Chapter 188: Like Meeting You In Person
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
Xiao Ruojin hesitated for a moment, then went back to get a pen. Under the question in the letter, she replied, “I’m just someone who saw your letter.”
She left the letter in the mailbox and went back to rest.
But that night, Xiao Ruojin couldn’t sleep.
She wasn’t someone who cared much about strangers, but for some reason, the letters in the mailbox kept circling in her mind. Maybe it was the tone of that letter, carrying a bone-deep loneliness. She herself was used to being lonely, so she felt a kind of resonance.
Late at night, after tossing and turning, Xiao Ruojin finally got up. She crossed the villa yard and went to the mailbox at the gate. She even brought a pen with her.
She opened the mailbox. Inside was still a letter.
But she quickly noticed that the position of the letter had changed. It wasn’t the one she had replied to earlier. She took it out right away, and sure enough, it was a new letter.
The previous letter had been taken, and a new question was left behind.
It was still just one sentence, “How can you see my letter?”
Plain words made it hard to tell the tone, but Xiao Ruojin noticed the handwriting was messier and more rushed than before. It was clear the person wrote it with surprise and urgency, as if they couldn’t believe it.
Xiao Ruojin sensed something strange. She replied underneath, “Your letter was in my mailbox. Wasn’t it you who put it there?”
Judging from the writer’s shock, it seemed they truly didn’t know. Xiao Ruojin couldn’t understand what was going on. If the writer didn’t put the letter in her mailbox, then who did, and for what reason? There should always be a motive, even boredom or a pure prank was still a motive.
But she couldn’t figure out a reasonable explanation. Everything about it felt eerie.
Xiao Ruojin put the letter back into the mailbox, closed it, then walked behind a quiet cluster of trees to hide and wait.
She had enough patience. She wanted to see if someone would come to take the letter. But after waiting a long time, there was no movement at all near the mailbox. She slowly felt like she was going crazy. If someone really took her letter and then delivered the writer’s letter back, it would take a long time in between. Was she supposed to wait like this forever?
Or was it that…
Just as she hesitated about whether to go back, a very soft sound came from the mailbox. Pa. It sounded like a letter being delivered.
Xiao Ruojin became alert at once. Under the streetlight by the villa gate, she clearly saw no one near the mailbox.
After a while, Xiao Ruojin slowly walked out from behind the bushes and moved toward the mailbox step by step.
The mailbox now felt like a ghost, yet she couldn’t stop herself from approaching. Her footsteps echoed in her ears. Her breathing followed each step. A wild thought formed in her mind. If she opened the mailbox door, maybe it would prove something.
Cold light and overlapping shadows from the trees covered her. She slowly reached out and opened the mailbox.
Inside was a letter. Its position had changed again.
When she closed the mailbox earlier, she had paid special attention to where the letter was placed. Now she was sure the inside had changed again.
She held her breath and took the letter out. It was a new letter.
It read, “I don’t know who you are, and I didn’t put my letter into your mailbox. I only put my letter into my own mailbox, buried underground. So does that mean you’re another me in this world? Hello, I’m very happy you received my letter.”
After reading this reply, a chill ran through Xiao Ruojin’s whole body.
In the writer’s first letter, they mentioned a saying that burying a letter underground could send it to another self in the world. Xiao Ruojin had thought it was just self-talk, but it turned out to be real.
The other person really buried the letter.
And from this reply, there was a sense of calm acceptance, even happiness. It was as if they quickly accepted this strange idea and believed their letter had reached another self.
To accept all this so fast and greet so naturally showed a very different way of thinking. Maybe pure romanticism, or maybe a deeply lonely person. People like this were easily excited by strange things and believed in them firmly.
Xiao Ruojin didn’t want to break the other person’s joy yet. She only wanted to understand more. So she neither denied nor admitted it, and replied, “How exactly did you do it? Can you tell me? Every time you dig up the letters you buried underground, you can receive my replies?”
She roughly grasped the pattern. She closed the mailbox and continued waiting nearby.
After waiting a while, a sound came from the mailbox again, like another letter arriving.
She opened it right away and took out the new letter.
The other person wrote, “Yes. I saw this saying in a book, so I tried it. I buried my mailbox in a pit under a tree and put the letter inside. At first, I didn’t think I’d get a reply. But when I passed by the buried spot, I heard a sound inside. When I dug it up, I saw your words appear under my letter. So I wrote another letter and put it in, and you replied again. The legend is real. It’s very interesting. My name is Yu Miao. What’s your name? You’re another me in this world. Is your name the same as mine?”
After reading it, Xiao Ruojin’s emotions rose uncontrollably. This was far too unbelievable for her, but the writer didn’t think so at all. They even greeted her and truly treated her as another self, asking about her.
Without knowing why, Xiao Ruojin replied underneath, “My name is also Yu Miao.”
In the silent night, the two of them began an almost eerie exchange through this strange method.
Yu Miao replied, “Then do you look the same as me?”
Xiao Ruojin replied, “I don’t know what you look like.”
Yu Miao replied, “I’m not good-looking. Thinking about it, it’s better if you don’t look like me. People would dislike that.”
Xiao Ruojin felt that Yu Miao’s tone swung between excitement over something new and deep insecurity. Her emotions seemed unstable.
From Yu Miao’s earlier self-talk about cutting wrists, Xiao Ruojin guessed she might have depression or something similar. So she wrote back to encourage her, “I think I look very good. Since I’m another you in this world, I must look the same as you.”
