My girlfriend is from the future!

The next day.

When He Tianran woke up in his bedroom in Nanshan Jiadi, staring at the familiar yet unfamiliar ceiling, he was still somewhat dazed.

The morning light was faint outside the window, and the light filtered through the gaps in the heavy velvet curtains, casting a tranquil band of light at the foot of the bed.

The man threw back the covers, sat on the edge of the bed, and stood barefoot on the floor. After a moment of blankness, he got up and drew back the curtains. Instantly, sunlight poured in, and a cool morning breeze poured in. It was a rare good day in winter.

He Tianran looked back at the bedroom's layout. The air here seemed to flow slower than in the outside world, carrying an old, dusty smell called "memories".

In the corner stood the guitar he had treasured during junior high, now with a broken neck and rusty strings; on the bookshelf were neatly arranged rows of yellowed comic books and game discs; and under the glass of the desk were several youthful photos of him when he still had baby fat.

Everything here is too "youthful," every corner is frozen in time at the age when he hadn't learned to be mature and would hide under the covers and cry because of his parents' arguments.

"Dad, have you never apologized to anyone?"

The words echoed in my mind again, carrying the dull ache of a hangover.

He Tianran walked to the window, his fingers tracing the dusty figurines and models on the windowsill. He couldn't help but ask himself: Who was it that asked that question last night?
Is he the "writer" who, even after taking over the body, remains rational and calm, yet still harbors a certain aversion and alienation towards the original family? Or is he the "teenager" who has always been suppressed deep within his soul, never growing up, and yearning for an "I'm sorry" to heal his childhood trauma?
Or perhaps... there is no distinction at all.

When faced with the behemoth that is He Panshan and such a family, he is just He Tianran, just a son trying to get the last bit of warmth.

"squeak--"

The door was pushed open a crack from the outside, and the housekeeper, Wang Ma, appeared in the doorway with a kind face.

"Are you awake?"

"……Um."

"Wake up so early?"

"I'm used to it."

"That'll be just in time to have breakfast with your dad."

Wang Ma didn't say much. She gently pushed open the door with her elbow and walked in, carrying a perfectly pressed suit that He Tianran had specially changed into for the family dinner yesterday.

She carefully placed the expensive haute couture suit on the soft couch at the foot of the bed, turned around, sighed, and opened the wardrobe door that took up an entire wall with practiced ease.

"Look, hanging in this closet are all old school uniforms, sweatshirts, and casual clothes. They're all several sizes too small. Is there a single piece that you can actually wear out in public?"

Wang Ma muttered to herself as she reached out to arrange the old clothes hanging on the clothes rack, clothes that had accumulated over the years. Her fingertips lingered on the faded fabrics, her tone carrying a hint of reproach, but more so a tender complaint:
"These clothes have been sitting here for so long, they even smell like mothballs. Xiao Tianran, you didn't even bring back some clothes to change into?"

He Tianran leaned against the window, quietly watching the elderly woman whose temples were already streaked with gray. The morning light shone on her back, outlining her slightly hunched figure.

Compared to Bai Wenyu, who was decisive and always busy with his career, or Tao Wei, who was cautious and reserved, the old woman in front of him, who was nagging about a few old clothes, was more like the "mother" in his memory, someone he could actually touch.

“Wang Ma…” He Tianran looked at her busy figure and his heart softened. He said softly, “I will come back to see you often in the future.”

"Alright, alright, my heart isn't very good. If I believe you and you don't come back, I'll just get anxious and make myself sick. I'll just visit you when I have time."

Wang Ma turned around, her wrinkles at the corners of her eyes crinkling into a smile. Though her words were sharp, her eyes were full of love.

She picked out a few sets of casual clothes and jeans that He Tianran could still wear, walked over and stuffed them into his arms.

"Wearing these today, wearing a suit every day, aren't you feeling too stiff?"

"Ah good."

Looking at the clothes in his hands, which resembled student attire, He Tianran did not refuse and put on the sweatshirt with the image of Son Goku from "Dragon Ball" on it.

Wang Ma watched him get dressed, and seeing him grab the jeans and start to put his legs in, she gave him a word of advice:
"Put on your long johns first, it's cold outside."

"Oh, I'm not cold if I don't wear it."

He Tianran got off the ground and fastened his belt.

"You silly child, you've wasted your time taking this out. You'll freeze to death outside!"

Wang Ma poked He Tianran's forehead hard with her rough finger, picked up the boy's old johns with one hand, and although she was scolding him, she brought a long-lost warmth to the boy who had been away from home all the time.

He Tianran chuckled as he put on a jacket, patted his pockets, and then his back pocket.

