Ch 57: Text Messages Across Time

The Xuhu Ski Resort is located in the eastern part of Xuhu, about seventy kilometers from downtown, and is the largest artificial ski resort in the area. On the afternoon of December 16, 2024, Lin Wu and Qin Weidong arrived at the parking lot.

“Sorry, the snowmaking machine broke down. We can’t operate right now,” a staff member wearing a red armband said, knocking on the car window just as they were about to get out.

“When will it be fixed?” Qin Weidong asked, rolling the window down.

“Not sure. It just broke at noon, and the repair team hasn’t arrived yet. Probably tomorrow.”

“Alright, thanks.” With the resort unusable, they could only drive away.

“Sorry, I should’ve checked ahead,” Lin Wu said, a little helpless. He had looked up the operating hours, but hadn’t expected something like this.

“It just broke today. No way we could’ve predicted that.” Qin Weidong steered the car back onto the main road and asked casually, “So where to now?”

“I don’t know…” Lin Wu had planned to stay until six, then head back to the city for dinner. Now everything was thrown off.

“Let me handle it?” Qin Weidong suggested.

“Okay.”

Lin Wu thought he might plan something like an art exhibit, but instead they drove back into the city and stopped at an arcade inside a mall.

“I’ve always wanted to play these, just never had the time.” Qin Weidong exchanged for a big bucket of tokens, and they started with claw machines. Lin Wu hadn’t played in years, but he got lucky and caught two teddy bears. Qin Weidong tried for a blue plush toy, but after more than ten attempts, he still hadn’t gotten it.

“Let me…” Lin Wu finally said, unable to watch anymore.

“Thanks.” Qin Weidong stepped aside.

Lin Wu was steady. It didn’t take long before he caught it.

“Here.” He handed the toy over.

“For me?” Qin Weidong asked with a smile.

“That was the point.” Lin Wu smiled faintly.

Qin Weidong put the three plush toys into a bag and carried them the whole time. After the claw machines, they played fishing games and basketball shooters, then had dinner at the mall. At eight in the evening, they went to a private cinema.

“There’s a private theater here?” Lin Wu asked as he followed him in. It was in the basement of a high-end villa, about a hundred square meters, with luxurious décor.

“Had it installed a few years ago. I don’t come often, but there’s a cleaning service that keeps it in order.” Qin Weidong switched on the system. Since he’d been there recently, the fridge was stocked with fresh drinks.

“What do you want?” he asked, opening it.

“Soda. Room temperature.”

“Got it.” He grabbed two bottles and sat down beside Lin Wu.

The black leather sofa was wide and soft. In front was a marble table, and beyond that a projection screen with excellent sound and picture quality.

“What do you want to watch?” Qin Weidong asked, handing him a drink.

“Anything.”

Lin Wu had taken off his light gray down jacket, leaving a gray turtleneck underneath. Full translation available on HololoNovels dot com. Qin Weidong had also shed his coat and suit jacket, keeping only his vest and shirt. The room was warm.

“Then I’ll pick.” After browsing, Qin Weidong chose an old film from twenty years ago, Men in Black.

“We watched this in theaters before. I didn’t finish it back then. Let’s try again.” He smiled.

“Mm.” Lin Wu didn’t ask why.

The film began. In the darkness, they watched in silence.

“At this time… the light bulb in your place should’ve gone out, right?” Qin Weidong suddenly said.

“If nothing else has changed, it probably has.” Lin Wu checked the time. 9:02.

On December 16, 2004, at 9:02, they had returned home. The bedroom light bulb had suddenly gone out. It had been snowing, and they had walked together through the snow to buy a new one.

That had been their last night living together.

And it had happened in a timeline where no spacetime message had been received.

He had already sent the message yesterday. The new outcome wouldn’t appear until 10:12 tonight. With that change, he didn’t know if they would still go buy a light bulb together…

…

At the same time in 2004—

“The bulb’s burned out.” Qin Weidong twisted it off.

It was 9:02. They had been getting ready for bed when it suddenly failed. The flashlight didn’t work either, so they relied on moonlight.

Qin Weidong stood on a stool while Lin Wu steadied it.

“Any spare bulbs?” Qin Weidong asked after jumping down.

“No. I just bought this one recently.” Lin Wu frowned, then checked the time. “The hardware shop should still be open. I’ll go take a look.”

