Back Then, I Adored You

Qin Zhi’ai was curious as to what Gu Yusheng would tell her, but she was worried that she would miss her flight. She hesitated for a second and swallowed down the questions she wanted to ask. She responded in a low pitch, “Okay.”

After pausing for a second, Qin Zhi’ai said, “It’s funny. I have something to tell you, too.”

“Huh?” Gu Yusheng responded. After Gu Yusheng’s reply, Qin Zhi’ai continued, “Let’s talk after I get there.”

Gu Yusheng on the other end paused a second and responded with an okay.

After a few seconds, he called her name again. It was already his third time calling her little troublemaker during this phone call.

He paused and didn’t talk for a while.

After about a minute, he continued to say what he hadn’t finished. He said slowly, “Stay safe.”

Qin Zhi’ai could tell that Gu Yusheng hadn’t just wanted to tell her to be safe through intuition, but she couldn’t see his face to guess what was on his mind over the phone. Even though she had many doubts, she thought she would get the answers when she saw him. She responded softly, “I will. Bye.”

“Bye.” Gu Yusheng didn’t know why he kept calling her name again and again. He had said her name so slowly that he emphasized every syllable of her name. “Little troublemaker.”

He talked so low that it sounded sexy. Qin Zhi’ai’s heart had trembled from it, yet she looked calm with the phone by her ear. She grew quiet for a second before she moved the phone away from her ear. She hung up the call, started the car, and drove to the Capital International Airport.

…

After arriving at the airport, she only had half an hour before her departure time.

Qin Zhi’ai rushed to get her ticket, go through the security, and board on the plane. When she finally took her seat on the plane, she was so exhausted that she was short of breath.

After buckling the seatbelt, she took out her cell phone and texted Gu Yusheng before she powered it off. “The plane is about to take off.”

An air stewardess passed by her and saw her cell phone screen was still on. She reminded in a friendly voice, “Miss, could you power off your phone?”

“Sure, I’m turning it off now,” Qin Zhi’ai responded. She waited half a minute with her hand gripping the phone. She didn’t power it off until she had received a text from Gu Yusheng that said, “See you soon.”

As the plane flew into the sky, Qin Zhi’ai watched the floating clouds through the window. She couldn’t help but curl up the corners of her mouth.

She had thought the last time she would see Gu Yusheng would be when he had been so mad at her.

She hadn’t expected things to take a turn or that she would get to see him one more time.

She felt lucky and blessed. She could make a beautiful memory with him before they were separated.

She had liked him for eight years, but she couldn’t be with him anymore. She thought about how when she saw him later, she would ask the question she had held onto for eight years—”Gu Yusheng, do you like me?” She would finally be content, without any regrets.

Qin Zhi’ai landed in Shanghai at the Putong Airport on time, at 5:10 pm.

She put on a face mask and sunglasses before she got off the plane, leaving from the VIP exit.

She stood at the exit. She looked around, but didn’t see Gu Yusheng. She thought he wasn’t there yet, so she texted him, “I’ve arrived.”

She was afraid that he couldn’t find her, so she took a picture of herself next to a café and texted that picture to Gu Yusheng. She sent him, “I’ll be waiting for you here.”

Gu Yusheng still hadn’t arrived after she had already had a cup of coffee.