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

The phone Zhou Yanruo was holding rang. She thought it was Ding Jiajia calling and was about to answer when she saw that the caller ID showed Zhou Zihang. She smiled and answered the phone.

"What advice does Dr. Zhou have for me?"

Zhou Zihang's excited voice came through the phone: "Ruo Ruo, I'm going back to China."

"I know, didn't you tell me that already?"

"Yes, yes, if you're busy, you don't need to pick me up."

"I wasn't planning on picking you up."

"Waaah, why are you doing this? I feel so wronged."

"Dr. Zhou, how old are you?"

"My flight arrives tomorrow, and I'm so excited to see you. You just dumped a bucket of ice water on me."

"So soon? Wasn't it supposed to be next month?"

"You're going too far! Why are you complaining that I came back too quickly?"

"Haha, no, that's not what I meant," Zhou Yanruo quickly explained.

She knew Zhou Zihang's temperament very well; he would go on and on about everything several times. She guessed that he would be so excited about returning to China that he would make countless phone calls before even boarding the plane.

Instead of telling him my itinerary for the next few days, I said, "I'm not in Beijing right now. I won't be back until next week. I really have something to do and can't pick you up."

"Oh, I see," Zhou Zihang said, sounding a little disappointed, but he quickly regained his gentlemanly demeanor. "It's alright, it's alright, you go ahead with your work."

"I'll arrange airport pickup for you."

"No need, I can handle it myself. But there is something I do need your help with."

"Well, tell me."

"I'll probably be staying in China for a while this time, and I don't want to stay in a hotel because it's inconvenient. Could you help me find a suitable apartment?"

"What conditions are you looking for? What are your location requirements?"

Zhou Zihang thought for a moment, then raised his voice as if making a decision, and said, "Anything like your apartment will do, cough cough, I mean, something close to you, or maybe there are any vacant rooms in your building. It'll be easier for you to get a free meal if we live nearby, right?"

"It's to make it easier for you to showcase your cooking skills, right?" Zhou Yanruo laughed, drawing out her words, "Okay, okay. Anything else you want?"

"That's all," Zhou Zihang said cheerfully.

……

The black Mercedes-Benz van sped along the not-too-crowded main road. Shang Yibo sat in the back seat, untying the scarf that was wrapped around his neck and covering his face. He held up the scarf and looked at it; it was a large, orange-pink silk handkerchief. He then frowned slightly and tossed the scarf onto the front seat with a look of disgust.

Through the car window, Shang Yibo watched Zhou Yanruo walking down the road. She seemed to be busy on the phone, completely absorbed. He sat in the back seat, turning his head to watch until the van turned and Zhou Yanruo's figure disappeared from sight.

"Yibo, how come you're with President Zhou?" Ding Jiajia said, turning around and handing her phone to Shang Yibo: "You didn't bring your phone with you, did you? Look, it's trending on Weibo."

“...How would I know?” Shang Yibo withdrew his gaze from the car window and replied in a muffled voice.

"Someone took pictures of you and uploaded them online," Ding Jiajia said angrily. "Well, now they've started making up stories about your relationship."

"..."

"I've already notified the fan club to see if we can arrange for a few big fans to lead the discussion and control the spread of the rumors. I just don't know if we can suppress it."

"..."

"I'll be scolded to death by the company, and my fans won't let me off the hook either," Ding Jiajia said nervously and anxiously.

"......"

Shang Yibo remained silent, scrolling through photos online. One of them clearly showed Zhou Yanruo. He clicked on it, zoomed in, and carefully examined the familiar face, trying hard to recall and confirm it...

"You are the only one in my life, even if I miss you, I will still pursue you, la la la." The phone rang unexpectedly, and Shang Yibo subconsciously glanced at the caller ID before handing the phone back to Ding Jiajia.

Ding Jiajia looked at Shang Yibo's indifferent expression, nervously took the phone and scanned the caller ID. Just as she expected, it was the company's manager, Director Can.

"Brother Can," Ding Jiajia said in a trembling voice as she answered the phone.

"Ding Jiajia, what's wrong with you? You're becoming more and more unreliable." As soon as the call connected, a gruff voice roared, "Where did you send Shang Yibo? Isn't it still the promotional period? You should be in Shanghai right now! What are you doing? What's going on? Who's that woman?"

