Silent Testimony - Chapter 78

Dinner consisted of two meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, and a soup. After tidying up the remnants of the meal, Cheng Yingqiu attempted to help Li Hewei decompress by suggesting a movie.

“The comedy Goodbye Mr. Loser by Mahua FunAge. That ‘Ma-what-Dongmei?’ gag is really popular lately.”

Qiu Wan played along, already searching for showtimes on her phone. “How about the 7:15 PM session?”

To their surprise, Li Hewei declined. “You two go. Tao Tao just got out of the hospital and needs rest.”

“Mhm. My leave is approved until the 25th; it wouldn’t be appropriate to go to the cinema in the middle of it,” Tao Ling added with a faint smile. “Besides, I still have drafts to revise.”

“Alright then.” Cheng Yingqiu realized she had forgotten Tao Ling’s recovery status. She hugged Tao’s arm and pouted. “Next time we’ll go see Zootopia. I heard it’s coming out next year.”

“Okay.”

The two drove to the cinema on Xiangyun Road. Once they found a parking spot, the young girl unbuckled her seatbelt and hopped out like a rabbit, bouncing toward Qiu Wan. For the first two days of their relationship, she had been shy, constantly checking to see if this was real. By the third day, her clingy nature was fully exposed; wherever they went, she had to hold Qiu’s arm or lace their fingers together.

Cheng Yingqiu pulled her toward the crowd. “Shall we buy popcorn? And Coke?”

“Sure, let’s get the large set.” Qiu Wan knew the girl loved sweets, even though she often regretted it later because of her on-screen work.

Cheng Yingqiu’s eyes curved. “Hmph, you’re trying to raise me like a little pig.”

Qiu Wan teased back, “Exactly. I’m just waiting for the Lunar New Year to ‘harvest’ you.”

“Hey! You!” Cheng Yingqiu stayed in line without letting go, leaning her head on Qiu’s shoulder. “I’m generous, so I won’t hold it against you.”

With her pouted lips, she looked like a cute hamster. Qiu Wan’s smile deepened. “Many thanks, Reporter Cheng.”

After getting the tickets and the large popcorn set, Qiu Wan scanned her code to pay, and they headed into the theater.

As the movie started, Cheng Yingqiu—having already been spoiled on the “Ma Dongmei” joke—only laughed once when the character Yuan Hua’s theme song A Spray of Plum Blossoms played. For the rest of the film, she was deep in thought about the core message.

“What’s wrong? Not funny?” Qiu Wan noticed her mood as they walked back to the car.

“It’s not. A greasy middle-aged man gets to redo his life only to realize his original wife was the best for him… don’t you find that ridiculous?” As a journalist, Cheng Yingqiu possessed sharp observational skills. “It’s illusory and cynical. Before he traveled back in time, Charlotte enjoyed Ma Dongmei’s care while pining for another woman. Even when he ‘wakes up,’ he only values Ma Dongmei for her tireless sacrifice, not for who she actually is.”

“If the ‘goddess’ Qiu Ya had stayed loyal and kind to Charlotte throughout, would he have ever regretted anything?”

“No,” Qiu Wan said, gently rubbing the girl’s hand. “The leads are more like a mother and son—a parasitic relationship built on Ma Dongmei’s blind giving.”

“It portrays ‘love-brain’ women and ‘Green Tea’ girls… there are so many misogynistic elements, yet it’s a happy ending.” Cheng Yingqiu was genuinely annoyed. “And Charlotte acts like a hooligan, using public opinion to force Qiu Ya to like him. I really wanted to slap him.”

“Alright, don’t be angry.” Qiu Wan redirected her attention. “Want some milk tea?”

Cheng Yingqiu pursed her dry lips. “Yes.”

“Why do these movies with such twisted values get such high box office numbers?”

“Likely because too few people have ‘awakened’ yet; they see it as simple entertainment.” Qiu Wan crooked her finger and playfully tapped the girl’s nose. “Our Xiao Qiu is just ahead of her time.”

Cheng Yingqiu’s annoyance vanished instantly, her face blooming into a smile. “You are too.”

They bought two cups of milk tea. Cheng Yingqiu took the wheel, set the navigation, and drove in the opposite direction of what Qiu Wan expected.

“Where are we going?” Qiu Wan finally asked as the SUV climbed a winding mountain road.

“To see the night view. The weather is perfect tonight—no clouds. We’re going to Mount Longkui.”

“Why the sudden interest in the night view?”

“Do you remember what day it is today?”

Qiu Wan frowned, mentally ruling out birthdays and major holidays. “What?”

Cheng Yingqiu’s voice lilted upward. “It’s our seven-day anniversary.”

Qiu Wan didn’t question the logic of a seven-day anniversary. She picked up the milk tea and held the straw to the girl’s lips. “Happy anniversary.”

At the parking lot near the best lookout point on Mount Longkui, Cheng Yingqiu led Qiu Wan to a secluded, backlit spot away from the crowds. She took a deep breath; the air, mixed with the fragrance of grass and wood, was refreshing. In the distance, the city lights were spread out like a sea of stars.

The night wind ruffled the stray hairs around Cheng Yingqiu’s ears. She stood beside Qiu Wan, looking at the woman’s sharp yet gentle profile, and pressed a pair of tickets into her hand. “I managed to snag these.”

