Ch 50: Text Messages Across Time

“Brother Qin, heading out?” At eight in the evening on the eighteenth, Hu Wei had just returned to the dorm when he saw Qin Weidong putting on his shoes to go out. Qin Weidong was tall and in great shape. Today he was wearing a white hoodie under a blue denim jacket, and at a glance looked especially bright and handsome.

“Yeah, I’ve got something to do. I’ll probably be back pretty late.” Qin Weidong checked himself in the mirror, and after confirming that he looked handsome and stylish, headed out in high spirits.

“Brother Qin’s dating?” Gao Mingming was eating fried noodles in the dorm and looked curiously at Qin Weidong’s back.

Half a month earlier, Hu Wei had asked him whether Qin Weidong seemed off in any way. After observing carefully, he realized Qin Weidong was acting just like their former dorm leader had.

Last year, that dorm leader had secretly liked the Chinese class representative from the next class. At first he had been sweet and glowing, then later ended up looking like a frost-bitten eggplant after heartbreak. Qin Weidong was a perfect reenactment.

“So, who do you think Brother Qin is dating?” Hu Wei sat down across from Gao Mingming and asked. He was from the next dorm over and knew Qin Weidong’s dorm better than his own.

“Probably not anyone from our class.” Gao Mingming thought hard. He felt Qin Weidong treated all the girls in class the same, without showing special interest in any of them.

After going through all the possibilities, the two settled on Li Xin from No. 32 High.

“Really?” Hu Wei was doubtful.

“Probably. Out of all the girls we know, she’s the best match for Brother Qin.” Gao Mingming sounded very sure.

…

While the two of them were analyzing the situation, Qin Weidong arrived at the burger shop. It was Sunday, and No. 1 High had makeup classes this week, so there weren’t many people in the shop. After entering, Qin Weidong didn’t choose a seat by the window. Instead, he picked a relatively quiet one, the spot he and Lin Wu had often sat at lately.

“Hello, would you like to order?” After Qin Weidong sat down, a server came over with a menu.

“I’ll order in a bit.”

“Alright.” Qin Weidong was a regular here and usually ordered a lot. After leaving, the server warmly poured him a cup of hot water.

Qin Weidong held the cup and looked at the time on his phone: 8:20. There were still ten minutes before No. 1 High got out.

Right now, besides anticipation, he also felt nervous. He was excited because he would be seeing Lin Wu soon. As for the nervousness, his phone was still with Lin Wu. He knew that although Lin Wu seemed sensible and polite, he had his own standards when it came to people, and Qin Weidong had to pull out every trick he had just to get a chance to get close.

He hadn’t taken the phone back when he left last time. On purpose. He wanted to use the fact that his phone was still with Lin Wu as a way to stay in contact.

Now that Lin Wu had agreed to meet, he was actually worried the whole point was to return the phone. He didn’t want that. If the phone was returned, he had no idea how else he could keep in contact with someone who clearly didn’t want much to do with him. It wasn’t as if he could transfer to No. 1 High and become Lin Wu’s classmate.

Forget what Lin Wu thought, even he felt he was acting kind of creepy.

While he waited in that tense state, No. 1 High let out, and the burger shop gradually became lively.

Qin Weidong steadied his breathing and waited nervously. At 8:40, Lin Wu walked in.

“Over here!” Qin Weidong waved hard.

“What time did you get here?” Lin Wu sat down across from him with his schoolbag.

“A little after eight, not too early.” Lide High was only seven hundred meters away in a straight line. He knew Lin Wu still had class, so he truly hadn’t come too early. “Take a look, see if there’s anything you want to eat.” As he said this, he handed over the menu.

“Didn’t you say they just released a double chicken cutlet burger? Let’s get that.” Lin Wu glanced at the menu and said.

“Alright, then two chicken burgers, two colas, one order of chicken nuggets, one order of popcorn chicken…” Qin Weidong rattled off the order according to Lin Wu’s taste.

“Mm.” Lin Wu had no objections.

“The city turned on the heat on the fifteenth, but the heating pipes at our school broke, and they’ve been repairing them these past two days. The classrooms and dorms still don’t have heat. How’s it at your school?” While waiting for the food, Qin Weidong searched for a topic. He had been home for a while, and after Qin Jianzhang left town on business, he got bored and moved back into the dorm.

