novelraw Chapter 157 Science
Chapter 157 Science
A divine miracle—
The term referred to wondrous acts or incomprehensible phenomena performed by the omnipotent God in religious scripture.
Jiang Ran had seen the word before in Old Tian’s diary, and had also heard it from the Killer in 2045.
But hearing the word today from Tian Xiaoli’s attending physician somehow felt almost absurd.
After all, this was a doctor who spent every day telling patients’ families not to fall into superstition. For someone like that to helplessly utter such a word, it was obvious that his worldview and understanding of life had taken a severe blow.
“So, Doctor, how is Tian Xiaoli’s condition now? Can she receive visitors?” Jiang Ran asked.
The attending physician nodded.
“Her condition right now is unbelievably good. If you want to see her, just go ahead—she’s in the ward.”
“I think you’ll be just as shocked as I was. It’s honestly hard to believe that a little girl who was still in a vegetative state just a few days ago is now clear-minded, articulate, and perfectly capable of normal conversation.”
Jiang Ran pressed his lips together.Just thinking that he was about to meet such an “unfamiliar” Tian Xiaoli made him genuinely nervous.
It all lacked any sense of reality. It was hard to believe that this reborn Tian Xiaoli was the same pitiful little girl who had once reduced Old Tian to tears.
“Oh, right. Be careful with what you say.”
The attending physician gave him a special reminder.
“Although Xiaoli has already pieced together some things about her father from fragments she overheard, we’re still trying to keep the truth from her.”
“You can only say it was our oversight. No one expected her hearing and thinking ability to recover this quickly. She heard our hallway discussion crystal clear.”
“Huh?”
That genuinely surprised Jiang Ran.
“Tian Xiaoli… already knows about Old Tian killing someone?”
“Yeah.”
The attending physician gave a helpless shrug.
“Can’t be helped. She really does know, which is why I’m telling you to watch what you say.”
“Even though her actual age is twenty-five—older than you—her psychological age and memory age are still stuck at where they were ten years ago, around fourteen or fifteen.”
Jiang Ran nodded.
“Okay, understood.”
With that, he left the doctor’s office and walked toward the rehabilitation ward.
The plaque on the ward door still read: Room 42 — Tian Xiaoli.
Jiang Ran glanced at the number one extra time before pushing the door open—
Bright sunlight flooded the room, curtains dancing in the breeze.
On the bed by the window sat a thin but radiant young girl, propped against the headboard, looking his way.
Tilting her head, she studied him with confusion.
“Big brother, you are—?”
It seemed the doctor had been right. Tian Xiaoli’s self-awareness was still that of a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old, which was why she called Jiang Ran “big brother” the moment she saw him.
“I, uh—I’m your father’s friend.”
He introduced himself.
“I’m a student at Donghai University. I knew your father before, and I’ve come to visit you at the hospital before too.”
“Donghai University!”
The moment she heard those words, Tian Xiaoli jolted.
“Then you must be really good at studying! My dream in the future is to get into Donghai University too!”
Jiang Ran said nothing, his emotions a tangled mess.
Old Tian had told him this before.
Only now, Tian Xiaoli still had no idea what kind of disastrous mess her father had left behind for her.
And without question, that mess—
Would affect the rest of Tian Xiaoli’s life.
“Come to think of it…”
Tian Xiaoli’s mood suddenly sank, and she lowered her head.
“They all said my dad is a murderer. That he killed a teacher from Donghai University…”
“Is… is that true? I clearly heard them talking about it outside, but when I asked them later, none of them would tell me.”
Jiang Ran stayed silent.
He genuinely did not know whether he should tell Tian Xiaoli the truth.
Old Tian was a murderer. That was a fact.
Even if he had done it for Tian Xiaoli, even if it had been to save his vegetative daughter, fact was still fact.
He was, without dispute, a killer.
“What kind of person was your dad in your memory?”
Jiang Ran changed the subject.
“What kind of impression do you have of him?”
Tian Xiaoli tapped her chin with one finger and stared at the ceiling in thought.
“My dad… was a very strong person.”
“I remember our family being really poor when I was little, and Grandpa and Grandma both passed away very early. Dad was the pillar of the family. He carried the whole household by himself.”
“He was always smiling, always saying there was nothing he couldn’t solve—but actually, I knew Dad was under a lot of pressure. He was in a lot of pain too.”
“There was one time I got up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, and I saw Dad sitting in the yard crying. I didn’t know why he was crying, but I had never seen him cry so sadly before, so I went over and called him.”
