Ch 31: Text Messages Across Time

“Xiao Wu, are you still there?” When Lin Wu didn’t respond, Wang Manshan spoke up.

“I’m here.” Lin Wu came back to himself after a moment of distraction. In this ending, after Wang Jiahui was saved, nothing else had happened to her. Wang Manshan remained a key technical backbone at the factory, and Hao Shuqin continued teaching until retirement. Their lives were not as radiant as in the fourth ending, but they had been smooth and steady.

“Huihui will be coming over soon. Are you coming by at noon?” Wang Manshan asked again.

“I’ll come.” Just like in the fourth ending, Wang Jiahui had taken up dance as a specialty in her second year of high school, and now worked as an instructor at a dance studio.

At 10:00 in the morning, Lin Wu bought some fruit and headed to the neighborhood where Wang Manshan lived.

In this ending, Wang Manshan and Hao Shuqin had not been dragged down by Wang Jiahui’s illness. Over the years, they had saved quite a bit of money. Translated on Hololo novels. Two years ago, they bought Wang Jiahui a two-bedroom apartment, while they themselves lived in their current resettlement housing. It was the same home as in the first ending, with the same building and unit number. A golden “fu” character was pasted on the door, giving the place a warm, welcoming feel.

Lin Wu rang the doorbell.

“Brother Lin Wu!” Wang Jiahui had been waiting. As soon as she heard the sound, she happily opened the door.

“Where are Uncle and Auntie?” Lin Wu handed her the fruit and changed into indoor shoes with practiced ease.

“My dad went to buy drinks. My mom’s in the kitchen.” As she spoke, Wang Jiahui called out toward the kitchen, “Mom, Brother Lin Wu is here!”

“Hey!” Hao Shuqin was busy stir-frying and couldn’t step away. She called out in Lin Wu’s direction, “Sit on the sofa for a bit, it’ll be ready soon.”

“Alright. Need any help?” Lin Wu asked.

“No need, just sit.” Hao Shuqin waved her hand.

Wang Jiahui carried the fruit into the kitchen. Seeing it, Hao Shuqin said, “Why did you buy something again? You can just come over, no need to bring anything.”

“I passed by a fruit shop on the way. It looked fresh, so I picked some up.” Lin Wu had a close relationship with the Wang family, so he didn’t bring anything too expensive. Otherwise, it would feel distant.

“Alright, go watch some TV. Your Uncle Wang will be back soon.”

Just as she finished speaking, the front door opened. Wang Manshan came in carrying drinks and a few side dishes.

Half an hour later, the four of them were seated at the dining table.

“How’s the house situation going?” Hao Shuqin asked after sitting down. Lin Wu had been living in Jianghe all these years and had only returned to Xuhu last month.

“There’s just one supplemental contract left. It should be wrapped up before the end of the year,” Lin Wu said, feeling that this conversation was strangely familiar.

“Once you’re at the supplemental contract stage, it’s almost done. Are you still staying at the hotel these days?” Wang Manshan asked.

“Mm.” Lin Wu nodded.

“There’s still a room at our place. Why don’t you move over? If that’s not convenient, Huihui can come back here, and you can stay at her place for a few days.” Lin Wu had been staying at a hotel since returning. They knew he wasn’t short on money, but still wanted him to save where he could.

“Brother Lin Wu, I’ve got a spare room that’s never been used. You can stay at my place. I’ll come back here and keep Mom and Dad company,” Wang Jiahui added. Her apartment was a two-bedroom, but things were different now compared to when they were younger. They had to be mindful of boundaries.

“It’s fine. I’m doing well at the hotel. There’s a lot of material there, and moving back and forth would be troublesome,” Lin Wu said with a smile, politely declining.

“Sigh, you finally come back and still stay in a hotel.” Wang Manshan felt a bit sorry for him, then recalled the past. “Back then, if you hadn’t been so alert, Huihui might’ve been in real danger…” He sighed as he spoke.

After the attacker was caught, the police conducted a thorough investigation and confirmed his identity as Guo Chengchun, a local from Xuhu. He had a violent and irritable personality. Coworkers said he tended to go too far when beating people, showing clear antisocial tendencies.

After his arrest, he admitted to committing the previous two cases. However, during interrogation, the police found certain details didn’t match. Before they could investigate further, Luo Xiaorong’s incident happened. After further questioning, Guo Chengchun admitted he had been imitating a crime. The killer who murdered Luo Xiaorong and the others still had no leads.

“Xiaorong lived so quietly. How did someone end up targeting her…” Wang Manshan still remembered that day. Lin Wu’s face had been deathly pale, as if his soul had left him.

