Back Then, I Adored You

The shelf was empty. The Qing Dynasty porcelain was gone.

Qin Zhi’ai saw that the floor was immaculate.

Who could’ve cleaned this up?

But at least that explains his hand injury I saw at Baisheng. Did Old Master Gu—?

Her colleagues were quietly gossiping among themselves, as Qin Zhi’ai became aware of how dangerous the situation must have been.

She stood in a trance for some moments before checking the time on her computer screen—time to go home. With work still left to do, Qin Zhi’ai organized her files and downloaded them onto her flash drive. She grabbed her bag, said goodbye to everyone, and left before anyone else.

After returning home on the subway, Qin Zhi’ai ate a bowl of noodles, went to her bedroom, and turned on her laptop to finish the day’s work.

Her mind drifted as she worked, making it difficult to focus. It took her three hours to finish what should have been done in one.

After checking her work, she emailed a file to Xiaowang, closed her laptop, and went to the bathroom.

While preparing her bath, her mind wandered again, still unable to focus. She even caught herself using conditioner as body wash.

She dried off and shuffled to the cabinet to get her pajamas. After staring at her clothing for a moment, she put on the clothes she had just taken off before her bath. Then she grabbed her cell phone and wallet, rushed out to the street, and stopped a taxi. “Go to the Majestic Clubhouse.”

When the taxi arrived at the club, the driver had to remind her to pay.

When she got out, Qin Zhi’ai didn’t go to the entrance of the club. Instead, she stood under a streetlight at some distance, staring at the door and waiting.

Xiaowang’s earlier musings, the injuries on the back of Gu Yusheng’s hand, and the conversation in the secretaries’ office had all upset her. In fact, she was angry.

He’s in such a bad mood, but he still came to party with his friends.

And with Qinyang and all the comradery, he’s going to drink entirely too much. Xiaowang said he has a stomach ulcer… Someone needs to be concerned about this.

Qin Zhi’ai had worked hard to draw a clear line between herself and Gu Yusheng, while being as little involved in his life as possible. But everyone has a weakness, and Gu Yusheng was hers. She could not stop herself from caring about him.

And her weakness went even deeper. It was able to make her laugh and cry and unable to make her leave or hate him.

……

With a meeting early the next morning, Gu Yusheng hadn’t intended to drink that much.

Inside the Majestic Clubhouse, these friends who’d been through highs and lows together became lively and animated reliving their past. One stood up announcing he’d be getting married at the end of the year and everyone was invited to his wedding. Until that time arrived, they toasted to “death.”

Then another turned around and asked Gu Yusheng, “Captain Gu, how about you? Are you still single?”