over in a jiffy…” As Lu Bancheng said this, Xu Wennuan could hear his quick footsteps over the phone. To ensure that his words were not too abrupt, Lu Bancheng continued saying, “You didn’t take your stomach medicine. I’ll bring it over to you. You can take it when your stomach hurts tonight.”

Xu Wennuan finally regained her senses and hurriedly replied, “Alright, I’ll wait for you right below this bridge then.”

After he hung up the phone, Lu Bancheng hurriedly pushed open the side door of the Majestic Clubhouse and dashed toward the side of the road. He followed Xu Wennuan’s directions and turned left but, after jogging halfway there, he saw the bridge she’d referred to, but she was nowhere in sight.