Back Then, I Adored You

…

For the next few days, Xu Wennuan laughed and joked all day and dragged Qin Zhi’ai around Beijing for fun. It was as though Wu Hao and Jiang Qianqian’s affair had never happened.

They ate at all their favorite food stalls and shopped in all the interesting and well-known districts. They even visited the tourist attractions.

They had both blocked Wu Hao’s number on their phones, so they would have no idea whether or not he was trying to find Xu Wennuan.

What Qin Zhi’ai was aware of was that Xu Wennuan had never cried again since that day they had gone to A High School.

As always, though, the carefree days passed by quickly.

In the blink of an eye, there were only two more days before Xu Wennuan’s wedding with Wu Hao.

That morning after breakfast, Qin Zhi’ai noticed that the wedding planner company had called Xu Wennuan multiple times, but she had never answered the calls.

Qin Zhi’ai had wanted to ask Xu Wennuan about her future plans, but she hadn’t known how to broach the subject when she saw Xu Wennuan’s happy face.

Ten years of feelings and companionship with another was not a simple relationship to forsake, but some couples would have been married for some time by now, and their relationship would be more infused into their blood and bone, thus even more difficult to forsake.

Qin Zhi’ai knew that Xu Wennuan had been merely avoiding the situation by smiling and pretending to act as though nothing had happened. As her best friend, Qin Zhi’ai hadn’t been able to bring herself to burst Xu Wennuan’s bubble of denial. As a result, she had chosen to remain silent and continued hanging out with her friend to keep her company.

After Chinese New Year, Beijing started becoming warmer. Winter jasmines had already bloomed two days ago, and the breeze was not as chilly.

On an exceptionally beautiful day, Xu Wennuan wanted to tour the Botanical Gardens. Qin Zhi’ai agreed to go with her, looking forward to exercise recommended for pregnant women.

In the afternoon, they ate lunch at a farmhouse and, after paying the bill, Qin Zhi’ai had thought that Xu Wennuan would want to tour other places but she unexpectedly requested to head home.

As Xu Wennuan didn’t want to head out again later that night, they dropped by the supermarket on their way home and bought a bunch of ingredients to prepare a hotpot for dinner.

They arrived home by 4:30 p.m. and, as it was still early, they decided to head back into their rooms to rest for half an hour before washing up and preparing dinner.

Barely two minutes after Qin Zhi’ai had gotten in bed, however, their doorbell rang.

Figuring it would be Wu Hao, Qin Zhi’ai didn’t budge from bed.

The doorbell rang a few more times and, just when Qin Zhi’ai thought it had finally stopped, her phone began to ring.

Sliding out from under her covers, she glanced at the caller ID and, surprisingly, it was Gu Yusheng.

She stared at it blankly for a few seconds before answering and, before she could even speak, Gu Yusheng said cooly, “Open the door.”

So it wasn’t Wu Hao knocking on the door?

Gu Yusheng? What is he doing here, though?

As the question popped up in her mind, the doorbell rang again. Throwing back her covers, she climbed out of bed and walked over to the door. After checking through the peephole and ensuring that only Gu Yusheng was there, she opened the door and stuck out her head. “Master…”

Before she could say “Gu,” she spotted Wu Hao and Lu Bancheng standing near the stairs.

So we still haven’t managed to get rid of Wu Hao after all this time!

Without hesitation, Qin Zhi’ai reached out her hand to shut the door.