Ch 18: Text Messages Across Time

“Brother Qin, I’m at the third cafeteria right now. They’ve got millet porridge, egg drop soup, wraps, and buns. What do you want? I’ll bring it back for you.” At 8:20, in the dining hall of Lide High’s third cafeteria, Hu Wei asked over the phone. There were still ten minutes before dismissal. He had snuck out and couldn’t leave campus.

“Not eating.” In the dorm, Qin Weidong replied gloomily. Ever since coming back from the residential compound two days ago, he had caught a cold. Maybe it was the change of seasons. He’d taken medicine, but instead of improving, he felt worse.

“You haven’t eaten all day. At least have something,” Hu Wei urged.

“Don’t feel like it. Just get your own.” Qin Weidong’s voice was hoarse. After speaking, he hung up.

The school hadn’t dismissed yet. The dorm and the outside were quiet. He didn’t turn on the light. Only a faint warm glow from the streetlights seeped through the curtains.

He pulled the blanket tighter around himself and opened last night’s chat log—

【I helped you contact Lin Wu. The fire!!!】
He had sent that message right at 10:12 the night before.

After they reconnected, the other side had always replied instantly. But this time, one minute, two minutes… even after ten minutes, there was still no response.

“That’s not right…” He thought maybe his phone was acting up. Just as he was about to remove the battery to restart it, the inbox lit up—

【Sorry. Please give me some time. I’ll tell you about the fire.】

On the other end, Lin Wu had just refreshed the memory of both Wang Jiahui and Luo Xiaorong being killed. His thoughts were in chaos, and he couldn’t respond coherently.

Qin Weidong: !!!

Already irritated from being sick, Qin Weidong instantly got angry when he saw that message.

He thought about how he had rushed over to the residential compound, then to the bookstore, then back to the compound… how he had waited there for three hours, then stood in the cold wind at the gate waiting for a ride. That was probably why he got sick.

All of it was because he believed the line “I can tell you why I knew.” He had done his part. But the other side—

【Liar！！！！！！！！！！】 he sent furiously.

On the other end, Lin Wu knew he had broken his promise. His mind was a mess, and he needed time to sort things out.

【Sorry. I’ll tell you as soon as possible.】

【How long is “as soon as possible”?】 Qin Weidong sneered.

【At most five days.】

…

Qin Weidong ended the conversation angrily. He wanted to go find Lin Wu and get answers, but he was sick. He didn’t even have the energy to leave the dorm, so he had no choice but to put it aside.

At 8:30, the dismissal bell rang, and the hallway instantly became noisy. Irritated, Qin Weidong silenced his phone, shoved it under his pillow, put on an eye mask, and tried to sleep.

Some roommates came back, but knowing he was sick, they didn’t disturb him. After tidying up a bit, they grabbed a deck of cards and went to the next dorm to play.

Outside was lively. Inside was quiet.

Qin Weidong felt aches all over. He couldn’t even tell where exactly, just that his whole body felt off.

He forced himself to sleep. In a haze, someone poked his arm through the blanket.

He frowned and ignored it. The person poked him again.

“I’m sleeping!” Qin Weidong snapped, pulling off his eye mask. He thought it was Hu Wei trying to drag him out to play.

But when he looked, there was a “stranger” standing by his bed.

Slim build. Straight nose. Pale skin.

It was Lin Wu.

“Why are you here?” Qin Weidong was momentarily confused. How was Lin Wu in his dorm?

“Brother Qin, this guy was asking about you at the school gate. I called you but you didn’t answer, so I brought him in,” Gao Mingming said, entering with a wrap in hand.

Fifteen minutes earlier, Lin Wu had tried to enter after Lide dismissed. But the gate guard stopped him when he realized Lin Wu wasn’t a student there. So he waited outside and asked around for Qin Weidong.

He got lucky. After asking a few people, he ran into Gao Mingming, who was in the same dorm as Qin Weidong. Translated on Hololo novels. At first, Gao Mingming thought Lin Wu might be there to cause trouble, but Lin Wu didn’t look the type. And besides, this was Lide’s home turf. No one would come alone to start something.

After checking Lin Wu’s bag to make sure he wasn’t carrying anything dangerous, Gao Mingming lent him a school uniform and smuggled him in.

“Brother Qin, you two know each other, right?” Gao Mingming asked. He had gone to deliver a wrap to the next dorm and came back half a minute later than Lin Wu.

“We do…” Qin Weidong gradually came back to his senses.

