Ch 25: Text Messages Across Time

Now everything had returned to the starting point, but not entirely to the original beginning.

Lin Wu looked at the pajamas he was wearing. At the very start, he had been wearing light brown pajamas. Now they had become dark brown. Everything had reset, but this time the choice had begun on September 23, 2004. Because of that, in the life from seventeen until now, he still retained the memories of meeting Qin Weidong, receiving messages across time, and buying lottery tickets. His overall life path hadn’t changed, only small details had shifted slightly.

Lin Wu thought for a moment. This should now count as Ending Five, but since he hadn’t interfered with Wang Jiahui and Luo Xiaorong’s lives, it was still categorized as Ending One.

At 10:20, it began to rain lightly outside. Lin Wu had just come out of the fourth ending and felt physically and mentally exhausted. After washing up, he shut off the computer, planning to sort out other ideas the next day.

After turning off the lights and lying in bed, he suddenly felt he had forgotten something. He picked up the old phone and saw a series of unread messages—

【Who are you?】
【What’s your relationship with Lin Wu?】
【Reply!】
【Reply!!!】
……

Lin Wu: …

His memory had just refreshed, and since he hadn’t gone to the hospital today, he hadn’t thought about the messages. In 2004, the phone was in Qin Weidong’s hands.

“I…” Lin Wu tried to type a reply, but after everything that had happened these past two days, he didn’t know what to say.

Knock knock—

Someone knocked on the door.

He checked through the safety latch, then opened it.

“Hello, the weather has turned cooler, so our hotel has prepared pear soup for guests. Would you like a bowl?” The hotel staff pushed a cart and asked warmly. The freshly made pear soup was still steaming, looking warm and comforting.

“Thank you.” With the rain outside, Lin Wu did want something warm.

“If you need anything else, feel free to call the front desk,” the staff said as they set it down.

“Alright, thank you.” After seeing them off, it was already 10:28. He couldn’t send messages now. After turning off the phone, he sat at the table. The pear soup was made from high-quality pears, lightly sweet and better than he expected. Before he realized it, he had finished a bowl.

Lin Wu wasn’t the type to wallow in self-pity. Early the next morning, he sat back down at the computer.

Wang Jiahui and Luo Xiaorong had now gone through four endings. The fourth one had been like a beautiful dream, but it also proved that moving away would trigger changes in the killer’s behavior. Such changes usually came from both internal and external factors. Absentmindedly clicking his pen, Lin Wu realized that simply moving away no longer worked. He had to find a new ending as soon as possible.

………

In the 2004 classroom, seventeen-year-old Lin Wu was also clicking his pen. He had now reset everything back to the beginning. Everything was starting anew, and there would be new endings.

The day passed quickly.

At 8:30 in the evening, Lin Wu sent Qin Weidong a message: 【Are you at the hospital?】

【Mm.】

【Should I come see you?】

【Up to you.】

Lin Wu felt something was off. Qin Weidong’s mood didn’t seem right. After thinking, he asked: 【Do you want anything to eat? I can bring it.】

【No, I’ve already eaten.】 After sending that, the other side added: 【Don’t want milk tea, don’t want cake, don’t want anything, don’t buy anything.】

【Okay.】

Lin Wu guessed that although they weren’t close, he had been visiting the hospital daily, so they were at least familiar. Since he hadn’t come yesterday, Qin Weidong might have felt upset while sick.

Even though he had agreed not to bring anything, Lin Wu still bought five jin of bananas on his way out, then headed to the hospital.

When he arrived, the ward lights were off. Qin Weidong was leaning against the bed, playing Sokoban.

“Why isn’t the light on?” Lin Wu asked, placing the bananas on the table.

“You can turn it on,” Qin Weidong replied coldly.

Lin Wu turned on the light and opened the window slightly for ventilation. Translated on Hololo novels. Seeing Qin Weidong silent, he spoke first. “Sorry, I meant to come yesterday, but something came up at home, so I had to go back.” He felt he didn’t really need to apologize, but since he needed to borrow the phone, he didn’t mind softening his tone.

“I’m going to play games later. I can’t lend you my phone.” Qin Weidong said it directly.

“What’s wrong?” Lin Wu could tell something was off, but it wasn’t just because he hadn’t come. He didn’t know what the real issue was.

Qin Weidong had intended to stay cold, but couldn’t hold back his temper. He looked sharply at Lin Wu. “How did you know the winning numbers in advance?”

“What numbers?” Lin Wu was stunned.

“Last night’s lottery numbers!” Qin Weidong stared at him, completely serious.

The previous night, after learning Lin Wu wouldn’t come, Qin Weidong had finished the dumplings and wontons alone, then angrily ate the chicken leg and eggs too. Bored out of his mind, he suddenly remembered the five lottery tickets in Lin Wu’s English book.

“Wonder if they’ll win…” Qin Weidong turned on the TV, planning to watch the draw, then call Lin Wu to say he had seen the tickets and ask if he won, and then casually ask when he would come.

