Ch 47: Text Messages Across Time

On the night of October 31, 2024, Lin Wu rubbed his temples as he walked into the hotel restaurant. After refreshing his memories from 2004 the night before, he still hadn’t quite recovered. Then he had received a call from the university. Earlier that year, he had been in charge of a small collaborative project with a company, and they had run into a technical bottleneck, hoping he could provide some remote guidance.

Their previous cooperation had gone well, so after thinking it over, Lin Wu agreed. He worked from 10:30 p.m. until 5 a.m., then slept through the day. Even now, his head still felt a little foggy.

After paying for the meal, he chose the same seat as the day before and began selecting food with his tray.

“What a coincidence.” Suddenly, a tall figure appeared in front of him. Lin Wu looked up. Qin Weidong had come over at some point. Today he was wearing a bright yellow jacket, looking striking and bold.

“What a coincidence,” Lin Wu replied, slightly stunned.

“Alone?” Qin Weidong glanced at his table.

“Mm.”

“I’m alone too. Mind if we share a table?” Qin Weidong asked.

“Alright…” The question came so naturally that Lin Wu couldn’t think of a reason to refuse.

Three minutes later, the two were seated at a table. It was a dark-colored two-person table with leather sofa seating, next to a full wall of floor-to-ceiling windows. With the hotel’s ambiance, it felt almost romantic.

“Mr. Lin, do you usually come out to eat at this time?” Qin Weidong took a serving of salad and asked casually while eating.

“No, I had something to do today, so I came out late,” Lin Wu said.

“Mm.” Qin Weidong nodded, making small talk. “Do you work at a university?”

“Mm.” Since his work information was online, Lin Wu wasn’t surprised Qin Weidong knew.

“You’re not married yet? No girlfriend?” Qin Weidong glanced at his left hand. There was no wedding ring.

“That’s a bit personal…” Lin Wu had stayed up all night, his mind moving a bit slower than usual. If this had been before yesterday, he would have chatted warmly, thinking of it as a reunion with an old friend. But what had happened in the hospital room yesterday had thrown off his entire mental rhythm. Even if Qin Weidong didn’t remember, he couldn’t speak as naturally anymore.

“I didn’t mean to pry.” Qin Weidong had always been socially adept, even in high school. Seeing Lin Wu didn’t want to discuss it, he smoothly changed the subject. “The sesame tangyuan here is pretty good. Do you like tangyuan a lot?”

He had seen Lin Wu take tangyuan the day before, and today again it was tangyuan and watermelon.

“I just grabbed it randomly.” Lin Wu didn’t have much appetite today. He truly had chosen at random. He felt himself becoming too passive, so he steadied his breathing and awkwardly shifted the topic. “Are you from Xuhu, Mr. Qin?”

“Didn’t you say you knew me?” Qin Weidong laughed, amused by his reaction.

“I mistook you for someone else earlier,” Lin Wu said, pressing his lips together.

“I’m from Xuhu. I’ve been working in Shenhai and Jianghe these past years, coming back occasionally.” Qin Weidong shared easily. When he wanted to build rapport, he made people feel at ease.

“Mm.” Compared to Qin Weidong’s ease in conversation, Lin Wu seemed quiet and reserved.

“I have some work to take care of. I’ll head back first,” Lin Wu said after ten minutes, finishing the last piece of watermelon and standing up.

“Alright…” Qin Weidong was slightly taken aback.

Lin Wu gave an apologetic look and left. Watching his back, Qin Weidong frowned slightly. Yesterday, their conversation had gone quite well. Today’s attitude… felt intentionally distant.

He glanced at the tangyuan left on the table. Find the full version on HololoNovels dot com. If he remembered correctly, Lin Wu had eaten for forty minutes the day before. Today, from sitting down to leaving, it hadn’t even been fifteen minutes. It really did seem deliberate.

…

“Phew…” At 7:40, Lin Wu returned to his room, feeling restless.

He felt he had been a bit rude earlier. But he had only just realized yesterday that Qin Weidong might have feelings for him, and today he had met the man twenty years later. Even if Qin Weidong didn’t remember, it still felt awkward.

