Chapter 7: Unable To Stand Idly By
【This is an emergency alert from the Time-Space Administrator……】
Seeing the message box flash on that monochrome small screen, Wang Heng immediately understood that something major was about to happen. Meanwhile, the shop manager next to him was still saying:
“……To be honest, I was already prepared to save the day for you. Many part-time kids here run into acquaintances, after all, the whole city isn’t that big, and the probability of bumping into someone you know is pretty high. When they run into acquaintances, those kids often get embarrassed, make all sorts of mistakes, and feel all sorts of awkwardness. But I didn’t expect your performance to be so steady!”
Wang Heng nodded with a smile while glancing at his mobile phone screen. Thus, he saw the update in the message box:
【Because you previously refused Han Yixuan’s confession, it has left her in an anomalous state. The worldline correction mechanism is taking effect, leading to your chance encounter today. And this chance encounter has further exacerbated the anomalous state.】
Facing the shop manager, Wang Heng was still smiling, but that smile was growing increasingly stiff.
Seeing this, the shop manager asked: “What’s wrong?”
“Can I go to the restroom?”
“Oh, sure.”
As soon as the shop manager agreed, Wang Heng rushed out of the milk tea shop and checked the message box on his mobile phone.
The next segment of text had already updated:
【For now, this anomaly hasn’t escalated to a bug level, but the correction mechanism has arranged an accident for Han Yixuan. In about four minutes, she will suffer a car accident and be seriously injured into the hospital.】
Wang Heng lowered his voice, but his tone couldn’t help growing anxious: “Why!”
【There are too many links in the causality here, it’s hard to explain to you. But you can think of it this way: Han Yixuan wasn’t supposed to be in her current state. To prevent her from affecting other people’s causality, the correction mechanism will choose the least impactful handling method.】
“A car accident has little impact?”
【Car accident with serious injury, or dating a scumbag—which is worse is hard to say（lol）.】
The Time-Space Administrator still had the mind for jokes, but Wang Heng did not. Standing by the roadside, he quickly thought it over and asked again: “Now that you’ve told me, what if I save her? Will there be another car accident or fire or something?”
【I can’t give you a definite answer. Even the three-body problem is complex enough, and with billions of people worldwide, how complex would predicting the future be? I can only give you a series of probabilities, and they’re ones that change at any moment.】
Wang Heng looked in the direction where Han Yixuan and Song Xiaoxia had gone. From here, he could still see their backs. The two young girls were walking at a very slow pace, perhaps chatting while walking. It was estimated that in three or four minutes, they would just reach the next intersection.
Just reaching the next intersection.
He took a deep breath and asked: “How much time left?”
【Three minutes and a dozen seconds. Have you decided?】
“I really can’t stand by and do nothing.”
————
“I told you, that jerk is the blind one, why are you running away? What’s there to be embarrassed about? So what if you cried? The one who should be embarrassed is him!”
Song Xiaoxia spoke righteously, comforting the young girl beside her.
Han Yixuan smiled: “I’m not embarrassed, and just now wasn’t running away. I just……don’t want to see him again.”
Song Xiaoxia nodded repeatedly and cheered her on: “Right, exactly! How could our little fairy be stuck on a mundane pig? Cheer up, that’s it!”
Han Yixuan looked up at the blue sky and took a deep breath, as if to sweep away the stuffiness in her chest. But at the same time, she didn’t stop walking.
Song Xiaoxia suddenly shouted: “Watch out!”
Immediately after, the piercing sound of brakes rang out.
Only then did Han Yixuan see a car charging straight at her.
The car was originally going straight, and though the spot where Han Yixuan was crossing the road wasn’t far from the zebra crossing, it wasn’t on it, and it was blocked by another car. So when she took her last two steps, she emerged from the driver’s blind spot, right in front of the car at three or four meters.
At this moment, braking was already too late.
In that instant, Song Xiaoxia instinctively reached out to pull her best friend back. But her action was a step slow, and she could only watch in despair as……another black shadow darted out from the side.
The one rushing over was Wang Heng.
Unsure exactly when the accident would happen, Wang Heng had silently followed behind the two. After just over ten meters, it happened right on cue. He was already prepared and dashed forward in one stride.
He grabbed the young girl’s wrist and yanked hard, pulling her back. At the same time, he braked his own steps steadily, without overshooting.
Thus, both of them narrowly avoided the disaster.
The sedan grazed Han Yixuan’s hem, barely missing. Then, a second later, it surged forward a short distance before stopping.
The young girl was so scared her legs went soft, but as she looked up, she saw that familiar face which shocked her even more.
“Wang Heng! Why are you here?”
“I just came out to use the restroom……Anyway, looks like you’re fine now. Be careful.”
With that, Wang Heng pushed the young girl in his arms to her best friend and turned to jog away.
“Wait!”
Han Yixuan shouted, but she couldn’t stop that guy who was jogging off without looking back. After the shock, she hadn’t yet recovered her strength, so naturally she couldn’t chase after him.
At this point, the driver came over too: “Whoa, little girl, you nearly scared me to death just now!”
“Sorry……”
For this incident, the responsibility naturally fell on Han Yixuan for suddenly jaywalking, but since nothing had actually happened, the driver just gave a couple of warnings, got back in the car, hit the accelerator, and drove off.
Meanwhile, Han Yixuan still stood by the roadside, dazed.
Song Xiaoxia asked with some concern: “What’s wrong? Haven’t you recovered yet?”
Han Yixuan shook her head.
“What’s really going on?” Song Xiaoxia asked again. “What are you thinking?”
Han Yixuan glanced in the direction Wang Heng had run off, then looked at her best friend and blinked. The young girl said softly: “I feel like something’s not right.”
“What’s not right?”
“I think……I like him even more now.”
Song Xiaoxia immediately clutched her head: “Is this a hero saving the beauty play? Do you two have to be so melodramatic!”
————
Wang Heng ran to the doorway of the milk tea shop but didn’t go in right away. He took out his mobile phone and stared at the screen.
The message box had long disappeared, but he felt that the Time-Space Administrator should be able to hear what he said.
“I feel like you’re screwing me over……” Wang Heng murmured. “This correction mechanism—isn’t it just you meddling?”
After a few seconds, the message box reappeared, with just one sentence:
【How can you slander me out of nowhere?】
————
Received a station message, probably about signing the contract.
Lately, there have been a lot of work matters, and overtime has taken up time and energy for typing, so the updates right from the start have been very unstable—sorry about that. But fortunately, overtime is just a special state, and future updates won’t be this irregular.
Anyway, stable daily updates from now on.
Yeah, that’s it.