“Just eat. Once you start, you won’t stop talking!” Hao Shuqin cut him off and shoved a piece of ribs into his bowl.

“Let’s eat, let’s eat!” Wang Manshan quickly changed the subject.

Lin Wu sat across from them, smiling faintly without speaking.

The four of them chatted about their lives over the past half year. Wang Manshan steered the topic toward Wang Jiahui. “When we bought Huihui that apartment, we thought it would make matchmaking easier. Who knew after buying it, forget matchmaking, she doesn’t even want to meet anyone anymore…”

Wang Jiahui was now thirty-five. Wang Manshan and Hao Shuqin still held traditional views, hoping their daughter would have a stable partner. But although she had dated over the years, none of the relationships had worked out. Now she didn’t even want to meet people anymore.

“Young people have their own ideas. We shouldn’t worry too much,” Lin Wu said, thinking of Li Hang. In the fourth ending, Li Hang had been Wang Jiahui’s boyfriend. Translated on Hololo novels. They met in university and stayed together for fifteen years with a stable relationship. Lin Wu had a good impression of him. Back when Wang Jiahui was filling out her college applications, he had suggested she consider Deep Sea Dance Academy.

“Deep Sea? That’s too far. I want a school closer to home, preferably within two hundred kilometers.” Wang Jiahui was attached to home and immediately rejected the suggestion. Lin Wu didn’t press further. After the ending changed, many details had shifted as well.

“Stop worrying about me. If you’ve got nothing to do, go dance in the square downstairs,” Wang Jiahui said, clearly tired of hearing about matchmaking.

“Alright, alright, we’ll drop it.” Wang Manshan sighed helplessly, then looked at Lin Wu again. Lin Wu and Wang Jiahui had grown up together. He had once thought about bringing them together, but after observing them, he realized neither had that intention. Their bond was simply that of neighbors.

He was very satisfied with Lin Wu, but he couldn’t force two people without feelings into a relationship, so he gave up the idea.

“Your mom and I are planning to travel next year. As for your own life, make your own decisions. Just don’t regret it later,” Wang Manshan said, consoling himself with the thought that children would have their own fortunes. At worst, he would save more for retirement and leave Wang Jiahui with a stronger safety net.

………

“Boss, how much are the jackfruit and durian?”

“Jackfruit is fifteen per box, durian is thirty-five per jin.”

“Is the scale accurate?”

“Of course. We’re a fruit shop. The market regulators come by often to check.”

“Give me three boxes of jackfruit, one durian, and five jin of bananas. I want those big premium ones on top.”

2004, 8:20. Qin Weidong bought a large pile of fruit at the shop, then went to wait for Lin Wu at the entrance of No. 1 High School. The fruit was for Luo Xiaorong. His thinking was simple. Luo Xiaorong had given him a pear the other day, and he had already gone to her house twice. He couldn’t keep showing up empty-handed.

He didn’t know what Luo Xiaorong liked, so he brought fruit for now. Once he figured out her preferences, he could bring something else. It couldn’t be too expensive either, or Lin Wu probably wouldn’t accept it.

While he was thinking, the school bell rang. He quickly composed himself, and after waiting a bit, he saw Lin Wu coming out with his backpack.

“Hey!” Qin Weidong waved energetically.

“When did you get here?” Lin Wu asked as he walked over. Qin Weidong had said earlier that he would wait at the school gate, so Lin Wu wasn’t surprised.

“Just got here,” Qin Weidong replied.

Lin Wu noticed what he was carrying. “Why’d you buy all this?”

“Had nothing to do while waiting for the messages, so I figured I’d get something to snack on.” Qin Weidong casually made up an excuse, then added, “Shall we go?”

“Wait a moment.” Lin Wu told him to stay at the gate while he walked over to the bike shed. Shortly after, he pushed out a bicycle. It looked somewhat old, but clean and sturdy, a classic heavy-frame bike.

He placed his backpack and Qin Weidong’s fruit in the basket and asked, “Do you know how to ride?”

“No…” Qin Weidong paused. As a child, his grandparents had taken him everywhere. In middle school, he had a driver. In high school, he lived on campus. He had never had the chance to learn. More importantly, he had never been interested.

“Alright, hop on. I’ll take you.” Lin Wu got on the bike.

“Can it handle it?” Qin Weidong felt they were both fairly tall and worried about the bike’s capacity.

“It’s a heavy-frame bike. It’s stable.” Lin Wu rode a small circle to test it, then steadied himself with one foot on the ground. “Get on.”

