Back Then, I Adored You

“Dinner? I’m fine with anything… Same as yesterday? Yeah, sure, no worries… Why would I be sick of it?”

 Lu Bancheng’s melodious voice was filled with affection, and Xu Wennuan’s ears were hurting from how intently she was listening.

 He gets along well with that girl. His voice is so laid back with her… I can tell that as their days pass by uneventfully they are filled with love and warmth.

 Xu Wennuan’s gaze had drifted, but she gently pulled it back and focused on Lu Bancheng’s face. His expression was unusually gentle as he spoke on the phone, and his entire being exuded warmth and satisfaction. Xu Wennuan’s spine was frozen, and she could not stop her fingers from tightening on the fabric of her shirt.

 That’s right. During the toughest times in his life, she’s the one who accompanied him through them. Why shouldn’t he treasure and dote on her?

 “Yup, okay. I’ll be back in a jiffy.”

 After Lu Bancheng hung up the call, he looked at Xu Wennuan and said, “I need to head back up.”

 Xu Wennuan could clearly feel the corners of her lips quivering, but she forced out a faint smile and acknowledged him leaving.

 Lu Bancheng said goodbye and then smiled as he excused himself and turned his wheelchair toward his apartment building. The remote control was broken, and he had another uphill slope to climb to get to the entrance. When Xu Wennuan noticed that he was having difficulty navigating his wheelchair, she reached out her hand and gave him a push that gave him momentum. She followed behind until he reached the entrance to his building, at which point he turned back and said a second goodbye to Xu Wennuan with a warm, refreshed smile.

 “Take care,” Xu Wennuan replied. She added on a goodbye when she realized that she had no other business there. Lu Bancheng nodded his head without speaking and made his way straight to the elevator. When he raised his hand to press the up button near the elevator door, Xu Wennuan, who was still standing at the entrance, suddenly called out, “Lu Bancheng.”

 Lu Bancheng turned his head around. Xu Wennuan stared into his eyes and, after a few seconds, said, “Xiao’ai told me this afternoon that you’re getting married soon?”

 “Yes, that’s right.” Lu Bancheng nodded his head in agreement without the slightest bit of hesitation.

 “That’s great…” Xu Wennuan made herself bear with the stinging sensation that was growing in her eyes and then forced the corners of her lips to curl up into a smile. As if she was responding to good news, she asked, “When are you getting married?”

 “Sometime soon. But I intend to find a suitable date to get our marriage certificate.”

 Soon?

 Xu Wennuan’s hands clenched tight, and her nails sank into her palms until they hurt, but the pain was nothing compared to the heartache that she was experiencing. She forced herself to smile harder while looking at Lu Bancheng for some time. Finally, after scripting the words in her mind, she stated, “Don’t forget to let me know. I’ll give you a red packet.”

 Lu Bancheng smiled and said, “Yeah, sure.”

 When the elevator door opened, Lu Bancheng pointed at it without waiting for a further response from Xu Wennuan. After she nodded her head, he turned his wheelchair and went into the elevator, which chimed when its door closed.

 Xu Wennuan watched the numbers above the elevator light up one by one as it lifted him to his floor and then as it came back to the ground floor again, at which point Xu Wennuan turned and dashed away. As she ran away from his building, tears began to trickle out furiously from the corners of her eyes.

 …

 When Xu Wennuan raised her hand to beckon the waiter to serve another bottle of white wine, Qin Yinan, who was seated at the bar and chatting with a group of friends, could not help but keep glancing over at her. When he witnessed her take the second bottle of wine from the waiter and chug it straight from the bottle without even blinking, he was alarmed. Qin Yinan knew that she was Wu Hao’s ex-girlfriend, and he couldn’t help but reach for his cell phone. After snapping a few photographs, he sent them to Wu Hao with the caption “Nanqing Bar.”