Back Then, I Adored You

The mall was crowded with families, and a child almost bumped into Qin Jiayan’s fiancée. He quickly reacted and reached out his hand to grab her shoulder and pull her into his arms.

After the child ran off, Qin Jiayan tilted his head slightly and looked at the girl in his arms. As Su Qing was far away from them, she couldn’t hear what he said to her, but his expression and demeanor appeared to Su Qing to be full of concern for her.

Su Qing remembered that when they had been young, they had taken strolls on the school grounds and whenever a motorcyclist had sped toward them, he had always suddenly reached out his hand to pull her into his arms and shield her with his body.

At that point in time, when she had leaned against his chest and inhaled the scent of sunshine from his body, she had felt as sweet as honey.

But from now on, all the wonderful things that he had done for her would belong to another girl.

A long time after Qin Jiayan and Xia Yi entered the elevator, Su Qing finally turned and walked to the mall’s exit in the opposite direction.

…

It was five o’clock by the time Qin Jiayan and Xia Yi left the mall. Qin Jiayan took Xia Yi out for dinner and then took her home.

As it was still early enough that the night temperature was perfect, Xia Yi rolled down the car window and took in the scent of the Osmanthus flowers, which were in full bloom along the side of the road. She couldn’t resist reaching out her hand to caress the diamond ring box that she was hugging in her arms, and a smile formed on her lips. She could not help but shift her eyes away from the roadside to the reflection of Qin Jiayan in the rearview mirror.

When they had first met, she had felt that he was the best option among all her blind dates, but after having spent so much time with him she realized that she had increasing difficulty being away from him. Every time he dropped her off at her house, only a second would pass before she would want to call him. She would dream about him every night and think about him throughout the day, even while she was at work.

While they would be engaged in five days’ time, she still found it slightly unbelievable that such an outstanding man like Qin Jiayan would actually become hers. All this time, she felt as though she was a mortal who had accidentally stumbled into a fairytale world.

Xia Yi blinked her eyes and turned her head to look at the outline of Qin Jiayan’s perfect side profile. “Jiayan, the weather’s really good tonight. Why don’t we get out and walk around?”

Usually, Qin Jiayan would immediately nod his head and agree, but he had bumped into Su Qing twice today. Qin Jiayan pursed his lips for a moment and, before he had even made a decision, he already had uttered, “There’s something else I need to take care of tonight. Could we do it another time?”

Xia Yi did not show any hint of displeasure over Qin Jiayan’s rejection, and she agreed as she smiled and nodded her head.

After the car stopped at the foot of the Xia’s apartment building, Xia Yi reluctantly unfastened her seatbelt but, even after she turned to say goodbye to Qin Jiayan, she continued to remain in the car. Her fingers tightly clutched onto her package, and she swallowed a few times before saying softly, “Jiayan.”

“Yes?” Jiayan turned his head over when he heard her voice.

Although they had been together for so long and were even to be engaged, beyond hugging her shoulders in a gentlemanly way, he had never hugged her, kissed her, or even held hands with her.

Xia Yi bit the corner of her lips. As she didn’t know how to bring up the topic, she merely stared fixedly at Qin Jiayan.

She looked at him for a very long time, and when she saw him frown, she closed her eyes and took the initiative to move her face closer to him.