Back Then, I Adored You

Wu Hao opened the car door and placed Xu Wennuan down on the passenger’s seat. After he helped her to buckle up, he looked up and gazed at her. Her face was shockingly pale, and tears were flowing out continuously from the corners of her closed eyes.

 For a moment, Wu Hao felt like he couldn’t breathe, and he swallowed hard before he finally said, “I’ll get you home first, and then I’ll come back and get your car. Is that alright?”

 Since Jiang Qianqian’s kidnapping incident, although Xu Wennuan had not been warm toward Wu Hao, she had remained more cordial than she had when they had first broken up. Thus, while she didn’t object when she heard what Wu Hao said, neither did she open her eyes. She merely nodded her head slightly without speaking, causing her tears to trickle down her cheeks and land on her shirt. Wu Hao stared silently at the wet fabric on Xu Wennuan’s chest and, after a few seconds, he closed the door, walked around the front of the car, and got into the driver’s seat.

 When Wu Hao was starting up the car, he looked at Lu Bancheng’s apartment building through his car window before he stepped on the accelerator and drove toward Xu Wennuan’s apartment. Their journey was silent, but Wu Hao sneaked a glance at her each time they were stopped at a red light.

 When he had received Lu Bancheng’s text, he had rushed over and found Xu Wennuan squatting on the ground and crying mournfully. She had cried for so long that her eyes had become bloated and dry, yet still an occasional tear would trickle down from the corners of her eyes.

 Wu Hao could not help but tighten his grip on the steering wheel. An indescribable sense of ache was weighing down in his chest and it was unusually unbearable.

 …

 Halfway through their journey, Wu Hao stopped the car when they passed a pharmacy to purchase a bottle of safflower oil. When they arrived at the foot of Xu Wennuan’s apartment building, Wu Hao got out and walked around the car to the passenger’s seat. He opened the car door but, before he could reach out his arms to pick her up, she said, “Thanks for getting me home. I’ll head upstairs by myself.”

 Wu Hao awkwardly held his arms midair as he stared at Xu Wennuan with wide eyes for a few seconds before he retracted his hands. Forcing herself to bear with the pain in her ankle, Xu Wennuan worked her way out of the car and hobbled toward her building. When she almost fell down at the steps, Wu Hao dashed forward to support her. Without looking at him, she merely thanked him before pulling her elbow away and continuing to walk to the entrance. Wu Hao worriedly followed her a few steps behind as she made her way to her apartment.

 Upon entering her apartment, Xu Wennuan’s ankle was throbbing, so she carefully removed her shoes. After drawing in a second breath of air, Wu Hao, who had been standing behind her in silence, picked her up and carried her to the sofa, where he placed her down and knelt before her to inspect her ankle. Just as he tried to pick up her foot, she jerked both feet back. Wu Hao tightly pursed his lips and, pretending to not have noticed her resistance, he forcefully grabbed hold of her smooth foot. Despite her struggling, he managed to inspect it and, after he was sure her tendon had not been injured, he heaved a sigh of relief. He then fished out the safflower oil from his pocket, twisted the cap open, and began to pour the oil into his palm to massage her foot. Xu Wennuan said, “I’ll do it myself.”

 Wu Hao stopped and lifted his head up to meet her eyes.

 “I’ll massage it myself,” she emphasized again.