Life or Death

She thought Xu Yan would immediately deny it.

But unexpectedly...

Xu Yan stared at him silently, her lips tightly closed, not saying a word.

This reaction instantly made Jiang Ran realize—

[Cheng Mengxue's death was definitely not a simple accident! There must be another hidden story!]

He also remained silent.

Maintaining his silence.

Waiting for Xu Yan to speak, waiting for the real answer.

However...

"We don't know."

Xu Yan finally shook her head and said softly.

"What do you mean you don't know?"

Jiang Ran was confused:

"How did Little Xue's accident happen? There should be a conclusion, right? What was the situation at the time? There should be an explanation, right?"

Xu Yan glanced away:

"Jiang Ran, you should know better than anyone that there were no surveillance cameras on the road where Little Xue had her accident. No one knows what happened then."

"Of course, the final cause of Little Xue's death was definitely a car accident, but what happened before that..."

She stopped speaking, looking at Jiang Ran:

"Logically, you should know better than anyone, after all..."

"[When Little Xue had her car accident, you were right beside her; and your travel route was not towards the examination hall.]"

What?

Jiang Ran couldn't believe this clue.

When Cheng Mengxue died, he was by her side?

And their travel route wasn't towards the examination hall?

This was very strange.

June 8, 2023, was the second day of the college entrance examination. They should have been going to the examination hall to take the test. Why would they deliberately take a detour?

It was a pity.

After the Worldline Jump, he only possessed the memories of the original worldline, not the historical memories of the new worldline.

This resulted in him having witnessed Cheng Mengxue's death with his own eyes two years ago, but his mind was still blank now, with no images at all.

"Sorry, I don't remember."

Jiang Ran said truthfully:

"Perhaps this incident really stimulated me greatly, causing my memory to become confused, or even causing me to lose some memories I couldn't face."

"Can you tell me again? Since I was with Little Xue the whole time, I definitely would have truthfully confessed when the police investigated or took statements."

Xu Yan smiled helplessly:

"I already answered you, Jiang Ran. 'We don't know.' No one knows what happened then."

"Because..."

"[At that time, you said the same thing as you are saying now. You had no memory of what happened, and no memory of why you took Little Xue on a detour. You remembered nothing.]"

Listening to Xu Yan's description, Jiang Ran frowned.

As expected.

Things were getting more and more complicated.

Let's sort this out.

According to Xu Yan's account.

Two years ago, on June 8, 2023, the two who should have been going to the examination hall suddenly deviated from their route and took a detour in the opposite direction;

Then, something happened in the middle, and Cheng Mengxue eventually died in a car accident;

During this period, I was by Cheng Mengxue's side the whole time, and should have witnessed all the facts and known all the reasons;

But the strange part is here...

As the sole eyewitness, I lost the relevant memories and remembered nothing.

[Memory Loss].

Why would it be such a coincidence?

Why did the most crucial part of my memory happen to be missing?

"Actually, I really don't want to discuss this with you."

Seeing Jiang Ran's troubled expression, Xu Yan continued:

"I still remember the scene in the hospital clearly, with many people surrounding you, asking you questions – police, adults, teachers... everyone wanted to hear the truth from you."

"But you were also emotionally broken at the time, saying you couldn't remember anything. The moment you opened your eyes, you saw Little Xue lying on the road covered in blood. You were clearly terrified."

"The doctors speculated that you might have experienced temporary amnesia due to extreme shock. This is a self-protection mechanism of the human brain, not unique to you. Similar symptoms occur in many accidents."

Listening to Xu Yan speak.

Jiang Ran's mind connected the dots, gradually piecing together the historical timeline.

No wonder they all said he was psychologically traumatized and couldn't move on from Cheng Mengxue's death.

No wonder he missed two exams, resulting in his college entrance exam scores only qualifying him for a vocational college.

No wonder his parents, who had always hoped for him to achieve great things, were afraid he might do something drastic and didn't let him retake the college entrance exam.

And no wonder Xu Yan and Wang Hao were always there to guide him, telling him it wasn't his fault and he shouldn't blame himself too much.

There were mainly three reasons for all these consequences:

1. He and Cheng Mengxue changed their route together and didn't go to the exam hall. 2. The section of road where the accident occurred had no surveillance cameras, and he was missing memories, so the truth of the matter could not be verified. 3. With no explanation for anything, he was bound to fall into deep self-blame and self-doubt, believing he had caused Cheng Mengxue's death.

Although everyone believed that he had lost his memory two years ago due to excessive shock.

Jiang Ran felt the matter was far from that simple.

But...

What was the correct answer?

It was reasonable that he, having arrived from a Worldline Jump, lacked the memories of this current timeline.

But why, when Cheng Mengxue had her accident two years ago, did his past self have no memory when questioned by the police?

He couldn't connect his thoughts no matter how he tried.

"I'm sorry."

Jiang Ran lowered his head:

"I really can't remember..."

"Then don't think about it."

Xu Yan walked over gracefully:

"Honestly, Jiang Ran, I'm truly happy to see you regaining your spirits these past two days."

"Although you and Little Xue are only a year younger than me, I see you both like my own younger siblings. I've always been worried about you."

"If you can't remember, then don't force yourself. Don't fall into the dead end of self-blame. Just like we've said countless times... it's not your fault, you didn't do anything wrong."

"Regardless of why you two didn't go to the exam hall at the time, the car accident was ultimately an accident."

"Do you understand, Jiang Ran? This was an accident that no one wanted to happen, and the driver didn't flee. All the evidence proves it was just an accident, completely unrelated to you."

She spoke gently, like an older sister:

"Look up, smile. What's past is past, you have to look forward and continue living your life."

"Are you happy at school? Have you found a girlfriend? Are you planning to pursue further education after vocational college?"

"Senior!"

At the entrance of the screening room, a member of the film club waved:

"Senior, we're about to start the meeting, are you coming?"

"Okay, I'll be right there."

After waving goodbye, Xu Yan withdrew her gaze, patted Jiang Ran's shoulder, and said:

"Don't think about this anymore. History is set in stone, and neither you nor I can change it."

"The lives of those who are alive, their future lives, are the most important. After all..."

"[The dead are destined to be unable to be resurrected.]"

She turned sideways.

Finally, she waved goodbye to Jiang Ran and left, her high heels clicking on the floor.

At this point.

Jiang Ran was left alone in the screening room.

Vast and silent.

The sound of cicadas chirped outside, and sunlight, a manifestation of the Tyndall effect, streamed in, creating streaks of light.

He remembered Xu Yan's corpse, covered by a white sheet in the hospital;

He remembered Cheng Mengxue's flushed cheeks at the dining table on the luxurious cruise ship;

"The dead can be resurrected."

Jiang Ran mused.

As long as spacetime messages were used, no regret was irreparable.

He raised his head and looked at Xu Yan's retreating figure:

"[If I can bring you back to life, I can bring Little Xue back too.]"