Upon noticing his action, Wang Ma put the long johns back in the closet while saying:

"Your phone and wallet are in your suit pocket, but your car keys aren't with you. You didn't drive your own car home yesterday?"

Upon hearing this, He Tianran took a few steps, picked up his suit jacket, and fumbled around for a bit. "Hmm, the car is with my driver. Uncle Hu picked me up yesterday."

After saying that, he took out his phone and other belongings, and as if he had just remembered something, he suddenly said, "By the way, Aunt Wang, I'm planning to get a new car soon. How about you drive my old one for me?"

Wang Ma glanced back at him. "What, you want to drive your dad's car?"

"Who drives his? I just bought a new one."

"Oh dear, you spendthrift! Your dad has a whole garage full of cars that he never moves, and your brother changes cars every few days. You never learn anything good, and you're just starting out in your career and you're already picking up these bad habits. Keep wasting your money, you'll squander the He family's money sooner or later."

"This is nothing! If this could be finished, I would have already... Hey, hey, don't hit me, I was wrong, I was wrong... I haven't put on my socks yet, give me a pair of socks."

……

……

At breakfast time, He Tianran, who had finished tidying up, was drinking congee. He Panshan had already finished eating and was scrolling through his tablet, looking at the financial news for the day. Tao Wei was beside him, chatting idly about who had resigned from the company and who was getting married. It seemed that because of He Yuanchong, although the mother's spirit was not affected, she looked a bit haggard.

Neither He Yuanchong nor Bai Wenyu came to breakfast this time. The former was probably still sleeping and resting, while the latter hadn't returned since seeing Cao Aiqing off yesterday.

However, there was an unexpected guest who arrived early this morning.

"Uncle He, Aunt Tao, I heard that Yuan Chong..."

Xie Yanyan strode in with a brisk pace. He Tianran had heard the girl's worry from afar, and only realized he was there when she got closer. He paused halfway through his sentence and changed his address to:
"Brother Tianran, I didn't expect you to be home today." "Hiss...cough, um." He Tianran responded after finishing his porridge, wiping his mouth: "Yan Yan, you're here early. Have you eaten?"

"I've eaten. It's getting late. I usually go to work around this time."

Xie Yanyan lives on Nanshan Mountain, and sometimes even stays overnight at the He family's house. Judging from He Panshan and Tao Wei's behavior, they seem to be used to it. Even when the girl entered the house, no one came to greet her, and she just came in on her own.

“Yan Yan… Yuan Chong…” Tao Wei glanced at He Tianran without showing any emotion, and then said, “I had a little conflict with someone yesterday. I’m going upstairs to bring him some food. Let me take you to see him.”

"it is good!"

Xie Yanyan didn't sit down either, but instead helped Tao Wei prepare a breakfast. The two of them then left with their bowls and chopsticks.

Watching Xie Yanyan's departing figure, He Tianran thought to himself that this girl had really entrusted herself to the wrong person. If He Yuanchong really got together with Yu Naoqiu, who knows what the ending would be...

He Panshan also sensed something, and after glancing at his son with his gaze fixed on the financial news, he asked calmly:
"Should I arrange to meet with your Uncle Yu in a couple of days and have him help you plan out those two plots of land?"

"No need. Yuan Chong has already asked the questions he needed to. Those two plots of land are not suitable for general projects, so I plan to develop them into a film and television city in the future."

Upon hearing the words "film and television city," He Panshan put down his tablet:

"The idea is good, and it overlaps significantly with what you're doing now, but it's unlikely to be finalized in the next three to five years. Besides, this place is too big for you to handle on your own. If you want to attract investment... what reason will you use? To put on a show?"

He Tianran nodded: "Of course we're going to make films, otherwise why build a film and television city?"

Do you have such a big project?

“Projects are all created by strategizing, but ordinary productions really can’t support this scale. So I’m thinking of first remaking big IPs like ‘Journey to the West’ or ‘Dream of the Red Chamber.’ We’ll build a Tang Dynasty city first, then create the Grand View Garden. If the early stages go well, we can also take on ‘Water Margin’ in the mid-stages and create a scene reminiscent of ‘Along the River During the Qingming Festival.’ Basically, we’ll first draw up the outline of the project and make a plan for phase one, phase two, and phase three…”

He Tianran talked on and on, and He Panshan was increasingly amused. Although his son seemed to be spouting nonsense and lacked some mature consideration, the old father knew that he had forgotten a lot of business knowledge. However, he couldn't deny that the idea was indeed good. Moreover, with He Tianran's current reputation in the film and television industry and the strong financial resources of Shanhai Capital, if he were to lead and spearhead this project...

Believe it or not, this isn't just some wild, unrealistic promise.

