Ch 55: Text Messages Across Time

“Why are you here?” Lin Wu had a fever. After going out just now and getting hit by the cold wind, his head felt heavy and sluggish. It was hard to think, but outwardly he remained calm, only his face looking even paler.

“I came to the hotel to handle something and thought of you staying here, so I came by to take a look,” Qin Weidong said, slipping his phone into his pocket. Then he noticed Lin Wu’s complexion and the bag of medicine in his hand, frowning slightly. “Are you sick?”

“The temperature dropped these past couple days. Just a mild cold.” Lin Wu opened the door with his keycard as he spoke. Three seconds later, the lights came on. He set the medicine on the entry table, then turned back. “Come in and sit for a bit?”

“Alright.” Qin Weidong followed him in.

The hotel used central heating, so even though Lin Wu had just stepped out for a while, the room wasn’t cold. They hung their coats on the rack. Lin Wu filled the kettle and, still polite, asked, “What would you like to drink? Tea or coffee?”

“Hot water is fine.” Qin Weidong sat on the same sofa as before. After a brief pause, he added, “You’ve got a cold. It’s better not to drink tea or coffee.”

“I know.” Lin Wu hadn’t planned to drink any. The water hadn’t boiled yet, and he tried to keep up the conversation. “Did you come for a meeting today?”

“Yeah.” Qin Weidong didn’t elaborate. After a few more words, his gaze returned to the phone on the table. “Still not done updating?”

“Not yet,” Lin Wu said after a pause.

“How far along?”

“Almost fifty.” Lin Wu handed him the phone. It showed 48.2%.

“Mm.” Qin Weidong looked, then handed it back.

Lin Wu felt feverish all over, his body aching from the high temperature. His head grew heavier and heavier, and he didn’t have the energy to keep up small talk anymore. “Sorry… I’m not feeling great today…”

He meant for Qin Weidong to leave, but the other man frowned at his condition, glanced at the kettle, and said, “You should rest first. I’ll have some hot water and head out afterward.”

Letting a guest stay while the host rested was impolite, but Lin Wu didn’t have the strength to care. He lay straight down on the bed, pulling the blanket over himself haphazardly, legs still outside, shoes still on. “I’ll rest a bit… I’ll get up later.”

“Alright.”

Lin Wu set an alarm, planning to see Qin Weidong out after he drank some water. But in his haze, he fell asleep.

“Lin Wu… Lin Wu?” The alarm rang. Someone shook him gently.

“Mm…” His whole body hurt. He couldn’t respond, only let out faint sounds.

The room lights seemed dimmer. Someone removed his shoes. His arms and legs were tucked properly under the blanket. Then the door opened briefly. A thermometer was placed in his mouth.

“So high…” a voice murmured in his half-conscious state.

He was lifted slightly. Someone fed him medicine, gave him water.

He hadn’t been sick in a long time. The fever made his body ache everywhere. He vaguely felt that through the night he had been groaning, and that someone had stayed by his bedside until morning.

…

At five in the afternoon, Lin Wu woke groggily. The fever had broken.

For a moment he was disoriented. Then he looked around.

He was still wearing yesterday’s clothes, covered with the hotel duvet. The tea table had been tidied neatly. Opened fever medicine sat on top.

He sat on the bed for a long while, staring blankly. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. Eventually he got up, changed, washed up, and prepared to go downstairs for food.

Before leaving, he called the front desk. “Has the buffet started?”

“Yes, sir. It’s on the second floor. Guests with room cards receive a member price.”

“Got it.”

After taking a bit more time, he went down.

The restaurant was hosting a winter promotion, so it was crowded. After paying, he entered the hall. Guests filled the space alongside rows of food stations.

He glanced toward the fruit section.

A tall figure stood there, selecting cantaloupe.

Lin Wu steadied himself, took a plate, and began choosing food. The dining area wasn’t large. Before long, their paths crossed.

“Feeling better?” Qin Weidong asked casually, as if he had just noticed him.

“Much better. Thanks for last night,” Lin Wu said. He had been burning with fever and knew Qin Weidong had helped a lot.

“I happened to pass by and thought I’d stop in for a chat,” Qin Weidong said lightly, as if explaining his presence. “It’s fine. As long as you’re better.”

“Still, thank you.”

Lin Wu fell silent as he picked his food. The restaurant was crowded. When he finished, there were barely any seats left, only near the entrance or close to the service area.

“I came alone. If you don’t mind, you can sit with me,” Qin Weidong said, pointing to his table by the window.

“Alright…” Lin Wu hesitated for a moment. After sitting down, something seemed to occur to him, and the corners of his lips lifted slightly.

“What is it?” Qin Weidong noticed.

“Nothing. Just… this seat is nice.” Lin Wu smiled faintly.

It really was a good spot.

In the previous ending, this had been where they often sat together. Back then, Qin Weidong would talk nonstop. Now, there was only a quiet understanding between them.

An hour later, Lin Wu returned to his room.

Over the next two days, he ate all three meals downstairs. Qin Weidong did the same. Ever since they shared a table that first time, perhaps out of old acquaintance, they continued to sit together. Most of the time, they simply ate in silence, exchanging only brief pleasantries.

During this time, Qin Weidong asked about the phone update several times. Lin Wu answered honestly each time.

On the night of December 15, they shared a table again as usual. As they parted, Qin Weidong called out:

“Lin Wu.”

