Chapter 46: Chapter 46: Dead or Alive
He had thought Xu Yan would deny it immediately.
But unexpectedly...
Xu Yan watched him in silence, her lips pressed tightly together, not saying a word.
Her reaction made Jiang Ran realize in an instant—
’Cheng Mengxue’s death definitely wasn’t a simple accident! There must be more to it!’
He didn’t speak either.
He remained silent.
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 asked, confused.
"There must be a definitive conclusion about how Xiaoxue died, right? There has to be some account of what happened."
Xu Yan averted her gaze.
"Jiang Ran, you should know better than anyone that the stretch of road where Xiaoxue had her accident has no surveillance cameras. No one knows what happened."
"Of course, the official cause of Xiaoxue’s death was the car crash, but as for what happened right before that..."
She trailed off, looking at Jiang Ran.
"Logically, you should be the one who knows best, since..."
"You were right beside Xiaoxue when the car crash happened. What’s more, the route you two were taking wasn’t the way to the exam center at all."
’What?’
Jiang Ran couldn’t believe this piece of information.
’I was right there when Cheng Mengxue died?’
’And we weren’t even on the way to the exam center?’
That was very strange.
June 8th, 2023, was the second day of the college entrance exams. They should have been heading to the exam center. Why would they deliberately take a detour?
Unfortunately.
After the Worldline Jump, he only had memories from his original worldline, not the historical memories of this new one.
This meant that even if the him from two years ago had witnessed Cheng Mengxue’s death firsthand, his mind was now a complete blank. He couldn’t picture any of it.
"Sorry, I don’t remember."
Jiang Ran said truthfully.
"Maybe the incident was just too traumatic for me, causing my memories to become confused, or maybe I even lost some memories I couldn’t bear to face."
"Can you tell me everything again? Since I was with Xiaoxue the whole time, I must have given a truthful account to the police during their investigation or when they took my statement."
Xu Yan gave a helpless smile.
"I already answered you, Jiang Ran. ’We don’t know.’ Nobody knows what happened back then."
"Because..."
"The you from back then said the exact same thing you’re saying now—that you couldn’t remember what happened, couldn’t remember why you took a detour with Xiaoxue, couldn’t remember anything at all."
...
Listening to Xu Yan’s description, Jiang Ran furrowed his brows.
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 8th, 2023, the two of them, who should have been heading to the exam center, suddenly deviated from their route and took a detour in the opposite direction.
Then, something unknown happened, and in the end, Cheng Mengxue was in a car accident and died unexpectedly.
During this time, he was by Cheng Mengxue’s side the entire time, so he should have witnessed everything and known the reasons for it all.
But this was the strange part...
He, the sole witness, had lost all related memories and couldn’t remember a thing.
’Memory loss.’
’Why such a coincidence?’
’Why would I lose precisely the most critical piece of memory?’
"To be honest, I really don’t want to discuss this with you."
Seeing Jiang Ran’s worried frown, Xu Yan continued.
"I can still picture the scene at the hospital. So many people were surrounding you, asking questions—the police, our parents, our teachers... Everyone wanted to hear the truth from you."
"But you were a complete wreck back then. You said you didn’t remember anything, that you just opened your eyes and saw Xiaoxue lying on the road, covered in blood. You were clearly in deep shock."
"The doctors speculated that you suffered from temporary amnesia due to extreme shock. It’s a self-preservation mechanism of the human brain, and you’re not a unique case. Similar symptoms appear in many accident victims."
Listening to Xu Yan’s story.
Jiang Ran began to connect the dots, gradually piecing together the timeline of events.
No wonder everyone said he was traumatized and couldn’t get over Cheng Mengxue’s death.
No wonder he missed two exams, causing his college entrance exam score to be just enough to get into a vocational college.
No wonder his parents, who had such high hopes for him, were afraid he’d do something rash or never recover, so they didn’t let him retake the year.
And no wonder Xu Yan and Wang Hao were always trying to comfort him, telling him it wasn’t his fault and not to blame himself too much.
There were three main reasons for this outcome:
1. He and Cheng Mengxue changed their route together and didn’t go to the exam center.
2. The section of road where the accident happened had no surveillance cameras, and since he had lost his memory, there was no way to corroborate the truth.
3. With the cause of everything unknown, he would inevitably fall into deep self-blame and self-doubt, believing he was the one who got Cheng Mengxue killed.
Although everyone believed the him from two years ago had amnesia because of the shock.
Jiang Ran believed it was far from that simple.
But...
’What is the real answer, then?’
It was reasonable that his current self had no historical memories of this worldline, having arrived via a Worldline Jump.
But why, when Cheng Mengxue had her accident two years ago, did the him from back then also have no memory when questioned by the police?
He couldn’t figure it out, no matter how he thought about it.
"Sorry."
Jiang Ran lowered his head.
"I really can’t remember..."
"Then don’t try to."
Xu Yan walked over slowly.
"Honestly, Jiang Ran, seeing you get your spirit back these past two days has made me really happy."
"You and Xiaoxue are only a year younger than me, but I’ve always seen you as my own little brother and sister. I’ve been so worried about you."
"If you can’t remember, then don’t force it. Please don’t fall into the dead end of self-blame. Like we’ve told you countless times... it’s not your fault. You didn’t do anything wrong."
"Regardless of why you two didn’t go to the exam center, the car crash was, in the end, just an accident."
"Do you understand, Jiang Ran? It was an accident that no one wanted to happen. The driver didn’t flee the scene, and all the evidence proves it was just an accident. It had nothing to do with you."
She was truly like an older sister, her words gentle.
"Lift your head. Give me a smile. What’s past is past. You have to look forward and move on with your life."
"Are you happy at college? Have you found a girlfriend? Any plans to turn your associate’s degree into a bachelor’s?"
"Xu Yan!"
At the door of the screening room, a film club member waved.
"Xu Yan, we’re about to start the meeting! Are you coming?"
"Okay, I’ll be right there."
After calling back, Xu Yan looked back at Jiang Ran and patted his shoulder.
"Don’t think about this anymore. History is set in stone; neither of us can change it."
"The living, and their future, are what’s most important. After all..."
"The dead are destined to never be revived."
She turned to the side.
With a final wave at Jiang Ran, she walked away, her heels CLICK-CLACK-CLACKING.
And with that, Jiang Ran was the only one left in the screening room.
Vast and silent.
Outside the window, the chirping of cicadas rang out. Beams of sunlight, illuminated by the Tyndall effect, streamed in, creating streaks of light.
He remembered Xu Yan’s body in the hospital, covered by a white sheet. He also remembered Cheng Mengxue’s face, flushed from drink, at a dinner table on a luxury cruise ship.
"The dead can be revived," Jiang Ran mused.
As long as he used the Time SMS, there was no regret he couldn’t fix.
He lifted his head and watched Xu Yan’s retreating figure.
’I was able to save you, so I can save Xiaoxue, too.’
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