Silent Testimony - Chapter 30

Li Hewei initially paid no mind, simply observing Tao Ling as rendered by the original owner’s brush, genuinely feeling that she herself still lagged significantly behind. Although both had changed careers halfway to become forensic pathologists, the original owner had been working for nearly five years, and her grasp of the subject’s characteristics was clearly more penetrating.

She put the cake card aside and picked up the half-stack of drawing paper, flipping through them under the warm yellow bedside lamp. It shouldn’t be considered an invasion of privacy to simply appreciate the artwork, right?

However, the further she flipped, the more confused Li Hewei became. Why were all the subjects of the original owner’s sketches Tao Ling? Tao Ling feeding cats in the alley, Tao Ling practicing calligraphy in the study, Tao Ling deep in thought at her desk, and even Tao Ling scaling fish at the wet market…

Combined with the special “Do Not Disturb” setting for Tao Ling on WeChat, the incredible speculation from half a month ago resurfaced in Li Hewei’s mind. The original owner liked Tao Ling, but because of the taboo sister-in-law relationship, she chose to distance herself, which led to Li Hewei’s initial misconception that their relationship was ordinary when she first transmigrated into the book.

“Yes.” A familiar voice inexplicably sounded in her ear, followed by a sigh of helplessness.

A storm raged in Li Hewei’s heart, but having experienced transmigration, she was no stranger to sudden changes. She quickly adjusted her state, her clear eyebrows deeply furrowed: “Who are you?”

“The original owner you spoke of.”

Transmigration without a system, but able to talk to the original owner? Li Hewei seized the opportunity and quickly asked: “Where are you?”

“Shenzhen, your home.”

So, she transmigrated into a novel, and the original owner of the novel became her? A common exchange of lives?

“The gas leaked at home. Your life was in danger. Fortunately, a friend knocked on the door and sent you to the hospital. I woke up in the Intensive Care Unit.”

One fainted from a flowerpot fright, the other from carbon monoxide poisoning. Both are low-probability events, which makes it quite a coincidence, Li Hewei thought inwardly, telling her: “You fainted after being scared by a flowerpot thrown by the perpetrator’s father during a case investigation. I also woke up in the hospital ward.”

“No, I fainted in a fire, probably around March 2016.”

A crucial clue, yet Li Hewei only heard a mechanical female voice: “The original owner is revealing spoilers. The content has been blocked.” She couldn’t help but complain, “You’re getting in the way.”

“This call totals five minutes. Two minutes have passed. Please make the most of your time.”

The original owner’s timeline didn’t know that Tao Ling would face a deadly ordeal. After much deliberation, Li Hewei asked gossipily: “Are you deeply closeted? Or did you awaken after marriage?”

“I…”

“You don’t have to say. I’m just curious.” Li Hewei looked up at the bright moon outside the window and spoke without thinking: “Actually, we can exchange secrets. After all, we share the same name.” She was being honest: “I realized I liked girls in high school, but I’m single to this day.”

Li Hewei assumed the other party’s silence was a gentle refusal and was about to change the subject, when the original owner spoke slowly: “I awakened in college but didn’t dare to come out. My family was pressuring me urgently, and my leaders in the government system kept introducing me to blind dates. So, I thought about finding someone controllable to get a marriage certificate with and divorce after a couple of months.”

“That was foolish,” Li Hewei couldn’t help but sigh with emotion.

“It was indeed foolish,” the original owner recalled, “I carefully selected and finally settled on Tao Yang, who was working abroad. Being thousands of miles apart would save a lot of trouble.”

“No wonder Yingqiu said she didn’t know what you saw in him.”

“Easy to control? If I nodded, he generally wouldn’t refuse. If I said no, he respected it.”

Li Hewei covered her forehead: “Don’t think of men as being so simple. Once they get what they want, their attitude changes immediately.”

“So I also had a backup plan. If we didn’t get along, I’d immediately suggest divorce.”

Though she said that, there were too many uncertain factors. Li Hewei disagreed: “Fortunately, the world you are in doesn’t have a divorce cooling-off period. Oh, and fortunately Tao Yang is missing.”

“He’s not missing, he…”

“The original owner is revealing spoilers. The content has been blocked.”

“What is she spoiling? I know Tao Yang’s ending!” Wait a minute. If the original owner knew Tao Yang wasn’t missing but was murdered, then the time of her transmigration should have been later. She would also definitely know when, where, and why Tao Ling died in the line of duty. Li Hewei sorted out the logic and asked urgently, “What about Tao Ling? Do you have anything you need to tell me?”

There was another burst of chaotic, jarring static. Concerned about Tao Ling, Li Hewei’s heart was filled with anxiety. She pressed repeatedly: “Original owner, are you still there? Give me a hint, any hint.”

The original owner’s voice was almost pleading: “Please, protect her.”

“Hey, you!” Protect her? With what? The enemy is hidden, and she is exposed. She can’t even fully protect herself, let alone Tao Ling.

“I never regretted distancing myself from Tao Tao. Our awkward relationship was destined to go nowhere, but she—because of me…”

“Because of you what? Sacrificed herself?” Li Hewei was frantic, but the mechanical female voice appeared at an inopportune moment: “Dear Host, the call is over. You may leave a single message for the other party.”

“Help me take care of Mian Mian, thank you.” Li Hewei pondered for a moment, knowing she couldn’t give spoilers, so she could only ask the other party to look after her daughter—a golden shaded cat, a gift from a friend on her 30th birthday.

