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

As Shang Yibo's mind gradually cleared, he felt that Wang Jie, whom Jian Zheng and the others had mentioned, was also a part of him, and all of Wang Jie's memories were slowly being inputted back into Shang Yibo's mind.

This place is not the travel destination he arrived at by plane, nor is it the year 2017 he is in; he is no longer Shang Yibo.

That's right, he didn't come by plane, he came by "time machine".

Shang Yibo time-traveled.

It is July 1999 in Xichuan City, and his name is Wang Jie.

Wang Jie, 22, is about to graduate from university and has been admitted to the graduate program of an American university. She will go to the United States to study at the end of the year.

He had been working to earn money and had already saved enough for his travel expenses to the United States and his tuition for his first year of school. He wanted to earn more money so he could leave more living expenses for his grandfather.

Grandpa has always been in poor health, and he hasn't been to a major hospital for years to save money. Things will get better soon. As long as he works hard, he can apply for a scholarship the following year, and he can work a few more jobs to earn some money. When he has the money, he will definitely get Grandpa's illness cured.

He and his grandfather had no other relatives; they were the only ones who depended on each other for survival. His grandfather never mentioned anyone else, such as his father or mother.

For several days, Shang Yibo had been trying to find the answer. He spent several days in the library searching for information, but he didn't get anything useful.

He couldn't understand why this was happening.

One thing is certain: he traveled through time.

Within a few days, Shang Yibo became familiar with his current life and gradually adapted to his new name and identity as Wang Jie.

At least in this new environment and with this new identity, he has close friends, loving family, and helpful teachers and classmates. He doesn't need to strive to be better to meet others' expectations, nor does he need to live the life others want him to be under the expectant gaze and earnest guidance of others, even his family.

Okay, this is Wang Jie.

Wang Jie lay on the bed staring at the ceiling. Due to the years, the original white walls and ceiling had turned yellow and mottled, with some peeling and flaking forming natural patterns. He stared blankly at a pattern on the ceiling that looked like an eagle spreading its wings.

"Jian Zheng is here. Wang Jie is still in the room. He should be awake by now. You can go in by yourself."

Grandpa's voice came from outside the door, followed by a violent cough.

"Grandpa, have some water. Have you finished the medicine Mom prescribed? I'll ask her to get some more later."

"Is Wang Jie feeling better these past few days? Yesterday, my counselor asked me about Wang Jie. He felt that Wang Jie was different from before, but I changed the subject."

"He's alright now, but he's still the same. Cough cough... I haven't thanked you yet. Wang Jie is your best friend, you should help him out more. Cough..." Because of the persistent coughing, the old man hunched over as he left the room.

The house is one of those old-style tenement buildings, where the kitchen and bathroom are shared by the entire floor. It is a two-bedroom suite. There is a folding square table and two folding chairs near the entrance of the outer room. Half of the table is piled with bags of Chinese medicine and medicine bottles of various sizes. There is a folding spring bed by the window, with the quilt and mattress laid out very neatly.

Two wooden crates were stacked against the wall, with a few clean changes of clothes neatly folded on top. These few pieces of "furniture" already filled the room to the brim.

Wang Jie lived in the inner room, which had no windows. It was originally a room, but a partition board was used to divide it into a small room. The partition board was deliberately not sealed to the top, so there was a space of nearly 20 centimeters between the partition board and the ceiling, allowing light to shine in during the day and the room's lights to be used at night.

There was a wooden single bed against the wall. One side of the bed was piled high with books, taking up half of the space, leaving just enough room for the tall and thin Wang Jie to lie down. Opposite the bed were two identical wooden boxes stacked on top of each other, with a desk lamp and books on them. It turned out to be a "writing desk".

"Wang Jie, are you up?" Jian Zheng pushed open the door and stood casually in the doorway. "I have a reliable job to recommend to you. Come on, praise me!"

Wang Jie jumped out of bed in a daze. "Why didn't you knock?" Looking at Jian Zheng, who was standing at the door with an excited expression, Wang Jie felt a little sorry for him. He sat on the edge of the bed and muttered softly, "Um, I mean you suddenly came in and startled me."

Jian Zheng was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled and said, "What's so scary about that? You're not a little girl anymore, hehe."

"No, I didn't," Wang Jie replied somewhat blankly.

"Alright, I was just kidding. How come you've become so sensitive after you fell into a coma?"

"What I used to be like."

“You used to be like this too, hahaha…” Jian Zheng, always quick-witted, said, “You’ve just become more profound and thoughtful than before.”

