Back Then, I Adored You

Qin Zhi’ai had already drank a cup of coffee, but Gu Yusheng hadn’t arrived yet.

She took out her phone and gave Gu Yusheng a call. No one answered.

Qin Zhi’ai frowned, thinking that maybe Gu Yusheng was driving and couldn’t answer the call, so she put down her phone and ordered another cup of coffee.

To kill time during the long wait, Qin Zhi’ai randomly took a magazine off the bookshelf in the cafe. Sitting on a sofa in corner, she thumbed through the magazine, feeling very bored.

Qin Zhi’ai had even read the advertisements word for word, but Gu Yusheng still hadn’t arrived.

Qin Zhi’ai picked up her phone and took a glance at it to check the time. It was close to seven.

She had been waiting there for more than two hours. Why hadn’t he come yet? Was he tied up with business, or…?

Thinking about it, Qin Zhi’ai redialed Gu Yusheng’s telephone number. As before, the phone rang until it finally turned into a busy tone, still unanswered.

Was she being stood up by him again?

Her great joy at going to Shanghai to see him was fading away little by little.

It was very noisy in the airport, but she seemed to be unable to hear any sound, just staring blankly at her phone.

Time passed from 7:05 to 7:15, then to 7:25, and finally to 7:35. Gu Yusheng still hadn’t called her back or sent a message to her.

It was the third time that Qin Zhi’ai had picked up her phone to call him. Still, no one answered.

She hung up, then dialed for the fourth time, the fifth time, the sixth time, and the seventh… She was like a possessed robot, repeatedly hanging up and redialing, having no idea how many times had she repeated this movement. She continued until there was a warning from her phone that its power was at less than twenty percent. She blinked, a little pale, taking out a portable power source from her bag. After charging her phone, she numbly stared at the screen for a moment and then gave Gu Yusheng another call.

The phone had rung several times, but no one answered. Just as Qin Zhi’ai was about to hang up and give up completely, the ringing sound was broken and over the phone came a strange man’s voice. “Hello.”

But it’s not Gu Yusheng? Qin Zhi’ai frowned for several seconds, finally saying, “Hello.”

After a pause, Qin Zhi’ai asked, “Excuse me, who are you?”

“Oh, I’m from the Ministry of Public Security. Are you a loved one of this phone’s owner?” The contact name in his phone was very intimate—little troublemaker—so it had to be his girlfriend or wife.

Qin Zhi’ai became inexplicably panicked, hesitating for a while, then answered, “Yes.”

“Miss, listen to me. The owner of this phone was washed away by the river while saving lives. We’ve sent people to look for him, but we haven’t found him yet. I’m afraid the situation isn’t optimistic…”

Bang! Qin Zhi’ai’s phone suddenly dropped on the coffee table. The sound drew attention from the surrounding people, who then cast sidelong glances at her.

“Hello? Miss, are you still listening? Miss? Miss?”

The man had been talking for quite a while over the phone before she began to blink stiffly. Finally, Qin Zhi’ai came back to herself, her hands trembling. She picked up the phone and replied in a dry voice, “Yes.” Then she asked worriedly, “Where did the accident happen?”

“It happened in A city, over the Qin River, close to the G30 exit.” As the man was telling her the location over the phone, Qin Zhi’ai stood up quickly, took several hundred yuan out of her bag, and put the bills on the table. She rushed out of the cafe with her bag, heading for the taxi waiting area.