Ch 45: Text Messages Across Time

“This is the company’s proposed accident compensation agreement. According to its terms, in addition to covering all medical expenses, the company will also compensate you for nutrition costs, emotional distress, and so on, totaling 32,000 yuan. Would that be acceptable to you?”

Early the next morning, at Xuhu Hospital in 2004, the advertising company’s manager arrived at the ward with a lawyer. In their hands was a freshly printed A4 agreement.

“Thirty-two thousand?” Lin Wu was a little surprised when he saw the amount.

He had ten stitches in his shoulder blade. It looked serious, but it was considered a minor accident. He had asked the hospital and other patients, and injuries like this usually received three to five thousand in compensation. Companies with better conditions might pay eight thousand. He had expected about five thousand himself. He hadn’t expected the amount to be six times higher.

“This was determined based on your injury,” the manager said, somewhat frustrated.

Lin Wu was just a high school student and seemed easy to deal with. Their original intended compensation had been 3,500. But the afternoon before yesterday, a lawyer had come to the company, claiming to be Lin Wu’s representative. Chapter source: HololoNovels dot com. After presenting his credentials, he went from discussing the Advertising Law to the Urban Environmental Sanitation Regulations. His core point was simple: the advertising company had violated the law.

“Lawyer Chen, our company’s actions aren’t related to this case, are they?” the company’s legal officer asked, frowning.

“These are your company’s complaints and accident penalties over the past year. From the standpoint of the Advertising Law and Safety Law, your company knowingly violated regulations…” Lawyer Chen laid out a stack of documents.

Xuhu Advertising was the largest advertising company in the area, but it had major gaps in management and operations. Now that the other side had produced such detailed evidence, they knew they had run into a tough opponent.

“What do you want?” the legal officer asked directly.

“You can’t take advantage of my client just because he’s a high school student and offer the minimum compensation. We need to renegotiate the amount,” Lawyer Chen said plainly.

Over the next three hours, both sides argued their case. The company had originally wanted to reject the demand, but after checking, they found that the lawyer was a well-known “iron-mouth” attorney in the province, highly respected in corporate disputes.

Their initial 3,500 yuan had indeed been based on the lowest standard. Given the evidence presented, they would have no advantage in court. Meanwhile, the company was competing for an advertising contract and didn’t want to escalate the matter at such a critical time.

“Fine…” In the end, the company agreed to the 32,000 yuan settlement.

“Lawyer Chen, you even take cases this small?” one of the managers joked after the agreement was reached. Thirty-two thousand sounded like a lot, but for both the company and the lawyer, it was a minor case. They had simply been arguing from their respective positions.

“I took it on for a boss,” Lawyer Chen said with a smile.

“Oh? A big boss still cares about things like this?” Anyone he referred to as “boss” likely had assets in the tens of millions.

“Haha, we don’t understand what bosses are thinking. If they pay, we do the job.” After laughing, Lawyer Chen added, “I’ve reviewed your company’s recent disputes. There are some serious lapses in safety management. You’d better pay attention.” Xuhu Advertising had significant safety negligence. If it continued like this, something major would happen sooner or later.

“The company is planning some safety reforms,” the manager said helplessly. They had reviewed the footage from the 21st. At the time, the metal plate had been only three centimeters from the student’s head. One step closer, and it would have become a major public incident.

“Haha, as long as you’re determined.” After a brief reminder, Lawyer Chen left.

The company’s legal department finalized and printed the “Accident Compensation Agreement,” leading to the current hospital scene.

“Take a careful look. If everything is fine, sign at the bottom. The payment will be transferred within three days,” the manager said.

“Do I need a guardian’s signature?” Lin Wu asked.

“Given your situation, you can sign and provide a fingerprint yourself.” They had already learned about Lin Wu’s family circumstances on the day of the accident. His guardian was not in a position to appear.

“Alright.” The compensation was generous, and there were no vague terms. Lin Wu signed after reading it.

That afternoon, he went to the bank near the hospital and checked. The 32,000 yuan had already been deposited. He returned to the room happily.

