Back Then, I Adored You

As for little troublemaker… Once upon a time, he had also given her a nickname, calling her “sweetheart.”

Perhaps he had just mentioned it casually, but she was too involved, too serious about it and too fond of him. She had been expecting all day and night that he would be fond of her, too. She had always been so silly, forgetting to learn her lessons time and again, and she had always taken his subtle changes as a sign of his fondness for her.

But that was all right, because after that, she would never be such a fool again.

Qin Zhi’ai just felt in pain, as if someone was stabbing her heart with a knife, making even her breathing a little difficult.

She didn’t know how long she had been squatting when the phone in her palm vibrated again.

It was a call from Zhou Jing, who was probably calling to ask her why she hadn’t arrived yet.

Qin Zhi’ai didn’t answer and directly hung up.

When she stood up, she noticed that her fingertips, which were holding the handle to the suitcase, were trembling violently. She looked up at the mirror opposite her. Shown was a face full of tears.

Soon, Zhou Jing’s voice said, “Come in.”

Qin Zhi’ai pushed the door open and went in. She put the suitcase in the corner of the wall directly next to the door. Without looking at Zhou Jing and Liang Doukou, she pointed at the bathroom and went straight in.

She took a hot bath, washed her makeup off, straightened her long curly hair, put on her own clothes, then came out of the bathroom.

Liang Doukou saw her coming out, then pointed to the seat in front of her, saying in a gentle and generous tone. “Come and sit down.”

Then she poured Qin Zhi’ai a cup of tea. “Have some hot tea.”

Qin Zhi’ai didn’t reply to Liang Doukou. Because she didn’t want the tears in her red and swollen eyes to be seen by Zhou Jing and Liang Doukou, she walked toward them with her eyes looking down at the floor the whole time.

Standing at the table instead of sitting down, she took out her cell phone, the car keys, the house keys, and the debit card that Gu Yusheng had given to her. She placed them one by one on the table in front of Liang Doukou.

Before Zhou Jing and Liang Doukou had asked, it was like she was like reciting a text, saying stiffly and plainly, “This is your cell phone, your car keys, and the keys to Gu Yusheng’s villa, including the key to the entrance and the key to the house. This is the key to the master bedroom; this one is to the second bedroom, and this one is to the study…”

“Besides this key, you can open the door with the password, which is…” After parroting the six numbers, Qin Zhi’ai took out the debit card. “This is to Gu Yusheng’s account, and its password is written on the back of the card. He told me to reset the password.”

Qin Zhi’ai bit her lips and then continued, “He has sent you many gifts. I put them in the second row of the shelves in the main changing room. I didn’t open them, so all of their packaging should be intact.

“There’s a gift box in the dresser in the first drawer on the left. Inside the gift box is a necklace. It’s the birthday present he gave you this year.

“When Grandpa Gu called me last Thursday, I promised him I would go to the old mansion for dinner the day after tomorrow and bring him some of Chen’s small steamed dumplings. Don’t forget.

“Oh, by the way, Gu Yusheng is in A City right now. Last night, he had an accident. He fell into the water trying to save two little boys. He’s now in the People’s Hospital in A city, but he hasn’t woken up yet. Before I came back from A City, I sent a text message to Lu Bancheng, so he has already gone to take care of him. I told Lu Bancheng that I had a temporary emergency and had to make some arrangements…”