"Um, Brother Chan, don't be angry, don't rush. Listen to me."

"What are you talking about? Who is that woman? She's on Weibo, you know? Look, she's already trending at number one. At this rate, just wait and see, another scandal will be coming out soon. It's during the contract's promotion period, and if this happens, what if they breach the contract?"

Even Jie Can, a veteran of the entertainment industry, started rambling incoherently, "Send me your current location? Which hotel did you book? Whose name did you use for registration? Is it safe?" He bombarded Ding Jiajia with a barrage of questions.

Ding Jiajia quickly explained, "Yibo only has two days off and has arranged a private trip. I booked the hotel, the executive floor of the Xichuan Hotel. The privacy of the hotel's executive floor is guaranteed."

"Go straight back to the hotel now, and start the meeting immediately once you're there," Xie Can ordered.

"Okay, Can... brother." Before Ding Jiajia could finish speaking, the other party had already hung up the phone.

Ding Jiajia looked at Shang Yibo with a bitter face and said, "This is really bad. I'm going to get scolded by everyone later. I don't know when this will be over. A lot of people will have to work overtime at the company."

Shang Yibo glanced at the silk scarf he had just carelessly tossed onto the front seat, hesitated for a moment, then leaned forward, reached for the scarf, grabbed it, glanced up at Ding Jiajia sitting in the front seat, and then casually stuffed the scarf into his pocket.

He pursed his lips and closed his eyes, feeling a bit disgusted with himself for his sneaky actions.

Ding Jiajia turned around, muttering to herself, about to ask some more questions, when she saw that Shang Yibo had already closed his eyes to rest.

"What a big heart! Sigh!"

Back at the hotel, an emergency video conference was held. When it comes to crisis public relations, a mature brokerage team has a lot of practical and useful experience.

After more than ten hours of hard work, a series of measures were taken to bring the situation under control before it escalated further.

Finally, the question is how to explain or, in other words, how to assign a reasonable identity to the woman photographed.

After thorough discussion and deliberation by the management team and the company's public relations team, the final consensus was that the woman in the photo must distance herself from Shang Yibo, and it could not be a rumor circulating online. Even if everyone knew it was fabricated, the word "rumor" could not be associated with Shang Yibo. Shang Yibo's single persona had to be maintained. Moreover, the woman looked to be in her late thirties, so she could not be associated with Shang Yibo through a rumor.

The suggestion from the seasoned veteran, Brother Can, was unanimously approved: For Shang Yibo's overseas career expansion, Rushang Group specifically selected an elite returnee from overseas to serve as Shang Yibo's personal studio's full-time agent. This would not only suit the woman's background but also quell criticism from fans regarding Shang Yibo's relatively weak overseas promotion.

The next step is to figure out how to implement it. Shang Yibo is easy to deal with; he never cares about these kinds of things, so it doesn't matter to him whether you tell him or not.

The task of informing Zhou Yanruo of this decision fell to Ding Jiajia, since they were both from Rushang Group and had just successfully held a press conference and thank-you banquet together.

Ding Jiajia brought Shang Yibo here without informing the company, causing all this trouble. She didn't dare to express her opinion. She couldn't refuse, so she had to bite the bullet and call Zhou Yanruo. Surprisingly, Zhou Yanruo not only agreed to be their "full-time agent," but also agreed to cooperate with them and arrange their schedule for the next few days to meet up with them.

When Zhou Yanruo heard Ding Jiajia rambling incoherently on the phone informing her—yes, that's right, they had all discussed it and then informed her—Zhou Yanruo, given her temperament, would definitely have argued about it. But in this inexplicable situation, Zhou Yanruo surprisingly broke with convention and inexplicably complied.

Shang Yibo's absence from the video conference raises questions about whether it violates his contract, whether his fans will be upset, the studio's statement, the control of public opinion, and crisis management—these are all matters for the staff, which he never cares about or pays attention to.

Upon entering the hotel, he went straight to his room. He splashed cold water on his face, trying to stay alert. Then, he curled up on the sofa, allowing his body a moment of relaxation. At that moment, he felt as if all his strength had been drained away, utterly exhausted.

He pulled the orange-pink silk scarf from his pocket and gently twirled it between his fingertips. As the scarf slid between his fingers, his thoughts began to drift away...