The Secret Realm of Time, His and Her Life Through the Changes

Chapter 228 Simple love is no longer pure

Shang Yibo felt as if a huge stone was pressing on his chest, both suffocating and painful. "You're using me," he said in a low, suppressed voice.

Jian Zheng laughed unrestrainedly, "Being able to be used means you have value, and you should feel fortunate about that."

"Are you still the Jian Zheng I know?" A hint of confusion and disappointment flashed in Shang Yibo's eyes.

“You’re not the Wang Jie I know anymore.” Jian Zheng’s tone was somewhat cynical. “They say time is a butcher’s knife, but you’re still stuck in the same place. For me, twenty years have passed, and everything has changed.”

He strolled ahead with a lazy gait, then turned around and saw Shang Yibo still standing there in a daze. He chuckled teasingly, "Come on, big star. I'll take you home. Don't let it interfere with your filming. Don't forget, I also invested in it."

"You can leave." Shang Yibo's voice revealed a hint of determination.

"Are you sure? This is the suburbs, it's hard to get a taxi here." Jian Zheng raised an eyebrow, his eyes narrowing behind his glasses.

"If we're not on the same path, don't force ourselves to walk together. Take care of yourself."

Jian Zheng took two steps back towards Shang Yibo, nodded, and then turned and left.

Shang Yibo stood alone at the entrance of the science park, feeling empty inside, as if he had lost something important.

He finally understood what had happened twenty years ago, and seemed to sense that his appearance at that time was a preordained arrangement. His biological father, whom he had never met—Yin Bei—seemed to be trying to tell him through all of this that he hadn't intentionally abandoned them.

Thinking of this, Shang Yibo felt relieved, but he still felt an unbearable dull pain in his heart.

The phone rang. Shang Yibo took out his phone, and the screen showed that it was Zhou Yanruo calling.

He swiped his phone open and weakly said "hello".

A surprised voice came from the other end of the phone: "Jian Zheng sent me an address and told me to pick you up there. Why are you going there?"

Shang Yibo replied, "Then come pick me up, we'll talk when we meet."

Zhou Yanruo said, "I've already set off. The navigation shows it's another thirty minutes away. Why don't you find a coffee shop nearby and sit down? Don't wander around."

Shang Yibo understood Zhou Yanruo's meaning; she was worried that being photographed by others would cause him unnecessary trouble by wandering alone in the suburbs. So he said, "I'll walk along the road. There's no one on the road at this time, so it should be safer than the coffee shop."

Zhou Yanruo hummed in agreement. "I'll be there soon."

Shang Yibo said, "No rush, drive carefully and be safe."

*

Zhou Yanruo was quite anxious. Jian Zheng sent an address and left a message: "Go here to pick up Shang Yibo." He didn't say anything else.

She had a vague feeling that something was going on and was eager to know what had happened, but she simply didn't want to ask Jian Zheng.

Around noon, Mr. Fang called her to tell her to pick up Hong Yun from the airport, and specifically instructed her not to bring a driver, but to drive herself.

Whether Mr. Fang personally arranged for her to pick up Hong Yun from the airport was out of respect for Hong Yun or for some other reason, Mr. Fang didn't say, and she didn't feel comfortable asking.

I just had a vague feeling that something was wrong, a premonition that something might happen.

Sure enough, upon seeing Hong Yun, this usually carefree young lady became very serious. As soon as she got in the car, she asked if she had already made plans to meet Shang Yibo that evening.

“I made plans to have dinner with Yibo.” Seeing that Hong Yun was alone, Zhou Yanruo asked again, “Wasn’t Jingyi supposed to be here for the audition? I don’t see her.”

Jingyi is a newly signed artist with Bobo Candy Media, and she came to the film set for an audition. Originally, Zhou Yanruo planned to let Jingyi come by herself, and she would make the arrangements from here. However, Hong Yun insisted on personally taking care of the artist. Zhou Yanruo thought that Hong Yun had a spoiled princess temperament and was probably just visiting the film set for fun, so she didn't insist on objecting.

Hong Yun said, "Jingyi will arrive on a later flight. By the way, can you arrange for a driver to pick her up and take her directly to the film crew's hotel? Have Ding Jiajia take her to the audition tomorrow morning."

Zhou Yanruo replied, "I will arrange it. Is President Hong also staying at the same hotel as us? We have booked the executive floor and there are still rooms available."

Hong Yun said, "No need, your place is too far from the airport. I'm taking an early morning flight to Yuehai tomorrow."

Zhou Yanruo asked, "You're only staying one night? What's the rush?"

Hong Yun replied, "Take me to the Royal Dynasty Hotel first, and we'll talk when I see Yibo."

Zhou Yanruo took Hong Yun to the Royal Dynasty Hotel in the city center and helped her with her luggage. "President Hong, please rest for a while. I'll pick you up tonight."

Hong Yun took the suitcase and then turned to ask, "Just the three of us tonight?"

Standing by the car, Zhou Yanruo replied, "Yes, I didn't make any plans with anyone else."

“Okay,” Hong Yun replied briefly.

Only after watching Hong Yun enter the hotel did Zhou Yanruo check the messages on her phone that had been ringing for a while.

*

As darkness fell, Shang Yibo wandered aimlessly along the relatively quiet road. There weren't many vehicles on this road, but they all drove very fast, occasionally whizzing past him and creating a whooshing sound.

In the distance, a white Alphard minivan approached him and flashed its headlights twice. Then, the car turned around and stopped beside him.

With a "whoosh," the automatic car door opened, and Zhou Yanruo, sitting in the driver's seat, turned her head and softly called out, "Yibo, get in the car."

Shang Yibo did not choose to sit in the back, but went straight to the passenger seat, opened the door, and sat down.

Zhou Yanruo said apologetically, "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. I'm not used to driving this minivan, so I was a little delayed on the way."

Shang Yibo replied listlessly, "It's alright."

Zhou Yanruo then added, "We're short on time, so we won't go back to the hotel. We'll go straight to pick up Hong Yun. After we get there, we'll have dinner and then head straight to the film set."

"Okay," Shang Yibo replied briefly.

Zhou Yanruo noticed that Shang Yibo was not very talkative and seemed a little down. She wanted to ask him why Jian Zheng had brought him here, but she swallowed the words back.

She stole a glance at Shang Yibo sitting next to her. In the darkness, his handsome jawline appeared even more defined under the flickering light, and his tightly pursed lips revealed the turmoil in his heart.

Shang Yibo stared blankly ahead, lost in thought, yet he could still feel Zhou Yanruo's gaze fixed on him.

The stories Zhang Qian had just told him echoed in his mind: about Professor Zhou and his wife, and about his biological father, Yin Bei.

He couldn't help but ponder the fate between him and Zhou Yanruo. What kind of coincidence brought them together, yet led them into their current predicament?

If feelings could be categorized, Shang Yibo truly didn't know which category his feelings for Zhou Yanruo belonged to at this moment. Simple love, mixed with this relationship, was no longer pure, and now it also gave him a slight sense of guilt. He didn't like this feeling, yet he couldn't shake it off.

He himself can't explain it clearly.