Back Then, I Adored You

She had yet to recover from her shock. After panting deep breaths for a long time, in the darkness, her eyes slid back into focus and she slowly scanned her surrounding environment.

She was familiar with the room and its decoration. On the TV cabinet directly opposite her were the flowers that she had arranged for with the housekeeper in the afternoon. Several pictures of adorable babies were pasted next to the TV. The caretaker had pasted them there, saying that a pregnant lady would give birth to a beautiful baby if she looked at pictures of them. She finally was convinced that what she had dreamt was just a nightmare.

Qin Zhi’ai slightly loosened her grip on the duvet, and she sagged back wearily against the headboard. She could clearly feel that her back was drenched in cold sweat, which had broken out after the shock from her nightmare. After exhaling a few long breaths, her palpitating heart finally calmed down.

After waking up from her nightmare, she no longer felt sleepy. Tossing off her covers, she got out of bed only to find that her legs were giving way. She stood there for a moment before she could force herself to take a step forward. Walking up to the coffee table, she poured a cup of cold water and gulped it down.

It was deep into the night, and there was not a single sound. As Qin Zhi’ai fished out her cell phone to check the time, she saw a text message from Gu Yusheng. It was as simple and concise as he was. “Everything is good. Don’t worry.”

Qin Zhi’ai’s heart was finally put to rest. She then looked at the time; it was 2:00 a.m., and he had sent his text more than half an hour ago.

Is he asleep already? Should I call him?

As she was still trying to decide, her cell phone beeped once in her palms. It was a new text message from Gu Yusheng. “When is the due date?”

So, he’s still awake…

Qin Zhi’ai quickly tapped in Gu Yusheng’s phone number and made the call. The phone rang once before Gu Yusheng answered, sounding surprised and a bit worried. Masking his voice to sound calm, he asked, “Why are you are still awake so late? Did something happen?”

“No…” Upon hearing Gu Yusheng’s voice, Qin Zhi’ai’s heart, which had been restless because of her nightmare, was finally put to rest. She did not dare to tell Gu Yusheng that she’d had a nightmare. Afraid that he would worry, she lied softly. “I needed to use the bathroom in the middle of the night when I heard the phone beep. When I saw it was a text message from you, I decided to just call you back.”

“Oh…” Gu Yusheng sighed with relief. Coincidentally, the door to the ward was pushed open and a nurse came in. Before she could speak, he hurriedly covered the receiver on his phone and made a hush sign at her before he quickly walked out of the ward. After he found a quiet spot in the hallway, he lifted the phone back to his ear once more. “Aren’t you sleepy?”

On the other end of the phone, as if Qin Zhi’ai was afraid that he would chase her back to sleep, she hurriedly replied, “Not sleepy. Recently, I’ve been sleeping every day, and I don’t sleep well at night.”

“I had a meeting, and it just ended not long ago.” Gu Yusheng paced forward and went downstairs. Exiting the hospital, he stood next to a lamp post and dug out a cigarette from his pocket.

Right after he lit it, Qin Zhi’ai recalled the message that he had sent before she had called him. “I’ll probably give birth at the beginning of next month. Could you…”

She stopped asking her question after only two words. Although she had not finished her question, Gu Yusheng knew what she was going to ask.