“Our school’s fine. I sit right next to the heating pipe, so it’s pretty warm.” Lin Wu said.

“That’s good.” After confirming Lin Wu wasn’t cold, Qin Weidong prepared to look for another topic.

“When will your school’s heat be fixed?” Lin Wu asked on his own.

“The school says within three days.”

“Then are your classrooms and dorms cold right now?”

“It’s only just started getting cold. It’s not too bad yet.”

“If it gets cold, you can add another blanket first. The workwear shops near the school all sell them. It gets cold here. Even after the heating comes on, two blankets is still fine.” Lin Wu suggested seriously.

“Okay…” Qin Weidong felt a little dazed. Lin Wu’s attitude today was so good that it felt unreal. Strictly speaking, Lin Wu was acting the same way he had when they first met, but because Qin Weidong’s expectations had sunk so low, he now felt like his head was floating in the clouds.

Five minutes later, their food came. Qin Weidong quickly went to get it, and the two ate together.

During the meal, he still tried hard to keep the conversation going, and Lin Wu followed along every time. Sometimes Lin Wu even asked how he had been lately. The atmosphere between them was so good that when they finally walked out of the burger shop and the wind hit him, Qin Weidong suddenly came back to himself.

It was now 9:50, and the two were standing outside the burger shop.

“Can the unknown number still be contacted?” Lin Wu asked.

“Yes.” Qin Weidong answered quickly.

Lately he had been taking the initiative to contact 2024, wanting to ask whether Lin Wu’s future life was good, whether he had a partner, what that person was like, whether Lin Wu was happy, and things like that. But whether because of personality or something else, the other side was very cold to him. Apart from knowing that the time connection still worked, the two of them had almost never talked privately.

“Are you going to send a text?” Qin Weidong asked after answering.

“No.” Lin Wu shook his head, then said, “The phone you lent me…”

“What about it?” Qin Weidong tensed up immediately.

“I don’t know whether I’ll keep contacting the unknown number in the future. Can I use your phone a little longer? It’s more convenient that way. Once I get my own phone, I’ll return it to you.” Lin Wu looked down at the curb as he spoke.

Lin Wu had just received 32,000 yuan in compensation not long ago, so he had money. Qin Weidong’s phone cost 6,700 yuan, which was expensive. No matter how you looked at it, what Lin Wu was asking was clearly taking advantage of someone.

“No rush at all! You can use it as long as you want!” Qin Weidong’s eyes widened the moment he heard that.

“Thank you.” Lin Wu smiled at him.

“You’re welcome.” Qin Weidong’s mind wavered. Ever since the atmosphere had shifted in the hospital, Lin Wu had not smiled at him like this in a very long time.

“I need to head over near your place for something. Want me to walk you back?” Qin Weidong asked tentatively. He felt their relationship had softened a little.

“It’s too far. I can get back on my own.” Lin Wu refused.

“Okay…” Qin Weidong felt like his emotions were on a roller coaster. Just a moment ago he had been slowly lifting off, and now he had dropped straight into the bottom. The drop was so sudden he was stunned.

“There’s still a last bus. I can just take it back myself. Do you have time tomorrow night? The zhajiang noodles at our school gate are pretty good.” Lin Wu said with a small smile.

“Then… eight thirty, we go eat together?” Qin Weidong tested the waters again.

“Do you have time? If you’re sure you’re coming, I won’t eat at six. We can have dinner together later.” Lin Wu asked.

“Sure!” Qin Weidong answered excitedly, then added, “You don’t have to wait on purpose. If you get hungry around six, just eat something first.”

“Alright.” Lin Wu smiled.

In the following week, Qin Weidong felt like he was floating on clouds.

They ate together, went to the burger shop to do homework, and occasionally chatted with the “unknown number” from 2024.

He and Lin Wu returned to their old rhythm. Every night they exchanged messages, and sometimes they talked on the phone.

“Lin Wu, there’s a math problem I don’t get. It’s too troublesome to explain over text. Can you walk me through it on the phone?” Qin Weidong’s excuse to call was extremely clumsy.

“Okay.” Lin Wu agreed.

