Back Then, I Adored You

He chased after her furiously, but the distance between them gradually increased. He yelled out as loud as he could but, as if she didn’t hear him, she became smaller in the distance until she disappeared into the horizon. Qin Jiayan jolted awake with a start, yelling, “Su Qing!”

He panted heavily for some time before he gradually lifted his head up and scanned his surroundings. Once convinced he was in his own bedroom, he then exhaled a long breath of air and tossed his blanket aside to get out of bed and head to the bathroom.

When he returned to the bedroom after washing his face, he picked up his phone and glanced at the time. He then walked over to the window and drew the curtains. The sunlight instantly brightened the room.

Qin Jiayan stood in front of the window at six in the morning, staring into the morning sunshine as he recalled the dream that had woken him up.

It’s been a long time since I’ve dreamed about her. Did I dream of her because the host asked me if there was anyone I like?

As he pondered the question, the face of the girl in his dreams appeared before him. Even though they had not met for many years, he still clearly remembered the youthful, healthy look she had during her university days. Her face was engraved in his mind like how her name was engraved in his heart.

Qin Jiayan raised his hand to touch the glass in front of him and casually began to draw her name out invisibly—”Su Qing Su Qing Su Qing…”

Su Qing… Su Qing… Su Qing…

Qin Jiayan didn’t know how many times he had written the words when he suddenly heard banging on his bedroom door followed by Little Peanut’s childish voice. “Uncle… Uncle… Uncle…”

As the door remained closed, her voice grew louder and more impatient, causing him to sort through his thoughts quickly, walk to the door, and pull it open. As she threw herself at him, he caught her and asked, “Aren’t you silly to scream so loud? Does your throat hurt now?”

“No!” Little Peanut shook her head, making her carefully pleated braids swish back and forth. “Uncle, go and have your breakfast downstairs.”

Qin Jiayan knew that either his mother or sister must have sent Little Peanut to call him downstairs to eat, so he placed her down, bent over to pat her head, and said, “I will head down after changing my clothes. Could you head downstairs to wait for me?”

“Okay,” Little Peanut replied agreeably. She then tiptoed and gave Qin Jiayan a peck on the cheek before she turned and ran off.

…

Qin Jiayan had his own apartment in Beijing, so when Qin Zhi’ai had asked him to stay over at her house, he suspected she might have arranged a blind date for him, and his suspicious was correct.

At 5:00 p.m., he drove to MS Café on West Second Ring Road based on the information Qin Zhi’ai had given to him.

Qin Jiayan took a seat at a reserved table and, after a 10-minute wait, a fashionably dressed girl entered the café and talked to the waiter, who pointed in Qin Jiayan’s direction. She turned her head to look, and the moment she saw Qin Jiayan’s face her eyes brightened. She walked over and sat down but, before Qin Jiayan could speak, she introduced herself. “Hello, Mr. Qin. My name is Lin Tiantian.”

“Hello, Ms. Lin,” Qin Jiayan responded politely, before he beckoned the waiter to bring the menu. When it arrived, he handed it gentlemanly to Lin Tiantian and then excused himself to head to the restroom.

When he exited the restroom, he saw that a second girl was sitting at their table. She was looking down at her cell phone, and he couldn’t clearly see her face. After walking back to the table and dragging out his chair to take a seat, the girl looked up when she heard the commotion. He turned his eyes to look at her when he sensed her gaze, and their eyes met. They were both instantly stunned.

Lin Tiantian was the youngest child of the Lin family, as well as the only daughter, so her temperament was naïve and innocent from having been protected since her youth, thus she was oblivious to the odd atmosphere now hovering around their table. She smiled and cocked her head to appreciate Qin Jiayan’s attractiveness as she introduced him to the girl beside her. “Mr. Qin, let me introduce you to my sister-in-law, Su Qing.”