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

Shang Yibo's Adam's apple bobbed, and his voice was somewhat hoarse: "Yan Ruo, I..." He hesitated, seemingly finding it difficult to speak.

He wanted to say, "I am Wang Jie," but then he realized something was wrong. According to the timeline, he, Shang Yibo, was the one who was with Zhou Yanruo back then. But how could he make her understand the relationship between them?

“You’re talking nonsense again,” Zhou Yanruo interrupted him. “Didn’t I tell you? I can’t treat you like Wang Jie. You are you, Shang Yibo.”

Shang Yibo looked at Zhou Yanruo with deep affection and said, "Ruoruo, I love you more than yesterday, but not as much as tomorrow. I once said this to you."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yanruo's eyes widened in horror, her mouth agape, and she stood frozen in place, unable to utter a single word.

Shang Yibo gently pulled Zhou Yanruo's trembling hand, covered it tightly with his other hand, and said softly, "Ruoruo, don't be afraid, let me tell you slowly."

Zhou Yanruo muttered to herself, "How is this possible? How could you say what Wang Jie told me?"

“Because that’s who I am.” Shang Yibo said warmly and firmly, “I’ve never known how to tell you. There are many things that I can’t explain. I’ve been searching for answers and always wanted to figure things out before telling you. Now, I don’t want to wait anymore. Whether you believe it or not, I am your lover. We fell in love that summer. We dreamed of a beautiful future. Now that future has arrived, and we can finally be together.”

"Wait a minute, Yibo, I need some time to sort this out." Zhou Yanruo gently pulled her hand back, nervously clenching her fists and placing them on her lap. "You mean, you're Wang Jie? You suddenly disappeared all those years ago, and it turns out you were waiting for me here. And I, after a long twenty-year search, finally met you again. Now, you're telling me you love me, and we can be together?"

Shang Yibo looked at her affectionately and explained gently, "Ruo Ruo, listen to me. My disappearance back then was not my intention. I was brought back to the modern world against my will. Once I confirmed that you were real and not just a girl who appeared in my dreams, I started searching for you everywhere. That search lasted for two years."

"Two years?" Zhou Yanruo's voice trembled slightly, her eyes reddening. "You said you searched for me for two years, do you think you're so great? But do you know that I've been searching for you for a full twenty years?"

She looked up, her eyes filled with confusion and bewilderment: "Back then, was it Wang Jie or Shang Yibo that I knew?"

Shang Yibo took a deep breath and answered firmly, "Ruo Ruo, from beginning to end, it was me, Shang Yibo, who was with you. It's just that back then, my name was Wang Jie."

“You just said ‘that’. You just brushed it off with such a casual remark.” Zhou Yanruo’s tears fell silently, her voice filled with sorrow and a hint of timidity as it slowly spilled out. “So, the person I love is just a shadow, a shadow that only exists in my dreams. When the dream ends, it should cease to exist.”

Shang Yibo felt as if his heart had been clenched tightly. He said nervously, "Ruo Ruo, don't say that. I'm not a shadow. I'm real. My feelings for you are real too, whether it's you twenty years ago or you today. In my eyes, it's always the same you."

Zhou Yanruo covered her face, her shoulders heaving with each sob.

Shang Yibo moved closer to Zhou Yanruo and placed his hands on her shoulders.

As Zhou Yanruo lowered her hands, she quickly wiped away her tears. "Yibo, no matter who you are, we can't go back."

Shang Yibo panicked, "Ruo Ruo, we're both here, let's not go back."

"Look at me, you are full of vigor and vitality, while I am about to have gray hair."

"But I love you, none of that has anything to do with love."

"But I don't love anymore. I've lost the ability to love. The reason I keep thinking about him is just an obsession. I want to find him and ask, 'Where have you gone?' Even his answer doesn't matter anymore. Do you understand?"

Zhou Yanruo gave a bitter smile.

Shang Yibo was right in front of Zhou Yanruo, but Zhou Yanruo was still talking about the man in her heart.

"Can't you even look at me?" Shang Yibo's eyes dimmed.

After a few seconds of silence inside the RV, Zhou Yanruo pursed her lips and said, "Yibo, we both need some time. Can we put this aside for now?"

Shang Yibo replied helplessly, "I had no choice, right?"

Zhou Yanruo said resolutely, "Yes, what I want to do most right now is to leave here."

"You can't do this."

"Of course I could do that, but I won't."

Shang Yibo let out a breath.

Zhou Yanruo: "I don't want to dwell on this anymore. I'm exhausted. For the past twenty years, I've tried to let go countless times, but I've never been able to. I'm holding on to this, unable to go back to the past or step into the future. Yibo, thank you for telling me everything today. Otherwise, I would never have been able to put a period to this story."

Shang Yibo's eyes welled up with tears, and through the blur, he saw Zhou Yanruo's resolute expression.

"Will you leave me?"

"No, there are still many things waiting for us to do. You should be more mature."

Shang Yibo stopped struggling and half-compromised, half-demanded, "I agree to put it aside for now, just for now. But you have to promise me that you'll stay by my side."

"I can agree to that. But you have to give me space and not bring it up again."

"Let things take their course, but don't deliberately avoid them." Shang Yibo said this with great frustration. "Ruo Ruo, are you negotiating with me? Using our relationship as a bargaining chip?"

“Yibo, from now on you can still call me Yanruo, or you can call me by my full name. Only my family would call me that. It feels strange and uncomfortable to hear you call me that.”

Shang Yibo stopped insisting; he couldn't refuse Zhou Yanruo's request for space.

"Yanruo, there's something else I should tell you," Shang Yibo said. "Yin Bei is my biological father."

“I’ve heard my parents mention this person before. He’s a prominent figure at Tsinghua and Peking Universities, very talented, and a key student the university is focusing on developing. I never imagined he had a connection with you.”

Zhou Yanruo has become desensitized to major news; what a coincidence!

She stood up, her tone like that of a competent agent, "It's almost time. You should get ready and not let your emotions affect the filming. I'll go out and take a look."

Upon opening the RV door, I was surprised to see Ding Jiajia standing at the door.

It looks like she's been standing here for a while.

She may have overheard a great deal of the conversation inside the RV, but what does it matter? If even the parties involved can't figure it out, it's even harder for outsiders to understand.

"Jiajia, make Yibo a cup of tea to soothe his throat. I'll go ask Teacher Sai to come over," Zhou Yanruo said calmly.