Secret

Thud!

A dull thump.

Cheng Mengxue's face landed on the Emperor Crab's shell. Her breathing turned into soft little snores as she fell into a deep sleep.

"..."

"..."

Jiang Ran and Qin Feng both hesitated to speak.

"She... got drunk?" Qin Feng asked cautiously.

"Obviously."

"No wonder! I knew something was off just now!"

Qin Feng breathed a sigh of relief:

"I've never seen Little Xue act so boldly! The mood was so intense, I thought she was about to confess to you! I didn't even know where to hide!"

"But her tolerance is way too..."

He glanced at Cheng Mengxue's wineglass. It had only been a third full to begin with, and it looked like she'd drunk less than half of that.

To get knocked out after two sips of wine with such a low alcohol content... That was some impressive biological diversity.

"This is probably her first time drinking."

Jiang Ran shook his head:

"Anyway, in all these years, I've never seen her drink."

"I didn't know her tolerance was this bad either... She probably had less alcohol than there is in a Liqueur Chocolate."

"Has she ever had one?" Qin Feng asked curiously.

"...I don't think so."

Jiang Ran carried Cheng Mengxue into her room and laid her on the bed.

Then he left, closed the door, and rattled the lock several times to make sure it was locked and couldn't be opened. Only then did he return to the observation deck.

The fireworks show had ended long ago.

The DJ party on the deck had mostly wound down, too.

Qin Feng was leaning on the observation deck railing, gazing into the distance, lost in thought.

Hearing footsteps,

he turned around and looked at Jiang Ran:

"If Little Xue had held on for another two seconds, she might've told you she liked you."

"She wouldn't have." Jiang Ran shook his head.

"Why not?"

Qin Feng leaned back against the railing:

"You've always seemed to avoid the subject. Since it's a private matter between you two, I've never asked."

"But... we're not in high school anymore. What's wrong with dating?"

Jiang Ran came over and leaned on the railing in silence. Qin Feng sighed:

"Could the childhood-friend curse really exist?"

"It's a pretty strange pattern. In real life, the odds of childhood friends getting together are incredibly low."

"Is it because they know each other too well? Like family, relatives, or a younger sister?"

He turned back around and leaned on the railing beside Jiang Ran, looking at him in the sea breeze:

"It's obvious. Little Xue really likes you. Especially after you jumped into the river to save someone... In her eyes, you're an invincible hero."

"Maybe that whole thing shook her up so much that the alcohol gave her the courage to say what she really felt."

Jiang Ran remained silent.

"Hey, say something, will you?"

Qin Feng nudged him with an elbow.

"I don't know."

Jiang Ran watched the foam on the sea and spoke softly:

"I'm not a genius who can solve every problem... I don't know the answer to this one either."

"..."

Qin Feng watched him in silence.

Finally,

as if he'd made up his mind,

he said, "Jiang Ran, I'll tell you a secret."

?

Jiang Ran looked up:

"You've been keeping something from me?"

"Little Xue told me not to say anything."

Qin Feng shrugged:

"But look, I'm telling you now anyway. I'm only a few days late."

"Don't worry, it's nothing major. I know what matters most."

Jiang Ran looked at him.

Then nodded:

"Go ahead."

Qin Feng licked his lips, drew a deep breath through his nose, then slowly let it out:

"For you, this happened on this Worldline. So after the Spacetime Shift and Worldline Jump, you had no memory of it, and we didn't tell you."

"That day, after you pulled Senior Xu Yan to safety, climbed over the bridge, and jumped into the river... Cheng Mengxue suddenly seemed to have some kind of stress reaction. She screamed and tried to jump in after you like a madwoman."

"I'd never seen her lose control like that. To put it bluntly, she was like a rabid dog... Senior Xu Yan and I held her down together, and we almost couldn't keep her there."

"She really lost it. The moment you jumped, she burst into tears. Trying to break free, she nearly bit Senior Xu Yan's arm bloody. Of course, Xu Yan would never let you see the bite mark."

He habitually rubbed his left arm.

It seemed that even though the bite had landed on Xu Yan, it had hurt Qin Feng, too.

After a pause,

he continued:

"She only calmed down once she saw you reach the shore, even from far away. She was so pale, there wasn't a trace of color in her face."

"After that, we took you to the hospital. We were in such a rush that we didn't have time to bring it up."

"But after we got back to school, Little Xue secretly came to Xu Yan and me and begged us not to tell you. You know, about how she'd lost control, cried and screamed, bitten someone, and tried to jump in after you."

"I can understand how she felt. Anyone would've panicked in that situation. So don't take it to heart. She wasn't trying to keep it from you on purpose. She probably just felt she'd made a fool of herself."

Jiang Ran listened in silence.

He recalled waking up in the hospital after the Spacetime Shift. The first person he'd seen was Cheng Mengxue.

She'd just returned with takeout, smiling brightly. There'd been no sign she'd ever been so frantic and out of control.

"She didn't want us to tell you because she was worried you'd be concerned."

Qin Feng kept adding explanations to defend Cheng Mengxue:

"But! What I'm saying is, you might not understand why Little Xue said such bold things after drinking."

"But I do. It was because you jumped into the river and it affected her so deeply. Maybe that's what made her decide to face her feelings and tell you how she felt."

"It's just a shame her tolerance is so poor. If she'd held on for a few more seconds, maybe things would've worked out between you two."

Heh.

Unexpectedly,

in the face of such a touching story, Jiang Ran let out a soft laugh and shook his head:

"Qin Feng, you're good at solving problems. But I'm sorry to say you got this one wrong."

"Have you no conscience?"

Qin Feng was angry:

"I'm not saying you have to do anything, but with that attitude, do you think you're treating Little Xue fairly?"

"Then do you know why Little Xue lost control like that when she saw me jump into the river?" Jiang Ran asked in return.

"Wasn't it because she was worried about you?"

"Not entirely."

Jiang Ran shook his head:

"She knows I'm a strong swimmer. We took swimming lessons together when we were little, and I even won a city-level medal in middle school."

As he spoke, he pointed at the four-meter diving platform by the pool:

"You can't bring yourself to jump from it, but Little Xue can. Her splash is a little big, but she still makes a decent entry. I can even jump off backward and flat on my back. Is that something an ordinary swimmer would dare to do?"

"What's more, I was wearing a life jacket. With one of those on, you could throw someone into the ocean and they wouldn't drown. Even if they died, they'd still float on the surface... Given how well I swim and the life jacket, do you think there was anything to worry about?"

"Even if you put all that aside, sure, she must've worried. You were worried about me, too. But would you have panicked so badly that you completely lost control?"

After that reasoned argument, Qin Feng was dumbfounded.

"For all these years, the three of us have shared everything and never kept anything from one another. I never even considered hiding something as overpowered as the Spacetime Bulletin from you two."

"But there are still things you don't know. Things between Little Xue and me."

Jiang Ran stood up straight:

"You told me what Little Xue had asked you not to say, and I'm grateful."

"So, Qin Feng."

He turned his head,

looking the other man in the eyes:

"I'll tell you... a secret, too."