Original subtitles

Cat!

Look!

Watch this.

Did you hear that?

What's that sound?

Give me the key.

You saw when I locked it earlier, right?

There was nothing inside, right?

Right.

I saw nothing earlier.

Then how did this appear?

What?

There's no mechanism here.

What's this?

The letter I told you about.

I put it in the mailbox, and it disappeared.

The envelope's gone.

Where did this letter come from?

First I received a love letter.

Then my letter vanished.

Now it suddenly reappeared in the mailbox.

This mailbox seems to

collect and send letters.

What if that love letter appeared

the same way in the mailbox?

Impossible.

But you saw it yourself.

How's this possible?

Other people's letters are fine.

Is this mailbox

meant for just the two of us?

That doesn't make sense.

The empty envelope is fine.

Yeah.

How did it appear then?

It's the paper.

The love letter used the same one.

The same anchor mark.

=Twelve Letters=

=Episode 5= (Hello, Stranger)

Where's it?

Are you sure you put it in?

You saw me put it in.

Are you blind?

Do you believe me now?

You saw everything.

I wasn't lying.

Where mountains coil lies a test.

Each coil marks another gate.

Quan.

Eight perils guard the deep.

Zhang Quan.

- Each coil marks another gate. - Zhang Quan.

The paper with the anchor mark was here earlier.

Sold out?

Where are all the sheets?

If that mailbox

can truly send and receive letters,

let's write back.

We don't know where the letters come from

or go to.

But someone must've written them.

You wrote the suicide note.

And someone wrote that love letter.

Who wrote it?

And why?

That's why we need to reply and ask.

There's no new paper.

Let's use the same sheet.

Never mind if it works.

Let's just try.

Okay.

You timed it well.

You brought me here just before midnight

and used a cat to distract me.

And him.

He is a pro.

A dedicated one.

You're bad at much else,

but I'll admit

your magic tricks are quite good.

I...

What nonsense?

That's harsh coming from you.

I, Zhang Quan,

properly passed multiple interviews

to get the temp security position

in Group 3 of my factory.

I'm protecting your safety

as part of my security guard

duties and obligations.

What's that?

Are you saying I'm fooling around

like some street performer?

A guard with a peachwood sword?

We're in a special situation.

Your team issued this too?

Don't touch it.

It's for warding off evil.

I can't believe you.

Enough.

I know the first time

seeing this is the hardest.

When I first saw it,

I was shocked too.

But all of this is real.

A letter is a concrete physical object.

Matter's state may transform,

but no matter how it transforms,

it won't just vanish into thin air.

Didn't you see

what happened?

Science now, huh?

Didn't you see?

What?

Come on.

Make the phone disappear.

Come on.

You do it.

No, the conditions must be met.

Midnight with the cat's meowing.

Just ignore him.

You saw it yourself and still don't believe?

You're so stubborn.

He's insensible.

Ma'am.

What's our next plan?

What plan can we have?

The letter's gone.

Where to?

Home. It's freezing here.

You're right.

Bro, don't get frozen out here.

Come to my place.

Where are you going?

Where are we?

Home. Where else?

Does anyone even live here?

Nobody lives here.

It's a scammer's den.

Stop, or I'll call the police.

You've been to my home.

And I'll visit yours.

Seems fair, right?

I told you,

until I find my mom,

I go where you go.

Following a scammer is dangerous.

Maybe I'll make you disappear with a magic trick later.

Make me disappear.

Do it and I'll believe you.

It's a wardrobe before you.

Open it and check.

There's a bathroom here.

You haven't checked it.

Are you done?

What about the bed?

Here's a sofa too.

Let me lift it for you.

I wasn't lying.

Your mom's not here.

If what you said is true,

they must know each other.

So now you believe me?

What's their relationship?

What happened that made them both disappear?

Let's put aside our prejudices

and share what we each know.

No more secrets.

Deal?

Later we had a fight.

He left a note and disappeared.

Said he had something to do.

I don't know exactly what.

I checked everywhere possible.

I even called the police.

But the police told me...

Let me be clear first.

My dad's not a bad person.

What did they say?

Household registration records show

my dad died over twenty years ago.

What?

The file says my dad's name was Yu Zhiyong.

But it's not the same person

who has been living with me.

So this missing dad of yours

is an imposter?

Who said he's an imposter?

He just has a different name.

There's no way to know

his real name now.

I never saw his ID card.

No photos are left at home either.

But I found that biscuit tin.

Let me show you.

See?

I wasn't lying.

Exactly the same tin.

(Danish Cookie)

But I don't know the connection

(Train tickets) between them either.

So I couldn't explain it properly

to the police.

Why keep insisting he's not bad?

Does not being Yu Zhiyong make him bad?

But something is definitely not normal

about your missing 'dad'.

Would he just disappear if it is?

