Back Then, I Adored You

……

Two days before Old Master Gu’s birthday, Xu Wennuan returned to Beijing after having traveled and lived carefree for the past three months.

Since having become pregnant, Qin Zhi’ai had rarely driven, as Gu Yusheng had specifically assigned a chauffeur for her. Unfortunately, the day of Xu Wennuan’s return coincided with a day that Qin Zhi’ai’s assigned license plate number was restricted to no driving.

As she had not seen Xu Wennuan in a long time, Qin Zhi’ai was also reluctant to have someone tag along with her, thus she asked the butler to call for a cab. She arrived at the airport early to await Xu Wennuan’s arrival.

Xu Wennuan’s plane landed at the airport at 2:00 p.m., and 15 minutes later she and Qin Zhi’ai reunited. In their recent text conversations, Qin Zhi’ai had already shared with Xu Wennuan about her marriage to Gu Yusheng; however, after Xu Wennuan saw her, she still clung onto her and fired a stream of questions at her.

“Xiao’ai, how did you so secretly end up with Gu Yusheng?”

“Your baby bump is already showing. You must be at four months now?”

“You were already pregnant before I left Beijing? You are too good at hiding things.”

“What was that? Brother Sheng is already texting you and you’ve only been out of the house today for how long?”

Qin Zhi’ai smiled as she listened to all of Xu Wennuan’s exuberance and teasing. After she had replied to Gu Yusheng’s text, she cocked her head and took one glance at Xu Wennuan before asking her what she had wanted to ask since the moment they’d met that afternoon.

“So, spill it. Do you already have an idea of what you’re going to do now that you’ve returned?”

“What is there to say?” Xu Wennuan knew that Qin Zhi’ai was asking about Wu Hao, but she rolled her eyes and avoided answering the question. Still clinging onto Qin Zhi’ai’s elbow, she continued to laugh and chatter.

Qin Zhi’ai could tell that Xu Wennuan was avoiding the topic, so she didn’t pursue it further and merely listened to her.

Just as they walked out of the airport and were about to head toward the taxi stand, the blare of a car horn could be heard coming from their left. Looking in the direction of the horn, they saw Lu Bancheng seated behind the wheel of the car they presumed had honked. He had sounded the horn as soon as he had spotted the two of them and, when he realized they had noticed him, he immediately stopped and got out of the car.

“Brother Bancheng, what a coincidence!” Qin Zhi’ai smiled and greeted him.

“Xiao’ai,” Lu Bancheng said first, before asking, “Heading back to the city?” Although his question was directed to both of them, his gaze was fixed on Xu Wennuan’s eyes.

Qin Zhi’ai and Xu Wennuan both nodded, and Lu Bancheng pulled open the car door and said, “Get in. Coincidentally, I’m also returning to town and I can give you a ride.”

As he spoke, Lu Bancheng took over the luggage from Xu Wennuan and placed it in the trunk. After getting into the car, Xu Wennuan asked, “Why are you at the airport?”

Well, you wouldn’t have guessed that I knew that you were returning home today, but I made this trip especially to run in to you.

As Lu Bancheng gave an honest reply in his heart, he lied without batting an eyelid as he replied out loud, “I was dropping off a friend and then thought I saw you from some distance, so I followed you for a minute and it turns out it was you!” Xu Wennuan smiled.

The three continued to chat casually as they drove toward the city. When they were just about to cross into the city limits, Xu Wennuan’s phone began to ring. After fishing it out, she glanced at the screen and her expression froze for a moment before she answered the call. “Wu Hao.”

Lu Bancheng was jesting with Qin Zhi’ai but, upon hearing his old friend’s name, his fingers dug harder into the steering wheel. Staring straight at the road ahead, he went silent. From time to time, he would sneak a glance at Xu Wennuan through the rearview mirror while she spoke on the phone.