You on the other side of time

The busy tone from the receiver was still ringing in his ears. Si Yang silently hung up the phone, staring blankly into the distance. The traffic and voices on the main road in front of Jiuyan Bridge were blurred into a blur.

Up to this point, apart from his parents, sister, and brother with whom he had a life-or-death bond, it seems that everyone sees him as a clown, a clown who lies about everything he says, a clown nailed to the pillar of shame as a "murderer."

He could withstand the disdain and gossip from others.

What he cares about is when the cost of doing good deeds has become so high. Those who kick someone when they're down, those who fan the flames, those who spread rumors without distinguishing right from wrong—they never care about the truth, they only care about joining in the fun and kicking the weak, as if this is how they can demonstrate their "justice".

He could even clearly foresee his future; if no intervention was taken, he would most likely be permanently suspended from school and kept at home. Graduation would become a distant dream, and finding a job would be incredibly difficult—who would hire someone with a "gray history"? His family would also be labeled as "the perpetrator's family member," gradually falling into the abyss along with him.

"Could it be that all these years of hard work are going to be in vain?" Si Yang muttered to himself. He had dreams and obsessions. He wanted to study hard and see where his limits were. He wanted to use his own strength to restore the complete history of Jinchuan, which spanned more than two thousand years.

But now it seems that in ten years, he may be trapped in some dark and dreary factory, working day and night tightening screws.

He didn't think there was anything wrong with tightening screws; every profession deserves respect. Earning a living through labor, without stealing or robbing, is nothing shameful. But that was too far removed from his dreams. If he accepted his fate, his life, and the lives of his family, would truly be ruined.

No, he cannot admit defeat.

Si Yang took a deep breath, the cold air filling his lungs, then exhaled heavily. The white mist swirled before his eyes, its wide-open eyes and gaping mouth clearly resembling a monster about to devour him. He raised his right hand and gently grasped the mist, which vanished instantly like bubbles.

"Let me think about it some more." Si Yang forced himself to calm down, his chaotic mind slowly sorting through the existing clues.

In this correct timeline, the single mother woke up twice: once crying and searching for her child, and once saying "a life for a life," without naming names, but without saying a word for them. Even though she witnessed the child being thrown down by human traffickers, she acquiesced to the slanderous public opinion, allowing everyone to believe that she and her brother had pushed the child.

There's also Uncle Wang, who sells fruit. He said the woman moved in a few months ago, but the child only arrived two or three weeks ago, and cries are frequently heard at night. Why wouldn't a mother who claims to love her child more than anything keep the child with her? And even if the child is with her, why does she let her cry so much and ignore her?

Each time he traveled back in time, he was trapped on March 9th. The events that had already occurred seemed to be on fast-forward, always getting worse. Si Yang had reason to believe that if he couldn't find a breakthrough, the final outcome would most likely be death, because death was the end of all reincarnations.

In the past timeline, he made so many efforts to try to interfere with the future. He wrote countless "Don't meddle" messages and constantly reinforced this idea to those around him, but in the end, it seemed to have no effect whatsoever on the current predicament.

He met a girl named Song Wanxi, who rented a place in what should now be the apartment a single mother would be renting, a place the single mother had no idea where she was at the time.

He also interfered in Wen Jinxin's life, successfully turning him from a traffic auxiliary police officer into a police auxiliary police officer. This shows that past events can influence the future. His interference was not in vain.

So where exactly is the problem? Why is it that in the past timeline he was so certain that he wouldn't meddle anymore, but when he returned to the correct timeline, he was still trapped in an endless predicament, unable to break free?

Si Yang analyzed that this was most likely because Song Wanxi was still living in the place where a single mother should live, which caused the timeline to not develop as he predicted. The single mother appeared unexpectedly, and what would happen in the future happened again.

He glanced at his watch; it was already past five in the afternoon. He quickly pieced together the timeline and finally focused his attention on Uncle Wang, the fruit vendor. Perhaps finding Uncle Wang might uncover more information about single mothers.

His intuition told him that this single mother might not be as simple as she seemed, and her relationship with her daughter wasn't as good as she claimed. Since the human traffickers had vanished without a trace, could she be trying to use this incident to incite public opinion and blackmail their family?

The idea was too dark. But right now, Si Yang couldn't seem to find a more reasonable explanation. He had originally hoped that the single mother, after waking up, would have a change of heart and say a few words of justice for them. But now it seemed that was just a pipe dream. He could only rely on himself to uncover the truth step by step.

Si Yang grabbed a shared bicycle from the roadside and pedaled furiously towards the fruit shop Uncle Wang had mentioned. It was rush hour, the peak time for commuting to and from work and school, with people and cars thronging the streets, but he couldn't care less about anything else.

Last time, at the door of that small house, Uncle Wang told him the address of his fruit shop. At this time, he must be busy in the shop.

Following the navigation, Si Yang quickly arrived at the "Conscience Fruit" stall. He parked his bicycle and looked up to see Uncle Wang squatting on the ground, carefully peeling the bags off the apples one by one and arranging them on the stall.

The shop was tiny, only five or six square meters, crammed full. But the fruit outside was neatly arranged and easily visible.

The shop's location is actually quite good, at the corner of a crossroads with a good flow of people. But even during peak hours, not many people come to patronize it. Even when people do buy fruit, they mostly opt for mobile vendors, thinking, "They pay less for storefronts, so their fruit will be much cheaper."

Uncle Wang is keeping this little shop going; it seems like it's not easy for him.

"Uncle Wang, how much are the durians?" Si Yang asked hurriedly, but he regretted it as soon as the words left his mouth. His interaction with Uncle Wang was something he had already experienced, but in this timeline reversal, he and Uncle Wang did not know each other at all, let alone know that his surname was Wang.

Sure enough, Uncle Wang looked up and sized up Si Yang, then paused for several seconds, probably searching his memory for when he had gained such a regular customer.

But business people are shrewd after all. They don't care whether they know the customer or not. Once someone comes to buy something, they are a customer. Since they are there to give them money, they naturally won't ask any more questions.

Uncle Wang stood up, dusted off his hands, and said, "Grade A durian, 26.9 yuan per jin, guaranteed to fill the room when opened, or you don't have to pay if it's not plump."

As he spoke, he walked to the stall where durians were piled up, put on disposable gloves, and casually picked up a durian that had cracked slightly. "Young man, look at this one. Although it only has four compartments, each compartment is very plump. The flesh is sweet and creamy. It's definitely worth the price."

"Weigh him," Si Yang said succinctly. He hadn't come to buy fruit in the first place; buying durian was just an excuse to strike up a conversation. He just wanted to get to know Uncle Wang as quickly as possible and extract the information he needed.

He glanced instinctively into the cramped little shop. Although small, the lights were on, the floor was spotless, and the fruit was neatly piled. Uncle Wang's wife wasn't there. This made it much easier to talk; he didn't have to worry about anything.

He quickly thought of other ways to strike up a conversation, softened his tone, and said with a smile, "How's Liu Meiyue's studying lately? I've noticed she's been working quite hard, preparing for her postgraduate entrance exam."

He knew it was a weekday, and Liu Meiyue was definitely at school. Uncle Wang clearly doted on his daughter, and using her to get closer to her was undoubtedly the quickest way.

Anyway, even if he travels back in time again and this day comes again, Uncle Wang won't remember anything from this timeline, so he doesn't need to worry about being exposed.

Sure enough, when Liu Meiyue was mentioned, Uncle Wang's hand, which was breaking open a durian, suddenly paused.