“Qin, I brought you some desserts. Do you have an appetite?” Lin Wu had heard on the way that Qin Weidong had a cold and wasn’t sure if he could eat sweets.

“I’ll have the milk tea…” Qin Weidong glanced at what he was holding and picked something.

Lin Wu placed everything on the shared desk, took out the milk tea, inserted the straw, and handed it over.

Qin Weidong took a sip.

“Brother Qin, I’m heading to the next dorm to play cards. Call me if you need anything,” Gao Mingming said. Seeing that they weren’t about to fight, he changed his shoes and ran off.

In an instant, only Lin Wu and Qin Weidong were left in the room.

Qin Weidong sat up. He was tall, his head only half a fist away from the ceiling. He wore light blue pajamas and was covered with a cartoon blanket. After lying in bed all day, his hair was a mess.

He didn’t realize how he looked. Putting on a serious tone, he asked, “Why did you come?”

“Can I borrow your phone for a bit?” Lin Wu said, stating his purpose.

“To send a message?” Qin Weidong had already guessed while drinking the milk tea.

“Yeah.” Lin Wu nodded.

“Who is that unknown number?” Qin Weidong asked casually.

“He didn’t tell you?” Lin Wu asked.

Qin Weidong lied smoothly, “He did.”

“If he did, why ask me?”

“I just want to confirm.”

“It’s exactly what he said.”

Qin Weidong: …

Seeing how airtight Lin Wu’s answers were, Qin Weidong had no choice but to admit, “He didn’t say.”

“It’s a bit complicated to explain. You can wait for his reply,” Lin Wu said. He wasn’t sure whether revealing the “twenty years later” explanation would cause further changes, so he chose not to say it.

“If you don’t tell me, I won’t lend you my phone!” Qin Weidong threatened.

“This message is very important to me. I really need it.” Lin Wu pressed his lips together, looking at him seriously.

“It’s really important. I hope you can help me.” He emphasized it again.

“Alright, alright, alright!” Qin Weidong had already decided to lend the phone while drinking milk tea. He had only meant to joke around, but Lin Wu’s seriousness made him feel like he was bullying him.

Qin Weidong took out his phone. There were three missed calls on it, all from Gao Mingming around 8:40. Seeing nothing important, he tossed it over. “Last time.”

“I’ll try.” Lin Wu opened the chat with the unknown number. He noticed Qin Weidong had saved it simply as “Unknown Number,” and there were a few more messages than before.

“Can I look?” Lin Wu asked.

“Go ahead.” Qin Weidong felt he had nothing to hide. If anything, Lin Wu and that unknown number seemed like they were plotting something big.

He took another sip of milk tea. It had been bought around eight and was still slightly warm. Translated on Hololo novels. Maybe it just tasted good, because as he drank, he gradually felt less annoyed. When he finished, he noticed Lin Wu was still standing there.

“Find a place to sit,” Qin Weidong said, pointing at the lower bunks.

“I’m fine standing.” With the owner not there, Lin Wu didn’t want to intrude on someone else’s personal space.

“So troublesome…” Qin Weidong seemed to read his thoughts. He pointed at a chair by the table. “That chair’s mine. Toss the clothes on it into the blue basin under the bed and sit there.”

It was a beige sofa chair that looked very comfortable, currently covered with a pair of blue jeans and some socks.

Seeing there was still half an hour left, Lin Wu didn’t refuse. He bent down to move the clothes—

“Wait!” Qin Weidong suddenly stopped him when he noticed the socks.

“What is it?” Lin Wu looked up.

“I’ll do it myself.” Qin Weidong quickly climbed down, stuffed the clothes into the basin, and shoved the socks deep inside.

“Sit,” he said when he was done.

“…Thanks.” Lin Wu sat on the chair. It was even more comfortable than it looked.

Qin Weidong used some hand sanitizer, then sat on the bed beside him, glancing at the cake and cream puffs on the table. “What flavors are these?”

“Chocolate and original. I didn’t know what you’d like.”

“They’re fine.” Qin Weidong grabbed a cream puff. It was filled with plenty of cream. After eating two, he casually asked, “Did you eat dinner?”

“Yeah.”

“What did you have?”

“Stone flatbread and millet porridge.”

“Full?”

“More or less.”

The cake Lin Wu bought was about four inches, and the shop had included a knife and plate. As he listened, Qin Weidong casually cut it in half, kept one half, and pushed the other toward Lin Wu. “I can’t finish it. Let’s share.”

“You could save it for tomorrow,” Lin Wu said, a little surprised.

“Cake tastes bad overnight. The others don’t like cream anyway,” Qin Weidong muttered, taking a bite.

