Back Then, I Adored You

He had never coaxed a girl in his life, so he didn’t know how to. Usually, he was eloquent, but the moment he met her, his throat seemed to be so caught that he couldn’t say a thing.

Therefore, after some careful thinking, he had finally decided to let the housekeeper give it to her, lest he went upstairs with her and didn’t make her happy, but said something that made her sadder.

He had hoped that she would feel better after seeing the necklace in the box…

It was already time for lunch when Qin Zhi’ai came downstairs again.

Gu Yusheng seldom ate at home, so Qin Zhi’ai had become accustomed to eating in the dining room alone without feeling uncomfortable. After the meal, she greeted the housekeeper and prepared to go back upstairs.

However, when Qin Zhi’ai had just stood up, the housekeeper stopped eating, put down her bowl, ran out from the kitchen, and said, “Madame, please wait a moment.”

As the housekeeper said these words, she ran to the living room. After a moment, she brought back a box and handed it to Qin Zhi’ai. “Mr. Gu asked me to give it to you.”

Is this another present he’s sending to Liang Doukou?

Staring at the box for a while, Qin Zhi’ai took it, but she didn’t open it in front of the housekeeper. Responding with a cold “okay,” she left.

When she came back to the bedroom, without unpacking the box, she opened the drawer she had put Liang Doukou’s birthday gift in last time and placed the box in it.

It was still early, and Qin Zhi’ai had nothing to do. She thought of how she had gone to A high school before she had gone to Paris. There, she had received a letter from Mr. S, but hadn’t replied yet. Therefore, she found a stationery and a pen, then sat on the carpet, beginning to write on the coffee table.

For years, she had stayed in touch with Mr. S through letters. She never talked about things related to herself. Usually, they talked about various topics, music, movies, books… the topic wasn’t stable.

In that letter, Mr. S had recommended her a movie that she had enjoyed. She wrote something about the movie, then mentioned some interesting things she had seen on a blog. Finally, she talked about a few things about herself.

She wrote, “Mr. S, I have good news to tell you. Next month, I’ll finally pay off my father’s gambling debt.”

After writing those words, Qin Zhi’ai wanted to end it, but before signing her name, “Xiao A,” she added, “Mr. S, the man I love did many things that made me sad recently, but he also did something that made me very happy. He wished me happy birthday. Although he did so because of my deception, I’m still very happy.”

…

It was probably because she had slept so long, but after writing the letter, Qin Zhi’ai turned off the lights and lay in bed. Tossing and turning many times, she still couldn’t fall asleep.

When it was midnight, it thundered outside.

In the early autumn of Beijing, thunder showers always came at night. Thinking of the script she had thrown on the balcony in the afternoon, Qin Zhi’ai pulled back the quilt, jumped out of bed, and ran out of her room without turning on the lights.

There was already a small amount of raindrops falling. She was only wearing pajamas. After picking up the script, she wanted to rush back to the bedroom. Unexpectedly, when she turned around, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a familiar figure standing under the streetlamp outside the yard.