Back Then, I Adored You

“Okay,” Gu Yusheng responded. After a while, he said, “Let’s go to Chen’s Restaurant.”

Chen’s? The well-known private kitchen in Beijing? Qin Zhi’ai wondered why he hadn’t asked Xiaowang to drive him there.

She took a look at Gu Yusheng in confusion and had a daring idea pop into her head.

Did he mean… Qin Zhi’ai paused for a second before she continued that daring idea, to ask her to have dinner at Chen’s?

When she had just formed that idea, Qin Zhi’ai shook her head hard in immediate denial.

Gu Yusheng hated her so much. Why would he ask her to have dinner together? He must have needed to see someone at Chen’s, but Xiaowang might have had something come up and couldn’t go with him. That was why he had asked her to give him a ride when he saw her, she thought to herself.

When she shook her head hard, it made Gu Yusheng frown. He asked her in confusion, “Huh?”

“No, nothing.” Qin Zhi’ai came back from her thoughts and immediately shook her head a few times at Gu Yusheng. She punched the address in the GPS and started the car towards Chen’s restaurant.

On the way to Chen’s, they didn’t talk at all.

While they waited at traffic lights, Qin Zhi’ai peeked at Gu Yusheng through the rearview mirror.

Gu Yusheng looked like he was busy with something and fixed his eyes on his phone. He pressed on his cell phone screen at times.

Chen’s restaurant was on a pedestrian street where no cars were allowed. Qin Zhi’ai stopped the car on the street before the pedestrian street. She said in a low pitch, “Here we are.”

“Okay.” Gu Yusheng looked up and took a look at the view outside the window after he heard Qin Zhi’ai’s voice. He noticed she had parked the car off the street so he pointed to a place straight ahead of them. “There’s a parking lot there.”

He looked back down at his cell phone again. After two seconds, he started to type on the keyboard on his phone.

After he finished typing, two minutes had passed. He seemed to have finished what he was doing and put the cell phone away. He saw the car still parked at the entrance of the pedestrian street. He frowned and turned around to ask Qin Zhi’ai in confusion, “Why are we still here?”

After he asked about it, Gu Yusheng seemed to realize something and repeated what he just said, “Park the car in the parking lot straight ahead.”

Gu Yusheng paused for a second before he continued, “Aren’t you free tonight? Let’s have dinner together.”

She had been right about it. He did want to have dinner with her. Qin Zhi’ai couldn’t believe it. She spaced out when she looked at Gu Yusheng.

Gu Yusheng turned his head away to avoid her stare. He noticed she had been staring at him for thirty seconds so he put his hand to his lips and cleared his throat hard.

Qin Zhi’ai immediately looked away. She lightly pressed on the gas and drove into the parking lot ahead of them.

After they parked, Qin Zhi’ai followed Gu Yusheng and walked to the pedestrian street. When they had only walked about two hundred yards, Qin Zhi’ai was in a daze as she looked at Gu Yusheng’s back.

She wondered why he suddenly wanted to have dinner with her.

Qin Zhi’ai didn’t want to think too much about it, but she still could clearly feel her heart start to pump faster and faster at a steadily increasing speed.

As she felt her heart racing, Gu Yusheng, who was walking ahead of her and kept a few feet away from her, suddenly turned around. He held his hands out, pulled her into his arms, and held her tightly.

Qin Zhi’ai was shocked by such a move from Gu Yusheng. She heard a series of screams next to her.