“It’s snowing. I’ll go with you.” Qin Weidong grabbed the old bulb in a plastic bag to throw out later.

“Okay.”

They stepped outside. A thin layer of snow had already settled. They hunched their shoulders against the cold as they walked to the market, arriving just before the shop closed.

“Do you still have light bulbs?” Lin Wu asked quickly.

“What wattage?”

“Twenty.”

“Hold on…” The shopkeeper searched, then found one wrapped in cardboard. “Good thing you came now. I was about to close.”

“We’re lucky,” Lin Wu said. But three seconds later, things felt less lucky.

When they had arrived, the market was still lit. Now it was 9:30, and most of the streetlights had gone out, leaving everything in darkness.

“Should we buy a flashlight?” Lin Wu asked.

“No need. We can still see.” Qin Weidong judged the light.

“Alright.”

They started walking back. After a while, Qin Weidong slipped his hand into Lin Wu’s pocket.

He had done it often these days. But this time, Lin Wu’s hand was already there.

Lin Wu didn’t pull away.

Qin Weidong separated his fingers and slid his own between them.

Shoulder brushing shoulder, hand pressed to hand, they walked home together through the snow.

In 2024, Lin Wu and Qin Weidong sat side by side on the sofa. This time, they weren’t holding hands. Both of them watched the movie with unusually serious expressions.

“Lin Wu…” At 9:40, Qin Weidong spoke.

“What is it?” Lin Wu asked.

“Can I kiss you?”

They had only just reconnected as old acquaintances, so the question felt abrupt no matter how you looked at it. Lin Wu didn’t move. After three seconds, he said, “Okay.”

Qin Weidong turned slightly, leaning closer. At last, he cupped Lin Wu’s head with one hand and placed a light kiss on his forehead.

“Try to be happy. We’ll see each other again tomorrow.”
They would meet again, just as different versions of themselves on another timeline.

“Will we really meet again tomorrow?” Lin Wu asked, eyes lowered.

“Mm. Tomorrow will be a different life.”

“If it’s a different life, then why do you keep getting involved with me in this one? Didn’t we stop contacting each other the day of my mom’s funeral? What right do you have to send flowers to my school, to help me deal with the deposit, to take care of my secondhand things?”

The graduation flowers, the landlord deposit, the secondhand items. All of those had been things Qin Weidong did in this timeline. And there were many more like them.

Lin Wu’s chest rose and fell sharply. Ever since the suppressed memories had resurfaced, he had been holding everything in.

Perhaps because he was too angry now, he suddenly climbed onto Qin Weidong’s lap and grabbed his collar tightly.

“We only knew each other for three months in high school. Just three months! What right do you have to interfere in my life like this?”

“How did you…” Qin Weidong started to ask, but seeing Lin Wu’s expression, he swallowed the question and simply yielded. “I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing to me? Why are you apologizing!” Lin Wu laughed in anger.

Straddling him, Lin Wu could clearly see Qin Weidong’s face, while his own remained hidden in shadow.

He reached up, placing a hand over Qin Weidong’s brow, studying him carefully for the first time.

A high nose bridge. A clean jawline. Deep, defined features.

Qin Weidong had always said Lin Wu was good-looking. But Qin Weidong himself was, too. A steady, quiet kind of handsome.

“Kissing someone isn’t like that…” Lin Wu’s fingers traced from his brow to his nose, then to his lips. Full translation available on HololoNovels dot com. They felt slightly dry. After rubbing them lightly, he leaned in.

“Lin Wu… don’t do this.” Qin Weidong’s voice was hoarse as he tried to push him away.

“Don’t do this?” Lin Wu repeated.

“…Don’t.”

“Sorry.” Lin Wu paused, then shifted as if to get off him.

Qin Weidong grabbed his wrist tightly.

“What are you doing?” Lin Wu asked.

“I…” Qin Weidong didn’t know either. He looked at him, then instinctively pulled him into his arms.

Their lips met.

It was their first kiss. Neither of them knew how. They could only fumble forward, instinctively seeking, teeth bumping clumsily before the storm softened into something lingering and intimate.

Lin Wu’s arms wrapped around his neck. They both sank into the kiss.

As they kissed, Lin Wu’s hand slid down to Qin Weidong’s belt.