“What is it?” Lin Wu turned back.

“Do you have time tonight? Want to go to your room and have some coffee?” Qin Weidong asked.

“Sure.”

Just like in 2004’s synchronized time, Lin Wu rarely refused him these days.

He agreed.

“Christmas is in ten days. Want to go to the amusement park together that day?”

On a small road in the synchronized 2004 timeline, Lin Wu rode in front while Qin Weidong sat behind him, arms wrapped around his waist as he spoke.

Ever since that tentative moment a couple days ago, Qin Weidong had gotten into the habit of lightly holding him on this stretch of road. He would only let go once they passed it. This seven-hundred-meter stretch had become one of the things he looked forward to most each day.

“Our city has an amusement park?” Lin Wu asked, pedaling steadily, tacitly allowing the small gesture.

“They built a Happy Valley in the east. I heard it has a Ferris wheel, log flume, indoor haunted house, stuff like that. I haven’t been yet, but my classmates say it’s pretty fun.”

This “Happy Valley” was the early version of the Xuhu Happy Valley of 2024. It didn’t have holographic attractions yet, but for 2004, it was already considered very exciting.

“That day’s a Tuesday. I don’t know if school will give us time off. If not, we can go on New Year’s instead?” Lin Wu calculated.

“Okay!” Qin Weidong was delighted. As the road was about to end, he pressed his forehead against Lin Wu’s back, rubbing lightly, while the hand in the pocket gave his waist a small squeeze.

“Stop it…” Lin Wu wobbled slightly, though there was a smile in his voice.

After they got home, they went to wash up. Just like before, once inside, neither of them looked at the other. Only after finishing did they leave together.

Back home, Lin Wu sat at his desk doing homework. Qin Weidong sat beside him with a bowl of strawberries. “How late are you studying tonight?”

They had both changed into pajamas. Lin Wu wore a soft, fuzzy set. Qin Weidong wore a green dinosaur onesie his father had bought him, complete with tail and hood. It looked ridiculous and oddly charming.

“I’ll stop after this paper. Probably around 10:50,” Lin Wu said. “You can go rest first.”

“I’m not sleepy.” Qin Weidong popped a strawberry into Lin Wu’s mouth, just like before, wearing disposable gloves as he fed him.

Lin Wu took a bite. The strawberries were large, sweet, each about the size of a thumb. He couldn’t finish one in a single bite while writing, so Qin Weidong would eat the remaining half.

He seemed to have discovered a new way to feed him. Every time, Lin Wu ate one half, and he ate the other. Lin Wu got the tip of the strawberry, he got the bottom. He found endless enjoyment in it.

After a few rounds, when he fed another one, Lin Wu bit it from the side this time, whether intentionally or not.

Qin Weidong looked at the strawberry in his hand. A large bite taken from the side, leaving both the pointed end and the base.

He looked at Lin Wu.

Lin Wu, from beginning to end, remained serious, focused on his homework.

“Lin Wu…” Qin Weidong propped his chin on his hand, watching him.

“What is it?” Lin Wu kept writing.

“Nothing. Keep working.” Qin Weidong smiled, waiting for the next pause before feeding him another strawberry.

From then on, Lin Wu always bit from the side.

Each of them took half.

…

Back in 2024, at the Xuhu hotel, Lin Wu brought Qin Weidong back to the room. He set water to boil and was about to open a coffee packet when he realized there were none left.

“Looks like I’m out of coffee. I’ll call the front desk and have them send some up,” Lin Wu said, reaching for the phone.

“No need. Hot water is fine,” Qin Weidong said.

“Alright.” Lin Wu poured two cups once the water boiled. The two of them sat on the sofa, each holding a glass, as if savoring something far more refined than plain water.

Ding—

At 10:12, the phone on the table chimed.

Eating, cycling, the dim road, the strawberries…

The moment the phone sounded, Lin Wu’s mind flooded with detailed memories of December 15, 2004. These were things he and Qin Weidong had lived through together, their past after the spacetime messages had stopped.

This wasn’t new information, just a full replay.

It was 10:12 in 2004 as well. At that time, Qin Weidong had been wearing the dinosaur onesie, feeding him strawberries.

These memories unfolded like a memoir, shared by both of them, existing within the span of those twenty years.

“The phone finished updating?” Qin Weidong asked, hearing the notification.

“Mm.” Lin Wu picked it up. The update icon was gone. The spacetime phone was working again.

Qin Weidong took it, checked briefly, and, without snooping, confirmed the menu was back to normal. Only then did he relax slightly. “It’s getting late. I’ll head back.”

He stood, grabbing his coat.

“Okay, I’ll walk you out.” Lin Wu followed him to the door.

“You’re going to send a message later, right?” Qin Weidong asked casually before leaving.

“A message? What message?” Lin Wu looked puzzled.

Qin Weidong stared at him.

Lin Wu looked back.

“Stop messing around,” Qin Weidong said, frowning.

Stop messing around.

The words echoed.

Just moments ago, those memories had dragged him back twenty years. Back then, he had been the one telling Lin Wu not to mess around.

Now, after twenty years, it was Lin Wu saying it to him?

“Qin Weidong,” Lin Wu lowered his gaze slightly, “I’ve already sent all the messages I needed to for work. What message are you talking about?”

✧˖°.──⋆⭒˚.⋆💌⋆⭒˚.⋆──✧˖°.

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