Two minutes later, Li Hewei received a cross-time message from the original owner: [How did you quickly learn Cantonese?] She was a native of Sichuan, rarely exposed to Cantonese. Although she had watched many Hong Kong dramas, she could generally understand it but couldn’t speak a single sentence. So, in the 20 days since transmigrating, she spent 10 days in the hospital, 9 days at home, and today, working at the forensic center, she was mute for a day.

[Enroll in a Cantonese crash course, watch dramas, listen to the radio, and talk to them often.]

“We have received your reply and will relay it shortly.”

“Can I go back once I complete the task?” Tonight’s sudden event was like a splash of cold water, waking Li Hewei from her musings about whether she liked Tao Ling. Now, with the future uncertain, Tao Ling likely to face a tragic end, and obstacles yet to be cleared, should she still be struggling with romantic feelings?

Completing the mission is what matters.

“Hello? Why aren’t you answering?” The abnormal noise stopped abruptly, and the room returned to silence. Li Hewei looked around and saw her phone screen lit up on the bedside table, showing a call from Cheng Yingqiu. She answered: “Hello.”

“Sister, you scared me to death! You didn’t reply to my messages for ages, and you wouldn’t pick up the phone.”

“I was sleepy and nearly fell asleep.” Li Hewei tried to take a deep breath, slowly recovering her senses and returning to reality.

“Oh, what’s the value of the cake card?”

“200.”

“That’s the wrong one. The card Old Cheng gave me is worth 300. I’ll swap it with you tomorrow.”

“Okay, go to sleep.” After saying goodnight and hanging up, Li Hewei pondered another issue. The original owner liked Tao Ling, and she, too, developed feelings for Tao Ling. What kind of curse is this? Fortunately, she hadn’t fallen too deep; there was still room for rescue.

Should I distance myself from Tao Ling? She wasn’t the original owner; she couldn’t do it. Besides, the other party hadn’t done anything wrong. Why should she suffer unwarranted coldness? Li Hewei considered it for a long time and decided to maintain the status quo. As long as she suppressed her feelings, didn’t initiate anything, and didn’t cross the line, she would definitely be able to return to a normal state of mind.

However, she overestimated her self-control. On Saturday morning, waking from sleep, Li Hewei habitually reached for her phone, checking messages with one eye open.

Name noted by the original owner, Li Yuqiong: [Honey, Happy Birthday. You’ve reached 30!] [Transfer 2000]

Wu Yong: [Wei Wei, Happy Birthday.] [Transfer 2000]

Why did they transfer separately? Sichuan people are too generous.

[Mom, thank you.]

[Dad, thank you.]

It took Li Hewei quite a while to adapt to her parents’ existence, but the two elders were too enthusiastic. Sometimes, even when she came home late, they would insist on video calls. Especially Li Yuqiong, who would privately message her whenever she discovered something delicious or fun, demanding her opinion.

Cheng Zhi Jiao: [Xiao Wei, Happy Birthday!] [Transfer 800]

Wu Cong: [Xiao Wei, Happy Birthday. Come back early for lunch.] [Transfer 800]

Li Hewei thanked them in turn and continued scrolling through the unread messages. She hadn’t seen a single blessing from a friend. Was the original owner completely isolated?

[Sister, Happy Birthday, love you, mwah.] [My intern salary is small; please accept this token of my appreciation.] [Red Packet 200]

[Waking up at 6:30? That’s rare.] Li Hewei didn’t accept her red packet.

[I’m working this morning; I can only make it to the restaurant at noon.] [Gotta go, I’m on site.]

[You be busy.] Li Hewei was about to put down her phone when she saw an unread message from Tao Ling sent at midnight.

[Sister Wei, Happy Birthday. (Cake emoji)] Followed immediately by a red packet. Li Hewei still didn’t accept it, replying with a thank you. Wishing me exactly at midnight? Who did she learn that from? She got out of bed casually, forgetting to open the window, and fumbled in the dark to the bathroom to wash up.

The door beside her was knocked: “Sister Wei, are you awake?”

“Mmm.” Li Hewei, brushing her teeth, walked over to open the door for her.

“Sister Wei, morning.” The light from the hallway flooded in, illuminating her. Half her body was bathed in orange-yellow light, the other half in the dimness of night. However, she focused on Tao Ling’s radiant smile and instantly lost herself.

“Sister Wei?” Seeing her dazed, Tao Ling called out softly.

“Hmm? Nuh-uh-nuh.” Li Hewei motioned that she was brushing her teeth and turned back into the bathroom. She looked up, frowning at her reflection in the mirror, blaming herself for losing control because of Tao Ling.

“Sister Wei, I have a gift for you.” Tao Ling stood by the door, leaning against the wall, her eyes seeming to hold a pool of autumn water, and her voice was warm and pleasant.

Li Hewei was glad she hadn’t turned her head. She spat out the mouthwash, wiped the foam with a disposable face towel, and asked: “What gift?”

“Come over, and you’ll know.”

“Still keeping secrets.” Li Hewei contained her emotions and followed her to the bedroom across the hall.

“I don’t have many other skills, so I wrote some calligraphy and had it mounted yesterday.” Tao Ling carefully took the scroll out of a cardboard box and slowly unrolled it. She tilted her head, meeting Li Hewei’s gaze exactly, her smile blooming like a flower: “May your remaining seasons be filled with warmth, and your days always gentle.”