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

Chapter 268 I Love You (The Finale)

The next day, the sun was shining brightly.

Shang Yibo was awakened by the vibration of his phone under his pillow. He picked it up and glanced at the time in his sleep; it was almost ten o'clock.

I went to bed late last night, and by the time the intimacy wore off and I finally fell asleep, it was already past midnight. If I think about it, I haven't slept for more than a few hours.

He rolled over and saw Zhou Yanruo lying beside him, and for a moment he was in a daze. He reached out and stroked his left shoulder, his fingers touching the slightly raised teeth marks. Remembering the woman's passion last night, he couldn't help but chuckle.

Zhou Yanruo's eyelids trembled slightly, she must have woken up too. She struggled to open her eyes, and a warm breath pressed down on her, and a gentle kiss was placed on her lips.

"Sleep a little longer." Shang Yibo kissed the tip of her nose again, coaxing her affectionately. "It's almost time, I should head to the airport."

Zhou Yanruo reached out and hooked her arm around Shang Yibo's neck, making a muffled "hmm" sound in her throat, "I'll take you."

"No need, Zhang Xinyi has already arrived." Shang Yibo pressed his forehead against her ear and whispered, "Be a good girl and sleep a little longer. I'll tell Ding Jiajia to come here to pick you up."

They set off a bit late, and Zhang Xinyi drove at breakneck speed all the way, even being forced to use the emergency lane for a section of the airport expressway.

Fortunately, Shang Yibo possessed the prestigious status of a Black Card member, allowing him to easily complete the check-in process inside the car. Upon arrival at the airport, he quickly completed all the formalities and procedures, finally able to sit down in the VIP lounge.

I checked the time and realized it was just right to tell Ding Jiajia to pick up Yan Ruo at Rushang Garden.

He dialed Ding Jiajia's number directly, and as soon as the call connected, Ding Jiajia's complaining voice came through: "You only just remembered to tell me to pick up Sister Yanruo."

Shang Yibo disagreed, "It's not late now, I want her to sleep a little longer."

Ding Jiajia: "If you've never been an artist before, that makes sense. Don't you know you need to set aside time for makeup and styling?"

Shang Yibo has become much more tolerant of Ding Jiajia's bad temper over the past few months.

Zhou Yanruo's voice came through the phone, "Is that Yibo calling?"

Ding Jiajia held the phone up to Zhou Yanruo and turned on speakerphone. "You talk to him."

Zhou Yanruo: "Yibo, have you completed all the formalities? I've been worried that you might miss your flight."

"We're about to board, don't worry," Shang Yibo instructed. "Just perform normally and don't put too much pressure on yourself."

"Ah."

The makeup artist gave a soft "Yay!" "Sister Yanruo, what beauty treatment did you have yesterday? Your skin is so smooth, fair with a rosy glow, you don't even need blush."

Ding Jiajia asked nervously, "It was already very late when we finished rehearsals yesterday. Did you have time to get a beauty treatment? Don't do anything reckless, it would be troublesome if something went wrong."

Zhou Yanruo blushed even more and whispered, "I didn't do anything."

Ding Jiajia seemed to understand something and said bluntly into the phone, "You two are putting on a show of 'Sisters Gone Wild' ahead of time, aren't you? If Sister Yanruo has any physical problems today, she'll hold you responsible. You're such a worry, I'm hanging up."

Shang Yibo understood what they meant, and with a mischievous smile, he sent Zhou Yanruo a message after hanging up the phone: "I am your best beauty product. Keep it up, baby."

After a 12-hour flight, Shang Yibo couldn't wait to open his phone and search for online news as soon as he got off the plane. The variety show "Sisters Gone Wild" was incredibly popular, with press releases flying everywhere, but the final results of the finals were still not out.

The live stream is probably not over yet. Delays are common at live events, so asking anyone for information at this point is pointless; everyone is too busy to care about anything else.

The liaison sent by the New York Institute of Finance was already standing in front of him with a sign, and Shang Yibo stepped forward to greet him.

Just then, my phone rang; it was a notification tone for a new message.

Shang Yibo apologized to the person who was supposed to pick him up at the airport, saying, "Sorry, I'll check the message first."

He opened his phone, and to his surprise, the message was from Chu Yiming: "Brother, you must be in Times Square, New York at 6 p.m. New York time. I have a surprise for you."

Immediately afterwards, I received three more identical messages.

Shang Yibo muttered, "What's going on?"

He replied on WeChat: "Got it. Is the live stream still going? How's it going?"

Chu Yiming replied instantly: "When you arrive, don't be late, 6 o'clock. Sister Yanruo is safe."

Faced with Chu Yiming's incoherent reply, Shang Yibo shook his head and put away his phone.

I got into the car with the contact and we drove straight to the New York Institute of Finance.

On the way, the contact person informed me of the itinerary arranged after arriving at the college in the afternoon:

They will be met with members of the school committee at 3 p.m. for 40 minutes, after which they will tour the campus, and the trip will end around 5 p.m.

