Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Wen Miao was stunned. “Why? I thought you said not a single word was spoken?”

“That’s right.” Recalling Gu Zhiyu’s words, Nan Mu’s expression gradually grew solemn. “The person on the other end didn’t speak, but Gu Zhiyu heard sounds through the receiver… intermittent whistling sounds, like the sound of wind and sand sweeping up and swirling against each other in the wilderness. Gu Zhiyu said that during the last year Gu Zhishu was missing, he had mentioned many times that he wanted to take a trip to the Northwest. He wanted to see the vast deserts and mountains of his motherland before he died.”

“But…” Wen Miao was a little confused. “Didn’t you say that after Xiao Shu’s body was found, an autopsy was performed, and it was determined that his time of death was likely around mid-April?”

If Gu Zhishu had already died in April, how could he have made a phone call in June or July?

“Exactly. The body was buried at the foot of Lion Mountain, and there were no signs of it being moved in the interim. The soil composition and quality report confirmed that Gu Zhishu’s time of death was indeed in April.”

Wen Miao suddenly felt her skin crawl. “Then the person who called… who was it?”

…

Perhaps all the secrets would be revealed one by one once they got the phone, including the identity of the caller.

=

Nan Mu and Wen Miao stood at the base of Gu Zhishu’s apartment building.

Under the night sky, a few lights were scattered across the row of small buildings.

They were in luck; the lights in the Gu Family home were off, suggesting no one was in.

Nan Mu instinctively adjusted his mask, looked around his surroundings, and then gave Wen Miao a meaningful look.

Wen Miao nodded and walked over, clutching a balloon that perfectly blocked the only surveillance camera.

Seeing Wen Miao in position, Nan Mu loosened up his limbs, took a step back, and used a short sprint to gain momentum. His long arms reached up as he used his legs for leverage, gripping the upper edge of the courtyard wall. Using his upper body strength, he pulled himself up and flipped inside.

Only after Nan Mu had completely disappeared from her sight did Wen Miao retreat into the small grove of trees, still holding the balloon.

Nan Mu had been to the Gu house twice before, and the route to Gu Zhishu’s room was almost second nature to him.

He gently pushed open the door to Gu Zhishu’s room and, following his memory, found the phone in the desk drawer. He pressed a button, but the phone seemed dead and didn’t respond.

Nan Mu stuffed the phone into his trouser pocket and left quietly, but he bumped into the stack of books on the corner of the desk again. Almost by reflex, he bent down and nimbly caught the falling stack, preventing it from making too much noise.

This spot was too close to the door. Having caught the books, he let out a soft sigh of relief and stacked them back. By the faint moonlight filtering through the window, Nan Mu saw the manila envelope on top of the pile-the same one he had accidentally knocked out last time. He had placed it on top of the books back then.

But seeing this manila envelope again, a sudden whim struck him-did Gu Zhishu have a habit of sending letters? If so, who would he send them to?

Nan Mu remembered that night in the study at Su Yu’s house; he had also found a manila envelope. That envelope was slightly different from the one in his hand-it had been torn open at the seal. Clearly, someone had once put something inside it.

***

“You’re saying Su Yu’s house has the same manila envelope?”

Wen Miao asked as she tucked Gu Zhishu’s phone into her bag.

“Yeah. The envelope must have held something before… though maybe I’m overthinking it.”

Wen Miao thought for a moment. “Then should we go back and take another look?”

“No need. The envelope was already opened; without the contents inside, it’s meaningless.” Nan Mu pulled up the zipper on his jacket. “It’s about to rain. Let’s head back to the hospital first.”

When the two returned to the hospital, Nan Mu, fearing a lecture from the nurses, asked Wen Miao to go up and check first.

As it turned out, Wen Miao didn’t come back down for a long time.

Growing impatient while waiting below, Nan Mu couldn’t help but send her a message: [?]
After a long while, Nan Mu still hadn’t received a reply from Wen Miao. He couldn’t help but step into the hospital and enter an empty elevator. Before he could even press a floor button, his phone chimed with a notification.

