Back Then, I Adored You

The last time Lu Bancheng had said similar things, Gu Yusheng had turned on him. Therefore, Lu Bancheng jabbed Wu Hao in the back with his finger and whispered, “I’ve tried to persuade him not to treat her like that, but he just lost his temper.”

Wu Hao immediately swallowed his words.

Then they turned their heads and looked at Gu Yusheng.

They had just thought that they would see his angry face, but Gu Yusheng was unexpectedly calm. He remained standing there, staring at his hand, as if he was thinking of something.

Wu Hao and Lu Bancheng found it incredible and looked at each other. But they didn’t dare to say anything, for they were just so confused by his actions.

About a minute passed, and Gu Yusheng moved his head and his sights back up. He gazed at the bright sunlight outside the window for a while, then stepped toward the living room wordlessly, sat on the sofa, took out a cigarette, and smoked.

–

Lu Bancheng and Wu Hao left before it was three o’clock in the afternoon.

The lively villa returned to silence all of a sudden.

The lowered volume of the television seemed to be very loud in contrast.

Gu Yusheng felt annoyed by the sound, so he took the remote control and turned off the television, then lay on his back on the sofa, stared at the ceiling, and smoked three cigarettes in a row.

When he took out a fourth cigarette, he took a glance at the clock. It’s almost four o’clock, three hours after I yelled at her, and she hasn’t come downstairs even once.

Gu Yusheng looked at the stairs, and paused in the middle of lighting the cigarette. He smoked it, but suddenly spit it out, for he found the smell of the cigarette bland. After another look at the stairs, he even found it disgusting, so he snuffed the cigarette out and threw it into the trash can.

Gu Yusheng sat on the sofa, leaning against the back of the sofa for a while, then stood up and walked into the bathroom. After he exited, he glanced at the stairs and climbed them, out of control.

Gu Yusheng walked slowly along the corridor of the second floor to the door of the master bedroom.

He waited outside the door for a while, then reached out and pushed the door open.

Qin Zhi’ai was reading a script on the couch in the room, but she turned her head toward the door when she noticed the door had been opened.

Gu Yusheng happened to look into the room, so their eyes met.

The golden sunlight of dusk shone through the window and fell on Qin Zhi’ai’s face, making her eyes look even more charming.

The crystal light in her eyes was even more attractive than Gu Yusheng remembered, stirring a hint of nervousness in his heart. Only after that, he realized dully that he had gone up the stairs to find her.

Yes, why did I come upstairs?

Qin Zhi’ai didn’t ask him why he came, but Gu Yusheng tried very hard to figure out an excuse for it, as if he was covering for something. He pretended to be calm on the outside, and racking his brain inwardly, he said to Qin Zhi’ai without any emotion, “Next Monday, accompany me to an evening party.”