Back Then, I Adored You

His heart had felt as though it had been stabbed with a knife—a pain that he hadn’t been able to describe to this day.

He quietly hung up on Wu Hao and stood there for a long time without moving. He then received approval from his supervisor and flew to Beijing without caring about anything else.

He had never thought that his beloved would find someone better than him, hold another man’s hand, or be in a relationship with someone else, or much less marry someone else.

After arriving in Beijing, he waited for her until late into the night outside of her college dorm. His world crashed when he saw her getting out of a luxury car. He flew back to his military station that same night.

Instead of returning to his dorm, he settled in a restroom for privacy and chain-smoked as his depression worsened. By the end, he had decided to cut all connection with her. His depression had finally crushed him, and despite his strong will he cried like a baby.

That same night, X City had an earthquake and, by the next morning, he was on the ground as part of the rescue mission.

The earthquake assignment was not as dangerous as other assignments he’d worked, but that day his bad mood and mental exhaustion caused him to injure himself.

While trying to save a mother and her daughter from a damaged building, the mother, who believed she would die from her injuries, begged Gu Yusheng to save her daughter first. That little girl’s name was Qin Ai. As he rescued the girl and got her to the medics, the relieved mother went in and out of consciousness as she murmured her daughter’s name.

When he returned for her, she was still saying, “Qin Ai, Qin Ai, Qin Ai…”

He misheard it as “Qin Zhi’ai, Qin Zhi’ai, Qin Zhi’ai…”

Already distracted in such a dangerous situation, an aftershock suddenly occurred, and the building shook violently, causing an immense stone to fall.

From outside, Qin Yang yelled, “Captain Gu! Captain Gu!”

Barely composed, Gu Yusheng covered the mother with his body without hesitation, even though he was unsure if she would live.

When he had woken up, the world had changed. He had forgotten about her, with no memory of her ever having been in his life.

A burning sensation on his fingers brought Gu Yusheng back from his memories. He stubbed out the cigarette between his fingers and tossed it into the trash can next to him. He immediately pulled out another cigarette and put it between his lips. He bit it between his teeth and lit it up.

After inhaling at length, he blew a beautiful smoke ring as he stared at Qin Zhi’ai’s apartment window. After a few more puffs, a figure appeared in the window.

His hand holding the cigarette shook; in one glance, he recognized her. Although she would not notice him outside under the building, he was still happy to see her, but the feeling was fleeting.

He could clearly tell there was another person in her apartment with her, someone tall with short hair. It was obviously a man.

Gu Yusheng froze while his touch of happiness gradually was replaced with shock, disappointment, and coldness.

After a long time, he regained his composure while recalling what she had written to him in the letter.