"Oh, then I'll definitely change it."

"Who told you to change it? Don't be ridiculous. You, Wang Jie, have anything to improve?" Jian Zheng said dismissively. "Come on, come with me."

"What's up? You haven't said what it is."

"By the way, you startled me with all that," Jian Zheng leaned closer and said mysteriously.

“A talent agency is going to collaborate with the school where you tutor to run a tutoring program. They're selecting a few students to go to Hancheng as art students. They need tutors now, for three months straight, and the hourly rate is quite high. After these three months, not only will we have enough money for your tuition to go abroad, but we'll also have a lot left over to pay for Grandpa's medical treatment. Didn't you say that as long as we have enough money for your studies, Grandpa won't refuse medical treatment? This time it'll definitely work.”

Jian Zheng was excited about his feat, saying, "The timing is perfect, it won't delay your enrollment. I've already made the decision to register you."

"I can't dance or sing, so what kind of classes can I take?"

"Look how unsophisticated you are! Their training program is for international art groups, it's about connecting with the world, learning English, singing English songs, and developing in Europe and America."

As Jian Zheng spoke, he pulled Wang Jie out the door together.

Wang Jie followed Jian Zheng on bicycles to the training school he mentioned.

The training class was on the second floor of a vocational training school. Groups of stylishly dressed and good-looking boys and girls were coming and going, some filling out registration forms, and others consulting with staff.

"Sister Fangfang, I've brought the person to you," Jian Zheng said, pulling Wang Jie closer to a woman who was being consulted by several girls.

"Zhengzheng, is this the Wang Jie you mentioned? Hmm, he's quite handsome. Zhengzheng said you taught college English. Go to the first classroom on the left, complete the formalities, and get a timetable. Just attend classes according to the timetable."

"Zhengzheng, tell your mom I'm coming to your house for dinner next Sunday. Tell Aunt Pei not to forget to make your family's signature braised pork; I've been craving it for ages." Fangfang, quick-witted and crisp, rattled off a whole bunch of instructions in one go. Before the two of them could even reply, she turned back to continue talking to the group of girls.

“I’ve never taught college English, I’ve only tutored middle school students,” Wang Jie was about to explain when he saw that Sister Fangfang had already turned around to continue attending to students seeking consultations, so he could only say to Jian Zheng.

"It's alright, it's alright. We're just teaching anyway. With your TEM-8 level of English, you can't teach trainees? Let's go get the course schedule." Jian Zheng swung his arm and put his arm around Wang Jie as they arrived at the classroom that Sister Fangfang had mentioned.

"I've already spoken with Fangfang, so I'll arrange your morning classes, which will end before noon, so it won't affect your other plans for the afternoon."

Before Wang Jie could say anything more, Jian Zheng interrupted him: "I know, I know, you still have two tutoring jobs, one in the afternoon and one in the evening, so it won't interfere with your studies."

Wang Jie: "But this is teaching after all, we can't be careless."

“These are all large classes here, and with that little bit of English, you can easily master it without having to spend extra time preparing lessons.”

Jian Zheng kept nagging as he walked, afraid that Wang Jie would run away again after all the effort he had put in to get him here.

What can a short training course of only three months teach? The students who sign up probably won't learn any real skills.

Wang Jie was reluctant to take this job, feeling that it was like being a conman, or at the very least, an accomplice to a conman.

"Jian Zheng, let's go. This job isn't right for me."

"No way! I worked so hard to get this from Sister Fangfang. It's very popular, okay?" Jian Zheng said anxiously. "Let's go in and take a look first before deciding. If you leave before even looking, I won't be able to explain it to you."

Wang Jie had no choice but to follow Jian Zheng into the classroom to retrieve the class schedule and also take a copy of the admission brochure.

It turns out that this short training course, in addition to English classes, also includes a series of courses such as vocal music, dance, art appreciation, physical training, and fitness training.

The students are all beautiful young men and women aged 18 or 9 who aspire to enter the entertainment industry and pursue art.

They must have all gone through several rounds of selection, and only 20 people were selected to participate in this training course.

These students all have a certain foundation in their professional and general education courses.

I heard that after the training camp ends, there will be a final selection, and only 6 people will be able to go to Hancheng to continue their studies. The competition is quite fierce.

The training program was relatively systematic even though it was not formal, and it was reasonable even though it was not systematic.

Wang Jie accepted the job, and Jian Zheng, looking smug, put his arm around Wang Jie and walked out of the classroom.

The training course started soon.