“The moment Dad saw me, he immediately wiped away his tears and smiled again. He said he got scared by a nightmare. I even laughed at him back then, saying Dad was a coward, and then Dad laughed with me.”
“It wasn’t until much later that I still didn’t know why he had cried. I only knew our family was really short on money during that time. Dad couldn’t borrow money from anyone, and he was always secretly sighing in the kitchen.”
“And after that… I only remember falling from the rooftop. When I opened my eyes again, I was already here.”
“And Dad… Dad was gone too.”
She clutched the blanket.
Her clear, innocent eyes looked at Jiang Ran.
“Big brother, if Dad killed someone, then he has to go to prison, right?”
“Yeah.”
[…]
Jiang Ran gave a quiet reply.
It seemed Tian Xiaoli only knew that Old Tian had committed a crime. She still did not know that he had already taken his own life.
Tian Xiaoli tightened both hands around the bedsheet.
“Then it must be a really long prison sentence, right?”
“Yeah.”
[…]
“When Dad finally gets out of prison, I’ll definitely be all grown up by then.”
“Yeah.”
[…]
“That’s good too. Once I grow up, I’ll make money, support the family, and take care of Dad instead!”
The thoughts of a child were always as changeable as the weather.
Just moments ago Tian Xiaoli had tears shimmering in her eyes, yet now, as if she had imagined some happy future scene, she smiled instead.
“Even though the doctors and nurses all say Dad is a bad person.”
She turned her head to look at the blue sky and white clouds outside the window.
“But in my heart—”
“Dad will always be the best dad.”
When Jiang Ran came out of Tian Xiaoli’s room, his mood was low.
It was not because of their conversation itself—
Her thoughts were completely those of an innocent child. The gap in their mental maturity was so large there was hardly anything to discuss. Aside from a series of “yeahs,” Jiang Ran had barely said anything.
The real reason his mood had sunk was how deeply shocked he was by Tian Xiaoli’s condition.
There was not the slightest trace of frailty left in her.
Not the slightest trace of a vegetative patient.
Back on that rainy rooftop, Old Tian had once said that the Priest’s promise to him was this:
Tian Xiaoli would wake up immediately and live again like a normal girl, welcoming a new life.
That promise had truly been fulfilled word for word, flawlessly.
And that inevitably made Jiang Ran wonder—
[Faced with a Mutual Aid Society of Regrets this powerful, almost as if divinely assisted, if Cheng Mengxue really was sent by them, do I have even the slightest chance of winning?]
This sense of powerlessness felt like an ant facing a towering mountain.
No strength to resist at all.
Before he knew it—
Head lowered, he had already walked into Zhang Yang’s hospital room.
Zhang Yang’s room was on the same floor as Tian Xiaoli’s, and Jiang Ran had originally planned to stop by on the way.
When he entered, he found Zhang Yang lying there alone.
“Where’s your wife?” Jiang Ran looked around.
“At work.”
Zhang Yang answered.
“I’m completely fine taking care of myself now. A few more days in bed, and I’ll be discharged around National Day. No need for your teacher’s wife to keep looking after me.”
“Oh, okay.”
Jiang Ran walked around the bed, sat in the chair beside it, picked up a fruit knife, and began peeling an apple.
As the strips of peel kept falling, the only thing replaying in his mind was those two words—
Divine miracle.
Before this, hearing the Killer talk about it had given him no real sense of reality.
But after seeing Tian Xiaoli’s condition today—
Jiang Ran, just like the attending physician, had fallen into deep confusion.
“Dingdang Cat?”
Zhang Yang clearly noticed something was wrong with Jiang Ran’s mood and turned his head.
“What’s wrong, my great disciple? Why do you seem so down today? What happened?”
“Nothing.”
Jiang Ran kept peeling the apple.
“It’s just that… I feel like I might be starting to not believe in science anymore.”
“What kind of nonsense are you talking about!”
Zhang Yang was so startled he nearly bounced out of bed.
“Are you kidding me? Your teacher is still waiting for you to shake the academic world! And you’re already retreating before you’ve even begun?”
“Do you know about Tian Xiaoli?”
Jiang Ran shook his head.
“She’s on the same floor as you. The daughter of the murderer who killed Professor Feng.”
“I know.”
Zhang Yang was not surprised.
“The whole hospital’s talking about her now. Woke up from a vegetative state and recovering insanely fast.”
“Do you think something like this is scientific?”
Jiang Ran challenged.
“A patient who was in a ten-year coma, with brain atrophy, basically written off by experts worldwide. Suddenly wakes up, and within a few days her brain is fully regrown, within a few days she’s back to being a completely normal person with flawless speech and behavior.”