At some point, the two of them had started talking on the phone before bed every night. Usually Qin Weidong would call, and Lin Wu would pick up. They no longer talked about math. Most of the time they talked about what they had done that day, or which shop had good food. Even though they had just seen each other that evening, the conversations were still warm and easy.

Qin Weidong liked to hang up only after Lin Wu had fallen asleep. Listening to Lin Wu’s breathing made it feel as though he were lying right beside him, just like those countless nights when they had first met.

Tsk tsk—

Hu Wei and the others tried to pry into who Qin Weidong was talking to, but he wouldn’t say. Still, he gave off that unmistakable sweet, lovestruck vibe every day.

…

“Mr. Lin, what a coincidence.”

Just as Lin Wu and Qin Weidong’s relationship was easing again, on November 25, 2024, Lin Wu ran into Qin Weidong once more. This time it wasn’t the previous hotel, but the third hotel Lin Wu had stayed in—

Half a month earlier, Luo Xiaorong and the others had returned from Qianzhou.

“Mom.” Lin Wu picked them up at the airport.

“Wuwu!” Luo Xiaorong ran over happily. She had a strong ability to brush things off, and since her circumstances had improved she hadn’t suffered much. Though she was nearly sixty, her health and energy were both well maintained.

“I’ll help you with the luggage.” Lin Wu helped the three of them with their bags.

“Brother Lin Wu, we went to Shenhai and Qianzhou this time. Shenhai was so fun, and Qianzhou’s night views were beautiful!” On the way to the parking lot, Wang Jiahui chattered non-stop. They had spent half a month away and had enjoyed every day.

After talking excitedly, she asked, “Brother Lin Wu, when are you going back to school?”

“Around the twentieth next month.” Lin Wu put their luggage into the car and replied with a smile.

“Then we won’t see you for ages again!” Wang Jiahui said with exaggerated reluctance.

“We’ll see each other at New Year’s.” Lin Wu smiled. Xuhu was only seven hundred kilometers from Jianghe. With modern transport, and since Luo Xiaorong lived in Xuhu, he used to come back once a week or every half month.

An hour later, the three of them happily returned home.

Lin Wu’s family and Wang’s family shared the same social circle. They had thought life would return to normal, but the neighbors next door were renovating every day. Other residents had tried to negotiate, but the renovation fell within legally allowed hours. After several disputes, the neighbor only promised to try to finish by the end of December.

After three days of noise pollution at home, Luo Xiaorong went to stay with Hao Shuqin, while Lin Wu moved into a third hotel. Meanwhile, his 2004 memories were still updating daily, and he had not run into Qin Weidong in 2024 for a week.

He had hesitated between the Xuhu Hotel and other hotels.

The current Qin Weidong had no memory. After some hesitation, Lin Wu chose a completely different hotel. Before checking in, he had looked it up online and confirmed it had no connection to the previous one.

He stayed indoors most of the time, until a week ago when he went to a nearby supermarket to buy drinks.

“Mr. Lin, long time no see.” That day the sunlight was strong. Just as he stepped out after shopping, Qin Weidong pulled up in a sports car at the entrance. He was wearing a brown leather jacket and exaggerated sunglasses. The two ran into each other again.

Over the next week, in the hotel restaurant, the lobby, the swimming pool… they returned to that pattern of frequent chance encounters. They kept running into each other, but Qin Weidong showed restraint. Most of the time, it really was just a coincidence.

Now it was six in the evening. Lin Wu was heading out to eat when Qin Weidong came down the stairs, and they ran into each other again.

“Mr. Qin.” Lin Wu stopped when he heard him.

“Heading out to eat?” Qin Weidong greeted him naturally. He had probably just finished an online meeting. He was dressed in a suit with a white shirt, looking more composed than before. Two buttons of his shirt were undone, giving him a more relaxed air.

“Yes.” Lin Wu replied politely.

“What are you planning to eat?” Qin Weidong asked.

“Not sure yet. Probably noodles or wontons.”

“Where are you going?”

“I’ll look around the snack shops nearby.”

“I haven’t eaten either. Want to go together?” Over the past few days, Qin Weidong often found chances to suggest things like running together or eating together. He always asked casually, but Lin Wu usually declined, citing work.