Your mom disappeared too.

What about her?

We agreed to drop prejudices.

You attacked first.

I apologize.

Tell me about your mom.

Why did she divorce your dad?

When was that?

I moved to England with my dad at 10.

She refused to come.

She wouldn't go, so they got divorced?

What kind of reason is that?

There are tons of long-distance couples.

They stay married.

There must be some unknown reasons.

Such as?

Poor relationship.

Eight out of ten couples divorce

due to relationship issues.

My mom is not like that.

Then it's your dad.

Alright.

I'm just analyzing possibilities.

Did your mom remarry later?

No.

Did she date?

How would I know?

You know nothing.

Are you even her real son?

Enough with my mom.

Now yours.

I never met my mom.

She died giving birth to me.

So your dad never remarried.

Look.

Is there this possibility?

The two of them

have identical cookie tins.

These are clearly vintage items.

Your mom was in Pushui.

And my dad

has so many train tickets to Pushui.

Plus I received a letter from 1991.

You actually believe that letter's real?

What if it actually is?

Could you not interrupt me?

Go ahead.

They disappeared around the same time too.

There are too many coincidences.

With all this evidence before me,

my conclusion is

they likely

had a past relationship.

Your dad is the third wheel?

Your dad is the third wheel!

My mom died long ago.

Your mom was married to a husband.

Think about it.

It's the same.

Your dad caused my parents' divorce.

Impossible.

My dad stayed in Beixing.

I grew up living with him.

Even if he wanted to,

how could he?

Online? He can't even use the internet.

The letters.

So you don't know much about your dad either.

It's the letters.

That mailbox holds clues.

Where's that letter?

Didn't it vanish?

If we can receive letters,

we can send them too.

Let's write and send one.

If the recipient's Ye Haitang,

that's your mom.

Okay.

But I'll mail it this time.

(Sunshine Bookstore)

What to write?

Ask him...

Ask him who he is

and why he wrote you a love letter in my name.

Okay.

But we still don't understand

how that mailbox works.

What if he doesn't get it?

What if the letter goes to someone else?

How about this?

Ask him directly

what the deal with this mailbox is.

(Did you write this?)

It's fixed.

Drop it.

Done.

There's no sound.

Right.

It's the lock.

Let me try.

I'll do it.

Maybe mailing letters is silent.

It is?

Why can't we send it out?

Maybe the timing's wrong.

How do you know it's wrong?

When we first received the suicide note,

it was midnight

when the clock chimed.

And a cat ran by.

These conditions might be required.

So both receiving and sending letters

must happen at midnight.

And we need a cat.

I'm not sure.

Let's try again tomorrow at midnight.

I'll meet you at the bookstore then.

Let me walk you home.

When you mail the letter,

put all these into the mailbox.

See if they can be sent.

What trick are you pulling now?

I'm testing the mailbox's mechanism.

I've figured out the midnight timing

and the cat.

I'm unsure if other items

can be sent.

So I want to try.

Fine.

I'll do it.

What did you write?

Nothing.

Wait.

Put this cat food next to the mailbox.

Why?

We need the cat

to send the letter.

If that cat can really perform such magic,

do you think it's an ordinary cat?

It's definitely not ordinary.

So I bought premium cat food.

Is the cat food the key point?

The key is the cat.

The key is you.

If you don't believe me, why did you come?

Get that guard here.

Neither of you can leave tonight.

Will it work without the cat?

Let's try.

(Recording)

What's that?

He's setting up his phone

to record video.

Just wait. He'll get scared soon.

He is acting crazy.

Mail the letter through the top slot.

Don't come closer.

Stop.

It's not time yet.

Wait a second.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two. One.

Drop it.

What's happening?

Why hasn't it disappeared?

It's gone!

Now let's wait.

Okay.

What's going on?

What did you do?

The cat. Did you see it?

The cat's crucial.

The cat.

The cat's gone?

The magic trick failed.

This isn't a magic show!

When we put the letters in,

they disappeared.

Then why did mine stay?

Why did you send blank paper?

Shen Cheng, are you joking?

Why is it blank?

What's wrong with that?

You weren't sincere.

Such things have spirits.

And there are rules.

I told you,

you'll anger the spirits like this,

so the letters won't send.

And this phone.

It has electromagnetic interference.

You two are so primitive.

Listen to yourselves.

Does any of this make sense?

If you want to scam me,

at least try to be professional, okay?

- No one is scamming you. - No one is scamming you.

What exactly

did I scam you out of?

Listen, Shen Cheng.

I'm here to find my dad.

If you break this mailbox,

you're not leaving.

Threatening me?

So what if I am?

What's wrong with threatening you?

Huh?

Why are you fighting? Stop.

He's insane!

No, no, no.

Ma'am, aren't we on the same team?

I'll explain what happened. Calm down.

