Chapter 35

Chapter 35

After he had subdued the Motorcycle Man, Wen Miao had asked him if he wanted to call the police. It was clear that even back then, she had already begun to suspect his identity. Otherwise, an ordinary girl would have chosen to call the police immediately after encountering such a dangerous situation; why would she hesitate? Unless, of course, she had already realized that involving the police posed a risk to him.

“Looking at it this way, when I told you at the hospital not to tell Wen Tangtang about my injuries, I was probably just gilding the lily by giving you more evidence, wasn’t I?”

It was laughable to think that he had once found Wen Miao easy to talk to, when in reality, it was because she had long harbored suspicions.

Wen Miao shrugged, a mischievous glint flashing in her eyes. “Those were just guesses, though. After all, you’ve done so many things to shock me before. For example… you were suddenly exceptionally warm on the afternoon of the 8th, then you became so restrained you barely dared to speak during breakfast on the 9th, and then that evening, you suddenly had the nerve to ask me out to a movie… But all of that could only make me suspicious; it couldn’t give me one hundred percent certainty that you and the Nan Mu at school were two completely different people.”

“Oh? So…”

Nan Mu raised an eyebrow, waiting for her next words.

Wen Miao waved her phone with a face full of smiles. “Do you remember when we were having dinner together that day? I told you that Wen Tangtang asked Wen Xin to order a portion of taro soup with lard dregs for you too. At that time, I sent a message to you-or rather, I should say, to the current Nan Mu.”

Nan Mu suddenly understood, his expression turning to one of chagrin. “He replied to you?”

Wen Miao’s eyes crinkled, as if she were remembering something funny. “At first, I thought you were playing some kind of trendy game with me. You said you were going to wash your hands, but then you sent me a message. Then, after the movie, you sent another one.”

Nan Mu frowned and clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction. “What did he say to you?”

Seeing his disgruntled look, Wen Miao found it even more amusing. “Aren’t you him?”

Nan Mu didn’t answer that. Instead, he was more curious about something else. “You seem to find it very easy to accept that I’m from another time and space… Why? Don’t you have any doubts? For instance, plastic surgery, or just looking remarkably similar…”

Before he could finish, and without waiting for Wen Miao’s answer, he suddenly had an epiphany. “No wonder you kept talking to me about school matters while we were at the hospital…”

“Exactly,” Wen Miao added. “And after we finished the movie, you kept discussing the Time Machine with me…”

Nan Mu couldn’t stop himself from laughing, his voice laced with admiration.

“What am I going to do? I think I’m starting to like you more and more.” He suddenly pushed off the wall and leaned in close to Wen Miao. “How are you so smart, my girl?”

There were only a few centimeters between them. His breath enveloped her, and in the dim darkness, an unknown ambiguity began to brew. Wen Miao’s heart suddenly began to thud wildly.

She pursed her lips, trying to maintain her composure. “So, Nan Mu, why did you come back?”

Nan Mu said nothing, a faint, unreadable smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

Wen Miao tried her best to ignore his scent right at the tip of her nose, forcing herself to ask calmly, “I saw your notebook. You’re investigating Xiao Shu? Do you know him?”

Nan Mu sighed. She even knew about that. Just how many of his secrets had his girl peeked into from the shadows?
Strands of moonlight fell upon Wen Miao’s ears, her flushed tips betraying her current state of mind. Nan Mu seemed to have discovered something amusing and suddenly reached out to brush against her ear.

As if struck by an electric current, Wen Miao’s body couldn’t help but tremble. She snapped her eyes open and glared at him in surprise, unable to fathom why he would suddenly make such a bold move at a time like this.

Nan Mu looked down and locked eyes with her wide, incredulous gaze. He couldn’t help but let out a low chuckle. “You asked why I came back? Naturally, it was for…”

The last few words were whispered so softly, and because Nan Mu straightened up before finishing, Wen Miao didn’t hear them clearly at all. She couldn’t help but press him, “What did you say?”

Nan Mu didn’t repeat himself. Of course, he wanted to tell Wen Miao openly that he had come back specifically for her. But Wen Miao was too smart-so smart that Nan Mu realized his past self hadn’t properly respected her intelligence. He feared that if he continued, she would eventually deduce the truth about her own death.

If you told someone the date of their death, would they live more happily, or would they spend their final days in a state of constant anxiety and despair?

*I’m going to die anyway, so why bother studying? I’m going to die anyway, so why do research and experiments? I’m going to die anyway…*

Nan Mu wasn’t willing to take that gamble. Even if Wen Miao were to pass away in the next second, he didn’t want her to spend her remaining time living in fear and suspicion.

She should be happy. She should be blessed. Above all, she should never be cast into fear and darkness.

Nan Mu returned to the matter at hand. “Do you know Su Yu?”

Wen Miao was quite dissatisfied with his change of subject. She huffed and tossed back a sharp, “No.”

“Then how did you find this place?” Nan Mu asked, looking utterly perplexed. He thought he had moved fast enough. If Wen Miao had only learned about Su Yu from his notebook, why was she faster than him?

The person the little boy mentioned-the other one who had come looking for Su Yu-must have been Wen Miao. That meant she had clearly found this place before he did.

Wen Miao walked over to the bookshelf and began browsing through the titles. “It wasn’t that hard. Xiao Shu has been sick since university and hardly ever went to school. I guessed that Su Yu might be a friend he knew from even earlier. Since they have a good relationship, they must have maintained contact over a long period. For a student, where else could you maintain a long-term relationship besides school? Classmates or neighbors… but I got lucky. I had Wen Xin hack into Ping High’s internal administrative system to pull all the student records. After matching for students of the right age, I quickly found the Su Yu who lives here.”

Wen Miao counted on her fingers. “It took maybe an hour.”

“But I saw you guys enter using a passcode. If you don’t know Su Yu, how did you have his door code?”

Wen Miao gave Nan Mu a strange look, her expression clearly saying *’Are you stupid?’* “Su Yu’s keypad lock isn’t particularly high-end, and it doesn’t have an anti-theft system. A normal person might not be able to crack it, but for Wen Xin, it’s not exactly a challenge. It was just a minor operation.”

Nan Mu: “…”

Damn. It really pays to have a computer expert around. Poor him, having to drag his body all over the place.