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

The next morning, Shang Yibo groggily felt his phone vibrating under his pillow. He jumped up with a start, thinking, "Oh no, I overslept. Is Zhou Yanruo here?"

He hurriedly pulled out his phone to check, and to his surprise, it was Fang Xichen calling. He glanced at the time in astonishment; it was only a little past 7 a.m. So early, what could be so urgent?

Answer the phone: "Hello."

Fang Xichen's unhurried voice came through the phone: "Yibo, did I wake you up?"

"It's alright, it's time to get up."

"Just now, the group's public relations department called to say that there are some negative rumors about you circulating online, and some unscrupulous media outlets are also publishing false news. You don't need to worry about these things; just leave them to me."

"Well, these are common occurrences in the entertainment industry, and Yihua Entertainment can handle them too."

“Hmm,” Fang Xichen pondered for a moment, then said, “This time it might be different. They’re reporting extensively about your background. I’ve already arranged for your Uncle Fan’s legal team to come over and discuss the best course of action.”

"My background? What did those people say?"

"Don't worry, Yibo, I'll handle it. I'm calling you to let you know about our current situation as soon as possible, so you won't be caught off guard. From now on, don't respond to anything. Be careful of people with ulterior motives at this time."

"What did they say?" Shang Yibo asked again.

"I'll send you the compiled screenshots from the internet later. Remember to stay calm and don't respond."

The intercom in the entryway rang.

"Guests this early?" Fang Xichen asked.

"My agent came to pick me up. I have a schedule to attend this morning."

"Zhou Yanruo?"

"Yes."

There was a moment of silence on the phone, then Fang Xichen's concerned voice came through again: "Yibo, take care of yourself, don't make your dad and me worry."

"I have to go now."

Shang Yibo hung up the phone and had already reached the entrance hall. He reached out and answered the intercom: "Top floor."

"What's the house number?" Zhou Yanruo asked.

"One elevator per household, you can just take the elevator."

Shang Yibo unlocked the access control and hung up the phone.

A moment later, Zhou Yanruo came out of the elevator, carrying a square food box in her hand.

"The kitchen is over there, and it should be fully equipped. I don't cook much, so you can find it yourself," Shang Yibo said to Zhou Yanruo, pointing to the kitchen. "I'm going to wash up and change my clothes before I come out."

As soon as Zhou Yanruo entered the house, before she could even admire the large, single-level luxury apartment in the city center, Shang Yibo instructed her to go to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

It seems that Shang Yibo wasn't upset by the negative news online.

She shook her head and smiled, "Young Master, you're used to ordering people around."

The kitchen was exceptionally clean, the kind of cleanliness that had never been touched by human hands.

Zhou Yanruo had already prepared the wontons at home and brought a complete set of soup ingredients: seaweed, dried shrimp, light soy sauce, sesame oil, shredded tofu, and white pepper powder. She secretly rejoiced at her foresight, guessing that Shang Yibo's home wouldn't have such a comprehensive selection of condiments.

Then, she simply boiled some water, cooked the wontons, and carefully seasoned the soup. Soon, the fragrant wontons were served.

At this moment, Shang Yibo also changed his clothes and came out of the room.

He sat down at the table and started eating with a spoon.

"It smells so good, I'm hungry."

"We didn't have any shepherd's purse at home, so I made some pork wontons and added a little dried shrimp to enhance the flavor. I hope you like them."

"Mmm, dried shrimp wontons, delicious."

"You know 'Kaiyang Wonton'?" Zhou Yanruo asked in surprise.

Since "Kaiyang Wonton" is a local snack from her hometown of Xichuan, how would Shang Yibo, who is from another province, know about it?

Shang Yibo thought to himself, "Of course I know that 'shrimp wontons' are your favorite, but I prefer 'steamed buns'."

He ate his wontons silently without answering, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

Zhou Yanruo sat opposite Shang Yibo, taking out her phone to check online news about him.

Before she left, she received a call from Qi Qingnan: "Last night, someone stirred things up and dug up Yibo's background and posted it online. After you pick up Yibo, don't come to the company. Go directly to the film set for costume fittings. Be careful not to be followed, and watch out for paparazzi and sasaeng fans."

Zhou Yanruo: "Shang Yibo's background? The major shareholder of Rushang Group? What's there to dig up about this? There are so many idle people on the internet."

Qi Qingnan: "No, Yibo is not Chu Fanqing's biological son. Yibo is an illegitimate child. Chu Fanqing married into the Shang family and became Chu Fanqing's adopted father."

"What, what is all this nonsense? Spreading rumors can lead to legal consequences."

"Sigh, it seems to be true. We only knew before that Chairman Chu married into the Shang family, and later Yibo's biological mother passed away, and he remarried Fang Xichen. We never expected that Chairman Chu was not Yibo's biological father."

"How could this happen? Does Yibo know?"

"They probably don't know yet. I heard that Fang Xichen spoke with President Shen on the phone, probably to figure out how to deal with the situation together. I just received a call from President Shen's assistant and I'm on my way to the company."

"I'll go to Shang Yibo's house first, then meet up with Ding Jiajia and go directly to the film set for costume fitting."

"You're going to Yibo's house? Do you have his address?"

"Yes, Shang Yibo sent it to me last night. What's up?"

"It's nothing, haha, you can go ahead."

"Stay connected."

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Yanruo realized that Qi Qingnan's tone in her last sentence was strange. It was as if her going to Shang Yibo's house was unbelievable. What? Was it forbidden to go to his house?

Shang Yibo finished eating quickly and put the bowls and spoons in the kitchen sink.

He turned on the coffee machine and asked Zhou Yanruo, "Coffee?"

"Okay, black coffee."

Shang Yibo stood in front of the coffee machine, looking at Zhou Yanruo across the bar counter in the open kitchen, and said, "Are you reading the news online?"

"Uh, it's still the same old stuff. Didn't you say that pink and black were no big deal?" Zhou Yanruo said, trying to cover it up.

"What did they say about me?" Shang Yibo asked calmly.

He walked over with two cups of coffee, placed one in front of Zhou Yanruo, and then sat down opposite her.

"No, nothing was said. It was the same old thing, whether Xu Nuolai or Shang Yibo is more handsome, and the fight for top billing."

"Hmm, I didn't disconnect from the internet. You don't need to pretend so hard, I know."

Shang Yibo lowered his eyelids, watching his fingers twirl along the rim of the coffee cup.

Are those things real?

“It’s all true. I knew it two years ago.” Shang Yibo knew without looking that Zhou Yanruo was looking at him with pity, so he said, “Don’t look at me like that. I’m fine. They’re the ones who are nervous. They have to work hard to deal with the impact of the negative news.”

"'Them,' who are they?"

"Whoever is afraid is the one who is afraid."

"Perhaps, 'they' were worried about you?"

"Would I? Do I need to?" Shang Yibo said casually.

"Don't assume malicious things about others, as it will only increase your own negative emotions. In short, it's not good for you either," Zhou Yanruo said earnestly.

"You haven't changed at all," Shang Yibo said in a low voice. "Still optimistic to the point of being blindly so."

"No change? Do you know me that well?" Zhou Yanruo laughed. "Isn't it good to stay optimistic?"

She thought Shang Yibo was just a child pretending to be an adult and was being presumptuous, so she didn't think too much about it.