……

The college's trip went very smoothly. Among the council members was Professor Li Nini, a Chinese American whose granddaughter was a fan of Shang Yibo. Thanks to her recommendation, Professor Li Nini had a very good impression of Shang Yibo and then introduced him to the other four council members, turning what should have been a serious and formal meeting into a relaxed discussion.

As he left the academy, the contact person chased after him, "Mr. Shang, where are you going? I can drive you there."

Shang Yibo checked the time. He needed to arrive at Times Square by 6 o'clock, but it wasn't easy to hail a taxi near the college, so he was afraid he wouldn't have enough time.

He was more than happy to have someone give him a ride. So he agreed, saying, "I'm in a hurry. Please drive me to Times Square. Thank you."

Once in the car, he opened his phone to check, and the news of "Zhou Yanruo's debut in the center position" was everywhere.

Although industry insiders had predicted that Zhou Yanruo was a strong favorite to win the championship, Shang Yibo was still very excited when he learned of the result.

He dialed Zhou Yanruo's number, but after the call was connected, the voice prompt indicated that the call could not be connected.

It's morning in China, not even five o'clock yet, and people are probably still asleep. Yan Ruo has been working hard on this show for several months, and now it's time for her to take a good rest.

With Shang Yibo's current excitement, he couldn't wait to fly to her side.

At 10:56, Shang Yibo finally arrived at the bustling Times Square. After thanking his contact, he opened the car door and stepped into this vibrant and multicultural space.

The square was bustling with people of all kinds of skin colors from all over the world.

Just as he was about to send a message to Chu Yiming to let him know that he had arrived at Times Square.

The phone rang, and the caller ID showed Ding Jiajia.

"Hey, Ding Jiajia, why are you up so early?"

Ding Jiajia's hurried voice came through the phone: "Yibo, is your business over? I haven't dared to contact you, afraid of bothering you."

Shang Yibo became nervous at Ding Jiajia's tone, "Has something happened?"

Ding Jiajia: "Yan Ruo has disappeared. I can't sleep, so I called her, but she didn't answer. When I called again, her phone was off. I haven't been able to contact her for several hours now."

"Are they still sleeping? Have you looked for them at home?"

“She wasn’t home, but we definitely took her home last night.”

"Could it be that it's in my house? Go and check out Rushang Garden."

"No, I've already checked."

Shang Yibo couldn't help but feel nervous. The show ended late last night, so where could she go?

Ding Jiajia said, "I'll look for her again. If you have any news about her, please remember to let me know."

After hanging up Ding Jiajia's call, Chu Yiming's message came in: "Brother, you've arrived at the square, right? Please look at the big screen."

Shang Yibo is located right in the center of Times Square, where he can see the iconic building—a skyscraper with a giant screen erected on one side of its facade.

With a cool opening animation, the big screen began to play all of Zhou Yanruo's wonderful singing and dancing performances from the auditions to last night's finale on the variety show "Sisters Gone Wild".

The people in the square were drawn to this unexpected visual feast and stopped to watch. The stage on the screen featured a charming and beautiful Eastern woman. Although none of the audience members recognized her, beautiful things always touch people's hearts and unite them in a shared aesthetic.

This was indeed a pleasant surprise, but Shang Yibo was currently worried about Zhou Yanruo, who had lost contact with him.

Chu Yiming sent another message: "Brother, are you surprised? Don't rush, there's an even bigger surprise, an unexpected surprise. Keep watching the big screen!"

"One more thing, the surprise was expensive. I spent all my savings and it still wasn't enough, so I even sold my game equipment. Bro, I hope you'll be happy!"

What kind of mischief is the eccentric Chu Yiming up to now?

The energetic song and dance performance on the screen had finished airing. As the music slowed down, the beautiful scenery of Emerald Lake appeared on the screen. The camera zoomed in, showing the silhouettes of a pretty girl and a tall boy nestled together.

"Isn't this a scene from the short film 'Gone, Yet to Come'?" Shang Yibo asked in surprise.

The camera zooms in again, this time showing the octagonal pavilion on Yangxi Road.

Zhou Yanruo walked gracefully in, wearing a light purple dress. Her short, ear-length hair swayed gently in the breeze, a few strands playfully blowing in the wind. The golden rays of the rising sun softly shone on her face, adding a touch of warmth and radiance to her.

Shang Yibo exclaimed in surprise, "Baby, so you were in the Octagonal Pavilion."

On the screen, Zhou Yanruo slowly stretched out her arms, gracefully drawing an arc in the air, then gently crossed them in front of her chest, gazing affectionately ahead, as if Shang Yibo were standing right in front of her.

"Yibo, I know that the person from the past and the person you are now are both indispensable parts of you, together forming the complete and real you. And I, from beginning to end, have only loved you, only you. At this moment, I just want to tell you, Yibo, I love you!"

(End of the article)

The story of Shang Yibo and Zhou Yanruo has come to an end. Thank you for reading this far! See you in the next story!