Back Then, I Adored You

Qin Zhi’ai sat upright in her chair, afraid to move for fear that her pretense would fall apart.

She nodded slightly at Gu Yusheng and replied in a tone that sounded more serene than what she had expected, “Okay.”

Gu Yusheng lit a cigarette and, after taking a puff, he was significantly calmer. “That night, I even told her that we should have a child, and she agreed.”

“After singing a song, I even kissed her.”

“As I drove her home, I noticed that she was in low spirits, so I brought her to play a game at the 24/7 stalls by the road.”

“In that game, we have to write our heartfelt words on the yuan note and spend it. We will then see if the note will end up in the other person’s hands one day…”

At this point, Gu Yusheng took a deep puff from his cigarette again.

He was not the only one who felt awful about bringing up their past now. She felt it, too.

Qin Zhi’ai could clearly feel her emotions breaking down inside, and she didn’t know how much longer she could keep up her pretense. She dug her nails hard into her palms under the tablecloth to maintain control.

She returned Gu Yusheng’s gaze with a clear and emotionless look in her eyes.

She stared at him puffing out smoke rings and, after feeling she was calm enough, she said, “Master Gu, your story with that girl is so romantic.”

Gu Yusheng did not seem to hear her and said, “When we reached home, she fell asleep, but I didn’t.”

“I got out of bed secretly and returned to the place where we had played that game.”

“I wanted to know what was troubling her, so I went to the shop where she spent that note and tried to get it back by paying for it with more cash.”

She knew that he had made her play that game because he’d noticed that she’d been blue, but she had not known that he actually went back there secretly.

Why did he return there? Why did he want to know what was troubling me? And why does he insist on finding out the identity of Liang Doukou’s body double?

Qin Zhi’ai clearly felt that she was losing her grip over her emotions and they were threatening to break down any moment.

“It was a pity that the ending was barely satisfactory. I didn’t manage to find the note that she had written on.”

“I actually don’t know much about her. Or rather, I know nothing about her… I don’t even know her name and I’ve always called her…” Gu Yusheng paused. His eyes brightened up suddenly and he stared into her eyes with an insightful look before speaking in a gentle and seductive tone, “…little troublemaker.”

Qin Zhi’ai did not even dare to breathe.

She was well aware that her eyes were welling up slightly and she was on the verge of crying.

She couldn’t allow him to continue. If he did, she would undoubtedly give herself away tonight.

Qin Zhi’ai avoided his gaze and dug out her phone underneath the table. She quickly found the number at the top and called it.

It was Xu Wennuan’s number.

Before she had boarded the plane, she had talked to her on the phone.

After the call went through and rang once, she hung up. As though nothing was wrong, she drank the mango juice without hesitation under the watchful eyes of Gu Yusheng.