Back Then, I Adored You

Xu Wennuan did not make it to the restroom. She squatted before the common sink area and started throwing up until her stomach was devoid of everything. It was only then that she lifted her head weakly and breathlessly. She was just about to turn on the tap to rinse her mouth when the corner of her eye caught sight in the mirror of Lu Bancheng and a well-dressed man walking in and chatting happily.

The alcohol having slowed her reaction, Xu Wennuan stared at Lu Bancheng for a long time in the mirror. Lu Bancheng told the man beside him, “That’s fine. We can arrange a suitable time to go take a look.” Then, as though he felt something amiss, Lu Bancheng looked into the mirror that Xu Wennuan was staring at, and their eyes met.

Xu Wennuan’s lips parted slightly. Compared to her subtle reaction, not even a ripple surfaced on Lu Bancheng’s expression, but there was still a smile hanging on the corner of his lips from when he had been talking to the man beside him.

He looked the exact same as when she had first seen him two years ago. Back then, she had thought of him as “a kind and elegant nobleman.”

“What about this weekend?” the man beside Lu Bancheng responded.

Hearing his voice, Lu Bancheng retracted his gaze from Xu Wennuan’s face in a neutral manner. He seemed to be seriously considering his friend’s suggestion as he appeared deep in thought for two seconds before he replied, “Sure.”

When Lu Bancheng’s voice rang out again, Xu Wennuan returned to her senses and lowered her eyes to shield her gaze from him. After turning on the tap, she was just about to rinse her mouth when a sudden discomfort in her stomach caused her to start vomiting again.

Lu Bancheng and his friend had just arrived at the entrance to the male restroom. His friend reached out, pushed open the door, and invited him to enter first, but, when he heard the vomiting sounds coming from the adjacent female restroom, his footsteps halted slightly. He did not, however, turn around to look. It was as though he had never met Xu Wennuan, and he entered the restroom. His friend followed closely behind him.

The door to the male restroom was closed, and the common sink area regained its calm. Xu Wennuan threw up until her stomach began cramping up before she finally stopped. She rinsed her mouth and grabbed a paper towel to wipe her hands and lips. She then turned around, tried her best to steady her footsteps, and returned to the dining table in her stilettos.

…

Lu Bancheng emerged from the bathroom first. There was nobody at the sink area. He stood where Xu Wennuan had stood previously. When he turned on the tap, he couldn’t help but frown and look at the mirror before him. He was clearly the only person there, yet what he saw was her face.

When he had returned home the previous night and run into her, he had not directly seen her face but only her silhouette, when he’d noticed that she had lost a lot of weight. Only after seeing her face today had he realized she was now much skinnier than he had thought.

He could vaguely remember how round her face used to be and how her cheeks were always so rosy. She used to look so energetic. But now, her face was too pale, and her chin had become much sharper. She had always had a small face, and now it was even smaller.

“Bancheng, what are you thinking about?” Lu Bancheng’s friend came out of the restroom a minute after he did. When he saw him staring at the mirror, he waved his hand and could not help but ask.