Ch 48: Text Messages Across Time

It was Monday. After wandering outside for a while, Qin Weidong returned to the villa.

“Not going to class?” Qin Jianzhang was in the living room listening to opera. Seeing him, he greeted him casually.

“No.” Qin Weidong answered listlessly.

“Had a falling out with a classmate?” Qin Jianzhang didn’t really care whether his son attended class. He turned off the TV and asked.

On the day Lin Wu was injured, Qin Weidong had called Xiao Zhao to find a lawyer, and Xiao Zhao had later called him back. He knew that Qin Weidong’s classmate had saved him and ended up hospitalized. He had wanted to visit the hospital to thank him, but Qin Weidong refused, so he arranged for a lawyer to handle things with the advertising company.

“No conflict. Just didn’t rest well.” Qin Weidong tried to sound normal. Though he often argued with Qin Jianzhang, he didn’t want him to worry.

“Is that so?” Qin Jianzhang looked him up and down. Seeing nothing serious, he relaxed a little, then suddenly remembered something. “Did you see the box of cordyceps in my drawer?” He had been looking for it to make soup but couldn’t find it.

“I used it.” Qin Weidong replied.

“All of it?” That box had been a gift from a business partner, about fifty grams of high-quality cordyceps, worth around twenty thousand yuan.

“Mm.” Qin Weidong nodded. Aside from using some in soup, he had brewed the rest like tea. Thinking Qin Jianzhang wanted it, he added, “There’s a gift shop at the entrance of the neighborhood. I can go check if they have more.” It was a high-end shop with a good selection.

“No need. If it’s gone, it’s gone.” Qin Jianzhang waved it off. He still had three more boxes in his car.

Back in his room, Qin Weidong collapsed onto the bed. He had no energy for anything. After lying there for a while, he opened his desk drawer. Inside was a bag containing a pair of cartoon gloves and socks.

He took them out, compared them in his hands, then reluctantly put them back.

…

At two in the afternoon, Lin Wu arrived at school on time.

“Lin Wu, you’re out of the hospital? Is your wound better?” Li Jing was working on a math problem. When she saw him, her eyes lit up.

“Much better. As long as I don’t lift heavy things, I’m fine.” Lin Wu set down his bag and glanced around. It was the fifth. Midterms were on the seventh and eighth, and the classroom atmosphere was tense.

“The teacher marked a lot of key points this morning. I’ll give you my notes later,” Li Jing said enthusiastically.

“Thanks.” After thanking her, Lin Wu asked quietly, “How are things on your end?”

Li Jing had taken one day off after the incident and returned quickly, so most people didn’t know why she had been absent. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. Lin Wu was not among “most people.” Though he had been hospitalized, Li Jing had visited him and told him what happened, so he had a passive understanding of it.

“I only gave statements those first few days. Everything’s fine now. I heard that person had committed other crimes too…” Li Jing said, still a bit shaken. She didn’t know how the police had set up the ambush, but if no one had been there, she didn’t know if she would still be sitting in the classroom now.

“I’ve decided to apply to Jianghe University of Political Science and Law!” She had been torn between that and Jianghe University of Finance and Economics. After this experience, she leaned toward law. It hadn’t left her with any negative impact. Instead, it felt like a defining moment of her high school life.

“Good luck.” Lin Wu smiled. He had heard from his future self that Li Jing would indeed get into Jianghe University of Political Science and Law.

With the timeline changed, even their future class reunion had changed. In this outcome, Li Jing had become a resolute, sharp, and confident prosecutor.

Over the next five days, Lin Wu devoted himself entirely to studying and exams.

【What are you doing?】

【I heard your school has midterms. Good luck!】

【I organized some English materials for you. Left them at your school’s gate office.】

…

During these five days, Qin Weidong sent him messages from time to time. Not frequently, usually two per day. One of them, after the exams, asked if he had time to eat together.

Lin Wu declined. He said he didn’t need the English materials and told him to take them back.

The materials sat at the gate office for two days. Every time Lin Wu passed by, he would glance at them unintentionally. On the third day, they were gone.

He asked and learned Qin Weidong had taken them back.

Lin Wu felt relieved.

…

Life in 2004 was gradually returning to normal. In 2024, however, Lin Wu had a headache.

“Well, look who it is again?” In a park near the hotel, Lin Wu had just finished warming up when Qin Weidong jogged over with practiced ease. Today he wore a red sports hoodie, white athletic pants, and white sneakers. With his broad shoulders, narrow waist, and tall frame, he looked bright and handsome, far removed from his composed business persona.

“President Qin.” Lin Wu forced a smile. They had run into each other again three days ago. That day, his room key had stopped working. He had gone downstairs in slippers to get a new one and happened to see Qin Weidong coming out of the elevator.

“Mr. Lin, what a coincidence,” Qin Weidong had greeted him as before.

“What a coincidence…” Lin Wu had felt his brain short-circuit, even wondering if Qin Weidong was following him on purpose.

After greeting him, Qin Weidong had left. Lin Wu later asked the front desk and learned there had been a government meeting that day. Qin Weidong had come for that.

He had thought it was just a coincidence. But the next day, they ran into each other again at a shopping mall.

Today marked the third encounter in three days.

“Out for a run, President Qin?” Lin Wu asked, trying to steady his breathing. Qin Weidong was staying at Xuhu Hotel, which was seven kilometers away.

“I live nearby. Just out for a walk.” Qin Weidong stretched casually.

“Then I won’t disturb you.” Lin Wu responded quickly, then jogged off as if focusing on his run.

Qin Weidong watched him leave, feeling a bit disappointed.

He didn’t actually live nearby. The only reason he knew Lin Wu was here was because he owned shares in this new hotel. After Lin Wu left last week, he had reflected seriously, wondering if he had done something wrong. But he believed his conduct was proper and courteous. He shouldn’t have been off-putting.