“Okay.” Qin Weidong had never ridden before, and usually took taxis when going out. He awkwardly sat on the back seat like he’d seen others do, legs apart. With his height, the bike looked a bit small beneath him.

Lin Wu paid attention to the movement behind him. When Qin Weidong got on, the bike wobbled slightly but quickly stabilized.

“Ready?” Lin Wu asked.

“Yeah.”

Lin Wu pushed off, and the bike moved smoothly forward. Qin Weidong had thought Lin Wu either couldn’t ride or wouldn’t be very good at it, but he rode extremely well. “You can ride?”

“Mm.”

“Then why didn’t you before?”

“Feels troublesome.” Lin Wu had learned to ride in first grade. It wasn’t that it was troublesome. In middle school, people had often messed with his bike, and later he found the student transit card cheap and convenient, so he switched to taking the bus.

“Oh!” Qin Weidong found the bike’s appearance a bit at odds with Lin Wu’s style and asked curiously, “Where’d you get it?”

“Bought it at noon.” When he had gone out for lunch, he saw a repair shop selling secondhand bikes. This one was old in style but very practical and comfortable. After bargaining it down to 120, he thought it was worth it and bought it.

“Why’d you suddenly decide to get a bike?” Qin Weidong leaned back on the seat with both hands, asking casually.

“You get carsick. I figured we’d be talking about the messages these next few days. Riding a bike is more convenient.”

At that moment, the bike went over a small bump and jolted. Qin Weidong instinctively let go of the seat and grabbed Lin Wu’s waist, then quickly let go.

He wanted to hold the seat again, but the bike felt a bit unstable after the bump. After hesitating, he asked, “Can I hold onto your clothes?”

“Sure.” Lin Wu had given rides to Wang Jiahui and Wang Manshan before. Being held at the waist or having someone grab his clothes was normal.

“Oh.”

Lin Wu was wearing the school uniform, which puffed slightly in the wind. Qin Weidong moved his hands forward, gripping Lin Wu’s shirt, then adjusted his grip again and again until he ended up clutching two small bunches of fabric.

Qin Weidong thought the stars looked particularly bright tonight. He chatted idly with Lin Wu for a while, then asked casually, “How did you know I get carsick?”

“I noticed every time you got off the bus, your complexion looked bad.” When Qin Weidong had first followed him, it had been on a bus. At the time, Lin Wu thought he just looked irritable.

But after several encounters, he noticed Qin Weidong always chose a window seat. If none were available, he would rather stand by the front window than sit in the back.

After observing a few times, Lin Wu realized Qin Weidong’s complexion always worsened after getting off. It wasn’t an attitude, it was physical. The change before and after getting off was too obvious.

He wasn’t sure how long the messages would continue, so after thinking it over, he decided to buy a bicycle. Since it was secondhand, if he didn’t need it anymore, he could resell it at most losing a few dozen yuan.

While Lin Wu was lost in these thoughts, Qin Weidong felt unusually good after hearing this. After chatting a bit more, he asked, “Will the seventh ending appear today?”

“Mm.”

“Will it succeed?”

“It should…”

They now knew the killer’s timing and location ahead of him. As long as they prepared in advance the same way they had for Wang Jiahui, it should work.

Both Lin Wu and Qin Weidong were very confident. In the Xuhu Hotel in 2024, the thirty-seven-year-old Lin Wu was just as confident.

10:12. A new ending appeared.

Lin Wu saw memories similar to the early part of the sixth ending—

October 21. He arrived early to class. Li Jing was surprised and said, “Let’s both do our best.” He replied, “Let’s both do our best.”

October 22. Li Jing did not appear. The police came to the classroom to ask questions. Two weeks later, Li Jing transferred schools…

November 19. He told Wang Manshan to set up an ambush in advance and prepared a brick. At 8:00 that night, when something happened in the grove, the killer ran in his direction. He struck him with the brick and was not injured.

November 25. He used the same method to warn Wang Manshan in advance. After what happened to Wang Jiahui, Wang Manshan did not dare to be careless. He found five trusted coworkers and stationed them near the second canteen and the abandoned factory building.

Luo Xiaorong went missing on November 25 and was found early on the 26th in the abandoned factory building, with a time of death between 1:00 and 3:00 a.m. Everyone kept a careful watch.

And then…

Nothing happened to Luo Xiaorong.

December 5. Luo Xiaorong was killed.

✧˖°.──⋆⭒˚.⋆💌⋆⭒˚.⋆──✧˖°.

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