Without wasting a moment.
Jiang Ran grabbed his phone and rushed outside.
Cheng Mengxue and Qin Feng immediately followed. The three of them hailed a taxi at the campus gate and headed to Hang City Hospital as fast as they could.
On the way, Jiang Ran filled them in on what had happened.
The elevator in the apartment building where Jiang Ran's parents lived had broken down and was undergoing repairs.
So Jiang Ran's mother had taken the stairs down. She'd accidentally fallen, hitting her head as she tumbled down the steps. She was unconscious and being treated in the hospital.
The hospital said her condition was very serious. There was extensive bleeding in her brain, and she needed immediate brain surgery.
The three of them hurried to the ICU...
Jiang Ran's relatives and friends were all there, anxiously waiting.
Several hours passed, but Jiang Ran's mother was still in critical condition.
When the doctor had them sign a critical condition notice, he said that even if they saved her life, she would likely suffer brain damage, and advised the family to prepare themselves.
Jiang Ran's heart pounded like a drum. Cheng Mengxue held his hand tightly the whole time.
Qin Feng patted Jiang Ran on the shoulder.
"Let's go back and use the Spacetime Bulletin."
Jiang Ran furrowed his brow.
"But..."
They were all someone's parents, and someone's child. If he saved his own mother, should he save Qin Feng's father too?
One had happened only a few hours ago, while the other had happened ten years ago. The Butterfly Effect and the risks they would cause were on completely different scales...
But parents were parents. Could that really make a difference?
"Don't worry about me."
Qin Feng urged him on.
"Save Auntie first. We can talk about my wish later. Don't worry, I know the Butterfly Effect from these two events would be worlds apart. You don't need to hesitate on my account."
"And don't feel guilty. After the Worldline changes, Little Xue and I won't remember any of this. Just handle things yourself. In the Spacetime Bulletin, tell the you from a few hours ago not to tell us about this."
"That's impossible."
Jiang Ran shook his head.
"I can't keep this from you."
"Jiang Ran..."
Cheng Mengxue's eyes glistened with tears as she squeezed his palm.
"Let's go back... Please save Auntie!"
After another two-hour taxi ride at high speed, the three of them returned to the clubroom at Donghai University.
Jiang Ran stood beside the transformer's distribution box. The message was already written.
This time, the solution was simple.
The elevator had broken down because its bottom buffer had come loose. It wasn't a serious problem; they just needed to notice it and repair it in time.
If they found the problem and fixed it one day earlier, the elevator would be working normally today. Jiang Ran's mother wouldn't have needed to take the stairs, and she wouldn't have fallen.
So all they had to do was notify the property management two days ago and have them make the repair in advance.
"The message is ready!"
Jiang Ran called out toward the window.
Cheng Mengxue sat astride the windowsill and gave him an OK sign, then looked at Qin Feng.
With the Positron Cannon's visual control panel, everything had become much easier.
Qin Feng turned the knobs, setting the year, month, and hour displays to zero, then turning the day display to 2.
That would send the Spacetime Bulletin two days into the past.
"I've set mine too!" Cheng Mengxue nodded and turned to face the window.
"Okay, I'm counting down! Five! Four! Three! Two! One! Zero!"
The Positron Cannon roared. Jiang Ran pressed the send button—
Buzz!
Buzz!
Buzz!
The world spun. Gravity vanished, and a wave of nausea washed over him.
Jiang Ran gritted his teeth and endured it.
Two seconds later, it all faded away.
He opened his eyes.
He found... his position had changed again. He'd gone from the distribution box outside to sitting upright on the clubroom sofa.
He hurriedly took out his phone and called his father.
"Hello? Dad! Where's Mom?"
"Huh? Your mom just got back from grocery shopping. She's making dinner now."
There was music in the background; his father was probably watching TV. Jiang Ran breathed a sigh of relief.
"Good. You and Mom are getting older, so be careful when you take the stairs. They're easy to slip on."
"Oh, come on! We've got an elevator. Who takes the stairs?"
His father didn't think much of it.
"Come to think of it, the elevator was out for repairs a couple of days ago. Could it drop while we're in it?"
"It's fine." Jiang Ran smiled.
"For older folks like you, the elevator's still safer than the stairs, even if it breaks down. It's got plenty of safety locks. There's basically no chance it'll fall."
After a few more pleasantries, he hung up.
Qin Feng and Cheng Mengxue looked over.
"You just experienced a Worldline Jump?"
Jiang Ran nodded.
He didn't hide anything from them, explaining how he'd used the Spacetime Bulletin to save his mother.
"What are we doing now?"
He put away his phone and caught them up on his memories.
"What were we discussing? Where did we leave off?"
"We were talking about Qin Feng's wish..."
Cheng Mengxue held the Rhine Cat and spoke softly.
"Qin Feng said he wanted to use the Spacetime Bulletin to bring back his father, who died ten years ago."
All right.
What was meant to come had come. What was bound to happen had happened.
Judging by the atmosphere in the room, they'd probably been at odds over this for quite a while.
"Let's vote."
Cheng Mengxue lifted her head.
"Like we did before when we worked through problems. If we disagree, we'll vote, and the minority will go along with the majority."
"I abstain."
Qin Feng stood up from his chair and headed for the door.
"I know this is no small matter. Bringing a dead man back to life after ten years would rewrite a decade of history... The Spacetime Butterfly Effect would be too powerful to predict."
"But he was my father. My judgment might not be rational enough, so I'm abstaining."
Slap.
As Qin Feng passed the sofa, Jiang Ran grabbed his wrist.
"Don't go."
He didn't look up.
"We're a team of three. How can we vote if you leave? We've never split up when making decisions."
"I have to leave."
Qin Feng glanced at Cheng Mengxue, then looked down at Jiang Ran.
"You understand, Jiang Ran. If the three of us vote together, it'll definitely pass."
Jiang Ran knew what he meant.
Cheng Mengxue would definitely vote in favor. With Qin Feng's vote, that would make two in favor. The majority would win, and Jiang Ran's vote against it wouldn't matter.
"I don't want to put you in a difficult position."
Qin Feng's voice was very soft.
"I miss my father so much, but I also treasure you two as my friends. To me, both sides of the scales are equal."
"So... you two should discuss it. Take as long as you need. Days, months, it doesn't matter. I'll wait for your answer."
With that,
he gently closed the clubroom door and walked away.
Only Jiang Ran and Cheng Mengxue remained in the room.
But the silence and heaviness didn't lift. They only grew more oppressive.
Jiang Ran lowered his head, braced his elbows on his thighs, and covered his face with both hands.
"Am I... selfish?"
He said it to Cheng Mengxue, and to himself.
"I opposed saving Xu Yan, and I stayed silent when it came to saving Qin Feng's father... But when it was my own mother, I pretended to hesitate for a moment."
Cheng Mengxue nestled the warm rice cooker Rhine Cat in Jiang Ran's arms. It still held her body heat. Then she stroked the back of his neck and rested her head against his shoulder.
"Because they're not the same."
She closed her eyes, her voice gentle.
"You did save Sister Xu Yan in the end. And Qin Feng's father died ten years ago. The Butterfly Effect over those ten years... even Qin Feng himself said it was too risky to gamble on."
"Jiang Ran, I know your courage better than anyone. You're not a coward, and you're definitely not selfish."
Jiang Ran's breathing grew heavier.
"But what if..."
He bit his lip.
After a pause,
he voiced the question he'd been too afraid to think through.
"What if my father had been the one who died ten years ago? Would Qin Feng... have agreed?"
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