“Thanks.” Lin Wu didn’t like wasting food, so he picked up a fork and started eating.

They ate quietly, with only the ticking of the desk clock in the background. As Qin Weidong ate, he kept glancing over. Lin Wu didn’t eat cake often, and with nothing else to do, he was eating slowly and carefully.

Comparing the two, Qin Weidong felt like one of his bites equaled three of Lin Wu’s.

“What is it?” Lin Wu noticed his gaze.

“So… you really can’t say?” Qin Weidong leaned closer, still unwilling to give up on asking about the unknown number.

Lin Wu: …

“Wait for him to tell you.”

“Alright…” Qin Weidong said, a little disappointed.

At 10:10, the two of them finished eating. Now they were only half a meter apart. Lin Wu glanced at the time and was about to step out into the hallway to find a quiet place to reply to messages when Qin Weidong suddenly stood up.

“I’m going up to sleep for a bit. Wake me when you’re done texting.”
With that, he climbed onto the top bunk in a long, easy motion, deliberately turning so he wouldn’t be facing Lin Wu.

“Okay…” Lin Wu let out a quiet breath of relief.

At 10:12, the moment the second hand hit zero, Lin Wu sent first:
【Soy milk, sliced steamed bun, alone.】
That was his breakfast today.

The reply came:
【Stir-fried eggs with green peppers, two liang of rice.】
That was Lin Wu’s lunch.

It felt strangely surreal, as if there were someone on the other end perfectly in sync with him.
If that person was himself twenty years later, then of course they would be.

“What about the outcome?” Lin Wu asked, getting to the point. Translated on Hololo novels. According to the unknown number’s theory, what he did in 2004 would affect 2024. He already knew about the three dates: 11.19, 12.15, 12.17. By that logic, the future should have changed…

“It changed,” the other side replied.

Relief washed over Lin Wu, but before he could ask further, another message came—

“On November 19, you warned Wang Jiahui and walked her home after school. Her fate changed. But then on December 2, Wang Jiahui and Luo Xiaorong were both killed. Their bodies were found near the artificial lake in the eastern suburbs…”

“Why were they killed?!” Lin Wu’s face turned deathly pale.

“The police concluded it was the same killer as in the previous Xuhu cases.”

“Wasn’t it random?”

“It’s not.” Although the time and place changed in Outcome 3, Wang Jiahui and Luo Xiaorong still died. After comparing all three outcomes, he was certain it wasn’t random.

“Should we keep interfering with December 2?” Seventeen-year-old Lin Wu bit his lip, forcing himself to stay calm.

“It may not change much.” Even if they interfered with December 2, it might just happen on December 3, or December 4… Unless they could stay with them every second, it was like a blade that could fall at any moment.

“There has to be another way…” Lin Wu was about to ask more when a string of numbers came through:

【02.21.25.13.19.09.15】

Then a long message followed—

【These are the winning numbers for the Double Color Ball lottery on September 23. The prize is 500,000 yuan. Lin Wu, buy this ticket, take Luo Xiaorong and Uncle Wang’s family, and leave Xuhu City. Tell them in advance you’ll win, and they’ll believe you.】

【Go as far away as possible. It would be best if you never come back.】

【Being able to connect like this is already a kind of luck. I don’t know if that luck comes with a cost. So if the outcome can be changed, I hope you’ll repay this 500,000 yuan later in life, as gratitude for the new life fortune has given you…】

…

The world was vast. Xuhu was small.

If the tragedy of Wang Jiahui and Luo Xiaorong couldn’t be stopped directly, then he would stop gambling with fate altogether.

The thirty-seven-year-old Lin Wu had the means to take everyone away. The seventeen-year-old version did not. He needed money. He needed a reason strong enough for Wang Manshan to agree to leave with him.

He needed to obtain a large sum quickly.

Buying a lottery ticket at seventeen was legal, but using the foresight of his thirty-seven-year-old self to guarantee a win felt unfair. So he chose the Double Color Ball, where prizes are independent, so even if he was the “butterfly,” it wouldn’t affect anyone else’s winnings.

His wish was simple. As long as Wang Jiahui and Luo Xiaorong could live, that was enough.

He would treat it as borrowing from the future, and he would repay that fortune in time.

In 2024, the thirty-seven-year-old Lin Wu closed his eyes.

He told his seventeen-year-old self:

Leave. As soon as possible.
And never come back.

✧˖°.──⋆⭒˚.⋆💌⋆⭒˚.⋆──✧˖°.