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

At such times, Chu Fanqing, as the patriarch of the family, would always sit upright, displaying a dignified posture and adopting a strict approach to managing the household.

Chu Fanqing said to Chu Fanyan, who was still busy, "Sister Yan, please sit down too."

At every family gathering, Chu Fanqing would invite Chu Fanyan to sit down and have dinner together, so that all the family members would be present. It seemed that as the head of the family, he had a responsibility to keep the family together.

The previous owner of this house was Shang Xiaolian, who had an only daughter, Shang Yuchen. Shang Xiaolian's wife passed away from illness when Shang Yuchen was only 5 years old, bringing deep sorrow to him and his daughter. Because he loved his daughter dearly and was busy with his business, Shang Xiaolian chose to live alone for many years and did not seek a new partner.

The year after Shang Xiaolian's wife passed away, Chu Fanyan entered the Shang family. Shang Xiaolian often said with gratitude for Chu Fanyan's arrival, "The Shang family is very grateful to Fanyan, and the Shang family must never mistreat her in the future."

Chu Fanyan came from a poor family and was only 17 years old when she started working as a maid in the Shang family. Compared to Shang Yuchen at the time, she was only 11 years older. At that time, Shang Yuchen's mother had just passed away, and Shang Xiaolian's business was just starting out, keeping him too busy to take care of household affairs. It was at this crucial moment that Chu Fanyan entered the Shang family and became a member of the family.

Chu Fanyan is the second child in her family. She has an older sister, a younger sister, and a younger brother. Her older sister is the family's breadwinner and works in the fields with her parents. The family relies on Chu Fanyan to do housework and take care of her younger sister and brother, so she has become very good at managing household chores at a young age.

Later, his hometown suffered a disaster and famine, and many people died in Chu Family Village. Chu Fanyan brought her distant cousin Chu Erya from her hometown to the Shang family. Chu Erya's parents died one after another, and Chu Erya, who was only 6 years old at the time, became an orphan. He was adopted by Shang Xiaolian and given a new name, Fanqing, who is now Chu Fanqing sitting in the master's seat.

Chu Fanqing is one year younger than Shang Yuchen. The two have been like siblings since childhood, inseparable. They studied together, played together, and grew up hand in hand, their bond as close as siblings. Later, they were both admitted to the same university.

This was once a home filled with warmth and happiness.

……

"Aunt Yan, put that beef over here. The coach has been telling me to eat more beef lately." Chu Yiming said as he took the plate of black pepper beef from Aunt Yan and placed it in front of him. "Brother, you haven't been back for a long time. Have you finished getting the autographed photo my classmate wanted? Give it to me in a bit."

Chu Yiming shoveled rice into his mouth, muttering to himself, "My classmates thought I was bragging and said I was your brother, but they didn't believe me. They insisted that we don't look alike."

"No matter what I say, they won't believe me. Come to the school and find me someday, and I'll leave all my classmates dumbfounded."

"Mom, my birthday is coming up soon. Don't forget, I'm 16 now. Don't try to fool me with childish things anymore. As for gifts, remember, they shouldn't be the kind for kids."

While eating, Chu Yiming kept talking, arranging food for everyone present, except for his father. He dared not say a word in front of his father.

Chu Fanqing frowned and glared at Chu Yiming.

He said in a low voice, "How's Yiming's exam preparation going? If you don't get into high school, you can't just get into university by having your mom pay money." Chu Fanqing didn't even look at Chu Yiming when he said this; he pointed at him with his chopsticks while looking at Fang Xichen.

"Don't worry, it's fine. I'll just work for you, right, Mom?" Chu Yiming said to his mother with a grin as he stuffed black pepper beef into his mouth.

Fang Xichen gave Chu Yiming a wink, signaling her son to shut up.

Then, he said dismissively to Chu Fanqing, "Alright, alright, stop nagging during meals. You should show more concern for her normally."

Chu Fanqing shook her head helplessly and said reproachfully, "You just spoil me."

The dishes in front of Shang Yibo were piled up like a small mountain, and Chu Fanyan kept putting food into his dishes.

"Look at you, what a mess you've become. Instead of going to university, you insist on doing all sorts of silly things." Chu Fanqing glanced around at the people at the table, his gaze settling on Shang Yibo, who was standing silently to the side, and then said to him in a deep voice.

