Back Then, I Adored You

Wu Hao tightened his grip around the bottle that he was holding until his knuckles were bulging. A barely detectable sense of fury flashed across his eyes, and he stared fixedly at Xu Wennuan for some time. Eventually, he didn’t say anything and merely lowered his gaze. When he lifted his head again, his expression had returned to normal, as if the anger Xu Wennuan had seen in him was just an illusion.

He passed the bottle of safflower oil to Xu Wennuan and stared at Xu Wennuan pouring out some oil to rub on her ankle. After some time, he stood up slowly and said, “I’ll go get your car.”

Xu Wennuan slowed down her action of massaging her ankle until she recalled that she had agreed to this back when he had picked her up. Without objecting to what he said, she got her keys out of her purse and handed them to Wu Hao, who held them for a moment before he turned around and left.

…

Once outside, Wu Hao hailed a taxi and made his way to Lu Bancheng’s neighborhood. Halfway there, he suddenly yelled out, “Stop the car!”

In shock, the driver didn’t respond, and Wu Hao quickly repeated in a harsh tone, “I said, stop the car!”

The driver slammed his foot on the brakes. Wu Hao then mindlessly fished out a red bill from his pocket and passed it to the driver. Without waiting for change, Wu Hao hurriedly pushed open the door before jumping out and dashing to the side of the road. He then glanced around a few times before he eventually hid behind a row of evergreen shrubs. Without considering how it would appear, he then dropped on the grass and began rolling around while his hands furiously scratched himself all over his body.

No matter how hard he scratched, though, the painful itching sensation continued to pulsate throughout his body. At the peak of his discomfort, he could no longer resist himself from clawing into the ground. His fingers bled from the grinding but, as if he couldn’t feel it, he continued to dig harder into the rough, cracked earth. The sharp stones in the dirt pierced under his nails until they were bleeding, too, yet he showed no sign of stopping until finally he no longer could feel the excruciating pain.

As if he had just cheated death, Wu Hao laid paralyzed on the patch of grass in a state of dishevelment. He panted deeply for a very long time before he slowly stood up and took out his handkerchief to wipe the blood and dirt off his fingers. He then carefully brushed off the dirt from his skin and clothes before walking out from the bushes. Reaching out his arm, he flagged down another taxi and continued to make his way to Lu Bancheng’s neighborhood.

…

His drug withdrawal symptoms having delayed him, by the time Wu Hao finally returned to Xu Wennuan’s apartment she was already curled up and sleeping on the sofa. He placed her keys on top of the shoe cabinet before making his way over to the sofa quietly, picking her up, and walking to the bedroom.

After placing her down on the bed and tucking her blanket around her, he sat next to her and focused intently on her face while she slept. Having seen her crying so intensely, he recognized a leftover teardrop hanging onto the corner of her eye. As he watched her, he couldn’t resist from reaching out and wiping it away, but before his fingers could touch her cheek, she suddenly muttered out loud while sleeping.

Wu Hao did not hear her clearly but he stopped himself from touching her. After a few seconds of silence, she moved her lips once more, “Zero… Zero Degrees…”

Isn’t Zero Degrees Lu Bancheng? Why would she call out Lu Bancheng’s online handle?

Before Wu Hao could make sense of this in his mind, Xu Wennuan continued to speak, “Lu Bancheng… Lu Bancheng…”