007 Can’t Just Stand By and Watch
【This is an emergency alert from the Spacetime Administrator…】
Seeing the message box flash on the small monochrome screen, Wang Heng immediately knew that something terrible was about to happen. But the manager beside him was still talking:
“…To be honest, I was all set to bail you out. A lot of the part-time kids here run into acquaintances. After all, our city isn’t that big, so the chances of bumping into someone you know are pretty high. When they do, the kids before you would often get embarrassed, make all sorts of mistakes, and things would get super awkward. But I never expected you to be so composed!”
Wang Heng nodded with a smile while glancing at his phone screen. He saw the message box update:
【Because you rejected Han Yixuan’s confession earlier, she is in an anomalous state. The worldline’s correction mechanism is at work, which led to your chance encounter today. And this encounter has further aggravated the anomalous state.】
Facing the manager, Wang Heng was still smiling, but that smile was becoming increasingly stiff.
Noticing this, the manager asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Can I use the restroom?”
“Oh, sure.”
The moment the manager agreed, Wang Heng rushed out of the milk tea shop and looked at the message box on his phone.
The next paragraph had already appeared:
【For now, this anomaly has not yet escalated to the level of a bug, but the correction mechanism has already arranged an accident for Han Yixuan. In approximately four minutes, she will be in a car accident and be seriously injured and hospitalized.】
Wang Heng lowered his voice, but his tone was undeniably anxious. “Why!”
【There are too many links in the chain of causality for me to explain easily. But you can understand it this way: Han Yixuan is not supposed to be in her current state. To prevent her from affecting the causality of others, the correction mechanism will choose a course of action with the least impact.】
“A car accident has a small impact?”
【Serious injury in a car accident versus dating a scumbag—it’s hard to say which is worse (lol).】
The Spacetime Administrator was in the mood for jokes, but Wang Heng certainly was not. He stood by the road, thought quickly, and then asked, “So you’re telling me now. What if I save her? Will there be another car accident or a fire or something?”
【I cannot give you a definitive answer. The three-body problem is complex enough, and with billions of people in the world, how complex do you think predicting the future is? I can only give you a series of probabilities, and even those are constantly changing.】
Wang Heng looked in the direction Han Yixuan and Song Xiaoxia had just left. He could still see their figures in the distance. The two girls were walking quite slowly, perhaps still chatting as they walked. He estimated that in three or four minutes, they would just be reaching the next intersection.
Just reaching the next intersection.
He took a deep breath and asked, “How much longer?”
【A little over three minutes. Have you decided?】
“I really can’t just stand by and watch.”
**
“I told you, that bastard is the one with no taste! Why are you running away? What’s there to be embarrassed about? So what if you cried? He’s the one who should be embarrassed for making you cry!”
Song Xiaoxia argued forcefully, comforting the girl beside her.
Han Yixuan smiled. “I’m not embarrassed, and I wasn’t running away just now. I just… don’t want to see him again.”
Song Xiaoxia nodded repeatedly and even cheered her on. “Right, that’s the spirit! How can our little fairy be tied down to some mortal pig? It’s right to pull yourself together!”
Han Yixuan lifted her head, looked up at the blue sky, and took a deep breath, as if to sweep away all the gloom in her chest. But at the same time, she didn’t stop walking.
Suddenly, Song Xiaoxia screamed, “Watch out!”
An ear-piercing screech of brakes followed.
Only then did Han Yixuan see a car heading straight for her.
The car had been going straight, and although the spot where Han Yixuan was crossing the road was not far from the crosswalk, it wasn’t on it. Furthermore, her view had been blocked by another car. So, as she took the last two steps, she emerged from the driver’s blind spot, ending up right in front of the car, three or four meters away.
At this point, it was already too late to brake.
In that instant, Song Xiaoxia subconsciously reached out, trying to pull her friend back. But she was a step too slow and could only watch in despair as… another dark figure shot out from the side.
It was Wang Heng.
Unsure of exactly when the accident would happen, Wang Heng had been silently following the two of them. He had only walked a dozen meters when it happened. He was already prepared and lunged forward in a single bound.
He grabbed the girl’s wrist, gave a sharp tug, and pulled her back. At the same time, he planted his feet firmly, stopping himself from overshooting.
And so, both of them narrowly escaped the disaster.
The car brushed past the corner of Han Yixuan’s clothes, just missing her. A second later, it lurched forward a short distance before finally coming to a stop.
The girl was so frightened her legs went weak. But when she looked up, she saw a familiar face that shocked her even more.
“Wang Heng! What are you doing here?”
“I just came out to use the restroom… Alright, looks like you’re okay. You two be careful.”
With that, Wang Heng pushed the girl in his arms toward her friend, turned, and ran off.
“Wait!”
Han Yixuan shouted, but she couldn’t stop the guy who was jogging away without even a backward glance. And after the shock, she felt as if her strength hadn’t returned, so she certainly couldn’t chase after him.
At that moment, the driver also came over. “Oh my god, young lady, you nearly scared me to death!”
“I’m sorry…”
The responsibility for this incident naturally fell on Han Yixuan for suddenly jaywalking, but since no one was actually hurt, the driver just gave her a couple of warnings, got back in his car, and drove away.
Han Yixuan, however, remained standing by the road, looking dazed.
Song Xiaoxia asked with concern, “What’s wrong? Are you still in shock?”
Han Yixuan shook her head.
“What is it then?” Song Xiaoxia asked again. “What are you thinking about?”
Han Yixuan glanced in the direction Wang Heng had run off, then looked at her friend and blinked. The girl said softly, “I think… this is bad.”
“What’s bad?”
“I think… I like him even more now.”
Song Xiaoxia immediately clutched her head. “Is this some kind of hero-saves-the-damsel thing? Do you two have to be so cliché!”
**
Wang Heng ran back to the entrance of the milk tea shop but didn’t go in immediately. He took out his phone and stared at the screen.
The message box had long since disappeared, but he felt that the Spacetime Administrator should be able to hear what he said.
“I think you’re setting me up…” Wang Heng mused. “This ‘correction mechanism,’ could it be that you’re the one pulling the strings?”
A few seconds later, the message box reappeared with a single sentence:
【How can you slander an innocent person out of thin air?】