Qiu Wan was stunned. “Taylor Swift’s concert in Shanghai?”

Cheng Yingqiu nodded with a grin. “Like it?” She knew Qiu Wan had few hobbies, but street dance and English songs were the exceptions—especially Taylor Swift.

Qiu Wan’s eyes sparkled like the galaxy. “I love it.”

“But I love a crowd, so I bought four tickets. We’ll take my sister and Sister Tao Ling. You don’t mind, right?”

“Of course not.”

Cheng Yingqiu, being half a head shorter, stood on her tiptoes and whispered in the woman’s ear, “I have a separate gift for you, too.” Like a magician, she pulled out a Burre Avenue baseball cap and placed it on Qiu Wan’s head. “You must fulfill my wish of seeing you do street dance in a hat!”

“Once my injuries are healed, I will.” Under the bright moonlight, Qiu Wan’s clear eyes locked onto the girl. Tension simmered between them. She reached out to stroke Cheng Yingqiu’s burning ear, leaned down, and asked softly, “May I?”

Cheng Yingqiu’s eyes widened. “What?”

The next moment, their lips met. Still in a daze, she felt Qiu Wan lightly graze the corner of her mouth, bringing the sweetness of an autumn night.

Her breathing was ruined—either by the wind or by the woman’s touch. Her hands moved unconsciously to pull Qiu Wan closer by the waist, her instincts taking over to reciprocate. Compared to the reckless first kiss during the confession, this felt like a slow growth—like roots seeking water or vines intertwining.

Guided by Qiu Wan, she deepened the kiss, hot and unreserved, until they were both breathless. She leaned her head against Qiu Wan’s chest, listening to their frantic heartbeats, and whispered, “I like you so much.”

“Hmm?” Qiu Wan pressed her neck against the girl’s ear. “Say it again.”

Thinking she hadn’t been heard, Cheng Yingqiu pecked her cheek. “I like you so much.”

Qiu Wan hugged her tighter, murmuring into her hair, “Me too…”

After the diagnosis, Li Hewei began taking medication before bed. While her insomnia improved slightly, her physical symptoms seemed to worsen because she couldn’t stop obsessing over the future. She would sit at her desk for two minutes, take her cup to the water dispenser, then go to the restroom to wash it—a repetitive, restless cycle.

Tao Ling saw this and felt a sharp pang of sympathy. Finally, on the third night, she knocked on Li’s door.

“Sister Wei.”

A muffled voice came from inside. “What is it?”

“Do you have a moment to talk?”

After a long silence, the lock clicked. The door opened, and Tao Ling watched Li Hewei’s thinning silhouette walk toward the bed. She followed and sat on the small sofa opposite her. Before she could speak, Li Hewei took a deep breath and asked:

“Have you ever heard of the concept of ‘Transmigrating into a Book’?”

Li Hewei wasn’t blind; she knew Tao Ling cared deeply, but she had found it impossible to explain, leading her to avoid the girl repeatedly. Now, Tao Ling had taken the first step, and Li Hewei had nowhere left to retreat.

“Transmigrating? Like time travel?”

“Yes. Entering a specific book and becoming a character within it.”

“I see.” Tao Ling waited for the rest.

“What if I told you that I don’t belong to this world? That I came from another one?” Li Hewei watched Tao Ling’s pupils dilate and quickly continued. “My world is in the year 2024. Because I shared the same name as the protagonist of a novel called Disorder, an accident caused us to swap places.”

“A swap. Which means the Li Hewei you knew is currently in my world.”

Tao Ling seemed frozen, staring at her, unable to respond.

“Tao Tao, didn’t you find it strange? Even though medicine has many unexplained phenomena, how could a person forget everyone and everything around them, yet still be able to work flawlessly and maintain their quality of life?”

Countless scenes flooded back into Tao Ling’s mind.

“From now on, speak your mind.” “What do you mean ‘for her own good’? If marriage is so great, why do you have to force it? If there was money on the ground, would Tao Ling not know to pick it up?” “Don’t think I’m deaf—I heard who was saying I’m a jinx before dinner. Are you crazy?”

She wouldn’t let her work late, she defended her against toxic relatives, she invited her to move in…

“Also, I’m from a coastal city—what you call a municipality in Yuezhou. That’s why I prefer light flavors and can’t eat spicy food.”

“I graduated from a Forensic Science department at a Police Academy, which is why I know basic grappling and combat.”

“Because I went to university in the Northeast, I can speak the dialect and standard Mandarin, though I usually speak Cantonese.”

Li Hewei gazed at her. “And the most important point…”

Tao Ling tried to untangle her messy thoughts. “What?”

The words reached Li Hewei’s lips, but she swallowed them back.

“Transmigrating usually involves completing a mission… do you have one?” Tao Ling processed the information, suddenly realizing that if Li Hewei could leave at any time, how could she love her? It must have been her own imagination. She swallowed hard, suppressing the grief rising in her chest. “Are you anxious because you’ve hit an obstacle?”

Li Hewei didn’t want her to know that the missions were all centered around her, as it would only cause unnecessary worry. She simply said, “Actually, most of it is already complete.”

But Tao Ling was brilliant. Recalling every anomaly over the past three months—the bossy demands to check in, the refusal to let her go anywhere alone—the answer seemed to stare her in the face.

“Your mission… is it related to me?”