Ch 56: Text Messages Across Time

“I thought you might be discussing work with a friend. Sorry, I guessed wrong,” Qin Weidong said after a brief pause.

“I don’t have friends, and there’s nothing to send,” Lin Wu replied, standing by the door.

“Mm… then I’ll get going.” Qin Weidong draped his coat over his arm, nodded, and turned to leave.

“Alright.” Lin Wu didn’t walk him out any further.

In the warmly lit corridor, Lin Wu watched his back recede. It was a tall, straight, steady figure. Just as he was about to turn the corner, he suddenly strode back.

“Do you even realize it’s the fifteenth today?” Qin Weidong’s voice came out through clenched teeth. He brushed past Lin Wu, went straight into the room, and picked up the phone on the table. Without hesitation, he opened the message interface—

【Yueyang Road Xingxing Internet Café. Save two computers for me. I’ll be there at 10:30!】

【Who exactly are you?!】

【Could the killer switch targets from a female high schooler to a male high schooler?】

【What is Lin Wu like in the future?】

【What’s my relationship with Lin Wu in the future?】

【Are Lin Wu and I happy in the future?】

…

A long string of messages filled the screen, all sent between September 5 and December 2.

Qin Weidong stared at them, then took another phone out of his pocket. It was an old Motorola K5. The message history on it matched Lin Wu’s phone exactly, except one was the inbox and the other the outbox.

On Lin Wu’s phone, the timestamps were within the last three months.
On his, they were from twenty years ago.

The two phones were separated by twenty years of time.

“How did you figure it out?” Lin Wu asked, watching him. It was obvious now. Qin Weidong already knew he was the “unknown number.”

Qin Weidong loosened his tie and sat down on the sofa, a faint self-mockery in his voice. “Lin Wu, I’m not an idiot.”

If there was a moment things started to feel off, it was probably from the very beginning.

Back then, when he asked the unknown number where Lin Wu had gone, the reply was that Lin Wu had undergone a minor procedure and couldn’t text, so the “friend” was relaying messages.

He believed it.

But afterward, every time the timeline was rewritten, it was always that “unknown number” communicating. That didn’t make sense. By then, the 2004 Lin Wu already knew about the spacetime messages. With his personality, there was no way he would let some “friend” handle something so important. Even lying in the ICU, Lin Wu would have found a way to communicate personally.

And more than that, in the early exchanges, the other side hadn’t hidden their typing habits. For example, when stating conclusions, they liked to add a period at the end. Lin Wu had the same habit. Later, once the three of them were “cooperating,” that habit suddenly changed, as if deliberately concealed.

On top of that, the tone, the logic, the way of thinking…

Anyone who looked closely enough would reach the same conclusion.

He had sensed something was wrong from the start. But he didn’t care.

No matter what the future was, he and Lin Wu had already met. The future would be written from the past. They would grow up together, go to school, start working…

He had been full of anticipation.

Until Luo Xiaorong died again, and they went their separate ways.

Twenty years later, when Lin Wu returned to Xuhu, Qin Weidong finally confirmed it.

Lin Wu was the unknown number from 2004.

“There are only two days left.” Qin Weidong checked the time, then handed the phone to him.

“If I send it… do you know what will happen to you now?” Lin Wu asked.

“It won’t matter,” Qin Weidong said with a faint smile. “When a new ending appears, it’ll just be a new day.”

“A new day…” Lin Wu closed his eyes.

When a new ending formed, everything would change again.

This was their twentieth ending. Lin Wu remembered every one of them.

Qin Weidong did not.

Each time Lin Wu started a new timeline, Qin Weidong’s twenty years of life would vanish completely, just like the last version of him, dissolving like bubbles.

For Lin Wu, each reset was a new beginning.
For Qin Weidong who had known him, each one was an ending.

“Go ahead,” Qin Weidong urged again.

“…Alright.” Lin Wu began typing, numb. Even if Qin Weidong hadn’t turned back just now, he would have sent this message anyway.

In a daze, he remembered the fourth ending.

Back then, he, Luo Xiaorong, and Wang Jiahui had lived happily together in Shenhai. He had told them the truth. They had watched fireworks by the sea.

When the fireworks bloomed, he had felt like he had killed four people.

And in this ending—

He was killing the Qin Weidong in front of him.

His memory of the past twenty years wasn’t detailed down to every second. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. The vivid playback had only reached 10:12. Based on what he remembered, at this exact time back then, they had still been eating strawberries together.

Before Luo Xiaorong’s death, they had been inseparable.

Half a minute later, Lin Wu finished typing the details of Luo Xiaorong’s impending death on the night of December 17 and sent it to 2004.

Sent successfully.

Ten seconds later, a reply came.

Everything followed the same rhythm as before.

Lin Wu let out a breath.

“Qin Weidong… let’s go skiing tomorrow,” he said, looking at him.

“Okay.” Qin Weidong picked up his coat. He didn’t refuse.

…

At the same time, in 2004—

“The water bill collector came by. People are busy during the day, so they usually collect at night.” Lin Wu walked back into the room holding a red receipt.

Half a minute earlier, someone had knocked on the door while they were doing homework. He thought it was Wang Manshan, but it turned out to be the building’s water fee manager. They had used 0.7 tons of water that month, totaling 1.12 yuan. Probably because of winter, they used less than in summer.

After explaining, Lin Wu noticed Qin Weidong sitting on the chair, still in his dinosaur onesie, holding his phone, staring blankly.

“What’s wrong?” Lin Wu asked.

“Nothing…” Qin Weidong looked at him, opened his mouth, then added as if emphasizing, “Just zoned out for a bit. It’s nothing.”

Lin Wu put the receipt into the drawer, not noticing his expression. Then he asked, “Can you still contact 2024?” Even though the connection seemed closed, they would still try occasionally.

“No. Looks like the channel’s completely shut now.” Qin Weidong handed him the phone. Aside from the failed message from two days ago, there was nothing new.

“Guess things are back to normal,” Lin Wu said, not thinking much of it.

At 10:50, they turned off the lights and went to sleep.

That night, December 15, was quiet.

Qin Weidong lay properly under the covers, his mind replaying the message he had just received—

A message from 2024, about Luo Xiaorong’s impending death.

✧˖°.──⋆⭒˚.⋆💌⋆⭒˚.⋆──✧˖°.