Back Then, I Adored You

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Su Qing did not wait for Qin Jiayan’s response and turned around to leave.

“This is a good time for…” Qin Jiayan suddenly said. He had been quiet on the sofa.

Su Qing stopped herself from walking away. She did not turn around and kept her back toward him.

I stopped him in the restroom when I’d seen him with Lin Tiantian on their blind date. I greeted him as a friend but was embarrassed by what he said. No matter why he rescued me from the Peking Hotel, he’s not going to say anything nice to me.

“I’m thinking the same thing as you. I think we should pretend nothing happened last night. What you just said made me feel very relieved. I really do not want to…” Qin Jiayan thought about what she had just said, and his voice became harsher. “To get involved with a married woman.”

Hearing what he really thought of her, Su Qing’s heart seemed to be squeezed, the pain causing her to grip her purse subconsciously.

“Also, I drank a lot last night and was drunk. If I hadn’t been, I would never have touched you.”

Su Qing lowered her head and did not reply.

“I do not want to owe you anything. Tell me what you want in terms of what happened last night. Whatever you ask for, I will not say no to you. I hope there will be nothing more between us after you get what you want.”

Tell him what I want? Did he just ask me to treat our night together like a deal?

Su Qing bit her lower lip and went quiet, and the silent room made time seem to stand still. Finally, having calmed herself down, she said in a hushed voice, “No, thank you. I will forget about what happened last night.”

Su Qing then added, “Goodbye,” and started walking to the door.

On her second step, Qin Jiayan suddenly stood up from the sofa, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her back.

His force was enough to cause her to stumble and fall backward, but he held onto her wrist to keep her from falling on the floor. After she stabled herself, Qin Jiayan passed a check to her. “Since you didn’t tell me what you want, I wrote you a check. I know you like money, more so than most, so I’ll let you decide how much you want. I’ve signed my name but left the amount blank. You can fill it in as you see fit.”

He now sounded harsher when he talked. When he stressed the phrase “more so than most,” Su Qing knew he was making a dig at her for leaving him for money once before.

Su Qing pressed her lips together but did not take the check from Qin Jiayan. She instead struggled to get her wrist out of his grip and then, as if she had not heard anything he had said, again started walking to the door. This time Qin Jiayan grabbed her wrist before she could take even one step, and then he shoved the check into the embellished pocket on her dress.

Qin Jiayan was again too forceful, and her wide, low collar was pushed so low that her breasts were exposed. Out of the corner of his eye he saw bruises along her shoulders.

He frowned and immediately looked away.