“Something got you in a good mood?” Qin Weidong had been on the phone outside. Seeing Lin Wu grinning from ear to ear, he asked with a smile.

“I am pretty happy.” Qin Weidong had stepped out during the compensation discussion. He didn’t care much about money, but he could tell that Qin Weidong had been thoughtful.

“Is there anything you want to eat? Once I’m discharged, I’ll treat you,” Lin Wu said, looking at him happily. He had been worried about money before. Now, with this compensation, things would be much easier through high school and college.

“Sure. That burger place we went to should have new items by now. Let’s go together after you’re discharged?” Qin Weidong didn’t refuse.

“Deal!” Burgers were cheap. Lin Wu planned to treat him to that first, then something else afterward.

…

At the same time in 2024, Lin Wu walked into Jianna Burger.

It was an old burger shop, mainly serving nearby residents and students from three schools. Chapter source: HololoNovels dot com. The schools had all been renovated over the past twenty years, but the burger shop had barely changed. Compared to the surrounding milk tea shops and chain burger places, it seemed a bit quiet.

“Welcome!” As Lin Wu entered, the electronic cat at the door greeted him automatically.

“Hello, what would you like?” The cashier had been sitting and playing on her phone, but quickly stood up to greet him.

It was 3:10 p.m., and the shop was empty. Lin Wu glanced at the menu. “One cola and one popcorn chicken.”

“Got it!” The fryer was turned on, and the order was prepared quickly.

Lin Wu sat by the window where he used to sit and began eating. Maybe the ingredients had changed. It didn’t taste as good as before. Watching the cars pass by outside, he suddenly thought of Qin Weidong—

“Do we not know each other?” After Qin Weidong had said, “Do we know each other?” yesterday, Lin Wu had asked in confusion.

“Sorry, we don’t,” Qin Weidong had replied. When the elevator arrived, he pointed at his watch. “I have a remote meeting starting.”

“Sorry for bothering you.” This time, Lin Wu was the one apologizing.

Qin Weidong nodded and went upstairs with the hotel manager, while Lin Wu wandered off toward the supermarket in a daze.

That evening, after returning to the hotel, he searched for the man’s information again: Qin Weidong, born in 1987, founder of Tengfei Technology…

The online information was the same as the first time he had searched. The man’s life had gone smoothly, everything had turned out well. Yesterday, Lin Wu had already “refreshed” the memory of them being lifelong friends. Now he thought about it. Twenty years later, not only were they not friends, they had ended up in the most absurd way possible, not even recognizing each other.

Lin Wu thought it through carefully. He couldn’t tell whether Qin Weidong had lost his memory at some point, or whether, like him, he simply didn’t have the memories of those twenty years. Because of the time-crossing messages, he himself had no memory of what happened after “tomorrow” in 2004. But not having memories didn’t mean they hadn’t lived their lives. He had asked Wang Manshan before, and Wang Manshan said he didn’t know anyone named Qin Weidong. There had been no trace of Qin Weidong in his life either. That meant the two of them had no contact after high school.

Qin Weidong had gone abroad in January 2005. Lin Wu had always assumed that once he left, they naturally went their separate ways. But even if they drifted apart, they should have at least known each other between September 9 and October 28.

At 6:50, Lin Wu returned to the hotel with a headache.

“Brother Lin Wu, we’ve arrived at the airport. We’ll probably reach Qianzhou around 10:20.” Lin Wu had just taken a sip of water when Wang Jiahui called him on video. On the screen, Wang Jiahui, Luo Xiaorong, and Hao Shuqin were sitting in a ramen shop at the airport, eating.

“Didn’t you eat outside?” Lin Wu asked. He had tried this chain ramen place on a business trip before. It wasn’t good.

“We came out late. This ramen is terrible.” After a couple of bites, Wang Jiahui complained just as expected.

“Just make do for now. Order some delivery when you get to the hotel,” Lin Wu said with a smile. He asked her to pass the phone to Luo Xiaorong. Luo Xiaorong was wearing a blue hoodie today, looking in good spirits. After chatting with her, he spoke with Hao Shuqin for a while as well. All four of them were in good moods.

