Back Then, I Adored You

By the time Nanny Zhang had tidied up Gu Yusheng’s bedroom and rushed to the storage room in the attic, things had already been strewn all over the place, to the point there was barely even a place to stand.

“Young Master, what exactly are you looking for? Look at the mess you’ve made.”

Just as she completed her sentence, Gu Yusheng, who had been flipping through boxes, abruptly stopped and stared at one specific box.

Sensing his mood change, Nanny Zhang immediately wished she had swallowed her words. After a moment of silence, seeing that he continued to show no reaction, she called him again. “Young Master?”

Without responding, Gu Yusheng continued to stare at the box for a long time before eventually reaching out his hand and fishing out an item.

It was a small passport-size photo.

Although many years had passed and appearances had changed, with just one glance Gu Yusheng knew that the girl in the photo with a pretty smile dressed in a school uniform was Qin Zhi’ai. The back of the photo had stains left behind by glue.

So I tore out this photo from some sort of scrapbook?

After staring at the photo for some time, Gu Yusheng bent down and began to dig deeper through the cardboard box. He tossed aside two binders of high school biology notes and discovered some love letters below.

Were these letters given to me by girls when I was in high school?

I thought I’d either declined such letters or accepted them and chucked them straight into the trash right in front of the girls.

Out of curiosity, he tore open one of the envelopes and pulled out a colored paper. Upon opening it, he saw the name “Qin Zhi’ai.”

At the bottom of the letter was written, “Third Year Second Class Wang Yichuan.”

This is a love letter that someone had written to Qin Zhi’ai. Why do I have it?

Gu Yusheng’s frown deepened. Tearing open all the other envelopes, he discovered that they were all love letters to Qin Zhi’ai from different people.

There was even a letter from someone he knew who is the founder of Luyi Magazine. He had just had drinks with him two days ago.

So he had pursued Qin Zhi’ai back in high school?

Throwing down the letters, Gu Yusheng continued to search through the box until he found an intricate vintage gift box.

Inside was a music box, one that had been trendy many years ago and had probably cost some $10. Next to the music box was a card with neat and delicate words written at the top. The handwriting was not familiar, but the names were.

“Wu Hao, Happy Birthday! Qin Zhi’ai.”

Was this Qin Zhi’ai’s present for Wu Hao? Why would I have this?

Putting down the music box, he flipped through more contents in the cardboard box. He found another gift box, this one from a luxury brand that sold crystal jewelry. Inside was a crystal necklace that spelled out “Xiao’ai.”

There was a handwritten card in this gift box, too. Although this one had no names on it, Gu Yusheng knew it was from himself.

“Happy Birthday.”

Xiao’ai, Qin Zhi’ai? Was this a birthday present that I’d bought for Qin Zhi’ai? But why didn’t I give it to her then?

He wasn’t sure if it had started when he had seen the words “Sweetheart, I am really sorry” written on the dollar note, but he had been searching hard in his memories for clues. Instead of clues, though, he had more questions than answers at this point, and his head began to ache.