Do REST only uses search to retrieve lists - SharePoint

I know that I can use search REST api to fetch data from SharePoint. But is there a way to get a list without having to index the list?

I'm having a problem that search (Continues crawl) is to slow to index the list. I'm trying to find out if I can fetch a list from a user using REST instead of a Content Search Web part. The data is in another site collection.