Back Then, I Adored You

“Mr. Lu, Miss Biao, we’re here.” The driver was relieved to have reason to break the growing tension in the car. The girl pouted when she heard they had arrived, and she pushed the door open without looking at Lu Bancheng. She walked fast and angrily to the house with a cake in her hand.

Lu Bancheng sat in the back seat without moving, as the driver unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car. He passed Lu Bancheng’s door and continued walking to the trunk, where he retrieved a folding wheelchair, opened it, and pushed it to his door before opening it.

“Mr. Lu, be careful.” The driver helped him get out of the car and held onto him until he got him into the wheelchair. “Mr. Lu, please don’t mind what Miss Biao said. She just has a bad temper. She actually cares and worries about you.”

Lu Bancheng looked up and gave the driver a gentle smile. “I know. I’m fine. It’s pretty late now. You can go home.”

“Let me push you into the house first,” the driver said.

“No, thank you. I can do it myself.” Lu Bancheng smiled at the driver again.

“Okay. See you later, Mr. Lu.” The driver did not continue arguing with Lu Bancheng and returned to the car. Once he’d driven away, Lu Bancheng rolled himself toward the front door. As he almost got there, the door was pushed open, and his cousin walked out angrily. She walked around his wheelchair, grabbed its handles, and began to push him inside. Lu Bancheng looked up at her angry face and asked, “Are you mad at me?”

His cousin’s expression remained cold as she carefully pushed his wheelchair without saying a word. Lu Bancheng smiled with his eyes and asked her, “Guoguo, I know you want the best for me, but you must know that I am ensuring the best for her.”

Guoguo’s expression softened a bit, but she still pressed her lips together without responding.

“I’ve told you that it would be pointless for me to bother her when I’m still in a wheelchair and can’t freely move. Even if she does find out that I saved her—and it touches her to the point of having feelings about me—I would still be her burden. I wouldn’t be able to help her with any household chores, and I wouldn’t be able to physically lift her when she’s sick… If we were to have a kid, I couldn’t even help with the baby…”

Lu Bancheng looked down to cover his moistening eyes. After a while, he smiled and continued. “If I were with her, I would be her burden. I love her, and that is why I cannot do that to her. Besides, Guoguo, I was not nice to her at one time. I don’t feel bad that I am in this wheelchair because of her.”

Guoguo’s eyes became red. She obviously was not mad at Lu Bancheng anymore. “Bro Bancheng, your legs are only temporarily paralyzed. You’re not a burden. We’re going to help you get back on your feet again. Didn’t the doctor say you have a chance of walking again? And even if you didn’t, you’re as desirable as anyone… Many women are asking about you…”

“I am aware of these women who want to be with me, but before I was injured there was no other woman I would have ever been with except her.” Lu Bancheng looked down for a few moments before looking back up at Guoguo and smiling. “Promise me that you will not contact her and interrupt her life. Just do it for me, okay?”