Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 372 The Trolley Problem
"Teacher Ouyang, can't you sleep?"

The room was pitch black, except for the faint light from the bedside lamp, which illuminated a small area around the bed.

Despite the doors and windows being tightly closed and the curtains drawn, the noisy rain and occasional flashes of white light outside were enough to demonstrate how heavy the rain was.

It's so noisy I can't sleep.

Ouyang Lianyu tried to forget the terrifying woman she had seen that night and fall asleep as soon as possible, but the more she tried to forget, the more she couldn't. In addition, she had watched a horror movie that night, and many scary images kept flashing through her mind. She tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep.

It was already midnight. Because she was worried about waking Xiao Xiaoxiao next to her, she moved very gently when she turned over, but it seemed that she still woke her up.

Upon hearing the sound, Ouyang Lianyu immediately felt apologetic and said softly, "I'm sorry, Xiaoxiao, did I disturb you?"

"No." Xiao Xiaoxiao had her back to her, half her head buried in the blanket, and her voice sounded muffled. "I just can't sleep anyway."

Ouyang Lianyu smiled wryly and said apologetically, "It's all the teacher's fault for making such a big move."

“Teacher Ouyang, don’t always look for the reasons within yourself. It has nothing to do with you. I’ve always had insomnia.” Xiao Xiaoxiao said while yawning.

"Insomnia...is it because something is on your mind?" Ouyang Lianyu asked worriedly.

"Things on my mind...you could say that."

"Can you talk to the teacher about it? It's okay if you don't want to."

"Actually, it's not really a big deal."

Xiao Xiaoxiao hesitated for a moment, seemingly unsure how to describe her feelings, "Well... I'm just a little conflicted."

"Tangled?"

"Yeah, it's like a child who longs to grow up, fantasizing about being able to do many things they couldn't do in the past, eat snacks they couldn't eat as a child, and play with toys they couldn't play with as a child. But once they actually grow up, it seems like none of these things matter anymore."

"The teacher understands how you feel."

Ouyang Lianyu listened patiently and gently comforted her, "But even if things from your childhood lose their meaning, there are still many new things to try when you grow up. Since you can't fulfill your past wishes, then try your best to achieve your current wishes... So are you currently experiencing the troubles of adolescence?"

"What do you mean by puberty? I'm all grown up now, okay?"

Xiao Xiaoxiao raised her voice to express her dissatisfaction, hesitated for a moment, and muttered, "But it doesn't seem like it's entirely wrong to say that..."

Ouyang Lianyu smiled but did not reply, instead waiting quietly for the other party to continue.

After a moment of silence, Xiao Xiaoxiao continued, "My analogy may not be quite right, but it's roughly like the 'trolley problem'... Of course, it's definitely not a life-or-death decision."

Ouyang Lianyu suppressed her smile; of course she knew what the trolley problem was.

On a track, there is a runaway trolley that is speeding along at high speed, and the driver has no way to stop it.

What's terrifying is that there were five people tied up in front of the tram, and if no action was taken, these five people would surely die.

The only thing the driver could do was pull the lever to change the tram's track, but then another person was tied to the other track.

On one side are five lives, on the other is one life.

In other words, no matter which track the driver chooses, someone will eventually die; the only difference is the number of casualties.

This can be considered an unsolvable problem, because no matter what angle the choice is made, someone will eventually die, and the value of life obviously cannot be simply judged by the number of people.

Whether five lives or one life is more important, or whether they are equal, is something that cannot be calculated.

The key point is that, no matter what choice is made, the other outcome is difficult for drivers and the public to accept, which is the trolley problem.

Ouyang Lianyu had pondered this question for a long time, but still could not find an answer.

Ethical problems differ from mathematical problems, which always have a precise answer and will lead to the same result no matter how they are derived; however, ethical problems may not lead to the same answer even if they are derived in the exact same way.

Therefore, she prefers science and mathematics.

In most things, she expects a precise answer.

Gathering her thoughts, Ouyang Lianyu tentatively asked, "You mean you're facing a problem with no single correct solution, and no matter what you choose, you won't be satisfied in the end, right?"

"As expected of Teacher Ouyang." Xiao Xiaoxiao nodded. "That's indeed the case."

“No wonder you’re conflicted,” Ouyang Lianyu said with a wry smile. “If you were in the same situation, even your teacher probably wouldn’t know what to choose.”

She didn't press Xiao Xiaoxiao about the "trolley problem" she was facing. If she wanted to, Xiao Xiaoxiao would tell her the problem on her own initiative, but if she didn't want to, there was no point in asking.

As if she had suddenly thought of something interesting, Xiao Xiaoxiao said smugly, "Teacher, you teach math and you are very good at solving math problems, but when it comes to solving similar difficult problems, your experience may not be as rich as mine."

Ouyang Lianyu chuckled and said gently, "Then, teacher humbly asks, if I were to face a similar problem in the future, what should I do?"

"It's simple, just use the process of elimination."

Xiao Xiaoxiao pulled the blanket down a little, revealing her slightly pale face. "If it's a decision you'll definitely regret, then don't choose it no matter what."

