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

It was supposed to be an ordinary family dinner, but the atmosphere was rather somber.

Everyone sat silently, and the restaurant fell silent.

Chu Yiming held his chopsticks up to the cloth plate in front of him and waited for a while. He couldn't hold back any longer and said to Chu Fanqing, "Dad, why don't you say something so we can start eating? I'm starving."

Fang Xichen turned her head and glared at her son, then turned to look at her husband and said, "Old Chu, Yanruo has been working for you for more than half a year. This is her first time visiting our home. She'll be helping Yibo with his work soon, so let's show her our welcome, okay?"

Before Chu Fanqing could speak, Shang Yibo was the first to raise his glass...

Chu Fanqing glanced around at everyone present, raised his glass and said, "Welcome Zhou Yanruo."

Everyone mechanically raised their glasses and followed Chu Fanqing in saying, "Welcome Zhou Yanruo."

Zhou Yanruo stood there awkwardly, and said with an embarrassed smile, "Thank you all for your kind words, I will try my best."

The scene was quite comical at one point.

By the time everyone had raised their glasses, Shang Yibo had already put them down.

He pulled up one corner of his mouth, revealing a faint, cold smile, and two words silently surfaced in his mind: "Hypocrisy."

Then, the restaurant was quiet for a few minutes, with only the soft clinking of chopsticks, spoons, and plates and bowls.

Fang Xichen broke the silence first, and said to Zhou Yanruo sitting opposite her, "Yanruo, are you eating well? I heard that you are from the South and prefer light food."

After she finished speaking, she glanced at Chu Fanqing.

Chu Fanqing was looking thoughtfully in the direction where Zhou Yanruo was sitting.

Zhou Yanruo quickly replied, "President Fang, thank you for your hospitality. It's all Huaiyang cuisine, light and delicious."

Seeing that people at the table were starting to talk, Chu Yiming also started chatting: "Sister Yanruo, I saw online that you came back from abroad? Have you known my brother for a long time? You seem quite familiar with him. You were my dad's assistant, and now you're my brother's manager. So, in the future, hehe..."

Shang Yibo glared at Chu Yiming and said, "Even eating can't shut you up."

Chu Fanqing put down his chopsticks and said in a deep voice, "It would be good if Zhou Yanruo went to Yihua Entertainment to help Yibo. She could also go and sort out his contracts and try to finish them by the end of the year. If they can't be finished, that's fine too. She can just pay a penalty to end them. As for new contracts, she doesn't need to sign any."

Zhou Yanruo wondered to herself, "Does Shang Yibo really have to leave the entertainment industry because of those negative news stories online? From the perspective of the entertainment industry, what matters now is popularity and traffic. Being famous for being infamous is still fame, and it's better than being ignored. Shang Yibo is a top star in the industry, and it's perfectly normal for him to have all sorts of different fans expressing different opinions. Is it because he comes from a wealthy family that he has to protect his reputation? I don't understand."

However, judging from what Chairman Chu said, he doesn't want Shang Yibo to develop in the entertainment industry. So what are Shang Yibo's thoughts?

She couldn't understand it, and she didn't know the situation.

Zhou Yanruo glanced at Ding Jiajia sitting next to her, and to her surprise, Ding Jiajia was also looking at her nervously, and seemed to be giving her a look that she couldn't understand.

She thought about it again and realized that since it was a task assigned by her boss, she should agree to it first and then find an opportunity to communicate with Shang Yibo.

So he said, "Okay, Chairman Chu. After I've sorted things out, I'll report a solution to you."

"Did you ask for my opinion?" Shang Yibo asked Zhou Yanruo casually.

"I...I didn't." Zhou Yanruo was speechless for a moment.

Chu Fanqing cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention to what he was about to say: "Yibo, you've had enough fun. It's time to settle down and plan your life properly."

Shang Yibo finally hardened his expression, his eyes filled with icy coldness, and said, "What kind of life should I have? My own life? Or the life you want me to have?"

As soon as Shang Yibo spoke, the atmosphere in the restaurant became even more tense.

“Yibo, your dad is worried about you.” Fang Xichen quickly stepped in to smooth things over, saying, “Yesterday, your negative news went viral online. Your dad was out socializing and overheard people talking about it. He came back before the dinner was over. He never goes online, so he asked me to find those news articles for him. The more he read, the angrier he got. He even called his friend in the police station to ask if they could arrest those who spread rumors.”

"Alright, enough with the talking," Chu Fanqing interrupted Fang Xichen.

"You won't let me say it? You didn't sleep well last night because you were worried, and your blood pressure is high today." Fang Xichen tried his best to make his tone sound relaxed and casual, so he kept teasing him.

"Haha, Dad, you're hilarious! There's so much gossip online. If we were to arrest people, would the police be able to catch them all?"

“You talk too much,” Chu Fanqing said. “Yibo, you heard what I said. If you don’t want to come to the company, you can go back to school.”

"Can you just leave me alone?" Shang Yibo began to get impatient.

"Why can't I control you and watch you fall into this abyss?" Chu Fanqing said sternly.

"I'm finished eating, please enjoy your meal." Shang Yibo didn't want to argue any further, so he stood up, turned around, and walked out of the restaurant.

Things developed too quickly; Zhou Yanruo and Ding Jiajia hadn't even had time to react before the father and son were already stuck in a stalemate.

"Yibo," Chu Fanyan called out to him.

Shang Yibo walked to the restaurant entrance, turned around, looked at Chu Fanyan, and said, "Aunt Yan, I'll come see you another day."

Then he said to Zhou Yanruo and Ding Jiajia, "Have you finished eating yet?"

Ding Jiajia subconsciously shrank her neck, stood up, and said, "Chairman Chu, President Fang, I'm finished eating. Thank you for your hospitality."

Zhou Yanruo stood up, nodded to everyone at the table, and then turned and followed Shang Yibo out of the restaurant.

Fang Xichen followed them out and called out to them, saying, "Yibo, don't make your dad angry. I wasn't just joking. He really worried about you all night last night. He's doing it for your own good, but his methods were a bit hasty. No matter what, he's still your father. Would he harm you?"

Shang Yibo kept his head down, listening to Fang Xichen speak without saying a word.

Fang Xichen noticed that Shang Yibo remained silent.

"Sigh," she sighed softly, "Your father hasn't been feeling well lately, he gets headaches all the time. I've been urging him to go to the hospital for a checkup, but he won't go. I was hoping you could try to persuade him too. Even though you two don't talk much each time, I can tell you still hold a place in his heart."

Shang Yibo said softly, "I'm sorry."

“Sigh,” Fang Xichen sighed again.

Chu Fanyan walked over and said, "Yibo, you're going back to the city, right? Let Lao Zhang take you there."

She then said to Ding Jiajia, "We didn't eat much just now, so I packed some snacks for you to take with you."

Ding Jiajia: "Aunt Yan, thank you."

“No need for Lao Zhang to drive us. I’ll drive myself and take the ‘Continental’ back to the city. It’ll be more convenient,” Shang Yibo said. “Wait a moment, I’ll go upstairs to get the car keys.”

Chu Yiming's voice came from the stairwell: "They've all left, and you're left with only me to scold you. I have no choice but to listen. I'm just trying to uphold your authority, Dad, aren't I?"

Then Chu Fanqing's voice rang out again: "You should leave too, all of you should leave."

Chu Yiming grumbled as he walked out of the restaurant: "Why am I so unlucky?"