Back Then, I Adored You

The area around the hospital was much quieter at night than during the day.

Although the man had kept his voice down, Qin Zhi’ai had clearly heard him.

Stunned for a moment, and without considering what his words really meant, she looked up, but before she could see his face he had already released her arm and left.

She turned around and only managed to catch the back of a man wearing a black down jacket.

Qin Zhi’ai stood by the road for some time before returning to her senses. Striding toward the entrance of the hospital, the man’s words echoed in her mind. “Leave Hui Shi.”

Is someone playing a prank on me, or was that a threat? A warning?

Qin Zhi’ai abruptly stopped in her tracks.

First, I was abducted at the annual party. And then my mother is in a traffic accident. Is this just a coincidence?

Rattled by her own thoughts, she turned her head and stared for a long time at the spot where the man had bumped into her. She eventually returned to her mother’s room.

…

When Qin Zhi’ai returned, her mother was already asleep, and she didn’t wake her up.

It wasn’t until the next day, as Qin Zhi’ai and her mother were strolling in the hospital’s backyard, that she had the opportunity to ask her, “Mum, how’d you get into that accident?”

“I was square dancing with a few friends at the plaza in our neighborhood, and when I was preparing to head home a motorbike just ran me over.”

“Who called for the ambulance? Was it the person who knocked you down?”

Upon hearing Qin Zhi’ai mention this, her mother became agitated. “Aunt Zhang was the one who called for the ambulance. The man on the motorbike didn’t slow down and in fact sped off after he ran over me!”

How abnormal for someone to not even check on someone after hitting them with a vehicle…

Qin Zhi’ai’s arm trembled slightly as she held onto her mother’s elbow.

Her mother had continued to rattle on for some time before she noticed Qin Zhi’ai’s reticence and called out, “Xiao’ai?”

Receiving no response, she turned around and saw Qin Zhi’ai staring straight ahead, looking distracted. Stopping in her tracks, she called out again, “Xiao’ai?”

Snapping back to reality, Qin Zhi’ai smiled gently at her mother. “Mum, please be more careful in the future.”

…

Qin Zhi’ai wasn’t sure if she was overthinking but, after having heard her mother’s description of the accident, she remained uneasy throughout that night.

In the subsequent days, she was always on guard and perpetually worried that some odd incident would occur again.

After two weeks had passed, her mother was discharged from the hospital. Because nothing had happened to her family or herself during that time, Qin Zhi’ai gradually began to breathe easier.

…

There was less than a week until Chinese New Year.

Although she’d only need to work for another three or four days before the long Chinese New Year holiday, she was too embarrassed to ask Xiaowang for more time off work. On the second day after her mother’s discharge, Qin Zhi’ai purchased her train ticket to return to Beijing.

When Qin Zhi’ai was lining up for the security check at Hangzhou East station, someone suddenly shoved her forward and, like she had experienced with the man that night in front of the hospital, a voice whispered close to her ear, “Leave Hui Shi immediately if you do not want your mother to be hospitalized again.”