Back Then, I Adored You

“Yes, ma’am, I am sorry for your loss.”

“We are so sorry for what happened to him.”

…

Others joined in to comfort her.

Qin Zhi’ai did not seem to hear them as she absent-mindedly stared at the river without any movement.

Someone became frustrated with her stubbornness so he spoke a little harshly. “Miss, you can continue to search for him if you want. We cannot stay here any longer.”

Qin Zhi’ai battered her eyelashes then quietly turned around to take a look at the man who spoke. Her absent-minded look turned into a serious one and with a hoarse voice, she stubbornly replied, “You guys can leave.”

They were all shocked because they did not think she would say that.

Qin Zhi’ai did not care about them being surprised. She looked away from them and looked up at the sky, which had already brightened a bit. She blinked a few times before she said determinedly, “I am not leaving. I am going to stay here and keep looking for him. He told me he had something to tell me. I must find him.”

Qin Zhi’ai’s eyes turned red again. “I have something to tell him, too. We made a promise, so I have to find him. He told me he would see me later. It’s only been twelve hours, which isn’t a long time. I can still wait, for 120 hours, even for 1,200 hours. I will always wait for him…”

Tears streamed down her cheeks and she tried to curl up her mouth. Her voice trembled as she slowly said, “I will wait until he shows up and I believe he will.” It sounded like Qin Zhi’ai said it only to encourage herself.

After she spoke, she lifted her hand to wipe the tears away from her face and slowly got to her feet. “Even if all of you give up on him, I cannot. If I also gave up on him, he would have no one caring for him.”

She remembered what he murmured to her after he had helped Qin Yang capture the criminal and got drunk that night.

She had felt bad for him as she hugged him and made a promise.

She had told him he still had her.

“If you guys want to leave, you can, but I am not leaving. I will stay as long as it is necessary. If I cannot find him within a day, I will stay here for a day. If I cannot find him within two days, I will stay here for two days. If I can never find him, I will stay here forever. I am not going to give up on him because I told him he had me.”

After being worried and scared for the whole night, Qin Zhi’ai suddenly calmed down by some miracle.

She walked along the river to start searching again as she murmured, “No matter what, I am not going to leave. I would never believe he has died if I could not find his body. As long as I do not see his body, there must be a chance that he is still alive. If you guys want to leave, you can leave. I have to see him either alive or dead no matter what.”

Even if her throat was sore from screaming Gu Yusheng’s name the whole night, she still called his name repeatedly. “Gu Yusheng, Gu Yusheng, Gu Yusheng…”

A policeman near her disappointedly shook his head as he watched her from behind.

Some of the crew were so tired that they decided to leave after struggling with the idea.

After one left, there were more people who followed suit, leaving one after another. At the end, the middle-aged policeman stood up and left as well.

Only Qin Zhi’ai remained by the river. She adamantly continued screaming Gu Yusheng’s name. She screamed so much that her voice became hoarse and she could barely make any sound. Suddenly, she heard a weak voice. “Little troublemaker…”