The more he thought about it, the more pleased he felt, munching on an apple while waiting for the draw.

At 9:15, the numbers were announced.

First number: 02.

“Oh, same.” Qin Weidong felt lucky. He had seen all five tickets, one placed separately and four together. It had seemed odd, so he had looked at the single one twice and memorized its seven numbers.

Now the first number matched. He adjusted his posture, thinking Lin Wu had pretty good luck.

Three seconds later, the second number: 21. The third: 25…

………

Qin Weidong was eating an apple, but as he ate, he suddenly couldn’t continue. His expression shifted from cheerful to increasingly serious.

He had never felt his memory was this sharp. As the final number was announced, he confirmed that Lin Wu had matched six out of seven numbers, all of the first six numbers exactly, even in the correct order.

He quickly checked the lottery rules. Lin Wu had won second prize, fifty thousand yuan.

“He won?” Qin Weidong frowned. It wasn’t that he envied the money, nor that he thought Lin Wu couldn’t win. It was that among the five tickets, only the winning one had been placed separately, as if Lin Wu had already known it would win.

In a flash, he thought of the unknown number. Their connection to that number had started with the fire prediction. That person had always been mysterious, as if they truly had some ability to foresee things. And recently, Lin Wu had been chatting with them often… could it be that the unknown number had really predicted it and told Lin Wu the winning numbers?

He recalled Lin Wu’s expression when he left the other day. It wasn’t the joy of someone about to win money, but more like someone who had suffered a heavy blow.

He thought of a popular TV drama from last year, where the protagonists traded away things like love, health, or personal abilities in exchange for wealth or other gains.

“Damn!” A thought struck him. Could Lin Wu have made some kind of deal like in those dramas, trading something valuable for fifty thousand yuan?

“!!!” Qin Weidong got angry. He had already suspected that the unknown number had bad intentions, and now it seemed even more so. Even if it wasn’t something as extreme as in the drama, judging by Lin Wu’s expression, it definitely wasn’t anything good.

If Lin Wu needed money, he could have asked him. He still had plenty of allowance, and if that wasn’t enough, he could ask Qin Jianzhang!

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He felt Lin Wu was inexperienced and might have been misled by someone with ill intent. He also firmly decided that from now on, he would never let Lin Wu talk to that person alone. He had to be stricter. Otherwise, if something happened, he would end up being responsible too.

After making up his mind, that was why he had been so cold all day.

Now he looked Lin Wu up and down. Seeing that he hadn’t lost any limbs, he said fiercely, “If you don’t tell me, I’ll never lend you my phone again!”

“I…” Lin Wu thought about pretending he hadn’t bought any lottery tickets, but since Qin Weidong asked this directly, he clearly had seen them. Translated on Hololo novels. He figured it must have been when he went downstairs to get the IV bottles the other day.

“I just got lucky,” Lin Wu said, quickly calming himself.

“Then why was the winning ticket set aside in advance?” Qin Weidong stared at him. “Lin Wu, I’m not stupid.”

It wasn’t that he didn’t believe Lin Wu could win, but everything connected together felt far too coincidental.

“I just put it there randomly. Didn’t expect it to actually win.” Lin Wu felt like he was blatantly lying.

Seeing Lin Wu’s pale face, Qin Weidong felt uneasy, but still kept a cold expression. “I don’t trust you right now. You can’t use my phone unless I watch you.”

“I…” Lin Wu hesitated. “That’s my privacy.”

“But it’s my phone! If I don’t want to lend it, I won’t. If it’s your privacy, then use another phone.” Qin Weidong didn’t look at him. He had made up his mind.

Time passed slowly. After a long silence, Lin Wu finally said, “I need to talk to him.”

“Who?”

“The unknown number.”

Qin Weidong stared at him. In the end, he softened slightly. “Five minutes at most.”

“Okay.”

At 10:10, Qin Weidong tossed the phone to Lin Wu and went out into the hallway for some air, leaving Lin Wu alone in the room.

【Fried dough sticks, soy milk.】 At 10:12, Lin Wu typed as usual.

【Zhajiang noodles, egg.】 came the reply.

Lin Wu hovered over the keyboard, typing and deleting, until finally he sent:

【Sorry.】

He didn’t explain why. At that exact moment, he knew the other side had just refreshed their memories.

………

【Sorry.】

In the Xuhu hotel in 2024, Lin Wu rubbed his temples with a headache. He hadn’t expected Qin Weidong to be this perceptive. Or rather, it wasn’t even about being perceptive. Any normal person who saw a specially separated lottery ticket win two days later would find it suspicious. And Qin Weidong, having experienced the internet café fire incident, was even more sensitive to things being off.

In short, things had gone beyond what he expected.

✧˖°.──⋆⭒˚.⋆💌⋆⭒˚.⋆──✧˖°.