“So what?”
Zhang Yang looked genuinely puzzled.
“What’s the problem?”
“Is that scientific?”
Jiang Ran asked again.
“Professor Zhang, even if you’re not a medical expert, from basic common sense, do you really think Tian Xiaoli’s situation can be explained by science?”
“What can’t be explained?”
Zhang Yang dismissed it.
He shifted his hips, leaned against the headboard, and sat upright.
“Jiang Ran, let me ask you something. Did anything about Tian Xiaoli violate the law of conservation of matter? Did her brain and flesh appear out of thin air?”
Jiang Ran froze.
“Well… no.”
He answered honestly.
“Even during the vegetative period, she was constantly receiving nutrient infusions. The doctor even said her appetite these past few days has been absurdly huge.”
Zhang Yang smiled faintly.
“Then did anything violate the law of conservation of energy? Are her cells dividing at some speed far beyond normal humans? Or did she suddenly bulk up like a Super Saiyan, stand up, and start playing basketball?”
Ah.
Jiang Ran actually laughed.
“Of course not. She’s recovering quickly, sure, but what are you even talking about—her changes are happening little by little, getting better day by day. I just saw her. Her complexion is much better, but her arms and legs are still thin. She still can’t even get out of bed to exercise.”
“Then there you have it!”
Professor Zhang Yang leaned back and spread his hands.
“A little girl who hasn’t violated the conservation of energy, hasn’t violated the conservation of matter, and whose physical data is all recovering gradually within biologically permissible limits—”
“So tell me, Dingdang Cat, where exactly is this unscientific? What part of it violates science?”
Zhang Yang’s roundabout sophistry left Jiang Ran speechless.
“Y-you can’t argue like that, Professor Zhang! It’s not just me saying this. Even the attending physician thinks this is way too unscientific.”
Zhang Yang waved a hand impatiently.
“Doctors aren’t scientists. Their understanding mainly comes from clinical experience, so their thinking is still too narrow.”
[…]
“As researchers, we must understand one thing—[If it exists, it is reasonable. If it exists, it is scientific.]”
“Our universe, our world, is scientific by nature. Whether it’s black holes with energy and matter magnitudes far beyond our understanding, or the faster-than-light expansion of the universe—every last thing still has to obey the most fundamental laws of physics and science.”
“You’re saying Tian Xiaoli contains more energy than a pulsar, a neutron star, or a central black hole? And even pulsars, neutron stars, and central black holes must obey physical law down to the slightest degree!”
“So, Jiang Ran, if only you’d broaden your perspective and look farther, you’d realize how foolish your thought process is—”
[You live in a scientific universe. How can you not believe in science? Or do you think tiny little humans can shake the universe’s foundational constants and parameters?]
At that moment, Jiang Ran felt dazed.
Professor Zhang Yang’s stern lecture brought back the reverence Jiang Ran had once felt for the Bookworm in the 2045 prison.
During this period, Professor Zhang Yang’s goofy jokes and deadpan humor had almost completely worn away that “teacher like a father” emotion.
But at this moment, Professor Zhang Yang almost seemed to be glowing.
This was the voice of a scholar who revered science, respected science, and defended science.
The voice of a steadfast materialist warrior.
Even hospitalized on the same floor as Tian Xiaoli, Professor Zhang Yang’s faith in science remained utterly unmoved.
Suddenly, Jiang Ran also felt Zhang Yang made perfect sense.
When all was said and done, it was only a vegetative patient waking up.
Nothing had violated any law of the universe. It certainly did not belong to the realm of magic or witchcraft, much less count as a divine miracle.
[There are no gods in this world. My enemies are not gods either.]
“Professor Zhang.”
Jiang Ran shook his head.
“If someone who had clearly died suddenly stood before you again, would you still firmly believe that was science?”
“It would necessarily be science.”
Zhang Yang answered without hesitation.
“Because a dead person cannot come back to life under any circumstances.”
“Unless it’s the Worldline Theory framework I taught in general education class. But even worldline transition does not count as reviving the dead, because in the new worldline, that person never died in the first place.”
“If there was never any death to begin with, then how could it be called resurrection? So I can tell you clearly: everything in this world is, without exception, scientific.”
“If someone who was definitively dead really appeared before your eyes again, then from a scientific standpoint, you shouldn’t have the slightest doubt.”
Zhang Yang pushed up his glasses and declared with absolute certainty:
[This person can only be fake! It is absolutely impossible for this to be a genuine resurrection!]