“Don’t—” Qin Weidong tried to stop him, but Lin Wu bit him sharply, forcing his hand away with an unyielding insistence.

Qin Weidong’s hand loosened.

The world fell into darkness again.

Twenty years ago, Qin Weidong had played a passionate “piano rhapsody” for Lin Wu. This time, Lin Wu played one for him, soft and entangled.

Everything stirred back to life. Fireworks bloomed once more in the dark.

At ten o’clock, Lin Wu went to wash his hands. Qin Weidong had already straightened himself out. They returned to the sofa.

The movie was nearing its end.

Back then, Qin Weidong hadn’t finished watching it. Neither had Lin Wu. In the theater, Lin Wu’s eyes had been on the screen, but his senses had already drifted away with the touch at his fingertips. Qin Weidong just hadn’t known.

Now they sat side by side again. Qin Weidong gently drew Lin Wu’s head to rest on his shoulder.

Lin Wu’s body was tense. He didn’t move. The gesture felt too vulnerable.

“Get some rest. Tomorrow is a new beginning,” Qin Weidong said softly.

Slowly, Lin Wu relaxed and leaned against him. After a long pause, he said, “I’m sorry.”

He meant the night of the funeral.

Back then, after Luo Xiaorong’s death, he had already decided to reach 2024 and rewrite everything. He had pushed Qin Weidong away for three reasons.

First, they were both anchors between timelines. Getting too close might affect the spacetime phone. He didn’t dare risk it.

Second, after Luo Xiaorong’s death, he chose to continue living as before. He couldn’t allow something as significant as “falling in love” to disrupt that path.

Third, his future self had said that Qin Weidong would have a successful career and a happy life. He couldn’t let himself alter that.

Qin Weidong knew about the spacetime phone. It was like knowing from birth that your memories would disappear. If they grew too close, it would be too cruel.

So in previous timelines, Lin Wu had only changed things related to the killer. He avoided interfering in anyone else’s life, especially Qin Weidong’s.

He was like a butterfly in time, trying not to flap its wings, walking along the same old path.

“Why?” Lin Wu asked quietly. His reason always outweighed emotion. They had only known each other for three months. Why would Qin Weidong spend twenty years with him?

“I told you. I’d stay with you,” Qin Weidong said, brushing his chin lightly against Lin Wu’s head.

Lin Wu paused, then remembered September 25, the day after Qin Weidong first learned about the messages—

“I’ll stay with you.”
He had thought it only meant walking him home.

He hadn’t realized it meant staying through every timeline.

“You…” Lin Wu didn’t know what to say.

“Back then, I didn’t know if I liked you. I just felt… bad for you.” Qin Weidong had stayed up all night that time, thinking about how Lin Wu wandered through twenty years of loneliness in another life.

He had only thought that if someone stayed with him, it wouldn’t feel so lonely.

“I don’t know what I’m like in other endings. But I know that if I meet you, I’ll probably like you. So don’t be sad. I’m happy in every timeline. I’ve lived more happy twenty years than anyone else.

Don’t tell seventeen-year-old you any of this. I want to grow up with you happily. Once we rewrite everything, we’ll both be happy.

Lin Wu… I think I was pretty likable at seventeen. If none of this had happened, you might’ve accepted me. I can be pretty persistent…”

He rambled on.

Lin Wu’s eyes were already wet.

He thought that maybe, back then, he really had liked him. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have kept giving in. Letting him slip his hands into his pockets, hold his waist, hold his hand…

His seventeen-year-old heart had once beaten wildly.

Those memories had always been quietly kept, hidden deep inside.

“We’ll meet in the next ending.” At 10:12, Qin Weidong kissed his forehead again.

Even without these memories, they would still meet again.

The moment the kiss landed, the scene dissolved.

The theater was gone.
The soda was gone.
The solid warmth of that shoulder was gone.

The turtleneck became black sleepwear.

The twenty-first ending had begun.

…

At the same moment in 2004—

“Lin Wu… there’s something I didn’t tell you.” After fixing the light bulb, Qin Weidong hesitated.

“What is it?” Lin Wu asked casually while packing his bag.

“Yesterday, the unknown number sent a message. I started a new ending…”

✧˖°.──⋆⭒˚.⋆💌⋆⭒˚.⋆──✧˖°.