Lin Wu thought he should separate the past from the present. He just needed to return to how things were before.

It sounded simple in his head. But the next morning, the moment he entered the restaurant, he ran into Qin Weidong again.

“Morning, Mr. Lin. Down for breakfast?” Qin Weidong was holding a tray, picking up a steamed bun.

“Morning…” Lin Wu was momentarily dazed.

Over the next three days, in the restaurant, the hallway, and the hotel lobby, he kept running into Qin Weidong. Most of the time, Qin Weidong would greet him, exchange a few words, and then go about his business.

Lin Wu tried not to mix the past with the present. From a normal perspective, Qin Weidong hadn’t crossed any lines. If anything, it had been Lin Wu who first disrupted his life.

During these three days, he called Wang Jiahui to ask when they would return. Originally, Wang Jiahui, Luo Xiaorong, and the others planned to come back on November 5. But there had been heavy rain in Qianzhou. Flights were grounded, and high-speed rail tickets were sold out. They might have to delay by a couple of days.

“Alright…” Lin Wu went home to check. The neighbors next door were installing cabinets, the constant buzzing of drills making it impossible to stay during the day. He had thought about switching hotels, but since it was only brief encounters, he felt his reaction might be excessive.

Now a cold front had arrived in the north. Sitting in the back of a taxi, he watched the passing cars, his thoughts drifting between past and present.

“Looks like it’s going to rain,” the driver said, glancing outside with a frown.

“Huh?” Lin Wu didn’t immediately react.

“I think it’ll rain soon. It’s already pouring in Qianzhou,” the driver continued, chatting about recent news.

Lin Wu looked out the window.

He had just left home, and the weather had been fine. Now, it did seem like rain was coming.

…

“President Qin, it might rain later. Should tonight’s hotel meeting be postponed or proceed as planned?” At the same time, in the executive office of Xuhu Hotel, the manager asked Qin Weidong.

Qin Weidong stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, frowning as he looked down.

The hotel had twelve floors. Floors one through ten were for dining and guest rooms, while eleven and twelve were office spaces. His office had previously been on the south side, but it had been moved north in the past few days. From here, he could clearly see the parking lot, the main entrance, and the street across.

Cars came and went below. The manager still felt the old office had a better environment and location, but the thoughts of a boss were hard to guess. Seeing Qin Weidong distracted, he reminded him out of habit, “President Qin?”

“Move the meeting to tomorrow at noon. Let everyone get off early today,” Qin Weidong said, coming back to himself. It was shift change time at the hotel. He had planned an internal meeting, but it seemed better to postpone.

“Understood.” The manager noted it down and left.

Qin Weidong returned to his seat and turned his chair to face the window. As he looked down at the hotel entrance, he found himself thinking of Lin Wu.

He felt that this person was quite interesting.

These past few days, he had greeted him every day. Lin Wu’s expression always seemed normal, but the moment he heard his voice, he would tense up ever so slightly.

He had sharp observational skills. That subtle physical reaction would be impossible to notice without careful attention. He found it interesting, and precisely because of that tiny response, he would greet Lin Wu every day with tireless enthusiasm.

Now it was 8:20 p.m. Outside, the sky was already dark and heavy. He wondered whether Lin Wu had brought an umbrella, though in this weather he would probably take a taxi. As he thought about it, a taxi pulled into the hotel entrance. Qin Weidong leaned forward, craning his neck to look. A familiar figure stepped out of the car, glanced at the sky, and quickly walked into the lobby.

He was back.

Qin Weidong didn’t think he had been waiting for anyone, yet seeing him return made him feel relieved. He checked the time and found himself already looking forward to running into him again tomorrow.

With that anticipation, the next morning, Qin Weidong went to the restaurant.

Seven o’clock, no one.

Seven-thirty, no one.

Eight-thirty, still no one.

He waited until nine, but the familiar figure never appeared. Frowning, he thought for a moment, then went to the front desk.

“The guest in room 6032 hasn’t come down?” Qin Weidong asked.

“6032?”

“Yes.”

