Back Then, I Adored You

A tear emerged from the corner of Guoguo’s eye. She would never forget how terrible Lu Bancheng had looked when he’d been sent to the hospital. He had looked almost dead. Neither would she forget how scared she had felt when the doctor had stated that the chance he could be saved had been slim. And she would never forget having seen and heard him calling out “Nuannuan” when he had been in a coma. From the moment he had opened his eyes, he had not cared that he might never walk again; his singular concern had been about her. “Is Nuannuan alright?” he had asked first when he’d come out of his coma.

After he had been discharged from the hospital, he remained home to continue recovering from the injury. He had once been so handsome, but now rolling himself around in a wheelchair he appeared defeated and depressed. He saw no one, not even his best friend, Gu Yusheng. He hadn’t been in contact with anyone. Guoguo many times saw him staring out the window sitting in his wheelchair. Sometimes she had seen him smiling, zoning out, or feeling sad while looking at Xu Wennuan’s photos he had on his cell phone.

She must be his true love; otherwise, he wouldn’t have sacrificed his life for her.

Guoguo did not want to promise what Lu Bancheng was asking her to. She didn’t care whether or not Lu Bancheng became Xu Wennuan’s burden; she only cared about Lu Bancheng’s happiness. His eyes, however, made it impossible for her to turn him down.

“Guoguo, I’ve only loved one girl in my life, and I want her to have a good life. If you really care about me, help me protect her. If you could do that for me, I would be happy.”

Tears fell uncontrollably down Guoguo’s face. After a while, she randomly wiped them away and said, “I know, Bro Bancheng. I won’t contact her.” Guoguo tried to control her crying.

“Alright, don’t cry anymore. They’ll think I’m bullying you if they see you like this.” Lu Bancheng playfully comforted her. Guoguo nodded hard but couldn’t help herself after a while. She pulled a tissue out of her pocket and wiped more tears off her face before she pushed Lu Bancheng back into the house.

…

Xu Wennuan remained standing in a stupor without moving for some time after Lu Bancheng’s car had driven away. As darkness fell, neon lights along the streets came on one after another. She realized she was starving when her stomach began to ache. She blinked a few times to get a handle on the pain.

She then stared at the spot where Lu Bancheng’s car had been parked and let her mind wander before she unwillingly forced herself to focus and walk to her car. Once she began driving with no destination in mind, she finally stopped at a chain restaurant.

After walking into the restaurant, she ordered and finished her food, but when she found herself sitting in her car again, she had no memory of being in the restaurant. She only seemed to recover her consciousness when she was already in her car.

She did not start the car, instead being mesmerized by the cars’ taillights on the road through the windshield. The interaction between Lu Bancheng and the girl in the car with him popped into her head.

He looked so gentle when he smiled at that girl. He even caressed her hair. Has he been with her for the last two months when I had no contact with him?

The pain she had felt when she had watched them interact crept up on her again, causing her to feel deeply sad. She could not forgive herself realizing now how she felt about Lu Bancheng; he was not the same man she had hated before.