He understood that this kind of behavior meant the other person wanted to keep their distance. But if he really respected that distance, it left him feeling unsettled.

So he had asked the hotel manager to check whether Lin Wu had stayed at any of the company’s other hotels. To his surprise, they found him. After some hesitation, he came to this new hotel and deliberately arranged the “coincidence” three days ago.

Now, watching Lin Wu run farther and farther away, he wanted to follow.

But after thinking about Lin Wu’s attitude, he ultimately stayed where he was.

…

“Lin Wu, you’re amazing! You were on leave for half a month and still ranked first!” On November 12, 2004, after the midterm results came out, Li Jing looked at Lin Wu’s report card with excitement. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. He scored 695 this time, seventeen points ahead of second place, completely ahead of the pack.

“I was reviewing the whole time in the hospital. I probably studied longer than you guys,” Lin Wu said with a small smile.

“That’s still incredible.” Li Jing looked at him with admiration.

They chatted for a while, then class started, and after that, the afternoon ended.

During the break, Lin Wu took out Qin Weidong’s phone.

【I left a jacket at your place. Do you have time? I’ll come by tonight to pick it up.】
This message had been sent around 1 p.m. He had been discussing a math problem with classmates at the time and, after hesitating, hadn’t replied.

Now it was 3:50. After thinking it over, he replied: 【Okay.】

In Class 2, senior year, at Lide High School, Qin Weidong had been staring at his phone the whole time. The moment he saw the reply, he straightened up immediately: 【Did you ride your bike today?】

【No.】 Lin Wu indeed hadn’t. After going back to commuting alone, he had returned to taking the bus.

“I’ll go after school…” Qin Weidong wanted to say he would wait outside Lin Wu’s school, but worried Lin Wu might refuse. In the end, he sent: 【I’ll pass by your neighborhood tonight. I’ll wait at the entrance at nine.】

He knew that messaging every day could be annoying, but he had a feeling that if he stopped reaching out, their paths would truly never cross again.

He couldn’t bear that.

These past few days, he had tried to analyze things calmly. Why did he like Lin Wu? Why does one person like another? What is the nature of liking someone?

Online, it said that when you like someone, the brain releases dopamine. For example, when you feel a spark of interest upon first meeting someone, that’s dopamine at work. He thought back to the first time he saw Lin Wu. He had been very interested in him then. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have followed him around so foolishly for a whole day. And that interest was different from how he felt about others.

Now, based on those explanations, he felt that he had already experienced that surge of dopamine back then, like fireworks exploding in his mind.

Liking someone is made up of many factors. Besides dopamine, there are things like appearance and personality.

He tried to analyze this feeling rationally, wondering if he could cut it off. But after examining it carefully, he realized he couldn’t. Humans are emotional creatures. That’s what distinguishes them from other animals. It is precisely because humans feel and love that they are the greatest miracle in nature.

After coming to that conclusion, he comforted himself. As long as Lin Wu didn’t say anything, and he didn’t say anything, he could keep pretending to be clueless like this forever. Just like at the beginning, when Lin Wu treated him as a good friend. He would watch Lin Wu go to university, fall in love, get married…

He winced.

The thought of Lin Wu being with someone else, falling in love and getting married, made his chest twist painfully, his heart tightening unbearably. He used to think classmates who talked about crushes and heartbreak were being overly dramatic. He hadn’t expected that when it happened to him, he would be even worse.

He felt that, aside from Lin Wu, he would never like anyone else again. Even if Lin Wu fell ill or was disfigured, he would still like him.

This wasn’t just a feeling.

It was certain.

At that moment, Qin Weidong stared at his phone screen nervously.

Lin Wu got out of school at 8:30. He felt that arriving at the neighborhood entrance at nine to wait for him was perfectly reasonable. But he was afraid Lin Wu might say something like, “No need, I’ll just leave the jacket at your school gate.” He didn’t want that. He had racked his brain to come up with the excuse of the jacket. Otherwise, he would have had to think of something else.

With someone like Lin Wu, if he didn’t want to meet, it was incredibly hard to find a reasonable excuse.

【Okay.】 After a moment, the reply came.

!!!

Qin Weidong almost jumped to his feet in excitement.

At the same time, in a senior classroom at Xuhu No. 1 High School, Lin Wu looked at the phone after sending the message.

It was Qin Weidong’s phone. He had been thinking about returning it for a while but hadn’t brought it up. Now he thought, such an expensive phone should probably be returned.

Lin Wu finished the afternoon classes with a heavy mind, followed by evening study.

After school, he went to the bike shed as usual, then remembered he hadn’t ridden his bike today. He turned and walked to the bus stop, boarding Route 22.

The bus was crowded today. Everyone was packed together like sardines. He was pushed along with the crowd, and after fifteen minutes, he got off at his stop.

It was about two hundred meters from the bus stop to his neighborhood entrance. As he followed the other passengers off the bus and was about to head toward the neighborhood, he heard a familiar voice:

“Lin Wu!”

Qin Weidong, wearing his Lide school uniform, stood out at the bus stop with his tall frame and long legs.

“Quite crowded today,” Qin Weidong said as he walked over.

“Maybe there were fewer buses today, so everyone got packed together,” Lin Wu replied.

“How did your exams go? Were the questions hard?” Qin Weidong asked about his recent situation, not mentioning the study materials at all. His tone was relaxed, as if there were no awkwardness between them.

It was the 12th. During this period, he had initiated fifteen conversations.

It had been a full week since they last parted.

✧˖°.──⋆⭒˚.⋆💌⋆⭒˚.⋆──✧˖°.

Thandar: We finished murder mystery arc and officially entered wife chasing crematorium lol