“One moment…”

After checking the system, the receptionist said sweetly, “The guest in 6032 has already checked out.”

“What time did he check out?” Qin Weidong paused.

“7:20.”

In a new hotel seven kilometers away from Xuhu Hotel, Lin Wu had already changed into his sleepwear. The full chapter is up on HololoNovels dot com. It was a high-end hotel. Though its environment and services weren’t quite as good as Xuhu Hotel, it was still decent by local standards.

Lin Wu admitted that he had chickened out.

The present-day Qin Weidong no longer remembered anything, but the memories Lin Wu refreshed every day were too vivid. Every night he fell asleep carrying the memories of seventeen-year-old Qin Weidong, and every morning he woke up to face the thirty-seven-year-old version.

He kept telling himself they were two different points in time, but seeing him every day still placed a great deal of pressure on him.

Yesterday, he had thought he shouldn’t overreact. But today…

If it was an overreaction, then so be it. If it meant he was cowardly, then so be it. He would just change locations. Life needed to return to its proper track.

…

“After you’re discharged, we’ll drop your things off at home. You can go report to school in the afternoon, and I’ll wait for you at the burger shop tonight. Let’s meet at nine like usual?”

At the same time in 2004, Qin Weidong helped Lin Wu pack his things. They had gone to the trauma department early that morning. Lin Wu was recovering well. As long as he didn’t lift heavy objects, things like riding a bike or writing were fine.

“I’ll go down and get a taxi now?” Qin Weidong prepared to carry the bags downstairs.

“Qin Weidong…” Lin Wu hesitated.

“What’s wrong?” Qin Weidong, with his back to him, tightened the straps on the packed luggage again.

“I want to go home earlier tonight. I won’t be going to the burger shop.”

“You’re not going to chat with that unknown number anymore?”

“My mom is doing well in the future. There’s nothing more to talk about.”

“Oh. Then I’ll find you after school at six, and we can have dinner together?”

“I’ll eat at school.”

“Then I’ll find you at 8:30 and we can grab some skewers?”

“Qin Weidong.” Lin Wu pressed his lips together. “Midterms are coming up. I want to focus on studying. I probably won’t have time to meet.”

“Oh…”

Qin Weidong kept his back turned the whole time. He tried to keep his tone light, to maintain a smile, but as the conversation went on, it became harder and harder.

He had already sensed this coming from Lin Wu’s words today. For the past five days, he had clearly felt Lin Wu distancing himself. For example, Lin Wu no longer let him bring meals, refused help whenever possible, spoke less, and kept hinting that he should return to school.

He felt his skin was thick, but he didn’t know how much effort it had taken to pretend not to understand, to keep staying here.

He felt Lin Wu had probably noticed something, but he didn’t dare think about it.

He steadied his breathing. Only after his tone sounded normal again did he turn around with a smile. “We’ll talk about tonight later. Let’s head down first.”

“I’ll do it myself.” Lin Wu refused his help.

“It’s fine.” Qin Weidong picked up the large bag anyway, leaving only a small backpack for Lin Wu.

Twenty minutes later, downstairs at the hospital, they loaded everything into the trunk of a car.

Lin Wu looked at Qin Weidong, hesitated, and was about to speak.

“Oh, Hu Wei just texted me. He needs me at school for something. I won’t walk you home. Can you manage on your own?” Qin Weidong said, pretending to be busy checking his phone.

“I can.” Lin Wu let out a quiet breath of relief.

Half a minute later, he got into a taxi.

“Goodbye.” Lin Wu waved.

“Goodbye.” Qin Weidong smiled at him.

The taxi drove away. Qin Weidong kept watching it until it disappeared, then looked down at his phone. There was no message from Hu Wei.

He knew Lin Wu didn’t want him to follow.

His lips pressed into a straight line as he stood there, unmoving. After who knew how long, he finally steadied his breathing and hailed a taxi to leave.

✧˖°.──⋆⭒˚.⋆💌⋆⭒˚.⋆──✧˖°.

Thandar: Noooooooo, Lin Wu why are you gaypanicking ???? Ughhhh