Unexpectedly, the two pieces of wasteland that Yuan Chong had always considered useless became highly sought-after assets in Tianran's eyes. The more He Panshan thought about it, the more he felt that the project was not impossible to implement. He couldn't help but sigh that his son was indeed more clever and more like himself.

"I have a feeling... that you're not out of your mind."

"...Huh? What did you say?"

He Panshan inexplicably interjected, causing He Tianran to pause in surprise.

"No, it's just... weren't you introverted when you were little? You didn't like to talk, but I didn't expect that after working in film and television for so many years, you can still have some interesting things to say about related topics."

"Oh... definitely, that's what I deal with the most."

The author thought that the original He Tianran didn't usually confide in his parents, so he didn't take his father's words to heart; and He Panshan also gave up the idea of ​​taking his son to see a doctor again, just like he said in his reply to Cao Aiqing's message yesterday, does such a disease really exist in this world?

Is a mentally ill person busy making empty promises, launching projects, and acquiring land to make money?

Based on what He Panshan has learned so far, he wants to continue observing.

“The government of Gangcheng is now vigorously promoting industries such as film and television and tourism. You can take advantage of this opportunity and give it a try. You might even be able to talk about cooperation. So, don’t go to Zhuguang Lane today. Call Zhao Chengming over first. Uh… right, I’ll also invite a few uncles who work in the Tourism Bureau and the Natural Resources Department later. We can chat and have some tea this afternoon so you can get to know them.”

He Panshan's style is to be decisive and efficient. He's already on the phone. If the film and television city project is to be approved, it really needs someone of his stature to step forward and make a statement. Relying on He Tianran, who is not even thirty years old, is still too inexperienced.

Thinking that his heaviest job right now was dealing with these two plots of land, He Tianran was about to agree when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He picked it up and saw an unexpected person—

Xue Yong.

"Today we're going to Quanling Temple to pray for my unborn child and have a vegetarian meal. My Tingting wants to borrow your wife for a day, saying she's very spiritual and that if she goes with us, the Bodhisattva will definitely bless her. Tingting asked me to ask you if you want to go, but I said you're so busy with work, it's pointless to ask, and besides, the Bodhisattva only blesses cattle and horses, not capitalists. Anyway, I'm just letting you know first~"

Wife?

He Tianran stared at the utterly unfamiliar word for two seconds before realizing that Xue Yong was referring to Cao Aiqing. After all, it was this beast who had come up with the idea for him to visit the Hermes bag that Cao Aiqing had given him on Nanzhi Island last time.

His fingers flew across the keyboard:
"You've spoken to Ai Qing? She's going?"

The person on the other end was probably holding their phone, because a reply came in no time:

"Go ahead, Tingting just called her. What, have you two been sleeping separately lately? (evil laugh)"

He Tianran didn't bother to decipher the deeper meaning in Xue Yong's words, and instead replied directly:

"I'm currently in Nanshan Jiadi. When are you departing?"

"No, you're really coming? We'll go pick her up from Ai Qing's house after we finish breakfast. If you want to come, just go straight to Quanling Temple from Nanshan. It's closer that way. Just wait for us at the parking lot at the foot of the mountain. (heart) (heart)"

"Okay, I'll contact you when I arrive."

He Tianran recalled Cao Aiqing's resolute figure from the previous night, and his heart was filled with mixed emotions. He silently waited for He Panshan to finish his call before saying:
"Dad, can I borrow one of the car keys from your garage?"

"He's with Lao Hu. He should be in the garage right now... What, you're leaving?"

He Panshan was looking at his phone, pondering how to entertain his friends when they came over in the afternoon, when he realized he was talking halfway through his sentence.

"Yes, my friend is having a baby..."

"Why are you in such a hurry for your friend to have a baby? You..."

He Tianran had intended to exaggerate the situation to make things easier, but his mind was filled with Xue Yong's words about praying for the child, so he blurted out that he had a child. Now, let alone He Panshan, even he himself found it absurd and laughable.

"On set, yes, on set, there's a director friend on set whose wife is about to give birth, so there's no director on set right now. I have to rush over and fill in, it's extremely urgent. Uncle Hu is in the underground parking garage right now, right? I'm on my way."

He Tianran finished speaking and slipped away, but He Panshan called after him:
"No...you're the only director in your company?! Send someone else! I just booked someone for you, you brat, come back here—!"

"Dad, I'm leaving the project to you for now. I'll call Uncle Zhao over for you. You guys help me make the arrangements first. I promise next time, next time I'll definitely do it—!"

The son tossed out a sentence from afar and disappeared, leaving the old father sitting in his seat, bristling with anger.

"This is utterly upside down... Is this some kind of patient?!" (End of Chapter)