He had thought Xu Yan would deny it on the spot.
But unexpectedly…
Xu Yan silently watched him, her red lips pressed tight, saying nothing.
That reaction instantly made Jiang Ran realize—
【Cheng Mengxue’s death definitely wasn’t a simple accident! There had to be something hidden behind 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.”
In the end, Xu Yan shook her head and said softly.
“What do you mean, you don’t know?”
Jiang Ran didn’t understand.
“There should at least be a conclusion about how Xiaoxue got into the accident, right? There should at least be an explanation of what the situation was at the time, right?”
Xu Yan looked away.
“Jiang Ran, you should know better than anyone that there were no surveillance cameras on that stretch of road where Xiaoxue had her accident. No one knows what happened then.”
“Of course, Xiaoxue’s final cause of death was certainly the car crash. It’s just that before that, what exactly happened…”
At this point, she hesitated, then looked at Jiang Ran.
“By all rights, you should know better than anyone. After all…”
“【When Xiaoxue got into the car accident, you were right beside her. And the route you two were taking was not the way to the exam site at all.】”
What?
Jiang Ran couldn’t believe this clue.
When Cheng Mengxue died, he had been right there beside her?
And the route the two of them had taken hadn’t even been toward the exam site?
That was very strange.
June 8, 2023, was the second day of the gaokao. They should have been going to the exam site to take the test. Why would they deliberately take a detour?
Unfortunately.
After the worldline leap, he only possessed the memories of his original worldline. He had none of the historical memories from this new worldline.
As a result, even if the him from two years ago had witnessed Cheng Mengxue’s death with his own eyes, his mind right now was still completely blank, without a single image.
“Sorry, I don’t remember.”
Jiang Ran told the truth.
“Maybe this really did hit me too hard, making my memories muddled… even causing me to lose some memories I didn’t dare face.”
“Can you tell me again? Since I was with Xiaoxue the entire time back then, when the police investigated afterward or took my statement, I definitely would have told them everything honestly.”
Xu Yan smiled helplessly.
“I already answered you just now, Jiang Ran. ‘We don’t know.’ No one knows what happened at the time.”
“Because…”
“【Back then, you said the exact same thing as you’re saying now. You didn’t remember what happened at all, didn’t remember why you took Xiaoxue on a detour, didn’t remember anything whatsoever.】”
…
Listening to Xu Yan’s description, Jiang Ran frowned.
Sure enough.
Things were becoming more and more complicated.
Let’s sort this out.
According to Xu Yan.
Two years ago, on June 8, 2023, the two of them, who should have been heading to the exam site, suddenly deviated from their route and took a detour in the opposite direction.
Then, no one knew what happened in between, but in the end, Cheng Mengxue was hit by a car and died in an accident.
During that time, he had been by Cheng Mengxue’s side the entire way. Logically, he should have witnessed everything and known every reason behind it.
But the strange point was right here…
As the only eyewitness, he had lost the relevant memories and remembered nothing.
【Memory loss】.
Why was it such a coincidence?
Why had he just happened to lose the most crucial stretch of memory?
“To be honest, I really don’t want to discuss this with you.”
Seeing Jiang Ran’s furrowed brow, Xu Yan continued,
“I still remember the scene in the hospital. So many people surrounded you, asking questions—police, adults, teachers… Everyone hoped to hear the truth from you.”
“But your emotions had completely collapsed back then too. You said you didn’t remember anything, that when you opened your eyes, you saw Xiaoxue lying on the road covered in blood. You had clearly suffered an enormous fright.”
“The doctors speculated that your brief amnesia was caused by excessive shock. It’s also a kind of self-protection mechanism in the human brain. It wasn’t unique to you; similar symptoms appear in many accidents.”
Listening to Xu Yan’s account.
Jiang Ran threaded the clues together in his mind, gradually connecting the course of history.
No wonder they all said he had suffered psychological trauma and couldn’t get over Cheng Mengxue’s death.
No wonder he had missed two exams, causing his gaokao score to only be enough for a junior college.
No wonder his parents, who had always hoped their son would become a dragon, were afraid he would lose hope and fail to move on, and hadn’t let him repeat the year.
And no wonder Xu Yan and Wang Hao kept trying to comfort him all the time, saying that none of it was his fault and that he shouldn’t blame himself too much.
There were three main reasons that had caused all of this:
1. He and Cheng Mengxue had changed routes together and hadn’t gone to the exam site.
2. There was no surveillance footage at all on the stretch of road where the crash happened, and he had lost his memories, so the truth was impossible to verify.
3. With everything unclear, he would inevitably fall into deep self-blame and self-doubt, believing that he was the one who had caused Cheng Mengxue’s death.
Although everyone believed the him from two years ago had lost his memory because of excessive shock.
Jiang Ran felt that things were far from that simple.
But…
What was the correct answer?
The current him had arrived because of the worldline leap, so it was reasonable that he had no historical memories of this current worldline.
But why, two years ago, when Cheng Mengxue had her accident, had the him at that time also had no memory at all when facing the police’s questions?
No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t make sense of it.
“Sorry.”
Jiang Ran lowered his head.
“I really can’t remember…”
“Then don’t think about it.”
Xu Yan slowly walked over.
“Honestly, Jiang Ran, seeing you pull yourself together again these past two days has made me really happy.”
“You and Xiaoxue were only one year younger than me, but I’ve always seen you two like my own younger brother and sister. I’ve always been worried about you.”
“If you can’t remember, then don’t think about it. Whatever you do, don’t fall into the dead end of self-blame. Just like we’ve said countless times… this isn’t your fault. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“No matter what the reason was that the two of you didn’t go to the exam site back then, the car crash was still an accident in the end.”
“Do you understand, Jiang Ran? This was an accident no one wanted to happen. And the driver didn’t flee, either. All the evidence proves it was only an accident, and it had absolutely nothing to do with you.”
She really was like an older sister, her words gentle.
“Lift your head. Smile for me. What’s past is past. You have to look forward and continue living your life.”
“Are you happy at school? Have you gotten a girlfriend? Are you planning to transfer from junior college into a bachelor’s program?”
“Senior!”
At the entrance to 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 there right away.”
After responding, Xu Yan withdrew her gaze and patted Jiang Ran on the shoulder.
“Don’t think about this anymore from now on. History is set in stone. Neither you nor I can change it.”
“For the living, the life that lies ahead is what matters most. After all…”
“【The dead are destined never to come back to life.】”
She turned to the side.
Finally, she waved to Jiang Ran, then left with the crisp tap-tap-tap of her low heels.
At that point.
Only Jiang Ran remained in the screening room.
Vast, empty, silent.
Outside the window, cicadas cried in a ringing chorus. Sunlight filtered in with the Tyndall effect, forming strands of luminous patterns.
He remembered Xu Yan’s corpse in the hospital, covered with a white sheet.
He remembered Cheng Mengxue’s flushed, drunken cheeks at the dining table on the luxury cruise ship.
“The dead can come back to life.”
Jiang Ran murmured.
As long as he used the space-time text message, there was no regret that couldn’t be remedied.
He raised his head and looked at Xu Yan’s departing back.
“【If I can save you, then I can save Xiaoxue too.】”