Back Then, I Adored You

Qin Jiayan turned, walked into the changing room, and put on a new suit before grabbing his car keys and heading downstairs to go to work.

…

And thus, Qin Jiayan’s and Xia Yi’s marriage was planned.

In the subsequent days, Qin Jiayan busied himself with both his work and the preparations for Xia Yi’s and his banquet.

They settled on the Peking Hotel as the location, the same venue Gu Yusheng and Qin Zhi’ai had held their wedding, and they hired a designer from abroad to decorate the interior of the banquet hall. Qin Jiayan handed over all these decisions to Xia Yi and agreed with all of them.

Qin Jiayan treated Xia Yi very well by being extremely meticulous and sensitive. Regardless of what he was busy with at work, he would always answer Xia Yi’s calls, even when he was in the middle of important meetings. If a day went by that he had not seen Xia Yi, he always called her before he went to bed at night. He would ask her about her day and wish her goodnight. When he knew that Xia Yi was feeling unwell due to her period, he would head to the grocery store to buy her a box of brown sugar ginger tea during his lunch break and then drive to her workplace to deliver it to her.

Xia Yi and Qin Jiayan gradually became more comfortable with each other, and Xia Yi inevitably revealed her girlish, coquettish, and shy side to him. He was never impatient with her and always attentively coaxed her. Even in the face of her unreasonable tantrums, he never revealed a hint of loathing. He seemed to be an ideal fiancé and showed full sincerity toward her.

As the days passed leading up to their celebration, Qin Jiayan and Xia Yi chose their engagement suit and dress and made their guest list. Xia Yi scheduled her makeup artist and stylist for her big day.

During this time, Qin Jiayan did not once run into Su Qing. Qin Jiayan was sure he would never ever see her again in his life, but then five days before his engagement celebration, he met her.

It was a Thursday, a day that Xia Yi’s car was not registered to be on the road. The day prior, Xia Yi had complained to Qin Jiayan on the phone that she would have to take the crowded subway the next day. As her gentlemanly fiancé, Qin Jiayan had assured her that he would pick her up for work the next morning.

Xia Yi had turned down his offer, but Qin Jiayan still went to wait for her at the foot of her apartment building early the next morning.

Coincidentally, Father Xia suddenly had developed a severe stomachache that morning, and Xia Yi needed to get him to the emergency room. As the Xia family’s future son-in-law, Qin Jiayan showed concern toward his future father-in-law and, without hesitation, called his office assistant to say he would not be in the office that morning and then accompanied Xia Yi to the hospital.

After three hours and much trouble at the hospital, nothing wrong could be found with Father Xia, and they left the hospital with some medication for him.

That afternoon, the sun was exceptionally bright, and Qin Jiayan had Xia Yi accompany Father Xia to the entrance of the emergency room while he braved the fiery sun and drove his car over to pick them up.

Just as he arrived and got out of the car, he saw Su Qing walking in his direction after overtaking Xia Yi and Father Xia.

Su Qing saw him as well.

She stopped in her tracks for a moment and quickly stuffed some medical reports into her purse.

Qin Jiayan noticed that her complexion had improved and her skin was fairer and smoother than it had been the last time he had seen her, making him surmise that she must be doing well.