Ch 62: Text Messages Across Time

Qin Weidong had set out early in the morning, still carrying the chill with him. Once Lin Wu came back to his senses, he quickly pulled him inside.

“Come in and warm your hands first!”

“Mm!” Qin Weidong stepped lightly into Lin Wu’s room, warming his hands by the radiator for a while. Then he pulled something out of his pocket, a grasshopper woven from straw. “Here!”

“What is this?” Grasshoppers were usually made from green grass, but this one was made from yellow straw. The craftsmanship was rough, and it didn’t quite look like one.

“I saw some kids at my uncle’s house playing with these yesterday, so I tried making one. What do you think?” Qin Weidong asked, his eyes bright. It was his first time making one, and he had wanted to give it to Lin Wu ever since finishing it.

“It looks pretty good.” Lin Wu examined it carefully. It wasn’t particularly well made, not as neat as the ones he used to make as a kid. He placed it into a glass jar on the desk, adding a few paper stars inside, then said, “I like it.”

Seeing that he really did like it, Qin Weidong sat on the bed with a smile. “The leaves right now are too yellow, so it doesn’t look great. In the summer, we can use palm leaves. Those turn out much nicer.”

“Okay.” Lin Wu listened attentively as Qin Weidong talked about the past couple of days. Then Qin Weidong pulled out two tickets from his coat. “I found these in my dad’s car. There’s a whole stack, all from his business partners. Want to go check it out this afternoon?” They were VIP passes.

“What time?” Lin Wu asked.

“They close at ten. If we get there around two or three, that’s fine.”

“Alright. Go freshen up first. It’s still early, we can get a bit more sleep.” It was only 6:10, and the entire neighborhood was quiet.

“Okay!” Qin Weidong set an alarm for noon, took off his socks and shoes, and as Lin Wu stepped out to heat some water, by the time he came back, Qin Weidong had already stripped down to his thermal layers and climbed into Lin Wu’s blanket.

“My blanket is too cold. I don’t feel like warming it up again,” he said from under the covers.

“…Mm.” Qin Weidong had been climbing into his blanket often these days. Lin Wu didn’t say anything, just pulled the curtains and got in as well.

Qin Weidong naturally wrapped an arm around him, and the two of them fell back asleep together.

At three in the afternoon, they took a taxi to the amusement park. It was the New Year holiday, and the place was packed. With VIP passes, they skipped the lines and had a great time.

At 7:50, they boarded the Ferris wheel.

“There’s a fireworks show at eight. We should be able to see it from the top,” Qin Weidong said. The cabin held just the two of them. From inside, they could see out, but people outside couldn’t see in. He sat down beside Lin Wu right away.

“This is my first time on a Ferris wheel,” Lin Wu said, looking around curiously. Xuhu hadn’t had one before. He had only seen it on TV.

“Mine too.” Qin Weidong had gone to amusement parks before with Qin Jianzhang, but he didn’t like thrill rides. The Ferris wheel wasn’t thrilling, but he had always thought it pointless, going up just to come down again.

As the wheel slowly began to move, he quietly took Lin Wu’s hand. It felt surprisingly nice.

Lin Wu glanced down but didn’t pull away.

The entire ride lasted twenty minutes. At eight, the wheel reached its highest point. Fireworks burst across the sky, dazzling and brilliant. From their height, they could see the nightscape of Xuhu spread out below, the whole world wrapped in lights and shimmering color.

Lin Wu watched, delighted.

At that moment, Qin Weidong turned slightly and leaned in, placing a light kiss at the corner of Lin Wu’s lips.

The world suddenly fell silent.

All Lin Wu could see were Qin Weidong’s eyelashes and his face, so close. Seeing him frozen, Qin Weidong, still unsatisfied, leaned in and kissed him again before reluctantly sitting back.

Even though it was just a simple kiss, neither of them opening their mouths or going further, it felt different. Their hearts raced, far more intensely than before.

“You…” Lin Wu wanted to ask why he had kissed him, but he felt that if he said it out loud, something between them would change. He didn’t know whether that would be good or bad, so he stiffly changed the subject. “Should we get something to eat when we get down?”

“Lin Wu…” Qin Weidong lightly scratched his palm, wanting to take the chance to ask if Lin Wu liked him.

“We’re close to the college entrance exams,” Lin Wu said after a pause.

Qin Weidong understood. He didn’t want to affect Lin Wu at such a critical time. After thinking for a moment, he leaned his head against Lin Wu’s shoulder instead. “I really want the exams to be over soon.”

After three seconds, Lin Wu softly replied, “Mm.”

Five minutes later, they got off the Ferris wheel.

“What do you want to eat?” Qin Weidong asked.

“Fried skewers?” Lin Wu had only said it to change the topic, so he wasn’t sure.

“Alright!” Qin Weidong led him to a crowded skewer stand. There were many people in line, but the variety was great.

“Vegetarian patties, chicken cutlets, meatballs, veggie rolls…” Qin Weidong ordered a bunch based on Lin Wu’s taste, then asked, “Do you want chili?”

Lin Wu liked spicy food, but not too spicy. After hesitating, he said, “Mild.”

“Got it, everything mild!” Qin Weidong said confidently.

Five minutes later, they each held a bundle of skewers and left.

“No, this is too spicy.” As they walked and ate, Lin Wu took a bite and felt the heat shoot straight to his head.

“That spicy?” Qin Weidong asked.

“Yeah, it’s stronger than the market ones.”

“I’ll try.” They stopped in a dim corner. Qin Weidong hadn’t ordered that item, so he leaned in and took a bite directly from Lin Wu’s hand.

