Back Then, I Adored You

Little troublemaker seemed to be extremely busy and rarely responded to his text messages. Sometimes she found time to chat with him briefly but never for a long time.

Ever since he’d learned that little troublemaker was not the real Liang Doukou, Gu Yusheng had felt insecure. He was supposed to stay in the hospital for a few more days, but he had urged Lu Bancheng to take care of the paperwork to get him out on Wednesday morning. He wanted to go back to Beijing, because little troublemaker had said she was going back home.

……

Gu Yusheng arrived at his house just past noon.

The housekeeper was home by herself. She didn’t know Gu Yusheng had been in an accident. When she heard his car driving up, she went out to greet him. As Gu Yusheng got out of the car and she saw the bandage on his head, she asked nervously, “Mr. Gu, what happened? How did you get injured? How bad is it? Do you need me to call Dr. Xia?”

“No.” Gu Yusheng passed his coat to her before bending down to change his shoes. He asked in a casual tone, “Did my wife come home yet?”

“Mrs. came home this morning but didn’t stay long. I asked if she’d be back for dinner, and she said she would.”

Gu Yusheng nodded but said nothing.

After he had changed his shoes, he headed to go upstairs. The housekeeper called after him, “Mr. Gu, what would you like for lunch? I’ll get it ready for you.”

When she realized Gu Yusheng was not going to respond, she remembered the recipes “Liang Doukou” had given her a few days ago. She followed Gu Yusheng and said, “Mrs. wrote down some of her recipes, and I have all the ingredients. How about I make one of her recipes for lunch?”

Gu Yusheng stopped at the bottom of the stairs. Insecurity had been plaguing him for days, and the housekeeper’s words worsened it.

He turned around and asked in confusion, “What did you say? Why did she suddenly write down recipes for you?”

“Mrs. asked me to learn to cook for you. She said she won’t be able to when she gets busy.” The housekeeper said the exact words “Liang Doukou” had said to him.

She definitely could just cook for me whenever she has time. Why would she ask the housekeeper to learn to cook for me?

Gu Yusheng became anxious. “Did she look different or upset when she said this to you?”

The housekeeper thought about it and shook her head. “No, Mrs. was in a good mood. She even went to the backyard to pick flowers that day.”

Hearing this, Gu Yusheng felt a little better. He responded with an “oh” and walked upstairs without saying anything else.

In the master bedroom, little troublemaker’s things were still on the vanity and in the bathroom.

Some film scripts were on the coffee table, with pages rolled on the corners from having been read too many times.

She’d left her favorite magazine on the wicker chair on the balcony.

Except for the bed sheet having been changed by the housekeeper, nothing had been touched.

Gu Yusheng sighed heavily after seeing her belongings around the bedroom. He had been tense but now he relaxed.

He had been seriously injured, and the morning trip home had made him tired. He laid on the sofa and closed his eyes while the housekeeper made lunch.