Grr—

After hanging up, Lin Wu’s stomach growled.

He had been thinking about Qin Weidong since yesterday, so he hadn’t eaten lunch. In the afternoon, he only had a portion of popcorn chicken. Now all the energy had been burned off, and he was hungry.

He picked up his phone to order takeout, but nothing appealed to him. After thinking for a moment, he grabbed his coat and went downstairs.

On the second floor of the hotel, there was a buffet restaurant. Its atmosphere and decor were distinctive, making it a popular spot in Xuhu.

There weren’t many people there today. After paying and choosing a table, he went to pick out food. He didn’t have much appetite, so after walking around, he ended up taking a bowl of sesame tangyuan and a small plate of watermelon.

His table was next to a large floor-to-ceiling window. Inside, it was quiet. Outside, traffic flowed endlessly.

“President Qin, here is next quarter’s work plan. Please take a look and see if there’s anything that needs adjustment…” Not far away, in a corner, the hotel manager was reporting to Qin Weidong while Lin Wu ate quietly. Qin Weidong, however, was staring in Lin Wu’s direction, slightly distracted.

“President Qin?” The manager, seeing no response, reminded him cautiously.

“Send the plan to my email later,” Qin Weidong said casually. He was wearing a black shirt and dark gray trousers today, still carrying a composed and decisive air. After speaking, he pointed toward Lin Wu. “Is he a regular here?”

“Yes, he seems to have been staying for over a month,” the manager replied quickly after glancing over. Their hotel wasn’t cheap, so they remembered long-term guests well.

“Mm. What’s his name?” Qin Weidong asked, as if casually, while recalling the scene from yesterday.

Last night, the man had only called his name, but his tone had been too natural, and his gaze had been like someone who knew him. The more he thought about it, the stranger it felt.

“One moment.” The manager quickly called the front desk. Normally, the hotel wouldn’t disclose guest names, but Qin Weidong was the owner, so there was no such concern.

After confirming, the manager sent the name to Qin Weidong’s phone.

Qin Weidong looked down.

Lin Wu.

A patch of mist in the woods?

Quite a distinctive name.

That night, after returning to his room, Qin Weidong still found himself thinking about the floor-to-ceiling window, and about how Lin Wu had rolled up his sleeve slightly while eating tangyuan, revealing a pale wrist.

After a moment, he went to his computer and searched directly: Lin Wu.

Lin Wu, born in 1987, professor of physics at Jianghe University…

The internet was too transparent now. He had only searched casually, yet all the information appeared at once. As he read through it, he came across a photo. In it, Lin Wu was wearing a white shirt, standing tall at the podium while lecturing. The image was from a university forum, labeled “most handsome physics professor,” likely posted by a student.

He enlarged the photo and studied his features carefully. Fair-skinned, composed, with a strong inner steadiness. He really was handsome.

Looking at the photo, he fell into thought again. Yesterday, when Lin Wu had stopped him, he had wondered if the man was trying to get close to him deliberately. But judging from the information, Lin Wu didn’t seem like that kind of person.

He was someone who acted on things. If he couldn’t figure something out, he wouldn’t let it fester.

The next morning, as soon as Lin Wu arrived in the hotel lobby, he saw Qin Weidong sitting there reading a magazine. The moment Qin Weidong noticed him, he walked straight over.

“Can we talk?” Qin Weidong said, studying him seriously.

“Alright…” Lin Wu froze for a moment. He was still on break. After being busy for so long, he had planned to use this time to reset his routine, like going for a walk every morning. He hadn’t expected to run into Qin Weidong the moment he came downstairs.

Today, Qin Weidong was wearing a white hoodie and light gray casual pants, looking less sharp and more relaxed, even a little bright. Seeing him dressed like this, Lin Wu felt, for a brief moment, as if he had returned to their high school days.

✧˖°.──⋆⭒˚.⋆💌⋆⭒˚.⋆──✧˖°.

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