Trust

The night wind blew, rustling the willow branches.

In the silent depths of the early morning, outside the film club's window, the air was tense.

Jiang Ran's palm was held out in mid-air, his eyes fixed on Qin Feng's phone.

Qin Feng held his phone in his right hand, his pupils wide with disbelief as he looked at Jiang Ran.

"You don't believe me?" Qin Feng's voice was very soft.

Jiang Ran offered no reply.

He didn't move an inch.

"Can I see the phone?"

He knew his expression must be terrible right now, and that it must be deeply upsetting Qin Feng.

But...

He couldn't rest easy.

The unprecedented, terrifying hallucination he'd just experienced had pushed his panic to the extreme.

Qin Feng took a deep breath and handed the phone over:

"Here."

Jiang Ran took the phone and looked at the screen.

It was the text message composition page. The recipient was Qin Feng's phone number, and the message itself wasn't long, just four lines:

[This is a spacetime message from 10 days in the future. Please go to Old Qi's Appliance Repair Shop on Old Electronics Street as soon as possible. There's a knob control board there that's perfect for the positron cannon.]

That was all.

Jiang Ran read it twice.

There were no hidden messages, before or after.

And he knew that the shop selling circuit boards was indeed called Old Qi's Appliance Repair Shop.

This message... had no problems.

The one who was being overly suspicious and worried was himself.

Qin Feng smiled, looking at Jiang Ran:

"You think I'm trying some trick to save my father, don't you?"

As always.

He still saw through Jiang Ran effortlessly, just as Jiang Ran could always see through him.

Years of tacit understanding and knowledge meant there were no secrets between them; everything was transparent.

"I'm sorry."

Jiang Ran said in a low voice.

A thousand words, reduced to one.

He didn't know how to explain, or how to defend, this act of distrusting his friend.

"It's okay."

Qin Feng was still as magnanimous as ever:

"It's normal for you to have these concerns, and you've been suspicious and worried for more than a day. I'm used to it."

He then extended his palm:

"You've confirmed the message, so how about giving me the phone back, and we can restart the countdown for the positron cannon?"

Unexpectedly.

Jiang Ran didn't move.

He thought for a few seconds, put down the phone, and looked at Qin Feng:

"Can I send this message?"

?

"Jiang Ran, you..."

Cheng Mengxue, who was perched by the window, had heard their entire conversation.

Honestly.

In this situation, even she felt Jiang Ran was going too far.

If he really didn't trust Qin Feng, then he shouldn't have sent this spacetime message at all;

But after refusing Qin Feng once, and then agreeing to compensate him this time, to still be so suspicious of his friend...

How could he be like this?

"It's okay."

Qin Feng shoved his hands in his pockets, took a few steps back, and leaned against the electrical box.

"Then you send it."

Cheng Mengxue's mouth hung slightly open as she looked at the two of them.

Finally.

Biting her lip, she retreated.

"Fine, whatever you guys want."

She opened the window completely.

"It's late and quiet now, with minimal interference. I can handle the countdown from inside."

"The rhythm is the same. When the countdown reaches zero, I'll activate the positron cannon, and then Jiang Ran will send the text message."

"Qin Feng... you can just stand outside then."

Shaking her head, Cheng Mengxue walked back to the experiment table.

Leaves rustled, and cicadas chirped intermittently.

Jiang Ran stared at the text message he had drafted on his phone, his thumb hovering.

It was awkward.

He felt too embarrassed to speak to Qin Feng, nor could he bring himself to look at him.

"Jiang Ran."

Ah, speak of the devil. Qin Feng called his name.

Jiang Ran's gaze shifted from his phone screen to Qin Feng standing by the electrical box.

"Actually, when I first proposed using a spacetime message to save my father, I was just as hesitant as you are now."

Qin Feng said softly.

"Do you know what I was hesitant about?"

Jiang Ran paused for two seconds. "Were you worried about being separated from us?"

The spacetime butterfly effect was uncontrollable. No one could predict the worldline change after altering the past.

The reason Qin Feng could meet Jiang Ran and Cheng Mengxue, and why they became the closest trio, was because Qin Feng transferred to Hangzhou City High School, and then, after his father's death, he was bullied, which led to their friendship.

Think about it from another perspective.

If Qin Feng's father hadn't died 10 years ago...

Would Qin Feng have transferred to Hangzhou City High School?

Maybe, maybe not.

Both probabilities existed.

If Qin Feng's father had moved due to work or some other reason, Qin Feng wouldn't have come to Hangzhou City High School, and naturally, he wouldn't have met Jiang Ran and Cheng Mengxue. Their friendship would have vanished into thin air.

Even if we take a step back.

Even if Qin Feng had come to Hangzhou City High School, since his father hadn't died, those bullies wouldn't have picked on him, and he still would have missed the opportunity to meet Jiang Ran and Cheng Mengxue.

As the old saying goes, on the path of life, one wrong step leads to a cascade of errors.

Wasn't the worldline change the same?

Everyone's life, seemingly by chance, was actually a certainty driven by countless coincidences...

A millimeter's deviation can lead to a thousand-mile difference.

"Heh."

Qin Feng chuckled, as expected. "You can always see right through me. You can guess everything I'm thinking."

"That's right. What I hesitated about the most, what I couldn't bear to part with, was the two of you."

He looked up at the moonlit starry sky. "I'm different from you. I don't have that special constitution; I won't retain memories from before the worldline change."

"So, if I were to send a spacetime message to my 10-year-old self and save my father, the entire history of the past decade would change. I would unknowingly walk down a different life path."

"It's very possible I wouldn't have transferred to Hangzhou City High School, wouldn't have come to Donghai University with you, and we might not have even become friends..."

"After the worldline change, on the new worldline, we would be strangers who didn't know each other."

He paused.

He continued, "I said before that I miss my father dearly, but I can't bear to lose you either. Both sides of the scale are equally important to me."

"So when Little Xue suggested we vote back then, I chose to give up because I didn't want to face this kind of outcome."

"Jiang Ran, don't you think this feeling is cruel?"

Turning around, their eyes met. Qin Feng's voice was clear:

"[After the worldline change, we, who were such good friends, instantly became strangers.]"

"[All our emotions and experiences ceased to exist, and we each lived our own lives... No one will remember our current 'Iron Triangle'.]"

"I will remember."

Jiang Ran reminded him:

"I have the special physique of Omni-Spacetime Memory, so no matter how the worldline changes, I will remember everything we've been through, remember our close relationship, and remember that we are the best of friends in the world."

Qin Feng smiled slightly:

"Yes, you will remember, but only you will remember."

"But emotions and friendship are two-way... It's useless if only you remember."

"The emotions in people's hearts come from a series of shared experiences; without these experiences, all adjectives are just empty talk."

"You and Little Xue are childhood sweethearts. No matter how the worldline changes, it won't affect your relationship."

"But I only met you guys in high school. Any tiny spacetime butterfly effect could push me out of your lives."

"So, there's a question, Jiang Ran, that I've always wanted to ask you."

He put away his smile, his voice becoming heavy:

"If the worldline changes and I get separated from you, becoming a stranger on a new worldline... what will you do?"

The night wind grew slightly cool. Qin Feng looked into Jiang Ran's eyes:

"[On the new worldline, will you find me again?]"