The thing is,

this mailbox works in a special way.

If we write on this letter,

will it be sent away?

Not necessarily.

Not always...

Don't bother explaining to him.

He thinks we're scammers.

Shen Cheng,

if you think we're scammers,

call the police.

Go ahead and get us arrested.

Ma'am, wait.

Don't go yet.

Take your magic props with you.

Ma'am, we got a reply.

You don't believe it.

(Hello, stranger.)

(I'm Ye Haitang.)

(I found a strange love letter in the red mailbox)

(outside Sunshine Bookstore.)

(Was it from you?)

(My letter somehow disappeared)

(in the mailbox too.)

(Then it reappeared in the mailbox)

(last night at midnight.)

(Do you know how this happened?)

(I don't know you.)

(But I'm writing this letter to give it a try.)

(If you receive this,)

(please reply to me.)

(I'll be waiting.)

What are you doing?

Impossible.

Absolutely impossible.

The camera captured nothing.

A letter materialized out of thin air

and vanished into thin air.

It's impossible.

That's not the point.

The point is, she replied.

We're actually communicating now.

1991?

Can this mailbox really

connect different timelines?

Where is the reply?

I told you, it won't come before midnight.

I just wanted to confirm.

I'm heading to school then.

Okay.

Right.

Can you ask Miss Tan to meet me?

Tell her I'll wait by the school gate

during morning break.

Are you ready to go back to school?

Yes.

I must speak with Miss Tan properly.

Alright.

I'll wait for you here tonight.

Okay.

(Zihua Pavilion)

Miss Tan.

What do you want?

You've learned?

Xin,

I was wrong.

About what?

I shouldn't have been so impulsive.

I want to return to school.

You think you can just waltz back in?

Have you decided?

Yes.

Got it.

Go back now.

Xin.

What?

Could you...

Could you go to see Cha?

Why should I see him?

To avenge you people?

It wasn't Cha's fault.

Rat and I caused the trouble.

Cha only got bullied by Bao

as he tried to protect us.

Bao took all of Cha's money

that he saved for the boat.

Cha's locked himself

in the shop

and won't let us in.

Xin, maybe you should...

Worry about yourself first.

(Food fuels the body. We'll buy you chicken tomorrow.)

When I heard you took over the shop,

I was very happy.

I thought you'd changed

and were ready to do proper work.

I was wrong.

You used to fight on the streets.

Later, you opened a pool hall to gang fight.

Wanting to be the boss?

Trying to make it through violence?

Why not call the police?

Street disputes stay on the streets. It's the street code.

Street code?

You're all petty thugs.

There's no honor among you.

Li Chadong, you're thirty.

You're perfectly capable.

You know better.

Becoming a higher-level gangster

and parading around with lowlife lackeys.

Is this what you want?

Your shop was trashed.

Why still run with them?

Do you have no pride?

I have none.

The shop's ruined.

My buddies got beaten.

I can't fight or strategize.

I'm trash, and I admit it.

So why are you here?

To lecture me or mock me?

I just want to ask you.

Did you choose this path yourself?

Yes.

You're giving up?

The shop

can be fixed.

People

can heal.

Money can be earned again.

Why are you hiding here?

Waiting for those thugs to mock you?

Take it.

Rebuild this place.

Make it better.

The Li Chadong I know

wouldn't give up

after one beating.

It's a loan.

Pay me back.

Can the video parlor stay open?

The video parlor.

Can it stay open?

If not, so be it.

I don't feel safe with you working here.

Then what can I do?

You can do anything.

I mean it.

Trust me.

It'll be fine.

It will all be fine.

I'll stay with Grandma these days.

Okay.

We'll figure things out when you return.

Rat.

Rat, come down.

It's Cha. He's calling me.

Go quickly.

I'll clean up later.

Cheer up.

Take care.

Okay.

Done.

Cha, I'll get some drinks.

Not now. Sit.

Okay.

I gathered you here today

to say a few things.

I've thought a lot these days.

What happened

isn't all your fault.

Cha.

I mean it.

You wouldn't have been beaten

if I were capable.

But it's not all bad.

You both know

what Bao is like.

If we stay with him,

we'll end up badly.

Better to cut ties early.

So no more working for him.

Let's rebuild the billiards hall

and earn back slowly.

Once we buy the boat, we'll have the means to stand up to him.

Okay.

Revenge is a dish best served cold.

We must vent this resentment.

Renovating the billiards hall must cost a fortune, right?

Miss Tan

lent us some money.

Xin really came through for us.

She considered your years of friendship.

Rat,

if I can't make something of myself,

I won't pursue her.

Understood.

Cha, I have some money saved up.

I'll go get it later.

No need.

Focus on your studies.

Besides,

the money just needs to cover basic renovations

for the shop.

Got it.

We can't let Bao keep

trampling us.

Let's start working after we eat.

