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

Qi Qingnan's negotiations with the production team went exceptionally smoothly, and the team readily agreed to all her proposed conditions. Their original intention was to highlight the "younger brother" character in this series, laying a solid foundation for the upcoming second season, for which the letter of intent for investment had already been signed.

In the rapidly evolving entertainment industry, traffic stars emerge like mushrooms after rain, with one or two new hot figures appearing every so often. Investors tend to favor obedient and easily manipulated stars, as this allows them to maximize the value they extract. However, Shang Yibo is widely recognized as difficult to manage, precisely because he himself is part of the capital market.

In this incident, the only ones to express dissatisfaction, as Zhou Yanruo previously analyzed, were Shen Qing and her agent, Jie Can. They clearly did not want Ling Shaojing's scenes to be cut, as this would affect Shen Qing's role as the female lead.

To resolve this issue, Hong Yun personally communicated with Shen Yihua. During the communication, Hong Yun promised to provide Yihua Entertainment with two guest appearances during the recording of a large-scale variety show co-produced and invested in by "Bobo Candy Media" and the platform. This proposal was undoubtedly a huge temptation for Shen Yihua, because she knew that Shang Yibo would eventually return to the family business and could not continue to develop in her small entertainment company.

Shen Yihua was a shrewd woman; she had long foreseen Shang Yibo's future trajectory. Therefore, she decided to use this opportunity to do him a favor. This would allow her to cultivate a good relationship with the heiress of the Hongliang Group, and also ensure that when Shang Yibo terminated his contract, he would feel indebted to her because of this favor, thus securing a large sum of money for her. In this way, Yihua Entertainment could not only extract the last bit of value from Shang Yibo but also lay a solid foundation for future cooperation with the Hongliang Group.

As a result, Shang Yibo's scenes in Huizhou were reduced by half. According to the revised filming schedule, he only needs two more weeks to complete the remaining filming and then return to Beijing. When the crew returns to the Zhuocheng Film and Television Base, he only needs to shoot a few additional scenes to completely finish filming the series.

During these past few days, Shang Yibo's life was very simple. He spent his days going back and forth between the film set and the hotel, completing his filming tasks methodically. Zhou Yanruo would call him every day, sometimes to discuss the progress of work in Yuehai, and sometimes to report on the business situation of Rushang Group. Although they talked about trivial matters, Shang Yibo knew in his heart that Zhou Yanruo always avoided the important issues during their calls.

Based on his understanding of Zhou Yanruo, he knew she was someone who couldn't hide her feelings. Although they couldn't meet in person, Shang Yibo could roughly gauge Zhou Yanruo's mood through daily phone calls. When work went smoothly, her tone was light and cheerful; when she encountered difficulties, her voice sounded somewhat low and depressed.

A week later, Zhou Yanruo finally brought things to a close in Yuehai and returned to Huizhou. Hong Yun, on the other hand, went straight back to the capital.

After filming, Shang Yibo returned to his RV and found Zhou Yanruo already waiting for him there.

Ding Jiajia and Xiao Guangzi were very sensible and didn't disturb them. After sending Shang Yibo back to his car, they left in a hurry.

Shang Yibo carefully examined Zhou Yanruo. In just one week, her face looked so haggard. Her once rosy complexion was now pale and colorless, revealing a hint of fatigue. He said with concern, "You look really tired. Why don't you go back to the hotel and rest? I still have a scene to shoot. We can talk more when we get back to the hotel after we finish filming."

However, Zhou Yanruo gently shook her head, clearly unwilling to leave. She went straight to the point, her tone tinged with worry: "The budget section and some key data in the tender do have flaws. Although these issues are not enough to constitute fundamental errors, they would certainly be a considerable problem if investigated. What's worse, the situation with Chairman Chu doesn't seem very optimistic either."

Upon hearing this, Shang Yibo's heart tightened, but he still tried to remain calm and asked, "Even if there are problems with the bid, does that necessarily mean my dad would bribe someone?"

Zhou Yanruo sighed and nodded: "There is indeed no direct logical connection, but according to the information that President Hong found out, the investigators seem to have obtained some evidence." She paused and continued, "President Fang has urgently contacted the legal team. They flew from Beijing to Yuehai today and should have arrived by now."

Shang Yibo was well aware of the severity of the situation, but he still held onto a sliver of hope. He firmly believed that his father would not commit such illegal and unethical acts as bribery, and that this crisis must have been created by someone with ulterior motives. He was confident that he could overcome this difficulty.

However, when he heard Zhou Yanruo mention "conclusive evidence," a chill ran down his spine. If the evidence truly existed, not only might the Yuehai Medical Pilot Zone project be lost, but his father might also face imprisonment.

Thinking of this, he asked eagerly, "I would like to meet the legal team."

Zhou Yanruo nodded and immediately replied, "I can arrange for them to come to Huizhou to meet with you. However, it would be best to wait two or three days, allowing them to fully understand the ins and outs of the matter and formulate a response plan. This way, our discussion will be more effective."

"Alright." Shang Yibo sighed helplessly, "It's really frustrating to have me stuck here unable to move."

Zhou Yanruo gently comforted her, "Don't be too anxious. Besides, this matter can't be solved by being anxious."

Shang Yibo gave a wry smile: "Sigh, it would be a lie to say I'm not worried. Why should I pretend in front of you? By the way, didn't you say you ran into Jian Zheng when you went to Yuehai last week? Have you seen him again since? We need to be careful of this guy. He's not the Jian Zheng we used to know."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yanruo's face showed a look of indignation: "I was just about to say it anyway. The night we arrived at Yuehai, we went to the Yuehai project office, and guess what? We saw Jian Zheng there again. He was drinking with Director He and a few others in the project office, looking quite relaxed and carefree."

Upon hearing this, Shang Yibo frowned: "He's so close to Director He? I've never heard you mention him."

Zhou Yanruo nodded, her expression grave: "I don't know if it was during my last trip to Bangkok, or if they had already been in contact before. I was careless and didn't think of anything else."

Shang Yibo pondered for a moment, then said, "There's nothing we can do right now. Let's talk about it after we see the lawyer."

Zhou Yanruo nodded in agreement: "Well, that's all we can do for now. You can focus on filming. I'll keep an eye on things and let you know as soon as I have any news."