Back Then, I Adored You

 As if he had recalled something from the past, Gu Yusheng stared straight at the busy Chang’an Street for a moment before answering Qin Zhi’ai.

“Xiao’ai, do you know, seven years ago, I was standing at this very spot and watching you walk over from that street in front…” Gu Yusheng pointed at the street, which was 20 feet away.

“This is the street. After so many years, I can still recall that you were wearing a ponytail and a light pink dress with a pair of white sneakers. You were clinging onto Xu Wennuan’s arm and walking by here.”

That day, there had been a meeting at the Great Hall, and leaders from all over the world had been present.

Tourists were not restricted from entering Chang’an Street, but many from the security forces had been deployed to be on duty for the meeting.

Back then, he had only been in the military for slightly over a year but, because his platoon was stationed in Beijing, they had been ordered over for the assignment to ensure increased manpower.

It had been a hot summer and the blazing sun had made him dry with thirst.

She had been holding onto an umbrella and looked as beautiful as a princess who had walked out from a fairytale.

He had stared at her transfixed as she had walked over and then away. When she had walked by him, at the position where she had been closest to him, he could smell the fragrance that emanated from her.

To think that there had been such a moment between them, Qin Zhi’ai stared straight at the street for some time before turning her head to ask, “Why didn’t you call out and stop me?”

For a long time, Gu Yusheng gave no reply, and just when Qin Zhi’ai thought that he would never answer her question, he turned to look at her and said, “I did not have the courage to.”

That day, the words “Qin Zhi’ai” had been stuck in his throat for a long time. Even after she had long left his line of sight, the words had remained caught in his throat.

After having returned to his house that night at the end of his duty, he had realized that his nails had dug so hard into his palms that they were bloody.

Indeed, he had yearned to stop her, but he had stopped himself from doing so.

Nobody knew the sort of pain that he had to bear with at that point in time.

She was even more beautiful then than how she had looked when I left, and her smile had been so sweet.

I was the one who had ditched her back then, so how would I have had the cheek to stop her?

Qin Zhi’ai understood what he meant.

He had no intention to ever contact me again when he had given me a fake phone number.

Even if he had missed me later, he would never have bothered to find me.

It’s just that…

Qin Zhi’ai could not help but voice out her sudden fear.

“If I had not stood in for Liang Doukou and come to you later, you would have forgotten all about me. And then we would probably have never crossed paths again.”

“Probably.” While Gu Yusheng replied casually, pain rippled across Qin Zhi’ai’s heart.

As if he could sense her pain, Gu Yusheng held her hand silently and bent his face down closer to hers. Staring into her eyes, he said, “We would likely never have crossed paths again if you had not stood in for Liang Doukou. But it is also possible that we would meet again via other means. But regardless of how it happened, there is one thing that I am certain of. If I had not known you, I would have never fallen for anyone else in my lifetime nor would I have ever entered the city hall. You get what I’m saying?”