Back Then, I Adored You

In her dreams, she cried and begged the man to let her go, but he pinned her down with a frosty look on his face.

She saw the camera snapping away at her, and the man bearing down on her bit and kissed her.

She was so terrified that her whole body started shaking. She felt filthy, and it made her sick.

But the man would never get off her, and her deep sense of vulnerability made her hopeless. Unable to control herself, she shrieked.

As her voice grew hoarse from screaming, someone yelled out her name near her ear. “Qin Zhi’ai? Qin Zhi’ai?”

“Wake up? Qin Zhi’ai? Wake up?” The person then tapped her face lightly with his fingers.

Qin Zhi’ai frowned and gradually opened her eyes. Gu Yusheng’s Adonis-like face appeared before her.

She became dazed for a moment and stopped shrieking. After staring blankly at him, she finally asked, “What…”

She had wanted to ask “what happened,” but as the first word came out, she immediately realized that the dream she had had was not a nightmare but a reality.

She had in fact been abducted by men, stripped, and posed for photos.

A sudden panic flashed in her eyes. Grabbing Gu Yusheng’s sleeves as if she was clinging onto a life raft, her voice trembled with helplessness. “The photos… the photos…”

Although that was all Qin Zhi’ai said, Gu Yusheng understood what she was thinking and said gently, “The photos were all deleted.”

“Deleted?” A glimmer of hope shined in Qin Zhi’ai’s eyes, along with a hint of uncertainty.

“Yes, deleted,” Gu Yusheng replied, as he lightly wiped off cold droplets of sweat that had formed on her forehead. To further assure her, he added confidently, “The camera and the memory card were destroyed.”

“Destroyed. Destroyed…” Qin Zhi’ai mumbled a few times before she finally heaved a sigh of relief. Immediately, she sprang up from the bed. “I need to take a shower. I need to take a shower…”

That man touched me. I need a shower. I’m filthy…

Before Qin Zhi’ai could get off the bed, Gu Yusheng stopped her. “You’ve already showered.”

Stunned, she lifted her head and stared at him.

“Xu Wennuan helped you to wash up,” Gu Yusheng explained.

Qin Zhi’ai’s body relaxed, and she sat back down on the bed. Hugging her knees, she buried her face in her lap and remained silent in that posture.

Gu Yusheng couldn’t tell if she was weeping, but his heart ached from seeing how insecure and helpless she looked.

That trauma would be terrifying for anyone who experienced it.

Sitting lightly on the edge of the bed, Gu Yusheng smoothed her hair gently and said, “It’s all over. Don’t think about it anymore. You’re okay now.”

She didn’t reply, but his tender words made her eyes well up with tears.

“Those men were also sent to the police station,” he said, as he continued caressing her long hair.

His voice was calming and, although it put her at ease, tears still started to flow from her eyes.