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

Young people, after all, are full of energy and vitality. On this night filled with the aroma of barbecue, the charcoal fire, the swirling smoke, the surrounding noise, the smell of grilled meat, and the occasional laughter all create an indescribable sense of ease and comfort.

Five bottles of chilled beer lay quietly on the ground. Jian Zheng, holding a bottle opener, skillfully and deftly opened each bottle cap. With crisp "pop pop pop" sounds, the caps popped off one by one.

He raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, a bright smile playing on his lips: "Help yourselves, one bottle per person, ask for more if you need more."

Several people reached for their beers, clinked the bottles together, and downed half a bottle in one gulp…

Jian Zheng: "You just said that you both did your bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees at Tsinghua and Peking University? That's impressive."

Qiu Chunliang: "What's so great about it? It all depends on whether Ban Ning and I can graduate this year. It all comes down to the results of the experimental center this time."

"Two years ago, I visited Tsinghua and Peking Universities and had the privilege of listening to Professor Zhou's lecture. Professor Zhou is simply admirable."

"Of course, my mentor is now a prominent figure at Tsinghua and Peking Universities." Qiu Chunliang's eyes also shone when he talked about Professor Zhou. "He is known as 'a philosopher whose talent was wasted on materials science.' Weren't you also impressed by Professor Zhou's lectures on philosophy?"

Ban Ning added, "However, our teacher is still very strict with us. We should have finished our studies last year, but we don't know if we can meet Professor Zhou's requirements this year."

Wang Jie could clearly hear a hint of dissatisfaction in Ban Ning's tone about not being able to complete her studies on time.

He said, "Strict requirements also mean rigorous scholarship. Schools like Tsinghua and Peking University should produce outstanding individuals."

"That's right, that's right," Ban Ning said awkwardly.

“I heard from Zhang Qian that three of you classmates should have come to Sunan University, so why are only the two of you here?” Jian Zheng asked them, then suddenly remembered something and turned to Zhang Qian, “Oh right, didn’t you say your senior was also in Xichuan? Wasn’t he supposed to be introduced to me and Wang Jie tonight? Where is he now?”

Qiu Chunliang said, "We came with three classmates, and the other one is Shen You, a girl. Today, your school is hosting a welcome banquet for Professor Zhou and Professor Yan, and she went with the two professors. We didn't want to go to that formal occasion, so we came here with Zhang Qian."

Ban Ning: "The senior you mentioned, Zhang Qian, is it Senior Brother Yin?"

"Oh, Senior Brother Yin, he was also dragged by Professor Zhou to the welcome banquet and went back with him." Qiu Chunliang was always quick to speak.

Jian Zheng said to Zhang Qian, "We missed it again today. Let's find another opportunity next time."

Zhang Qian: "The senior said that if we could come out earlier, we would come to find us."

Jian Zheng: "It's okay if you come a little later, we've just started anyway. I guess it's just a social engagement with the hospital leaders, and they might be able to come out earlier and find us."

After Jian Zheng finished speaking, he turned to look at Wang Jie and found that Wang Jie was looking down silently, his eyes fixed on the sparks dancing in the charcoal fire, as if he were deep in thought. Seeing this, Jian Zheng reached out and gently nudged Wang Jie with his elbow.

Wang Jie slowly raised his head. Although it was getting dark, his face was still pale as paper, and there were even tiny beads of sweat on his forehead.

"What's wrong? Are you having another bout of low blood sugar?" Jian Zheng asked Wang Jie softly. "Eat something to fill your stomach before you drink. Have you been working too hard lately? Why are you acting so weak?"

Wang Jie shook his head, feeling a little better. "It's nothing, I didn't get much sleep last night because I was rushing to finish some documents."

The pager hanging on my waist beeped: "Twisted your ankle."

"Oh no, did Zhou Yanruo get injured while she was practicing extra?" Wang Jie exclaimed in surprise.

He glanced at the time; it was 8 o'clock. He had promised Zhou Yanruo that he would pick her up from school that evening.

He whispered to Jian Zheng, "I went to pick up Zhou Yanruo from school; she seems to be injured."

"You're... injured? What happened to Zhou Yanruo? I'll go with you."

"What happened? Who's injured?" Zhang Qian asked, leaning over as he heard the two talking.

"One of my students shouldn't be seriously injured. I'll go check on him. You guys continue," Wang Jie said, standing up and hurrying away.

Zhang Qian's pager rang. It was a digital pager, which used numeric codes to display the message. It could usually translate the meaning of commonly used numbers. "Call back, Yin."

"It's a message from my senior. I'll call him back."

-

Wang Jie hurriedly rode his bike to school, his heart filled with worry. How could Zhou Yanruo have twisted her ankle? He had reminded her before that she must pay attention to her technique during training and not overexert herself. How could she be so careless? He wondered how serious her injury was.

When he arrived at the dance studio, he found the lights were still on.

"Let me carry you on my back, look how swollen your feet are," Cheng Zhi said.

Zhou Yanruo was sitting on the floor with one leg bent and the other straight, gently rubbing her ankle with her hand.

"No, no, I'll wait a little longer, you go first."

"Xue Jiang had to leave first, and I'm fine. She didn't seem that bad just now, but now that you're like this, how can I leave? What are you waiting for? Judging from the way she looks, she won't get better anytime soon. Shouldn't we go to the hospital?"

As Cheng Zhi spoke, he reached out to check Zhou Yanruo's ankle, but Zhou Yanruo gently slapped him away.

"Where did you twist it?" Wang Jie walked in. "Let me see."

"Teacher Wang? Teacher Wang, what brings you here?" Cheng Zhi looked at Wang Jie, who was walking over, in surprise.

Wang Jie only hummed in response, without replying. He walked straight to Zhou Yanruo, squatted down, and examined her injuries.

"Why are you so late? Didn't you promise to pick me up after class? It's almost 8:30." Zhou Yanruo couldn't help but complain when she saw Wang Jie.

"Did you twist your ankle? Let me see, it's all swollen. Let's go to the hospital for an X-ray." Wang Jie reached out and gently touched Zhou Yanruo's ankle.

"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts," Zhou Yanruo cried out, pulling her foot back slightly.

“You two have really become the ‘leading actors and actresses of an art film.’ I absolutely have to make an art film about you two,” Cheng Zhi said teasingly, standing to the side.

Then he added, "Come on, let Teacher Wang carry you, okay? You're being so dramatic."

Cheng Zhi helped Wang Jie lift Zhou Yanruo onto his back, and the group walked out.

"Should I have my dad's driver come pick me up? I'll call him," Cheng Zhiyang said, holding his old mobile phone.

"No need, Wang Jie can take me back on his bicycle."

"What did you call him? Did I hear that right, Wang Jie?" Cheng Zhi pointed at Zhou Yanruo, who was clinging to Wang Jie's back, and said in surprise.

“Zhou Yanruo and I are neighbors,” Wang Jie said in a deep voice.

Zhou Yanruo: "..."