Shang Yibo lowered his eyelids and rummaged through his bowl with his chopsticks, as if counting grains of rice, looking lazy and indifferent.

After Chu Fanqing finished speaking, she put down her chopsticks and looked at Shang Yibo.

Shang Yibo didn't even lift his eyelids, continuing to eat his meal without saying a word or showing any attitude.

"Hmph," Chu Fanqing snorted softly when she saw Shang Yibo's attitude again, and said, "Fine, fine, you figure it out yourself. Why do you have to do this when there are so many important things to do..."

"Can't you eat properly? Why do you keep talking nonsense when you're home, but you don't care about anything at other times?"

Fang Xichen had been trying to maintain peace at the dinner table. Seeing her husband putting on his patriarchal air again, and knowing that the calm atmosphere was about to break, she quickly changed the subject, saying, "Yibo is doing very well now! He has his own plans, and you, as his father, just support him. Why have so many opinions?"

Fang Xichen interrupted her husband and gently said to Shang Yibo, "Yibo, do you have enough money for your next project? Do you want the group to give you an extra sum? Don't skimp on production costs. It's your first period drama as the male lead, so it has to be outstanding."

"Hmm, why should I care about the producer's affairs?"

Shang Yibo put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth with a napkin, placed it on the table, and stood up: "I'm finished eating, please enjoy your meal."

"..."

"I've finished eating too. Oh, brother, I need to talk to you about something." Chu Yiming took the opportunity to leave the table and followed Shang Yibo upstairs.

"That's outrageous, you just keep spoiling me." Chu Fanqing slammed her chopsticks down on the table.

"Why is it me again? You should eat less of this, it's too oily. Sister Yan, please put less oil in your dishes in the future, Fan Qing's cholesterol has been high again recently."

As Fang Xichen spoke, she poured herself a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. Just as she stood up with the glass in her hand, she saw Chu Fanqing reach out to take it from her. Fang Xichen pulled the hand holding the glass closer to her chest and said, "It's not for you. Pour it yourself."

Fang Xichen turned around and took the orange juice upstairs to find Shang Yibo. It was rare for Shang Yibo to stay at home, so it was time to have a good talk with him.

She knocked twice on Shang Yibo's door, then pushed it open and went inside.

The main light in the room was off, but the wall lamps were on, emitting a warm glow.

Fang Xichen walked to the desk and said to Shang Yibo, "Yibo, you're not too busy right now. You haven't started filming your new drama yet, have you? Your father hasn't been feeling well lately. If you have time, come home often. He's very worried about you."

Fang Xichen handed the orange juice to Shang Yibo and then sat down facing him, as if she wanted to have a long talk.

"Thank you." Shang Yibo hesitated for a moment, then took the cup, took a sip, and placed it on the desk.

Shang Yibo was sitting at his desk, about to open the script, when Fang Xichen came in. He had to put down the script and listen politely to what she had to say.

"Have you ever thought about coming back to help your father? You like acting, so you can learn business management while acting, or you can invest in film and television productions. I think this plan is more in line with your identity. There are only two brothers in the family. Yiming hasn't finished his studies yet, and with his personality, he's not cut out for business. Besides, he..."

"Who am I? Don't keep stamping my name on me. You're never right. What's wrong with Yiming? Stop comparing us." Shang Yibo interrupted Fang Xichen. He knew what Fang Xichen wanted to say: that everything belonged to him and that Yiming had no right to take over Rushang Group. He didn't want to hear that from Fang Xichen again.

From the moment Fang Xichen entered, Shang Yibo had been listening to her absentmindedly. He had initially thought she would say something innocuous to show her concern and then leave. However, when she said those same things again, he couldn't help but retort.

Once the words were out, Shang Yibo regretted them.

Whether they genuinely care or not, they didn't say anything malicious, so why should we hold grudges against them?

He picked up the freshly squeezed orange juice that Fang Xichen had brought and took a big gulp to cover up the embarrassment in his tone earlier.

It seemed the conversation was stalled again. Fang Xichen stood up and said, "I heard the new film is going to be filmed in the mountains of Guizhou. We need to be careful there. It's very dangerous back then."

Shang Yibo didn't look up until he heard the door close. He wished he could go back to that year.

Everything changed after that year.