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

Before they knew it, the two had been chatting for quite a while.

Wang Jie looked up towards the alley entrance: "Hey, it looks like the Audi drove away."

The Audi that was parked at the entrance of the alley is gone; no one knows when it was driven away.

Zhou Yanruo quickly stood on the bench and looked towards the entrance of the alley.

"Really, the car has driven away."

She jumped off the stool with joy, but stumbled and almost fell. Wang Jie quickly stepped forward and reached out to support her.

Zhou Yanruo lost her balance and fell into Wang Jie's arms.

Wang Jie helped Zhou Yanruo up with both hands, making her stand properly. Then he quickly withdrew his hands, which hung awkwardly at his sides. He stood straight, looking bewildered.

The heat that had been building up inside him surged onto his face all at once. He forced himself to remain calm, but his cheeks involuntarily flushed. Luckily it was dark, otherwise it would have been obvious that his face was already bright red.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Zhou Yanruo in the shadows. He couldn't see her clearly, but he could still sense her grievance.

"They've gone back." Zhou Yanruo said in a low voice after she steadied herself and glanced at the alley entrance again.

Actually, you don't really want to avoid your parents.

Zhou Yanruo was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "When I was little, I grew up at my grandma's house, and I also went to elementary school there. Every winter and summer vacation, they would come to my grandma's house to pick me up and take me to their house. I didn't have any classmates or friends there, so I could only stay in my room alone for the entire winter and summer vacation. Later, I started to avoid my parents. Every time there was a vacation, I would calculate the time and not go home until they went back home."

After junior high school, my parents said it was "for my own good" and arranged for me to transfer schools, which is how I came to live with them.

She paused, pulled Wang Jie to sit down, and continued, "After changing cities and schools, I started to speak with a southern accent. Some mischievous classmates would imitate my speech and then laugh at me. I didn't dare go home to tell my parents, and I had no friends to confide in."

“My parents are very busy with work and often travel for work. When they are not at home, I am all alone. Although my parents will send their students to keep me company and take care of me, how can that replace having my family by my side?”

Looking at Zhou Yanruo's profile, under the dim streetlights, glistening tears clung to her long eyelashes, trembling as she spoke. This usually cheerful and lively girl also had a lonely and desolate side.

At this moment, Wang Jie could completely empathize with this loneliness. He also longed for someone to confide in, someone who could quietly listen to his story—yes, Shang Yibo's story.

Thinking of these things, Wang Jie's heart clenched.

"During that time, I practiced Mandarin and dance desperately. Finally, I found what I wanted to do, and I also had an ideal about what kind of person I wanted to become," Zhou Yanruo said emotionally.

Wang Jie: "They are the people in this world who truly care about you, and you must believe that, it's just a matter of how they do it..."

"But I don't blame them."

"That's right." Wang Jie nodded and said with satisfaction, "Let's go back too, it's getting late. It's not good for a girl to go back late, I'll take you home."

"Well, let's go."

Wang Jie was still pushing his bicycle, but unlike when he came, Zhou Yanruo was walking beside him, and the two of them walked side by side toward the entrance of the alley.

Zhou Yanruo's mood improved a lot. The two chatted and laughed all the way, and seemed to be quite familiar with each other. They were no longer so reserved when they spoke.

Wang Jie really enjoys chatting with Zhou Yanruo. She's a warm, cheerful, and straightforward girl, and they always have a pleasant time together.

He had been holding back his feelings for far too long, and he longed to find an outlet to release his pent-up emotions, even if it was just a little bit of relief.

He tentatively asked Zhou Yanruo, "Have you ever heard of time travelers?"

"What is it?"

“Well, um…” Wang Jie paused, organized his thoughts, and tried to be as concise as possible to explain, “People who traveled from the future.”

To avoid seeming too deliberate, he added, "You can also travel from the past to the present."

Zhou Yanruo tilted her head, thought for a moment, and said, "What's wrong with that? I know."

Wang Jie asked in surprise, "You know?"

"Hmm, I understand."

Wang Jie sighed and said, "Then tell me what you know."

"I read a novel last year, in traditional Chinese characters, which my mother brought back from Hong Kong on a business trip. The title was 'A Step into the Past'."

"I haven't seen it. What does it say?"

“You definitely haven’t read it. It seems to have been serialized in a Hong Kong newspaper a few years ago, and it was only officially published last year or the year before. I read it last summer, and I probably didn’t bring it back to Beijing. I’ll look for it and bring it to you later,” Zhou Yanruo said generously. “It’s a martial arts novel. It’s about Xiang Shaolong, a G4 elite from Hong Kong in the 21st century, who travels back in time to China during the Warring States period more than two thousand years ago. However, his time machine suddenly malfunctions, and in order to return to his own world, he begins the story of searching for Qin Shi Huang.”

“You said last time that you like reading science fiction novels, I guess you’ll like this one too,” Zhou Yanruo said.

"The novel you're talking about isn't science fiction." Wang Jie was somewhat disappointed when he heard Zhou Yanruo's explanation of "time traveler."

"What is that?" Zhou Yanruo asked curiously. "Whatever it is, it's just some weird and wonderful stuff. As long as it's interesting, that's fine."

Wang Jie was confused as to why the two of them suddenly started talking about novels. That wasn't what he wanted to discuss; the topic had really gone off on a tangent.

So he steered the conversation back on track, saying, "Didn't you say you understood time travelers? I'm waiting for you to tell me."

"Oh, so you like reading novels about aliens coming to Earth."

Zhou Yanruo gave an irrelevant answer, glancing at Wang Jie with the same look she gave him as if he were an alien, and said, "Do you imagine yourself to be from another planet?"

“No, I’m from the future,” Wang Jie blurted out, then added, “I’m from the 21st century.”

"Teacher Wang, did you also come here in a time machine?" Zhou Yanruo asked Wang Jie with a sly look.

Before Wang Jie could answer, Zhou Yanruo was already laughing so hard she couldn't stand up straight, saying, "Won't it be the 21st century in six months? We'll be stepping into the 21st century together, so what are you doing here?"

Zhou Yanruo suppressed a laugh and teased, "Was the time machine fun? Is it broken now, so you can't go back? Hahaha!"

“Haha, and, ‘I’m from the future,’” Zhou Yanruo mimicked Wang Jie’s tone, shaking her head and repeating what Wang Jie had just said.

Then, pouting, she teased, "Teachers don't like to brag."

This left Wang Jie at a loss for words, unsure whether to explain or not, so he could only offer a silly chuckle in silence.

"How about I take you to school on my bicycle tomorrow morning?" Wang Jie asked tentatively.

"Didn't you say it was hot and you weren't happy about it?" Zhou Yanruo said, glancing sideways at Wang Jie.

“I… I found a shortcut that I can ride my bike through the alleyways,” Wang Jie muttered to himself. “You have to transfer once on the bus, and it’s not a short walk from where you get off.”

“Okay,” Zhou Yanruo replied cheerfully, “Let’s meet at the Octagonal Pavilion tomorrow morning.”