Back Then, I Adored You

Lu Bancheng? Why did he come? He must be here for Gu Yusheng, Qin Zhi’ai thought to herself.

As she opened the door, Qin Zhi’ai asked, “Gu Yusheng isn’t—”

Before she could finish the last two words, Lu Bancheng had pushed the door open wide and hastily walked in. “Xiaokou, is Bro Sheng home yet?”

Qin Zhi’ai shook her head and said, “No, he hasn’t been home recently.”

Qin Zhi’ai could tell Lu Bancheng looked a little worried. She waited for a while and couldn’t help asking, “What happened?”

Lu Bancheng said, “Bro Sheng had a fever last night for some reason. I asked him to get an IV at the hospital, but he refused to. He insisted on going to a business meeting in the evening. He might not have been in a good mood, so he had a lot to drink. I wanted to have Xiaowang pick him up, but he got into the car with the key once he walked out of the hotel. His car was gone before I realized it.”

Fever? Did he get sick from standing in the rain too long last night? Qin Zhi’ai thought to herself.

Qin Zhi’ai couldn’t help frowning. “Did you call him?”

Lu Bancheng said, “Yes, his phone was powered off, otherwise I wouldn’t have come here to look for him.”

Qin Zhi’ai thought about something for a while and asked, “Did you check anywhere else?”

“Yes, I looked everywhere. I checked all the houses under his name. I also asked someone to check his grandpa’s house. I called the few hotels he usually goes to. He wasn’t at any of these places.” Lu Bancheng paused before he continued, “Okay, I’ll look elsewhere. Maybe he’s at a bar. You should rest soon. Call me if he comes back.”

“Okay,” Qin Zhi’ai agreed and nodded.

Lu Bancheng walked out of house with his car keys. Qin Zhi’ai thought about the necklace Qin Jiayan had given her before Lu Bancheng pulled the car door open. When she had been taken home by the housekeeper, Lu Bancheng had said he would look for the necklace for her. She wasn’t sure if Lu Bancheng had found it or Gu Yusheng.

With this doubt, Qin Zhi’ai slowed down her actions of locking the door. She called out to Lu Bancheng’s back, “Bancheng?”

“Yeah?” Lu Bancheng held the car door open and turned his head over.

“Hmmm…” Qin Zhi’ai paused before she asked. She chose to ask in an indirectly. “Did you help me find the necklace?”

“Necklace? What necklace?” he asked her in surprise before he realized what Qin Zhi’ai was asking about. Lu Bancheng seemed to have forgotten about it. He said, “Bro Sheng found it for you. He didn’t want me to help him at all. He searched in the water the whole night to find it.”

He found it, Qin Zhi’ai thought to herself. Qin Zhi’ai seemed to be struck by something. She trembled slightly and stared at Lu Bancheng, but didn’t say anything.

“What’s wrong? Was the necklace fixed? Did he give it to you yet?” Lu Bancheng seemed to have realized something, so he asked a few questions.

Qin Zhi’ai tried to calm herself down and nodded at Lu Bancheng.

Lu Bancheng wanted to find Gu Yusheng, so he climbed in his car after asking Qin Zhi’ai those questions. He wanted to hit the gas and leave. However, seeing Qin Zhi’ai, he felt he needed to tell her something after giving it a bit of thought. He rolled down the window and said to Qin Zhi’ai, who stood behind the iron gate, “The chain was broken. The material wasn’t great, so it was hard to fix. He went to many jewelry stores to find someone to fix it. It took him a lot of time.”