Reborn, I Became a Male God - Chapter 55

The time it takes for an object to fall from a height is extremely short. Often, the human eye can’t even capture a complete image, let alone something like the slow-motion scenes in television or film, where one can even strike a pose mid-air.

When they saw something falling from above, Tan Yunshu and Jing Ling had just walked through the revolving doors of the Hualian Plaza. The object landed near the elevators, several meters away from them. The human brain often can’t keep up with the body’s reaction speed. She only felt the hand that had been holding hers let go after Jing Ling’s figure had already rushed forward.

How fast can a person really move? At a lower level, it would look like a trail of afterimages. At a higher level, one wouldn’t be able to see anything at all, as the speed completely exceeds the limits of human vision.

Tan Yunshu watched as a blur shot past in front of her, heading toward the elevator area, and just barely caught the falling object. But before her eyes could even register and piece together what she had seen, another object dropped with a terrified scream, and her retina caught it just in time. The two points of impact weren’t far from each other, and the figure reached out once again.

The entire process took less than ten seconds—only a few breaths.

During this time, Tan Yunshu’s mind was completely blank. Her gaze subconsciously followed the figure, and it took a long while before she came back to her senses and saw clearly that it was Jing Ling, who had entered the building with her just moments ago. Her body reacted faster than her mind; without thinking, she ran over.

“Jing Ling! Are you okay?!” Her voice trembled uncontrollably.

The young man turned to look at her and shook his head. “I’m alright. Help me check on them first.”

He said “alright” instead of “fine.” But she didn’t catch the subtlety at the moment. She instinctively followed his gaze and saw, on the smooth marble floor nearby, two children—one sitting, one lying down. The older one looked about three or four years old, and the younger about one or two. Both looked stunned, eyes wide open as if they were frightened.

“They…” Tan Yunshu could hardly believe it. She looked up at the upper floors, then back at the children. “They fell from above?”

“Mm,” the young man replied.

Tan Yunshu smoothed her skirt and crouched down to examine the children. She didn’t see any wounds on their heads, and she didn’t dare move their arms or legs in case of hidden injuries. So she could only ask gently, “Little ones, tell big sister—do you feel any pain anywhere?” She softened her voice to avoid scaring them. The younger child clearly didn’t understand much yet, so her attention was focused on the slightly older child.

The older one was a little girl of about three or four, wearing a dress and her hair in pigtails. Her eyes moved and looked at Tan Yunshu when she spoke. 

After staring blankly for a few seconds, she suddenly shut her eyes, opened her mouth, and burst into tears with a loud “Waa!” The younger child, who had been lying on the ground, seemed to be influenced by her and also started crying.

“Hey, don’t…” Tan Yunshu hadn’t expected the girl to start crying so suddenly and froze for a moment. Just as she was about to offer comfort, she felt something bump into her shoulder. Her body lost balance and she fell to the ground. Luckily, she had been squatting, so the fall wasn’t too hard. She was wearing a skirt, but also leggings underneath, so there was no wardrobe issue.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a figure rush to the children. He first picked up the child lying down, then pulled the sitting girl into his arms. “Tao Tao… Huan Huan… Daddy’s good children, thank goodness you’re alright… thank goodness…”

The little girl clung tightly to his neck, crying and calling out, “Waa… Da-Daddy… Waa…”

Tan Yunshu wasn’t hurt from the fall, but she was a bit dazed—she hadn’t expected such a turn of events. Only when a familiar voice sounded beside her did she snap out of it. “Are you alright?” It was Jing Ling. He crouched beside her, eyes filled with concern, though he didn’t reach out to help her up. She didn’t think much of it, just shook her head and stood up. During the movement, she accidentally noticed Jing Ling’s hands hanging unnaturally at his sides. She paused. “Your hands…” And in that moment, she finally realized: the children had fallen from a height—based on what she saw, at least the third floor. With gravity, even the relatively light weight of three- or four-year-old toddlers would produce a terrifying impact force. What’s more, Jing Ling caught the first child, and immediately after, rushed to catch the second.

No wonder when she asked if he was okay, he said “alright” instead of “fine.” No wonder he had her check on the kids instead of doing it himself. And no wonder, when she was knocked over just now, even though he was right there, he didn’t grab her in time, nor did he help her afterward…

It was all because his hands were injured—not because he didn’t want to, but because he couldn’t!