Let's eat.

We'll get it done tonight,

no matter how late.

What, Xun? Are you busy later?

No.

Eat.

Eat up.

No worries.

I've got one.

Look.

On the afternoon

of September 23rd, 1991,

(The Waterspout in Meiwan Town, 1991) the Meiwan Wharf of Fu'an County,

Pushui City, Nanjiang Province

witnesses a rare waterspout phenomenon.

We can tell her this news.

If she can verify its authenticity,

she'll believe we're from the future,

in 2026.

Nine days passed between her writing two letters.

But from your first received letter until now,

it's four days.

Right.

Clearly time flows differently.

You can't be sure

she'll receive the letter before September 23.

You're saying

one day here equals over two days there?

We only got two letters.

It's not enough to confirm.

But what's certain is

time moves faster

on their side than ours.

Here's an idea.

Let's write about the waterspout

for now.

If the dates don't align,

we'll find other events later.

Right now,

only this sheet of paper

can be mailed.

So we have to write on it too.

Drop it.

Tang Yixun.

What are you doing here?

Sorry.

I got held up earlier.

They replied.

Really?

They wrote what?

Haven't read it.

I waited for you.

Cha,

I need to go.

I'll be back.

(Dear Ye Haitang,)

(my name is Yu Nian.)

(I got your letter)

(in the red mailbox of Beixing City's)

(Northern Shipbuilding.)

(We tested to find)

(only this paper)

(can be sent via the mailbox.)

(Perhaps this is truly)

(the cross-time communication.)

(I'm writing from November 12,)

(2026.)

(If you're truly in 1991,)

(you can verify a future event.)

(On the afternoon of September 23, 1991,)

(a waterspout phenomenon will occur at Meiwan Wharf.)

(The wharf will be renamed Waterspout Wharf.)

(Also, I didn't write the love letter.)

(Do you know Yu Zhiyong?)

(Has he sent you any letters?)

(Please reply. Thank you.)

This mailbox

actually works.

Wait.

So Yu Nian

didn't write the love letter.

She also asked

if we received any letters from Yu Zhiyong.

Does that mean Yu Zhiyong wrote the love letter?

Do you know Yu Zhiyong?

I don't.

What about Yu Nian?

Nor do I know her.

What's this '2026' she wrote?

And Beixing City.

Where is Beixing?

2026?

We're in 1991 now.

That's 35 years from now.

35 years from now...

35 years from now.

Are they from the future?

Wait.

2026.

Are you saying

that mailbox connects to the future,

and someone in the future

wrote you that letter in my name?

Today's the 13th.

Let's wait until the 23rd

to see if that waterspout she mentioned happens.

(Xun)

Ye Haitang.

Ye Haitang.

Ye Haitang.

Why are you here?

I've found something.

Look at this.

Why are there two love letters?

Look closely.

Don't you think

the same person wrote these letters?

Take a look.

The same handwriting.

This one's just messier.

They can be from one person.

This letter

is my replica.

Look here.

The Xun character.

It has a circle.

I also make a circle here

(Xun) when writing it.

The writing matches mine exactly.

But I didn't write this love letter.

I thought someone was pranking me.

But later

when Yu Nian sent another letter,

I reconsidered the love letter

and realized there's more to this.

Yu Nian is from 2026.

Time-space communication...

So this letter's from the future.

The future you wrote it?

If the mailbox thing is true,

this love letter

must have been written by the future me

to you.

♪We've walked the winding roads♪

♪Remember the pain of thorns?♪

♪Whose life hasn't faced♪

♪Wind and rain♪

♪What's next after tomorrow♪

♪What kind of answer did we hope for♪

♪Too many fantasies♪

♪In a fleeting moment♪

♪Did they take root and grow♪

♪Growing up♪

♪Shall we accept or resist♪

♪Tears♪

♪Can they heal the sorrow♪

♪Do you also♪

♪Desperately want♪

♪Every lonely path♪

♪To be illuminated♪

♪How long is time's tunnel♪

♪Where does it take us♪

♪How many dreams have we missed♪

♪Can we look back and cherish them♪

♪Where does the tunnel end♪

♪Keep walking and find our way♪

♪Like a lost child♪

♪Believe there's a guiding light♪

♪Don't be afraid♪

♪I'll stay by your side♪

♪Where does the tunnel end♪

♪Keep walking and find our way♪

♪Like a lost child♪

♪Believe there's a guiding light♪

♪Don't be afraid♪

♪I'll stay by your side♪

♪How long is time's tunnel♪

♪Where does it take us♪

♪Those wishes left behind♪

♪Will they be fulfilled♪

♪Where does the tunnel end♪

♪Keep walking and find our way♪

♪When confusion grips your heart♪

♪Believe there's a guiding light♪

♪Don't be afraid♪

♪Forever shining by your side♪