“…Too spicy. You won’t be able to eat this. Give them to me, and we’ll buy more outside.” After tasting it, he frowned and naturally took the skewers from Lin Wu.

“…Okay.” After a moment’s hesitation, Lin Wu handed them over.

It was now 8:30. After the fireworks show, many people began leaving the amusement park. The two of them walked toward the exit together. Even though they tried to be careful in public, as they walked side by side, they couldn’t help brushing hands or shoulders from time to time. To an outsider, it looked like ordinary closeness between friends, but on closer inspection, there was an unmistakable hint of something more.

“President Qin, what are you looking at?” Not far away, someone followed Qin Jianzhang’s gaze and asked curiously.

“Nothing…” Qin Jianzhang had returned from his hometown at three in the afternoon. After meeting business partners for dinner nearby, he had come to watch the fireworks, not expecting to see his son.

His son had seemed distracted last night, eager to come back. He had thought something important had come up. Now it seemed… he had simply made plans to come to the amusement park with someone.

Qin Jianzhang watched the direction they were leaving, frowning.

Over the next three days, Lin Wu and Qin Weidong fell back into their routine of sticking together, going to school together, coming home together, sleeping side by side. During that time, Qin Weidong went home once, then came back again the next day.

At noon on January 7, Lin Wu went out alone to buy food. Just as he reached the entrance, he ran into a familiar figure—

“Classmate Lin, we’ve met before. You remember me, right?” The man looked about thirty, wearing a leather jacket. It was Zhao Hongyu.

“Mr. Zhao,” Lin Wu greeted, puzzled. He had met him before when Qin Weidong was hospitalized.

“Our President Qin, Xiao Dong’s father, would like to have a meal with you. The car is just up ahead. It won’t take long. Do you have time now?” Zhao Hongyu asked politely, even using formal address despite Lin Wu being just a high school student.

“…Alright.” After a moment’s hesitation, Lin Wu followed him.

The car window rolled down. In the back seat sat a middle-aged man with a commanding presence.

“Hello, I’m Qin Jianzhang.” He looked Lin Wu up and down as he spoke.

The dream ended.

…

Lin Wu woke up again.

This was a memory from this life. Aside from seeing it from his own perspective, he had also glimpsed parts of it from a third-person view. This time, the memory update stopped at January 6. Along with his own and Qin Weidong’s memories, he had even seen fragments from the synchronized timeline on the 18th.

He found it kind of interesting. Before, memories would refresh at 10:12 each night. Now… every time he slept, it was like watching episodes of his own life unfold.

It was 7:20. After getting up, Lin Wu brushed his teeth while recalling the contents of last night’s dream. This seemed to cover the period from Sun Xiaotao’s arrest up until Qin Weidong left the country. From what he had learned yesterday, in this timeline, Qin Weidong still went abroad around January 2005, just like before.

Then he thought of where the memory had paused—Qin Jianzhang.

He hadn’t asked much yesterday about their relationships with others. He only knew that Qin Jianzhang and Wang Manshan were aware that he and Qin Weidong were together. Based on the dream, the next scene should be Qin Jianzhang pulling out a check and saying something like: leave my son?

The thought amused him. Most of his interactions with Qin Jianzhang had been in the previous timeline. No matter what, Qin Jianzhang clearly loved his son deeply.

Ten minutes later, Lin Wu walked into the living room.

“You’re up early today. I was just about to wake you,” Qin Weidong said, standing in the kitchen frying eggs.

“I woke up early. Couldn’t fall back asleep.” Lin Wu sat at the dining table and asked, “What time are you heading out later?”

“Nine. I probably won’t be back until around seven tonight.” Qin Weidong brought the eggs over, sounding a bit helpless. Lin Wu had lost his memory, and he had originally wanted to stay home to take care of him, but there was a government-related internet conference he couldn’t reschedule.

“I lost my memory, not my ability to live,” Lin Wu said with a smile. “Don’t worry.”

“…Alright.” Even as he said that, Qin Weidong still looked a bit uneasy. Before leaving, he asked, “Is there anything you want to eat? I can bring it back tonight.”

“Nothing for now. I’ll check the shopping app later. If I want anything, I’ll just order it.”

“Okay. I’ll head out then. If anything happens, call me. Or call the company…”

“Got it!”

After repeating his reminders several times, Qin Weidong finally left.

Left alone, Lin Wu first sorted through some work matters, then thought of last night’s dream… and Qin Jianzhang.

He picked up his phone, planning to find Qin Jianzhang’s contact information. To his surprise, he found it immediately under the “Q” section. He then opened WeChat, intending to search for his contact there as well. There were over three hundred contacts, and he hadn’t paid much attention when scrolling before.

Just as he was about to search carefully, his phone rang.

Caller: Qin Jianzhang.

Lin Wu paused, then answered.

“Xiao Wu, something this big happened to you and you didn’t tell me? I only found out because a friend of mine saw you at the hospital. You’re at home now, right? Wait there, I’m almost at your neighborhood. About ten minutes.”

Lin Wu had always thought of Qin Jianzhang as reserved and composed. It was the first time he had heard him sound this open.

“…I’m home.”

“I’ll be there soon. See you in a bit!” Qin Jianzhang said before hanging up.

Lin Wu stared at his phone, a little dazed.

It seemed… in this life, his relationship with Qin Jianzhang might actually be quite good.

✧˖°.──⋆⭒˚.⋆💌⋆⭒˚.⋆──✧˖°.

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