Nan Mu opened it to find a message from Wen Miao.

Wen Miao: [I ran into Nan Mu! Don’t come up!]

Standing inside the elevator, Nan Mu sucked in a sharp breath. He immediately tried to step out, but it was too late-the doors had already slid shut, and the display showed the lift was ascending.

He frantically jabbed at the ‘open door’ button, but it was a case of locking the stable door after the horse had bolted; it was useless.

The elevator rose steadily. At this point, Nan Mu could even hear voices talking outside the doors.

Wen Miao said, “No need to see me out! Your hand is injured, and the doctor said you need plenty of rest. It’s crowded here; it would be bad if someone bumped into your hand.”

The past Little Nan Mu replied, “It’s fine… Alright, I’ll just walk you to the elevator…”

Inside the elevator, Nan Mu frantically messaged Wen Miao.

Nan Mu: [I’m in the elevator!]

Nan Mu: [Find a way to make him leave!]

Little Nan Mu: “I’ll just watch you leave. I won’t get in the elevator…”

The elevator suddenly slowed down and gave a slight shudder. It was clearly about to open.

Nan Mu gritted his teeth. In a frantic scramble, he ripped off his jacket, wrapped it tightly around his head, and threw himself into the corner of the elevator.

As soon as the doors opened, Wen Miao and Little Nan Mu, who were standing right there, saw a weirdo huddled in the corner with his head covered, facing the wall.

Little Nan Mu couldn’t tell who the strange man was, but Wen Miao only needed one look at that back for her eyes to start twitching. Nan Mu had told her before that one of the rules of the Time Machine was that one must never meet their past self.

She quickly stepped between Little Nan Mu and the elevator entrance, blocking his line of sight. “Alright, alright, the elevator’s here. You should head back now.”

“But…” Little Nan Mu looked behind Wen Miao with some hesitation. “Did something happen to that person?”

He leaned in closer to Wen Miao. “Could that person be dangerous?! I should go down with you.”

Wen Miao thought to herself, *That person isn’t dangerous at all; you’re the most dangerous one right now.* However, she kept a smile on her face. “What could happen in such a big hospital? Besides…”

Wen Miao’s gaze swept over Little Nan Mu’s hand. “If there really is danger, I’m afraid you wouldn’t be much help anyway.”

Little Nan Mu looked at his hand in the plaster cast and felt a bit dejected. “True.”

Wen Miao took a step back into the elevator and waved at Little Nan Mu outside. “Bye-bye! Go on back now.”

Watching the elevator doors slowly close, both people inside let out a sigh of relief.

“That scared the life out of me,” Wen Miao said, clutching her chest.

Still facing away from the doors and curled in the corner, Nan Mu muttered, “Tell me about it-”

Nan Mu stood up from the floor, but before he could pull the jacket off his head, the elevator chimed and opened again.

Fortunately, Nan Mu hadn’t turned around yet. Beside him, Wen Miao practically shrieked, “Hey! Nan Mu, why are you still at the elevator doors?”

Her voice was so loud that Little Nan Mu jumped in surprise.

“I… I didn’t see you come out, so I thought something happened to you… I was going to take the elevator down to check.”

The hospital lobby featured a high-ceiling design, and the area in front of the second-floor elevators was open, allowing a view of the hospital’s main entrance from above.

Wen Miao thought it was a stroke of luck that they hadn’t actually exited through the main doors just now.

“Oh… I was planning to go to the underground garage…” Wen Miao made up an excuse and immediately pressed the button for the basement level. “Go on, go on! Don’t just stand there watching. I’m fine. Bye!”

After speaking rapidly, Wen Miao hit the ‘close door’ button. Watching the elevator descend, she finally turned to look at Nan Mu. Seeing him still huddled in the corner like a frightened quail, she couldn’t help but find it hilarious.

She patted his shoulder. “Get up! The coast is clear.”