Back Then, I Adored You

A strong instinct was telling Qin Zhi’ai that Gu Yusheng would be there.

Without thinking it through logically, she shouted out, ”He’s at the wishing well!”

Almost simultaneously, Lu Bancheng, too, said, ”Brother Sheng will undoubtedly be at the wishing well!”

...

Qin Zhi’ai’s current location was not far from the wishing well that Gu Yusheng frequented. It would take her approximately 10 minutes to get there.

After ending her call with Lu Bancheng, she hailed another taxi. As it wasn’t rush hour, the traffic moved smoothly. Sitting in the backseat, she placed her hands over her heart multiple times throughout the ride, becoming increasingly more anxious as they approached the plaza.

The taxi stopped directly at the path that led to the wishing well. After paying the driver, Qin Zhi’ai walked toward the fountain.

She looked among all the pedestrians walking past her, as well as across the plaza as far as she could see. She circled the plaza several times, but she could not find Gu Yusheng.

Balling up her fists, Qin Zhi’ai continued to relentlessly search for him, as her heart thumped erratically and her blood coursed through her body.

She didn’t understand the feelings she was experiencing and eventually began to walk back to the road.

Lifting her hand, she wanted to flag down a taxi but she subsequently lowered her hand. Unwilling to give up, she threw one look in the direction of the wishing well.

After staring for some time, she eventually turned toward an oncoming taxi, but in that instant, through the corner of her eye, she glimpsed a crowd that had gathered some distance away from her.

Her heart skipped a beat and she fixed her eyes on them. After some hesitation, she began to walk toward them.

The closer she got, the more panicked she became.

When she was 20 feet away, she heard someone comment, ”He’s lying on the ground motionless. Could he be dead?”

”Why hasn’t the ambulance arrived? This is driving me nuts!”

Qin Zhi’ai suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, her fists clenched tight into a ball.

Holding her breath, she stared at the crowd. With her teeth tightly gritted, she made a dash toward them and pushed her way through the two people who were blocking her view of the scene.

Gu Yusheng, whom she had been searching for two hours, was lying motionless on the ground.

His face was deathly pale, and a pool of crimson red was spreading across his body.

The blood drained from Qin Zhi’ai’s face, and she opened her mouth to call out to him. But no matter how hard she tried, no sound would come out. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, she walked up to him soullessly and slowly squatted down beside him. Reaching out her hands, she gently touched his cheeks.

The sensation was real. She knew that everything that she was experiencing and seeing in this moment was real.

Qin Zhi’ai’s heart seemed to have stopped all of a sudden.

An incredulous look filled up her eyes.

Within an instant, the light in her dark pupils was replaced by confusion and a look as though the world had fallen apart. A thin layer of mist clouded over her eyes.

No wonder I kept feeling a sense of uneasiness in my heart.

No wonder my fetus was hurting in my womb.

No wonder. No wonder. He, he…

The mist formed into large tears that rolled down her cheeks onto Gu Yusheng’s face.

She opened her mouth and after summoning a large amount of strength, she finally managed to call out ”Yusheng.” Her nails dug hard into his arms, and she started to break down.