You on the other side of time

"Song Wanxi, she's a really good prospect, but too stubborn." Xu Qingwan chuckled, pausing her hand movements. "Actually, in terms of real ability, if she just memorized the manual, she could do it in a week or two and easily get in..."

As she spoke, she continued chopping vegetables, her eyes becoming more serious. "Once, I happened to be there during an interview and listened in for a while. The teacher's evaluation was that she was a clever girl, but always too opinionated and unwilling to change. For example, the birds on the Sun Tree were clearly for sacrificial purposes, but she interpreted them as birds wanting to go home, and she was incredibly stubborn... things like that. Actually, it really doesn't need to go through so many interviews."

"So you're not going to help?" Si Yang asked expressionlessly. He had no interest in listening to irrelevant details; he only cared about the outcome. Over the years, he had grown accustomed to his nagging mother. At this moment, he had only one thought in his mind: could Song Wanxi get this opportunity, and could she earn more money through it? And could he obtain more clues because of it?

"If my son speaks up, I have the world at my fingertips. I must help him." Xu Qingwan sighed, a hint of helplessness in her voice.

As soon as she finished speaking, she leaned closer, her eyes gleaming with undisguised gossip. "So, what's your relationship?"

"She's a very important friend of mine." Si Yang lowered his head and pondered for a moment before slowly speaking, "She's also Yingying's friend. Her family's financial situation is really bad. If possible, see if we can introduce her to some part-time jobs during her spare time."

"Oh my, Yangyang's finally figured it out!" The mother, the family's gossip queen, had never believed in pure friendship between men and women, especially not her stubborn son. For him to make an exception for a girl—there must be something fishy going on. But after her initial exclamation, she quickly forced herself to calm down. After all, her son had finally come to his senses; she couldn't let him be frightened.

"That's all." Si Yang's hands moved much faster, and he quickly finished picking the water spinach. "Old Xu, do what you think is best, and don't ask too many questions." After saying that, he didn't linger and turned to walk towards the bedroom.

He lay flat on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, his mind still a jumbled mess. The timeline repeatedly overwhelmed him; he wandered around like a headless fly, unable to find a way out. He had warned himself countless times not to meddle, but when he stumbled into Song Wanxi's unwavering resolve, he simply couldn't remain detached.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door, and Xu Qingwan's voice rang out from outside: "Yangyang, open the door, I have something for you."

Si Yang got up, opened the door a crack, and saw Xu Qingwan hand him a neatly folded newspaper with the words "Jinchuan Metropolitan Daily" printed on the cover.

"There is a paper published by Song Wanxi here, about the lack of writing in the ancient Jinchuan civilization. She mentioned this topic in my class two months ago, and I thought it was a novel idea. I didn't expect her to actually publish it."

She paused, then added, "I know you're also planning to write your graduation thesis in this direction. You complained to me before about how hard it was to find information. I've put some of the information I collected in newspapers. See if you can use it?"

She thought Si Yang's earlier frustration was due to his graduation thesis, and wanted to lend her son a hand.

"Thank you, Lao Xu." Si Yang opened the door a crack, took the newspaper, glanced at it for a few seconds, and without bothering to read it carefully, casually tucked it into his folder where he collected research materials. He knew that Song Wanxi's paper was well-written, with sharp arguments and sufficient evidence, and that it would indeed be of great help to his graduation thesis, but he simply didn't have the extra energy to work on it right now.

Si Yang was exhausted, both physically and mentally. Without finding a single mother, everything he had done was in vain. Although he repeatedly warned himself not to meddle, the relentless passage of time relentlessly brought him down time and time again.

The single mother likely appears suddenly, and he is likely overwhelmed with sympathy, so in the end, the future remains unchanged each time.

He planned to rest for a few minutes until he felt better before going to Tianluo Real Estate Agency. If a single mother is renting, she'll most likely use a rental agency, and Tianluo is the only legal agency in the area. But he was facing a problem: how to ask the agency about this person…

……

The biting cold wind entered Si Yang's nostrils, causing him to sneeze. His mind was extremely foggy, and he struggled to open his eyes.

The familiar dormitory, the familiar upper bunk, the familiar cold wind. Without even thinking, he was back on that suffocating March 9th.

The dorm room was empty; his roommates must have gone to the library, this time without even a word. The balcony window was wide open, letting in a blast of cold wind that made his forehead ache. He knew his roommates were probably doing it on purpose, but what right did he have to resist? After all, who wants to share a dorm with a "murder suspect"?

Si Yang paused for two seconds, and once his mind was fully clear, he immediately grabbed his phone and dialed Wen Jinxin's number. The call was answered quickly, but it wasn't Wen Jinxin's familiar voice on the other end; instead, he heard a heated argument.

"Let me make this clear to you, Si Yang is fine, stop smearing him here."

This is Wen Jinxin's voice.

"Bullshit, where's the evidence? He said the human traffickers haven't been caught yet. You guys work overtime every day, what criminals have you seen? He's clearly the criminal himself." Another voice was sharp and sarcastic.

"Wen Jinxin, are you out of your mind? What are you even protecting him for? You ate his rice, and you've already received a warning. If you cause any more trouble because of him, you'll be fired before your probation period is over!"

"..."

The argument continued, and Si Yang listened quietly. He roughly understood that Wen Jinxin was arguing with his friend or colleague, risking being fired to defend him.

Si Yang's brows furrowed involuntarily, his guilt deepening. His situation was already bad enough; did he really want even his closest loved ones to be implicated because of him? He dared not think about it, nor could he bear to.

"Brother Yang, wait a minute, I'll call you back in a bit." Wen Jinxin hung up the phone cleanly and efficiently.

Si Yang stared blankly at the blacked-out phone screen for a moment. The screen reflected an unfamiliar face, pale, with bloodshot eyes and a few conspicuous white hairs on its forehead.

He rolled over and got off the top bunk, only to find a message from his counselor on WeChat.

Si Yang, remember to submit your graduation thesis on time.

A hint of surprise rose in Si Yang's heart. The previous two times he returned to this correct timeline, once his counselor subtly hinted at him taking a leave of absence, and the other time he was bluntly told to withdraw voluntarily. But this time, the counselor only reminded him to submit his graduation thesis, without saying a word about taking a leave of absence.

He knew perfectly well that this couldn't possibly be due to the school having a change of heart, nor could it be because the pressure from public opinion had lessened. It was highly likely that Xu Qingwan had pulled some strings again. Although his mother was nagging, she always protected him and Si Chuying. Even with all the rumors circulating outside, Xu Qingwan's position in the archaeological community remained unshakeable, and the school simply couldn't refuse her request.

I will submit it on time.

Si Yang replied. With his abilities, his graduation thesis should have been in the final stages by now, but it was missing some key arguments, which was why it hadn't been finalized yet.

Since Xu Qingwan had gone to such great lengths to protect his studies, no matter how frustrated or helpless he felt, he couldn't give up now. He took a deep breath, took out his folder containing collected information, and remembered that in the timeline that had just passed, Xu Qingwan had given him a newspaper with Song Wanxi's thesis on it; perhaps he could find some arguments in it.

He searched through the newspaper several times, but the section that should have featured Song Wanxi's thesis had been replaced with an unimportant article titled "On the Origin of Jinchuan Hot Pot Cuisine," which was full of everyday life and did not mention the ancient civilization of Jinchuan, nor did it contain the name of Song Wanxi.