Back Then, I Adored You

Silence prevailed the car again. The traffic was very smooth that night, so in half an hour, they had arrived at the Capital International Airport.

After going through a security check, Gu Yusheng boarded the plane. The plane took off, and when it landed at Shanghai’s Hongqiao Airport, it was already one in the morning.

The Shanghai branch, which had been notified in advance, had already sent someone to wait for them at the airport.

No sooner had Gu Yusheng climbed into the car than his new cell phone rang. He took out the phone and suddenly froze when he saw the caller’s information—”little troublemaker.”

Xiaowang, who was sitting in the passenger seat, heard Gu Yusheng’s cell phone ringing constantly. He thought that maybe Gu Yusheng hadn’t heard it, so he reminded him, “Master Gu, your cell phone is ringing.”

Gu Yusheng made no response.

Xiaowang turned to Gu Yusheng, puzzled, and found that he was staring blankly at the phone’s screen. Just when Xiaowang thought he wouldn’t answer the phone at all, his fingertip gently slid across the screen, then he raised the phone to his ear.

Gu Yusheng remained silent this whole time without knowing what the other person was saying on the phone. In a minute, he suddenly hung up, threw his phone aside, leaned against the back of the seat, and closed his eyes.

The look on his face had been somewhat indifferent all night, but it gradually became depressed, even making the atmosphere in the car gloomy.

The driver and Xiaowang, who had been making conversation with each other before, were aware of the change. They consciously shut their mouths and became silent.

The atmosphere in the car was very silent. Xiaowang kept looking at Gu Yusheng in the rearview mirror. It wasn’t clear whether it was due to the dim night or because he was still somewhat sleepy, but Xiaowang felt that Gu Yusheng, who had originally worn an indifferent look, was now looking sad and helpless.

Gu Yusheng didn’t open his eyes, but his fingers moved to grasp the phone he had thrown aside. He seemed to struggle with something, clutching the cell phone more and more forcefully. In the end, there was a self-mocking smile on his face. He picked up the cell phone, held it up in front of him, and tapped on the screen a few times. It seemed that he was making a phone call. After about a dozen seconds, he brought the phone to his ear. “Are you in Beijing?… If you’re there, go home now… She seems distressed now.”

After hanging up, Gu Yusheng stared blankly out of the window again.

This time, Xiaowang was quite sure that he had been right. Master Gu was indeed very disappointed and sad.

When they arrived at the hotel and checked in, it was already two o’clock in the morning.

Gu Yusheng wasn’t sleepy at all. He entered the room, turned on the computer, and totally engaged himself in busy work.

It was seven o’clock the next morning when he had finished all his business.

When he picked up his phone and checked the time, he subconsciously dialed the phone number of his home. Before he had called, he quickly stopped, threw his cell phone on the bed, and went into the bathroom to take a shower and change clothes. Then he took Xiaowang to the Shanghai branch office.

As Xiaowang had said, the problem at the branch office wasn’t very serious at all. It was solved in half an hour.

After finishing his work that night, Gu Yusheng went back to the hotel to take a good rest. But when he was lying in bed, tossing and turning, he just couldn’t fall asleep. Finally, he picked up his cell phone and tapped on its screen several times. Only then did he find out that he had called her number without even knowing it. He wrote a text message to ask her, “Are you feeling better?”

Gu Yusheng didn’t click “send,” just stared blankly at the phone screen for a long time. After, he got out of bed, took out a cigarette, went to the window, and smoked.