“Jing Ling, what’s wrong with your hands?” She instinctively reached out to examine his hands but stopped halfway, afraid of hurting him or making things worse.

She was flustered and panicked, a mess inside. But Jing Ling, the one injured, remained completely calm, as if he weren’t hurt at all. When he heard her question, he even smiled at her and said reassuringly, “Don’t worry. It’s not that serious.” 

Then he leaned close to her ear and whispered, “There are too many people here—don’t say my name. If I get recognized, it’ll be troublesome. The kids’ father is here now, so there’s nothing left for us to do. Let’s go. I remember there’s a hospital not far from here. I’ll just go get a cast.”

Despite how lightly he said it, Tan Yunshu didn’t believe him at all. He had a serious history of downplaying things—like answering her call in a hail of gunfire and pretending a huge explosion was just his roommate watching a movie. She had almost been fooled then.

So now, she didn’t believe a single word he said. She was sure it was just a well-meant lie to reassure her. But she agreed with the part about going to the hospital—and wished she could fly there instantly.

“Mm, let’s go to the hospital right now.”

But while the thought was beautiful, reality had other plans.

By now, the other people in the mall had caught on and realized something had happened. People on the first floor quickly gathered around. Since this was near the elevator, it was already a high-traffic area. Tan Yunshu looked up and saw they were surrounded by a thick crowd—so tightly packed it was nearly impossible to get out. Even regular people would struggle to squeeze through, let alone Jing Ling, whose hands were injured. If he forced his way through, it might cost him his hands entirely.

People on the second and third floors were leaning over the railings to look down. Most people love a spectacle—if one person is seen looking up, soon others will follow, even if there’s nothing there. In the mall, it was the same. People shopping saw the growing crowd at the railings and gathered too. Soon, the shared open spaces of the higher floors were filled with onlookers.

The mall responded quickly. Management and security came to assess the situation and began evacuating the people on the upper floors, fearing the accident was caused by equipment failure and worried that others might get hurt.

Even though the children weren’t visibly injured, the fact remained—it was an accident. The mall reported it to the police, and some of the bystanders also called the police, while others contacted the media. Soon, officers from the Cuihu District arrived, followed by reporters.

Consumers on the first to fourth floors were evacuated. The public areas and elevators/escalators between the fourth and first floors were cordoned off with police tape. No one was allowed near.

Tan Yunshu and Jing Ling originally wanted to leave with the others, but at the critical moment, the father who had been holding onto the children finally came to his senses. He looked around, quickly spotted Tan Yunshu in the crowd, and shouted, “Hey, young lady! Don’t go!” As he yelled, he reached out to grab her.

With police nearby, the instinctive reaction was to stop him. One officer reached out and was about to grab Tan Yunshu’s arm when someone stepped between them—it was Jing Ling. He looked at the officer trying to stop them and smiled. “Excuse me, is there something wrong?”

“Quick reflexes,” the officer commented, squinting slightly. “We need you to stay and cooperate with the investigation.”

The delay gave the children’s father time to approach, still holding them, face full of gratitude and speaking in a rush, “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for saving Tao Tao and Huan Huan! Thank you!”

Though the first to fourth floors were locked down, a crowd had already gathered outside the mall, and people on the higher floors were still watching. Clearly, talking out in the open was not ideal. The mall’s manager suggested moving the conversation to an office.

The parents and police agreed, but Tan Yunshu refused. “No. We need to go to the hospital first!” Her tone was firm, leaving no room for negotiation.

The children’s parents didn’t react immediately, but the police officer looked at her instinctively, then turned his eyes to Jing Ling. After a quick glance, his gaze settled on Jing Ling’s hands, and his expression changed with surprise.

“You caught both of them?”

Jing Ling nodded.

The officer turned and shouted to a colleague, “Xiao Liang, I’m taking them to the hospital. You keep things under control here!” Then, without waiting for a response, he told Jing Ling, “Let’s go. I’ll take you to the hospital. The kids too.”

As they were getting into the car, the officer casually said to Jing Ling, “I hope you don’t have a criminal record. Otherwise, things might get complicated.” His eyes rested on the area behind Jing Ling’s ear.