Operation Red Book

"Get a new quill pen and don't mess it up again. Erasing ink is a hassle."

Another paragraph appeared on the blank page, and the tone was quite familiar.

Were his words so disturbing? Joshua began to understand why Ivy was always so moody.

He replaced a new quill pen, dipped it in ink, touched the rough paper, and wrote a line under the visible handwriting: "Sorry, I messed up."

The ink Joshua had used to write was very fresh and sparkled under the light.

"It's okay. I can forgive my old self. I have to admit that I was a bit sloppy before."

"You said I am the original me? The original you? Are you the original me, or am I the original me? I don't understand again..."

"In the end, I am your future self. Was I so stupid before? No wonder Ivy always calls me a fool."

Joshua looked up and blinked, his head still feeling a little swollen.

The conversation between the two was listed in the red book. Joshua pinched his face to make sure this was not a dream.

"I don't know how long I will be delayed here. This space is complicated and I am trying to find a way out. But I must say that I am still relieved to meet myself at this moment."

The red book continued to show words, saying something that puzzled Joshua.

"I'm sorry, but what are you talking about?"

"I'm saying, forget it, you don't know anything anyway, time will tell you the answer, just wait a little longer."

Joshua pursed his lips, thinking that his future self would have such a provocative face.

He didn't plan to exchange pleasantries. Since he came from the future, he must know a lot of things.

The first thing that came to Joshua’s mind was the time travel he and Ivy had experienced.

"How can Ivy and I go back to our original world?"

“Yes and No.”

"What does it mean?"

"I can't tell you. It will ruin everything. That's fate. Everything will end up the same way. I've already experienced that."

Joshua paused with his pen in hand. What on earth was he talking about? Why would he ruin everything?

"Have you ever been through anything?"

"Of course, what I experienced was much more dangerous than what you experienced in the ICU. Of course, it was also much more interesting."

"But I don't want to go through so much danger. I just want to go back to my family."

"Family, of course, my dear grandparents, and my lovely parents, of course I want to be with them... But, do you really think so, Joshua? I know your thoughts, and I don't believe you have never compared being a middle school student at Sigma School with being an agent at SCO."

He was indeed his future self, Joshua was now completely certain of it.

Joshua did not deny the conversation shown in the red book. He had indeed thought about this question: to be an ordinary and unknown student or to be an agent appointed by the Queen of England.

His heart was pounding, and until now he hadn't figured out the answer to this question. Looking at the current situation, he could only say that he enjoyed it and was even grateful.

"You, don't you want to ask classmate Ivy?"

The words revealed by the red book interrupted Joshua's thoughts, and Joshua's face instantly turned a little red with shyness.

He turned the quill in his hand, dipped it lightly in ink, and wrote unfluently:

"So, I, no, did you and Ivy become friends in the end?"

“Yes and No.”

It was clearly he who asked the question first, but he received an ambiguous answer. Joshua was a little angry.

"If it was Ivy who was talking to you, she would tear up the book."

"I understand. To be honest, I miss her very much. Ivy is very important to me. I believe you feel the same way."

Joshua sighed heavily. He couldn't get any useful information.

Joshua was a little tired. He knew that he was the one who understood himself best, but when he put it into practice, he found that it was not the case.

"Then what questions can I ask you?" Joshua continued writing.

"How should I know? That's something you need to think about."

"You are my future self, you should know what questions my past self asked."

"How would I know what I had for dinner three years ago?"

Joshua also lost his temper and closed the red book angrily.

Compared to his present self, his future self has learned to quibble and shirk responsibility. Joshua feels like he is being manipulated by himself.

As the night grew darker, sleepiness crept over his eyelids.

"Let's talk about it tomorrow. I want to go to bed. I'll tell Ivy about this bizarre incident tomorrow..."

Joshua blew out the lamp, climbed onto the soft bed, and thought slowly in his mind.

"It seems that I have forgotten something. Forget it, let's talk about it tomorrow..."

Joshua no longer paid attention to the red book under the dim light, covered himself with the quilt and fell asleep.

As the night deepens, the cold moonlight shines on the wooden table in front of the window.

The red book opened automatically at some point, and the words on it appeared line by line:

"Joshua, they're here to find me. I have to go. I'm glad I can talk to you now. I don't think there will be any chance to do this again."

"In the world you live in now, you will experience love, you will experience deception, you will experience separation, you will experience failure, and even death... But I must tell you, for me, these experiences are wonderful."

"You are my past. I know the ending, but I believe you will overcome all obstacles, hold on to hope, and challenge fate."

"Also, don't make Ivy angry. Cherish every minute you spend with her, because you will regret it for the rest of your life."

"I'm leaving, Joshua. I can only remind you of one thing: don't look up, don't look down, and don't look back—J."

The handwriting that appeared was no longer as leisurely as during the previous conversation with Joshua, but was instead written in a flurry of panic.

The scribbled conversation filled the entire page. When the handwriting stopped on the last French word, a stream of blood suddenly spurted onto the paper, soaking the entire surface.

The handwriting was covered in blood and became unclear, whether it was the previous dialogue or the subsequent monologue.

The blood splattered for half a minute, and suddenly, the blood stopped spreading and gathered back.

The scope of the bloodstain gradually became smaller, and finally disappeared out of thin air in the middle of the page.

The handwriting also disappeared line by line, first the letters, then the words, at an increasingly faster speed, and even the words written by Joshua were not spared.

The picture looked like it was being played in reverse, and the red book returned to its original blank space in less than a minute, as if nothing had happened.

On the bed on the other side, Joshua's breathing was still steady, the moonlight shone on his handsome face, and the surroundings were quiet and silent.