This time, Xiao Ruojin waited a long time before the mailbox made a sound.
Yu Miao wrote, “Sorry, I don’t know how to respond to that.”
Xiao Ruojin replied, “Maybe you want to say I’m very narcissistic.”
Yu Miao replied, “Of course not. I think you’re very interesting. I’m actually very boring. If only I could be like you.”
Xiao Ruojin replied, “Since you’re me, then of course you can be like me.”
Xiao Ruojin usually didn’t chat much with others, but this kind of communication, far beyond her imagination, changed her. She almost became immersed in the letters and forgot about time passing.
More importantly, she felt Yu Miao’s suppression and couldn’t help wanting to encourage her more. Even though they never met, she could already weave an image of Yu Miao from the letters. Romantic and pure, yet insecure and depressed, a mix of contradictions.
Yu Miao finally wrote, “I need to go home and rush my draft. I’ll look for you next time.”
Surrounded by dark night, Xiao Ruojin replied instinctively, “Good night.”
Yu Miao sent a new letter in surprise, “It’s daytime here. See you next time.”
The exchange ended. Xiao Ruojin stood by the mailbox in a daze for a long time, thinking she was dreaming.
Only after she began receiving Yu Miao’s letters frequently did she fully accept this reality. Without noticing, she started to look forward to the letters. At first, Yu Miao’s letters had no fixed time. Xiao Ruojin could only check every day by luck. Later, Yu Miao set a rough time in the letters, which was Xiao Ruojin’s 10 to 11 p.m.
Xiao Ruojin took a photo of the flowers she grew, printed it out, stuck it onto the letter paper from Yu Miao, and sent it back.
Yu Miao was very happy, “Thank you.”
She drew the flower on her letter and sent it back to Xiao Ruojin.
As days passed, Xiao Ruojin clearly felt Yu Miao becoming more cheerful. She stopped saying depressing things and gained more confidence, like a withered flower regaining moisture and life.
Xiao Ruojin guessed Yu Miao probably had no friends in real life. After having someone she could talk to freely, Yu Miao’s attitude toward life changed greatly. What people with depression need most is companionship. Xiao Ruojin was always mindful to guide and encourage her. She stuck photos of beautiful scenery and food she had taken onto letters and told Yu Miao what she did that day and what interesting things she saw.
Before this, Xiao Ruojin never felt life around her was interesting. While sharing these daily moments with Yu Miao, she gradually found many things were actually quite lovely.
One day, Xiao Ruojin stuck a flower petal onto a letter. She wanted to test something. If photos could be sent and received, what about a real petal?
Yu Miao replied, “Thank you for sending me flowers. I’m very happy. But I still want to ask you a question. What’s your name?”
Xiao Ruojin was surprised, “Didn’t I tell you? I’m the same as you.”
Yu Miao drew a smiling face in the reply, “I know you were lying. At first, I thought you were truly another me. But later I realized you weren’t. You must be someone in this world, in a different time and space from mine, right? Some places in the photos you shared, I’ve been to. They’re different from yours. Your buildings look older. Some places here are still being built, but yours are already finished. Your time should be later than mine. Today here is October 3, 2009. What about you?”
Through these days of communication, Xiao Ruojin already understood their time difference. Facing Yu Miao’s question, she finally answered openly, “My name is Xiao Ruojin. It’s November 4, 2012.”
Yu Miao wasn’t surprised. Instead, she happily said, “So that’s how it is. Then I’m going to cheat.”
Xiao Ruojin understood instantly, “No lottery. I don’t know or follow that.”
Yu Miao replied, “Hahahahaha, of course not. My manhua entered an award competition. The results will be announced on December 23, 2009. Can you help me search online and see if I won?”
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
Xiao Ruojin wrote, “You never told me the name of your manhua.”
Yu Miao replied, “I draw suspense manhua. I was afraid to scare you, so I didn’t dare say it. It’s called ‘Who Killed Me.’”
Xiao Ruojin replied, “The name is good. Don’t choose names like that again in the future.”
Yu Miao replied, “Hahahahaha, okay!”
With Xiao Ruojin’s company, she was completely different from before. Every sentence seemed filled with genuine smiles.
Seeing the reply, a smile appeared on Xiao Ruojin’s lips.
Back in the study, she turned on the computer right away and searched for the manhua and the award. The internet always kept traces that couldn’t be erased, no matter how many years passed. This was only three years ago, so the result appeared quickly.
Xiao Ruojin clicked one webpage.
A bold headline, full of media hype and irony, read, “Beautiful Manhua Artist Commits Suicide Due to Depression!”
Xiao Ruojin’s hand froze in that instant.
“On December 24, 2009, manhua artist Yu Miao cut her wrists at home and died by suicide. On December 23, Yu Miao’s manhua ‘Who Killed Me’ won the gold award and was praised as the most talented manhua artist of the time. On the award day, Yu Miao’s photos were released for the first time. Fans were shocked by her high beauty, and she instantly became a hot topic online. However, the very next day after the award, Yu Miao cut her wrists at home and ended her young life. At the time, Yu Miao was wearing a red dress…”
The rest was full of messy details, all added to grab attention, as if the media had been there in person.
They even showed a photo of Yu Miao on the award day.
She stood on the stage, as if starlight shone on her. Her eyes were bright, her smile the most moving light in the world.
Xiao Ruojin found it hard to breathe. Her hand slipped, and a stack of documents on the desk was knocked to the floor.