Her tone was quite serious.

Ouyang Lianyu paused for a moment, then said softly, "I see... What if you regret both decisions?"

"I haven't had a chance to learn this yet..."

"what?"

"It's nothing, let me think about it."

Xiao Xiaoxiao changed the subject, and after a moment of consideration, said, "If you'll regret both choices, then choose the one that makes you more satisfied. You'll regret it anyway, so why not make yourself happier?" "That makes sense, I understand, teacher."

Ouyang Lianyu smiled, and she wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but she felt that Xiaoxiao seemed a little different from usual.

"Have you tried the process of elimination for the current problem?" she asked.

Xiao Xiaoxiao shook her head and reached out to touch the peach blossom earring on her earlobe: "It's not time to use it yet."

Her head-shaking motion wasn't large, but Ouyang Lianyu still noticed it. The soft hair tickled her neck, so she turned around and gently embraced the petite girl in front of her.

"Teacher Ouyang?" Xiao Xiaoxiao's body trembled.

"Xiaoxiao, you're thinking about something that makes you very unhappy, aren't you?"

"No..."

"Don't lie to the teacher, I have a very keen intuition in this area."

"Really do not have."

"Yeah."

Ouyang Lianyu didn't press further, but simply smiled gently and said softly, "It's best if there isn't one."

She paused for a moment, then said softly, "If you have anything on your mind, you can come and talk to your teacher anytime."

After a moment of silence, Xiao Xiaoxiao softly hummed in agreement.

She wasn't used to being held in someone's arms, so she shifted uncomfortably and said, "By the way, Teacher Ouyang, could you go to Han Zhou's room now? Just tell him I left my medicine there."

"What medicine?" Ouyang Lianyu was taken aback.

"Medication to relieve insomnia symptoms."

"Okay, wait a moment, I'll be right back."

Upon hearing that it was such an important medicine, Ouyang Lianyu immediately took it seriously. Without even asking why Xiao Xiaoxiao's medicine was with Han Zhou, she first sent Han Zhou a message, then got out of bed, put on a coat, and left the room.

The door closed, leaving only Xiao Xiaoxiao huddled under the covers in the room.

The desk lamp emitted a faint light, dispelling the darkness beside the bed.

After an unknown amount of time, a murmur filled with disappointment suddenly echoed from inside the room.

"Honestly, I thought I'd grow taller as I got older."

……

Zhong Ling dislikes thunderstorms, or rather, she is somewhat afraid of them, especially a thunderstorm like tonight with its fierce winds and torrential rain.

Because this kind of weather always reminds her of that terrible night.

She knew that her sister also harbored resentment towards this kind of weather, but she always refused to show it in front of her in order to appear strong.

Zhong Ling had thought more than once that she was a useless person, always relying on her sister but never being able to be her sister's support.

Actually, she really wanted to see her older sister scold her once, just like she often coldly told her junior that he was a bad guy.

This means that her sister no longer needs to hide or suppress her emotions in front of her.

However, it's best not to be too fierce, otherwise it might be a bit scary.

Zhong Ling didn't know if she had fallen asleep or not. She seemed to have many dreams in her hazy state, but she couldn't remember any of them when she opened her eyes.

Turning her head, she saw that her older sister was already fast asleep. Looking at that gentle profile, she couldn't help but feel at ease.

But when she looked at the other person's ears, which were more beautiful than most people's, her mood quickly plummeted.

Just then, accompanied by the familiar message notification sound, the screen of the phone on the bedside table suddenly lit up.

Zhong Ling panicked a little, worried that the loud noise would wake her sister, so she quickly picked up her phone and turned down the volume, while checking who would be sending her messages so late.

Teacher Ouyang?

Seeing the profile picture and the message content, she couldn't help but feel confused. She didn't understand what kind of medicine Teacher Ouyang was talking about, or why he wanted to get it from her, since she clearly hadn't brought any medicine with her.

She tried to unlock her phone to reply to messages, but couldn't. It wasn't until the screen was locked for ten minutes that she finally realized the problem—

It seems she picked up the wrong phone.

This isn't her phone; it belongs to her junior.

The reason that message notification sound sounded familiar is because it's the Fetion notification sound that my junior often uses.

Thinking of this, Zhong Ling felt both embarrassed and anxious. She realized that she must have mistaken the phone on her junior's bed for her own. Her junior must be very worried now, and she had to return the phone as soon as possible.

But what if the junior is already asleep? Will I disturb him...?

Zhong Ling hesitated for a moment, but decided to take her phone to Han Zhou's room to check. She also told him about Gu Zheng's strange behavior that evening—she had been so engrossed in chatting with her sister that she had completely forgotten about it.

Oh, and I also need to tell the junior what Teacher Ouyang just said...

With that thought in mind, she made up her mind, quietly lifted the covers and got out of bed. Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly hesitated, worried that her sister would be too anxious if she woke up and couldn't see her. So she took out paper and pen from her bag, left a note under the lamp, and then put on her coat and left.

(End of this chapter)